Book Review #3: Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead

Title: Last Sacrifice
Author: Richelle Mead
Series: Vampire Academy #6 (last)
Pages: 594
Publisher: Razorbill
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance, Vampire, Urban Fantasy
Other Books By The Author: Vampire Academy, Frostbite, Shadow Kissed, Blood Promise, Spirit Bound, Bloodlines, The Golden Lily, Succubus Blues, Succubus On Top, Succubus Dreams, Succubus Heat, Succubus Shadows, Succubus Revealed, Storm Born, Thorn Queen, Iron Crowned.
Goodreads Rating: 4.51

The Blurb: Murder. Love. Jealousy. And the ultimate sacrifice.

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?

Review: I finished the Vampire Academy series! I don't know if I should be happy because everything turned out fine or sad because it's over. Conflicting emotions in me, but that's nothing new. I absolutely loved it. It took me three days to read it, and there wasn't one second when I wasn't reading it that I didn't want to go back to it.
I was worried that all that had to happen wouldn't fit in just 600 pages- it seems like a lot, but it isn't, really. I was worried that Richelle Mead wouldn't have enough space to write a happy ending. She did it, however, and managed to do it beautifully. There were many unexpected twists in the plot that surprised me. While some people say that they knew all along who was the murderer and how it would all turn out, but it caught me totally by surprise. Who would have thought that person was capable of that much? The ending was what I had thought from the beginning of book one, but I was starting to fear that it wouldn't finish like that after all.
Rose is just so Rose... You only undestand me if you have read the books, she's so herself. She's amazing and unique. I already said that I loved books that made me want to be better, and this one did. This book has tought me about self-forgiveness, about doing the right thing, about searching true love and stopping at nothing to get to it. Rose excelled at everything. She's an example at never giving up and always trying to be better. It's easy to see how she has evolutionated from the beginning of the series. She used to be indisciplined, impulsive, letting what she felt control her every move and getting into fights. She has matured so much! I feel as proud as if I was her Mum, or maybe even more than Janine does. Although no more than Abe! Now she is like a mini-Dimitri. She has selfcontrol, she thinks before she acts, she avoids fights (except if they involve killing strigois), she puts other people first (specially moroi)... She's fantastic.
I'm crazy in love with Dimitri. Someday I will dedicate him a 'My Book Boyfriend'. He's perfect, perfect, perfect. He loves Rose so much! I adore him. The problem is that there is also Adrian Ivashkov. Ah, my sweet Adrian. He's so cute, so adorable... He gave up smoking and drinking for Rose, and he likes her so much... But Dimitri is meant to be with her, they are perfect for each other, they work in sync. And I want one like him! Gosh, love triangles are exhausting, but I love them all the same.
The writing style is very pretty and easy to follow, fun and light. I love this book series dearly, I adore it. I'm so sad it's already over! But tell you what, I still have Bloodlines! It won't be all about Rose, Dimitri and Lissa (who by the way was very royal and fantastic in this book), but I will have Sydney, Jill, Adrian (<3) and Eddie! They are so good, I can't wait to buy it!
COVER: A very 'Vampire Academy' style cover. The beautiful girl, the hair, the gate, the background... I liked it, though I prefered the cover of Shadow Kissed. It's pretty nonetheless.

Plot: ***** (5 Stars)
Characters: ***** (5 Stars)
Style: ****+ (4.5 Stars)
Cover:**** (4 Stars)
TOTAL: ****+ (4.5 STARS)

And a very pretty quote for you:
``Sometimes, a person can get so caught up in the details that they miss the whole. It's not just the dress or the hair. It's you. You're beautiful. So beautiful, it hurts me.´´
Tell me that you don't love it!

About The Author: Richelle Mead

Scorpio Richelle Mead is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of urban fantasy books for both adults and teens. Originally from Michigan, Richelle now lives in Seattle, Washington where she works on her three series full-time. Before becoming a writer, she considered a few different career paths. She received a liberal arts degree from the University of Michigan, an MA in Comparative Religion from Western Michigan University, and a Master in Teaching (Middle & High School English) degree from the University of Washington. In the end, she decided writing was the way for her but believes all of her education prepared her for it.

A life-long reader, Richelle has always had a particular fascination with mythology and folklore. When not writing,, she enjoys bad reality TV, traveling, trying interesting cocktails, and shopping for dresses. Lots of dresses. She is a self-professed coffee addict, fights a constant (and losing) battle with procrastination, and has a passion for all things wacky and humorous.

Her adult series are published by Kensington Books. The Georgina Kincaid Series (Succubus Blues, Succubus on Top, Succubus Dreams, and Succubus Heat) tell the humorous and heart-breaking story of a reluctant succubus who can't touch the man she loves without dire side effects. On top of that, she must deal with Hell's middle management team and the many supernatural threats that come her way. Richelle's Dark Swan Series (Storm Born and Thorn Queen) follows Eugenie Markham, a free-lance shaman who battles ghosts and fey that sneak into our world from the Otherworld. When an alarming prophecy suddenly makes her every Otherworldly creature's object of desire, Eugenie must dodge their advances while also fighting a dark power rising within her.
Richelle's YA series, Vampire Academy, is published by Razorbill Books (Penguin) and thus far contains Vampire Academy, Frostbite, Shadow Kiss, Blood Promise, and Spirit Bound. This New York Times and USA Today bestselling series has won honors from the American Library Association and been translated into 30 languages. It follows the war between two races of vampires, living and undead. Rose Hathaway, a 17-year old half-vampire, is training to be a bodyguard for the living vampires and finds her life complicated by the dangers that involves, as well as an illicit romance with one of her teachers.