Vampire Academy #5 – Spirit Bound

Title: Spirit Bound
Author: Richelle Mead
Year of Publication: 2010
Series: Vampire Academy
#: 5
Goodreads Rating (Avg.): 4.38
Goodreads Rating (Mine): 5

Spoilers!

Considering how long the previous post ended up being, I should make this one short and sweet: Hijinks! (And some regrettable death).

After the darkness that was Blood Promise, Spirit Bound is back to the basics. And if there’s some residual darkness tingeing the book, I’m sure we can forgive and forget, all things considered. And by ‘all things’ I mean there’s a raging strigoi on the loose.

Despite having graduated near the top of her class, Rose’s future is lacking in real job prospects due to her reputation as an unreliable vigilante with little respect for the rules. So she’s largely left to her own devices, and shenanigans are on her mind.

First stop, Vegas! (Well, no. First stop was storming an unbeatable high security prison and breaking out a high security prisoner.) They’re on a mission to learn all they can about the possibility of healing and curing Strigoi, and this time Lissa gets to be in on the difficult adventures. When our troublesome little Scooby gang comes back, they’re in deep trouble. And Rose gets blamed for everything, as usual.

For once, Rose couldn’t care less. Yes, she’s worried about being handcuffed to a desk job for the rest of her life, but she’s numb. Very, very numbed by the realization that curing a Strigoi isn’t going to happen – not because it’s impossible, but because a Spirit user is supposed to do the job. There’s no way she’s going to let Lissa or Adrian – the only two known Spirit users – get anywhere close to Strigoi to even try.

Lissa on the other hand is still feeling very guilty over having been a poor friend to Rose in the past, and is determined to do this one thing for her. And here’s the thing about Lissa. A pampered, bleeding-heart princess she may be, but when she needs to do something, nothing in the world will stop her. Clearly, there’s a reason she’s best friends.

Alongside all of the shenanigans go the political machinations. The panic and paranoia spreading amongst the Moroi elite cause them to pass a controversial law stating that dhampirs can now be sent out as guardians at the age of sixteen. They use Rose’s testimony to support this move, which, as anyone knows, is a terrible way to implement legislation. You can’t pick the exception from the lot and use it to propagate a fake generalization. It’s a terrible thing to do, causes uproar, and results in Rose calling Queen Tatiana a sanctimonious bitch in open court.

In the meanwhile, Crazy Dimitri is still on the loose. He’s given up on the whole ‘turn you and we be together for all of eternity’ plan – now he’s just trying to kill her. Rose sees the whole thing through Lissa’s eyes, as he’d known she would, and plans and spearheads an attack force against Dimitri’s strigoi nest.

The first time she faced an undead Dimitri, Rose choked, leading to her capture. The second time she tried to kill him, there was no hesitation, but he kind of fell over a bridge before she could ensure the kill. The third time, in Vegas, she impulsively ensured that Eddie would fail to kill him. This time, the fourth and last time, it’s different. In her mind, it doesn’t matter anymore that he could be saved at some point in the future.

“You can’t, Rose. Haven’t you figured that out by now? Haven’t you seen it? You can’t defeat me. You can’t kill me. Even if you could, you can’t bring yourself to do it. You’ll hesitate. Again.”
No, I wouldn’t. That’s what he didn’t realize. He’d made a mistake bringing Lissa here. She increased the stakes–no pun intended–on everything. She was here. She was real. Her life was on the line, and for that . . . for that, I wouldn’t hesitate.

Mead makes both Rose and the reader work for that reconciliation, possibly because she knows very well that both Rose and the reader are, at this point, more than happy to give Dimitri every ounce of forgiveness they possess. For free.

Rose and the reader may be willing to forget the events of Blood Promise – But Dimitri isn’t. He remembers everything he did when he wasn’t himself, and he knows he’s not worthy of Rose, not after what he did – especially to her.

This is as close as I’ll ever get to condoning non-con elements in romance. Only, only, if it’s framed this way, and addressed appropriately.

One of the best scenes in the book is getting to watch Abe Mazur ‘defend’ Rose in a court of law.

“What have you gotten me into?” I hissed to him.
“Me? What have you gotten yourself into? Couldn’t I have just picked you up at the police station for underage drinking, like most fathers?”
I was beginning to understand why people got irritated when I made jokes in dangerous situations.

Spirit Bound questions you about the lengths you’re willing to go to achieve your goal, and talks about how saving someone isn’t the same as redeeming them. And there is no forgiveness – there can be no forgiveness – without redemption. All too often in our lives, we forget this fact in our hurry to have our loved ones back in our lives. This is particularly relevant to abusive relationships. Humans have the ability to love even when their loved ones are being abusive. But they shouldn’t – they mustn’t – get close to you again until they’ve redeemed themselves, and until you’re sure – dead sure – that there’s no trace of Strigoi left in them.

Next: Vampire Academy #6 – Last Sacrifice