Last Sacrifice (Vampire Academy, #6) in YA Buddy Readers' Corner ♥

Jan 07, 2011 Alexandra rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book isn't perfect. It's pretty damn good, but it isn't perfect. There were a lot of interesting twists, though, and I really enjoyed how they saved Sonya, found out about Jill, and even tying up the Victor loose end. (Although I wonder what happened to Robert) But the murder twist was a disappointment. I mean, the last twist with it being Tasha instead of Daniella? To me, that seems like something that was set up just for the sake of making a shocking twist. There's preplanned twist and th This book isn't perfect. It's pretty damn good, but it isn't perfect. There were a lot of interesting twists, though, and I really enjoyed how they saved Sonya, found out about Jill, and even tying up the Victor loose end. (Although I wonder what happened to Robert) But the murder twist was a disappointment. I mean, the last twist with it being Tasha instead of Daniella? To me, that seems like something that was set up just for the sake of making a shocking twist. There's preplanned twist and there's random, thrown-at-the-last-minute twist. This feels like the latter, and as such, it takes away from the great revelation. Instead of feeling surprised, I just felt disconnected and confused.

There was NO indication whatsoever that she's a violent person before, someone capable of killing, or even someone who cares about her causes enough to kill someone. And implicate someone else out of sheer jealousy. Heck, Daniella would have been the better murderer! She fits in all the pieces of the puzzle, and she's shown how much certain things matter to her that I didn't question her capability to kill (although it's possible she got someone else to do it for her). But that was a complete 180 we saw there in Tasha, and that just didn't work for me. And really? She would even endanger Lissa even if it was a fake attack? None of it adds up. And then we don't even hear from her again.

So many things are left unsolved. I didn't like how we left off with Adrian. I guess it's realistic and not the sugarcoated version of how the other guy in the love triangle is usually magically okay with it like in other stories - THAT's how a guy who's really hurt ought to act - but it also took away from the happy ending. I almost wish Richelle Mead would have been brave enough to continue having Rose and Adrian together up until the end. And how Rose needed to be told by someone else whom she loves? Ugh, I really, REALLY hated that. I realize she was one of those oblivious types who believed Dimitri when he said he didn't love her anymore, but that could've been handled better. I could've done without the "He's the right one for you" speech. She should've come to that realization herself.

And maybe not sleep with Dimitri until she broke up with Adrian. At least she admitted how shitty that was of her.

I'm also not sure I'm sold with the Lissa being queen thing. It might not be as big as being an actual queen of a nation or a president, but it's still big. And she's only 18. And like it or not, age matters. I don't want her to lose her teenage years. Ariana could have easily won the election and I'm sure the readers would have been okay with that, so I'm not sure why Mead did it. It was like going the unnecessary extra mile to make the character extra special, which Lissa was already plenty of, so it made me feel a bit turned off instead of happy for the character.

I'm not sure what to feel about the bond being gone. I guess it's a good thing that Rose can lead her own life now. Still, it has always bothered me how guardians basically have no life of their own once they're assigned someone to protect, and I wish that had been addressed. How is everyone so okay with that? I thought things were about to change when the Moroi started trying to defend themselves, but nothing came of those training either. Or how she and Dimitri still don't know who they'll protect first when it come down to either of them and Lissa. This is kind of important, and so I wonder if another novel isn't important enough.

And Jill. What was it that bothered Lissa about her, more than all the obvious reasons? It kept being hinted at and we didn't know up until the end. Nor did we find out what happened to Eddie and Sydney. I understand it's unrealistic to give everyone a happy ending, but it would have been nice to at least not have them all so easily forgotten about. Especially since Adrian was right; Rose DOES get the perfect happy ending while leaving a trail of disaster in her friends' lives. It was just one thing that made me sad and couldn't make me feel truly happy for her. ...more

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Apr 10, 2010 Debbie rated it liked it

This is my favorite YA vampire series and I was excited that this is the last book in the series. (Although a spin off series is coming! The first book, Bloodlines, is due out August 2011.) I eagerly dove into this book as soon as I got it in the mail but when I finished it I kind of felt let down. I'm going to try hard not to give away any spoilers so sorry if some of this is somewhat vague.

The Storyline

As you can imagine Rose doesn't stay locked up for long and she and her friends are trying t This is my favorite YA vampire series and I was excited that this is the last book in the series. (Although a spin off series is coming! The first book, Bloodlines, is due out August 2011.) I eagerly dove into this book as soon as I got it in the mail but when I finished it I kind of felt let down. I'm going to try hard not to give away any spoilers so sorry if some of this is somewhat vague.

The Storyline

As you can imagine Rose doesn't stay locked up for long and she and her friends are trying to figure out who really killed Queen Tatiana, who is this mystery Dragomir that Tatiana referred to in the note Ambrose slips to Rose and Rose and Dmitri have to confront their feelings for each other. The pace of the story was steady but not as much action as the earlier books. Being the last book it was obviously a lot about tying up the little story lines that have ran through the series. We find out what happens to Sonya Karp, the teacher turned Strigoi, the fate of Victor Dashkov, who Rose chooses and what happens with Lissa. I think while not a bad book this did not grab me as much because you could guess pretty early on who the murderer would turn out to be and what happens to Lissa and Rose was kind of obvious as well. In the fact the things that you could not figure out were never explained and the reader is totally left hanging. I guess this was so they could be explained in the spin off series. Which on one hand irritates me because I like to see things wrapped up nicely but on the other hand makes me even more anxious to get my hands on Bloodlines in hopes that I get to see more of some of my favorite characters and find out what happens to them.

The Characters

No real new characters in this one although we do finally get to see a lot more of Sonya Karp and Rose's dad, Abe. I loved that Sydney is back and plays a pretty large role. She's turning out to be more feisty than she first seems. A new group of people are introduced although they did not really add anything relevant to the story other than some comic relief. I have a feeling that this again is something that was more of a setup for the next series. I loved that Lissa was finally showing more back bone and not being as dependent on others to solve her problems. In contrast, I found it irritating that Rose making so many obviously stupid decisions. She is normally rash and lives in the moment but some of her choices made no sense and I actually had to put the book down at one point to say "Seriously? You did not see what was going on in front of your face regarding Dmitri?".

The Romance

Both Dmitri and Adrian get face time in this book and I was still torn about who I wanted Rose to end up with. She and Dmitri just seemed like they were meant to be but could Dmitri overcome the trauma of being a Strigoi and allow himself to love Rose again? I also love Adrian and really wanted him to be happy. He was so in love with Rose and was trying to change himself for the better so he could be with her. So I could really feel for Rose as she had to figure out which way to turn. I'm not unhappy with who she chose but of course I still feel bad for the other guy.

All in all...

I enjoyed this book but did not love it. I did not get a feeling of closure for the series. Instead it felt like one adventure was finished and it's getting ready to launch you into the next book rather than a new series. Not that this is a bad thing. lol. ...more

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Mar 05, 2013 Marla rated it it was amazing

Shelves: young-adult, mystery, paranormal, back-to-back, girl-power, adventure, challenged, series, romance, vampires

Wow, thrilling end to one of my favorite series. It's so nice to have Dimitri back from Strigoi-land. Almost all of the loose ends were tied up and Rose was typically Rose. I can't say much more without giving away spoilers, now onto Bloodlines.

Likes:
* Alchemist, Sydney Hale
* Abe, Rose's shifty mafia father, Ibrahim Mazur
* Lissa, Christian and Adrian's Rose-less investigations
SUPER SPOILERS! (view spoiler) ...more

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