(***SPOILERS***) Spirit Bound picks up where Blood Promise leaves off, with graduation, a trip the the Royal Court and more shenanigans, including a trip to Alaska to bust out a felon they helped place there, a secondary trip to Las Vegas (under the allusion of a girls' weekend of course) and then some. 
 Spirit Bound really delivers after the last cliff-hanger. Rose receives promising letters from Dimitri, telling her he's watching her, waiting to kill her. But she won't give up on him and thus begins her quest to the aforementioned places. And that's why I love Rose: her strength and resilience. 
 We get to see more Rose-and-Abe relationship developments. I do like Abe, he's plays the typical father so well, but with the spice of organized crime (which Rose often openly sneers at, but probably deep down inside somewhere, is grateful to have someone so powerful in her life). 
 The change in Lissa is astonishing. In my review of Blood Promise, I mentioned that Lissa seemed like a weak character, but I had wondered if Mead deliberately wrote her that way, in part to counter-balance Rose, but also for future character development. Happily, I was right and I enjoyed seeing her pursue her Spirit, as well as reconcile with Christian, while still standing up for herself. 
 I still love Adrian...he's so incredibly charismatic and fun, but deep down, you know he cares deeply for Rose, politics and image be damned. If she doesn't end up with Dimitri, I can honestly say I won't be disappointed if she ends up with Adrian. 
 Dimitri. Le sigh. I want him to be able to turn back into a dhampir so badly, because who doesn't love Dimitri? I had an idea of how he could turn back, but not an exact method. His change showed just how powerful Lissa has become and I'm eager (although sad) to read the chapters in this series to find out the ending. 
 But that cliffhanger? That cliffhanger left me speechless. Well done, Richelle Mead. Well done.