Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead

Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead
Release Date – May 18, 2010
Publisher Website – Penguin
Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages - 489 pages
My Rating- 7.5/10
**purchased**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

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?

*****Potential spoilers for previous books*********

I sat down to write this review knowing it would be a tricky one to talk about without giving much away. I may reference things that have happened in the previous books so if you haven’t read them, read at your own risk.

Richelle Mead has written a series that is addictive, filled with passion, friendship and complex characters.

The writing in this book was on par with the rest of the series. Fans of the others will quickly read through this instalment as well.

This book felt like saying goodbye. We’re saying goodbye to the Academy as our beloved characters gear up for graduation. We are saying goodbye to their childhood, and they are becoming adults. It gives this book (and the book before it) a much different feel than the earlier books in the series.

Rose is different is this book. She’s quite obsessed with finding out how to cure a Stigori (if it can be done). I sympathized with her longing to free Dimitri. I totally got it. She is quite reckless in her obsession. In some ways it felt like she was taking steps back from her progress, however, there are moments where she makes the more “grown up” choice. Rose really has blossomed into a fantastic guardian, and it’s been amazing got read her character progression.

If I didn’t love Dimitri so much I would feel horrible for Adrian. He’s hurt by Rose’s determination to help Dimitri. He feels the unresolved feelings lingering in Rose. You can’t help but hope he meets another girl that will distract him from Rose, as she is clearly in no position to be moving on.

Most of this book deals with Rose's journey to deal with Dimitri. The court politics I so enjoyed in the previous novels also comes into play.

The stakes are higher now than when they were in high school. It’s not just being removed from school anymore, and that makes for a more dangerous feel. You’re aware that there could be serious consequences for the actions many characters take. It leads up into our cliff hanger. There are different sorts of cliff hangers. Some leave you heartbroken, others leave you screaming, others leave you with your mouth open. This offers the kind of cliff hanger that shocks you. I am so glad I have Last Sacrifice ready to go because I don’t think I can wait very long to read it.