Blood Promise (Vampire Academy, #4)

by Richelle Mead

3,5 stars

Many mixed feelings...

The first half of Blood Promise doesn't add much to the plot, but it does a lot for Rose's character development. I enjoyed reading about Rose's adventures in Russia as well as her interactions with many new characters such as Sydney, the Belikov family, Mark and Oksana and Abe. However, I missed Rose's snark and sass. She still has it when it counts, but due to her processing her grief as well as the shift to a more darker tone in the series, there's not so much of it. 

I also missed the interactions between Rose and Lissa. The separation between Rose and Lissa means that the only way to interact with Lissa is through Rose's head and it didn't feel like a natural part of the story. The plot involving Lissa wasn't that interesting either. 

The second half of Blood Promise is where it's at. The changing dynamics in Rose's and Dimitri's relationship is extremely interesting and Dimitri seems to have more of a personality, albeit, an evil one. It's ironic that he seems more human as a Strigoi than as a Damphir. However, the Rose and Dimitri flashbacks felt a little out of place and added very little to the plot. 

Blood Promise: a lacklustre first half and an awesome second half. I love that spirit is explored more in Blood Promise and I'm looking forward to all good stuff in Spirit Bound and Last Sacrifice.