The Ruby Circle by Richelle Mead

Summary (from Goodreads):

The epic conclusion to Richelle Mead's New York Times bestselling Bloodlines series is finally here...

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.

After their secret romance is exposed, Sydney and Adrian find themselves facing the wrath of both the Alchemists and the Moroi in this electrifying conclusion to Richelle Mead’s New York Times bestselling Bloodlines series. When the life of someone they both love is put on the line, Sydney risks everything to hunt down a deadly former nemesis. Meanwhile, Adrian becomes enmeshed in a puzzle that could hold the key to a shocking secret about spirit magic, a secret that could shake the entire Moroi world.

Review:

I loved this one. Then again, it would be a huge surprise if I didn’t. I love all the books by Richelle Mead. I was a little hesitant to finish this book because I knew it was the last of the series, and I couldn’t exactly cope with that.

I’m just not really feeling like this story is quite over. I liked the ending. And I liked all that was accomplished in this final installment. I just want more. I want more with Jill. I want more with Lissa. I want more with Sonya. I want more of a new character, Declan. And how can I not want more Rose and Dimitri or Sydney and Adrian? Maybe I’m just not ready to say goodbye. I am kind of hoping that Mead comes out with another side series like she did with this one after the Vampire Academy series.

A lot went down in this final book. A lot of loose ends were wrapped up. Add that to the sizzling romance, the side story with more spirit-use discovery, and the politics of the court, and well this was not a boring book. I also liked how things from book one were tied in too. The illegal tattoos from book 1 came back. So did a certain vampire-hating organization.

There’s a bit of a wild goose chase that happens in the middle that I’m not sure was really that necessary, but I can’t complain. It was more time with all these fantastic characters. And it gave certain other side characters the ability to have some resolution as well.

It was fun watching Adrian’s mother learn to tolerate Sydney. It was also interesting to see so much prejudice and hate on both sides of the couple: the alchemists and the vampires. There were a bunch of little twists thrown in about families, fathers, and spirit dreams.

The book started a little slower than normal. But in no way did this hinder my reading. The only thing that slowed down my reading was my fear of saying goodbye. This was a fun last installment to a fantastic series. I give it a 10/10, and I hope to see more from this author soon.