Hardcover: 503 pages
Release date: August 25th, 2009
Goodreads Summary:
Rose Hathaway's life will never be the same.
The recent attack on St. Vladimir's Academy devastated the entire Moroi world. Many are dead. And, for the few victims carried off by Strigoi, their fates are even worse. A rare tattoo now adorns Rose's neck, a mark that says she's killed far too many Strigoi to count. But only one victime matters . . . Dimitri Belikov. Rose must now choose one of two very different paths: honoring her life's vow to protect Lissa - her best friend and the last surviving Dragomir princess - or, dropping out of the Academy to strike out on her own and hunt down the man she loves. She'll have to go to the end of the earth to find Dimitri and keep the promise he begged her to make. But the question is, when the time comes, will he want to be saved?
This book was given to me last Christmas. I started to read it right away, but I was disappointed. It took me a week to finish this one. I expected the book to be fast paced, just like the other VA novels, but it was pretty slow for me. The story picks up where Shadow Kiss left off. Rose decided to leave Lissa and find Dimitri. Yes, the book is mainly about Rose's journey to Siberia, where she expects to find and kill Dimitri as a promise made by her to him when he turns into a Strigoi. There, she reflects her decisions she made, and whether she'll leave Lissa for good or not.
There are things I like about this book. But I'm not going to spoil all of it for the sake of the future readers. First, I liked was the way Rose gets emotional in this book. She lets her guard down, and just think before acting. But she doesn't always do that. For the future readers, you will understand me when you get into the middle of the book. Second, the revelation of the Alchemists. Yes, they have their first appearance on this book. I'm not going to explain what Alchemists are, but for one thing, you'll get mixed feelings for them. Third, Avery Lazar. She's a total b*tch. Sorry for the language, but she really is one. And I love how Mead wrote a villain that wasn't obvious she was until the end. I was like, "Rose, just slap that chick out of your lives." Lastly, the ending of the book. Seriously, the end was bamboozled with revelations and I just kept on reading it until I finished it.
For the most part, I wasn't worked up with this one. There's the part where Rose kills and tortures Strigoi vamps. I didn't like the side where her obsession for Dimitri gets her. Or the side where she just left poor Lissa without further explanation. And there's Dimitri. Spare me the lecture, I know exactly how you, Team Dimitri, feel. Dimitri's very evil in here obviously caused by Strigoi blood running in his veins. There's also less action, romance and mystery. So I was saddened that it's what I felt for like two-thirds of the book. I'd change half of the story if I could think of something better than this, but I don't have any idea.
Even if this seems to be a disappointing book, its still a favorite to me. The book is not bad, but not great. I recommend this to VA series lovers, because I know you'll love it anyway. I'm expecting a lot more on the next book so I'll go on and say VA is really amazing.
Liked it.
Patrick
