Silver Shadows by Richelle Mead

Review may contain small spoilers for the Bloodlines series
If you haven't read the Bloodlines series (or Vampire Academy) I highly recommend them!

Silver Shadows by Richelle Mead
Synopsis:
Sydney Sage is an Alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets—and human lives.
In The Fiery Heart, Sydney risked everything to follow her gut, walking a dangerous line to keep her feelings hidden from the Alchemists.
Now in the aftermath of an event that ripped their world apart, Sydney and Adrian struggle to pick up the pieces and find their way back to each other. But first, they have to survive. 
For Sydney, trapped and surrounded by adversaries, life becomes a daily struggle to hold on to her identity and the memories of those she loves. Meanwhile, Adrian clings to hope in the face of those who tell him Sydney is a lost cause, but the battle proves daunting as old demons and new temptations begin to seize hold of him. . . .
Their worst fears now a chilling reality, Sydney and Adrian face their darkest hour in this heart-pounding fifth instalment in the New York Times best-selling Bloodlines series, where all bets are off.

Silver Shadows is the 5th instalment in the Bloodlines series and it is by far the most intense, heart wrenching book out of the five. I was expecting some heart stopping moments after the cliff hanger at the end of The Fiery Heart but I wasn’t quite fully prepared to feel so terrified for both Sydney and Adrian. Silver Shadows is very different from the other four books, mainly because of the different settings and the interactions with different characters. Even though I love reading about the little group in Palm Springs, it was nice to move away from that setting. I found it interesting seeing Court through Adrian’s eyes as Lord Ivashkov but also seeing Sydney’s experiences in the completely different world of re-education.

Speaking of re-education, I never imagined it to be that bad! It was completely horrific and I couldn't believe the methods that the Alchemists used on "corrupted" souls. You have to hand it to Sydney though, she was amazing throughout this book and I was constantly in awe at her strength. Even though she was going through a lot in re-education, she still wanted to help her fellow prisoners which made me admire her even more. I love how far Sydney has come throughout these books, from the time we first met her in Blood Promise when she was petrified of Rose to now when she's in a relationship with a vampire, the development she’s gone through as a character is remarkable.

Just like Sydney, Adrian has also grown so much as a character. I was expecting him to fall apart in this book and even though I love him a lot he did frustrate me slightly a little and in the first half of the book I just wanted to shake some sense into him. But to give him credit he does pick himself back up which shows how far he has come, and his use of spirit in this book, as worrying as it is, was pretty cool and heroic.

Even though Adrian and Sydney aren’t together for a majority of this book, Silver Shadows definitely focuses more on them and their relationship than the other characters in the story. They both have to deal with a lot in this book and they are tested both as individuals and as a couple, which shows in the end how strong they are.

Overall Silver Shadows was a captivating and pulse pounding read. Richelle Mead manages to balance the dark and the light moments perfectly and the character development that happens throughout these books is phenomenal. I am very excited to read the last book, The Ruby Circle, which comes out next year as the ending to Silver Shadows has left me wondering what will go down in the last book and how the series will conclude.