Review: 53. Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead...

I had to wait a while before getting around to reading Last Sacrifice, but there's no way I would've missed finding out what happens!

Title: Last Sacrifice (Vampire Academy #6)
Author: Richelle Mead
ISBN-13: 9781595143068
Hardcover: 594 pages
Publisher: Penguin, 2010
Purchase at IndieBound, Amazon, The Book Depository
Source: Waukesha Public Library


drey's thoughts:
Framed for a murder she didn't commit, Last Sacrifice opens with Rose in a cell awaiting justice. How is she going to find the true killer before her judgement is passed and executed? Especially from behind bars?

Don't worry, there's a plan--there's always a plan. This one makes unlikely partners of Abe, Lissa, Adrian, and Dimitri. Yes, Dimitri. Which complicates things quite a bit, for Rose and Adrian both. Because the plan involves Dimitri spiriting Rose away and hiding her so that she can't be executed. And while she's in hiding, her friends are going to find the real killer. Of course, Rose being Rose, she can't just sit around doing nothing, so she uses a clue to hunt someone down.

Keeping busy does have its advantages, of course. It keeps her from having to talk to Dimitri, much less look at him or be around him. Yes, Rose is pulling her disappearing tricks again... The thing I like about Rose? She's so logical about her decisions if not her motives. I thought there were sections of Rose's journey that were unnecessary, but for the most part the plot flowed smoothly and quickly so I'm not complaining. There's a lot of seeing-through-Lissa via their bond, there's a lot of dream-sharing with Adrian, and there's a lot of Dimitri-and-Rose tension. Never fear, this being the last of the series, you'll find out if everyone gets their happily-ever-after. 

drey's rating: 4/5 Excellent! A fitting send-off to Mead's Vampire Academy series!

Have you read Last Sacrifice? What did you think?

Vampire Academy reading order:
1. Vampire Academy
2. Frostbite
3. Shadow Kiss
4. Blood Promise
5. Spirit Bound
6. Last Sacrifice

107. Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead...

Title: Spirit Bound (Vampire Academy #5)
Author: Richelle Mead
ISBN-13: 9781595142504
Hardcover: 489 pages
Publisher: Penguin Group, 2010
Purchase at IndieBound, Amazon, The Book Depository

FTC Disclosure: My copy of Spirit Bound was on loan from my local library. I am an affiliate at IndieBound, The Book Depository, and Amazon, and any purchases made by clicking on the cover or the links provided may result in monetary compensation.

drey's thoughts:
Wow. Richelle Mead's fifth installment in the Vampire Academy series definitely doesn't disappoint. It's packed with non-stop action from cover to cover, and I couldn't put it down once I'd started reading.

Rose makes it through the trials and graduates, and goes to Court with Lissa while awaiting her assignment, worried that her transgressions would negatively impact her chances of being assigned Lissa's guardianship. Which is when you'd expect that Rose would be on her best behavior. Instead, she decides to do a little sleuthing, a little breaking-and-entering, and a little getting-a-convict-out-of-prison. Busy, busy Rose. And, because she's super-multi-tasker Rose, peppered in between all that is her trying to save Dmitri, getting Lissa and Christian back together, and dealing with Adrian's feelings for her (and hers for him).

But she finds the political waters at court neither shallow nor calm, as Rose manages to shock, awe, and dismay the Moroi--and the guardians--there. Mayhem and chaos follow, and it's about to get worse. What can be worse than losing Dmitri to the Strigoi, you ask? How about getting him back only to have him not want you around anymore? And tensions amp up a bunch of notches when the Queen is murdered. With Rose's stake.

As you can probably imagine, I'm really antsily waiting for book #6!

drey's rating: 4/5 Excellent

Challenges: 100+, Pub, Support Your Local Library

212. Blood Promise by Richelle Mead...

About the book:

Bound by love, but sworn to kill...

The world thought Dimitri was dead. And to a certain extent, he was. But I hadn't been able to forget a conversation he and I had once had. We'd both agreed that we'd rather be dead--truly dead--than walk the world as Strigoi. It was time to honor our words.

Guardian Rose Hathaway's life will never be the same. The recent attack on St. Vladimir's Academy devastated the entire Moroi world. Many are dead. And, for the few victims carried off by Strigoi, their fates are even worse. A rare tattoo now adorns Rose's neck; a mark that says she's killed far too many Strigoi to count.

But only one victim matters... Dimitri Belikov. Rose must now choose one of two very different paths: honoring her life's vow to protect Lissa--her best friend and the last surviving Dragomir princess--or, dropping out of the Academy to strike out on her own and hunt down the man she loves. She'll have to go to the ends of the earth to find Dimitri and keep the promise he begged her to make. But the question is, when the time comes, will he want to be saved?

Now, with everything at stake--and worlds away from St. Vladimir's and her unguarded, vulnerable, and newly rebellious best friend--can Rose find the strength to destroy Dimitri? Or, will she sacrifice herself for a chance at eternal love?

drey's thoughts:
Ah, the long-awaited follow-up to Shadow Kiss... Blood Promise fulfilled my need to find out what happens (because what else is the point of reading a series?), and uncovered some surprises and a bit of drama as well...

Long story (heh, at 503 pages, it was a bit long) short, Rose goes to Russia to look for Dimitri. Because where else would he head after getting turned, if not home? In any case, she finds his family. And, unbeknownst to her, someone important in her life, too.

Does she find Dimitri? Will she be able to kill him? You'll have to read this one to find out. But if you're a fan of Mead's Vampire Academy series, you won't be disappointed by Blood Promise.

Title: Blood Promise
Author: Richelle Mead
ISBN-10: 1595141987
ISBN-13: 978-1595141989
Hardcover: 503 pages
Publisher: Penguin Group, 2009

Challenges: 100+, Pub, Support Your Local Library, Vampire

Disclosure: My copy of Blood Promise was on loan from my local library for the simple pleasure of reading it and finding out what happens to Rose and Dmitri.

170. Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead...

About the book:

Rose Hathaway knows it is forbidden to love another guardian. Her best friend, Lissa--the last Dragomir princess--must always come first. Unfortunately, when it comes to gorgeous Dimitri Belikov, some rules are meant to be broken...

But since making her first Strigoi kills, Rose hasn't been feeling right. Something dark has begun to grow in her mind, and ghostly shadows warn of a terrible evil drawing nearer to the Academy's iron gates. And now that Lissa and Rose's sworn enemy, Victor Dashkov, is on trial for his freedom, tensions in the Moroi world are higher than ever.

Lying to Lissa about Dimitri is one thing, but suddenly there's way more than friendship at stake. The immortal undead are on the prowl, and they want vengeance for the lives that Rose has stolen. In a heart-stopping battle to rival her worst nightmares, Rose will have to choose between life, love, and the two people who matter most... but will her choice man that only one can survive?

drey's thoughts:
Well, Richelle Mead doesn't disappoint with this next Vampire Academy book--there are lots of things going on, and it's non-stop from page one to page 443.

In addition to thinking she's seeing ghosts, Rose's mood swings are crazy bad. And when she finds out what happened to Vladimir and Anna, she understands the latter. So here's yet another secret she's keeping from Lissa... And when their field experience assignment pairs her with Christian instead of Lissa, Rose begins to think her world might be royally messed up.

Shadow Kiss will have you gripping the book till you're done. And boy, what an ending. I cannot wait for Blood Promise...

Title: Shadow Kiss (Vampire Academy #3)
Author: Richelle Mead
ISBN-10: 1595141979
ISBN-13: 9781595141972
Paperback: 443 pages
Publisher: Penguin Group, 2008

Challenges: 100+, Series, Support Your Local Library, Vampire

156. Frostbite by Richelle Mead...

About the book:

when Love and Jealousy collides on the slopes, winter break turns deadly...

Rose Hathaway's got serious guy trouble. Her gorgeous tutor Dimitri has his eye on someone else, her friend Mason has a huge crush on her, and she keeps getting stuck in her best friend Lissa's head while she's making out with her boyfriend, Christian.

Then a massive Strigoi attack puts St. Vladimir's on high alert, and the Academy crawls with Guardians--including the legendary Janine Hathaway...Rose's formidable, long-absent mother. The Strigoi are closing in, and the Academy's not taking any risks. This year, St. Vlad's holiday ski trip is mandatory.

But the glittering winter landscape and the posh Idaho resort only provide the illusion of safety. When three students run away to strike back against the deadly Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. Only this time, Rose--and her heart--are in more danger than she could ever have imagined...

drey's thoughts:
Frostbite opens with a Prologue that pretty much covers the basics, so if you've not yet read Vampire Academy, you won't be lost. And from there on out, the pace explodes. Chapter One has Rose on her way to her Qualifier--where high-level Guardians determine whether novices can continue down the Guardian path. And instead of the test she expects, she finds a house full of the dead...

Next thing you know, her mother is in her classroom, talking about hunting Strigoi. Her mother, who hasn't been around since she packed Rose off so that she could go be a Guardian extraordinaire... And Rose blows a gasket. The interaction between Rose and her mother is normal-rebellious-teenager amped up by a factor of 10, which makes sense, given the sense of abandonment that Rose feels. And teenager that she is, it doesn't matter why her mother left her, it just matters that her mother did.

With teenagers as main characters, there is plenty of teenage angst--about identity, friendship, loyalty, and even love. All set amid a backdrop of murder and mayhem. A fitting sequel to Vampire Academy.

Title: Frostbite (Vampire Academy #2)
Author: Richelle Mead
ISBN-10: 1595141758
ISBN-13: 978-1595141750
Paperback: 327 pages
Publisher: Penguin Group, 2008

Challenges: 100+, Support Your Local Library, Vampire, Series

155. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead...

About the book:

Lissa Dragomir is a Moroi princess: a mortal vampire with an unbreakable bond to the earth's magic. She must be protected at all times from Strigoi; the fiercest and most dangerous vampires--the ones who never die.

The powerful blend of human and vampire blood that flows through Rose Hathaway, Lissa's best friend, makes her a Dhampir. Rose is dedicated to a dangerous life of protecting Lissa from the Strigoi, who are hell-bent on making her one of them.

After two years of illicit freedom, Rose and Lissa are caught and dragged back to St. Vladimir's Academy, hidden in the deep forests of Montana. Rose will continue her Dhampir education. Lissa will go back to being Queen of the elite Moroi social scene. And both girls will resume breaking Academy hearts.

Fear made Lissa and Rose run away from St. Vladimir's--inside the Academy's iron gates, their world is even more fraught with danger. Here, the cutthroat ranks of the Moroi perform unspeakable rituals, and their secretive nature and love of the night creates an enigmatic world full of social complexities. Rose and Lissa must navigate through this dangerous world, confront the temptation of forbidden romance, and never once let their guard down, lest the Strigoi make Lissa one of them forever...

drey's thoughts:
LOVED this! Two different types of vamps? One of 'em alive? (The other would be the "normally expected" dead ones...) Where do authors come up with this stuff? =)

Not that I'm complaining. Especially when the story flows like this one does. I really liked Lissa and Rose as characters, and their friendship is written beautifully. There's a bit of the teenager angst and drama, but only a teeny bit--for teenagers, anyway. =) And Rose being so sassy doesn't hurt, in my opinion. She needs something as a shield. Having the guardian responsibility--even if it would've been just the knowledge of it--foisted on so early on can be daunting.

Dimitri and Christian are good foils for these girls. I'm just a little leery of Dimitri--he's older than Rose, and yes, while it's "only" seven years, that's quite a bit when she's still a teenager. I won't tell you how far they do--or don't--go. Read it and find out. Heh. Mia's enmity is a mystery, and there's plenty of that (mystery) to go 'round in this first installment. Vampire Academy is a YA book that will appeal to vampire fans, regardless of age. I can't wait to read Frostbite.

Title: Vampire Academy
Author: Richelle Mead
ISBN-10: 159514174X
ISBN-13: 978-1595141743
Paperback: 332 pages
Publisher: Penguin Group, 2007

Challenges: 100+, Support Your Local Library, Vampire, 1st in Series