S.O.S Book of the Week

The S.O.S Book of the Week is where I let you in on what new releases I'm looking forward to! S.O.S comes from the term 'Strict on Sale'. It's bookseller speak for a title that you can't sell before a specific date-- think Harry Potter. While the books I have here may not be S.O.S titles specifically, they are all new!

The S.O.S. Book of the Week is:

Due out on December 7th, 2010, 'Last Sacrifice' is the final book in Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy series. I was introduced to this series by a friend who said I 'had to read' them. It took years, but eventually, I DID pick up the series and haven't put it down since. There are various reviews of the books in the series here on the blog, for anyone interested. (Just click the tag below with Mead's name to pull them up!)  Also, I made up a fantasy cast a few months back, you should take a peek at!

The finale to this series is sure to be packed with romance, action, and some serious girl power! Here's a blurb, taken from Goodreads:

"Murder. Love. Jealousy. And the ultimate sacrifice. Now, with Rose on trial for her life and Lissa first in line for the Royal Throne, nothing will ever be the same between them."

What do I want to see? Staying away from specific spoilers... I want to see Dimitri gone. Honestly, I just don't like the guy and never really have. Ohhh, I'd love to see more with Rose's dad. He's a great character.  I'd also like to see none of the main characters die. (Let's not have a repeat of 'Mockingjay', please!!!!!)

Looking forward to this release? What do YOU want to see?

Review: Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead

Title: Spirit Bound
Author: Richelle Mead
Genre: YA, supernatural, romance, action
Perfect for: fans of the Vampire Academy series

Normally, here I'd recap the story a bit, but in the case of 'Spirit Bound', it's complicated.  So many things that are important to this book were part of the original four books in the series.  My summery probably wouldn't make much sense to those who haven't read Vampire Academy from the beginning.  While I'll keep my review spoiler free, I'm hiding it under the cut, anyways, just in case you are still reading books 1-4.  CLICK READ MORE...



'Spirit Bound' was what I expected and a bit of what I didn't expect.  It was full of raw emotions/action that has become a staple of the series, yet had moments I truly didn't expect.  The fact that so many events went unpredicted by me is one of the reasons I couldn't put this book down.

The positives-- I have to say seeing ore of Adrian was great.  He is, after Christian, my favorite character and, again my opinion, the best suitor for Rose.  Adrian's role was expanded a bit and it was nice seeing this background and upbringing more clearly.  It helped me figure out where Adrian had been coming from this whole time.

Speaking of Christian, he and Abe had some great lines.  The writing in 'Spirit Bound' was just as spot on as the previous books.  I laughed at quite a bit during Abe's scenes.  And surprisingly, the scenes between Christian and Lissa were cute and (this is a first) quite welcoming.

Okay, the negatives...  Rose.  She's the main character, yes, but that doesn't mean I have to like her.  She bugged the heck out of me throughout the entire book.  People hated Bella Swan of the Twilight series because of her dependency issues, well, I say Rose was equally annoying throughout most of this book as she 'used' most every secondary character for her own needs.  Don't get me started on how unfair she was to Adrian.  Even Lissa, who albeit did her part willingly, did something I won't spoil that helped Rose.

The love triangle is the most lopsided love triangle I've ever read.  Jacob Black had more pull on Bella than poor Adrian seems to have. *sigh*  It's almost not even fair to Adrian.  The love triangle is turning out to be the most predictable thing in this series.

Dimitri, well, I have never liked him very much.  I will say he brings some interesting things into the story, however anticlimactic those bits may be.  I'm interested to see what happens with him.

Last, the story...  Although odds are it won't matter much to addicted readers, the story is a bit more laid back than others and lacks any sort of conclusion.  It's very much a part one of two story-- meaning it can't stand alone.  I can't think of any storyline in 'Spirit Bound' that actually got tied up, unlike the rest of the books in this series.

All I'll say is thank goodness the next book is coming out in December.

Review: Blood Promise by Richelle Mead

Title: Blood Promise
Author: Richelle Mead
Format: Hardcover
Genre: YA, Supernatural, Romance
Perfect for: older teens who enjoyed Twilight and want something with a little more bite

What a whirlwind of a book! Just like the previous Vampire Academy titles by Richelle Mead, I couldn't put 'Blood Promise' down! The story centers around Rose as she heads to Dimitri's home town in the hopes of keeping a promise they made to each-other before their world was ripped apart. Rose's future as Lissa's Guardian are put in danger as her journey takes her into more dangerous places than she ever expected and she has to decide once and for all, does she have the power to destroy her first love?

I gave myself a week to finish this book and proceeded to finish it within the first two days. The writing style is just as addictive as the other fantastic books in the series, with a few weak points. It seemed to me that she was in Russia with Dimitri's family too long. We got so used to Rose as being a very proactive person that watching her be indecisive for so long was tiring and made the middle of the book feel long. My other problem was that she was separated from the secondary characters we've come to know and love for too long. Some may say that was the point of the novel, to keep them separated, but, in all honesty, they could have found each-other a little bit quicker.

Even with the problems, I still found 'Blood Promise' engaging and can't wait for the next book in the series. Mead has a great series on her hands!