Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead (and a winner!)

First up, my Spirit Bound/Shadow Kiss contest is now closed. Winner is Sam Tomi! Please contact me at cem_214AThotmailDOTcoDOTuk within 3 days with your name/address and I'll get the books in the mail to you. If I don't hear from you by then, I'll draw a new winner.

No spoilers if you've read Blood Promise, but if not, I really recommend you skip this and start the series from book 1!

"Dimitri gave Rose the ultimate choice. But she chose wrong… After a long and heartbreaking journey to Dimitri’s birthplace in Siberia, Rose Hathaway has finally returned to St. Vladimir’s—and to her best friend, Lissa. It is nearly graduation, and the girls can’t wait for their real lives beyond the Academy’s iron gates to begin. But Rose’s heart still aches for Dimitri, and he's out there, somewhere.
She failed to kill him when she had the 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's silenced her...forever"

I've adored this series from the start and I've been anxiously waiting for this book since I finished Blood Promise the day it was released last year. Thankfully, it was not a disappointment. It was, for me at least, quite possibly the hardest book to read, but I still can't help loving it because it's a great continuation of Rose's story.

Rose knows there is a chance, a very slim one, that Dimitri can be saved and she's determined to find out if it really is possible. But she and Lissa aren't in school anymore and the consequences of being caught doing some of the things required, will be a lot bigger than detention. On top of Rose's love life issues, the Moroi government seem to be making moves for a big decision. But what that decision is, or the consequences it could have Rose can't begin to imagine.

There are parts of this book I had a very hard time reading. There are parts that made me laugh, and others that shocked me completely. And despite almost hating parts of it, I had a very hard time putting it down. I may not like everything that's happened, but I can see why it was done as it was, and I think (hope) things will work out with the result I want in the end. Rose was not always the smartest girl in this book. She made a lot of spur of the moment decisions, often based on emotion rather than logic, and she paid the price more than once. I wanted to shake her at times and tell her to wake up, to stop being an idiot and realise the truth. Which is a first. I've never really gotten mad at Rose before, but I did here. Not a bad thing, but it made things interesting.

I loved how the issues with a few side characters were dealt with as well. Nothing in this series has worked out easily, and that continued to be the case here. Actions have consequences and it shows. One big plus point of this book, is seeing a little more of Abe from Blood Promise. I love his character! He's just awesome really, and I love the part he plays towards the end of Spirit Bound. I'm curious as to how that's going to play out in the final book.

I would love to comment on certain aspects of this book, but doing so would involve revealing pretty big spoilers. Simply put, a lot happens in this book. Several things are dealt with, at least partially, from the previous books, while new things also make their entrance. The ending was shocking and a real cliff hanger, although not of the intensity of Shadow Kiss. But despite being desperate to know what happens next, I am actually glad there is a break between books, because this was quite the emotional rollercoaster. Rose may have been out in the world killing Strigoi already, but it doesn't mean she's ready for everything headed her way. I would love to say I can see where certain things are going in the final book, but honestly, Richelle always manages to surprise me, even if there are things I guessed before the book was even out.

If you liked all the previous Vampire Academy books, then you should love this one. It's really quite different to all the previous ones with Rose, Lissa and the others no longer students, but adults trying to make things work at the Royal Court. But that doesn't make it any less of a great, if difficult, journey. There is some great character development through this book, with some interesting twists. I can't wait to see how it all ends in Last Sacrifice. If you want my more...detailed and scrappy thoughts on Spirit Bound, you can read them here, but I warn you, there are HUGE spoilers in that post and unless you've read the book, I'd recommend avoiding it! If you actually like reading spoilers, then go ahead, but don't say I didn't warn ya. 10/10