The Fiery Heart

Bloodlines, Book 4

By: Richelle Mead

Narrated by: Emily Shaffer, Alden Ford

Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

In the Indigo Spell, Sydney was torn between the alchemist way of life and what her heart and gut were telling her to do. And in one breathtaking moment that Richelle Mead fans will never forget, she made a decision that shocked even her....

But the struggle isn't over for Sydney. As she navigates the aftermath of her life-changing decision, she still finds herself pulled in too many directions at once. Her sister Zoe has arrived, and while Sydney longs to grow closer to her, there's still so much she must keep secret. Working with Marcus has changed the way she views the Alchemists, and Sydney must tread a careful path as she harnesses her profound magical ability to undermine the way of life she was raised to defend. Consumed by passion and vengeance, Sydney struggles to keep her secret life under wraps as the threat of exposure - and re-education - looms larger than ever.

Pulses will race throughout this thrilling fourth installment in the New York Times best-selling Bloodlines series, where no secret is safe.

©2013 Richelle Mead (P)2013 Penguin Audio

Great story

What did you love best about The Fiery Heart?

I liked the fact that sage finaly got what she was dreaming about.

Who was your favorite character and why?

adreien and sage. Because they never gave up or what they wanted.

Would you be willing to try another one of Emily Shaffer’s performances?

I have listened to almost all of her stuff

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me laugh and made my heart hert at times.

Any additional comments?

Im not a fan of the double naration, I think it takes away from the books story line. Not that the other reader was bad it was just a let down to go from one to the other.

IM IN LOVE….

What can i say, love it, love the series… can't wait for the next one! if you liked vampire academy, you'll love bloodlines.

The center will hold

The series just gets better and better with each book and each read! I especially loved that in this book you get Adrian's point of view. It really brought the book up another level. I don't want to talk about the book or what goes on in it, I don't like doing that for good must read books like this one, but I will say even though I don't have a younger sibling I do have to say that Zoe is too clingy for a 15 year old girl. It is as if she hasn't don't anything on her own EVER! Maybe that is normal I don;t know but it as annoying, I wanted to reach into the book and smack some sense into her.

The only downside to the book was the ending, you could tell that the book as coming to an end and it just felt rushed. The ending however was done brilliantly; with the betrayal, the love the devotion and the faith. It definitely leaves you wanting more. And on the edge of your seat for the next installment.

Great story but...

I loved the girl narrator Emily Shaffer. In the past books when she did all the characters I loved her Adrian. Now with the Alden Ford narrating Adrian’s part I felt the story off. I wish she could have done the whole story like she did the others.

Changing a character's voice/accent = bad

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I couldn't. I enjoyed the others in this series and in Vampire Academy, but I'm so annoyed by the narrator that I couldn't make it though the book.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The male narrator was very flat. The female narrator changed Adrian's accent for the worse.

Any additional comments?

I'm returning it!

I love the story

The story is exciting as usual. I am not font of the dual readers. The male lacks the same emotion and accent that is Adrian.

Good addition, but not great.

Would you listen to The Fiery Heart again? Why?

This was an excellent addition to the series. The story was action packed, like the others. However, I hated the love story between Rose and Dimitri in Vampire Academy because it got to twilight (I hated that series). The Sydney/Adrian love gets right to the border of twilight. That was really the only part of the story I disliked.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

Emily Shaffer's performance was good, but she couldn't do her normal Adrian voice because she has to try to sound like the male narrator. They should have found a narrator who could sound like her character and not the other way around. The male narrator is not bad, but not good either. I think the disappointment came from the flatness of Adrian, after he was such an upbeat character. The male narrator also does a bad voice for Sydney.

Personal opinion

Not a fan of the dual reader. Preferred just the female narrator but still a good story line mead has been able to keep me in suspense.

WHERE IS EMILY SHAFFER... a Preliminary Review

What didn’t you like about Emily Shaffer’s performance?

Well it was kind of hard to judge her given that she was NOT THE FREAKING NARRATOR!!!

Any additional comments?

I just started the book today (only into chapter one)...Who is this guy narrating the book. He has absolutely NO inflection, accent, or noticeable different character voices. He literally changed Adrian's character within the first 5 minutes of reading the dialog. Adrian is no longer the Playboy drunk with a heart of gold...he just this normally love sick guy...can you say boring. Also, I feel like I'm starting in the middle of a story already in progress. WHERE IS EMILY SHAFFER? I will write an update to my review once I finish the book. I only wrote this to see if anyone else out there is just as confused.

I can't stop myself

I keep reading these books. Every time a new one comes out, I think, 'I should read something with more redeeming value than this series', and every time, I buy it the day it comes out and consume it in a single sitting (where my work schedule allows). These books are addictive, entertaining, and action packed.
I'm not a huge fan of the narrator, but she doesn't really detract from the books. The stories are hugely fun. Sage is a much better heroine than Rose ever was, and it has been enjoyable following her.
This book begins to allow us to follow Adrain as well. Usually, I dislike the shift in perspective part-way through a series, but here it is good. Adrain is an interesting character, and it is very difficult to really understand and appreciate him and his struggles with mental illness from the outside. Seeing it from his perspective allows us to go through the ups and downs and see why it is both so scary for him to go on the way he his and so hard to get help.
Having said all these wonderful things about this cracktastic series, I have to say: What! You can't leave me with that kind of a cliff-hanger. This is not a TV show where I get the part 2 the next week or even the beginning of the next season. I have to wait for at least a year for the next book. Ms. Mead, you are a sadist.