Book Review - Shadow Kiss
Title: Shadow Kiss, Third in the Vampire Academy series
Author: Richelle Mead
Year of Publication: 2008
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 443
First Line: His fingertips slid along my back, applying hardly any pressure, yet sending shockwaves over my flesh.
Summary: 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 now 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 they want vengeance for the lives that Rose has stolen. In a heart-stopping battle to rival her worst nightmares, Rose will have to choose between life, love, and the two people who matter most… but will her choice mean that only one can survive?
Source: Back of book
Review: Shadow Kiss is the third instalment in the Vampire Academy series and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the story in this novel was much more interesting and action-packed than the previous two. Rose often sees the ghost of Mason, her dead friend, which complicates her life in more ways than one. She becomes distracted from guarding Moroi and loses the respect of her peers and superiors, and to top it all off she has to start seeing a therapist. As her best friend Lissa becomes involved with the Queen, Rose struggles with keeping her growing relationship with Dimitri a secret. The plot is intricately woven in this novel, and new powers are explored with the characters.
Richelle Mead has improved her writing style significantly in Shadow Kiss. The paragraphs, chapters and overall storyline read smoothly and I was swept away by the story - even though it was a bit predictable for me. The relationships between the characters developed nicely in Shadow Kiss. Rose questions her friendship and future as Lissa’s guardian and she realises that she doesn’t know if she can give up love for her duty. Shadow Kiss displays more of Rose and Dimitri’s relationship - through the first two novels I honestly thought Dimitri was replaceable with any strong and silent type character, and I got more of a feel for the love they share in this novel. The characters have realism in the way they act - as in acting their age, particularly as Rose matures significantly. The end of this novel was brilliant and leads quite well into the next as it leaves the readers hanging. I would recommend this book to all vampire and fantasy fans as well as teens and pre-teens.
Worst part: The first half of the book read a little slow and the storyline was a bit predictable.
Best part: The ending. It forces Rose to have great personal strength.
Personal Rating: 7/10 - The predictability of the storyline brought the rating down.
Other Books by This Author: Vampire Academy, Frostbite and more in the Vampire Academy series. She has also written the Georgina Kincaid series and the Dark Swan series.