Spirit Bound

by Richelle Mead

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Type: Book 5 of the Vampire Academy Series

POV: First person~ Rose

Rating: 4/5 stars

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. At last, it is graduation, and the girls cannot wait for their real lives beyond the academy gates to begin. Rose is finally going to become a guardian, and live up to her dreams. 

Well, you've finally got a license to kill. It's about time.

But Rose knows that Dimitri is still out there, somewhere, doing who knows what. Her failure to kill him haunts her. And now that he has tasted her blood, he hunts her and will do anything to get her. Including going after Lissa if necessary.

I'll find you. There is no place in this world you can hide from me. I'm watching. Love, Dimitri.

Having chose Lissa over the undead Dimitri, Rose will do anything to keep Lissa safe from Dimitri's wrath. Because a Moroi is no match for a Strigoi, especially one as powerful as Dimitri.

But Rose can't help the love she still feels for Dimitri. Love isn't an emotion that is easily turned off. When there is a possibility of saving him, she can't pass it by. But is it really possible to bring the undead back or just some fairy tale?

That which is dead doesn't always stay dead.

Rose knows someone with information, but that person is Victor Dashkov, who just so happens to be in a high security prison in Alaska, a place Lissa and Rose helped lock him into. With some help from her friends, Rose sets out on an impossible journey, one that breaks almost every law Rose is supposed to live up to as a guardian.


The beginning was very slow. It really didn't pick up until the prison break and then again at the battle with Dimitri. It was really up and down, which I found annoying after the last two books which I loved and rated 5 stars. The most annoying aspect of this book was the relationship between Adrian and Rose. WHY are they together?! I feel like Rose was just using Adrian to fill the emptiness that Dimitri left in her heart. Obviously it isn't working because Rose still has very deep feelings for Dimitri and it shows in her actions. Adrian must really love her to put up with all this ex-boyfriend drama. Don't get me wrong, I am 100% team Dimitri, but I just feel bad for Adrian with the way Rose is going between the two.

As always, Dimitri was my favorite part of the book. It killed me when Dimitri turned, but at the same time I liked seeing him as the darkling/bad guy. It was interesting that his affections for Rose carried over through the change. As a dhampir, he loved he. As a Strigoi, he was obsessed with her.

If I could dream, I know I'd dream about you. I'd dream about the way you smell and how your dark hair feels like silk between my fingers. I'd dream about the smoothness of your skin and the fierceness of your lips when we kiss. Without dreams, I have to be content with my own imagination--which is almost as good. I can picture all those things perfectly.

But Rose failed to kill him when given the opportunity. She has accepted that it is impossible to save him. He is the undead. Lissa is alive, and that is what Rose must focus on. But Dimitri knows how Rose works and what he has to do to get to her, or who he has to take to get to her: Lissa.

"You're beautiful in battle," said Dimitri. His 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 loved that the events finally changed and it effected almost everyone involved. It changes the aspects of different relationships: Rose & Dimitri, Dimitri & Lissa, Lissa & Christian, Dimitri & the entire vampire race (lol that sounds a bit dramatic).

Living as a Strigoi had hardened his heart, killing any chance of him loving anyone. Killing any chance of him loving me. And I was pretty sure that if that was the case, then part of me would die too.

There is just something with Dimitri that every conversation with him, my heart gets heavy. It is really hard to explain, but his character just speaks to me and I am in love with him. Which was why these last 3 books have been difficult for me. This one was especially hard because of what Dimitri told Rose! I was already for a happy reunion but no.

I've given up on you.... Love fades. Mine has.

WAY TO BREAK MY FUCKING HEART RICHELLE MEAD. 

Lissa is what surprised me most in this book. It took all of 4.5 books for me to finally like her. She is finally becoming stronger and independent, especially now that her and Christian have broken up. Lissa is more serious about her future and has definitely matured (minus the green eyed monster of jealousy). Her power is growing and I am pleased with her determination to help Rose with her impossible quest to save Dimitri. She really does owe Rose with as much as Rose dedicates to the relationship. It has always been about Lissa and now Lissa has the opportunity to turn the table and help Rose. My prediction is that Lissa becomes queen after the end of this series, and I think she would be a decent leader and queen.

This book was probably one of the most political of there series, because the majority of it took place at Court. We see more of the queen and actually an unexpected side of her. Overall, I was a bit disappointed with some aspects of the book. A few questions were left unsaid. Such as how Lissa was able to charm the stake or how Rose learned to control the spirits. The last ¾ of the book was amazing and full of plot twists. It definitely made up for the rocky start. Everything is building up for an epic final book.

My tags: vampires, best-villans, badass-female-character, darkling, death, action, paranormal, YA, book-boyfriend, fantasy, deep-feels, watch-out-for-that-cliff, politics