The Fiery Heart, by Richelle Mead

This fourth instalment of the Bloodlines series uses a different structure to those that came before, which also indicates a change in focus. The first three were all in Sydney’s voice from her point of view; this one alternates chapters between the young Alchemist and Adrian, her vampire boyfriend. The benefits of this include a fresh perspective on events and the chance to see events that occur when Sydney is not around without the need for tedious exposition. It also indicates that their forbidden relationship is real, signalling a future of dealing with the complex politics of their world on a personal level as well as the already tricky professional. The downside is that Adrian’s voice isn’t established with the clarity and strength of Sydney’s, so the new structure doesn’t serve the story quite as well as it could. The love story dominates the action, with all events complicated by the arrival of Sydney’s younger sister, Zoe, an aspiring and fervent Alchemist. The narrative does start to move more off campus; with signs that everyone’s time in Palm Beach may at last be coming to an end. So how will our newly emerging force to be reckoned with manage to stay together? The book ends on a very steep cliffhanger, which is both exciting and annoying. Those invested in the story will read the next book anyway – no need to tease quite so hard