Book Review of Blood Promise by Richelle Mead

Title: Blood Promise

Author: Richelle Mead

Release Date: August 29, 2009

*If you have not read Vampire Academy, Frostbite, or Shadow Kiss this will contain spoilers*

How far will Rose go to keep her promise?

The recent Strigoi attack at St. Vladimir’s Academy was the deadliest ever in the school’s history, claiming the lives of Moroi students, teachers, and guardians alike. Even worse, the Strigoi took some of their victims with them. . . including Dimitri.

He’d rather die than be one of them, and now Rose must abandon her best friend, Lissa—the one she has sworn to protect no matter what—and keep the promise Dimitri begged her to make long ago. But with everything at stake, how can she possibly destroy the person she loves most?

Summary from Goodreads.com

My Review: I started this book by listening to it on audiobook.  I have done this a couple of times with this series.  I start with the audiobook and then I finish it by actually reading the book.  I know, I am weird, but this is not the first time I have done this.  Well, the reason I bring this up this time is because of the narrator.  I mentioned this once before but since I have listened to all of these on audiobook for at least a little bit the inconsistencies BUG ME!  In some of the audiobooks Dimitri has a slight Russian accent and in some books there is absolutely no accent.  So weird.  You know what else is strange, in this book Adrian has this odd, British I think, accent.  I was not a fan, he just sounded wrong.  And at the beginning of the book, the narrator dragged Rose’s voice out so it sounded like she was whiny, and to me she is anything but whiny.  I know she has been going through a lot lately and she might be depressed, but not whiny.  This has nothing to do with the quality of the book at all, this is just the narrator that bothered me.  I would maybe not listen to this one on audiobook and just read it in print format.

Alright onto the content and let me first say I LOVE Rose.  She is such an awesome character and I am so happy this book is focused so much on her and her journey.  In this book, Rose is off to hunt Dimitri and she is finding that to be  a very difficult task to complete.  She has no idea where he is, so she starts by seeking out his hometown.  I have to say, I was intrigued with the idea of getting to see where Dimitri grew up.  He is such a mysterious character so getting a glimpse into his past is a treat.

I also felt for Rose in this novel.  She is doing a lot of self discovery and finding out who she really is, which proves to be a daunting task.  She has also left Lissa behind, which leaves her feeling empty and guilty.  She is checking in on her from time to time, which is helpful and harmful.  Lissa has found a new friend, Avery, who seems to lift Lissa’s spirits, but has a sorted past which does not make me think she is the best influence on Lissa.  She also has her eye on Adrian which left me annoyed, so I did not really like her from the beginning.

Along those lines, I am not sure exactly when it happened, but at some point I started to like Adrian over Dimitri.  I know!  I never, ever, switch teams, whenever I pick a guy I am usually hard core rooting for that one and shun the other.  Darn you Richelle Mead for making Adrian so appealing.  I was actually wanting him to visit Rose’s dreams more and was disappointed when he left.  This might also have something to do with the fact that Dimitri is stigoi and I know there is no way Rose will stay with him now that he has turned.

When Rose and Dimitri do meet up in this book, the results are….interesting.  That is all I am going to mention in case you have not read it because I will ruin it if I say anything else.  I would be interested to know what others thought of that section of the book though because I know I was a little surprised by some of the events.

When the book was finished I was content with what knowledge I had, but there are still quite a few issues that need to be worked through in future books.  I am trying to drag out the process of reading the next book in the series, Spirit Bound, because I know once I do I will have to wait until December for the final book.  I have loved this journey though, Rose is quickly becoming one of my favorite female leads.  I almost feel protective of her, she has been through so much pain.  I am eager to see where her journey heads next and I am wishfully hoping there is some happiness waiting there for her.