Richelle Mead - Blood Promise

Rose has set course to Siberia to kill, leaving Lissa and Vampire Academy behind... To kill strigoi and one in particular: Dimitri, the man she loves.
On her quest she meets a lot of new people. Until at last an Alchemist finds her and guides her to a dhampir town and straight to the Belikovs.. With some luck and interference from Sydney and Abe (a Moroi with a badass attitude and lots of influence) Rose ends up with Dimitri's family. They take her in as if she was one of them. But not everyone is happy to have her there. His grandmother wants her to continue her quest, a Moroi named Abe is very eager to get her back to Vampire Academy. She gets to meet Mark and Oksana, who are also bonded and shadow kissed. She learns another 'power' she has and she discovers other ways to live as a dhampir besides being guardian or blood whore.
All the time she keeps an eye on Lissa too, who is showing some strange behavior since Rose left and she is making new friends.
After a deal (read: blackmail) with Abe, she leaves Baia to team up with some rogue guardians. One mission: finally find Dimitri and set his soul free... But more and more the question arises: will she be able to kill the man who taught her everything and can she find the courage to put a stake in the heart of the man she loves with heart and soul...

I absolutely loved this book. We get to see Rose grow up, without losing her essence. She's still strong willed and spontaneous, but she learned how to curb her temper. It's heartbreaking to read her flashbacks about happier times with Dimitri, her need to be close to his family. The times she gets into Lissa’s head or when Adrian visits her in her dreams, lets her keep an eye on how things are going over there.
Lissa is struggling on her own. The not so subtle tactics of the queen, the loss of Rose and the realization that she might have done things differently. And although she finds new friends, she seems to be losing her old ones, even the one closest to her heart. Through the book we can sense the underlying political dissatisfaction arising and in the end old enemies might be powerful allies.
There's no way I'll tell whether she finds Dimitri. Just find the books (or the series) and read them.
It's wonderful and heartbreaking. Richelle Mead did a wonderful job and this series is a gem for young and not so young! I’m sure lots of people will have to keep the tissues close by. And the wait till Spirit Bound will be long. Lots of questions and lots of loose ends, but most of all, lots of hope...