5 out of 5 stars.

If I could give The Fiery Heart a rating greater than a five, I would. Richelle Mead was truly masterful in the way she wrote this book.

Bloodlines, the first book in the series, reinforced the idea that a vampire and a human being together was taboo. This idea was first introduced as early as the fourth book, Blood Promise, in Mead’s previous series, Vampire Academy.

In the beginning of the series, Adrian was still getting over the broken heart Rose left him with at the end of the Vampire Academy series. But soon he starts to realize the connection he and Sydney have, even though it’s highly forbidden. No, really. It’s bad enough for a vampire to be with a human. But an Alchemist? That’s entirely unheard of.

Alchemists have some serious hang-ups about vampires. They believe they’re evil creatures of the night, sent to steal away children and other equally ridiculous things.

So along with the regular Alchemist aversion to vampires, there’s also the taboo in the vampire world holding Sydney and Adrian apart.

At the end of the last book, Adrian and Sydney finally decided that they wouldn’t let the preconceived notions and taboos of the vampires and Alchemists keep them apart.

But a complication arrived in Palm Springs, in the form of Sydney’s younger sister Zoe. Zoe’s there on the orders of the Alchemists, getting her training in.

With Zoe around, it’s a lot harder for Adrian and Sydney to keep their romance secret.

The looming prospect of Sydney being sent to reeducation if the Alchemists find out is constantly in Sydney and Adrian’s minds.

And if Richelle Mead is nearly as evil an author as she was in Shadow Kiss, you better be terrified.

The Fiery Heart is no reincarnation of the Twilight Saga. It’s entirely its own world, a world skillfully crafted by Richelle Mead in such a seamless way that it feels believable. Sydney, Adrian, and the rest of their motley crew live among unknowing humans, going to school like regular teenagers. The vampire subculture has been placed like a blanket over human society, with enough mentions of regular human activities that it doesn’t feel fake.

To anyone who’s ever read Vampire Academy, this fourth installment of the Bloodlines series is a must-read.