Review: Blood Promise by Richelle Mead

Blood Promise by Richelle Mead
My rating: 4.5 of 5 genies
Genre: YA+, Urban Fantasy, Magic, Vampires, Adventure, Romance
Published: August 25, 2009
Pages: 503
Publisher: Razorbill
Source: Library Loan
Format: Paperback
Purchase At: TheBookDepository.com or Amazon.com

Goodreads Summary

Rose Hathaway's life will never be the same.

The recent attack on St. Vladimir's Academy devastated the entire Moroi world. Many are dead. And, for the few victims carried off by Strigoi, their fates are even worse. A rare tattoo now adorns Rose's neck, a mark that says she's killed far too many Strigoi to count. But only one victim matters . . . Dimitri Belikov. Rose must now choose one of two very different paths: honoring her life's vow to protect Lissa—her best friend and the last surviving Dragomir princess—or, dropping out of the Academy to strike out on her own and hunt down the man she loves. She'll have to go to the ends of the earth to find Dimitri and keep the promise he begged her to make. But the question is, when the time comes, will he want to be saved?

Now, with everything at stake—and worlds away from St. Vladimir's and her unguarded, vulnerable, and newly rebellious best friend—can Rose find the strength to destroy Dimitri? Or, will she sacrifice herself for a chance at eternal love?

My Thoughts

Why I liked this book: Duh, It's by Richelle Mead! Seriously you guys should be asking how I could not like this next installment in the Vampire Academy series. It was an engrossing ride with loads of ups and trademark Hathaway humor and I adored how the truth of Zmey came out. Smokey's on toast! That was a delightful surprise and I loved having him in this book. I also enjoyed:

- Olena, she was everything that I expected Dimitri's mother to be and more. Let me point out that my thoughts at the beginning and in regards to the blood whores in general swayed more towards images of a cave/ primitive society comprised of scantily clad women converged to take care of their illegitimate babies, and occasionally participate in skeevy unprotected sex. Hey, let the imagination be! But yes, that is what came to mind and I don't blame myself for thinking that way.

Everyone in the VA world is always talking about how slutty and cheap they are! And yet Olena was just sweet and awesome. Loved her.

- Bahaha! I could not live without Yeva in this book! The Woman is boss, my friends! She's just so capable and mysterious...I can't wait for more of her. Also the hell she put Rose through? Absolutely priceless.

- The overall connection between the girls, Rose and Lissa. It was really touching to see that Rose still took the time to check up on her friend and the fact that they really missed each other was made very evident. These two are the best friends, ever.

- How can I not mention Abe? Guy is a pimp-master general. Period. If for nothing else people should pick this next book strictly to find out more about him, really, it will be well worth it.


What I didn't like: Honestly? The lenght. I don't think that this book needed to be 500+ pages, and I realize that some do, but a lot of time and ink could have been saved if the action got along sooner. Sydney's presence was necessary for the world-building aspect and the introduction of the Alchemist's as a Strigoi-clean-up service/M.I.B.-type organization, but not for much else; and actually I found her pretty annoying.

Chicks who whine about being size 2 grate on my nerves in ways that you cannot imagine. When you're on an 800 calorie diet and trying to lose a minimum of 30 pounds by the end of the year? You can talk. Watching her dance over food when she was more than tiny became very irritating. Instead of feeling compassion/pity for her obvious lack in self-esteem I wanted to start my flamethrower. True story.

- I also hated seeing Dimitri this way, as a Strigoi, man it killed me. I have so many feelings for him that reading him dark and twisted wrenched like a knife. I want Dimka back! The dynamics of his relationship with Rose were also altered and when they were together I didn't know what to feel. Here was this Strigoi, but he was so much like Dimitri sometimes that hating him was impossible. I get why it must have been so hard for Rose!

H.M. (honorable mention): Goes to Yeva and Abe, because characters like these make a book stellar.

P.A.(problem areas): Like I mentioned, the length leaves much to be desired, but all in all this book was far from bad.

Rating: 4.5 genies :)