How far will Rose go to keep her promise?The recent Strigoi attack at St. Vladimir's Academy was the deadliest ever in the school's history, claiming the lives of Moroi students, teachers and guardians alike.
Even worse, the Strigoi took some of their victims with them... including Dimitri. He'd rather die than be one of them, and now Rose must abandon her best friend, Lissa - the one she has sworn to protect no matter what - and keep the promise Dimitri begged her to make long ago.
But with everything at stake, how can she possibly destroy the person she loves the most?
Vampire Academy Series:
Frostbite
Blood Promise
Spirit Bound
Last Sacrifice
Visit Richelle Mead's website for more information
Review:
Although this review won't include spoilers for Blood Promise please, please don't read beyond this paragraph if you're new to this series. Events at the end of book 3 (Spirit Bound) make it impossible to review this book without giving away a major spoiler for the first 3 books. If you haven't yet discovered this series then I would highly recommend it to both adults and teens - it has become my favorite YA vampire series by far & I can't praise it enough. Check out the reviews of Vampire Academy for an introduction to the series.
OK so hopefully if you're still reading this review you've already read at least as far as Shadow Kiss. What can I say about Blood Promise? Apart from the fact that this series just gets better with every book and I'm now desperately waiting to read Spirit Bound! Talk about an ending that will have you on the edge of your seat and leave you begging for more.
At the end of Shadow Kiss we saw Rose leaving Lissa and St Vladimir's Academy to search for Dimitri. Knowing that he'd never want to be Strigoi and that he was turned against his will she is determined to track him down and keep her promise to him. Rose sets off on her own for Russia believing that Dimitri will have returned to his home town and she eventually tracks down his family. Let me just take a minute to point out how much I liked Dimitri's family and I loved the way they accepted Rose and made her feel so welcome. We get to learn so much more about Dimitri from his family and from flashbacks Rose has about times they have spent together and it made it easy to see how much he & Rose meant to each other.
When Rose finally tracks Dimitri down it leads to some heart wrenching scenes that brought tears to my eyes in several places. As much as Rose wants to believe he is the same Dimitri he has changed and is no longer the same man that she was so in love with. It is hard to see him in such a different light & I desperately missed the old Dimitri. Scenes between them are intense and emotional but I thought that Richelle Mead handled things really well. Everything that Rose said and did was completely believable & my heart went out to her.
Although Rose and Lissa are apart for the first time we do still get to find out what is happening with Lissa via the bond they share. Rose frequently checks in with Lissa to see what is going on at the Academy and we see a lot of what is happening with Lissa, Christian and Adrian. Rose is also visited by Adrian in her dreams and I'm starting to like him more and more as I get to know him better. Lissa's behaviour is becoming more erratic and it soon becomes clear to Rose that something strange is going on at the Academy but she has so much else to deal with that she can't drop everything to go to Lissa immediately. I had actually found myself a bit disappointed with Lissa in Shadow Kiss because she never seemed to give any thought to Rose's feelings so I was pleased to see that this started to change in Blood Promise and I'm hoping that she will redeem herself.
I have to say that I absolutely loved Blood Promise and oh the developments at the end - I have got to get my hands on Spirit Bound asap because I NEED to know what happens next! If you enjoyed the first 3 books in the series then you're going to love this installment. If you're new to the series & ignored my spoiler warnings to make it this far (yes, I'm thinking of you Bear!) then you need to get your hands on Vampire Academy now - this series really shouldn't be missed.
Source: Library
OK so hopefully if you're still reading this review you've already read at least as far as Shadow Kiss. What can I say about Blood Promise? Apart from the fact that this series just gets better with every book and I'm now desperately waiting to read Spirit Bound! Talk about an ending that will have you on the edge of your seat and leave you begging for more.
At the end of Shadow Kiss we saw Rose leaving Lissa and St Vladimir's Academy to search for Dimitri. Knowing that he'd never want to be Strigoi and that he was turned against his will she is determined to track him down and keep her promise to him. Rose sets off on her own for Russia believing that Dimitri will have returned to his home town and she eventually tracks down his family. Let me just take a minute to point out how much I liked Dimitri's family and I loved the way they accepted Rose and made her feel so welcome. We get to learn so much more about Dimitri from his family and from flashbacks Rose has about times they have spent together and it made it easy to see how much he & Rose meant to each other.
When Rose finally tracks Dimitri down it leads to some heart wrenching scenes that brought tears to my eyes in several places. As much as Rose wants to believe he is the same Dimitri he has changed and is no longer the same man that she was so in love with. It is hard to see him in such a different light & I desperately missed the old Dimitri. Scenes between them are intense and emotional but I thought that Richelle Mead handled things really well. Everything that Rose said and did was completely believable & my heart went out to her.
Although Rose and Lissa are apart for the first time we do still get to find out what is happening with Lissa via the bond they share. Rose frequently checks in with Lissa to see what is going on at the Academy and we see a lot of what is happening with Lissa, Christian and Adrian. Rose is also visited by Adrian in her dreams and I'm starting to like him more and more as I get to know him better. Lissa's behaviour is becoming more erratic and it soon becomes clear to Rose that something strange is going on at the Academy but she has so much else to deal with that she can't drop everything to go to Lissa immediately. I had actually found myself a bit disappointed with Lissa in Shadow Kiss because she never seemed to give any thought to Rose's feelings so I was pleased to see that this started to change in Blood Promise and I'm hoping that she will redeem herself.
I have to say that I absolutely loved Blood Promise and oh the developments at the end - I have got to get my hands on Spirit Bound asap because I NEED to know what happens next! If you enjoyed the first 3 books in the series then you're going to love this installment. If you're new to the series & ignored my spoiler warnings to make it this far (yes, I'm thinking of you Bear!) then you need to get your hands on Vampire Academy now - this series really shouldn't be missed.
Source: Library
Other Reviews:
Ink and Paper
So Many Books, So Little Time
Chrissie's Corner
I'd So Rather Be Reading
GretchTM's Reading Haven
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.
So Many Books, So Little Time
Chrissie's Corner
I'd So Rather Be Reading
GretchTM's Reading Haven
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.
My love for this series is endless. I wish I could read them for the first time again. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteHere's my review:
http://solittletimeforbooks.blogspot.com/2009/09/blood-promise-vampire-academy-novel.html
I absolutely loved Blood Promise! Such a sad, sad novel! But amazing right! You know the development at the end? Well, that kind of came to me earlier in the book; if that can happen, why not this? This was around the time Richelle was in the UK, so I was planning to ask her if it was possible at the signing - and then I finished the book and was all BAZINGA! I worked it outttt! Lol. Sorry. I was just really pleased with myself, lol. So glad you enjoyed this book, and are loving the series. Just you wait til you read Spirit Bound! :D
ReplyDeleteThank you for linking to my review, I shall do the same! :)
I love this series and Blood Promise will tickle your love for Adrian more, but that's all I'm gonna say.
ReplyDeleteI love this series.
ReplyDeleteBlood Promise was my favourite book of the lot, but I do love Adrian in Spirit Bound.
Hun, i've kind of fallen behind on linking your reviews to mine...do you reckon you could send me a list of the past months links and i'll play match up?
only if you feel like it :)
@ Sophie - Nothing quite beats reading a really good book / series for the first time does it. I do re-read books I love but it's never quite the same as that first ever read! I've added your link for you :o)
ReplyDelete@ Jo - I had a suspicion about the ending but was sooooo excited when she heard the rumor & it's the only reason I wasn't completely heart broken by this book LOL. I REALLY hope it works out the way I want it too (make that the way I NEED it too LOL). I'll be gutted if it doesn't! Thanks for the link back :o)
@ Lily - I can't wait to get my hands on Blood Promise! I've got a long wait in the library queue but I'm trying to stay strong as the longer I can hold off on reading it the less time I'll have to wait until the last book comes out in December! I'm looking forward to seeing what happens with Adrian though :o)
@ Amanda - This is such a fab series! I'm looking forward to seeing what Adrian does in Spirit Bound to get everyone raving as much as they do about him. I didn't like him at all at first but he is definitely growing on me LOL.
I've been very behind at sorting out links to other reviews recently. I'll send a link list over to you as soon as I get a minute & if you can send me back links to any reviews you have that match up I'll get your links added too :o)
I love this series too! It is my favorite YA series overall. I'm DYING for Last Sacrifice! Have you read Spirit Bound yet?
ReplyDeleteI reviewed all five on my site. Here's the link to my Spirit Bound review:
http://idsoratherbereading.blogspot.com/2010/05/review-of-blood-promise-vampire-academy.html
@ Kelli - Sorry it took me so long to get your link added but I'm finally catching up with my comments! I can't wait to get my hands on Last Sacrifice :o)
ReplyDelete@ GretchTM - Thanks for dropping by & I'm sorry it's taken me so long to reply, I've added your link now for you though :o)