Spirit Bound is the fifth installment in the Vampire Academy series and was published in 2010. The world that Mead has conceived revolves around a battle between the 'good vampires', otherwise known as Moroi, and 'bad vampires', known as Strigoi. Mead was intrigued by and researched Romanian folklore prior to writing the novel and based the series on traditional Romanian folklore on vampires.
The story continues with Rose's return to St. Vladimir's Academy after failing to kill her Strigoi-turned lover, Dimitri. With the ever-present threat of Dimitri coming to kill her whilst also undertaking her 'Guardian' exams to protect her best friend, Lissa, and going on a quest to 'restore' Strigoi using the magic of 'Spirit', this novel has been noted as a favorite in the series by fans.
The Vampire Academy series has sold over 8 million copies worldwide with Spirit Bound making the New York Times Best Seller List, along with Mead's spin-off series, Bloodlines. It has been published in multiple foreign countries and recently Vampire Academy has been made into a movie, produced by Mean Girls director Mark Walters.
