Review of Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead

Prepare to be Tested. The story that kicked off the international #1 bestselling Vampire Academy series is NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE. Read it Before it Hits Theaters February 14th, 2014! 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 at long last 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 she knows 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 now he is hunting her. And this time he won't rest until Rose joins him . . . forever.

First things first, absolutely do not read any of the ‘official’ summaries of the Vampire Academy books by Richelle Mead if you do not want to be spoiled, or if you have not read the series. Trust me, it is better to go in blind than to spoil the experience.

This review will contain minor spoilers. Avert your eyes!

Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead picks up where Blood Promise ended, somewhat filling the ache that Blood Promise gave me. Upon opening Spirit Bound, we see that Rose is taking the trials to become a full-fledged guardian, despite all of her molninja marks. An aside, I wonder what exactly a molninja mark looks like, anybody got links to good fan art?

Anyways, sometimes a book is more than it’s story. Sometimes, a book transcends to become somewhat of an experience. The wait for Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead/reading it has been an experience reminiscent of Harry Potter. In that, I spent a lot of my time theorizing what was going to happen and discussing the characters. Hello Chatzy! Turns out, I must have had some sharp theories, as many of them wound up being confirmed. However, many of the events had me incredibly surprised, and the events that I had predicted didn’t quite play out the way I was imagining they would.

As with any book, there are parts I would simply inhale – such as the action sequences, Dmitri’s appearances – and other parts I wish would go faster – scenes with Lissa and Christian, and the requisite explain everything for those weirdos starting in the middle of the series. I think Mead pulls pacing off very well. She certainly knows how to get my heart racing with mere phrases.

I love the way the Vampire Academy series is plotted, each book has me dying for the next one, yet there are subtle allusions in the earlier books at what the ultimate outcome of the story may be. As per usual, Richelle Mead has fantastic characterization. There’s a large cast of characters, yet they all seem to have multifaceted personalities. I can picture each character distinctly in my head and not get them confused. And can we puh-leeze talk about voice here. You could take Rose’s lines out of the book, tell me it is from Vampire Academy, and I could probably guess which line is her voice. That is how strong Rose’s voice is.

I will end on this note, I desperately want The Last Sacrifice which has a release date of December 14th, 2010. So, a little over six months from today. This wait feels almost as intense to me as the wait for THE DEATHLY HALLOWS. However, like a trooper, I am content to discuss and hash out theories in Chatzy with fellow superfans. I am prepared to debate Dmitri vs. Adrian. We all have our ideas of what is going to happen and how it ends, therefore, if you want to discuss, I would absolutely love to talk to you on google chat, or chatzy. Just tweet me, comrade!

Other Reviews of Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead:

A Good Addiction
Tynga’s Urban Fantasy

Series Order:

Vampire Academy (Book One)
Frostbite (Book Two)
Shadow Kiss (Book Three)
Blood Promise (Book Four)
Spirit Bound (Book Five)
The Last Sacrifice (Book Six)

Spin Off Series:

Bloodlines (Book One)
The Golden Lily (Book Two)

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April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

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