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?

_____________________

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:

Review: Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead

Oh, Richelle Mead, how you delight and torture me! This is my favorite YA series: I read the first four Vampire Academy books in a few days, then waited for what seemed like forever for Spirit Bound; you made it worth the wait.

(This spoiler-free review is based on the assumption that you've read the previous 4 books)

As the book opens, Rose is getting ready to take her Guardian Trials, which also means graduation. As Rose and Lissa head to Court to begin their adult lives, they end up taking a "field trip" - a very dangerous (and illegal) one. This field trip leads to pieces of information that will change lives well into the next book.

Ms. Mead infuses the wonderful humor I've come to expect and enjoy in her writing - she really "gets" teens and their sometimes ridiculous thought processes:

Mia looked determined when we reached her, though, and I felt encouraged by her attitude - and that she was wearing all black. True, it wouldn't do much in sunlight, but it made this all feel more legitimate.

And yet, the visual images she creates are so real I can imagine myself as a bystander, witnessing events as they happen, my hands clenched and my heart in my throat:

Her face, even marred with the fire's terrible damage, was radiant and filled with compassion. SPOILER had called me an avenging angel, but she was an angel of mercy as she gazed down at him and crooned soothing, nonsense words.


I can't go into much of the plot without spoilers, but here's my thoughts on some of the players:

Tatiana, the queen Moroi was as nasty as I thought she was...or was she?

Rose's dad, Abe, is really growing on me. I think he's growing on Rose, too. We got to see Rose's mother in the beginning of the book, but I felt like she was conspicuously absent in the last half of the book. I don't know why she wasn't there.

We get to meet Adrian's parents! (Rose and Mrs. Ivashkov had a very interesting conversation at that first meeting...)

Christian is a pretty decent guy. I liked him in the previous books and he did not disappoint as a character I can count on to do the right thing.

Lissa: I actually liked Lissa in this book. In previous books she comes off as dainty and selfish. In Spirit Bound, she was pretty kick-ass. Don't get me wrong, there were some scenes were I was like, "Damn, Lissa - what about Rose?", but definitely a big improvement from previous books. I guess Rose isn't the only character who's done some growing up!

I really, really like Dimitri - even though he broke my heart in this book. I have much love for Dimitri and high hopes for him in the next book.

And Adrian, oh Adrian! When Adrian was first introduced into the series I liked him as a character but not as a love interest for Rose. With this book, I fall more in love with Adrian: at one point, I did a mental *fist pump* and thought "yay!" - and then Rose surprised me. Here's the thing - unlike other Moroi/dhampir relationships, I don't see Adrian leaving Rose eventually; he could be The One, if she'd let him. I'm torn - Dimitri or Adrian? I'd be happy and at the same time heartbroken either way.

We also briefly visit a few characters from the last few books: Jill, Mia, Ambrose, and Ambrose's Aunt Rhonda to name a few. And yes, Rose does get another tarot reading :)

And, if the cliffhanger ending wasn't enough, right before we close the pages Rose gets information that could potentially change Lissa's life, AND the lives of current and future dhampirs. Oh, Ms. Mead, how you tease me! The last book in this series, Last Sacrifice, is due out December 7. I've never wanted December to get here so badly!

Spirit Bound gets 5/5 stars - definitely a keeper!!!

Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead

First let me say, I love Ms. Mead's Succubus series. Total keepers, waiting on Book 5 coming out next year (cliffhanger much?). As a general rule, if I find a series I like, and that author has written other series, I don't read them. I don't know why, I guess I'm afraid I'm not going to like them as much? BUT, in this case, I've heard so many good things about Vampire Academy I decided to break my unwritten rule and read the first book. As soon as I was done I rushed out to the store to get the next three books (and added Dimitri to my list of fictional boyfriends)! I will say, as a parent, I should probably be disapproving of the romantic storyline in these books, but I can't help myself - they're sooo good!!!

In Ms. Mead's world, vampires are either Moroi - the good guys, born from two Moroi parents, or Strogoi - the bad guys, turned either by draining and killing a human or by other Strogoi. The Moroi do drink blood, but just a bit at a time. They are also considered Royalty in the vampire world, and the dhampirs are their bodyguards.




In Vampire Academy, we meet Rose, a dhampir (half vampire, half human), and Lissa (Moroi vampire) her best friend. Rose is going to be Lissa's bodyguard when they graduate; they share a special bond: Rose can feel Lissa's emotions and occasionally "jump" into her head and see and experience what's going on with Lissa. Rose broke Lissa out of school when Lissa was worried someone was after her. They've been on the run for 2 years, but have been found and brought back to school. Rose thinks things are going to be better, and they both jump back into the school routine and try to catch up what they missed while they were gone. Rose must take extra guardian classes with Dimitri, the guardian who found and returned them to school (and my newest fictional boyfriend!). Problem is, she thinks he's hot. There's a bunch of angsty teenage drama, which I actually enjoyed, and someone is targeting Lissa by leaving dead animals in her room or her bag. Rose tries to figure out what's going on, and eventually she figures it out but it's too late, Lissa is gone and she must use their connection to find her and save her.





In Frostbite, Rose and Lissa are still at school. There's been some upheaval out in the "real" world, and Strogoi have figured out how to break wards and attack Moroi. For safety reasons, they've decided that the students and their families will spend Christmas break together in a swanky ski lodge. Rose is trying to sort through her feelings about her mother, Dimitri- who has a love interest, and her friend Mason - who wants to be more than friends. When Rose gets confidential information about a group of Strogoi holed up in a nearby city, she tells her friends and her friends decide to go kick butt. Rose knows she shouldn't have said anything and decides to bring them back. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine what happened next; things will never be the same.





Shadow Kiss, the third book in the series, continues on the aftermath of Frostbite. Lissa's kidnapper from the first book is going to trial, which is stressful enough, but Rose is seeing also seeing the ghost of a student. Rose is maturing in this book, and her relationships with her friends are changing. Her relationship with Dimitri is changing too. She's learning how to be a better Guardian and finding out what some of the sacrifices are that she's going to have to make. The end ripped my heart out, and left me desperate to start Blood Promise.





Ms. Mead's latest, Blood Promise, picks up a little bit after where Shadow Kiss left off. Rose is in Russia, looking for Dimitri. She finds his family, and those scenes were some of the sweetest parts of the book. She meets up with a some interesting people there and realizes she must leave to continue her search for Dimitri. What happens when she eventually finds him was gut wrenching. In one sense, I was hoping she'd found happiness, and in another I knew it couldn't be. While she was away she was still "peeking" in on Lissa, and communicating with Adrian in her dreams, so the readers know what's going on back in the USA - and let me tell you, it's a lot. She has to confront her worst fear, and the journey to get there is full of twists and turns. This last installment leaves me with a bit of hope for Rose's future happiness. I can't help it but I still like Dimitri, and I'm starting to like Adrian as a love-interest. I can't wait to see how Ms. Mead plays this out!