This is the fifth book in the Vampire Academy series. See my review of Vampire Academy if you haven’t yet read the series. This review will contain spoilers for the first four books.
After searching all through Russia for Dimitri and finally escaping still determined to save him, Rose has returned to Vampire Academy to finish her training and finally become a Guardian. Even if she can’t guard her best friend, Lissa, she knows her duty to the Moroi and wants to get where she’s been planning her whole life. Almost as soon as the trials are over, though, Rose is determined to find out how to save Dimitri – even if she does have to release a condemned criminal and ostracize her new boyfriend to do it.
This was the first of the Vampire Academy books that I read completely on its own, so I hope I can do it the justice of a full review. I read this book immediately after a non-fiction book, so my first reaction to it was simply how remarkably teenage it felt to me. YA books are great but I could never only read them; I can only take so much teenage drama, and I kept feeling like the book discussed what Rose was wearing way too much. Some adult fiction has this issue, too, but it stood out in vivid contrast in this instance. Luckily, the adjustment period didn’t last long before I got sucked right into the story and absorbed with what was going to happen next. That’s the other great thing about YA – amazing storytelling, and Richelle Mead definitely knows how to do that.
The major focus of this book is Rose and her relationships. She’s determined to rescue Dimitri. He’s her first love and she clearly still remembers and almost idolizes that time they had together. In the meantime, however, she’s gotten together with Adrian, the queen’s nephew, and is enjoying the time she’s having with him. Naturally, he isn’t thrilled that she’s still so obsessed with returning Dimitri to life, but no one believes she can actually do it. Much of the conflict here is based around her internal battle between them.
Of course, Rose is also off having numerous adventures and usually getting into trouble for them. After she sneaks herself, Lissa, and her friend Eddie out of the royal court, she gets into trouble, and then she just keeps on misbehaving. Her adventures form the plot of the book, which really does feel as though it’s racing along as we get further into the book. Of course, it ends on a massive cliffhanger, and I’m already having trouble waiting for the sixth book to come out so I can finally discover what happens next.
The Vampire Academy series is a wonderful escape, the perfect fall read. I really enjoyed Spirit Bound and can’t wait for the sixth and final installment. If you’re looking for a YA series with a bit of magic, a bit of romance, and a whole lot of adventure, you can’t go wrong here.
I am an Amazon Associate. I purchased this book.
I had to skip your review and pop down to the last paragraph. I have the books here — I plan to read them . . . one of these days.
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One of the reasons I don’t read a lot of YA is because I feel that the typical attitudes and concerns of teenagers are hard for me to relate to. This might be because I have two of them in my house, and there is always some kind of drama going on. I guess I am stuck in parent mode. I tend to stick to adult fiction because it speaks to me in a more striking way, and after a long day of dealing with teenagers, it’s hard to get really invested in YA the way I would like to. That is not to say that there isn’t some really awesome YA out there right now, it’s just that I have to pace myself with these types of books or I go into overload.
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I don’t think this is the book for me!