The book tells the story of Rose Hathaway and Lissa Dragomir as they go through the final year in the vampire academy. The time of the Qualifying Exams has began. The dhampir students are each given one Moroi student to protect, and to Rose's shock, she is not assigned to Lissa, but to Christian. During the first attack she freezes after seeing Mason's ghost. As the exams continue, Rose finds out she is angrier and angrier with every day that goes by, even though she doesn't know why.
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As the days go by, Dimitri tells Rose that Victor Dashkov, who kidnapped Lissa, is about to have a trial, and she and Lissa weren't invited to testify. She asks him to find a way to get them in - but eventually the approval comes from Adrian Ivashkov, the Queen's great-niece, who met Rose at the ski site and fell in love with her. Lissa, Rose, Christian, Adrian, Dimitri and two other dhampirs then travel to court.
Before the trial Rose and Dimitri visit Victor in jail. Victor threatens them, saying he'd tell everyone that they almost slept together, and Dimitri threatens to kill him for that. Victor does reveal it in the trial, but no one believes him. Once the trial is over and Victor is sent to prison, Lissa is called to meet the Queen, and Rose is called after her. The Queen tells Rose she wants Lissa and Christian to break up so she could marry Adrian.
On the way back from court Rose suffers a bad migraine. Once again, she sees ghosts, mainly of Lissa's family. This time she gets noticed by Dimitri and once she comes clean about it, she is forced to see a counselor and stop her practicing.
When Rose feels that something is wrong with Lissa she runs out to find her and finds out that Lissa is being attacked - and is attacking back in a cruel way that doesn't suit her. She manages to calm her down by drawing her anger into her, and as a result tries to attack the Moroi who attacked Lissa. She is stopped by Dimitri, who takes her to an isolated cabin in the woods. She fights him but he manages to calm her down and they sleep together for the first time.
When they return to the academy, they find out several students have been kidnapped by Strigoi. After Mason's ghost tells Rose where they hide, Dimitri and other guardians devise a plan to find them and kill them. They manage to find them, but get involved in a battle. Dimitri has to be left behind. When they come back later, they cannot find his body - suggesting that he has been turned into a Strigoi. Rose sets out to find and kill him, promising Adrian they will date when she comes back.
Best part of story, including ending:
I liked this story because it is interesting, compelling and well written. The characters are realistic and are likeable.
Best scene in story:
My favorite scene was Rose and Dimitri hooking up because I've been waiting for it to happen. Classic romance.
Opinion about the main character:
I love that Rose is caring and passionate about things.
