The S.S. Sydrian

Of all the ships docked at the YA Fantasy marina, the S.S. Sydrian has to be one of my favourites. For those of you woefully unaware of who these adorable people are, I am more than happy to explain: Sydney Sage and Adrian Ivashkov.
Sydney is an Alchemist, a member of a secret society of humans that helps protect the human population from knowing about the existence of vampires. She’s analytical, intelligent, socially inept, borderline OCD and anorexic, and can somehow wield magic.
Adrian, however, is a “noble” (a member of one of the twelve royal Moroi – the benevolent, living vampires – families) playboy who brought the only sister of the Moroi queen, Jill Mastrano, back from the dead. He’s artistic, vain, sarcastic, and hopelessly in love with our girl Sydney.

This ship is captained by the incredibly talented Richelle Mead, responsible for the Vampire Academy series and many, many others. I am yet to delve in because I am so obsessed with her vampiric world, but I will get there eventually!

But moving right along…the reason I completely love Sydrian is because their love is so different from most of the ones you read about. I mean, yeah, their love is forbidden what with Sydney being a human and Adrian being a vampire and all. Unlike Twilight, there is a HUGE taboo against human and vampire relations. Add to that the fact that if Sydney’s Alchemist co-workers found out about her feelings for Adrian they would send her away to “re-education” (read: brainwashing), it makes the taboo so much worse. But there’s always something forbidden in relationships in YA, isn’t there? Jace and Clary? Brother and sister.
Tessa and Will? Will’s curse.
Rose and Dimitri? She’s seven years his junior, was her teacher, and they are both guardians for the Moroi.

Sydrian is so much more than simply forbidden. These characters are flawed. And in ways that make us powerless to stop ourselves rooting for them. Sydney’s analytical mind doesn’t seem to stem to love. She can see everything and everyone around her, fix any problem, foresee almost any scenario, but Adrian was unforeseen and she can’t make him fit into her ordered life. That is, until she makes a huge decision at the end of Indigo Spell that could change her life forever.

And as for Adrian…well, when we left him in Last Sacrifice, he had had his heart broken by Rose. After finally giving Adrian a chance once Dimitri had been turned Strigoi (the evil, undead vampires. I think they are Mead’s nod to the original vampire legend of Dracula) but all bets were off when Dimitri was returned to his original state through a type of rare magic. [I don’t know how to explain the complexities of the Moroi magic, so I think you’ll just have to read the books!] So, to be true to her heart, Rose breaks things off with Adrian so that she can be with Dimitri. Only thing was, Adrian had fallen hopelessly in love with her. So when we catch up with Adrian again in Bloodlines, he is still in a lot of pain. That is until this one tiny moment toward the end of the book.

“My God, Sage. Your eyes. How have I never noticed them?”
That uncomfortable feeling was spreading over me again. “What about them?”
“The color,” he breathed. “When you stand in the light. They’re amazing… like molten gold. I could paint those…” He reached toward me but then pulled back. “They’re beautiful. You’re beautiful.”

We then spend all of The Golden Lily watching Adrian battle with his feelings for a woman who basically thinks he’s evil incarnate, and who goes on a few dates with a human who seems perfect for her. This is all seen through Sydney’s eyes, and she has absolutely no idea what’s going on. That is until Adrian spells it out for her. Now, instead of giving you a quote to read, I found this on a YouTube called BloodlineBooks that does all the book trailers for the series:

The Indigo Spell, the third book in the Bloodlines  series and the book I’m currently reading, kind of revolves around Sydney’s inner struggle with her mounting doubts about the Alchemists, her own magical prowess, and her knowledge that she is obviously in love with Adrian.

I just love these two crazy mixed-up kids. They are as lost as each other. They are scared, vulnerable, have many insecurities, and yet they strengthen each other. She stabilises him – which is a really, really good thing, given that Adrian’s magic takes a toll on his sanity. And he, well, he helps Sydney open up and become her own person. They need each other. Which is what makes this quote, at the very beginning of the book, so heartbreaking:

“I just mean, I don’t care if you say we can’t be together. I don’t care if you think I’m the most evil, unnatural creature walking the earth…You can think whatever you want, do whatever you want…I’m going to go on loving you, even if it’s hopeless.”

I’ve been re-reading the whole series so that by the time I finally get to The Fiery Heart, everything will be fresh in my mind. Plus, I always like reading the beginning part of relationships in YA. There’s always so much tension. 

That being said, I’ve already skipped ahead and read a few scenes from The Fiery Heart…which means that this really scares me:

 

Related articles

• The Fiery Heart (wordhoarder488.wordpress.com)
• Book Review: The Indigo Spell (Bloodlines #3) by Richelle Mead (emzsnow.wordpress.com)
• The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead Audiobook Review (thereadingdate.com)
• Book Review: Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead (presspausefastforward.wordpress.com)
• Review of The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead (mywordstoplaywith.wordpress.com)
• *Spoiler* Bad things are bound to happen…First chapter of the Fiery Heart! (fansofvampireacademy.wordpress.com)
• BLOODLINES by Richelle Mead | Review (nadiareads1.wordpress.com)

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