|
Story Arc: Standalone Hardcover: 310 pages Age Group: YA |
Genre: Contemp. Romance Excerpt(s): pgs 212 + 215 -------- Purchase -------- |
Look out for Bloodlines, Richelle Mead's new series set in the world of Vampire Academy, coming August 2011!
The astonishing final novel in Richelle Mead's epic series!
Murder. Love. Jealousy. And the ultimate sacrifice. Now, with Rose on trial for her life and Lissa first in line for the Royal Throne, nothing will ever be the same between them.
"Salvation has its price.
The words stunned Adrian for a moment, but he kept going. "You're lying. What you're describing is impossible. There's no way to save a Strigoi. When they're gone, they're gone. They're dead. Undead. Forever."
Robert's next words weren't directed at Adrian. They were spoken to me. "That which is dead doesn't always stay dead...."
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 Dragomir. It's graduation, and the girls can’t wait for their real lives outside of the Academy’s cold iron gates to finally begin. But even with the intrigue and excitement of court life looming, Rose’s heart still aches for Dimitri. 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 she knows in her heart that he is hunting her. And if Rose won't join him, he won't rest until he's silenced her...forever.
But Rose can't forget what she learned on her journey—whispers of a magic too impossible and terrifying to comprehend. A magic inextricably tied to Lissa that could hold the answer to all of Rose's prayers, but not without devastating consequences. Now Rose will have to decide what—and who—matters most to her. In the end, is true love really worth the price?
Fall in love with Rose and Dimitri all over again in Spirit Bound, the eagerly awaited fifth novel in Richelle Mead's enthralling Vampire Academy series."
"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."
"I knew you were a badass," continued Adrian. "But I didn't realize just how much until I saw you dropping guardians out there."This was a pure 'I love you, Rose' moment:
"Does that mean you're going to be nicer to me?" I teased.
"I'm already nice to you," he said loftily. "Do you know how badly I want a cigarette right now? But no. I manfully suffer through nicotine withdrawal—all for you."
"That," I told Tatiana, "is the most fucked-up law I have ever heard."Happy blogging! And thanks for reading!
"[The girl] nodded at my neck. 'Your necklace. Do you sell those here?'
'Um,' I said, my hand reaching up to it, 'not really. But we do have some similar chains, and charms that you can--'
'I like the idea of the key, though,' the girl said, coming around the cart. 'It's different. And you can read it so many ways.'
'You want me to give her a key?' the guy asked.
'I want you to give her a possibility,' she told him, looking at my necklace again. 'And that's what a key represents. An open door, a chance. You know?'" (243)
"Later, I'd develop my own system for dealing with my mom, learning to gauge her mood by the number of glasses or bottles already on the table when I came home...I took a few knocks as well...But it was always the singing that was the greatest indicator, the one thing that made me hesitate outside a door frame...As beautiful as her voice sounded...I knew there was potential ugliness underneath. By then, [my sister] was gone" (58).Dessen created a wonderful, real, genuine cast of characters that I truly fell for. Cora, Ruby's sister, is one of those characters; the quiet, assessing type with a scarred but generous heart, always willing to help when aid is asked for, to be the caretaker of those in need, to be the friend that some are missing. She made a strong and effective guardian for Ruby...as did her husband Jamie, who's just the epitome of life, affection, energy, and sweetness. I couldn't help but love Jamie...he's so good, for lack of a better word, annoying and yet endearing in his optimism and caring personality.
"The next morning...when I came down for breakfast and walked right into Jamie's first wave. Four dozen roses in varying colors were arranged in vases all around the kitchen, each tied with a bow. Cora...was reading the card off of one of them...she looked kind of choked up as she tucked the card into her purse" (354).And the thing is, never once did I find myself annoyed by Jamie. He wasn't perfect and not once while reading did I think that he oozed perfection; Jamie's just naturally that way, a loving person who just wants to make everyone happy... I also loved Harriet, Ruby's boss, is an obsessive control freak who never has time for anything but her business... she provided the novel with a ton of humor that I couldn't help but enjoy her. Another excellent addition to this novel was Ruby's new friend, the blunt, honest, and kind Olivia who told it like it was and made a great friend.
Ruby & Olivia:And while I did say that the romance in this novel was secondary compared to everything else, Ruby's relationship with Nate was crucial to her development. He was a "friend to [her] before [she] even knew what a friend was. Who picked [her] up, literally, over and over again, and never asked for anything in return..." (401). Even though Nate didn't have to endure what Ruby did, the sparkling parallelism between these two--having a tortured home life being one of the similarities--was unmistakable. However, unlike Ruby, he moves on and remains a happy guy, making him a person to treasure.
"I blinked, surprised to see the girl with the braids from the parking lot who'd been running and talking on her cell phone. Up close, I could see she had deep green eyes, and her nose was pierced, a single diamond stud...'Hello?' she said. 'Do you speak?'" (67)
Cora:I loved every moment of Dessen's Lock and Key, couldn't get enough of it actually, and I'm sad that it finally came to a close. But what a magnificent ending it was! The ending was just a downright spectacular one, an ending that left hope for the future...
"...Family isn't something that's supposed to be static or set. People marry in, divorce out. They're born, they die. It's always evolving, turning into something else. Even that picture of Jamie's family was only the true representation for that one day. By the next, something had probably changed..." (287)
Ruby:
So my true family was not just my mom, lost or found; my dad, gone from the start; and Cora, the only one who had really been there all along. It was Jamie, who took me in without question and gave me a future I once couldn't even imagine; Olivia, who did question, but also gave me answers; Harriet, who, like me, believed she needed no one and discovered otherwise. And then there was Nate" (401).
