Blood Promise by Richelle Mead - Review

I read this a long time ago - I actually was fortunate enough to get a copy of the manuscript to read - and forgot to post my review. So with my apologies for tardiness, here it is:

At the end of Shadow Kiss, Rose is heartbroken. Dimitri has been turned into a Strigoi against his will during a battle, considered dead. But Rose is unable to let him go and forget him, convinced he would rather be dead than Strigoi so she leaves St Vladimir’s, leaves Lissa, to try to find – and kill -- Dimitri and set his soul free.

And this noble goal takes Rose to Siberia, Dimitri’s home, where she runs into alchemists, another spirit user, another shadow kissed dhampir, and Abe, a strange, flamboyant, intimidating man who seems to be taking an unhealthy interest in her.

And that’s about all I can tell you without spoilers. This book is full of questions: Will Rose find Dimitri? And if so, will she be able to kill him? Or will she be persuaded to become Strigoi and stay with Dimitri forever? And then, what of Lissa while Rose is away – will she spiral out of control? Will she forgive Rose for leaving? Will she replace her? And then there is always Adrian. Will he still visit her in her dreams? Can he persuade her to return?

I must admit that I wanted more from the political angle. It’s always bothered me that guardians are meant to spend their lives guarding the mainly spoiled pampered Moroi. I was hoping for more from the unspoken dhampirs, more training to fight among the Moroi, more political intrigues, maybe even sowing the seeds of rebellion. But maybe that’s to come.

This is very much a middle book and suffers all the same problems of continuing but not concluding a story. But was I disappointed? Of course not. There are so many twists and turns along the way – right to the end. Blood Promise is all about Rose and Dimitri and the choices she has to make. Secrets are revealed, promises made, plans started. It’s just as readable, just as hard to put down. And the cover is so much better. Oh, this is such a good series.