Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Review: Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead


From Goodreads:
Rose Hathaway has always played by her own rules.

She broke the law when she ran away from St. Vladimir’s Academy with her best friend and last surviving Dragomir Princess, Lissa. She broke the law when she fell in love with her gorgeous, off-limits instructor, Dimitri. And she dared to defy Queen Tatiana, leader of the Moroi world, risking her life and reputation to protect generations of dhampir guardian to come.

Now the law has finally caught up with Rose- for a crime she didn’t even commit. She’s in prison for the highest offense imaginable: the assassination of a monarch. She’ll need help from both Dimitri and Adrian to find the one living person who can stall her execution and force the Moroi elite to acknowledge a shocking new candidate for the royal throne: Vasilisa Dragomir.

But the clock on Rose’s life is running out. Rose knows in her heart the world of the dead wants her back… and this time she is truly out of second chances. The big question is, when your life is about saving others, who will save you?
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This is the sixth and final installment in Ms. Mead's Vampire Academy Series. I have been anticipating this book for months. I have to say that, while I enjoyed it, I was a little disappointed.

The plot was interesting: Rose is in jail, falsely accused of murdering the Queen. The Moroi are anxious for a quick trial, which means they think Rose is guilty. Her friends bust her out of prison and she's on the run with Dimitri - they're supposed to stay at a safe location, but nothing works out like it should when Rose is involved. They end up chasing clues about a possible sibling for Lissa while running from the Guardians, finding an unusual colony of vampires and humans together, and searching for the real killer. Meanwhile, Rose's friends are trying to find the killer and distracting the Court from searching for Rose and Dimitri.

The storyline was full of action and stuff was happening left and right. My complaint is that kick-ass Rose seemed almost passive in this book. I felt like she spent most of the story out of it - watching Lissa through their spirit bond. I don't particularly care for Lissa, never have, and for that reason I had a hard time with Last Sacrifice. I also wanted more of Rose/Adrian or Rose/Dimitri. The interaction wasn't there - she only saw Adrian through her Spirit Dreams, and she and Dimitri spent most of their time trying not to notice each other. I was pleased that Rose did make a choice, it wasn't done for her, and her reasons were solid.

The ending was good, but quick. It felt like the book was go!go!go! and then wrapped up in the last 10 pages or so.

Ms. Mead says on her site that there will be a spin-off series that takes place in the VA world; I'm looking forward to it.

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover:
496 pages
Publisher: Penguin/Razorbill
Release Date:
December 7, 2010
ISBN-10: 1595143068
ISBN-13: 978-1595143068

My Rating:


7 comments:

  1. Nice honest review Patti.
    Lol perhaps I would like this one, cos honestly I am annoyed by Rose

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  2. Nice review Patti!

    I totally understand what you mean! Lissa always annoyed me and that just got worse by the end of LS.

    The wrap-up was a bit rushed, I agree with you there =/ However I did enjoy most of the book, pity you didnt enjoy it as much... Im kind of looking forward to the spin-off LOL

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  3. Oh wow..I've only read book one but liked it. Too bad you were kinda disappointed with the final book :(

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  4. Very good review Patti. I have this one on order and I have a feeling I'm going to feel very similar to you. I like this series and want to know how it ends...but I'm not dying to know. Rose and her ever non-changing usually gets to me.

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  5. I completely, 100% AGREE!!

    'Last Sacrifice' didn't have the weight of a finale. It wasn't dramatic enough, the moments were tear-jerker enough... all in all, Rose's series' went out on a whimper, not a bang.

    " I don't particularly care for Lissa, never have," --> I thought I was the only one! I hate Lissa and the stupid spirit-bond!

    I loved your review :)

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  6. I've been really looking forward to reading this book. That's too bad that it was disappointing. I really hoped it would be more about Rose and Dimitri too. I haven't read it yet, but I am still going to. Great review! I was going to go to Richelle Mead's book signing in Michigan last Sunday but couldn't go because of the weather. I was so bummed, but wasn't going to drive 2 hours in the snowstorm!

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  7. Blodeuedd: Ha! You'd probably really like this one :)

    Larissa: I'm looking forward to her new series. I have a guess as to who the main character is...

    Mandi: This is my fave YA series, I wish I'd enjoyed this book more.

    Julie: I hope you like it!

    Danielle: I hate Lissa and that stupid spirit bond too!!

    Cheryl: I hope you enjoy it! I saw Richelle Mead when she was in NO and she was great - sorry you missed her.

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