Oh.My.God.
I am, like, totally freaking out. I cannot believe what happened! My head is spinning - literally.
The Abe-Mazur-is-Rose's-father thing is killing me. That is so... random!
And the Dimitri thing - so not what I expected. I never thought Rose would be addicted to his bites, or fail to kill him, or become hhis freaking pet! The escape was brilliant. And when she goes all "I will love you forever" I was like waaaaaaaaaaahh!!
I don't like this Dimka. He's mean.
And the thing with Lissa was wow. I thought this would be all Rose-centered, but... yeah. And Dimka's family rocked. And also the way she gave us Rose's best memories.
The thing with Victor was an unexpected twist, but it made sense. And when D sends back the stake... I nearly had a heart attack. I started screaming.
I think the book is great. Who agrees?

I do without hesitation!!!!! I completely agree with everything you said except I kind of knew she wasn't completely going to be able to kill him thats why I was so surprised that she was able to stab him at all! When she did I was all... I really am happy to know that there might be a way to bring him back!!! Make that ecstatic!!

i feel the same wayy
but the book kinda made me hate dimitri because of how he acted
it was reallyyyyyyy not at all what thought would happen but its weird to think that there might be a way to bring him back because what if he doesnt want to then she would have to kill him AGAIN!! and what if she isnt able to do it !!
it would be crazy !!
and i cant believe that abe is her dad i didnt think he was but when she went to church with the belikovs and Viktoria said abe was muslum i was like OMG thats her dad lol .

I'm lazy, so I'm just going to repost what I wrote on LJ

Hm... I don't think it was at all weird for Dimitri to have acted the way he did. He turned into a strigoi, what else did you expect? -- Although a small part of me did wonder if maybe, just maybe he had some of his original morals left and would… I don't know kill himself, but I guess not (actually I'm glad that didn't happen lol). Still understandable though. And if you ask me, it's pretty good already that he still had a little teeny weeny bit of his old self in there. So no, Dimitri didn't disappoint, but the fact that he didn't appear until so far into the book was a little upsetting (of course I don't blame RM for that, it's my own problem with liking Dimitri's character too much).

Overall, I did enjoy the book, but somehow I feel that the Dimitri/strigoi problem could and should have been resolved in BP rather than taking it over to SB. I've never been too fond of the idea where 'good guy turns evil but then changes back later' thing, especially when it's dragged out. I hope that doesn't take up the better half of SB.

And I admit, it would be very 'fairytale like' if Dimitri just changes back and everything goes back to the way it was before, but life had just been so unfair to the guy, my heart aches for him. He deserves a better ending with Rose.

But anyway, the conflict that Rose had with killing Dimitri was written very well. I thought it was really realistic.

As for Adrian… I don't know. At this point I still don't really see it. His character can definitely use some more developing, which I think will happen in SB. Right now though, I actually still can't feel or understand his love for Rose. It never went into enough details for me. Lets see if he can convince me in the next book.

I actually am a little annoyed with the fact that Dimtri might be able to come back. But I think that is mostly because his strigoi-ness in this book made me not like him as much. However, Adrian's brotherly love for Jess or whatever her name was, and the slight revealing of a more sensitive side of him made me love him all the more in BP...Therefore, I feel conflicted about Dimitri coming back because I want Adrian to get his fair chance too.

I wonder if Dimitri will even want to be turned un-strigoi. Afterall, he was saying how he thought it was the best thing that had ever happened to him, how much he loved the power. So who knows maybe he will resent Rose for possibly bringing him back.

^ You brought up a good point. I actually hadn't thought about what Dimitri would feel IF he was changed back. It all just depends on which direction Ms. Mead wants to go I guess. If she wants to permenantly make Dimitri the bad guy, then yeah he'd probably be upset and things can never be the same again for Rose and him, but if she decides to bring Dimitri back and create the happy fairytale ending (which I have feeling that's where it's going) it'll probably be explained that it was just the evil nature of the strigoi that controlled Dimitri and that deep down he didn't really crave the power.

Either way though, I bet Adrian will get his chance in SB. I just hope there won't come a time where Rose has to choose between the two men and come out indecisive. That would just be annoying.

I loved the book. I mean, there were some dislikes, but it didn't ruin the over-all opinion of the book, nor was it because I hated the direction the story took, just clashes of opinion.

Firstly, I learned to love Sydney. I wasn't sure about her at first, mainly because of the name, but she grew on me...have to learn not to judge a book by its coevr. I definitely can understand why she's so wary of the Vampire culture, and I like that she learnt to trust Rose in a way. It was quite the turn around.

The Belikov family was pretty damn cool. I loved Yeva and even Viktoria (though the sort of blood-whoring was a bit of a let down...I thought she'd be more knowing).

Abe was an interesting twist, and I have to admit I didn't pick up on him at all. I love that Rose seemed to be one of the only people in the area who didn't display fear around him. And it's sweet that he had paternal instincts in the end.

I was about ready to kill Avery throughout the entire book. I knew she was a spirit user the moment Lissa saw bits of gold in her aura, and was a little dissapointed that Lissa didn't pick up on it when it showed. Though it definitely explains why Lissa was acting up throughout the book. Very interesting all the new Spirit additions (including Oksana and Mark), though it'd be nice id not everything revolved around Spirit. It seems that every problem is caused and then solved by spirit. I kind of thought Victor might have been involved in getting Avery near Lissa, but it turned out he was connected in a totally different way. It'll be interesting to see if they're actually able to spring him from jail.

It's a little upsetting that Christian and Lissa broke up. I do hope they get back together.

Adrian pulled through once again. I love that he continued to check up on Rose, even though she seemed to upset him so often, and he was always caring for her. And it's sad that Rose had sort of let herself think she could be with him in the end. But I think Dimitri's surprise note may change all that. I wonder how many "sorry Dimitri comes first" rejections Adrian can take?

Now for the big stuff. I have to admit I kind of liked Strigoi Dimitri. I mean, I hated that he wasn't the Dimitri we all know and love and I wish he could have kept some sort of sense of himself (more than just memories and lustful thinking). This doesn't mean that I love the fact that he's strigoi, I hate it. But it definitely puts a new swing on things and it was kind of sweet that Rose and Dimitri get to be together for a while, though the circumstances were slightly unpleasant. I'm glad Rose managed to get herself away from it all, and at least attempted to finish the job she set out to do. I'd love for Dimitri to be 'healed' by spirit, but at the same time I'm kind of hoping it can't be a miracle for everything.
I also don't think it'd be the best option in this case. What happens when Dimitri is turned back? Does he lose all his memories, or will he forever know what he did as a strigoi? If that's the case, how will the perfect 'God' we all know and love cope with knowing that he mistreated Rose so badly and killed SO many innocent people? I doubt he'd be able to live with himself. So even if they do change him back, what happens if he goes and kills himself? They'll just lose him anyone. Though it's probably the least wanted option I kind of think he needs to be staked, and properly this time.

That being said, I don't know which guy I want Rose to be with. Dimitri has my heart, but Adrian's kind of sneaking in slightly.


EDIT: Sorry for the extremely long post

I just finished reading it at one am, and I am emotionally reeling! Dimitri's character as Strigoi gave me chills! Rose seemed a little weak in this one, but I understand because she loved Dimitri and did not want to see the worst in him. I am more in love with Adrian than ever before, and I'm glad to see him more developed. I do wish there was more Eddie and Christian though.

i just relized that the whole story so far has only been about 5 or six months long in the book
that seems like a reallyyyy short period of time for everthing thats happened too happen
and rose has changed soooo much from the first book its crazy .
it just seems like the story has been going on forever
but i guess thats just because we have to wait soo long for the books so it makes the story seem longer
because according to the book it hasnt even been a year yet .
lol just somthing i was thinking about and thought i should share .

I disagree with lots of people here, which is pretty unexpected. I think Dimitri as a Strigoi was... interesting. It doesn't make me hate him because I keep reminding myself that that thing is not Dimka. Dimka's dead. That's just Dimitri Belikov taking over.
I think if he gets changed back, it would be a problem (Another one!) but I think it would be nice to see how Rose could help him get over what he did as a Strigoi and tell him that it was not his fault.
The Victor thing... was unexpected. I loved that twist, I love the way the book had my heart racing until the very end, I love Dimitri... I think Adrian needs to find someone soon. Maybe Jill...?
Finally, trouble in paradise! Cristian and Lissa broke up, which makes them seem more real to me. I'm glad Liss will go with Rose everywhere and think that Cristian taking a time-out to think and not bouncing back instantly is awesome.
I heard that there is gonna be a new VA series that won't be about Rose but about someone else. Maybe that's where Sydney comes in, because her character didn't have such a huge purpose. Lots of things could've happened to make her unnecessary, and seeing the world from an Alchemist's POV would be awesome. Alos, since she and Rose are friends, we could hear more about them without losing track of Syd.

Seeing Dimitri as a Strigoi really destroyed me!! I knew he wasn't the real Dimitri. I was just waiting for Rose to realize it. I understand why she acted the way she did around him because Rose has always been weak around Dimitri. Even in book 1, when he catches her alone with Jesse, she's on the verge of tears. What he thought of her and his general opinion on things mattered to Rose from day one. I can't be upset with Rose for staying with that monster. I'm more upset by what Dimitri has become. I really don't want to see him this way anymore. I'm hoping that Spirit Bound will bring back more of what I loved about the VA series (Eddie *blush*, the real Dimitri, Christian, even Mia).

I really don't think Rose can be with Adrian. Well, of course, I still want her with Dimitri. But it has more to do with the fact that Rose needs someone stable, and spirit-crazy Adrian is not stable. Even Lissa has (well... had) that stability in her life with Christian. I actually hope that Adrian gets with "Jailbait" eventually. lol I know that if they got together now it'd be kind of gross. I really like Adrian though, more so after reading Blood Promise. But I'm not going to give up on Rose and Dimitri. I want Rose to get her happy ending.

I actually don't really get why so many people that loved Dimitri in the first couple of books are suddenly on Adrian's side? I mean, you don't bail on the ones you love when they're going through a dark time. Rose hasn't bailed on him. He's not Dimitri right now, but she's still looking for a way to get him back.

OMG!!!!!!!!!

I just fininshed reading book and I am utterly speachless.

WOW!!!!

I hated the way Rose acted with Dimitri, But then again could see it happening.

Abe being there and acting the way he did made me want to jump in the book and kick his ass.

I like that idea...
I don't think Dimka would wanna be bonded to a guy that he is essentially jealous of, so to speak. He'd be indebted to Adrian.