Last Sacrifice (VA 6) Review

Vampire Academy 6: Last Sacrifice

-       Richelle Mead

Publisher: UK – Penguin

**Warning there maybe spoilers for earlier books in the series**

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. 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. 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?

This is the last book in the original Vampire Series – and certainly the last one with Rose Hathaway as the main protagonist. This means the book has to wrap up the major plot points raised thus far to leave the series with a satisfying conclusion without any major disappointments. Luckily Richelle Mead manages to do this beautifully.

After the cliff hanger ending in Spirit Bound, Last Sacrifice picks up immediately and wastes no time jumping straight into the story. I have to confess after finishing Spirit Bound, I was desperate to see what happened next so I ignored the planned reading schedule I had planned and picked this up hours after finishing Spirit Bound. I was excited to see what Rose would do to clear her name. I wasn’t disappointed with the dual storylines – Rose, Syndey and Dimitri’s road trip around the country and Lissa, Christian and Adrian’s investigation to clear Rose’s name at Court. So many of the secondary characters are given larger roles this time – I especially liked seeing more of Sydney and Jill (so happy the spin series will feature them both!). The mystery about who framed Rose was intriguing – I didn’t figure it out until the last minute.

The complex and ever shifting relationships between the characters has been what has been pulling me into this series time after time. Although, I got a little frustrated with Rose at times for acting immature; she doesn’t seem to give Dimitri much time to recover from his experiences and treats Adrian badly, but then I realised she is only 18! The story does wrap up Rose’s story – although I think Lissa’s has only just begun. In addition there are a lot of questions around some of the other characters which will have me desperate to pick up Bloodlines as soon as I can!

This series has been a breath of fresh air in the crowded YA vampire genre. There’s been action and adventure, heartbreak and trials, joy and growing pains as well as a complex society with ever changing storylines that has kept me guessing throughout. The whole series has been great fun to read – and one I would recommend.

Recommended for fans of the Iron Fey and House of Night. 9 out of 10.