Title: Spirit Bound
Author: Richelle Mead
Position in Series: Book 5
Publisher: Penguin Group Razorbill
Pages: 479
Release Date: May 19, 2010
Genre: Young adult, Fantasy, Romance
Read Excerpt: Here
Buy: Here
Followed by: Last Sacrifice
The book begins with Rose taking her guardian trials, enabling her to leave St Vladimir’s Academy as a qualified guardian. After passing her trials with flying colors and receiving her promise mark, Rose – along with Lissa, Christian, Adrian, Eddie and the other dhampir graduates – head to the Royal Court to begin life outside of the academy. Rose and Adrian are currently attempting a relationship after she promised him she would give him a shot after she got back from Russia in Blood Promise. However, after learning that there is a way Dimitri can be saved from being a Strigoi, Rose sets off on a mission with Lissa to break out Victor Dashkov from prison when she learns that only he can help them to find out how to turn Dimitri back into a dhampir. After successfully freeing Victor with the help of Eddie, Lissa and Rose head to Las Vegas to find Victor’s illegitimate brother, Robert Doru. As a spirit user who supossedly turned a Strigoi back into a dhampir, Robert tells them that the only way to save Dimitri is to charm a silver stake with Spirit and stab him in the heart. However, it has to be a Spirit user who does the staking. While in Las Vegas, the gang meets up with Adrian, who has tracked Rose down via credit card records. While leaving a casino, they encounter a large group of Strigoi, lead by none other than Dimitri. Rose prevents Eddie from killing Dimitri because she knows there is a chance to save him. The gang narrowly escapes into the sun, leaving Dimitri to kill a bunch of humans and losing track of Victor and Robert in the process.
Once back at the court, Rose is chastised for running off with Lissa again and her hopes of becoming Lissa’s guardian diminishes further. She is punished by the guardians at court and is stopped from accompanying Lissa to her college visit to Lehigh. Instead, Lissa travels with Christian, her two appointed guardians, and Priscilla Voda, the queen’s best friend. While at the visit, Christian and Lissa’s assigned guardians, Serena and Grant, tries to teach Lissa how to use a stake. Lissa is determined she can bring Dimitri back, so she tries to learn as much as possible about staking a Strigoi. After dinner at the college, the whole group are attacked once more by Strigoi. Lissa and Christian are kidnapped by Dimitri to be used as bait to get Rose to come to him, knowing that Rose can use their bond to find her.
Rose and an army of the court’s guardians head off to save Lissa and Christian and a fight erupts with the Strigoi. In the fight, Lissa attempts to stake Dimitri, with Christian’s fire distracting Dmitri long enough for Lissa to get at his heart. After a number of failed attempts, she finally nails him in the heart with a stake she had finally managed to charm with Spirit’s healing powers. In a blinding light Dimitri falls to the floor weeping, now a dhampir once more. Rose is hurried away from the scene and Dimitri is taken back to court where he is kept locked up.
People are unsure as to how safe he is and doubt whether he is actually a dhampir again. He refuses to let Rose in to see him because of the guilt for the way he treated her when he was Strigoi. Rose is hurt by this and persistently tries to get into to see him. Eventually she gets Mikhail’s help and is given access to the holding cells. Dimitri then tells Rose that he no longer loves her and that he doesn’t want to see her anymore. He brokenly explains that because of the time he spent as a Strigoi, he is no longer able to love or to be loved by anyone because he feels he doesn’t deserve it for what he did. Rose leaves heartbroken, but not believing that things are over between them.
Meanwhile, the royal council and Queen Tatiana had been debating over a mysterious subject. It turns out that they had voted to change the graduation age for Dhampirs from 18 to 16, meaning they would be sent out to fight at a younger age. This motion created many controversies and arguments. Rose doesn’t stop herself from speaking her mind, threatening the queen in front of everyone and then being dragged out by guardians. Later, Adrian visites Rose in her room and she decides to really give it a go between them. Rose and Adrian very nearly sleep together until they realize they have no protection (aka, a condom). Instead, Rose lets Adrian drink her blood.
The next day, Rose bumps into Dimitri and started to talk with him in a cafe. Suddenly, the Royal Guards burst in to arrest Rose. Dimitri tries to defend her but Rose stops him before he is killed and leaves willingly. It turns out that Rose is being accused of murdering Queen Tatiana. She is given a hearing which will decide whether she goes to trial or not. Her father, Abe, arrives unexpectantly and declares he will be Rose’s representative in court, even though he is most definitely not a lawyer.
After the hearing, Rose is being escourted back to her cell, and as she does, she is handed a note from Ambrose. The note is written from Queen Tatiana herself before she died. In the note, Tatiana realizes she is in danger and gives Rose information to use in case something happens to her. She reveals that Lissa’s father had an illegitimate child, meaning that Lissa might not be the last Dragomir, and with a sibling, would be able to gain a seat at the Royal Council. And ironically enough, at the trial, Adrian Ivashkov’s mother, Daniella tried to get her cousin to represent Rose so she would have properly be defended. But (of course) her father Abe Mazur, bursts in , and decides that he should represent Rose. It’s Rose’s choice, and she picks her father of course. The last line of the book, is Abe telling her that they execute high treason prisoners.
