This review will contain spoilers from the previous five books in the series. I recommend skipping this review if you are intending on reading the Vampire Academy series.

Title: Last Sacrifice (Vampire Academy #6)
Author: Richelle Mead
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Vampires, Magic, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Razorbill (an imprint of Penguin)
Publication Date: December 2010
Pages: 594
Rating: 5 stars

Synopsis (from goodreads):
They come first.

My vision was growing dimmer, the blackness and ghosts closing in. I swore it was like I could hear Robert whispering in my ear: The world of the dead won’t give you up a second time. Just before the light completely vanished, I saw Dimitri’s face join Lissa’s. I wanted to smile. I decided then that if the two people I loved most were safe, I could leave this world.

The dead could finally have me.

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 offence 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?

My Review:

Picking up with Spirit Bound left off, Rose Hathaway is in a LOT of trouble. On trial for a murder she didn’t commit and trying to keep the secret of her best friend’s secret sibling from her, Rose is just trying to stay alive long enough for her friends to clear her name. When everything seems impossible, the unlikeliest of allies come to her aid and together, with Dimitri, Rose risks everything she has to save the ones she loves.

I love this series – and this book is no exception. I think it’s well written with a cast of fantastic characters who are three dimensional and entertaining. Last Sacrifice gives some of the lesser characters time to shine whilst Rose is on the run. Lissa really comes into her own and becomes the royal citizen that she was always meant to be. The bond between Rose and Lissa is such a helpful tool for the reader to be in two places at once – and I much preferred how it was utilized in this novel (especially considering my dislike of the convenience of the bond in Blood Promise).

Despite Rose being a kick arse heroine and one who I really enjoyed watching develop as the series progressed – for me this series’ heart was the love story between Rose and Dimitri (and Adrian). I traditionally despise love-triangles. But I really loved how everything played out. I felt like Rose really earned the relationship and the vampire she ended up with.

This book was a satisfying conclusion to the Vampire Academy series. There’s plenty of drama, action and romance to be enjoyed and I loved how everything played out. It’s a series that I’m thrilled to have discovered this year and can recommend it to all fans of YA paranormal novels.

I’m so excited to have the first two Bloodlines books in my possession so I can start reading the adventures of Sydney, Adrian and Jill as soon as possible.

Purchase the novel from:

Amazon / Book Depository