Thursday 24 February 2011

Vampire Academy – Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead

Publisher: Penguin Razor Bill
Format: Paperback
Published: 2010
Number of Pages: 480
Book: Bought
Genre: Dark Romance, Action, Fantasy, YA


Old Paperback | Hardcover | New Paperback

Warning: Contains Spoilers From Previous Books

Rose’s life will never be her own.
Rose Hathaway has been outrunning death ever since she swore to be the protector of her best friend, Lissa, no matter what.
She’s finally made it back to the haven of St. Vladimir’s but with Dimitri, the boy she once loved, stalking her, Rose can only run so far.
She failed to kill him when she had a chance, and now her worst fears are about to come true.  Dimitri has tasted her blood, and she knows in her heart that he is hunting her.  And if Rose won’t join him, he won’t rest until he has silenced her... forever.

Review:
I honestly don’t know what to say about this other than Richelle Mead has done it again.  She’s created another book that made me go on an emotional-rollercoaster, and race to get to the end.  But this is the penultimate in the series from the POV of Rose!  So, at the same time, I really, really didn’t want to finish!  I think I’m a Vampire Academy addict.
It picks up where Blood Promise finished: Rose is back at the relative-safety of St. Vladimir’s; back with Lissa.  It’s graduation, which means leaving school and having to go out into the real world.  But, unlike she thought, Rose hasn’t killed Dimitri.  And now he’s stalking her.  She knows that leaving the academy and its magical wards that keep the undead, evil Strigoi out. 
 So: Dimitri is after Rose; she’s promised Adrian that she’ll give their relationship a real try, even though she knows that she still loves Dimitri; and on top of it all, there’s the huge problem of whether all of Rose’s antics have damaged her chances of being assigned to Lissa as her guardian...
And, of course, there are the usual mad-Rose schemes - actually, they're even more insane than normal.  One of them is her plan to 'save' Dimitri, and she's prepared to go to any lengths to do it...  But, I can't say anymore without giving the story away, so you'll just have to read it.
Back to the review; overall: amazing.
Once again, I have to say how much I love Rose.  She’s brilliant.  I can’t say what it is about her, but she’s got to be one of my favourite heroines ever.  Sassy, smart-mouthed, and badass, she takes everything on with a snarky comment or two.  But, underneath all the sarcasm, it’s obvious that’s had to mature a lot.  After everything she’s seen and done... well, I think it’s changed her forever, and her heart has definitely been broken once or twice.  And yet, even then, she’s funny and strong.  I have no idea how she does it, but I love her for it!  It’s impossible not to.
As for Lissa and Christian, well, they obviously still love each other, but after all the mayhem Avery caused in Blood Promise, they broke up.  It broke my heart: they’re perfect together!  But, Lissa, of course, is sweet and strong as ever, fitting in perfectly with both Academy and Royal Court life.  Lissa always seemed to be a little... unstable, I guess is the word, constantly leaning on Rose.  Now, she's absolutely brilliant, grown-up, living up to her royal heritage and Rose even leans on her at times.
Now, Adrian: I love him.  Even knowing that Rose ran over to Russia for Dimitri, he still loves her – and I mean really loves her.  He’s so sweet, and you can see how hard he tries to change for Rose.  And, despite all the effects spirit has on him, he is a really good guy.  Plus, he’s grown up too, all for Rose.  Though, he does still have his sarcastic moments, which I love.  Did I mention how sweet he was?
Again, written absolutely brilliantly, and just as addictive as ever, Spirit Bound definitely didn’t let me down.  Actually, parts of the plot were complete surprises to me – and I’m normally really good at guessing twists.  I’m not ashamed to say that it made me cry again, before making me laugh the next minute. 
I love this series, and it’s become one of my favourite ever: I really, really don’t want it to end!  So, we have tears, laughter, twists, sarcasm, surprises, unbelievable cliffhangers and incredible characters.  Completely extraordinary, I honestly can’t recommend it enough.  I swear, this series just seems to get better and better as it goes along.  Honestly can’t wait for Last Sacrifice, even if it does mean no more Rose: I just need to know what happens next!
I’m off to fetch my copy of Last Sacrifice now.
Quick note on the cover: I love the new paperback, mainly because of the little quote on it: 'That which is dead doesn't always stay dead...'  But I do love the hardcover, though I'm not entirely sure who it's meant to be...?  What do you think?

Star Rating:
5 Out of 5


Read this book if you liked:
Vampire Academy: Vampire Academy, Frostbite, Shadow KissBlood Promise by Richelle Mead
House of Night by P.C. and Kristin Cast
The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare


Challenges It's Taking Part In:

6 comments:

SunnyReads said...

Great review - I look forward to reading this series!

Jenny said...

I just adore these books! I completely agree with you on Rose, she's a smart, sassy girl but she also has vulnerabilities and makes mistakes which makes her seem that much more real. And Adrian just kept growing on me the more I read of him, but I'll still always be a Dimitri fan first. Can't wait to read you thoughts on Last Sacrifice!

Unknown said...

Spirit Bound totally made me cry too!! All those hurtful things Dimitri said to Rose was just heartbreaking. Great review!

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