Spirit Bound: Vampire Academy #5 of 6 - Spoilers

SPOILER ALERT! Read no further unless you want to know what happens in the second-to-last book in Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy series.

Overall, I'm very happy with a couple of developments in this book, but what a cliffhanger ending! I didn't expect anyone to assassinate Queen Tatiana. Sure, she was a bit of a difficult woman, and she and Rose naturally clashed - Rose Hathaway isn't the most easygoing of heroines either - but I never anticipated that someone would kill her. Much less that Rose would be accused of the murder!

The book begins with awful, awful Strigoi!Dimitri renewing his vow to find Rose and kill her. Rose is still harboring the hope that she can invoke the magic that will turn Dimitri back into the Dhampir she knows and loves. In fact, she'll go to any length just for a chance to make it happen.

Even if it means traveling to Alaska to break Victor Dashkov out of Moroi prison.

It isn't enough for Rose and a small cohort of her trusted friends to break Victor out, though - they also have to travel with him to Las Vegas. There he meets his brother, who claims to have changed a Strigoi back to her living form. Rose and Lissa learn the secret: a Moroi must stake the evil, dead vampire with a silver stake charmed with the fifth element, spirit. Good thing Lissa is a spirit user.

...As is Rose's current sort-of-boyfriend, Adrian Ivashkov. One must have a bit of sympathy for the beautiful, clove cigarette-smoking Vampire Academy graduate, who gets treated rather shabbily in this installment. He loves Rose, but she can't get over the possibility of having Dimitri back. Rose and Adrian come close to having sex in this book, but due to the lack of a nearby condom, she offers him her blood to drink instead.

Evil Dimitri kidnaps Lissa, as well as Christian Ozera, in a bid to lure Rose to him. Bloody mayhem and murder ensue - but Lissa eventually manages to drive her charmed stake into Dimitri. The magic works. He goes from murderous undead fiend to Dhampir with a heartbeat again. The Moroi are skeptical at first, and keep him locked in a guarded cell until an explanation can be found.

He refuses to see Rose. She sneaks in to see him anyway. On her second visit to him, he tells her, "Love fades. Mine did." Shut up, Dimitri - you still love Rose. You're just trying to run her off because you're scared of hurting her. We know he still loves her because when the Queen's guard comes to arrest her for murder, he throws his all into trying to defend her - until she literally screams for him to stop, that she won't resist.

Rose didn't kill Tatiana - she was sleeping beside Adrian at the time, post-blood donation - but I don't know who did. I anxiously await the next book, Last Sacrifice.

A Bulgarian edition

Oh, and it appears Lissa and Christian are back together, or at least on their way to being. I hope they get married - but even if they don't, it seems she has a long-lost sibling and will no longer be the only Dragomir. Will Lissa become the next queen?

I purchased this book with my own funds at my brick-and-mortar Barnes and Noble and was not obligated in any way to review it.

P.S. I saw the trailer for The Fault in Our Stars during the Vampire Academy movie. Tit Elingtin and I finally watched TFIOS on DVD on Monday night. I am emotionally devastated - and impressed with the performances by Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, and Nat Wolff all.

P.P.S. I can't believe my sweet Rose from the VA movie, Zoey Deutch, plays that awful Emily in Beautiful Creatures, now that I'm listening to the BC audio book. Emily in the book is a mean girl. Zoey, that doesn't sound like you! Rose is snarky, but not mean.