Blood Promise by Richelle Mead

SPOILER ALERT!! Unavoidable major spoilers for Shadow Kiss, the third Vampire Academy book, DO NOT read this if you've yet to read Shadow Kiss as it will spoil it hugely.

"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?"

After the heartbreaking events of Shadow Kiss, Rose has walked away from the academy, her duty and her best friend in an effort to hold up an unspoken promise. Now she's alone in Russia hunting the man she loves. But when she finally finds him, can she do what she promised? It's what he wanted, but he's not dead and he still wants her. She has the chance to finally be with him, for good, without anyone else in the way.

Rose meets several people along the way on her journey to find Dimitri, who help or hinder her, but all give her a better look at the world around her and the way some things work.

Blood Promise is very different to the first three books in the series, with Rose away from the Academy, Lissa and the rest of the people she trusted. It's the first time we've seen her truly alone and without a safety net. She's in the real world and in a lot more danger than normal.

It's much darker than the previous books as well. There is less humor and Rose isn't quite up to her sassy best, but at a realistic level given the circumstances. Rose is dealing with a lot of pain and sadness at the loss of Dimitri and you feel every moment of it, and you can completely understand her desperate desire to believe Dimitri is still the man he always was. Rose does a lot of growing up through Blood Promise. And back at the Academy Lissa is struggling to cope without Rose to lean on for the first time in her life. A real wake up call for her too.

There are plenty of twists and turns, and the book is well written, blending the flashbacks and time in someone elses' head well with the mostly emotional journey Rose is going through. There was a lot left open at the end leaving me wanting the next book now. But it wasn't the killer ending that Shadow Kiss was. Not a bad thing! Like Blood Promise this year, Spirit Bound is the book at the top of my 'must have' list for next year. 9/10