Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead
Release Date: November 13, 2008
Publisher: Razorbill, Penguin
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 442
Other Titles in Series: Vampire Academy & Frostbite
Rose Hathaway knows it is forbidden to love another guardian. Her best friend, Lissa– the last Dragomir princess– must always come first. Unfortunately, when it comes to gorgeous Dimitri Belikov, some rules are meant to be broken...
But since making her first Strigoi kills, Rose hasn’t been feeling right. Something dark has begun to grow in her mind, and ghostly shadows warn of a terrible evil drawing nearer to the Academy’s iron gates. And not that Lissa and Rose’s sworn enemy, Victor Dashkov, Is on trial for his freedom, tensions in the Moroi world are higher than ever.
Lying to Lissa about Dimitri is one thing, but suddenly there’s way more than friendship at stake. The immortal undead are on the prowl, and the want vengeance for the lives that Rose has stole. In a heart-stopping battle to rival her worst nightmares. Rose will have to choose between life, love and the two people who matter the most... but will her choice mean that only one can survive?
Incredible! This series continues to get better. This is one of the best vampire themed series’ out there. After my disappointment with other series’ losing there touch, I have to say that it is not the case with these books. Everything that initially drew me in is still there and then some. I’ve been in anticipation for this book for a long time, and when I finally got a copy it trumped everything else!
There were parts of the story that I figured out, and even though I wanted the novel to end one way, I applaud Mead’s unpredictability. Does that sentence totally contradict itself?? Let me see if I can explain. In my quest to keep this spoiler free it may be more difficult, but here it goes. I knew that something big was going to happen to one of the characters in this novel. The clues where there the foreshadowing was set up wonderfully. And even though I had an idea of what was going to happen, Mead was still able to surprise me in the end. Why? Because, I never really thought she would do it. The ending wasn’t what I wanted I’ll admit that, but I don’t think I would have been happy with it being any other way.
One of the reasons I’m such a fan of this novel, besides the extraordinary writing ability of Richelle Mead, is Rose Hathaway. Let me just tell you how much I love Rose. She’s beautiful, smart, confident, she’s a smart ass and she kicks ass. I want to be her. She is one of my all time favorite literary characters.
I absolutely cannot wait to read the rest of this series.