I am so glad that I was more than satisfied with the ending of this series.

The way this series started, and the way it ended up is just so different and amazing! Personally, I cannot believe I ever doubted that this series could reach the same heights it had with the third book, and although I took my sweet time finishing this, I enjoyed it nonetheless!

Rose Hathaway, is hands down, one of my most favorite female characters in YA. She has grown on me, and I love Rose’s determination and fierce loyalty. I am so happy that Rose didn’t change or anything toward the end of the series, instead she’s gotten better when even other character that I love haven’t!

“What the hell?" I asked. Is this daring escape being sponsored by Honda?”   

The pacing of this story felt exactly like the last. It moved fast and plot points and characterization was done extremely well (in my fangirling opinion of course—not like I’m being biased or anything).

I haven’t mentioned in an previous reviews, but I would like to point out that I think the side characters have really grown, even though we see some of this through Rose’s visions sometimes as she’s watching Lissa, and I’m glad that they did show that. I do admit, I thought it was annoying in Blood Promise but after that, I thought that they showed really good insight, especially through Lissa’s head, and I am glad we did get to see that.

Unfortunately, a lot of the things I’m talking about will be spoilers.

Overall, Last Sacrifice was an amazing conclusion that fairly wrapped up all plots, and subplots. I am happy with the way that things turned out in the end! I am so glad that I went through with this amazing series, and I can already feel myself missing the characters! :D

Thanks for reading my review everyone! Hope you have a great day and until the next one! :D

Dimitri gave Rose the ultimate choice. But she chose wrong . . .

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 nearly 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.

OMG guys, this book was such an emotional rollercoaster! Ugh! I . . . I don’t know what to say?! I had so many expectations for this installment! I felt like they were met, but then so many things happened after my expectations being met that I’m not sure if I did the right thing by asking for it. So, hard to explain my feelings right now.

I have to admit, the one thing that I’m not a big fan of in this series has to be the Dimitri-Rose-Adrian love triangle. And I’m going to clear this up RIGHT now just before the last book, where Rose will inevitably choose her “final love”. The problem IS NOT Dimitri or Adrian. You see, in this love triangle: THE PROBLEM IS ROSE. You see, Rose Hathaway will hear something about Dimitri, so she’ll run to him. Then Dimitri says something, so she goes to Adrian. Also, Rose only goes to Adrian whenever she wants something from him!

I think Rose should be with Dimitri, because even though I LOVE Adrian, it is obvious that Dimitri understands her better and is more like her. They’ve gone through certain phases of their life together and . . . I think for Rose Dimitri is the right person!

“‘Yeah, that's exactly what I want. To help my girlfriend get her old boyfriend back.’ He turned away again, and I heard him mutter, ‘I need two drinks.’  

I’m sure there’s someone out there for Adrian! Adrian, you seriously don’t deserve this, and I’m so sorry! I’m sure that you’ll find someone!

Anyway, this book felt much shorter than Blood Promise so that made me happy.

Whereas the Moroi-Strigoi action there wasn’t a whole lot, I felt like the political tension and pacing in the Moroi court was what really had me eager to read this book. QUEEN TATIANA MAN. (If you’ve read the book, then you know what I’m talking about)

I’m really hoping to see how they all tie up! The Strigoi-Moroi tensions and the Moroi-Dhampir tensions! This series is getting really intense. Rose is (thankfully) keeping her game up and not well . . . “deluded” (I will describe) as she was in the last book!

“Checkmate, bitch.”   

HAHA I LOVE THIS GIRL SO MUCH SOMETIMES.

Even though Lissa didn’t have a huge role in this book, I’m glad that what we saw of her in this book was more of her personality (unlike the last book) where we see her compassionate side and what she does!

Overall, Spirit Bound was better than the last book, Blood Promise (in my opinion), and I think that the next book is going to be seriously fast paced. So, I am ready for this! :D SO SO SO glad that I’m almost done this series because I’ve really appreciated it for what it is!

Hope you have a great day everyone and thanks for reading this review! Until the next one! :D

Rose Hathaway's life will never be the same.

The recent attack on St. Vladimir's Academy devastated the entire Moroi world. Many are dead. And, for the few victims carried off by Strigoi, their fates are even worse. A rare tattoo now adorns Rose's neck, a mark that says she's killed far too many Strigoi to count. But only one victim matters ... Dimitri Belikov. Rose must now choose one of two very different paths: honoring her life's vow to protect Lissa—her best friend and the last surviving Dragomir princess—or, dropping out of the Academy to strike out on her own and hunt down the man she loves. She'll have to go to the ends of the earth to find Dimitri and keep the promise he begged her to make. But the question is, when the time comes, will he want to be saved?

Now, with everything at stake—and worlds away from St. Vladimir's and her unguarded, vulnerable, and newly rebellious best friend—can Rose find the strength to destroy Dimitri? Or, will she sacrifice herself for a chance at eternal love?

WHY THIS BOOK TORTURE MY FEELZZZ. Wow—look at me: enjoying a typical high school paranormal series. Wow. I think Richelle Mead has a need to end every book with a cliffhanger—okay, I don’t know how to explain it. It’s not a cliffhanger, but, it ends so BAD that you NEED the next book. I am SO happy I am marathoning this series!

Anyway: I’ll put down the basics of why this didn’t receive a mind blowing 5 out of 5 stars. I had some problems with this book, for the first . . . 25%. Well, it wasn’t that I started this book and then I hated it. Some things just made no sense to me in between the 10% to 25% of the book.

“I'm like a fine wine. I get better with age. The best is yet to come.”   

First: While Rose is journeying, we notice how she encounters new “cultures” and societies (best way to describe this without spoiling the series) . These discoveries had NOTHING to do with Rose discovering ANYTHING about finding what she was looking for! So, I was obviously quite frustrated! Not to mention:

“I can be a good friend, or a bad enemy.”   

Second: the lack of other characters. I’m not saying that they weren’t mentioned at all. But I felt like without Rose, everything went downhill. And, I understand that she’s an important person to everyone, but not up to the point where it suddenly . . . I don’t know. I felt like Lissa, Adrian, Christian, and Jill—or maybe even the guardians could’ve made MUCH more discoveries without Rose being there. The ENTIRE time we looked at what was happening to everyone else, it was just them messing up because:

Third: this is a spoiler, sorry!

“I’d said it before and meant it: Alive or undead, the love of my life was a badass.”

There were many things I did like. I liked the fact that Rose grew in this one book a lot. She’s really matured through this series, and I feel like she is so strong, and her pain makes me sad too! Regardless of her “moments” and stuff—I still enjoy reading through her perspective now! So, ready for the next book!

Like I said, I enjoyed the storyline: it was heartbreaking and a lot of things were shown through. I just wish some things were done differently. Overall, Blood Promise was a book that did not disappoint after I got through that tough 10% to 25% section and the small problems I had. So, I would recommend this series to anyone who wants to try this out.

It may sound weird that I gave a list of things I didn’t like in this book and then I say I really enjoyed it, but honestly, the list I made was why I didn’t enjoy it enough to give it a 5 out of 5 stars. So, I had no major problems with this book, and I don’t think it was really disappointing as a whole.

Thanks for reading my review guys and hope you all have a great day! :D Until the next one!

WHAT IF FOLLOWING HER HEART MEANS ROSE COULD LOSE HER BEST FRIEND FOREVER?

Lissa Dragomir is a Moroi princess: a mortal vampire with a rare gift for harnessing the earth's magic. She must be protected at all times from Strigoi; the fiercest vampires - 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 Lissa one of them.

Rose knows it is forbidden to love another guardian. Her best friend, Lissa - the last Dragomir princess - must always come first. Unfortunately, when it comes to gorgeous Dimitri Belikov, some rules are meant to be broken...

Then a strange darkness begins to grow in Rose's mind, and ghostly shadows warn of a terrible evil drawing nearer to the Academy's iron gates. The immortal undead are closing in, and they want vengeance for the lives Rose has stolen. In a heart-stopping battle to rival her worst nightmares, Rose will have to choose between life, love, and the two people who matter most... but will her choice mean that only one can survive?

WHAT THE HELL?! WHAT KIND OF ENDING IS THAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! I KNEW IT! I WAS FANGIRLING SO HARD AND I WAS LIKE: Oh wow, this is so good now! SO THEN THE AUTHOR WROTE THE END AND I AM DEAD.

Sorry, I have the next book thankfully, but then my brother took my iPad. So it then came to my mind that instead of crying I should probably write up a review for this book. *wipes tears*

This is, hands down, my most favorite book in the series so far! But that ending . . . what happens?!

What’s painful is KNOWING I can read the next book RIGHT NOW. But, my brother—NO. NO. I will finish my review for this book.

Okay, so this book has also decided my love for Rose Hathaway. While she is a flawed character, she has really proven that her qualities are much more dominant, and she has really grown as a character, and a guardian so far in the series! Rose really doesn’t care what people think about her, she never lets it get in the way of anything! :D So, huge bonus for me there!

I think that the character conflicts were shown pretty great too! Rose-Christian HOLY hell do they make a kick-butt team! Rose-Dimitri (I’m DYING PEOPLE! AHHHH! *creepy smile*)! And, unfortunately, Rose-Lissa did break my heart, which made me more mad when my brother took the—by God, I need to stop doing that.

I never knew how problematic the Strigoi issue could turn out to be! It wasn’t until the second half where things started turning deadly. Also, I never knew how helpful the Shadow Kissed would play out in this story! It was pretty cool! But, at the same time, we need to read on ahead to know what happens next.

Also: TWO WORDS. Adrian Ivashkov. He’s mine. :D (Like, Dimitri is also mine, but Adrian is actually MINE mine, cause I have to share Dimitri)

“He stepped back and threw his arms out.

 

"I'm always crazy around you Rose. Here, I'm going to write an impromptu poem for you."

 

He tipped his head back and shouted to the sky:

"Rose is in red

But never in blue

Sharp as a thorn

Fights like one too.”   

“You, know I'm the Queen's favorite great nephew, Well, yeah I'm her only great nephew, but that's not important, I'd still be her favorite...”   

“My cigarettes and I are going outside. At least they show me respect.”   

I’M STILL NOT OVER THE ENDING.

Overall, Shadow Kiss is my favorite book in the series so far! I want to say SO much more, but I’m so hungover! I was really getting the feels in this one! It is SO KICK-BUTT guys, this series is REALLY starting to pick up, and the books are really easy to get through! I would recommend this to people who haven’t read a whole lot of Vampire stuff and want to try something new!

I NEED to start the next book either tonight before going to bed or first thing when I wake up in the morning!

Thanks for reading my review guys! Hope you have a great day! Until the next one! :D

Laia is a slave.

Elias is a soldier.

Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

This book. This book seriously played me and my emotions. Mercilessly.

“The field of battle is my temple. The swordpoint is my priest. The dance of death is my prayer. The killing blow is my release.”

This story isn’t fluffy. Everything is real—the world, the characters, the goddamn world-building! Everything! The narration of this book had such a strong feel to it, and the events and the way the story unfolded was magnificent. IT’S BEAUTIFUL!

Since this story is told between the dual points of view between Elias and Laia, I wasn’t expecting a lot from a certain point of view and then I was proven wrong. :D Elias was a character that was strong, or stronger than Laia, in the beginning. But then later on in the book, he turned into such an amazing character who realized his goals and purpose in the story!

“I'd rather die than live with no mercy, no honor, no soul.”   

Laia was kind of hard to read about in the story, because whereas Elias is a trained and ready soldier, Laia was more of a shy, timid girl who was literally just thrown into the fires after she’s discovered a world she hasn’t really ever known. There were times where I was so scared for Laia that my stomach was hurting for her. But, I later on learned that I never needed to be scared for Laia because she became so brave—she developed wonderfully.

“Once, I'd have wanted that. I'd have wanted someone to tell me what to do, to fix everything. Once, I'd have wanted to be saved.”   

I feel like as a team, Elias and Laia helped bring out one another’s strengths, and there were many times where I felt as if they could help each other in any situation! :D

“There are two kinds of guilt,” I say softly. “The kind that’s a burden and the kind that gives you purpose. Let your guilt be your fuel. Let it remind you of who you want to be. Draw a line in your mind. Never cross it again. You have a soul. It’s damaged, but it’s there. Don’t let them take it from you, Elias.”    

This world is brutal, but I love this story too much to nitpick on those parts.

“You are an ember in the ashes, Elias Veturius. You will spark and burn, ravage and destroy. You cannot change it. You cannot stop it.”   

 

“You are full, Laia. Full of life and dark and strength and spirit. You are in our dreams. You will burn, for you are an ember in the ashes.”   

MY EMBERS! *cries in happiness*

Overall, An Ember in the Ashes is probably one of my favorite books I have read this year! It has the characters and the world that is amazing! I fell in love with the story around a couple of chapters in and I couldn’t put it down after! :D I would recommend this to fans of Fantasy, but if you don’t like dark themes and references to . . . molestation then you may want to be wary of this.

Thanks for reading my review guys! Hope you all have a great day! Until the next one! (I’m giddy from this book, still)