Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead

Title: Last Sacrifice (Vampire Academy #6)
Author: Richelle Mead
ISBN: 9781595143068
Publisher: Razorbill
Page #: 394
Source: My own copy

Summary:
"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 guardians 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 whole life is about saving others, who will save you?"
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First Lines:

"I don't like cages.
I don't even like going to zoos. The first time I went to one, I almost have a claustrophobic attack looking at those poor animals."
Page 11
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Review:

**I'm not sure if I can review this book without spoilers. So if you don't wanna know what happens, tread carefully. Especially if you haven't read the rest of the books!**

Clearly, I'm a huge Vampire Academy fan. I can pretty well say that it's one of the absolute best vampire series' out there today. Here are some of my other reviews of the books:
Vampire Academy (preblog)
Frostbite (preblog)
Shadow Kiss
Blood Promise
Spirit Bound

These days it's fairly rare for an author to call an ending to their series. Seriously, have you noticed how many are going on forever? But I'm happy that this series is done in six books. Not because I wanted it to be over, but because the story ends so perfectly. (Well, and not to mention the spin off that's coming - which has some of the same characters.)

So, this is the story after Rose has been imprisoned for supposedly killing the Queen. And this is where it gets really spoilery - she gets broken out of the Court and goes on a massive adventure. She's been given instructions by the late queen and has to see them through. During this whole thing, she's still able to see how Lissa is doing through the bond - which gives you a second perspective on the whole story.

Honestly, I think one of the coolest things about this book was the bond being the most important link in finding out what's happening back in Court. It's written really well - almost like the author had intended for the two characters to be apart at some point and this would be the way you'd get both sides of the story.

This series is one of the few that I don't have to backtrack to remember what the last book was about. There are enough hints and stuff dropped so you're really not in the dark at all. And there are times when things are mentioned that I had forgotten, but it just helps make the story richer. I have to say, this author seamlessly pulls in all of these characters from the past books to give them all some sort of closure.

I know a lot of people are interested to find out which guy Rose ended up with. I'm not going to say who (in an attempt to be less spoilery), but I have to say I'm happy about who she chose. And really it wasn't her choosing so much as realizing who she is meant to be with. It was actually pretty hot and steamy for a little while *whew!* :) But the romance aspect was just one of the great things about this book.

There were a few parts of the ending that I wasn't really expecting. But it was nice to see how things were coming together perfectly. I could not have asked for a better ending. I almost cried a little in the end, actually. Ahem. But it was wonderful - and really makes me want to go back and read the whole series together. Something tells me it would be a pretty powerful experience. But I'd never get anything else done if I tried it. These books are "lay awake at night reading" good.

I can't wait to see what this author has in store for the future. I will absolutely be reading any new YA stuff she comes up with. I know she does adult series' as well, but I'm all YA :). Richelle Mead a very talented author and I know we'll see more from her (mostly because a new series has already been announced, Bloodlines). Sounds like a very cool spinoff. Eee!
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Other Blog Reviews:

IB Book Blogging
Geeky Blogger's Book Blog
December Series Review
Paranormal Haven
StoryWings
The Compulsive Reader
Lots of other reviews out there, so give them a look.