A review by beaktastic
Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead

5.0

So, after 6 books the Vampire Academy series comes to a close. And what a close! Full of drama, excitement, twists and turns. A rollercoaster finale for the series.

Following immediately on from the end of the last book, Last Sacrifice follows as Rose waits in a jail cell for her trial after being wrongly-accused of murdering Queen Tatiana. But no one plans on letting Rose get convicted for this crime she did not commit, and so her friends hatch a daring plan to free her and give them all some time to find out who framed her. Rose has to go into hiding, but she has plans of her own - she plans to find Lissa's secret half-sibling, which would allow her to vote in the Council. But will things be so easy to solve?

This was an amazing last book that never really let up. It was high-paced from the beginning, full of action and drama that never really ended until the final pages. It kept the drama high and the book was also full of mystery and suspense, gradually feeding the reader clues about the various mysteries but never really letting the reader guess the final answers till late on (for the most part -

Spoiler

I knew there was something I didn't like about Tasha Ozera and I had a suspicion she was trying to manipulate and groom Lissa at least in the last book or two. I didn't guess that Jill would be Lissa's half-sister but I did suspect she would play a larger role, or Mead wouldn't have introduced her.

)

It was nice to see the characters growing up and evolving still, and to see such transformation from the first book. Rose has become an impressive badass, but is also a lot more mature and wise. Lissa as well has grown into a confident and inspirational woman.

I liked seeing Rose's journey continue and develop, and to see some of the loose ends of the series finally get confronted and tied up.

Spoiler

I liked Rose's little breakdown after spirit finally cracks the darkness in her, and I kind of wish more had happened with that as it seemed a little short-lived, but I suppose Mead did have a lot of other stuff to tie up. I thought the way Victor Dashkov was 'resolved' was good as well, and very dramatic. And unexpected. I was a bit sad to see Rose and Lissa's spirit bond disappear at the end, I have to admit.

It was good to see so many of the loose ends finally tie up, and for characters to get their resolution, but not all of it was happy, and there was plenty of space for future books to delve back into the world. I know there's a Bloodlines series that takes place after this book and focuses on Sydney, and I'm sure a lot of the other characters will pop up or at least be mentioned in it as well. And I liked that not everyone got a happy ending, it was that bit more realistic and fitting.

Overall, this was an amazing end to this series, and definately one of the best books. A rollercoaster ride from start to finish.