Blood Promise (Vampire Academy #4)
by Richelle Mead
Summary: 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?
Source: I borrowed a copy of this book for Kindle from my local library
Review:
Blood Promise was spectacular! Fireworks were going off in my head as I finally understood why people recommend the Vampire Academy series so much, because before this, I was so not on board with everyone’s enthusiasm. Now, I get it. I am now a fan of Vampire Academy.
You may have noticed that I didn’t read book #3. I checked book #4 out from the library in advance, fully intending to purchase book #3 as soon as finished book #2. But I finished book #2 while out in the country without much a signal. Based on the way the author sort of has a summary at the beginning of book #2, I thought I could probably read book #4 and be up to date by the first few chapters. I was right, as the beginning of Blood Promise caught me up a little bit. I missed a bit of action, but I was so engrossed in Blood Promise, I don’t really regret waiting to read it.
Finally, for the first time, I can honestly say I love Rose. Her character is wonderful! I love how fierce and determined she is and how much she loves and cares about people. I admired her and her reasons for venturing out on her own. Even in her worst and weakest moment, I felt like I understood her. And Dimitri… Oh, god. I can’t even discuss the way his character made me ache in this book without giving anything away. I even felt like I appreciated Lissa a lot more in this book and understood her character. Though the book was written from Rose’s point of view, like all of them, through her bond with Lissa, I was able to experience her adventures despite the distance between Rose and Lissa. There were two different storylines in this book, but both of them equally captivating.
Rose’s adventures in Russia and meeting Sydney and Dimitri’s family were great. I loved being introduced to another layer of conflict in the Vampire Academy world with Sydney’s character. The members of Dimitri’s family were wonderful and I felt the pull to stay in the small town with them. I also loved Abe’s character because he was tough mobster type who helped give Rose the extra push she needed to get out of the village. I totally figured out his reasons for tracking her down, too, but I won’t give that away, either. I’m just glad I was right. And Adrian. I love his character. I keep saying that and I never really expand on that, but I don’t really know how. I feel like I need more to happen, but I love him regardless and for now, that’s all I can say.
Basically, Blood Promise is the book that has successfully drew me into this series. I’m hooked. I’m a fan. And I love all of the characters now. It just took me awhile. But, I also appreciate the characters more because I’ve watched them, Rose especially, grow into the people they are in this book. I highly recommend this series. I don’t want to tell people to start with book 4 or skip books like I did or anything crazy, but definitely keep in mind that the series DOES get better and better as it goes on. Right now, I’m waiting on the next book to become available for me at my library. Instead of checking all of the books out at once, I’ve been checking them out one at a time. I thought I had more time. Now, someone else has checked book #5 out before me. I really need to plan ahead because I’m going crazy now having the next book! Don't worry, I definitely won't be skipping any more books.
Labels: paranormal romance, Review, sequel, YA
