Review - Blood Promise (Vampire Academy 4) by Richelle Mead

Blood Promise (Vampire Academy #4)

by Richelle Mead

Synopsis:

Rose Hathaway's life will never be the same.

The recent attack on St. Vladimir's Academy devastated the entire Moroi world. Many are dead. And, for the few victims carried off by Strigoi, their fates are even worse. A rare tattoo now adorns Rose's neck, a mark that says she's killed far too many Strigoi to count. But only one victim matters . . . Dimitri Belikov. Rose must now choose one of two very different paths: honoring her life's vow to protect Lissa—her best friend and the last surviving Dragomir princess—or, dropping out of the Academy to strike out on her own and hunt down the man she loves. She'll have to go to the ends of the earth to find Dimitri and keep the promise he begged her to make. But the question is, when the time comes, will he want to be saved?

Now, with everything at stake—and worlds away from St. Vladimir's and her unguarded, vulnerable, and newly rebellious best friend—can Rose find the strength to destroy Dimitri? Or, will she sacrifice herself for a chance at eternal love?

My Review:

This book wasn't really up to the standard of the last 3. Rose disappears to Siberia to trace Dimitri's family and for my liking spends a little too much time dallying than getting on with what she must. We meet the Alchemist, Sydney, who shows that while she finds dhampirs, moroi and strigoi all unquenchably vile she's willing to accept Rose for what she is.
Rose eventually finds Dimitri but of course he's Strigoi. More time passes as she's kept prisoner by him. All he wants to do is awaken her. All she wants to do is kill him.
For me this is the ultimate in any love story and I can truly understand why Rose doesn't act immediately. She's still drawn to him even though he's the enemy. We see that her understanding of Strigoi changes as she tries to dampen her feelings towards Dimitri but cannot. 
Rose also delves into Lissa's mind and finds her friend has been picking up bad habits from a newbie at school. Lissa is suffering and needs Rose's help. This part of the story spoilt it as I think more should have been focused on Rose.
We're left with another cliff hanger which will lead straight on to book 5.