Title: Blood Promise (Vampire Academy #4)Author: Richelle Mead
Genre: Young Adult, Fiction, Paranormal
Genre: Young Adult, Fiction, Paranormal
Pub Date: August 2009, Penguin Group
Hardcover, 502 pages
Book source: BN.com
Synopsis
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?
My Thoughts
After finishing the third book in Mead's Vampire Academy series several weeks ago, I was really excited for Blood Promise. After finishing this fourth book, I can only say that I was rather disappointed with the turn the story has taken. However, I also know that I am most likely in the minority with this opinion.
I think my biggest issue is that everything just felt so predictable. In my usual fashion, I will try not to give away any plot lines or spoilers, but suffice it to say that Rose's quest to destroy Dmitri in his Strigoi form, her other discoveries along the way, and the ultimate outcome of events just felt so cliche and typical for a vampire romance that I found myself let down a bit from this series. Blood Promise definitely still has a page-turning quality that kept me reading, but I suspect at least some of that feeling was simply from the hope that the story would turn around and surprise me a little.
The other story line focused on Lissa but it felt like such an afterthought that I never found myself particularly interested when reading about it. Perhaps it was because Rose was not in the thick of things with her, but Lissa's own story seemed a little disjointed, as if it was added in to make sure we didn't forget about her. Finally towards the end of the book, everything started coming together more and making sense (not to mention finally getting more exciting). Ultimately, I think if the book had been even 100 pages shorter, it wouldn't have hurt the story too much and would have cut out some of the more draggy stretches. Now to be fair, there were several scenes and characters I enjoyed and thought really added to the story. We learn a lot more about spirit users in this book, as well. And the romantic in me does enjoy the possibilities that could come in book five, however much I might find that part of the story unsurprising. In the end, despite being a little disappointed with Blood Promise, I do intend to continue the series.
My rating: 
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Posts
I still can't decided if I am going to read these or not. I think I'm going through vampire overload right now.
ReplyDeleteI have an award for you whenever you have the time.
I reviewed this a few days ago and was also a bit disappointed w/ it. I think the 1st half of the book seemed to lack a bit of action, making it quite dragging. And I would have loved more Christian Ozera exposure. LOL.
ReplyDeleteI was dissapointed too. I still love the series...but...yeah...I don't mind the turn the plot is taking...but I expected that turn by like page 200 in Blood Promise and not at the end. I think its the execution of the turn thats bothering people who didnt like it as much as the others, rather than the turn itself. And Lissa's plotline...I expected her to be at court already for some reason or involved with some uprising over the queen or joining Rose in Russia to turn things arund and save her for once...oh well, maybe 5 will make 4 worth it.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Ryan. I want to support a local author, but I'm also drowning in my TBR pile and I may need a break from vampires. Like, a couple of years. :-) Glad you like the series - I may pick it up yet. Nice review!
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear you were disappointed by this one. I do think that as series go on, they struggle to keep the stories dynamic.
ReplyDeleteI love this series and I too was a little disappointed with this book. I believe things were very predictable.
ReplyDeleteI haven't had the chance to read the series! Sounds really interesting though. Vampires have really become more popular, now, I wonder why? :) I love novels like these, so I'll probably be adding the series to my list.
ReplyDeleteA good book as I can say!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to buying it in the nearest future!
Thanks for the advise!