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Originally published on The Librarian Next Door: After an emotional experience in Russia, dhampir Rose Hathaway is ready to get back to her life and graduate as a full-fledged guardian. She’s even making a real attempt at a relationship with Adrian. But a nagging voice in the back of her head keeps reminding her that there’s a chance – a small, impossible chance – to save her first love, Dimitri, from life as a Strigoi. So Rose sets off – with Lissa in tow – on a dangerous, illegal mission to find the one person who might be able to help her, not knowing that she’s about to set off a chain reaction of events that will drastically change everything she knows and risk the lives of the very people she is trying to save. Spirit Bound, the fifth and penultimate book in Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy series, is a whirlwind of action and consequences that pushes the characters into new and strange situations and sets the stage for a dramatic and climactic final book. Though the series started within the safe confines of the school, Rose is now forced into the real world – in the eyes of the law and her world, she’s an adult and her actions can no longer be chalked up to youth indiscretions. She also faces situations that are increasingly gray. The relatively simple world of school has given way to the complicated world of the Royal Court. I’ve mentioned in previous Vampire Academy book reviews that I’m continually impressed with the intricate, complex world that Mead has created. Her Moroi society has layers and layers of rules, social mores, political debates and personal opinions. The delicate and necessary balance between dhampirs and Moroi is explored in greater detail in Spirit Bound as all of the characters struggle to figure out what they believe – and how far they’re willing to go for that belief. By moving the location of the book to the Moroi Royal Court, readers are given an inside look at how Rose’s world is governed, the alliances and rivalries that play out behind the scenes and the multitude of secrets that abound at every level. It’s a remarkably and wonderfully developed, sophisticated society that leaves you in awe of Mead’s skill in building it up in a way that feels completely real, considering the story centers on vampires. Likewise, Mead manages to infuse a great deal of reality into Rose’s quest. In other circumstances, Rose’s decision to break someone out of jail and then restore a Strigoi’s soul would seem far-fetched and outlandish. Indeed, on the surface, her actions appear wildly over-the-top and a bit too much of an easy solution to the conflicts in previous books. Yet Rose’s actions never seem farcical because Mead makes her characters work for it. The resolutions and solutions aren’t neat and cozy and every action Rose and Lissa take have consequences. Victor manages to escape, making him just as much a threat as before. Dimitri rejects Rose after he is turned back into a dhampir, unable to face the guilt of his actions. Rose’s actions repeatedly place Lissa – the one person she’s sworn to protect – in danger. And Rose herself inadvertently ends up providing the Royal Court with the support they need to pass a law she detests. Mead makes things messy and complicated and unhappy. For all of her worldliness, Rose is still just a teenager trying to navigate so many different roles at the same time and sometimes, she fails. Spirit Bound is a roller-coaster ride from start to finish and ends, like so many of Mead’s previous books, with a complete change to the story. Mead seems determined to keep things unpredictable by adding yet another twist and revealing yet another layer to the story that has readers grasping to find out what happens next. It’s a thrilling addition to the series that leaves you anxiously awaiting the final chapter.

2023-06-29 08:05