Audiobook Review of Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead

Title:  Last Sacrifice

Author:  Richelle Mead

Release Date:  December 10th, 2010

Genre:  Young Adult Fantasy

*If you have not read the previous books in the Vampire Academy series this might contain spoilers*

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: 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?

Summary from Goodreads.com

My Review:  You might be wondering why it has taken me until June to put up a review for this book since it came out in December.  Well, I kept putting off the final chapter in the Vampire Academy series because I knew once I read it, that was it.  No more Rose, well at least no more Rose as a narrator.  I am going to miss her, she is by far my favorite heroine in the YA world.  She has such a memorable voice and a presence that I have not found anywhere else in the YA world.  She will be impossible to replace.

Onto the story, we pick up where we left off with Rose.  She has managed to get herself into another crazy situation and is now on the run.  Her friends are trying to keep her safe and stash her in a remote town and tell her to wait.  Ha, have they met Rose?  Of course she is not just going to sit around and wait, and so the adventure begins.

As in previous books the bond between Rose and Lissa allows the reader to stay with Rose and check in on Lissa occasionally.  This gives the reader the chance to see what is going on in both worlds, so you get the whole story.  I always thought it was such a clever way to give multiple perspectives of the story while still remaining in Rose’s head full time.  She really does put a nice sarcastic spin on everything that keeps humor peppered into the story right where it is needed.

It was also interesting to see the many mysteries that have been present since book one, wrap up nicely in Last Sacrifice.  Earlier plot lines that I had long forgotten came to the forefront and played a vital role in both Lissa and Rose’s life.  Plus, there were quite a few shocking moments in there that I did not see coming at all.  Especially many events that unraveled there at the end.  Way to go Richelle, nice plot twists!

Overall, I just love this series.  Rose is not only my favorite female protagonist, she is my favorite YA character period.  I have loved being a part of her world and in her head while she navigated her way through life.  While the series is over and all major issues have been resolved, we are still left with many sub plots that are not quite finished.  I am hoping the new spin off series will address some of these issues and even let us see some of the Vampire Academy gang again every now and then.