Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead (489 pages)
Synopsis: Rose Hathaway has been dreading the worst; to kill her true love, Dimitri, in order to stay alive and keep those she cares about safe. Yet, she holds out hope that the rumors of bringing Dimitri back to life are true. And there is only one person who can verify the rumors...Victor Dashkov, her archenemy.
Nothing will prepare Rose for the encounter with Dimitri or his transformation. Between her boyfriend, Adrian and Dimtri, she will have to decide who matters most to her. And in the end, is true love really worth the price?
Book Review: No book in the Vampire Academy series could have prepared me for what I consider to be the most heart pounding, gut wrenching part of Rose and Dimitri's epic love story.
I was under the assumption that if Dimitri was able to transform back into a dhampir, he would return as the confident, god like warrior we all fell in love with. But if that where the case, the story would have ended. Dimitri and Rose would have gotten back together and everyone would’ve been happy. Then there would be no 6th book called Last Sacrifice (I’ve heard the rumors).
In Spirt Bound, Dimitri came back from the dead. Mead, took the reader through this epic battle between the two lovers and towards the end, she gave the honors to Lissa to “save” Dimitri. During this time, she placed Rose on the sidelines to witness the transformation. This took me by surprise because in the previous book, Blood Promise, Mead led the reader to believe that Rose was the only one capable of killing Dimitri or “saving” him.
The gut wrenching part was in the way Mead illustrated Dimitri’s defeat and his vulnerability after his transformation. Any hopes of seeing the old Dimtri was shattered the moment he wept on Lissa’s lap. Also, while in captivity, he made the decision to ban Rose from his life forever, therefore, running away from his past rather than confronting it. His motives: unworthy of Rose, killings innocents and his many attempts on her life.
As a fan of Rose and Dimitri’s union, I couldn’t help but cringe at Rose’s failed attempts to rekindle their love. She was shown as desperate which was so not the ass-kicking Rose we have come to love, and all the while stringing Adrian Ivashov, her current boyfriend, through a majority of the book. At one point, Dimitri was pushed to make very clear his feelings for Rose, “love fades” he said. His gut wrenching declaration threw me back, literally breaking Rose’s heart and mine. Ouch.
Adrain Ivashkov became a big player in Spirit Bound. He first appeared in Frostbite with the same charming personality. But in this book, my perception of him changed. No matter how charming and love struck he was for Rose, I saw him solely as the rebound guy with no real prospects of ending up with her, especially with Dimitri back from the dead. Rose will end up breaking Adrian’s heart, which is sad because he is a really nice guy and he was beginning to grow on me.
As for the plot, it was stupendous and I was taken all over the place. Talk about a page-turner.
This book was so frustrating and gripping and insanely entertaining. There were moments of terror and insanity, love and heartache. The characters that I love made an appearance and made the story that much more meaningful.
I am a huge fan of Vampire Academy and I recommend Spirit Bound to everyone. I can't wait to read the 6th and final book of this amazing love story.
LOVED IT!
