The Ruby Circle (book 6) (Bloodlines, #6)

by Richelle Mead

Bloodlines: The Ruby Circle is the epic conclusion to Richelle Mead's bestselling Bloodlines series , set in the world of Vampire Academy - NOW A MAJOR FILM.

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 . . .

Praise for Richelle Mead:

'Exciting, empowering and un-put-downable.' MTV's Hollywood Crush

'We're suckers for it!' - Entertainment Weekly

Also available in the Bloodlines series:
Bloodlines (Book 1)
Bloodlines: The Golden Lily (Book 2)
Bloodlines: The Indigo Spell (Book 3)
Bloodlines: The Fiery Heart (Book 4)
Bloodlines: Silver Shadows (Book 5)

Discover where the story began in the Vampire Academy series:
*NOW A MAJOR FILM*
Vampire Academy (Book 1)
Vampire Academy: Frostbite (Book 2)
Vampire Academy: Shadow Kiss (Book 3)
Vampire Academy: Blood Promise (Book 4)
Vampire Academy: Spirit Bound (Book 5)
Vampire Academy: Last Sacrifice (Book 6)

• ISBN10: 014136131X
• ISBN13: 9780141361314
• Publish Date: 10 February 2015 (first published 1 February 2015)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Penguin Books Ltd
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 368
• Language: English

Reviews

[Angie]

The Ruby Circle was a pretty good ending to this series, but not exactly what I was expecting or hoping for. Adrian and Sydney don't get their honeymoon, because things at Court are tense. They've basically broken every taboo ever, and Jill is still missing. Obviously, those two have to get out of there and go on a rescue mission while also avoiding the Alchemists. That's not all though. There is a lot more going on and it was actually too much, hence my lower rating.

It seemed like the author tried to cram all kinds of random plot threads into The Ruby Circle. As a result, this finale is kind of jumbled and some parts simply don't make sense. Some characters from previous books are randomly brought back and I honestly didn't believe their involvement in Jill's kidnapping at all. Really anyone else would have worked better. It was a failed attempted at bringing things full circle and tying up loose ends. There's also this side mission that Adrian goes on to help a friend and I really didn't care about that either. It did add something interesting to the world building, and I think I'd like another spin-off exploring that, but for this book it just didn't fit.

I really don't know what to say about The Ruby Circle. It's a happy ending, which was expected. I did enjoy it and it was a relatively quick read. It is the shortest book of the series, which just further convinces me that the author added the randomness as filler to make it longer. There's really not much left for Sydney and Adrian to do except rescue Jill, and get the Alchemists off their backs. The epilogue was pretty cute though.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[KitsuneBae]

ATTENTION: SPOILERS AHEAD! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

First things first, February the 25th is my birthday. I made sure that days prior and during my birthday, I am reading a spin off series of one my fave urban fantasy series in the world, Vampire Academy. I just thought that I have to read something awesome during my birthday that isn't Harry Potter you know... Turns out that I should have stuck with Harry Potter.

Bloodlines ruined my birthday in more ways than I can count. The first three books were awesome particularly that we're still getting to know our characters with Sydney's despicable personality...what with the racism, holier-than-thou, snobbish attitude and all. Mind you, I didn't hate her for that. In fact, it was really interesting to see Sydney being humbled through books 1 to three. And yes, it was so satisfying to finally see her falling inlove for the evil creature that is Adrian. I must say that everything was going well with the series, then Fiery Heart, Silver Shadows and Ruby Circle happened. (The only thing that really irked me from books 1-3 was the fact that Sydney was just so fucking perfect. Her being an insufferable know-it all does not have that endearing quality that Hermion Granger has. )

Good heavens, I never thought that once-uber-cool Adrian and stoic Sydney could be so soppy when it comes to love. Every time they have this monologue about their so-special-love-against-all-odds, I always have this urge to puke my guts out because, come on, there's only so much corny stuff that I can stomach in a span of 7 successive days.

Aside from the corny stuff, I cannot see the need as to why Mead has to pair off every single side character with a loveteam. And all those drama between Eddie, Jill, Angeline, Neil, and Trey (oi, there's also between Ms. Telliwerger and Malachi Wolfe, Marcus and Carly) made the whole series feel like a cheap sitcom about teenagers falling in love left and right. Just kill me now please.

And then, the fucking Las Vegas wedding happened complete with running-while-the-baddie-alchemists-are-chasing-after-you with Sydney and Adrian in their wedding garb. So after all that crazy stuff, there's a baby and Sydney and Adrian pursued a very domesticated life that just didn't fit in into the whole picture considering all the things that had happened.

So as you can already picture out, no matter how awesome my birthday is, a part of it was still wasted on a series that could have been wonderful and amazing as Vampire Academy if only it was executed well. Le sigh.

Just to summarize it all:

Books 1-3 Average rating: 3.5 stars
Books 4-6 Average rating: 2 stars

[jesstheaudiobookworm]

5 ★ Audiobook⎮If not for the epilogue, this would have been a solid 4.5 star book. But the sheer perfection of the ending bumps it up to 5 stars. That epilogue hit me right in the feels. Without giving away anything too specific, let's just say that there was an engagement and a baby, all in the epilogue. If that's not enough to elicit a squeal, I don't know what is! It was everything I could have ever asked for as an ending to this series. Only now it has made me crave a seventh installment or maybe a novella... Anything, really. I just need MORE. I'm not ready to say goodbye to the Vampire Academy/Bloodlines world! ♣︎

[Chelsea]

Initial Thoughts

I was waiting forever for this to come out in paperback so I could read it. I had fairly high hopes though which I try not to do to myself in case I get disappointed.

My New BFF

I didn’t find myself relating to many of the girls all that much in this book. I’d rather be best friends with Eddie. He’d be the perfect friend because he’s beyond loyal and caring. He’s great at doing his job without letting feelings get in the way. Plus he’s a little badass and who doesn’t love that?

My Crush

It’s impossible to read this book and not fall madly in love with Adrian. That is, if you haven’t read the first books anyways because you’ll fall for him much sooner. My favourite part about him was how lost he was at the start. We’re used to seeing these perfect male characters so it was refreshing to see someone normal. I was glad to see more of him in this book. His character really start to show how much he’s changed.

Writing Style

I really like Richelle’s writing style. She’s amazing at creating all these different characters and then letting them grow through the series. She’s also great at not making things too happy. You can’t have all these crazy adventures and everything turns out perfect. That’s not how the world works. I really liked how we got to see some of our old favourite characters come back but not take the spotlight. Her world building is great too and I was glad we got to see so much of the alchemists in this whole series. It was a great addition to the vampires.

Closing Thoughts

All i can say is: What a journey! It was crazy, fun, terrifying, but satisfying in the end. I’m a little disappointed that the ending wasn’t a little bit more dramatic but I’m happy with how it turned out. I really liked the little piece of Sydney and Adrian’s lives we saw at the end. That was cute.

[Mercy]

3.5/5
Lamentablemente, no ha sido para nada el final apoteósico que esperaba. No ha sido malo pero pudo haber muchísimo más. Desde Silver shadows no me gustó el rumbo que tomaron algunas cosas y en este, incluso fueron más allá, no de la manera típica pero pasó. Aunque si soy sincera, Adrian y Sydney serán siempre de mis parejas más favoritas y amé que al final hayan tenido (en parte) lo que siempre habían deseado. Claro, está ESE DETALLE del que no digo nada porque es un gran spoiler pero bueno...

A lo largo del libro hubo un par de revelaciones bastante fuertes y otra de las cosas que me han gustado, es que en esta saga siempre hubo bastante interacción con personajes de la anterior y siempre era una alegría cuando aparecían.

Lo que si me tuvo molesta fue las pocas respuestas que hubo. Parecía más centrada en el romance y UGH! ...just no.
Yo pensé que en esta saga se resolverían muchas cosas relacionadas con el mundo moroi, su seguridad, los strigoi, el uso del espíritu... pues en Silver shadows se avanzo mucho en ello, pero no. No hubo nada. Y es obvio que en el futuro habrá más historias y seguro serán en torno a ese nuevo personaje.
No me desagrada la idea pero tampoco estoy saltando de alegría, más bien me he enojado porque me sentí engañada con el propósito de esta saga.

Por último, un momento puramente fangirl: ADRIAN AND SYDNEY RULES
OH GOD! COMO AMO A ESTOS CHICOS Y QUE PENA ME DA QUE YA NO HABRÁ MÁS DE MI CHICO VAMPIRO ARTISTA MELANCÓLICO FAVORITO U___U

y oh, Dimitri y Roza... Ö asdfghjklñfdfgjasd ❤

P.S. Adrian Ivashkov, I love you.
P.S. P.S. Richelle Mead: Thank you anyway. Don't hurry with the next story.

[Linda]

The Ruby Circle was an amazing conclusion to a great series!

This and all my other reviews are originally posted on my blog (un)Conventional Bookvies

[Jo]

Originally posted on Once Upon a Bookcase.

I was super excited to read the final book in the Bloodlines series, The Ruby Circle by Richelle Mead, but a little sad too, as it would mean the end. I was sure it was going to be an epic story, but I finished it feeling a little disappointed.

Now they're married, Sydney and Adrian are at Moroi Court, under Queen Lissa's protection from the Alchemists who want Sydney back and in re-education. But they are struggling; they cannot leave Court without the Alchemists going after them, but the Moroi aren't impressed with their marriage, either, so they feel trapped in their home. They're also feeling helpless as they are unable to help search for Jill, who has gone missing. That is until Mrs Terwilliger turns up from Palm Springs with something that was left for Sydney - something that leads Sydney on a treasure hunt of clues from whoever has kidnapped the Moroi Princess. Meanwhile, Sonya has asked Adrian to have a word with Nina; since her sister has been missing, she has been exhausting herself in Spirit dreams trying to locate her sister. She's not far off losing her sanity, and Adrian is struggling on how to help her when she's so adamant to use as much Spirit as it takes. When they discover a clue as to where Olive is, Adrian is determined to help Nina and locate her himself. In doing so, he makes a discovery about Spirit that could change everything.

So much happens in The Ruby Circle, my description above barely scratches the surface. Saying that, the various events that take place in the book aren't as huge as I expected them to be. I had already worked out who had abducted Jill at the end of Silver Shadows, so that wasn't a big revelation for me. But as I knew, I did expect more out of that confrontation, and those that followed. There were certain parts of the book that felt a bit too easy, I really thought things should have been much more difficult to get through for the final book. It's not that lives weren't in danger, they were, but getting out of danger felt really simple. Sometimes there were possible consequences to getting out of danger, but I did think most of the time, "Is that it?"

I also struggled with the romance in this book. Sydney and Adrian are still the same characters, and I love them dearly, but I wasn't believing the love between the two of them in this book. There was just something missing for me, which was really disappointing, as their romance was one of the major draws to this series for me.

Then ending was pretty cool, though. I did like it. Was pretty sweet on several levels. And I like how, although this series is most definitely at an end, there's still the possibility of more books. There are certain situations that could arise if Mead chose to write them, which would lead to more books. I like this, because the possibilities are really interesting, and it's something I'd love to see. (Though from what I've read, Mead has no plans to continue writing stories in this world.)

Overall a disappointing read when compared to my expectations, but not a bad story. Still a definite must read for fans of the series, for the cool things discovered.

Thank you to Penguin for the review copy.

[reveriesociety_]

I wasn’t too crazy about Vampire Academy. There, I said it. I think I should’ve loved it more than I did the Bloodlines series. Because if I have to be honest, Rose is a far funnier character to read about.  But what she lacks in wit, Sydney, the ex-Alchemist, makes up with character development, plot and tension.

That is, in the first books of the series. I don’t know what the hell happened here. I was expecting The Ruby Circle to blow my mind. It wasn’t bad, but it’s a long way uphill to good.

We have Jill’s disappearance as the main issue here, but… the resolution of this problem was dull and, predictable. It almost felt like a subplot.

And what actually was the subplot? It was a pretty neat way to solve some things and I was very happy about it. It was a grand revelation that could knock the entire Moroi world upside down. Only… it didn’t’?

It had the potential of gaining a spot right in the center of the stage that was The Ruby Circle. But this play was poorly directed and that potential was wasted.

In few words: this book disappointed me.

I still loved the characters, and the ending brought me lots of fuzzy feelings, but I cannot say I really enjoyed the book.

Find this review also at A Writer's Tales

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 4.5 Stars

This is it. The end of my time with some fantastic characters. I first, will thank Richelle Mead for trying to involve so many of our favorites in the story and/or giving them a mention at one point so we know how they are doing. I appreciate her letting be there as Sydney and Adrian's relationship went through some growing pains as they adjusted to marriage and their new situation as shut-ins. There was quite a few HOLY COW reveals (two in a row at the commune if you have read this with me), but I felt the ending was too quiet. It reminded me of how I felt when Gilmore Girls ended. They were such a spunky pair, to have that last shot of them be so blasé was a disappointment, and I guess I felt a little of that. Although, the epilogue tied up some loose ends (we know about our fave couples and their near futures), it was just too ordinary for such an extraordinary couple. The one hope I have, is the loose ends that were not tied (Declan, Zoe, etc). There could be more stories in this world if Mead was interested.

As I was reading this book I was trying very hard to figure out why I just didn't love it. About half way through I realized it was because I just am not a fan of how we get to read Adrian's POV.

I loved the first few books in this series because I loved Sydney and it was all her. In the last few where we get to see Adrian's POV as well? Well... I was so bored. I didn't much like him as a character to read as and while his POV was clearly needed to push the story along, I just couldn't get into it and it pulled me out of the story every chapter.

The book itself was an interesting finish to the story I guess. Albeit it felt a tad rushed and like it was 'going through the motions' of a last book and tying up loose ends...