What We're Reading ~ Last Sacrifice & The Seduction of the Crimson Rose

This month I finished a series that I've been working on for quite some time now. 

The Vamprire Academy Series by Richelle Mead

There are 6 books in this series.  Vampire Academy, Frostbite, Shadow Kiss, Blood Promise, Spirit Bound and Last Sacrifice. 

It all comes down to now.

Murder. Love. Jealousy. And the ultimate sacrifice.

The Queen is dead and the Moroi world will never be the same. Now, with Rose awaiting wrongful execution and Lissa in a deadly struggle for the royal throne, the girls find themselves forced to rely upon enemies and to question those they thought they could trust...

But what if true freedom means sacrificing the most important thing of all?

Each other.

I like Richelle's easy going style of writing and I enjoyed this YA series.  While I know all good things must come to an end, and in fact I sometimes look forward to conclusions I was thrilled to discover this little addition

Last Sacrifice will be the last book about Rose, but it'll be followed by a spin-off series still set in the Vampire Academy world. Side characters we know from the current series will now be our main characters, and there'll be a whole new storyline (not the last one told from a different perspective). It is scheduled for release in August 2011 and is called Bloodlines.

I've already added Bloodlines to my Wish List. 

I wrote various reviews for the books as I read them, please follow the links to read more.  

Vampire Academy

Frostbite (Vampire Academy, Bk 2)

Once I hit Shadow Kissed (Vampire Academy, Bk 3) I read them straight through.  I think Shadow Kissed was my favorite in the series.  Blood Promise was, in my opinion, filler, everything she wrote was interesting but most of it wasn't necessary. 

I have also tried some of her adult novels and I like them also.  I've started the Georgina Kincaid Series and the Dark Swan series

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But right now I am reading one of my all time Favorite Authors

Lauren Willig

The Seduction of the Crimson Rose is Lauren's 4th book in her Pink Carnation Series

Determined to secure another London season without assistance from her new brother-in-law, Mary Alsworthy accepts a secret assignment from Lord Vaughn on behalf of the Pink Carnation: to infiltrate the ranks of the dreaded French spy, the Black Tulip, before he and his master can stage their planned invasion of England. Every spy has a weakness, and for the Black Tulip that weakness is black-haired women-his "petals" of the Tulip. A natural at the art of seduction, Mary easily catches the attention of the French spy, but Lord Vaughn never anticipates that his own heart will be caught as well. Fighting their growing attraction, impediments from their past, and, of course, the French, Mary and Vaughn find themselves lost in the shadows of a treacherous garden of lies.

Lauren mixes historical fiction, romance and a modern day storyline all in her books.  What I like most is how she weaves the modern storyline, that of Eloise Kelly a student working on her thesis, through the entire series.  You meet Eloise in The Secret History of the Pink Carnation and in the Seduction of the Crimson Rose she is still researching but her love life is starting to get interesting.  

Lauren neatly wraps up each historical romance line in each book so in the next one you meet a new romance, the characters continue to pop up every now and then but are no longer the main focus.  That way if you are not a particular fan of one storyline you don't have to read about it ever again.  Although I can't imagine how you could dislike anything Lauren wrights.

Another fun thing with this series is to see how Lauren has blossomed.  I hate to admit it but when I got to the romance sections of The Secret History of the Pink Carnation I laughed.  But now the scenes fit and everything seems to flow smoother. 

These are delightful reads, full of British culture in both the modern and historical plot lines.  Please check out her website for more information about her other books. I'll have a review for you next time.