Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead

!!!SPOILER ALERT!!!

If you are reading, or plan to read the Vampire Academy series, DO NOT READ THIS (yet)!

Thanks. :)

Rose Hathaway has always played by her own rules.

She broke the law when she ran away from St. Vladimir’s Academy with her best friend and last surviving Dragomir Princess, Lissa. She broke the law when she fell in love with her gorgeous, off-limits instructor, Dimitri. And she dared to defy Queen Tatiana, leader of the Moroi world, risking her life and reputation to protect generations of dhampir guardian to come.

Now the law has finally caught up with Rose- for a crime she didn’t even commit. She’s in prison for the highest offense imaginable: the assassination of a monarch. She’ll need help from both Dimitri and Adrian to find the one living person who can stall her execution and force the Moroi elite to acknowledge a shocking new candidate for the royal throne: Vasilisa Dragomir.

But the clock on Rose’s life is running out. Rose knows in her heart the world of the dead wants her back… and this time she is truly out of second chances. The big question is, when your life is about saving others, who will save you?

If you've been following this blog lately, then you should know that I have absolutely loved this series. Rose may be one of my favorite butt-kicking heroines in a long time--possibly ever. I also now have a teeny tiny crush on a fictional character named Dimitri. Even Lissa grew on me once she found Christian and stopped acting so helpless. She definitely came into her own in the last two books. While I am sad that this is the final book in this series, I am pleased with how the story ended. Mostly...

I have been a die-hard Dimitri fan from the start, but I really wanted a good ending for Adrian. I didn't know what that could be, and obviously the author didn't either because he not only drew the short stick in the romance department, but he also got beat to a pulp with it. Poor guy. Let me say-- I didn't want him with Rose, but I wanted him to be with someone. I had the same reaction with his ending in this story that a lot of people had to the end of Gale's story in the Hunger Games series. (Which was-- "That's it?!?!? No explanation of what happened to him after??)

I also have to say this-- I figured out who the queen-killer was right away in this book. When I figure out who the bad guy is that early on in a book, I am very rarely wrong. The entire book, I was just waiting for someone to put the pieces together and call the real killer out. Oh, I'm so clever-- I figured it out before everyone!

......

Now, I don't do this often (ask any of my relatives) but I am going to admit it publicly...I was wrong. YES, you read that right. I said I was....WRONG! And totally surprised. It wasn't who I thought it was... but I kind of liked that. :)

Now, I wouldn't want to be wrong all the time of course, but it made the end of this series memorable for me because I was so shocked.

Two words: Loved. It.

Bravo, Richelle Mead.

Happy Reading!