Book Review: Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy

Okay, so I read on Richelle Mead’s blog yesterday she’ll be out of the country, in the UK to be exact.  From what I read, she hopes to get through all the Valentine’s Day Contest contestants within the next few weeks. So, while we wait...I thought I’d take the next few blog posts to review her best-selling series, Vampire Academy.

First things first, Book 1, Vampire Academy. At the time when I read this, I was reading like a fiend.  I won’t disclose how many books I read during that time - but let me just tell you I was not sleeping much.  And so, I was trying to quit or at least take a break. That was until my friend, Sandra, gave me the Vampire Academy.  Yeah, I was a bit resistant. I went down the list of how I didn’t really want to read another YA book but then holy hell, I’m glad I did. (Oh hi Sandra…thanks again)

I think I finished it within a day. I can’t remember but something like that. At the time, I preferred using my iPhone/Kindle application for getting most of my books. Anywho…I read it and was blown away.

It is a brilliant book and a splendid read. On the Mina Burrows’s KilloMeter…Richelle Mead slashed it off the pages! The book rocks!  The series opens with the two main characters, Rose Hathaway and Lissa Dragomir. Rose is a dhampir; a powerful part human and part vampire. Lissa is a Moroi; a born vampire from a royal line. The two girls are best friends and runaways from a prestigious vampire high school, St. Vladimirs. Rose is Lissa’s unofficial body guard, using an unspeakable bond to protect Lissa and fend off the immortal vampires called, Strigoi. These evil vampires would do just about anything or kill anyone to turn a Moroi into one of their own deadly breed.

After being on the run for two years from the Academy, the girls are captured and brought back to St. Vladimir. With classes already in full swing, and being gone for so long, both girls have regimented schedules to get up-to-speed in order to graduate on time. Despite Rose’s efforts to protect Lissa, she is the underdog in this series. Barely anyone wants to see her succeed, except for the fans…which is why we love her so much.  She’s your a-typical, no nonsense, cocky, know-it-all teenager that says pretty much everything that’s on her mind. After being back, she’s assigned to Dimitri, another powerful dhampir, who spends his time training dhampirs and guarding Moroi.

As close as Rose is to Lissa, she constantly keeps secrets from her - one being her growing interest in her Dhampir teacher/trainer, Dimitri.

The book sets the stage, describing the dark world of Moroi, Dhamphir and Strigoi. With murders, Stigoi turnings and subsequent attacks on Lissa, Rose has her work cut out for her.
Vampire Academy was beyond good, more like phenomenal.  It sucked me in, so much so, that I pulled out my iphone and downloaded the next installment, (Vampire Academy, Book 2)Frostbite .

Stay tuned as I plan on reviewing Book 2 shortly. If you’re looking for a good read, that sucks you into a dark, seductive but still PG world, Vampire Academy is a killer place to start.

Have fun...reading.

Mina B.