I’ve finally finished the six-book Vampire Academy series with Last Sacrifice (2010) by Richelle Mead! And with the conclusion, I’ve found a little closure, some satisfaction, and some annoyance. Much like the other books in this series, Last Sacrifice was a fun and fast read with plenty of adventure and romance. If you have any interest, stop reading this review and get reading with the first book. As for me, I thought I’d be done with this last one, but Mead has a whole new “Bloodlines” series that apparently continues this story from a different perspective. I know there are so many other books I should be reading, but I think I might have to keep going.
This last book finds Rose in jail, wrongly accused of the murder of Queen Tatiana. Things aren’t looking up for Rose when it appears she’s going to be rushed through a trial and conviction. Her friends make a daring prison break to get her out, and Rose is suddenly on a road trip with Sydney (the alchemist featuring in the next series) and her true love, Dimitri (even though Rose is ridiculously obtuse about realizing this).
Rose, Dimitri, and Sydney try to stay safe on the run while her friends attempt to figure out the mystery of who really killed the queen. All of that close contact with Dimitri inevitably ramps up the sexual tension, but Rose has decided that she’s moved on and is dating Adrian. The main point of this story is the romance between Rose and Dimitri. The mystery is just there to keep them busy while they find their way to each other, and it serves that purpose adequately.
My main problem with this book is the unnecessary love triangle with Rose, Dimitri, and Adrian. It felt ridiculously unbelievable. I was willing to buy into this impossible love story between Rose and Dimitri: that they were practically perfect partners and soul mates. It was even romantic enough that I could turn a blind eye to the creepy age difference/instructor business. Rose dropped out of school and ran to Russia for Dimitri; she broke into prison–risking both her future and her friends’ future; she is obsessed with him. I could see her possibly hooking up with Adrian out of despair when Dimitri turns away from her after he comes back, but that’s it. Rose continuing to believe that Adrian is her boyfriend while she’s gallivanting about the country with Dimitri doesn’t even make sense, and it cheapens the real love that is supposed to exist between the two. If Dimitri is just a fling and Rose is too immature to realize that she doesn’t really like Adrian, then she should not be hooking up with a teacher. There could have been just as much tension, and more believable drama, if Rose and Dimitri got to know each other and started trusting each other again on the road trip. Adrian did not need to be a part of it.
I did appreciate that Mead showed how upset Adrian was when he found out Rose was cheating on him–even though I found it hard to forgive Rose. It was one of the few times that Mead actually showed the repercussions of some of Rose’s actions. She’s constantly dragging her friends down into these schemes and everything seems to work out. In the real world, if you break out of prison, blow up walls, and beat up a bunch of guardians, you will answer for it, whether you were innocent of the original charge or not. But even with these problems, I’m kind of hooked into this world. I need a break, but I imagine I will find myself getting back into it eventually.
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I hope you keep going! I liked the next series even better (Sydney is such a great central character) and they’re just entertaining as hell. Perfect summer reads that don’t require too much though, but still have decent payoff.
Two people’s recommendations is way more encouragement than I need. I guess I’m reading the next series. :)
Great review! I agree with ModernLove – I liked the spin-off series even better. These are perfect poolside reads for me.