Spirit Bound (Vampire Academy, Book 5) [Paperback]

I've adored this series from the start and I've been anxiously waiting for this book since I finished Blood Promise the day it was released last year. Thankfully, it was not a disappointment. It was, for me at least, quite possibly the hardest book to read, but I still can't help loving it because it's a great continuation of Rose's story.

Rose knows there is a chance, a very slim one, that Dimitri can be saved and she's determined to find out if it really is possible. But she and Lissa aren't in school anymore and the consequences of being caught doing some of the things required, will be a lot bigger than detention. On top of Rose's love life issues, the Moroi government seem to be making moves for a big decision. But what that decision is, or the consequences it could have Rose can't begin to imagine.

There are parts of this book I had a very hard time reading. There are parts that made me laugh, and others that shocked me completely. And despite almost hating parts of it, I had a very hard time putting it down. I may not like everything that's happened, but I can see why it was done as it was, and I think (hope) things will work out with the result I want in the end. Rose was not always the smartest girl in this book. She made a lot of spur of the moment decisions, often based on emotion rather than logic, and she paid the price more than once. I wanted to shake her at times and tell her to wake up, to stop being an idiot and realise the truth. Which is a first. I've never really gotten mad at Rose before, but I did here. Not a bad thing, but it made things interesting.

I loved how the issues with a few side characters were dealt with as well. Nothing in this series has worked out easily, and that continued to be the case here. Actions have consequences and it shows. One big plus point of this book, is seeing a little more of Abe from Blood Promise. I love his character! He's just awesome really, and I love the part he plays towards the end of Spirit Bound. I'm curious as to how that's going to play out in the final book.

I would love to comment on certain aspects of this book, but doing so would involve revealing pretty big spoilers. Simply put, a lot happens in this book. Several things are dealt with, at least partially, from the previous books, while new things also make their entrance. The ending was shocking and a real cliff hanger, although not of the intensity of Shadow Kiss. But despite being desperate to know what happens next, I am actually glad there is a break between books, because this was quite the emotional rollercoaster. Rose may have been out in the world killing Strigoi already, but it doesn't mean she's ready for everything headed her way. I would love to say I can see where certain things are going in the final book, but honestly, Richelle always manages to surprise me, even if there are things I guessed before the book was even out.

If you liked all the previous Vampire Academy books, then you should love this one. It's really quite different to all the previous ones with Rose, Lissa and the others no longer students, but adults trying to make things work at the Royal Court. But that doesn't make it any less of a great, if difficult, journey. There is some great character development through this book, with some interesting twists. I can't wait to see how it all ends in Last Sacrifice.

My Thoughts: Wow, Spirit Bound blew me away! This series just keeps getting better and better even though I thought that was not possible! I loved the angst and heartbreak of Book #3 (Shadow Kiss) but then came along Book #4 which lived up to the very high emotional intensity I expected and now Book #5 Spirit Bound still managed not to let me down even though I had some pretty high (*cough* maybe impossible *cough*) expectations.

The novel starts with these lines:

"There's a big difference between death threats and love letters - even if the person writing the death threats still claims to actually love you. Of course, considering I once tried to kill someone I loved, maybe I had no right to judge."

Tell me, isn't it an amazing introduction that instantly grips the reader? And so typically Rose.

Rose is back with Lissa at the Academy getting ready to pass her trials and graduate, while Dimitri made it his own personal life goal to stalk her by sending her weekly letters and reminding her that as soon as she sets a foot outside of school he'll be there, waiting for her, waiting there to kill her.

Despite this quite thrilling setting, I have to say the first half of Spirit Bound was so enjoyably light and happy, so far in the previous novels we haven't seen Rose have so much fun and be somewhat carefree. And it was good to finally see her get a break and enjoy her youth.

Lissa completely redeemed herself: even though she was a quite frustrating and irritating character for me in the previous novels (due to her selfishness and not being a good and attentive friend to Rose), in Spirit Bound she finally becomes the girl in whom I can see why Rose chose her as best friend. Finally she minds other things than just herself, she's there for Rose all the way through their neckbraking and mindblowing adventures, and for that I got to like her.

And what adventures they embark on! They break into the best guarded high security Moroi prison and manage to escape, they fly off to Las Vegas and spend a wild night there (with Adrian popping up too). They had mischiefs and adventures more fit to their youth than the previous dark events taking place in the previous books, but of course everything was spiced up with danger just the way we like it with Rose :-)

Rose is now with Adrian, and though I'm a die hard Dimitri fan, I have to say I like him. Love his casual laid-back, devil-may-care attitude, his humour and his intensity towards Rose. Love what a solid rock he is to her.

Then there is the 2nd half of the novel where things take a swift turn. The huge battle, the big showdown between Rose and Dimitri was everything we were led to expect since the beginning of Spirit Bound and wow! The consequences, implications and changes it all brought on certainly stirred up things.. And bam! we were again on the emotional roller coaster readers and fans of this series are so used to. We had that familiar heartache, frustration and agony. Richelle Mead manages to bring such swift and fresh turns that this series keeps rebounding and never getting dull.

I loved reading about Rose and her friends' stay at Court, it was nice to see them have some quiet time and rest from all the action and just go to different events, dress up and mingle and of course try to work through all the emotional complications.

For my biggest joy Christian was back! With him and Adrian present I can almost forgive Richelle Mead for leaving out Mason.

I discovered that the books of this series keep getting more and more adictive with each subsequent book: I devoured Spirit Bound in less than a day, and if Last Sacrifice was available I would attack it without delay!

Here are a few of my favourite quotes of Spirit Bound:

1) Adrian during the dinner at his parents' house when he brought Rose over:

"I don't know, this college would probably have the same problem the last one did."
I frowned. "What's that?"
"Homework."
"Adrian," growled his father.
"It's okay," said Adrian breezily. He rested his arm casually on the table. "I don't really need a job or extra money. After Rose and I get married, the kids and I'll just live off of her guardian paycheck."

2) Dimitri as Strigoi during the big showdown battle to Rose:

"You're beautiful in battle," said Dimitri. His cold voice carried to me clearly, even above the roar of combat. "Like an avenging angel come to deliver the justice of heaven."
"Funny," I said, shifting my hold on the stake, "That is kind of why I'm here."
"Angels fall Rose."

3) Adrian and Rose are getting intimate:

Adrian cupped my face in his hands, his eyes filled with intensity and desire - and a bit of wonder.
"What are you, Rose Hathaway? Are you real? You're a dream within a dream. I'm afraid touching you will make me wake up. You'll disappear."
"Touch me and find out," I said, drawing him to me.

Plot: 9/10
Characters: 10/10
Ending: 10/10
Writing: 9/10
Cover: 8/10 (That is not how I picture Rose, but the guy looks dreamy and hot, would be a great Dimitri. Love his stubble! :-p)

Spirit Bound is the fifth book in the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead. Rose grows more and more throughout each book in this series and in Spirit Bound, she did so even more. Not only does Rose have a lot to go through physically, she also has to deal with a lot emotionally. Probably more than she has ever has in the past and that is saying a lot, considering what she has been through already. She is still the kick ass girl that I loved to begin with but she also isn't afraid to put herself out there for the people she loves. I really enjoyed watching Rose decide how she was going to approach her problems and what she thought were the right solutions. I didn't always agree with her choices but I could certainly see why she did some of the things that she did. My opinion of Lissa has completely changed after reading this book. I really thought that she was quite selfish before and being as she is a Princess, I guess some could say that she is entitled to act that way. I've always thought that she put herself before Rose all of the time and never really did anything to prove to me how much of a friend she really was. However, Lissa really proved herself as a best friend and showed just how much she was prepared to do in order to look after Rose and to help her be happy. I really liked Adrian as soon as he made his first appearance in the series but I grew to love him so much more in this book. He has grown so much and maybe a big part of that was Rose leaving to go to Siberia, leaving him to think about what he really wants. I did kind of love his cockiness before but I was also glad to see that being tamed down a little bit and to now see a softer side to him. Who could resist Dimitri? He was once a strong, powerful guardian and is now an even stronger, meaner Strigoi. Everyone who regularly reads my reviews will know just how much I love a bad boy so the moment I found out he had turned Strigoi, my heart kind of skipped a couple of beats. I instantly had ideas about how bad he was going to get and I wasn't wrong. Maybe that is why I loved Blood Promise so much. Although he doesn't feature too much in this book, a large amount of the story revolves around him. I'm still unsure if I liked the way that things turned out but I am looking forward to finding out what happens to him next. I LOVED the cliff-hanger at the end. Although it probably wasn't the best of the series, it was still shocking enough to make me want the next book immediately. Luckily, I didn't have too long to wait before I got it, unlike a lot of people who would have read this book months ago. There were so many questions that I wanted the answers to and I wanted to know what was going to happen to all of the characters, not just Rose. Normally in a series, I don't really care that much about everyone but as well as Rose and Dimitri; Lissa, Adrian and Christian have a lot going on and a lot that could happen to them and I wanted to know their stories just as much as Rose's. Spirit Bound was not my favourite book in the series but I did really like where the story was going, in the lead up to the final book in the series. Richelle Mead has set the scene perfectly for Last Sacrifice but in doing so, some of the fast paced scenes that I liked so much from the previous books were missing. I felt like some parts were rushed and towards the end of the book, the story slowed down massively. Even with this happening, I still enjoyed the story, just not as much as others in the series.