Tough, brainy alchemist Sydney Sage and doe-eyed Moroi princess Jill Dragomir are in hiding at a human boarding school in the sunny, glamorous world of Palm Springs, California. The students--children of the wealthy and powerful--carry on with their lives in blissful ignorance, while Sydney, Jill, Eddie, and Adrian must do everything in their power to keep their secret safe. But with forbidden romances, unexpected spirit bonds, and the threat of Strigoi moving ever closer, hiding the truth is harder than anyone thought. 
 Let me start off by saying, I really loved this book. I liked it much more than the first book because you saw a more human side to Sydney. Granted, Sydney sometimes got on my nerves, but I still like her as the protagonist in this series. I absolutely loved Adrian in this book. I, for one, have always been a fan of Adrian-even in the Vampire Acadmey- and was thrilled when I found out that he was in this series. I felt so bad for him when Rose left him, but I glad that he found someone new. There were several parts of the story that I found extremely predictable: like Trey being a vampire hunter, and Adrian being in love with Sydney. However, I still enjoyed it nonetheless. 
 Additionally, the ending was my absolute favorite part of the book. (view spoiler)[When Adrian confessed everything, and kissed Sydney, I just about died. I was so caught up in the scene, and loved how beautiful the whole sencario was. I was so mad at Sydney for just walking away. I mean, it's obvious she cares for Adrian, but I also understand the conflict she is facing with being with him. However, she is already seeing the flaws in the Alchemists, and she realizes that there are things the Alchemists are keeping from her. Ultimately, I know that Ms. Mead can't have Sydney and Adrian together right away, but she better get them together in the end, or I will be writing some strongly worded letters haha. (hide spoiler)] 
 I also thought Sydney and Brayden's dates were adorable. Their geek talk provided some of the cutest moments in the story. I knew what was going to happen with them in the end, but it was still nice to see Sydney finally "letting loose" for once. My only complaint is that there were certain plot lines from the Vampire Academy series that I thought would be in this series, and so far there has been no mention of them. However, I guess we'll have to wait and see. 
 I can't wait for the next book in the series, and am eagerly awaiting its release. It'll be interesting to see where the series goes as a whole because there is supposedly going to be 6 books in this series. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who like the first in the series, Bloodlines, or anyone who is a Richelle Mead fan.