Justine's Thoughts: Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead

Spirit Bound (Vampire Academy #5)

By Richelle Mead

Source: Library
Pages:  489
Rating: 4/5

Book Description:  Goodreads

A quote:
Dreams, dreams. I walk them; I live them. I delude myself with them. It's a wonder I can spot reality anymore

Any thoughts (Vague Spoilers Ahead):

This is the second last book? I don’t know what I’d do when the time comes and I’m...finished. I might end up re-reading the entire series. Yes, that seems satisfying.

This book was all kinds of wonderful awesomeness. The only problem I had was getting into the book. Sure, it’s been a long time since I’ve read the last book but usually I’m instantly succumbed to the epicness that is Rose’s narration. I don’t know what it is that took me a while to get into this one. Once that bit is over, though, I was fully immersed! The action and suspense and romance didn’t stop after that. It was all so good!

Rose is in far more trouble than before and I’m so very worried for her. Her future’s on the line and there are even more things she still has to get punished for. I’m glad Adrian is there for her when she needs him. I’m beginning to like him a lot, but when Dimitri comes into parts of the book, the liking shifts to Dimitri. So now, I’m truly torn up between Adrian and Dimitri, although I think I’m leaning more towards Dimitri. It seems to me that Rose and Dimitri are meant to be together. That’s my opinion only, however. It just tears me apart to have them separated and endure the pain. I may have even leaked a tear.

Spirit Bound now perfectly prepared me to enter into the next and last book in the series *cry!*. It will take quite a long time for me to get the next book, but hey, it’ll be worth the wait once I start it! I just don’t want this series to end!

Justine's Thoughts: Blood Promise by Richelle Mead

Blood Promise (Vampire Academy #4)
By Richelle Mead

Source: Library
Pages: 503
Rating: 5/5
A quote:

Love wasn’t a fling in a back room at a party. It was something you lived and died for.

Any thoughts (Vague spoilers ahead):

Rose is set on a journey to do the one thing she thought she’d never have to do -- but has to. In a book so thrilling and suspenseful, it’s all up to Rose with this one promise she’s made with herself.

It just keeps getting better and better. I had thought that the previous book was my favourite, but if I could have more than one, this would be it! My emotions were running on high all the while. At some times, I didn’t know what to feel. Whether it was shock or sadness or relief -- it was crazy! It was the same with Rose, as she was experiencing conflicting emotions. But I had to admire her for getting through a time of vulnerability with such courage and determination. She’s such a kickass heroine. And I could absolutely say that in every VA novel because it’s true every time.

There are new characters and revelations in this book -- a family that I really enjoyed, a grandmother so strange but clever, a man that goes by the name of Zmey, and a couple who has surprising abilities. Although Rose isn’t fully at St. Vladimir’s, a part of her is, and there were still the old characters I love most : Lissa, Christian, Adrian, as well as some new ones...

The ending brilliantly gave way to an arising plot that I’m dying to get into. But I must wait again for the perfect opportunity to read Spirit Bound, the next book. After all, I don’t want this series to end. So I’m going to just try and relish each moment. The key word being try, because it is such an impossible wait!

Justine's Thoughts: Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead

Shadow Kiss (Vampire Academy #3)
By Richelle Mead

Source: Library
Pages: 443

Rating:

5/5

A quote:

Life and death were so unpredictable. So close to each other. We existed moment to moment, never knowing who would be the next to leave the world.

Any thoughts (No major spoilers):

Oh my gosh. This is probably my most favourite book in the series so far. Not only is it intense and suspenseful, it is heartbreaking and addictive!

It focuses more on Rose -- her upcoming life as a guardian, her duty to protect Lissa, her relationship with Dimitri. Oh my gosh. I love Dimitri. The deeper I get into the series, the more my love grows for him. But...oh my gosh! Agh!

Anyway. Rose’s development is evident in Shadow Kiss. From her previous experiences, she learns to cut back on her attitude and irresponsibility. The way she handles situations, even though she tries to fix things by herself, screams determination. It’s what I love about her.

The ending is such a cliff-hanger. Not one that stops right before someone does something. But it’s enough to make me go crazy, especially because it involves Rose and Dimitri. I would have never thought in the beginning that something like that would happen, but oh my gosh, it did. I will have to read to find out what happens next. And if you would like to know, I guess you’d better start the series!

Justine's Mini Thoughts: Frostbite by Richelle Mead

Frostbite (Vampire Academy #2)
By Richelle Mead

Source: Library
Pages: 327
Rating: 5/5
A quote:

In the real world, you can make your own miracles.

Any thoughts (*No major spoilers*):

It is the second book, and I’m already way hooked. A perfect sequel, to say the least. I couldn’t have asked for anything better.

Going back to Richelle Mead’s vampire world was easy because I knew the basics -- what a Moroi is, what a dhampir is and what their duty is, who the bad guys are. We get to learn a few more things, which excited me. Rose is seriously a fantastic heroine. Sure, she sometimes doesn’t follow some rules (her relationship with Dimitri is an example of that) and she can be reckless, but she can kick major ass. Her voice is outstanding, sharp, and amusing all at once. It’s hard not to be enchanted and to stop reading.

Throw Rose and the other awesome characters into the action-packed plot and we have a masterpiece. As well as drama. Especially boy drama. This will be one hell of a series and I can tell it will rank among my top faves.

Justine's Thoughts: Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy #1)
By Richelle Mead

Source: Library
Pages: 332
Book Description:

Lissa Dragomir is a Moroi princess; a mortal vampire with an unbreakable bond to the earth’s magic. She must be protected at all times from Strigoi; the fiercest and most dangerous vampire -- the ones who never die.

The powerful blend of human and vampire blood that flows through Rose Hathaway, Lissa’s best friend, makes her a Dhampir. Rose is dedicated to a dangerous life of protecting Lissa from the Strigoi, who are hell-bent on making her one of them.

After two years at illicit freedom, Rose and Lissa are caught and dragged back to St. Vladimir’s Avademy, hidden in the deep forests of Montana. Rose will continue her Dhampir education. Lissa will go back to being Queen of the elite Moroi social scene. And both girls will resume breaking Academy hearts.

Fear made Lissa and Rose run away from St. Vladimir’s -- inside the Academy’s iron gates, their world is even more fraught with danger. Here, the cutthroat ranks of the Moroi perform unspeakable rituals, and their secretive nature and love of the night creates an enigmatic world full of social complexities. Rose and Lissa must navigate through this dangerous world, confront the temptation of forbidden romance, and never once let their guard down, lest the Strigoi make Lissa one of them forever . . . .

A quote:

Then...it was like...I don’t even know how to describe it. Color and light and music and life and joy and love...so many wonderful things, all the lovely things that make up the world and make it worth living in.

Any thoughts:

If there was one word that I kept thinking about throughout Vampire Academy, it would be passion. Why? Because everything is passionate -- Lissa and Rose’s friendship, their love interests (totally to die for), the call to act for revenge, the rumour-spreaders at school...I could go on and on. It’s just full of passion and strong emotions that it made it so difficult to stop reading.

So the girl on the cover (who I swear I thought was Angelina Jolie at first. Yes, people have agreed.) is most likely the person who narrates the story -- Rose. She is fierce and witty and clever. But most of all, she has a sense of duty to protect Lissa, which she feels obligated to do (it’s a very long story that involves many names I cannot pronounce). Rose always has the best comebacks, the funniest retorts to anything that comes her way. It’s her way of defense, a way of showing that she is fearless and unbreakable. Deep inside, she’s a normal teenager that has insecurities of her own.

The plot never failed to bore me. In the beginning is where the introductions pop in, but with a narrator like Rose, it was different. Of course it took time for me to grasp the different sorts of vampires and the rules and what they can and cannot do. Eventually, I became familiar with the details. Then as the novel progressed, I found myself being absorbed into the world of vampires Richelle Mead has created. With a shocking yet satisfying ending, she just proved that anything can happen at anytime.