Blood Promise and Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead

If you haven't read any of the books in The Vampire Academy Series then this review will contain some spoilers for you. Please read carefully.

 Richelle Mead has created such a fabulous world with the Vampire Academy Series. A little background in case you haven't read the other's in this series. They are all of Russian descent, and there are vampires called Moroi and half-vampires called dhampir's. They are all mortal, but have slightly longer lives than humans. The only vampire's in this world that are immortal are Strigoi who are the most dangerous.

The main character, Rose Hathaway, is a dhampir and is training to be a guardian for her best friend, Lissa Dragomir, who is one of the Moroi royals. Dhampir's are protectors for the Moroi and fight the Strigoi to keep them safe. Rose's mentor, Dimitri, helped her train when she and Lissa returned to their school after running away. But, in the end, their relationship formed into something more.

In Blood Promise, Rose leaves her school of St. Vladimir's and Lissa behind in search of Dimitri. Watching him being bitten by the Strigoi had been devastating for her, especially now that everyone thinks he is dead. Rose knows better, and wants to journey to his home country of Siberia to help set him free.

Along the way Rose comes into contact with an Alchemist, Dimitri family, and Abe Mazur, a man who ends up being a thorn in her side no matter what she does. Before Rose takes the final steps to search Dimitri out, she also meets another shadow-kissed pair that teach her more about the bond and connection she shares with Lissa.

This book was heart breaking and beautiful. At times it was difficult for me, but I wanted to know what happened next. The world that Richelle Mead has created is unique and refreshing, a wonderful take on the life of vampire's. Instead of this tale being told from the perspective of a Moroi, as you would expect, we get to read it from Rose, a guardian who can be right in the thick of the action.

I found myself fighting back tears through the majority of this book, wondering just how much more she could possibly take. Just when you think you know what's going to happen, Richelle pulls the rug out from under you to reveal there's so much more to the story.

And then came Spirit Bound, the fifth book in this amazing series. It's graduation time for the students at St. Vladimir's. The dhampir's are eager for their guardian assignments and the Moroi are anxious for their places among their peers.

Rose is concerned about not getting assigned to Lissa and is attempting a dangerous mission to find out if Strigoi can be healed. Not only does she endanger herself, Lissa, fellow guardian Eddie, and Rose's boyfriend Adrian, but she also lets a dangerous Moroi criminal loose.

This next installment in the Vampire Academy series was just as difficult to read as Blood Promise, leaving just as many questions unanswered.

With Dimitri back and new age laws coming into effect for dhampir's training to be guardians, things are really beginning to heat up in the vampire world. Richelle does an amazing job of showing the emotional turmoil that Rose and her friends are going through, ripping your heart out along with them. So much happens in this next installment, and I don't want to give it away. Just prepare yourself for an incredible journey.

I can hardly wait for Last Sacrifice, the final book in this series, to be released and there isn't that much longer for that. For more information on Richelle Mead and the other books she's written, you can check it out here: http://www.richellemead.com or you can follow her on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/richellemead.