Shadow Kiss: 3 (Vampire Academy) [Paperback]

Thank you, Richelle Mead! You have given fans of the VAMPIRE ACADEMY series a wonderful third novel. SHADOW KISS is probably the best out of the three. Reading VAMPIRE ACADEMY and FROSTBITE first is a must in order to really understand what is going on in the series.

Rose Hathaway is training to be a Guardian. Once she graduates from St. Vladimir's Academy, she will be assigned to guard her best friend, Lissa, for the rest of her life. Even though everything is going along as planned, she feels waves of jealously and anger. A lot of these feelings come from the fact that she can never have what she truly wants - love.

Dimitri, her mentor and teacher, is set to be her partner after graduation. He and Rose will be the team that guards Lissa on a daily basis. The problem is, Rose and Dimitri are in love. Knowing their love isn't allowed, they make sure to keep their relationship professional - when they can.

Rose has started seeing ghosts and she feels sure they are trying to tell her something. Soon she begins to understand they are telling her that danger is on the way. Danger that will involve everyone at St. Vladimir's. Rose is no stranger to fighting, but this time it is going to be war.

Not everyone survives, and Rose ends up having to make the hardest decision of her life - one that will effect both her and Lissa.

SHADOW KISS left me breathless and in tears. I can't wait for the next book in the series to come out. The way the story ends leads me to believe that the next book will be even better. There are so many possibilities that it makes my head spin.

Reviewed by: Karin Librarian

I think I have to assume that something devastating will happen in every book that Mead writes. With this one I was pretty much crying from the last 40 pages until the end. Talk about heartbreaking! I sort of saw what was going to happen coming but it didn't make it any less horrible. I'm actually still feeling the effects of this novel and I had to quickly order the next two books to find out what happens.

On the heels of the death of her friend, Rose finds out that she's going to start six weeks of field exercise along with the other senior novices. The problem is though, Rose is seeing ghosts and feeling a terrible rage whenever angered or cornered. Rose had her temper before but something is different about these feelings. And being visited by the dead isn't helping her in going back to living any sort of normal life. Rose has grown up since the incident from the previous book and the people around her take notice. Rose isn't the only one changing though and she has to deal with these circumstances as a new threat from the Strigoi looms.

I FLEW through this book. I think I could read about Rose and her friends all day every day and not get bored. Honestly though, I think I feel this way about all of Mead's heroines so I could be biased. I love the characters, the story, the way the world is crafted, and Mead's simple yet effective writing style. This series is miles above any teen series I've come across and it rivals some adult series I've read as well and it's quickly become one of my top favorite series ever

From the day I first opened the pages of Vampire Academy, I fell in love with the world, the mythology, the characters, the romance, the whole story. The lives of Rose and Lissa live are just brilliant, and Rose's narration is always so real, I feel like I know her. Loving this series like I do, I knew I would love reading Shadow Kiss, but I was not prepared for what was to come. It's beautiful, it's heart breaking, it's one incredible emotional rollercoaster, and I closed the book feeling drained, but in the best way possible.

The magical element of this book is just brilliant. When everything is all worked out, you see how it flows right from the last book, Frostbite, but as the story goes on, you're never exactly sure what's going on with Rose, and are genuinely worried for her sanity. She's behaving erratically, and gets very, very angry at relatively small things. And then she starts seeing ghosts. And the first is not just any ghost, it's Mason. Rose is seriously freaked out by the things that are happening to her, and has no clue what to think. Richelle's ability to plot is incredible, though, and all these little things are pulled together right at the end, and it's just brilliant.

The characters are just as great as always; Lissa is the same compassionate, soft and sweet Lissa we've come to love. Christian, Lissa's boyfriend, we get to know even better when Rose is assigned as his guardian for her field experience, and he is just the coolest despite his snarky nature, though he is very insecure. Adrian, the rich Moroi royal they all met on the ski trip in Frostbite who can also use Spirit like Lissa, is still very flirty with Rose, but, though I grudgingly admit it, lovely undearneath it all. Eddie, Mason's best friend, is assigned to Lissa for the field experience, and he is just adorable; he's strong, he's dedicated, and he's been seriously affected by Mason's death and what happened to him in Frostbite.

Then there's Dimitri; he's just as amazing, as gorgeous, as lovely, as completely swoon worthy as ever, and, my god, I came so close to tears at some points when he and Rose were having some serious chats. He is just amazing, and as messed up as Rose is right now, he is the only thing that calms her. Their relationship, or non-relationship so far, progresses in this novel, and it's unbearably sweet. How any girl could fail to have one of those heart-lifting moments, where you have one of those exaggerated sighs, but feel jealous that fictitious characters get all the good guys. The emotions run high throughout.

Then the action kicks in, and it's serious. It's a battle unlike anything we've seen previously in the Vampire Academy series, and it's huge, and like in any battle, things don't end all rainbows and butterflies. There are consequences, serious consequences, and you won't see them coming. I had some inklings as to what would happen, but in the end, I was taken by surprise at the actual outcome. I was absolutely devastated, and there were tears. A whole lot of them. I actually had to leave the room as there was a danger that I would disrupt everyone else from watching the TV with my sobs. It's so, so sad, but absolutely brilliant, and the ending has me itching to pick up the next book.

This is probably the best in the series so far, it was just phenomenal! I can't even begin to tell you how much you need to read this book, or this whole series if you've yet to read. Just fantastic! And I'm so glad I already have a copy of Blood Promise to start as soon as I've finished typing. Brilliant book, I can't recommend it enough!