PENGUIN Vampire Academy: Last Sacrifice (book 6)

The queen is dead and Rose has been framed for her murder and is facing execution. However, she is rescued by her friends and now she and Demitri are on the run along with the Alchemist Sydney. But instead of lying low as everyone wants her to, Rose is determined to find who actually killed Tatiana and discover if Tatiana's note to Rose is true about Lissa's secret half-sibling. At court Lissa wants to find out who framed her best friend but is caught in the struggle for the throne. Are both girls able to achieve their goals or will they be able to survive with a killer still out there and the guardians out to kill Rose?Last Sacrifice is the final book in the Vampire Academy series and is just as amazing as the others in this series. This is because they have everything; there is humour, politics, romance, action and friendships. I did not predict who the killer was and it was such a shock and a real twist.While Rose and I have had a rocky relationship over the series I love her character as she is so loyal and passionate and it was nice to see how much she has matured since the first book. I also like Lissa and how selfless, good and a smart leader she is.SPOILERI am so happy that Rose and Dimitri have their happy ending as they deserve it after everything they have both been through. However, I did not like how they got together as it felt like it cheapened their love by having Rose cheating on Adrian, even though I don't think Rose and Adrian belong together, it made me think less of both Rose and Demitri.SPOILER ENDWhile it is bittersweet that it is the end of the Vampire Academy series I am glad Rose and Lissa got their happy endings and that we get to see them in the spin-off series Bloodlines. I would recommend Last Sacrifice and this series to fans of YA and/or paranormal books.

** spoiler alert ** I finished this book late last night and I turned off the light with a smile on my face, although I couldn't sleep right away for thinking of Dimitri, Rose and their gang!I hadn't read any of Richelle Mead's books until this series, but I do admit I had definately heard of her. A few friends praised her up, one in particular (yes that would be you Shannon!) and I eventually got round to these wonderful, wonderful books.The beauty about Richelle's writing is that I never 'felt' like I was reading, her words 'danced' around in my mind as I watched the book play out in my imagination, I almost 'seen' the characters and what they were doing rather than have to grasp the words and work with them... Richelle has a beautiful way of capturing my interest.OMG!!! They got Dimitri back.... and what a miserable git he turned out to be... ok, ok, I was seeing through Rose's eyes and I was god dammed jealous of Lissa... he was supposed to love Rose!!!!And at what point was Richelle Mead going to warn us about Tatiana getting murdered???? WOW, I didn't see that one coming!!!!Mind, I enjoyed Adrian's relationship with Rose for what it was, well, let's face it, he is no Dimitri (or what Dimitri was huh)!So Rose get's pinned for murder and the guys (obviously) break her out, they mastermind it with the help of Abe (got to love that guy!!). Whilst enjoying her remote freedom with Sydney and the newly transformed Dimitri, Rose has the idea of trying to find out if there is any truth in Lissa maybe having a sister or brother!!!It's during all of this running around and watching Lissa at the Court through Rose's eyes, that Dimitri begins to discover himself again and the love he has for Rose obviously breaks through!Whilst the antics surge forward, Team Lissa is trying to clear Rose's name and we end up thinking of potential suspects. Although things are worked out in this area and we have the murderer revealed, I was utterly shocked!!! Oh My God... I thought Mia, the lovely little Mia, may have been at the top of the list after Danielle, and although Mia had her moment, I was so surprised to see who had really done this.I was saddened about the bond being over, but it made sense. I was saddened about Adrian.... and I am left wondering about Rose's relationship with Christian (although I think this would naturally turn out ok) and then there is of course Jill and our Sydney....HOWEVER, I am overjoyed to know that Bloodlines takes us on the journey with Sydney, Adrian and Jill... and this will be a book I pick up in the next week or so... I can't wait to see what happens to them.I thoroughly recommend this series, what a wonderful, wonderful way to spend the evenings, wrapped up in the adventures of Vampire Academy!

Okay so I read the whole saga, accompanying Rose and Dimitri drama plus the thing with Lissa and the gang.It's an entertaining saga, but I think it should have been a little more spiced up. The drama with Dimitri turning Strigoi, then Damphir again was great - I particularly liked her going to Russia to have them killed; then he kept chasing her and even the wicked way he looked at her was really interesting. But the whole denial with Rose after he was healed again was a little bit unnerving.The best books for me were the first two (VA and Frostbite). My fav was that one that included Strigoi Dimitri being a little sadistic and nasty - like, a real big bad vampire adding inevitable adrenaline to the story.Rose and her excessively bad/rebel temper was sometimes annoying. There is needed the right dose of rebel yell attitude to make things interesting but let's admit it - when it's too much, it tends to get "unreal".But! I enjoyed reading the saga, nonetheless. Of course, in within 8 books there are things you enjoy more and that you enjoy less, but I would recommend this saga to anyone. It's not gore... or childish, but it's a mild vampire story with action, adventure and suspense, soft passion and love. In my opinion, Rose and Dimitri's relation-ship could have been more explored. I liked Adrian reaction at the end of the book - devastated, revolted and giving Rose a good "slap". She deserved it.Well I guess that's all.Hope it helped.

The moroi Queen is dead, found murdered in her bed with Rose Hathaway's stake embedded in her chest. Caught in a desperate race to clear her name, Rose and her friends find themselves forced to play detective and solve the case for themselves. Political machinations and motives abound but can they find the killer before Rose loses her life? And what will her friends be forced to do in her defense?This is the sixth and final book in the Vampire Academy series (after  Vampire Academy , Frostbite , Shadow Kiss , Blood Promise  and  Spirit Bound ). This is a series you really need to read in order so I'd definitely recommend starting with book 1 (as well as not reading any further as I may spoil all the previous books).This is a pretty awesome end to the series. The storyline is well plotted and action packed, leading the characters off on two interlinked quests - proving Rose's innocence and finding Lissa's sister - whilst some stay behind at court to buy them time. There are a lot of twists and turns, although I figured out some in advance, and lots of plot lines from earlier books are brought forward and concluded.However some storylines were left unconcluded which I have mixed feelings over. On one hand Adrian, Sydney and Jill are all set to feature in the spin-off series which starts with  Bloodlines  so I'd expect their storylines to continue, but I've heard no mention of Eddie continuing. If he doesn't I'll be really disappointed as he gave up a lot to help Rose and there's not really been any mention of his future.Rose has to fight to prove her innocence, whilst also being protected by her friends and family which she is resistant to as they are putting themselves at risk. It also forces her to work with Dimitri and leaves her battling her feelings for him while trying to honour her relationship with Adrian. She's grown a lot since the series started and I felt for her as she struggles to clear her name.Lissa has also grown a lot since the beginning of the series and in order to buy Rose time she has entered the race to be named the new Moroi Queen. This not only gives a view into the monarchy tests which I found fascinating, but also brings the vampire politics storylines to the forefront and seeks conclusion to them. I loved how her relationship with Christian has helped bring out the best in her and their scenes together were incredibly sweet.All in all this was a good end to a fun series and I'm looking forward to the spin-off.Plot: 9/10Characters: 9/10Ending: 9/10Enjoyment: 9/10Cover: 8/10Overall: 44/50 Vampire AcademyFrostbiteShadow KissBlood PromiseSpirit BoundBloodlines

I'm going to avoid as many spoilers as possible, but please know that several of my feelings towards this book are based upon spoilers and therefore I will try to be as vague as possible to avoid ruining the experience for anyone.The book takes places several days after Rose is thrown in prison, wrongly accused of killing the Queen. With the funeral not far off, Rose's trial is set to be shortly after, meaning little time to find evidence to clear her name and find the real killer. When all hope seems lost, Rose finds herself on the run for her life and all her friends made across the Vampire Academy journey coming together for the final book and explosive conclusion.One thing I do love about Richelle Mead is her ability to surprise me, and she doesn't disappoint here. I was constantly kept on my toes throughout the book as something was always happening. Thankfully we don't have the situation like in Spirit Bound or Blood Promise where only half the book had plot important events going on, in Last Sacrifice both Lissia and Rose are working hard to find the murderer, set things to right whilst also sorting out their personal lives. A lot of side characters are thrown and dragged in from past books but all have a part to play in the finale, all have lines and if one character was missing we couldn't reach the end at all. The book also has a great sense of humour, despite the subject matter being dark and a lot of their actions being nothing less than law breaking, Rose comes through with quick wit and sharp observations. I also enjoyed that Richelle Mead took time to expand the universe of Vampire Academy further about 1/3 into the book, I've got a feeling that what we see will be further explored in the spin off but I've always like diving into a new world and seeing how far it stretches.The book isn't perfect though; outside of a few punctuation mistakes towards the end and one or two minor incorrect throwbacks to previous books, not everyone is going to be happy with the events in this novel. A series this loved and lasted this long, there will be fans who will disagree with some events (including me) and how some side characters aren't given a proper closure. But we have to remember this is ROSE'S story, and there IS a spin off to come. Last Sacrifice does a good job of rounding up some major plot points while keeping enough some small threads loose as well as leaves food for thought on the consequences of this book's actions to follow in the spin off - but the driving core of the series (the love triangle plus Rose and Lissia's friendship) does get an ending. Some characters are sacrificed, some end happily, others are left unclear; but with the huge events that happen and the ripples they create, it would be unrealistic to give everyone a perfect ending, the book sticks to its title - sacrifices are made for the greater good.Saying that; I did have a few worries about the book that thankfully didn't come to fruition. First of all, I was worried about Rose's behaviour; she seemed to have matured greatly in Shadow Kiss and Blood Promise, but took serious steps back in Spirit Bound by making terrible judgements to the point where I wanted to shake her, but apart from 2 blips on the radar, Rose showed how much she's grown since book 1 and has turned into a strong woman by the end of this book. This also covers other characters who take everything into account and play true to their colours; I enjoyed Dimitri's coming into his own after his trauma in the previous book and Sydney's part in all of the harder events in the book, I look forward to learning more about her in the spin off.I was also concerned about the love triangle's conclusion; the ending of Spirit Bound left a few things in the air with Dimitri's behaviour being cold and Adrian's loyalty on edge. But the build up towards the end wasn't rushed too much, there were some great moments for both male characters. Although you might see it coming a mile away, in the end nothing felt too forced when Rose made her decision as it seemed natural considering all that's happened up to that point. A few have complained it wasn't `intense' or `passionate' enough, admittedly you won't get any very heated moments like the lust charm from book 1 or the very dark turn of events in the latter half of book 4, most of it is discussion about how they feel and the quieter side of relationships, such as just being in each other's company. I liked it personally; it felt it was fitting considering we've had the intense forbidden romances, the stolen kisses, the heated misunderstandings and physical interactions, this book explored the more mature side and later stages of any relationship of talking about how they feel and making tough decisions - which isn't always easy to do. If the book had back to back sex, shouting battles and more of the sort, the relationships would just come off as superficial, but Last Sacrifice took a gamble of letting the littler side of the relationship take over instead of the safe route of over-the-top lusting.Instead we get lot of intense scenes where characters are on the run, investigating people we've trusted to get to the bottom of the murder mystery, some fight scenes (not all with Strigoi), constant hiding and aliasing with unlikely people to get to the end. Admittedly; I did grow tired of reading in parts where we were pulled away from the romance and murder mystery, and instead thrown into Lissia's personal trials she has to face, but Richelle's writing kept me in as not only was it important to the plot but also to Lissia's character development; she's grown a lot since book 1 and it was nice to be thrown into her shoes when it counted. The book also features a heavy political side, something I normally speed read through but again, Richelle's writing kept me interested.Last Sacrifice is a good Vampire Academy book, it has a fitting end from what it started out from. I liked how they included the first chapter of book 1 right at the end `cos you can see how far we've come; from 2 teenagers on the run to a huge political battle, from illicit crushes to true love. All Vampire Academy fans should read and mostly enjoy this book, Richelle Mead's done a fantastic job with this series and I can't wait to see where the spin off takes us. Hopefully from then and it's sequential books, we can all see the full potential and ending of this fantastic YA series.