Review: Spirit Bound

Title: Spirit Bound
Author: Richelle Mead
Series: Vampire Academy Book 5
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
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. It is nearly graduation, and the girls can't wait for their real lives beyond the Academy's iron gates to begin. But Rose's heart still aches for Dimitri, and she knows 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 now he is hunting her. And this time he won't rest until Rose joins him... forever.

Overall Review: GOOD!!! BAD UGLY

I was so ready for Spirit Bound, the newest book in the Vampire Academy series, that I got up at six yesterday morning in order to go to Target and buy this book. I was a little pissed that they didn't open until eight. Oh, well I had a good breakfast while I waited. Anyway, I began reading it immediately and spent the entire day absorbed in it trying to avoid the many distractions of a husband, a household and a puppy. I finally finished it at three in the morning, stopping only for bathroom breaks and meals. I contemplated writing my review then, but frankly I was too tired to write anything coherent, besides who was going to read my review at 3 AM anyway? So I am writing it now...Are you ready?
I should have made room in my rating system for FREAKING GREAT! Good, Bad and Ugly. What a wonderful surprise this fifth book in the series was. After my severe disappointment with Blood Promise (book 4), I will admit I didn't know what to expect. I didn't want to get my hopes up like I did for Blood Promise, but I was excited to see what this book held. Spirit Bound was better than I could have predicated! It was exactly what I had wanted B.P to be after the the cliffhanger of Shadow Kissed. The twists and turns of Spirit Bound draw so much emotion from readers who have followed the lives of Rose, Dimitri, Lissa, Christian and Adrian. When I read the V.A series I feel like these characters are apart of my life, only one other series I have ever read has done that. (If you want to know which one, ask me) I think about these characters after the book is over and I love that throughout the series I have gotten to know them so well that I was able to predict what their reactions and behavior would be in Spirit Bound. The only exception to this is Adrian's character. I was taken back by the direction of Adrian's character. We see a lot of growth in him throughout this book. Which is a nice and needed twist to the plot. I predicted Dimitri's reaction in this book which is only because of how thoroughly Mead allows to get to know her characters. Along with the extreme growth of Adrian, we also see a little growth in Lissa. Which I am happy for. I love Lissa's character, I really do, but I was glad to see her mature a bit in this book. She has quiet strength about her and I was glad that Mead allowed us to see more of it. Although I was not surprised by some of the reactions of the characters, I was blown away by the many twists, including the surprise ending-cliffhanger that nobody will see coming. You must read the previous four books fully understand and appreciate the awesomeness that is this next to the last in the series. (Although, I've heard there might be a spin-off) MUST READ...IF you were discouraged by Blood Promise, don't worry I promise you Spirit Bound is everything you expect Richelle Mead's books to be. YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!!