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Vampire Academy #1
Vampire Academy
ONLY A TRUE BEST FRIEND CAN PROTECT YOU FROM YOUR IMMORTAL ENEMIES...
Lissa Dragomir is a Moroi princess: a mortal vampire with a rare gift for harnessing the earth's magic. She must be protected at all times from Strigoi; the fiercest vampires - the ones who never die. The powerful blend of human and vampire blood that flows through Rose Hathaway, Lissa's best friend, makes her a dhampir. Rose is dedicated to a dangerous life of protecting Lissa from the Strigoi, who are hell-bent on making Lissa one of them.
After two years of freedom, Rose and Lissa are caught and dragged back to St. Vladimir's Academy, a school for vampire royalty and their guardians-to-be, hidden in the deep forests of Montana. But inside the iron gates, life is even more fraught with danger... and the Strigoi are always close by.
Rose and Lissa must navigate their dangerous world, confront the temptations of forbidden love, and never once let their guard down, lest the evil undead make Lissa one of them forever...
Lissa Dragomir is a Moroi princess: a mortal vampire with a rare gift for harnessing the earth's magic. She must be protected at all times from Strigoi; the fiercest vampires - the ones who never die. The powerful blend of human and vampire blood that flows through Rose Hathaway, Lissa's best friend, makes her a dhampir. Rose is dedicated to a dangerous life of protecting Lissa from the Strigoi, who are hell-bent on making Lissa one of them.
After two years of freedom, Rose and Lissa are caught and dragged back to St. Vladimir's Academy, a school for vampire royalty and their guardians-to-be, hidden in the deep forests of Montana. But inside the iron gates, life is even more fraught with danger... and the Strigoi are always close by.
Rose and Lissa must navigate their dangerous world, confront the temptations of forbidden love, and never once let their guard down, lest the evil undead make Lissa one of them forever...
332 pages, Paperback
First published August 16, 2007
About the author
Richelle Mead
108 books68.9k followersScorpio Richelle Mead is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of urban fantasy books for both adults and teens. Originally from Michigan, Richelle now lives in Seattle, Washington where she works on her three series full-time: Georgina Kincaid, Dark Swan, and Vampire Academy.
A life-long reader, Richelle has always loved mythology and folklore. When she can actually tear herself away from books (either reading or writing them), she enjoys bad reality TV, traveling, trying interesting cocktails, and shopping for dresses. She's a self-professed coffee addict and has a passion for all things wacky and humorous.
A life-long reader, Richelle has always loved mythology and folklore. When she can actually tear herself away from books (either reading or writing them), she enjoys bad reality TV, traveling, trying interesting cocktails, and shopping for dresses. She's a self-professed coffee addict and has a passion for all things wacky and humorous.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 27,254 reviews
December 27, 2021
21 Apr ‘19
Eight years and this review is still attracting mad fangurls. So as a pre-empt, I highly suggest you not read this review if you can’t handle negative criticism of books you love. Be thus warned.
14 Apr '13
Future commenters: if you disagree with the review, that is perfectly fine and normal. If you wish to add your own thoughts of the book, that's also perfectly fine. But please keep the ad hominems and accusations (and not just directed at me, but also other commenters) at home.
Everyone's free to say what they wish on a public forum. But I am also free to moderate what goes on in my space. I've never deleted/moderated comments before, as that goes against my beliefs on free and public discourse, but any future offensive or judgemental/critical-of-people-instead-of-the-book comments will be ignored and deleted.
This is a review of a book, not a fact sheet. Just because I think this book is stupid, does not mean I think people who enjoy it are stupid. No need to be defensive/insulted over it.
11 Dec '12
Edit, because I am fucking sick of people coming up to the comments section, especially without reading through the previous pages of comments, and stomp in, guns blazing with accusations of racism and slutshaming.
1) Racism / wtf does Race have to do with anything!? / stfu you racist cow! / Stop putting irrelevant topics in your review, bitch!
>>please refer to:
comment 16
comment 339
2) Slutshaming / How dare you call her the S word! / Girls like you are setting back feminism by a few decades! / Other holier-than-thou comments
First of all -- if you're going to start accusing me of slut-shaming simply because of my use of the word "slut", GTFO. I'm going to steal a commenter's words here: slut-shaming is not about the word, it's about a mind set.
But just to make it extra clear: it isn't Rose's sluttiness that pisses me off and makes me loathe her, it's her hypocrisy and objectifying of human beings. We don't appreciate men objectifying women, we also should not appreciate women objectifying men.
And I personally, as this is my review, find it objectionable to encourage and normalise sleeping with people and writing others off based on shallow attributes, especially to a younger, impressionable teen audience. This is unhealthy and dangerous to promote.
>>please refer to:
comment 3
comment 7
comment 11
comment 339
17 Apr '12
Where I come from, there are these type of girls who would literally throw themselves out at any white boy. I'm not sure why, but it seems that they have this idea that Caucasian = hotness. Boys, being boys, well ... they snatch up every opportunity. What really bugs me though, is not the immense cheapness of these girls (and guys), but the extent to which they will go out there and hunt these western boys.
The heroine of this book reminds me a lot of those girls. This one sentence wraps it up for me:
Just like those girls who also know these foreigners only keep them around for the "fun" of it, appealing to their Asian-fetish, “not minding” that they’re playing into the stereotype.
Just like them, Rose Hathaway is the kind of girl who'd hook up with a guy just because he's hot. She'll be with one guy, but thinking about another. She is constantly thinking about getting with guys:
and yet when someone accuses her of being a slut, she's all indignant. What, if you don't go as far as sex, then it annuls any tendencies of sluttiness? Please. I have a lot of promiscuous friends - I'm not exactly wearing a promise ring myself - but at least have the decency to embrace your inner slut.
What irritates me even more with this character is how she would then go about referring to other dhampirs who offer "services" to morois as "bloodwhores". Bitch, please - you're not so far off yourself. Hypocritical characters are just not my thing. ESPECIALLY when they don't realize they're being hypocritical, or when/if the author doesn't realize s/he's writing a hypocritical character.
Now, there is a difference between confidence and arrogance; both I find charming in their own ways. But Rose Hathaway is neither. She is downright up herself, which is not a trait that I find endearing. I had to roll my eyes every time she described her sexiness...
The first one or two times were perhaps forgivable. But the third time around, I really couldn't help but groan. But in fact, Rose seems to be only obsessed with looks (which is odd, considering her "occupation" as a guardian); you'd think considering what she's been through, she'd be a little less shallow than that.
But forget her vanity for a second. Let's take a look at her apparently "redeeming" characteristic; her loyalty to her best friend, Lissa. You know, the one whose relationship she sabotaged?
...and for no other reason than jealousy. Oh, and because this dude comes from a shamed family. Never mind how much her best friend obviously adores him. Never mind how much he obviously cares about her in return.
All in all, I just couldn't sympathize for Rose. She was an attempt of a kick-ass, independent, empowered young girl - but she came across as conceited, hypocritical, and shallow.
Then the princess girl? Lissa? I don't know ... she was just bland. None of the characters in the book stood out for me. Even the romance seemed kind of forced (not to mention predictable - but aren't they all?!). It seemed the only reason Dimitri and Rose had this vibe going on was because of their mutual hotness (a word frequently thrown out there in the book). There was this brief explanation of how it was also because of their shared extreme dedication in being guardians - which I didn't buy. I have an extreme dedication in journalism, but I don't fall in love with every dedicated journalists out there.
Plot-wise... meh. Nothing special. The story was about a vampire and her half-human, half-vampire guardian, who had run away from a "vampire academy" and at the beginning of the book were captured and returned. The secret behind their escape was obviously a device to keep us hooked, but when it was finally revealed, it didn't seem too "wow, omigod" for me.
The Vampires in this story didn't even seem like your traditional vampires, other than their weakness when exposed to direct sunlight, and their occasional "feeding". There was apparently another type of Vampire, which were called the "strigoi", which we didn't see much of; and even when we did, it wasn't even that exciting.
Editing-wise... could be better. "describrd" on page 142 is one of the errors that I remembered. There were more, but I can't be bothered flipping through the pages to find them.
In conclusion. Maybe I would've liked this better if I were... 15? 16? But then again, maybe not.
Eight years and this review is still attracting mad fangurls. So as a pre-empt, I highly suggest you not read this review if you can’t handle negative criticism of books you love. Be thus warned.
14 Apr '13
Future commenters: if you disagree with the review, that is perfectly fine and normal. If you wish to add your own thoughts of the book, that's also perfectly fine. But please keep the ad hominems and accusations (and not just directed at me, but also other commenters) at home.
Everyone's free to say what they wish on a public forum. But I am also free to moderate what goes on in my space. I've never deleted/moderated comments before, as that goes against my beliefs on free and public discourse, but any future offensive or judgemental/critical-of-people-instead-of-the-book comments will be ignored and deleted.
This is a review of a book, not a fact sheet. Just because I think this book is stupid, does not mean I think people who enjoy it are stupid. No need to be defensive/insulted over it.
11 Dec '12
Edit, because I am fucking sick of people coming up to the comments section, especially without reading through the previous pages of comments, and stomp in, guns blazing with accusations of racism and slutshaming.
1) Racism / wtf does Race have to do with anything!? / stfu you racist cow! / Stop putting irrelevant topics in your review, bitch!
>>please refer to:
comment 16
comment 339
2) Slutshaming / How dare you call her the S word! / Girls like you are setting back feminism by a few decades! / Other holier-than-thou comments
First of all -- if you're going to start accusing me of slut-shaming simply because of my use of the word "slut", GTFO. I'm going to steal a commenter's words here: slut-shaming is not about the word, it's about a mind set.
But just to make it extra clear: it isn't Rose's sluttiness that pisses me off and makes me loathe her, it's her hypocrisy and objectifying of human beings. We don't appreciate men objectifying women, we also should not appreciate women objectifying men.
And I personally, as this is my review, find it objectionable to encourage and normalise sleeping with people and writing others off based on shallow attributes, especially to a younger, impressionable teen audience. This is unhealthy and dangerous to promote.
>>please refer to:
comment 3
comment 7
comment 11
comment 339
17 Apr '12
Where I come from, there are these type of girls who would literally throw themselves out at any white boy. I'm not sure why, but it seems that they have this idea that Caucasian = hotness. Boys, being boys, well ... they snatch up every opportunity. What really bugs me though, is not the immense cheapness of these girls (and guys), but the extent to which they will go out there and hunt these western boys.
The heroine of this book reminds me a lot of those girls. This one sentence wraps it up for me:
"I was a pretty dhampir, one who didn't mind getting into trouble and pulling crazy stunts. I became a novelty; they liked having me around for the fun of it."
Just like those girls who also know these foreigners only keep them around for the "fun" of it, appealing to their Asian-fetish, “not minding” that they’re playing into the stereotype.
Just like them, Rose Hathaway is the kind of girl who'd hook up with a guy just because he's hot. She'll be with one guy, but thinking about another. She is constantly thinking about getting with guys:
"You flirted with the other guys simply for the sake of flirting. You flirted with Jesse in the hopes of getting semi-naked with him. He was a royal Moroi, and he was so hot, he should have worn a warning: flammable sign."
and yet when someone accuses her of being a slut, she's all indignant. What, if you don't go as far as sex, then it annuls any tendencies of sluttiness? Please. I have a lot of promiscuous friends - I'm not exactly wearing a promise ring myself - but at least have the decency to embrace your inner slut.
What irritates me even more with this character is how she would then go about referring to other dhampirs who offer "services" to morois as "bloodwhores". Bitch, please - you're not so far off yourself. Hypocritical characters are just not my thing. ESPECIALLY when they don't realize they're being hypocritical, or when/if the author doesn't realize s/he's writing a hypocritical character.
Now, there is a difference between confidence and arrogance; both I find charming in their own ways. But Rose Hathaway is neither. She is downright up herself, which is not a trait that I find endearing. I had to roll my eyes every time she described her sexiness...
"I knew I was pretty, but to Moroi boys, my body was more than just pretty: it was sexy in a risqué way."
"I knew perfectly well that there weren't a lot of girls at this school who looked as good in a bra as I did."
The first one or two times were perhaps forgivable. But the third time around, I really couldn't help but groan. But in fact, Rose seems to be only obsessed with looks (which is odd, considering her "occupation" as a guardian); you'd think considering what she's been through, she'd be a little less shallow than that.
"Me. Turning into Alberta. Her...and all the other female guardians. They're all leathery and stuff. Fighting and training and always being outdoors - they aren't pretty anymore." I paused."This...this life. It destroys them. Their looks, I mean."
But forget her vanity for a second. Let's take a look at her apparently "redeeming" characteristic; her loyalty to her best friend, Lissa. You know, the one whose relationship she sabotaged?
"Why don't you just leave her alone? Are you so messed up and desperate for attention that you can't tell when someone doesn't like you?" He scowled. "You're some crazy stalker, and she knows it. She's told me all about your weird obsession-how you're always hanging out in the attic together, how you set Ralf on fire to impress her. She thinks you're a freak, but she's too nice to say anything."
...and for no other reason than jealousy. Oh, and because this dude comes from a shamed family. Never mind how much her best friend obviously adores him. Never mind how much he obviously cares about her in return.
All in all, I just couldn't sympathize for Rose. She was an attempt of a kick-ass, independent, empowered young girl - but she came across as conceited, hypocritical, and shallow.
Then the princess girl? Lissa? I don't know ... she was just bland. None of the characters in the book stood out for me. Even the romance seemed kind of forced (not to mention predictable - but aren't they all?!). It seemed the only reason Dimitri and Rose had this vibe going on was because of their mutual hotness (a word frequently thrown out there in the book). There was this brief explanation of how it was also because of their shared extreme dedication in being guardians - which I didn't buy. I have an extreme dedication in journalism, but I don't fall in love with every dedicated journalists out there.
Plot-wise... meh. Nothing special. The story was about a vampire and her half-human, half-vampire guardian, who had run away from a "vampire academy" and at the beginning of the book were captured and returned. The secret behind their escape was obviously a device to keep us hooked, but when it was finally revealed, it didn't seem too "wow, omigod" for me.
The Vampires in this story didn't even seem like your traditional vampires, other than their weakness when exposed to direct sunlight, and their occasional "feeding". There was apparently another type of Vampire, which were called the "strigoi", which we didn't see much of; and even when we did, it wasn't even that exciting.
Editing-wise... could be better. "describrd" on page 142 is one of the errors that I remembered. There were more, but I can't be bothered flipping through the pages to find them.
In conclusion. Maybe I would've liked this better if I were... 15? 16? But then again, maybe not.
June 5, 2015
So I watched the movie aaaaaand I hated it. I also made a comic review of the thing on the blog! But I'll also post it here for your reading pleasure. Warning: a lot of Dimitri shots.
QUICK RANT:
<--- THIS is the hot Dimitri?! THIS?! WHO THE HELL IS THIS. WHO THE FUCK IS THIS CRETIN. HE IS NOT THE DIMITRI I EXPECTED.
I'm not sure I can endure the movie now.
~End rant~
And Bubbles makes her comeback yet again! I've been a fan of Richelle Mead since I started her Game of X series, but before that, I have never ever tried her much-popular Vampire Academy series... until today. My paperback copy has been waiting for me for two years, and I have finally given in and opened the first page! Bubbles will be sharing her opinion in my stead... get ready!
QUICK RANT:
<--- THIS is the hot Dimitri?! THIS?! WHO THE HELL IS THIS. WHO THE FUCK IS THIS CRETIN. HE IS NOT THE DIMITRI I EXPECTED.I'm not sure I can endure the movie now.
~End rant~
And Bubbles makes her comeback yet again! I've been a fan of Richelle Mead since I started her Game of X series, but before that, I have never ever tried her much-popular Vampire Academy series... until today. My paperback copy has been waiting for me for two years, and I have finally given in and opened the first page! Bubbles will be sharing her opinion in my stead... get ready!
November 1, 2008
So many people talk about Twilight and miss this super great book......
I liked Twilight, but I had a hard time dealing with Bella. I thought she was just too...girly for some having with vampires. I wanted someone that could stand with them in a fight and not cower behind....Enter Rose. She is the bodyguard to Lissa, a vampire princess that must attend school and keep out of the clutches of the dark side. Rose is aggressive and hard headed, sometimes risking Lissa while trying to prove she is strong, but all the while terrified to let anyone else in.
To make her stronger, her elders bring in the hot and ever so delicious Dimitri and with fists and kicks a flying, Rose's world gets a might more interesting.
This is one killer book for anyone who loves Vampires and is looking for a good young adult book. I strongly urge anyone, not just teens to pick it up because once you start it, you won't put it down or the second and third. LOL!!
So get past Edward and Bella, not that I don't love them, and sink your teeth into Rose and Lissa's often dangerous lives.
I liked Twilight, but I had a hard time dealing with Bella. I thought she was just too...girly for some having with vampires. I wanted someone that could stand with them in a fight and not cower behind....Enter Rose. She is the bodyguard to Lissa, a vampire princess that must attend school and keep out of the clutches of the dark side. Rose is aggressive and hard headed, sometimes risking Lissa while trying to prove she is strong, but all the while terrified to let anyone else in.
To make her stronger, her elders bring in the hot and ever so delicious Dimitri and with fists and kicks a flying, Rose's world gets a might more interesting.
This is one killer book for anyone who loves Vampires and is looking for a good young adult book. I strongly urge anyone, not just teens to pick it up because once you start it, you won't put it down or the second and third. LOL!!
So get past Edward and Bella, not that I don't love them, and sink your teeth into Rose and Lissa's often dangerous lives.
March 10, 2024
2024: still fun but there are definitely some issues i didn't see in 2018 lmao. still love it tho
-----2018 review -----------
still just as good 10 years later
alright okay, maybe not JUST as good. but i was really not expecting this to be NOT Problematic™. like... surely a YA 2000s paranormal needs to have issues??? but no. this was still a certified good ass time.
by now you should all know the plot but if you don't here ya go: there's good vamps, bad vamps, and half vamps who are FIGHTERS and PROTECTORS. rose is a half vamp & she guards her best pal lissa. they ran away from school for 2 years and now are forced to return. but oh no, someone keeps putting dead animals in lissa's room and OH NO rose can feel lissa's emotions and sort of enter her body to see what she's up to (even when lissa is making out with boys, ew intrusion).
i think the best part of this was how fucking cool rose still is. not once does she slut shame in this book. i really looked for some unjustified girl hate. but it wasn't there. she stuck up for lissa when people were mean, she fed her when she was hungry. i mean overall rose is dope and rose/lissa are friendships goals.
there were only 2 things i found mildly problematic:
1. the way that rose and others handle the topic of "blood whores" which are half vamps or humans who provide good vamps with blood. rose tries to treat these people with respect and sympathize with them but she still has pretty ingrained prejudices. i know this is a fictional world but associating the word whore with this scenario and it being a power imbalance thing... it's very reminiscent of slut shaming. and i kept going back and forth with whether i felt like rose was shitty about it or not.
2. dimitri. i always thought he was skeezy (in the best fucking possible way) when i read the books the first few times but this time around i really didn't get those vibes AT ALL. until the last few pages. he claims that he wouldn't have made out with rose if he wasn't charmed and i'm like ok ok cool not creepy at all. and then evil ole uncle man says that the charm only amplifies feelings and rose asks dimitri and he's like "IT'S daNgErOUS to love you BITCH" and she's like yeah ok.
i mean... it's cool that he understand that it's wrong. and that he didn't do anything consensually... like he didn't intentionally come on to her. but like sort of iffy on the creepy side.
-----2018 review -----------
still just as good 10 years later
alright okay, maybe not JUST as good. but i was really not expecting this to be NOT Problematic™. like... surely a YA 2000s paranormal needs to have issues??? but no. this was still a certified good ass time.
by now you should all know the plot but if you don't here ya go: there's good vamps, bad vamps, and half vamps who are FIGHTERS and PROTECTORS. rose is a half vamp & she guards her best pal lissa. they ran away from school for 2 years and now are forced to return. but oh no, someone keeps putting dead animals in lissa's room and OH NO rose can feel lissa's emotions and sort of enter her body to see what she's up to (even when lissa is making out with boys, ew intrusion).
i think the best part of this was how fucking cool rose still is. not once does she slut shame in this book. i really looked for some unjustified girl hate. but it wasn't there. she stuck up for lissa when people were mean, she fed her when she was hungry. i mean overall rose is dope and rose/lissa are friendships goals.
there were only 2 things i found mildly problematic:
1. the way that rose and others handle the topic of "blood whores" which are half vamps or humans who provide good vamps with blood. rose tries to treat these people with respect and sympathize with them but she still has pretty ingrained prejudices. i know this is a fictional world but associating the word whore with this scenario and it being a power imbalance thing... it's very reminiscent of slut shaming. and i kept going back and forth with whether i felt like rose was shitty about it or not.
2. dimitri. i always thought he was skeezy (in the best fucking possible way) when i read the books the first few times but this time around i really didn't get those vibes AT ALL. until the last few pages. he claims that he wouldn't have made out with rose if he wasn't charmed and i'm like ok ok cool not creepy at all. and then evil ole uncle man says that the charm only amplifies feelings and rose asks dimitri and he's like "IT'S daNgErOUS to love you BITCH" and she's like yeah ok.
i mean... it's cool that he understand that it's wrong. and that he didn't do anything consensually... like he didn't intentionally come on to her. but like sort of iffy on the creepy side.
January 31, 2023
"If I let myself love you, I won't throw myself in front of her. I'll throw myself in front of you."
“Only a true best friend can protect you from your immortal enemies.”
This book is amazing!! I loved Rose and Dimitri!! I loved Lissa and Christian!! But I also loved Rose and Lissa! Vampire Academy not only has mystery,adventure and great romance that we all love but it also shows us the power of the friendship which we don't see a lot in books!
So let's start from the beginning!!!
We have 3 kinds of vampires!
1)Moroi
They are good vampires who live and die like normal humans but they have fangs and they drink human blood (they don't kill the person who drink from). They can also use magic! Each of them can use one of the four elements: Earth, Water, Fire and Air!! Moroi are able to walk in sunlight, but the sun weakens them and makes them uncomfortable.
2)Strigoi
They are bad vampires who are immortal, and are made instead of born. How you become a Strigoi? There are two options: 1st if they force them to be a strigoi.If a Strigoi drinks blood from their victim and then forces them to drink Strigoi blood then you become a Strigoi(That could happen to humans ,Moroi and Dhampirs). 2st way is to willingly become Strigoi but is only from Moroi. If a Moroi purposefully kills another person while feeding then that Moroi turns into a Strigoi. The Moroi who becomes Strigoi lose their magical abilities and they can no longer go into the sun. They are faster and stronger than Moroi.
3)Dhampir
They are half human and half vampire. A long time ago dhampir were born through the relationship between human and Moroi but in this time vampires wants to keep their identitysecret so dhampir are born through the union of a Moroi with another Dhampir. They don't drink blood and they don't have magical abilities. But they are a lot stronger and faster than humans. They are protecting Moroi from Strigoi.
So, Rose(Dhampir) and Lissa(Moroi) are best friends who run away two years ago. Rose has a one-sided bond to Lissa which allows her to know Lissa's emotions and thoughts. Which makes her the perfect guardian for Lissa. But when they are forced back to their school Dimitri Belikov( a handsome dhampir) is assigned to be Lissa's guardian and when Rose learn how to be guardian she will be her guardian as well. Dimitri also offers to mentor Rose in extra classes because she has to make up for the years she has lost.
So, how was the bond created?
Why the girls left from the St. Vladimir's Academy?
I had this questions from the start!!!
------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------
Okay I don't know where to start!!
1)The bond between Rose and Lissa
As I said Moroi can control four elements. But Lissa has a fifth element the spirit. With the spirit she can heal others. What happen then? Rose died and Lissa brought her back to life. When that happened it created a bond between them. Lissa believed she hadn't specialized before she learnt that spirit existed! Lissa also became depressed,did strange things and because of the bond and with the compulsion of Sonya's Karp Rose decided to run away with Lissa.
2)Rose and Dimitri
They are two strong characters. They are both badasses warriors. Rose has a crush on Dimitri who denies it. Dimitri is so hard to read most of the time I didn't know how he felt for Rose! I loved their training every single time!! When under Victor's Love Spell, they confessed their feelings for one and other and nearly had sex in Dimitri's room, but they broke away from the spell when Dimitri threw away the necklace.I was so excited in that moment!! Later they said that they could never be together because they were destined to be Lissa's Guardians.
3)Lissa and Christian
Let's start from that Lissa and Christian are a royal Moroi. Lissa is the last from her bloodline(Dragomir). Christian is an Ozera but because of his parents' actions Christian was avoided as people thought he was likely to become Strigoi like his parents. Christian and Lissa knew each other before Lissa left the Academy, but had never talked to each other.Upon Lissa's return, she discovered that Christian had begun to spend time in the attic where she had before she had left. They began to share the space and became friends. Christian soon fell in love with Lissa. Rose, who didn't like Christian, told him that Lissa only felt sorry for him and so he began ignoring Lissa. But later Rose understood the terrible mistake she made and she told Christian that she lied but Lissa reunited with her ex-boyfriend. But at the end of the book, they were together!!!!
Christian is my favorite character in the first book.He is so funny and he is sarcastic in the entire book. I loved it. I also loved when he set Ralf on fire because he was mean to Lissa and Rose.
4)Mia
I hated her in the first book. Because I have read all the books I can not hate her anymore but she did a lot wrong things and the most of all was to sleep with Jesse and Ralf(two Moroi-idiots to get them to spread rumours about Rose. She hated Lissa but at first I thought because she was jealous for Aaron but she hated her because she had a relationship with Lissa's brother and he dumped her.
5)The bad guy was Victor Dashkov
At first he showed us that he cared about Lissa but he wanted her to heal him from a disease that was slowly killing him. He wanted to test her power first, so he had his daughter (Natalie, I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING) lay dead animals so Lissa could bring them back to life.Eventually, he kidnapped her and forced her to heal him but Rose,Dimitri, Christian and other guardians save the day! Christian , my baby almost died but Lissa healed him!
6)Natalie
I don't hate her!! She loved her dad so much that she become a Strigoi because her dad told her to. I felt sad for her.
7)I really liked Mason!! He is completely in love with Rose but she only sees him as a friend! He is very funny and he is also protective of Rose especially when other males would insult her.
Okay, I was wondering why I didn't remember Eddie in the first book!Now, I remember!! BECAUSE HE HAD ONE LINE in the entire book! That's not fair!
March 21, 2010
Vampire Academy is a difficult book to review.
On one hand, it is a variation on the norm and Rose is definitely not the usual character occupying the myriad of PRNs these days. The writing style is blessedly free of awkward construction and mistakes. In fact, the writing isn't too bad at all.
The secondary characterizations are quite good for the most part, and well rounded. The pacing is agonizingly slow at the beginning of the book and doesn't pick up until the last fifty pages. The lore behind the story is complex, convoluted and somewhat ridiculous.
So you have the Moroi's, a race of weak, magic wielding vampires and the Dhampires who are their stronger "Guardians". The only way that Dhampires breed is if they are lucky enough to get up to shenanigans with the Moroi (who won't marry them) and have illegitimate bastard children. However this is somehow okay for this race because they can't breed amongst themselves and if you're a Dhampire male than you can just give up on the idea of ever having children because extreme chances are that you won't.
The Dhamires are the Moroi's Guardians against another race of vampires, the Strogoi, who want to feast on Moroi flesh.
But you'd think that, on behalf of your race, if you were a Dhampire and naturally stronger and tougher then these Moroi - you'd just conquer them and keep them as your slaves. Who wants to dedicate their lives (their entire lives - they literally LIVE to protect the Moroi) just for the faint chance of being able to reproduce? Especially with a race that looks down on you!
It just doesn't make sense and the dynamics don't really compute. I mean, okay, I'm not the most ethical person out there but if I were a stronger, tougher breed of vampire and the weak vampires came and said, "Okay, we'll keep you as our Guardians and have drunken, disrespectful sex with you on occasion as long as you protect us from the Strogoi." I'd probably respond with, "How about I protect you by keeping you in my dank, dark cellar as my slave while I take over the world? Does that sound fair to you?"
It's just the way nature works FFS! The pay off isn't anywhere near the sacrifice!
Guardian women either have to give up their children or quit, have no income and become a "blood whore" (those that feed the Moroi - something that's looked down upon as beyond disgusting). I'm sorry. I vote for overthrowing the weak, pissy Moroi and ruling over them as tyrants. It definitely would be a more feasible option with less likelihood of me ending up screwed over.
The love story surprised me. I spent the entire book up until the last few pages thinking it was extremely gross, if not weird and awkward. I didn't and I still don't feel any chemistry between the main two love interests. They seem to be thrown together by the author with nothing real between them to make you think that they actually belong together. The last part of the book redeemed a lot of that for me though with the encouraging decisions made by the male romantic lead.
Over all, it's not a bad read if you're into teenage romances and school stories. The School aspect plays a major role in this book, particularly the politics of the average teen life. For those who were immensely glad to leave high school behind, this book may not be for you.
On one hand, it is a variation on the norm and Rose is definitely not the usual character occupying the myriad of PRNs these days. The writing style is blessedly free of awkward construction and mistakes. In fact, the writing isn't too bad at all.
The secondary characterizations are quite good for the most part, and well rounded. The pacing is agonizingly slow at the beginning of the book and doesn't pick up until the last fifty pages. The lore behind the story is complex, convoluted and somewhat ridiculous.
So you have the Moroi's, a race of weak, magic wielding vampires and the Dhampires who are their stronger "Guardians". The only way that Dhampires breed is if they are lucky enough to get up to shenanigans with the Moroi (who won't marry them) and have illegitimate bastard children. However this is somehow okay for this race because they can't breed amongst themselves and if you're a Dhampire male than you can just give up on the idea of ever having children because extreme chances are that you won't.
The Dhamires are the Moroi's Guardians against another race of vampires, the Strogoi, who want to feast on Moroi flesh.
But you'd think that, on behalf of your race, if you were a Dhampire and naturally stronger and tougher then these Moroi - you'd just conquer them and keep them as your slaves. Who wants to dedicate their lives (their entire lives - they literally LIVE to protect the Moroi) just for the faint chance of being able to reproduce? Especially with a race that looks down on you!
It just doesn't make sense and the dynamics don't really compute. I mean, okay, I'm not the most ethical person out there but if I were a stronger, tougher breed of vampire and the weak vampires came and said, "Okay, we'll keep you as our Guardians and have drunken, disrespectful sex with you on occasion as long as you protect us from the Strogoi." I'd probably respond with, "How about I protect you by keeping you in my dank, dark cellar as my slave while I take over the world? Does that sound fair to you?"
It's just the way nature works FFS! The pay off isn't anywhere near the sacrifice!
Guardian women either have to give up their children or quit, have no income and become a "blood whore" (those that feed the Moroi - something that's looked down upon as beyond disgusting). I'm sorry. I vote for overthrowing the weak, pissy Moroi and ruling over them as tyrants. It definitely would be a more feasible option with less likelihood of me ending up screwed over.
The love story surprised me. I spent the entire book up until the last few pages thinking it was extremely gross, if not weird and awkward. I didn't and I still don't feel any chemistry between the main two love interests. They seem to be thrown together by the author with nothing real between them to make you think that they actually belong together. The last part of the book redeemed a lot of that for me though with the encouraging decisions made by the male romantic lead.
Over all, it's not a bad read if you're into teenage romances and school stories. The School aspect plays a major role in this book, particularly the politics of the average teen life. For those who were immensely glad to leave high school behind, this book may not be for you.
February 10, 2017
*2017 lowered rating to 2 stars because realistically 3 was generous
November 1, 2023
A fun read. I had a good time with it. Honestly, I would have loved it had I read it when I bought the series as a teen, but that's on me 😂🙈
The plot is intriguing, am hopeful things will get much darker from here on. Being the first book in the series, I believe it does well to introduce the world building and characters. My favorite characters so far have to be Dimitri and Christian. I like my men with charm and mystery, what can I do 🤷♀️
The writing isn't the strongest but it does give 2007 vibes, which was when it was released. So can't really complain there either 😅 I do however think that the relationship between Dimitri and Rose developed too quick. Like I didn't really see any angst, it was just one or two looks and bam! they're kissing.. Wasn't a fan of that. Christian and Lissa however are more likable and stable in that area. They had room to talk about things and get to know each other, which is something I missed when it came to the former couple.
Rose is not one of the best characters or leads I've read. I do admit, I like her loyalty to Lissa and how she values their friendship. As an individual? She's a dumbass who talks too much. She is a huge part of the reason why it's just a three star read for me. Had she been smarter I would have no qualms bumping it to four.
Lissa on the other hand is too naive. I get she has a darker path ahead of her and it might bring more personality and life into her but in this one, I didn't really get to know her that well, except when she was interacting with Christian.
Overall, it's a fun read. Thanks Grace, for making me finally pick up this series hehe 🤭🩷
~•~•~
Don't be judging. I have had this whole series on my physical shelf for yearsssssssss now and Grace finally made me want to give it a read 🫣
The plot is intriguing, am hopeful things will get much darker from here on. Being the first book in the series, I believe it does well to introduce the world building and characters. My favorite characters so far have to be Dimitri and Christian. I like my men with charm and mystery, what can I do 🤷♀️
The writing isn't the strongest but it does give 2007 vibes, which was when it was released. So can't really complain there either 😅 I do however think that the relationship between Dimitri and Rose developed too quick. Like I didn't really see any angst, it was just one or two looks and bam! they're kissing.. Wasn't a fan of that. Christian and Lissa however are more likable and stable in that area. They had room to talk about things and get to know each other, which is something I missed when it came to the former couple.
Rose is not one of the best characters or leads I've read. I do admit, I like her loyalty to Lissa and how she values their friendship. As an individual? She's a dumbass who talks too much. She is a huge part of the reason why it's just a three star read for me. Had she been smarter I would have no qualms bumping it to four.
Lissa on the other hand is too naive. I get she has a darker path ahead of her and it might bring more personality and life into her but in this one, I didn't really get to know her that well, except when she was interacting with Christian.
Overall, it's a fun read. Thanks Grace, for making me finally pick up this series hehe 🤭🩷
~•~•~
Don't be judging. I have had this whole series on my physical shelf for yearsssssssss now and Grace finally made me want to give it a read 🫣
January 14, 2010
Best. Vampire. Saga. EVER. Just that. I dare anyone come and tell me otherwise. It is funny, witty, the plots are amazing, and the characters are great (well.... maybe Lissa is not great, but hey, she is just the one flaw). If you like vampire books, you must read it. If you hate vampire books, you must read it. What the hell, whether you like or dislike books in general, this book is a MUST HAVE. Because I say so (OK, me and thousands of people just like me) Twilight? What the hell is Twilight?
March 30, 2012
So I said I wouldn't read this after being warned about 10 million times that they stop being worth the bother after book 3. I said it repeatedly, earnestly... and then I caved. I mean, what do you do when you've nothing ahead of you but a day at the library and when you turn around...dum, dum, dum... there it is, the internationally praised series that you swore you would never... but then what if you felt different?... how can you expect to deal with not finding out for yourself? So I guess I'm going to be the whole 'curiosity killed the cat' cliche when I get past book 3, not to mention the one about being a 'glutton for punishment'.
But, as I've been told and as I therefore expected, this first book in the series I've been putting off was really good. I'm not surprised I liked the writing style seeing as I'm already a Richelle Mead fan after reading her Succubus series. She uses traditional urban fantasy features like supernatural creatures and mythology but has a very chick-lit feel to her books which I like. My favourite hobby is to read about spunky, sarcastic heroines who aren't afraid to express their sexuality. I expected Mead to be somewhat more vanilla in a young adult novel but she (not surprisingly) pushed the boundaries and made this quite a sexy novel.
It's basically the vampire version of high school, complete with bitchiness, cliques and hot but obnoxious guys. I also found it one of the best depictions of friendship between two teenage girls that I've read in a long time, Rose and Lissa are simply delightful characters. It did make me really want to read book 2 but I will be progressing with caution throughout. I couldn't help myself, I've been warned countless times and read reviews that talk about Mead's later failures with this series, but I still had to find out for myself. I'm annoying like that.
March 3, 2015
I gave this book 3 stars on my first read. I raised my rating after reading and liking it more on my second read.
Addition : Why I think you should read VA instead of Covenant
I was a stubborn brat when it came to reading Vampire Academy. Part of me honestly thought that a vampire series couldn't impress me after experiencing how oversaturated the genre had become with depressing and lackluster characters and stories.
Because of this, I went into my first read of VA begrudgingly and with a bad attitude. It didn't make any sense to me why so many people were rabid fans of this series. I think I pre-programmed myself to want to hate the books.
So I read the first book and ended up liking it. But I still didn't see what the big deal was. My review reflected the attitude that it was an easy read and somewhat entertaining - but what was the big deal?
Apparently, there must have been something sparked because I started book 2 shortly thereafter and then found myself blazing through the rest of the series, getting more and more addicted with each book.
Two years later and this remains one of my favorite series of all time. Even though book 1 had a few glaring errors, each book got better by massive leaps and bounds. The end of book 3 had me crying, the second half of book 4 had me on pins and needles, and after I finished book 5 I joined the crew of people who were throwing out theories about what could possibly happen in the upcoming release of book 6. Since then, I've devoured the graphic novels and spinoff series Bloodlines (featuring a cast of extras from the original VA books).
I had become obsessed.
Dimitri is one of my all-time favorite heroes. Period. There is no one I've come across in my book reading history quite like Guardian Belikov. He is bad-ass and lethal. He is loyal and honorable. He is strong, vigilant, and protective. He is the man you want to take home to momma before dragging him off to bed (he is 24 and all man, so I do not feel guilty about admitting this!). He is every characteristic that I'd want to see in a hero, without being turned into an arrogant and controlling asshole like you see in so many books featuring a larger-than-life male lead.
Rose is one of my all-time favorite female leads. What? Both the male and female in the same story are great? She is mouthy, stubborn, determined, loyal, brave, and can also kick major ass. If you ever wanted a friend who would go to bat for you, Rose is your girl.
Rarely, does a couple balance one another in a story. Now, this isn't to say that these two are an actual couple (I will neither confirm nor deny that they end up together, since another potential love interest does enter the picture in book 2), but the chemistry between Roza and Dimka is off the charts because they are able to challenge each other.
Oh, but wait. There's a complication. Rose is being trained to become a guardian by Dimitri. That's right - they are teacher and student. Now, this isn't in the disgustingly creepy pedo way. Rose is almost 18 and Dimitri is 24. Their values and ways of thinking often show them more as equals than mentor and student, so the lines become blurred. But yes...this has the potential to become a forbidden and dangerous love story...if they ever allowed it go there.
I'm not telling, of course!
Final analysis from then to now :
My first read complaints were that I didn't understand why Rose was so down for the cause and had such unfailing devotion to the ruling class. Even after going through a complete series read, I still struggle with this, even though I liked some of the attitude shifts in the later books.
Lissa didn't impress me back in 2010. She still doesn't impress me in 2012.
I didn't recall book 1 having so much silly teen drama. Because books 3 through 6 are focused so much on fighting and real-life struggles outside of the school, those are the memories I carry with me. This is an extremely mature (and sexy) series for YA because of the older characters and content. So I was surprised to go back and realize that book 1 read younger and sillier than the rest of the books. It was still good. In fact, I appreciate it more now, knowing how much it set up the series, so I'm raising my rating a full star. Make no mistake though, this is the weakest book in the series. If you're unsure about book 1, keep reading because it gets INCREDIBLE from here on out. The world building in the first 30% of the original book was overwhelming imo. Initial info-dumping is one of Mead's only flaws as a writer because otherwise she is a master at getting me to care about her characters (regardless of series).
The action and adventure balances the romance excellently. I should have mentioned this earlier, but this is not a paranormal romance series. It is a high-octane Urban Fantasy. Expect adventures in every book. The sexual chemistry is just a bonus, but it doesn't choke out the fun aspect of the series.
I have no doubt now that this will stay in my top 3 series for a long time to come. Re-reading only cemented this for me.
Oh my Dimka, my Dimka...
Addition : Why I think you should read VA instead of Covenant
The before : September 2010
I was a stubborn brat when it came to reading Vampire Academy. Part of me honestly thought that a vampire series couldn't impress me after experiencing how oversaturated the genre had become with depressing and lackluster characters and stories.
Because of this, I went into my first read of VA begrudgingly and with a bad attitude. It didn't make any sense to me why so many people were rabid fans of this series. I think I pre-programmed myself to want to hate the books.
So I read the first book and ended up liking it. But I still didn't see what the big deal was. My review reflected the attitude that it was an easy read and somewhat entertaining - but what was the big deal?
Apparently, there must have been something sparked because I started book 2 shortly thereafter and then found myself blazing through the rest of the series, getting more and more addicted with each book.
The After : September 2012
Two years later and this remains one of my favorite series of all time. Even though book 1 had a few glaring errors, each book got better by massive leaps and bounds. The end of book 3 had me crying, the second half of book 4 had me on pins and needles, and after I finished book 5 I joined the crew of people who were throwing out theories about what could possibly happen in the upcoming release of book 6. Since then, I've devoured the graphic novels and spinoff series Bloodlines (featuring a cast of extras from the original VA books).
I had become obsessed.
Dimitri is one of my all-time favorite heroes. Period. There is no one I've come across in my book reading history quite like Guardian Belikov. He is bad-ass and lethal. He is loyal and honorable. He is strong, vigilant, and protective. He is the man you want to take home to momma before dragging him off to bed (he is 24 and all man, so I do not feel guilty about admitting this!). He is every characteristic that I'd want to see in a hero, without being turned into an arrogant and controlling asshole like you see in so many books featuring a larger-than-life male lead.
Rose is one of my all-time favorite female leads. What? Both the male and female in the same story are great? She is mouthy, stubborn, determined, loyal, brave, and can also kick major ass. If you ever wanted a friend who would go to bat for you, Rose is your girl.
Rarely, does a couple balance one another in a story. Now, this isn't to say that these two are an actual couple (I will neither confirm nor deny that they end up together, since another potential love interest does enter the picture in book 2), but the chemistry between Roza and Dimka is off the charts because they are able to challenge each other.
Oh, but wait. There's a complication. Rose is being trained to become a guardian by Dimitri. That's right - they are teacher and student. Now, this isn't in the disgustingly creepy pedo way. Rose is almost 18 and Dimitri is 24. Their values and ways of thinking often show them more as equals than mentor and student, so the lines become blurred. But yes...this has the potential to become a forbidden and dangerous love story...if they ever allowed it go there.
I'm not telling, of course!
Final analysis from then to now :
My first read complaints were that I didn't understand why Rose was so down for the cause and had such unfailing devotion to the ruling class. Even after going through a complete series read, I still struggle with this, even though I liked some of the attitude shifts in the later books.
Lissa didn't impress me back in 2010. She still doesn't impress me in 2012.
I didn't recall book 1 having so much silly teen drama. Because books 3 through 6 are focused so much on fighting and real-life struggles outside of the school, those are the memories I carry with me. This is an extremely mature (and sexy) series for YA because of the older characters and content. So I was surprised to go back and realize that book 1 read younger and sillier than the rest of the books. It was still good. In fact, I appreciate it more now, knowing how much it set up the series, so I'm raising my rating a full star. Make no mistake though, this is the weakest book in the series. If you're unsure about book 1, keep reading because it gets INCREDIBLE from here on out. The world building in the first 30% of the original book was overwhelming imo. Initial info-dumping is one of Mead's only flaws as a writer because otherwise she is a master at getting me to care about her characters (regardless of series).
The action and adventure balances the romance excellently. I should have mentioned this earlier, but this is not a paranormal romance series. It is a high-octane Urban Fantasy. Expect adventures in every book. The sexual chemistry is just a bonus, but it doesn't choke out the fun aspect of the series.
I have no doubt now that this will stay in my top 3 series for a long time to come. Re-reading only cemented this for me.
Oh my Dimka, my Dimka...
Dimitri hovered over us, alert and ready for any threat, his body coiled to attack. I felt safe with him beside us.
In that horrible moment, with him raging like a storm, I knew why Mason had called him a god.
He regarded me with utter seriousness, like he always did. "I think you're beautiful."
"Beautiful?"
"You are so beautiful, it hurts me sometimes."
December 2, 2018
I am...shocked.
I am astonished. I am astounded. I am...surprised. I am dumbfounded. I am, to my core, #shook.
I reread a book that I liked in 2014...and I still liked it.
If you’ve read my reviews before, or like, once accidentally chanced upon me yelling about something and immediately ran away, or did whatever the Internet equivalent of immediately running away is (hitting “back” real fast?), then you will know something about me to be true.
I NEVER like ANYTHING. Especially not books that I liked before. I don’t know what it is. Maybe I’m inherently masochistic and my own worst enemy and I set myself up for failure when I’m at my most confident just to feel alive.
It’s almost like if I gave a book 5 stars over a year ago, I’m MORE likely to hate it. Isla and the Happily Ever After, for example. Or A Court of Mist and Fury. The Selection. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The Night Circus. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. Just One Year. Attachments.
The year of the reread has uh...not been going well.
And then THIS book comes out of the woodwork.
I literally expected to hate this book before rereading it. It has vampires. It’s set in a high school. The villains are mostly teenage girls (#girlhatecentral). 50 percent of the plotline is gossip-based. The central romance is between a 17 or 18 year old (honestly not too sure) and a man in his mid-twenties. The whole thing is rife with opportunities for slut shaming.
And yet...GUYS THIS BOOK WAS FUN.
It was not five stars fun. It was not even four stars fun! But it waaaaas fun. Sometimes. Let’s talk about why and why not!!!
So first off. (Lol. First off like I’m not well into rambling already.) Vampire Academy follows Rose Hathaway, who’s a badass sassy sometimes girl-hating but not as often you’d expect dhampir. A dhampir is a half vampire, half human whose entire existence is dedicated to protecting the Pretty Vampires. Pretty Vampires, called Moroiby everyone who isn’t me, are nice and tall and slender and pale (you will hear these descriptors one thousand times). They have magic that they spend 18 years learning about only to do f*ck all with it for the rest of their lives because they think using it in defense is nooooot coooooool or whatever. It’s dumb.
There are also Mean Uggo Vampires. Mean Uggo Vampires (called Strigoi) don’t have magic but they live forever and are super fast and they are meaaaaaan they have no morals at all!!! They just want blood all the time!!! Almost like a vampire or something!!!
To become a Mean Uggo Vampire, you suck someone’s blood until you kiiiiiill them. Or, I think, a Mean Uggo Vampire can bite you. I honestly don’t remember. The thing about a book telling me the same worldbuilding information 8 times is that I just start tuning one hundred percent of it out and don’t learn ANYTHING.
Breaking: I am the worst reader in the world.
Okay, so. Bad news first.
This book is fun, yes, but it could be one million times more fun. (That’s the actual math I did on it. I found a big chalkboard in the MIT math building Good Will Hunting-style with this equation on it. I solved it obvs and figured out that Vampire Academy would be exactly 1,000,000 times more fun with the following provisions.)
For one thing, probably 18% (so much math in this review I hate myself) of this book is the same worldbuilding info over. And over. And over. Pretty Vampires are tall. Also they are pale. Also they are soooooo sleeeeeender you guys. I will never, in my life, forget that Lissa is the last of the Dragomir line. (Because there is also SO MUCH INFORMATION ON VAMPIRIC MONARCHICAL SYSTEMS OF GOVERNMENT IN THIS WEIRDO BOOK.) Just cut the repetition Richelle!!!! For my sake plz!!!!!!!
Generally speaking, also, this book is très repetitive. A lot of that is based on the construction of the plot and it is garbage, for sure, but whatever. Less avoidable than the fact that ALL OF THIS IS BASED ON HIGH SCHOOL GOSSIP. There is so much drama!!! Apparently the only thing worse in the entire world than making steamy eye contact with a Mean Uggo Vampire is any damage to your reputation. A mental breakdown so devastating you end up bleeding out in the high school nurse’s office? Sure, no problem. But your fellow students finding out you almost died? SO embarrassing. Heaven forbid.
In other words: Bo-ring.
Also, sooooo much of this book toes the line on girl hate and slut shaming. I consider myself a professional on detecting the slightest trace of either and immediately screaming about it in a one-star review, but I’m really not sure on this one. It seems like girls AND boys suck here, even though there are at least two (2) girl villains. They’re at least the masterminds behind some asshole guys though??? Is that better or worse????? I literally am asking because I cannot tell my own thoughts anymore.
I’m breaking.
Rose is a flirt but she’s also a virgin, so it brings up a lot of complex sh*t when it comes to slut shaming. Thinking about it makes me feel like Charlie Day in that one episode of Always Sunny.
Like, me trying to figure out if Rose hates women:
Plus there are only two characters I actually like out of the millions upon millions who exist in this book. But I’m tired of complaining (who ever thought this day would come) so let’s talk about them.
So………….in spite all of my conspiracy-theory bulletin board red thread crazy-eyed analysis of Rose’s potential sexism, Charlie Day-style……….I like the gal a lot.
She’s pretty funny! And very badass. She does some annoying stuff and she doesn’t always treat people well, but also #same and who would I be if I judged her for the very same sins I commit on the daily.
Mainly she’s fun to read about and that, when it comes to a gooey-eyed vampire high school story, is truly the only thing that matters. We’re not going for literary character complexity here folks.
The other character I’m heavy into is, uh...I’m embarrassed to say this...guh IT’S DIMITRI OKAY. LEAVE ME ALONE.
Dimitri is the way-too-old-for-Rose love interest...and I’m love INTERESTED let me tell you. (Was that funny? It totally wasn’t, right? I am off my game today, you guys!) (Please allow me to continue to live in the happy illusion that I am sometimes funny and therefore have a game to be off.)
I don’t have much else to say. I think he’s hot, for whatever reason, and I...ugh...warning, I am about to use the worst word in human existence…ship (bleh, bleh, bleh, gag me with a spoon oh god) him and Rose.
Even though I shouldn’t.
Because again, he’s too old.
But here we are, you know? Just have to accept it really, in all its devastating off-brand-ness. Don’t ever tell me I’m not honest with you guys.
And I can’t believe I’m saying this either, but...this world is kind of...creative? Like, yes, vampires, perhaps the least creative mythical creature to put in a young adult novel in the twenty-first century, but otherwise...man. Pretty solid to be totally honest.
PLUS THIS IS FUN, OKAY? I’m done defending myself against my imagination’s interpretation of your extremely harsh reaction to this review.
Bottom line: This is fun and not good but also very guilty pleasure yum great. I’ve lost whatever loose grasp I may have once had on the ability to speak English in semi-coherent sentences. I must go.
------------
PRE-REVIEW
*clears throat*
I REREAD A BOOK ABOUT VAMPIRES CENTERING ON A HIGH SCHOOL TEEMING WITH DRAMA THAT I WAS INTO IN 2014.................AND I STILL LIKED IT.
don't get me wrong, it wasn't perfect or anything.
but we'll get into it. review to come
I am astonished. I am astounded. I am...surprised. I am dumbfounded. I am, to my core, #shook.
I reread a book that I liked in 2014...and I still liked it.
If you’ve read my reviews before, or like, once accidentally chanced upon me yelling about something and immediately ran away, or did whatever the Internet equivalent of immediately running away is (hitting “back” real fast?), then you will know something about me to be true.
I NEVER like ANYTHING. Especially not books that I liked before. I don’t know what it is. Maybe I’m inherently masochistic and my own worst enemy and I set myself up for failure when I’m at my most confident just to feel alive.
It’s almost like if I gave a book 5 stars over a year ago, I’m MORE likely to hate it. Isla and the Happily Ever After, for example. Or A Court of Mist and Fury. The Selection. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The Night Circus. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. Just One Year. Attachments.
The year of the reread has uh...not been going well.
And then THIS book comes out of the woodwork.
I literally expected to hate this book before rereading it. It has vampires. It’s set in a high school. The villains are mostly teenage girls (#girlhatecentral). 50 percent of the plotline is gossip-based. The central romance is between a 17 or 18 year old (honestly not too sure) and a man in his mid-twenties. The whole thing is rife with opportunities for slut shaming.
And yet...GUYS THIS BOOK WAS FUN.
It was not five stars fun. It was not even four stars fun! But it waaaaas fun. Sometimes. Let’s talk about why and why not!!!
So first off. (Lol. First off like I’m not well into rambling already.) Vampire Academy follows Rose Hathaway, who’s a badass sassy sometimes girl-hating but not as often you’d expect dhampir. A dhampir is a half vampire, half human whose entire existence is dedicated to protecting the Pretty Vampires. Pretty Vampires, called Moroi
There are also Mean Uggo Vampires. Mean Uggo Vampires (called Strigoi) don’t have magic but they live forever and are super fast and they are meaaaaaan they have no morals at all!!! They just want blood all the time!!! Almost like a vampire or something!!!
To become a Mean Uggo Vampire, you suck someone’s blood until you kiiiiiill them. Or, I think, a Mean Uggo Vampire can bite you. I honestly don’t remember. The thing about a book telling me the same worldbuilding information 8 times is that I just start tuning one hundred percent of it out and don’t learn ANYTHING.
Breaking: I am the worst reader in the world.
Okay, so. Bad news first.
This book is fun, yes, but it could be one million times more fun. (That’s the actual math I did on it. I found a big chalkboard in the MIT math building Good Will Hunting-style with this equation on it. I solved it obvs and figured out that Vampire Academy would be exactly 1,000,000 times more fun with the following provisions.)
For one thing, probably 18% (so much math in this review I hate myself) of this book is the same worldbuilding info over. And over. And over. Pretty Vampires are tall. Also they are pale. Also they are soooooo sleeeeeender you guys. I will never, in my life, forget that Lissa is the last of the Dragomir line. (Because there is also SO MUCH INFORMATION ON VAMPIRIC MONARCHICAL SYSTEMS OF GOVERNMENT IN THIS WEIRDO BOOK.) Just cut the repetition Richelle!!!! For my sake plz!!!!!!!
Generally speaking, also, this book is très repetitive. A lot of that is based on the construction of the plot and it is garbage, for sure, but whatever. Less avoidable than the fact that ALL OF THIS IS BASED ON HIGH SCHOOL GOSSIP. There is so much drama!!! Apparently the only thing worse in the entire world than making steamy eye contact with a Mean Uggo Vampire is any damage to your reputation. A mental breakdown so devastating you end up bleeding out in the high school nurse’s office? Sure, no problem. But your fellow students finding out you almost died? SO embarrassing. Heaven forbid.
In other words: Bo-ring.
Also, sooooo much of this book toes the line on girl hate and slut shaming. I consider myself a professional on detecting the slightest trace of either and immediately screaming about it in a one-star review, but I’m really not sure on this one. It seems like girls AND boys suck here, even though there are at least two (2) girl villains. They’re at least the masterminds behind some asshole guys though??? Is that better or worse????? I literally am asking because I cannot tell my own thoughts anymore.
I’m breaking.
Rose is a flirt but she’s also a virgin, so it brings up a lot of complex sh*t when it comes to slut shaming. Thinking about it makes me feel like Charlie Day in that one episode of Always Sunny.
Like, me trying to figure out if Rose hates women:
Plus there are only two characters I actually like out of the millions upon millions who exist in this book. But I’m tired of complaining (who ever thought this day would come) so let’s talk about them.
So………….in spite all of my conspiracy-theory bulletin board red thread crazy-eyed analysis of Rose’s potential sexism, Charlie Day-style……….I like the gal a lot.
She’s pretty funny! And very badass. She does some annoying stuff and she doesn’t always treat people well, but also #same and who would I be if I judged her for the very same sins I commit on the daily.
Mainly she’s fun to read about and that, when it comes to a gooey-eyed vampire high school story, is truly the only thing that matters. We’re not going for literary character complexity here folks.
The other character I’m heavy into is, uh...I’m embarrassed to say this...guh IT’S DIMITRI OKAY. LEAVE ME ALONE.
Dimitri is the way-too-old-for-Rose love interest...and I’m love INTERESTED let me tell you. (Was that funny? It totally wasn’t, right? I am off my game today, you guys!) (Please allow me to continue to live in the happy illusion that I am sometimes funny and therefore have a game to be off.)
I don’t have much else to say. I think he’s hot, for whatever reason, and I...ugh...warning, I am about to use the worst word in human existence…ship (bleh, bleh, bleh, gag me with a spoon oh god) him and Rose.
Even though I shouldn’t.
Because again, he’s too old.
But here we are, you know? Just have to accept it really, in all its devastating off-brand-ness. Don’t ever tell me I’m not honest with you guys.
And I can’t believe I’m saying this either, but...this world is kind of...creative? Like, yes, vampires, perhaps the least creative mythical creature to put in a young adult novel in the twenty-first century, but otherwise...man. Pretty solid to be totally honest.
PLUS THIS IS FUN, OKAY? I’m done defending myself against my imagination’s interpretation of your extremely harsh reaction to this review.
Bottom line: This is fun and not good but also very guilty pleasure yum great. I’ve lost whatever loose grasp I may have once had on the ability to speak English in semi-coherent sentences. I must go.
------------
PRE-REVIEW
*clears throat*
I REREAD A BOOK ABOUT VAMPIRES CENTERING ON A HIGH SCHOOL TEEMING WITH DRAMA THAT I WAS INTO IN 2014.................AND I STILL LIKED IT.
don't get me wrong, it wasn't perfect or anything.
but we'll get into it. review to come
October 16, 2022
Guys, I had a really good time reading this one. I'm way out of the intended demographic, but color me pleasantly surprised that this was leaps and bounds above Twilight, although I'm not here to hate on those books. As far as YA books go, this one featured one of my favorite platonic female friendships, and I'm thrilled for the portrayal of girls supporting girls as a way to build up lady power, instead of every female vying for attention in meaningless competition. Part of me wants to write a longer review, but a greater part of me just wants to bask in how much I adored this and move on to the next installment. <3
Also, the movie sucked. But I am so excited to watch the new show!
Also, the movie sucked. But I am so excited to watch the new show!
February 12, 2022
Inicio de una saga icónica que deja buen sabor de boca.
Hace ya más de una década que leí esta primera entrega de Vampire Academy, una historia que revolucionó internet y a jóvenes alrededor del mundo en la época cuando los vampiros estaban en auge. Ahora, de nuevo, estamos teniendo un resurgimiento de esta fiebre tan adictiva. Y no me quejo en absoluto.
La primera vez que leí este libro recuerdo que me voló la cabeza. Por suerte, he leído muchísimos cientos de libros más desde entonces, y en esta ocasión lo he apreciado de otra forma. Le bajo la nota (anteriormente tenía 5 estrellas sobre 5), pero creo que lo he disfrutado igual o más que la primera lectura que hice. ¡Engancha demasiado! En serio, recordaba que era adictivo, pero es que Richelle Mead cuenta las cosas de una manera maravillosa, introduciendo con píldoras de información su universo, la personalidad de los personajes, los giros de guion... Poquito a poco todo va cobrando seriedad.
También me he reído mucho. No solo hay situaciones graciosas, sino que las que son cliché (chicas populares, cuernos, adolescentes calientes en un internado...) se defienden a través de Rose de maneras desternillantes. Eso sí que destaca: Rose Hathaway es un personaje del 2022. No tiene nada que ver con el tipo de personaje femenino que se nos metía con calzador en esa época, sino que se asemeja mucho más a heroínas actuales, más complejas, irónicas, atrevidas, que no se dejan llevar por el romance. En líneas generales, es un libro bastante feminista para lo que se solía escribir hace casi 15 años. Bravo por eso.
No sé qué deciros que no se haya dicho ya de esta saga. La historia de los dhampir, moroi y strigoi me sonaba, la recordaba vagamente, pero... ¿Todo lo de San Vladimir, Lissa, estar bendecida por las sombras, Christian...? Ay, mami. No recordaba prácticamente nada de eso y me ha recordado tantísimo a la saga Trono de Cristal, en el sentido de una trama que parece una cosa pero que encierra de fondo otra problemática bien distinta que se entremezcla perfectamente. ¡Espero no equivocarme! Siento que la autora ha metido un poquito de esa información, de ese misterio con la magia, como una subtrama, pero cruzo los dedos para que cobre importancia porque es de lo más interesante del libro.
En definitiva, Vampire Academy es un arranque buenísimo para una saga mítica. Son seis libros más un spin-off, así que me lo tomaré con calma, pero iré leyendo la saga según se publique de nuevo en español. Qué bonito reencontrarse con libros que disfrutarse y que sobreviven a tantos años de buenos recuerdos. ¡Nenis, a por este libro! Lo vais a pasar en grande.
Hace ya más de una década que leí esta primera entrega de Vampire Academy, una historia que revolucionó internet y a jóvenes alrededor del mundo en la época cuando los vampiros estaban en auge. Ahora, de nuevo, estamos teniendo un resurgimiento de esta fiebre tan adictiva. Y no me quejo en absoluto.
La primera vez que leí este libro recuerdo que me voló la cabeza. Por suerte, he leído muchísimos cientos de libros más desde entonces, y en esta ocasión lo he apreciado de otra forma. Le bajo la nota (anteriormente tenía 5 estrellas sobre 5), pero creo que lo he disfrutado igual o más que la primera lectura que hice. ¡Engancha demasiado! En serio, recordaba que era adictivo, pero es que Richelle Mead cuenta las cosas de una manera maravillosa, introduciendo con píldoras de información su universo, la personalidad de los personajes, los giros de guion... Poquito a poco todo va cobrando seriedad.
También me he reído mucho. No solo hay situaciones graciosas, sino que las que son cliché (chicas populares, cuernos, adolescentes calientes en un internado...) se defienden a través de Rose de maneras desternillantes. Eso sí que destaca: Rose Hathaway es un personaje del 2022. No tiene nada que ver con el tipo de personaje femenino que se nos metía con calzador en esa época, sino que se asemeja mucho más a heroínas actuales, más complejas, irónicas, atrevidas, que no se dejan llevar por el romance. En líneas generales, es un libro bastante feminista para lo que se solía escribir hace casi 15 años. Bravo por eso.
No sé qué deciros que no se haya dicho ya de esta saga. La historia de los dhampir, moroi y strigoi me sonaba, la recordaba vagamente, pero... ¿Todo lo de San Vladimir, Lissa, estar bendecida por las sombras, Christian...? Ay, mami. No recordaba prácticamente nada de eso y me ha recordado tantísimo a la saga Trono de Cristal, en el sentido de una trama que parece una cosa pero que encierra de fondo otra problemática bien distinta que se entremezcla perfectamente. ¡Espero no equivocarme! Siento que la autora ha metido un poquito de esa información, de ese misterio con la magia, como una subtrama, pero cruzo los dedos para que cobre importancia porque es de lo más interesante del libro.
En definitiva, Vampire Academy es un arranque buenísimo para una saga mítica. Son seis libros más un spin-off, así que me lo tomaré con calma, pero iré leyendo la saga según se publique de nuevo en español. Qué bonito reencontrarse con libros que disfrutarse y que sobreviven a tantos años de buenos recuerdos. ¡Nenis, a por este libro! Lo vais a pasar en grande.
May 19, 2017
I expected a cringe-worthy vampire book and turns out this was good!
Very teen-angsty but I will definitely continue the series.
PS Don't watch the movie... it was painful.
Very teen-angsty but I will definitely continue the series.
PS Don't watch the movie... it was painful.
June 3, 2022
I still enjoyed this first one. I didn’t like N’s voice on here though. He sounded really old, not what I picture when I physically read it. Oh well.
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
August 9, 2023
This is a negative review. If you enjoyed the book, that's great! Sadly, I didn't, so please respect my opinion as I will respect yours.
THE RANT BEGINS.
Chapter One. We're presented with a pretty confusing situation, without knowing who's who and what is going on (I almost thought I had by mistake picked up the sequel, because it felt like I was missing out on something.) But at least we have what seems like a kick-ass main character, Rose, and a strong female friendship between her and Lisa, so I was like:
Then a mildly interesting premise suddenly turns into high school drama and terrible writing, so I was like:
Things keep getting worse, because Rose is acting like the spoiled thirteen-year-old we've all been (despite her being what, seventeen?), thinking she's tough shit and that insulting authority figures, being rude and punching people in the face whenever they disagree with her is the best course of action. So, while trying really hard to be a badass, she ends up looking like an immature brat, and I was like:
By this point I had almost forgotten about the whole vampire thing, because the book was basically a cheaper version of Mean Girls, with a lot of slut-shaming, girl-on-girl hate and most characters just being juvenile and stupid, so I was like:
But then I thought, come on Jun, there must be a reason why so many people love this book... You can't give up just yet! because, apparently, I really hate myself. A lot of nonsensical things happened: dead animals started to turn up everywhere, Rose was more annoying than ever, some high school hierarchy bullshit, more girl-on-girl hate, a boring love interest that treated Rose like a misbehaving child (which she was, but I still wanted to slap him for it)... and by then I was about to fall asleep.
Enter a rushed and underwhelming ending, and boring characters being more boring than usual. On top of stupidity, internalized sexism and a plot that consisted solely on young girls hating on each other, and on boys calling them names and being generally awful, add some horrible writing and a fucking weird pacing that made me want to DNF the book at least every two pages. The hype is A LIAR. I will not be continuing this series.
(2016 read)
THE RANT BEGINS.
Chapter One. We're presented with a pretty confusing situation, without knowing who's who and what is going on (I almost thought I had by mistake picked up the sequel, because it felt like I was missing out on something.) But at least we have what seems like a kick-ass main character, Rose, and a strong female friendship between her and Lisa, so I was like:
Then a mildly interesting premise suddenly turns into high school drama and terrible writing, so I was like:
Things keep getting worse, because Rose is acting like the spoiled thirteen-year-old we've all been (despite her being what, seventeen?), thinking she's tough shit and that insulting authority figures, being rude and punching people in the face whenever they disagree with her is the best course of action. So, while trying really hard to be a badass, she ends up looking like an immature brat, and I was like:
By this point I had almost forgotten about the whole vampire thing, because the book was basically a cheaper version of Mean Girls, with a lot of slut-shaming, girl-on-girl hate and most characters just being juvenile and stupid, so I was like:
But then I thought, come on Jun, there must be a reason why so many people love this book... You can't give up just yet! because, apparently, I really hate myself. A lot of nonsensical things happened: dead animals started to turn up everywhere, Rose was more annoying than ever, some high school hierarchy bullshit, more girl-on-girl hate, a boring love interest that treated Rose like a misbehaving child (which she was, but I still wanted to slap him for it)... and by then I was about to fall asleep.
Enter a rushed and underwhelming ending, and boring characters being more boring than usual. On top of stupidity, internalized sexism and a plot that consisted solely on young girls hating on each other, and on boys calling them names and being generally awful, add some horrible writing and a fucking weird pacing that made me want to DNF the book at least every two pages. The hype is A LIAR. I will not be continuing this series.
(2016 read)
January 31, 2023
1)
Vampire Academy
★★★★★
If you want to see my review for the first book click here!!
2) The Turn and the Flame ★★★★
This is a story from Tasha's point of view and we learn what happened the day that Christian's parents become Strigoi! I will admit even though I didn't like Tasha , I understand her a little better! I cried for Christian because he lost his parents but I also cried for Tasha because she lost her love, Vinh. I think because of that lost Tasha became "a little" crazy.
I also believe that the reason she wanted at first Dimitri was because she reminded her of Vinh.
3) From the Journal of Vasilisa Dragomir ★★★
This is a story from Lissa's point of view and we see how she faced the death of her parents and we also see what Lissa and Rose did after they left from St. Vladimir's Academy. I like it but most of it, it was things that already knew! Soo!!
4) The meeting ★★★★
This is a story from Dimitri's point of view and we see his first thoughts about Rose!!! I want more!!!!It was like 10 pages😭 Richelle Mead do something, please :P
5) Hello, My Name Is Rose Hathaway ★★★★
This story is from Rose's point of view and I really like it!! It is after Vampire Academy and before Frostbite!
If you want to see my review for the first book click here!!
2) The Turn and the Flame ★★★★
"I will never endure this sort of pain again. If I’m able to love someone else one day, I will do whatever it takes to hold on to him. No matter the cost."
This is a story from Tasha's point of view and we learn what happened the day that Christian's parents become Strigoi! I will admit even though I didn't like Tasha , I understand her a little better! I cried for Christian because he lost his parents but I also cried for Tasha because she lost her love, Vinh. I think because of that lost Tasha became "a little" crazy.
"Start with something, and go from there. Go until you’re unstoppable."
I also believe that the reason she wanted at first Dimitri was because she reminded her of Vinh.
"Just like Vinh , she thought. So controlled and so good at his duty. So good at sitting on his feelings."
3) From the Journal of Vasilisa Dragomir ★★★
"I miss Dad calling me “little queen” because he always said I ruled our family."
This is a story from Lissa's point of view and we see how she faced the death of her parents and we also see what Lissa and Rose did after they left from St. Vladimir's Academy. I like it but most of it, it was things that already knew! Soo!!
4) The meeting ★★★★
“My name is Dimitri Belikov. I’ve come to take you back to St. Vladimir’s Academy, Princess.”
This is a story from Dimitri's point of view and we see his first thoughts about Rose!!! I want more!!!!It was like 10 pages😭 Richelle Mead do something, please :P
5) Hello, My Name Is Rose Hathaway ★★★★
“You’re Dimitri Belikov. Campus badass. Defender of justice. You’re even dressed like a sheriff, for God’s sake! It’s like Lissa being an angel. Your personalities run so deep you can’t even escape them when you’re in costume. You’re supposed to dress up like who you want to be on Halloween and St. Varvara’s Day. Not who you already are.”
“You want to be an identity thief.”
“Hell no,” I said, impressed he’d correctly identified the costume. “I’m Rose Hathaway. Why would I want to be anyone else?”
This story is from Rose's point of view and I really like it!! It is after Vampire Academy and before Frostbite!
"And I’m giving the last one to you, comrade. You should be flattered. Because even if it’s complicated, I hope you realize there are perks to having Rose Hathaway in your life.”
His smile grew as he picked up the chocolate. “Oh, I do, Roza. I do.”
March 6, 2022
Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy, #1), Richelle Mead
Vampire Academy is a series of six young adult paranormal romance novels by American author Richelle Mead. It tells the story of Rosemarie "Rose" Hathaway, a seventeen/eighteen-year-old Dhampir girl, who is training to be a guardian of her Moroi best friend, Vasilisa "Lissa" Dragomir. In the process of learning how to defeat Strigoi (the evil undead vampires) in St. Vladimir's Academy, Rose finds herself caught in a forbidden romance with her instructor, Dimitri Belikov, while having an unbreakable psychic bond with Lissa.
The first book in the series, Vampire Academy, was published in 2007; it was followed by Frostbite in 2008. The third book in the series, Shadow Kiss was published also in 2008, and the fourth book, Blood Promise, was published in 2009. The fifth book, Spirit Bound, and the sixth book, Last Sacrifice, were released in 2010.
As of 2013, the series has sold 8 million copies in 35 countries.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: شانزدهم فوریه سال2010میلادی
عنوان: آکادمی خون آشام - کتاب نخست از سری آکادمی خون آشام؛ نویسنده ریچل مید؛ مترجم ایرج مثال آذر؛ تهران، مروارید، سال1389؛ در320ص؛ شابک9789641911159؛ موضوع داستانهای فرا طبیعی از نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده21م
عنوان: آکادمی خون آشام - کتاب نخست، از سری «آکادمی خون آشام»؛ نویسنده «ریچل مید»؛ سرپرست تیم ترجمه «مانی اختر»؛ «سارا ملک زاده»؛ «سارا خاقانی»؛ «سامره کرباسیان»؛ «نسیم معین درباری»؛ «فتحیه گودرزی»؛ «المیرا مرادی»؛ «شیما گروسی»؛ «نگار شاهمرادی»؛ کاری از وبلاگ «دوران اژدها»؛ در476ص؛ نسخه پی.دی.اف
عنوان: آکادمی خونآشام؛ نویسنده ریشل (ریچل) مید؛ برگردان فاطمه پاکزبان؛ ویراستار منا تابش؛ تهران نشر باژ، سال1396؛ در420ص؛ شابک9786008941804؛
مجموعه ای است فانتزی، و ادامه دار، با تم «خون آشام» و «رومنس»، اثر «ریچل مید»، که تا کنون چهار کتاب، با عنوانهای «آکادمی خون آشام»، «یخ زدگی (سرما زدگی)»، «بوسه ی سایه (لمس سایه)»، و «پیمان خونین»؛ به فارسی ترجمه و چاپ شده اند؛
شخصیت اصلی این سری، دختر نوجوان، و نیمه خون آشامی، به نام «رز هاتاوی» است؛ او در «آکادمی سینت ولادیمیر» آموزش میبیند، که چگونه با «استریگوی» مبارزه کند؛ رویدادهای کتاب چهارم، در داخل آکادمی رخ نمیدهد؛ کتاب پنجم نیز، با نام «پیوند روح» در ماه آوریل سال2010میلادی، و کتاب ششم در پایان همان سال، چاپ میشوند؛ این مجموعه در دنیایی رخ میدهد، که دو نژاد از خون آشامان، «استریگوی» و «موروی»؛ در روی زمین زندگی میکنند؛ «استریگوی»ها، خون آشامان پلید، و نامیرا هستند، و افراد بیگناه را کشته، و از خون آنان تغذیه میکنند
آنها قصد دارند، با افزایش نژاد خود، اشراف زادگان «موروی» را، به طور کامل، از بین ببرند؛ «موروی» میتوانند، به میل خود، با خوردن خون یک انسان، و یا به اجبار، به «استریگوی» بدل شوند؛ اگر یک «استریگوی»، خون یک «موروی، یک دمپایر»، و یا انسان را بخورد، و دوباره همان خون را، به آنان بنوشاند، آنها نیز، به «استریگوی» تبدیل میشود؛ «موروی»ها، خون آشامانی آشتیجو هستند، و از نیروهای بنیادین «آب»، «آتش»، «زمین»، و «هوا»، تنها برای برقراری صلح، سود میبرند؛ آنان، از نیروی بدنی ضعیفی، برخوردار بوده، و به هیچ عنوان، جادوی خود را، در جنگ به کار نمیبرند، به همین دلیل، نگهبانانی از نژاد «دمپایر»؛ همواره از آنان، نگاهبانی میکنند؛ «دمپایر»، به نژاد نیمه خون آشام، گفته میشود؛ این نژاد، میتواند حاصل ازدواج «موروی»، با انسانها، و یا «موروی»، با «دمپایر» باشد؛ «دمپایر»ها، هرگزی از یکدیگر، دارای فرزند نمیشوند؛ نامهای «استریگوی»، «موروی»، و «دمپایر»، از اساطیر «رومانی»، و «بالکانی»، برگرفته شده اند؛ «رز هاتاوی» یک «دمپایر»، و نگهبان شخصی یک «موروی»، به نام «لیسا دراگومیر» میباشد؛ و در «آکادمی خون آشامِ»، «سینت ولادیمیر»، یاد میگیرد، که چگونه با «استریگوی» مبارزه کند، و توسط یکی از نگهبانان بزرگتر «لیسا»، «دیمیتری بلیکوف»، آموزش میبیند، تا با استفاده از سه روش قطع کردن سر، بیرون آوردن قلب «استریگوی»؛ به وسیله ی خنجر نقره ای، و سوزاندن، آنان را بکشد؛ «رز» در این سری کتابها، با خطرات گوناگونی روبرو میشود، اما مهمترین این خطرات، در محبتی نهفته است، که وی نسبت به معلم خصوصی خود، احساس میکند ...؛
شخصیتهای اصلی کتاب: «رز هاتاوی»؛ «دیمیتری بلیکوف»؛ «لیسا دراگومیر»؛ و «آدریان ایواشکوف» هستند؛ در این سری، هر خون آشام، هنگامی که به سن بلوغ میرسد، بر اساس توانایی ذاتی خود، در یکی از عنصرهای چهارگانه ی «آب»، «آتش»، «هوا» و «زمین» تخصص مییابد؛ به مرور روشن میشود؛ که عنصر پنجم، «روح» نیز، جزو نیروهای بنیادی بوده، اما تنها تعداد بسیار اندکی، از آن توانایی، برخوردار هستند؛ عنصر «روح»، تواناییهای تازه، و عجیبی را، در فرد به وجود میآورد، و از جمله تواناییهایی که تاکنون کشف شده اند، میتوان به «شفا دادن»، «ایجاد پیوند»، «دیدن هاله ی انرژی در اطراف دیگران»، «فرمان دادن»، «خوانش افکار»، و «حضور در خواب دیگران»، اشاره کرد؛
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 20/11/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 14/12/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
Vampire Academy is a series of six young adult paranormal romance novels by American author Richelle Mead. It tells the story of Rosemarie "Rose" Hathaway, a seventeen/eighteen-year-old Dhampir girl, who is training to be a guardian of her Moroi best friend, Vasilisa "Lissa" Dragomir. In the process of learning how to defeat Strigoi (the evil undead vampires) in St. Vladimir's Academy, Rose finds herself caught in a forbidden romance with her instructor, Dimitri Belikov, while having an unbreakable psychic bond with Lissa.
The first book in the series, Vampire Academy, was published in 2007; it was followed by Frostbite in 2008. The third book in the series, Shadow Kiss was published also in 2008, and the fourth book, Blood Promise, was published in 2009. The fifth book, Spirit Bound, and the sixth book, Last Sacrifice, were released in 2010.
As of 2013, the series has sold 8 million copies in 35 countries.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: شانزدهم فوریه سال2010میلادی
عنوان: آکادمی خون آشام - کتاب نخست از سری آکادمی خون آشام؛ نویسنده ریچل مید؛ مترجم ایرج مثال آذر؛ تهران، مروارید، سال1389؛ در320ص؛ شابک9789641911159؛ موضوع داستانهای فرا طبیعی از نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده21م
عنوان: آکادمی خون آشام - کتاب نخست، از سری «آکادمی خون آشام»؛ نویسنده «ریچل مید»؛ سرپرست تیم ترجمه «مانی اختر»؛ «سارا ملک زاده»؛ «سارا خاقانی»؛ «سامره کرباسیان»؛ «نسیم معین درباری»؛ «فتحیه گودرزی»؛ «المیرا مرادی»؛ «شیما گروسی»؛ «نگار شاهمرادی»؛ کاری از وبلاگ «دوران اژدها»؛ در476ص؛ نسخه پی.دی.اف
عنوان: آکادمی خونآشام؛ نویسنده ریشل (ریچل) مید؛ برگردان فاطمه پاکزبان؛ ویراستار منا تابش؛ تهران نشر باژ، سال1396؛ در420ص؛ شابک9786008941804؛
مجموعه ای است فانتزی، و ادامه دار، با تم «خون آشام» و «رومنس»، اثر «ریچل مید»، که تا کنون چهار کتاب، با عنوانهای «آکادمی خون آشام»، «یخ زدگی (سرما زدگی)»، «بوسه ی سایه (لمس سایه)»، و «پیمان خونین»؛ به فارسی ترجمه و چاپ شده اند؛
شخصیت اصلی این سری، دختر نوجوان، و نیمه خون آشامی، به نام «رز هاتاوی» است؛ او در «آکادمی سینت ولادیمیر» آموزش میبیند، که چگونه با «استریگوی» مبارزه کند؛ رویدادهای کتاب چهارم، در داخل آکادمی رخ نمیدهد؛ کتاب پنجم نیز، با نام «پیوند روح» در ماه آوریل سال2010میلادی، و کتاب ششم در پایان همان سال، چاپ میشوند؛ این مجموعه در دنیایی رخ میدهد، که دو نژاد از خون آشامان، «استریگوی» و «موروی»؛ در روی زمین زندگی میکنند؛ «استریگوی»ها، خون آشامان پلید، و نامیرا هستند، و افراد بیگناه را کشته، و از خون آنان تغذیه میکنند
آنها قصد دارند، با افزایش نژاد خود، اشراف زادگان «موروی» را، به طور کامل، از بین ببرند؛ «موروی» میتوانند، به میل خود، با خوردن خون یک انسان، و یا به اجبار، به «استریگوی» بدل شوند؛ اگر یک «استریگوی»، خون یک «موروی، یک دمپایر»، و یا انسان را بخورد، و دوباره همان خون را، به آنان بنوشاند، آنها نیز، به «استریگوی» تبدیل میشود؛ «موروی»ها، خون آشامانی آشتیجو هستند، و از نیروهای بنیادین «آب»، «آتش»، «زمین»، و «هوا»، تنها برای برقراری صلح، سود میبرند؛ آنان، از نیروی بدنی ضعیفی، برخوردار بوده، و به هیچ عنوان، جادوی خود را، در جنگ به کار نمیبرند، به همین دلیل، نگهبانانی از نژاد «دمپایر»؛ همواره از آنان، نگاهبانی میکنند؛ «دمپایر»، به نژاد نیمه خون آشام، گفته میشود؛ این نژاد، میتواند حاصل ازدواج «موروی»، با انسانها، و یا «موروی»، با «دمپایر» باشد؛ «دمپایر»ها، هرگزی از یکدیگر، دارای فرزند نمیشوند؛ نامهای «استریگوی»، «موروی»، و «دمپایر»، از اساطیر «رومانی»، و «بالکانی»، برگرفته شده اند؛ «رز هاتاوی» یک «دمپایر»، و نگهبان شخصی یک «موروی»، به نام «لیسا دراگومیر» میباشد؛ و در «آکادمی خون آشامِ»، «سینت ولادیمیر»، یاد میگیرد، که چگونه با «استریگوی» مبارزه کند، و توسط یکی از نگهبانان بزرگتر «لیسا»، «دیمیتری بلیکوف»، آموزش میبیند، تا با استفاده از سه روش قطع کردن سر، بیرون آوردن قلب «استریگوی»؛ به وسیله ی خنجر نقره ای، و سوزاندن، آنان را بکشد؛ «رز» در این سری کتابها، با خطرات گوناگونی روبرو میشود، اما مهمترین این خطرات، در محبتی نهفته است، که وی نسبت به معلم خصوصی خود، احساس میکند ...؛
شخصیتهای اصلی کتاب: «رز هاتاوی»؛ «دیمیتری بلیکوف»؛ «لیسا دراگومیر»؛ و «آدریان ایواشکوف» هستند؛ در این سری، هر خون آشام، هنگامی که به سن بلوغ میرسد، بر اساس توانایی ذاتی خود، در یکی از عنصرهای چهارگانه ی «آب»، «آتش»، «هوا» و «زمین» تخصص مییابد؛ به مرور روشن میشود؛ که عنصر پنجم، «روح» نیز، جزو نیروهای بنیادی بوده، اما تنها تعداد بسیار اندکی، از آن توانایی، برخوردار هستند؛ عنصر «روح»، تواناییهای تازه، و عجیبی را، در فرد به وجود میآورد، و از جمله تواناییهایی که تاکنون کشف شده اند، میتوان به «شفا دادن»، «ایجاد پیوند»، «دیدن هاله ی انرژی در اطراف دیگران»، «فرمان دادن»، «خوانش افکار»، و «حضور در خواب دیگران»، اشاره کرد؛
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 20/11/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 14/12/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
October 9, 2022
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I read these books ten years ago when I was going through the same paranormal frenzy that everyone else was, characterized by those "girl in a Gothic dress" covers that were so popular in the early 2010s. Most of them were crushing disappointments, but the Vampire Academy series blew my expectations out of the water and basically ended up being the cracktastic fun-fest I expected.
The best way to describe it is to say that it's like you took Harry Potter and infused it with high school scandal and backstabbing, with all of the doomed romance and girl-on-girl Machiavellian plotting of a K-drama. It reminded me a lot of Peach Girl, too, in that the heroine is sexualized by her peers because of the way she looks and spends the whole book struggling to save her friends and prove her character, despite everyone constantly judging her.
Rose is a damphir, which means she's half-Moroi (good vampire) and half-damphir (hybrid). Moroi are vampires that can do elemental magic and they're very good looking, but they're physically frail. Damphir are faster and stronger, but they're also infertile, so in exchange for protection and sometimes providing blood, Moroi hire Damphir to be their bodyguards, and Damphir use Moroi to keep the bloodline alive. It's very symbiotic. The main thing that Damphir protect their charges against are Strigoi, which are bad vampires who like to kill.
Rose has a bond with Lissa, her Moroi friend, which allows her to sense when she's in danger, as well as read her thoughts. It was one of those moments that led Rose to spirit Lissa away from their academy, and neither of them are very happy when they're both brought back in disgrace. Rather than be expelled, Rose is given extra lessons to keep her in check with the man who brought her back in, a very hot guy named Dimitri, who is a Damphir just like her, and the acting guardian of her friend.
It seems like it should be a normal year, but someone is trying to chase Lissa away from the school, putting dead animals in her bed and making her life miserable. Through their connection, Rose sees her friend losing control, succumbing to depression and acting out in increasingly violent and irrational ways, including using her compulsion spells to use things against their will and hanging out with the resident bad boy, Christian, whose parents were both evil Strigoi. To make matters worse, her feelings for Dimitri are getting stronger and making it hard to focus a mind that is becoming increasingly not her own, as Lissa's thoughts begin to invade hers more and more.
And then the book reaches its climax, and everything explodes in fire and blood.
This is one of the few books I've reread that completely lived up to my memories of it, and the more I read, the more of it came back to me. I loved every moment of it, even the parts that normally would have made me turn up my nose in disgust if they had occurred in another book. Rose is such a strong character and I loved her bond with Lissa. Normally I only like the main love interest, but I liked Dimitri as much as I liked Christian. The boarding school element is done so well and provides an excellent element of isolation and danger, and the magic gave it a fun Harry Potter vibe, only less hocus pocus vibes and more Wicca.
The only taint about this book for me is the movie, which sucks. I don't know what the people who made that movie were thinking but it was a fail. I think the only bigger disappointment was the spectacular flop, Boys Over Friends, AKA what happens with Americans try to take a popular manga/K-Drama idea and localize it for an American audience but end up ruining everything. People seriously need to figure out how to adapt YA books to movies without being fails, and I think reading the books might help, because I'm pretty sure a lot of those people probably just Cliffnotes it.
It shows.
If you're looking for something a little bit erotic, filled with adventure and magic and romance and all sorts of other good things, VAMPIRE ACADEMY is the perfect book to pick up. I blew through it in an afternoon, and can't wait to read the rest of the books. Especially since they're all on sale right now, so I could pick up all six for just under $12. I never actually finished the series and can't wait to see how it ends. Especially with the zinger that this one ended on. Shadow-kissed, indeed.
4.5 stars
May 24, 2018
5 Kick-ass ★'s
"If I let myself love you, I won't throw myself in front of her. I'll throw myself in front of you."
I have read this series so many times and to this day it is and forever will be one of my all time favorites EVER! I don't know how anyone could read this book and not get completely addicted... I mean the writing, the characters, everything about this book is perfect!!
I love Rose ♥ She is seriously the best fucking heroine I have ever read. Rose is a Dhampir and Dhampirs protect the Moroi. Rose is gorgeous, feisty, bold, stubborn, headstrong, Sassy as all fuck, speaks her mind, at times a little reckless but Rose is also BRAVE and LOYAL. Rose is that girl you can't help but want to be friends with.
Dimitri Belikov is also a Dhampir and Roses training instructor. He's legendary and is described as a God. He's sexy, strong, Fast as hell, level-headed, brave and a total bad-ass! But he has a soft side to him that not everyone gets to see.
Princess Vasilisa Dragomir (Moroi) is Roses best friend. Rose plans to be Lisa's proctor. Dimitri is also assigned to be her proctor. So you can see how that might complicate things. Anyways ~ Lisa is very beautiful, low-key, down to earth, sweet and innocent, she is nice to just about everyone and doesn't care about social status. Lisa believes everyone should be treated with respect. But will also break the rules when it comes to those she loves.
Lisa meets a boy named Christian Ozera. Christian is treated like the black sheep. He's snarky and can come across as a first-rate asshole but most of its just show. He's a hottie who wears lots of blacks. Christian has had it rough and has his walls up.
I recommend this book and the whole damn series to everyone. It is truly hands down Amazing!!
"If I let myself love you, I won't throw myself in front of her. I'll throw myself in front of you."
I have read this series so many times and to this day it is and forever will be one of my all time favorites EVER! I don't know how anyone could read this book and not get completely addicted... I mean the writing, the characters, everything about this book is perfect!!
I love Rose ♥ She is seriously the best fucking heroine I have ever read. Rose is a Dhampir and Dhampirs protect the Moroi. Rose is gorgeous, feisty, bold, stubborn, headstrong, Sassy as all fuck, speaks her mind, at times a little reckless but Rose is also BRAVE and LOYAL. Rose is that girl you can't help but want to be friends with.
Dimitri Belikov is also a Dhampir and Roses training instructor. He's legendary and is described as a God. He's sexy, strong, Fast as hell, level-headed, brave and a total bad-ass! But he has a soft side to him that not everyone gets to see.
Princess Vasilisa Dragomir (Moroi) is Roses best friend. Rose plans to be Lisa's proctor. Dimitri is also assigned to be her proctor. So you can see how that might complicate things. Anyways ~ Lisa is very beautiful, low-key, down to earth, sweet and innocent, she is nice to just about everyone and doesn't care about social status. Lisa believes everyone should be treated with respect. But will also break the rules when it comes to those she loves.
Lisa meets a boy named Christian Ozera. Christian is treated like the black sheep. He's snarky and can come across as a first-rate asshole but most of its just show. He's a hottie who wears lots of blacks. Christian has had it rough and has his walls up.
I recommend this book and the whole damn series to everyone. It is truly hands down Amazing!!
May 23, 2015
Why does Memorial Day weekend exist? Holidays are screwing up my Amazon shipping speed so I won't get my box set until Wednesday! This book was amazing and really something I needed right now. It's right up my alley for fantasy and although sometimes the characters got on my nerves, I really love the world and the plot and it was all together a great story. Sometimes the writing felt a bit young for me but that doesn't make it any less of a great novel. I know vampires are kind of "out", but if you like contemporary fantasy, this is 100% worth checking out :)?
January 15, 2022
I finally decided to bite the bullet and pick this series up. I'll be honest, I did not expect to enjoy this as much as I did!
November 12, 2022
5 Little run away stars
******************Spoilers*********************
I don't know what it is about teenage vampire love stories, but I eat them up like chocolate! I devour every angsty teen vampire book series I get my hands on. Vampire diaries, Bloodlines, Vampire Academy, Crave, and of course the one that started it all for me, Twilight!!!!!! Yes I am that mom, the Twimom! And I have no shame!
After reading Twilight for like the 9th time and not getting my fill of vampires, (this was years ago before I found Goodreads) I went to the library to find a new vampire book and came across Vampire Academy. Smart ass, kick ass heroine, Russian warrior god like hero Yes please!!! I loved this read. The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is because as with many first books in a series this book was a little slow at the first half. With the details setting up the paranormal world and character development it slowed the book down a bit, but still a really enjoyable read.
This series focuses on four people and their relationships with each other, and the world of Moroi, Dhampire, and Strigoi. So I will speak a little about each main character then touch on the plot of this book.
1. Rose (Rosemarie ) Hathaway: Rose is the main Heroine in this series. She is a 17 year old Dhampir (Half human/ Half Vampire) at St.Vladimir Academy where she is training to be a guardian ( guardians are Dhampirs trained to protect Moroi the good vampires against the Strigoiki the bad vampires). Rose's best friend is Lissa and her love interest is Dimitri. Rose has some abandonment issues because she never met her dad and her mom dumped her off at the school to be raised so she could go off and be a guardian. Rose is a smart mouth, that is loyal, brave and she has a short fuse.
2. Dimitri Belikov: Dimitri is the main hero in this series. He is a 24 year old Dhampir guardian. He is called a god because he is one of the best guardians and has amazing fighting skills. He is Lissa's guardian and a teacher at St. Vladimir academy. He is the love interest of Rose and he is her guardian trainer. Dimitri is stoic and stand offish. He is totally dedicated to his job. Dimitri is very protective and loyal.
3. Lissa(Vasilisa) Dragomir: Lissa is a Moroi Princess. She is best friends with Rose and her love interest is Christian. Lissa's whole family is dead killed in a car wreck. Rose also died in that wreck but Lissa having spirit magic brought her back to life. Now Rose is shadow kissed and has a bond with Lissa. The bond is one way Rose can feel what Lissa is feeling and sometimes she can see through Lissa's eyes. Lissa feels a lot of guilt that she isn't living up to her family name as she is the last Dragomir. Because of Lissa's spirit magic she gets depressed and has dark painful emotions and cuts herself to feel better. Lissa is sweet, loyal and doesn't treat people badly just because she is a royal. Lissa can't stand for anyone or animal to suffer and wants to help and heal any time she can.
4. Christian Ozera: Christian is a Moroi royal. He has fire magic. His parents made a choice to turn Strigoi willingly so they could live forever. They were hunted down in front of him when he was a child and killed. He lived with his aunt around humans for a time. He is anti-social, and everyone acts like he doesn't exist. He is very brave and open minded. He wants to fight with the Dhampirs instead of being protected and helpless. He is very smart, observant, but is insecure and can be jealous .
The Plot:
The book starts with Rose and Lissa being caught and brought back to St. Vladimir's Academy by Dimitri after being on the run for the last two years in the human world. As the girls settle back into school life and try to get caught up with their classes and friends some crazy things start happening. Someone keeps killing animals and putting them in Lissa's room. In the spoiler tag is a run down of the rest of the book with heavy spoilers so don't read if you don't want to know
I loved the chemistry between Dimitri and Rose. I could understand why Dimitri would hold back. I loved the sister like friendship between Rose and Lissa. The way they were there for each other even when they were fighting. The connection between the 4 main characters is built up nicely in this book and felt real. The plot was good and I loved the different take on vampires. Overall I really enjoyed this read and I can't wait to start book 2.
******************Spoilers*********************
I don't know what it is about teenage vampire love stories, but I eat them up like chocolate! I devour every angsty teen vampire book series I get my hands on. Vampire diaries, Bloodlines, Vampire Academy, Crave, and of course the one that started it all for me, Twilight!!!!!! Yes I am that mom, the Twimom! And I have no shame!
After reading Twilight for like the 9th time and not getting my fill of vampires, (this was years ago before I found Goodreads) I went to the library to find a new vampire book and came across Vampire Academy. Smart ass, kick ass heroine, Russian warrior god like hero Yes please!!! I loved this read. The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is because as with many first books in a series this book was a little slow at the first half. With the details setting up the paranormal world and character development it slowed the book down a bit, but still a really enjoyable read.
This series focuses on four people and their relationships with each other, and the world of Moroi, Dhampire, and Strigoi. So I will speak a little about each main character then touch on the plot of this book.
1. Rose (Rosemarie ) Hathaway: Rose is the main Heroine in this series. She is a 17 year old Dhampir (Half human/ Half Vampire) at St.Vladimir Academy where she is training to be a guardian ( guardians are Dhampirs trained to protect Moroi the good vampires against the Strigoiki the bad vampires). Rose's best friend is Lissa and her love interest is Dimitri. Rose has some abandonment issues because she never met her dad and her mom dumped her off at the school to be raised so she could go off and be a guardian. Rose is a smart mouth, that is loyal, brave and she has a short fuse.
2. Dimitri Belikov: Dimitri is the main hero in this series. He is a 24 year old Dhampir guardian. He is called a god because he is one of the best guardians and has amazing fighting skills. He is Lissa's guardian and a teacher at St. Vladimir academy. He is the love interest of Rose and he is her guardian trainer. Dimitri is stoic and stand offish. He is totally dedicated to his job. Dimitri is very protective and loyal.
3. Lissa(Vasilisa) Dragomir: Lissa is a Moroi Princess. She is best friends with Rose and her love interest is Christian. Lissa's whole family is dead killed in a car wreck. Rose also died in that wreck but Lissa having spirit magic brought her back to life. Now Rose is shadow kissed and has a bond with Lissa. The bond is one way Rose can feel what Lissa is feeling and sometimes she can see through Lissa's eyes. Lissa feels a lot of guilt that she isn't living up to her family name as she is the last Dragomir. Because of Lissa's spirit magic she gets depressed and has dark painful emotions and cuts herself to feel better. Lissa is sweet, loyal and doesn't treat people badly just because she is a royal. Lissa can't stand for anyone or animal to suffer and wants to help and heal any time she can.
4. Christian Ozera: Christian is a Moroi royal. He has fire magic. His parents made a choice to turn Strigoi willingly so they could live forever. They were hunted down in front of him when he was a child and killed. He lived with his aunt around humans for a time. He is anti-social, and everyone acts like he doesn't exist. He is very brave and open minded. He wants to fight with the Dhampirs instead of being protected and helpless. He is very smart, observant, but is insecure and can be jealous .
The Plot:
The book starts with Rose and Lissa being caught and brought back to St. Vladimir's Academy by Dimitri after being on the run for the last two years in the human world. As the girls settle back into school life and try to get caught up with their classes and friends some crazy things start happening. Someone keeps killing animals and putting them in Lissa's room. In the spoiler tag is a run down of the rest of the book with heavy spoilers so don't read if you don't want to know
I loved the chemistry between Dimitri and Rose. I could understand why Dimitri would hold back. I loved the sister like friendship between Rose and Lissa. The way they were there for each other even when they were fighting. The connection between the 4 main characters is built up nicely in this book and felt real. The plot was good and I loved the different take on vampires. Overall I really enjoyed this read and I can't wait to start book 2.
November 20, 2010
I decided to read Vampire Academy because it was on a list of books most likely to inherit Twilight's throne (http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-an...) .
Before I harp on about the first Vampire Academy book, I want to comment on the series as a whole: these books are really readable and quite good fun. They pull fewer punches than a lot of other supernatural novels, and the series gets quite a bit darker as it progresses. The characters encounter myriad trials--mental instability, torture, betrayal, death, and (of course) true love. The primary protagonist, Rose, is especially strong; she is tough, quick-tempered, but very clever with a great sense of humor (and she develops a depth and sadness as the series progresses). Best of all, I think that most of the books in the series are consistent, building effectively on one another--something I can't say for most sagas.
I wish the characters were allowed to change and deepen a little more in light of certain traumatic events throughout the series (though to be fair, I think the whole aftereffect of traumatic events is explored more thoroughly in the spin-off series, Bloodlines). I find the dialogue weirdly wooden and would prefer a little more subtext in it (especially for the lest direct, more socially graceful characters like Lissa; Rose is obviously the kind of person who says what she thinks, come hell or high water!) Nonetheless, the books are absorbing, probably my favourite YA vampire novels currently on the market.
Now on to a bit about the first book itself:
The first book in a series of six, Vampire Academy reads like a combination of Twilight, Gossip Girl, and one of Tamora Pierce's Alanna novels. The heady mixture of vicious gossip, the supernatural, and adolescent sexuality (there's all kinds of making out) creates something compulsively readable and fun.
Sure, the reader has to cope with sentences--stuck in the midst of dead serious scenes--that read "And then, suddenly, he was there, charging down the hallway like Death in a cowboy duster"; sure, the character development is about as subtle as a blow to the head. And yes, it's true that the dialog is full of more dead wood than an old oak tree.
None of that matters when your story is narrated by a beautiful liquorish body guard who hates books and gets slap-happy whenever anyone else so much as gives her best friend and ward--a vampire princess (yes, a vampire princess)--so much as a funny look. Did I mention that this bodyguard and her princess share a psychic bond? That our tough narrator has a crush on her sexy Russian mentor (who quite obviously fancies her as well)? That all of the other vampire royals are full of malice and gossip? That the vampire princess has special powers? How about a war between "good" and "bad" vampires? Oh reader, this book is good fun.
Before I harp on about the first Vampire Academy book, I want to comment on the series as a whole: these books are really readable and quite good fun. They pull fewer punches than a lot of other supernatural novels, and the series gets quite a bit darker as it progresses. The characters encounter myriad trials--mental instability, torture, betrayal, death, and (of course) true love. The primary protagonist, Rose, is especially strong; she is tough, quick-tempered, but very clever with a great sense of humor (and she develops a depth and sadness as the series progresses). Best of all, I think that most of the books in the series are consistent, building effectively on one another--something I can't say for most sagas.
I wish the characters were allowed to change and deepen a little more in light of certain traumatic events throughout the series (though to be fair, I think the whole aftereffect of traumatic events is explored more thoroughly in the spin-off series, Bloodlines). I find the dialogue weirdly wooden and would prefer a little more subtext in it (especially for the lest direct, more socially graceful characters like Lissa; Rose is obviously the kind of person who says what she thinks, come hell or high water!) Nonetheless, the books are absorbing, probably my favourite YA vampire novels currently on the market.
Now on to a bit about the first book itself:
The first book in a series of six, Vampire Academy reads like a combination of Twilight, Gossip Girl, and one of Tamora Pierce's Alanna novels. The heady mixture of vicious gossip, the supernatural, and adolescent sexuality (there's all kinds of making out) creates something compulsively readable and fun.
Sure, the reader has to cope with sentences--stuck in the midst of dead serious scenes--that read "And then, suddenly, he was there, charging down the hallway like Death in a cowboy duster"; sure, the character development is about as subtle as a blow to the head. And yes, it's true that the dialog is full of more dead wood than an old oak tree.
None of that matters when your story is narrated by a beautiful liquorish body guard who hates books and gets slap-happy whenever anyone else so much as gives her best friend and ward--a vampire princess (yes, a vampire princess)--so much as a funny look. Did I mention that this bodyguard and her princess share a psychic bond? That our tough narrator has a crush on her sexy Russian mentor (who quite obviously fancies her as well)? That all of the other vampire royals are full of malice and gossip? That the vampire princess has special powers? How about a war between "good" and "bad" vampires? Oh reader, this book is good fun.
September 4, 2016
Vampire Academy is a series I am very familar with. This was a re-read for me considering I have basically been reading these books every year since I was 13 (meaning six years). Coming back to this series is like a warm hug as every character is familar, the plot is familar, the tone is familar. I was glad this re-read was successful as a lot of re-reads I have done this year have left me disappointed.
Vampire Academy is a well-known series, whether becasue the covers are ugly or because of the kickass characters or the movie flop I don't know. This series, however, displays some kickass female characters and some kickass female friendships (which, how often do you really see in YA?) I won't even try to summarise the story because I'll probably accidentally throw spoilers in, I just recommend picking up this series. Ignore the ugly covers. Pick it up.
As a warning this review will be short for two reasons. 1 - it's hard to express my feelings in words about this series so I will probably just use gifs. 2 - I am being barked at in the face right now as I type this out. Also, I am using gifs from the Vampire Academy movie, but that does not mean I really enjoyed said movie.
Characters
Rose
Oh Rose, our kickass female main character. I could go on forever about Rose. About how absolutely empowering it is to have a female character who can and will kickass. I mean she's not perfect, she slut shames constantly and is a hypocrite in some aspects. But, she's a smart ass who will give a lashing to anyone who gives her crap and her main goal is to protect her best friend, Lissa.
Rose is a Dhampir, which is basically someone who is half Moroi (vampire) and half human. She is one of the few females training to become someone who protects the Moroi, the rest labeled "blood whores" - most commonly so by Rose. I really enjoyed watching Rose train throughout the book and get her strength back, watching the devlopment she has from reckless teenager to dedicated warrior.
Dimitri
Dimitri is another Dhampir, someone who is an official Guardian (meaning he protects the Moroi as a career). I'll be the first to admit I'm not a Dimitri fan. I don't like him. At all. I find him creepy, unprofessional and slightly unnerving. He is painted to be a God. To be the best Guardian there is, basically. However, I found his stoic response a lot of the time an asshole move that had me rolling my eyes a lot of the book (and every time I read it). I also get slightly unnerved over his feelings for Rose, it is the student-teacher relationship that has me cringing at the pure idea their relationship.
Now, thats not to say I don't ship Rose and Dimitri. I do, I love their progression through the novels and as I re-read this series I think that will become obvious throughout my reviews. It is, however, just the introduction of Dimitri that rubs me the wrong way every time I re-read this series.
Christian
Christian is a Moroi who has the affinity over fire, and is one of my favourite characters in this series. He rivals Rose in every way and the pair of them are absolutely hilarious when they are interacting. I always get a good laugh from the banter exchanged from the pair of them throughout Vampire Academy.
I can't say too much more about his character, however, without spoiling what happens in this particular book. I mean, I may be able to, but I don't really want to.
Lissa
Lissa is another Moroi, and Rose's absolute best friend. The pair of them have been through thick and thin, which includes being in the car crash which murdered Lissa's entire family. Due to this experience, or so it's hinted at, the pair of them have a bond. Now, I don't mean they've connected through the loss of people close to them. No. I mean, Rose can literally feel what Lissa is feeling. It is a big strange, yes, but the more we see it through Rose's perspective the more interesting it really gets.
Lissa is an incredibly complex character, she has never developed a particular skill over one of the elements like Moroi are supposed to. She struggles with who she is and she has a stronger compulsion over people than others of her kind. Her progression, downfall, and rise throughout the book are incredible to watch and it only gets more intense the further along you get in the books.
World-Building
The world-building in the book is incredibly easy to follow. It is set in modern society with a few twists to place the paranormal creatures. Rose also explains what each word means, which doesn't leave you confused and struggling to grasp what a "Moroi" is.
Plot
The plot?
Writing
Mead draws you in with her easy writing style, it's easy to fall in love with and easy to follow the story as it progresses. It's creative, of course, but it isn't complicated in the way you have to fully stop reading to understand the joke that is being made to you. She is also amazing at foreshadowing.
Overall
Overall, if I can continue to love this book after six years of re-reads I think I am highly advised to tell you to pick it up.
Vampire Academy is a well-known series, whether becasue the covers are ugly or because of the kickass characters or the movie flop I don't know. This series, however, displays some kickass female characters and some kickass female friendships (which, how often do you really see in YA?) I won't even try to summarise the story because I'll probably accidentally throw spoilers in, I just recommend picking up this series. Ignore the ugly covers. Pick it up.
As a warning this review will be short for two reasons. 1 - it's hard to express my feelings in words about this series so I will probably just use gifs. 2 - I am being barked at in the face right now as I type this out. Also, I am using gifs from the Vampire Academy movie, but that does not mean I really enjoyed said movie.
Characters
Rose
Oh Rose, our kickass female main character. I could go on forever about Rose. About how absolutely empowering it is to have a female character who can and will kickass. I mean she's not perfect, she slut shames constantly and is a hypocrite in some aspects. But, she's a smart ass who will give a lashing to anyone who gives her crap and her main goal is to protect her best friend, Lissa.
Rose is a Dhampir, which is basically someone who is half Moroi (vampire) and half human. She is one of the few females training to become someone who protects the Moroi, the rest labeled "blood whores" - most commonly so by Rose. I really enjoyed watching Rose train throughout the book and get her strength back, watching the devlopment she has from reckless teenager to dedicated warrior.
Dimitri
Dimitri is another Dhampir, someone who is an official Guardian (meaning he protects the Moroi as a career). I'll be the first to admit I'm not a Dimitri fan. I don't like him. At all. I find him creepy, unprofessional and slightly unnerving. He is painted to be a God. To be the best Guardian there is, basically. However, I found his stoic response a lot of the time an asshole move that had me rolling my eyes a lot of the book (and every time I read it). I also get slightly unnerved over his feelings for Rose, it is the student-teacher relationship that has me cringing at the pure idea their relationship.
Now, thats not to say I don't ship Rose and Dimitri. I do, I love their progression through the novels and as I re-read this series I think that will become obvious throughout my reviews. It is, however, just the introduction of Dimitri that rubs me the wrong way every time I re-read this series.
Christian
Christian is a Moroi who has the affinity over fire, and is one of my favourite characters in this series. He rivals Rose in every way and the pair of them are absolutely hilarious when they are interacting. I always get a good laugh from the banter exchanged from the pair of them throughout Vampire Academy.
I can't say too much more about his character, however, without spoiling what happens in this particular book. I mean, I may be able to, but I don't really want to.
Lissa
Lissa is another Moroi, and Rose's absolute best friend. The pair of them have been through thick and thin, which includes being in the car crash which murdered Lissa's entire family. Due to this experience, or so it's hinted at, the pair of them have a bond. Now, I don't mean they've connected through the loss of people close to them. No. I mean, Rose can literally feel what Lissa is feeling. It is a big strange, yes, but the more we see it through Rose's perspective the more interesting it really gets.
Lissa is an incredibly complex character, she has never developed a particular skill over one of the elements like Moroi are supposed to. She struggles with who she is and she has a stronger compulsion over people than others of her kind. Her progression, downfall, and rise throughout the book are incredible to watch and it only gets more intense the further along you get in the books.
World-Building
The world-building in the book is incredibly easy to follow. It is set in modern society with a few twists to place the paranormal creatures. Rose also explains what each word means, which doesn't leave you confused and struggling to grasp what a "Moroi" is.
Plot
The plot?
Writing
Mead draws you in with her easy writing style, it's easy to fall in love with and easy to follow the story as it progresses. It's creative, of course, but it isn't complicated in the way you have to fully stop reading to understand the joke that is being made to you. She is also amazing at foreshadowing.
Overall
Overall, if I can continue to love this book after six years of re-reads I think I am highly advised to tell you to pick it up.
March 1, 2013
This book was totally wicked! I ♥ it!!! :P
I hope you can feel my joy for reading this book once you have read it too! It was awesome!
I loved how you got totally engrossed in it and then it had a total shocker ending! But, I'm not telling you what that is! :P
I hope you can feel my joy for reading this book once you have read it too! It was awesome!
I loved how you got totally engrossed in it and then it had a total shocker ending! But, I'm not telling you what that is! :P
July 23, 2022
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#1 Vampire Academy - ★★★
It happened, people. I finally did it. I have officially read Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead, and I have mixed feelings about it.
After years of you guys begging me to read this book, I have finally managed to dig into this vampire world with Lissa – the Moroi (mortal) vampire and Rose – her guardian, sworn to protect her.
These two best friends are on the run, after Lissa’s family has been killed. Now, they unwillingly return to the Vampire Academy, and try to live their normal lives, but danger is on their doorstep.
I loved the plot, and the idea of the world building, even though, I have to admit, I wish we had more pages of the Vampire Academy description. Or maybe this is just me screaming – ”I want a vampire Hogwarts description right here, right now!”
I loved their friendship, and I loved how both of them would sacrifice so much for each other. It is a character quality we rarely see, and it was so well delivered that it gave me shivers for a few scenes.
However, the characters themselves weren’t much likeable. Lissa, well, we hardly get to really know her. She is mostly a shadow of Rose’s opinions of herself. And as of Rose, as much as I admired her bravery and wisdom, sometimes she was just so dumb for her own good.
I loved the plot twists, and the cliffhangers, especially the few ones right at the very end, but it took so long for them to come. Despite that, this book was still such a fast read, and you can’t take your hands off it.
”For they (women) are strange and mysterious creatures,” he continued in his scholarly voice, ”and a man must be a mind reader if he ever wishes to make them happy.”
I wanted to not mention the romance bit of the novel, but I have to stay honest to myself and do it. Unrealistic romances will happen that will make you cringe. I won’t spoil it for you, but I happened to love these two people together, even though their so called love happened instantly.
”And sometimes, if I was really, really lucky, he’d smile at me. A real smile too – not the dry one that accompanied the sarcasm we tossed around so often.”
A typical high-school fantasy novel, with vampires included, this will be a great addition to your shelves if you love this genre. I greatly enjoyed it, but being older I think these things stuck a bit to me.
If you haven’t read this, I do recommend it. Even though it had a few weak points, I would definitely read the second book of the series.
Have you read Vampire Academy? Is it on your TBR? I would love to see what you think!
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#1 Vampire Academy - ★★★
It happened, people. I finally did it. I have officially read Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead, and I have mixed feelings about it.
After years of you guys begging me to read this book, I have finally managed to dig into this vampire world with Lissa – the Moroi (mortal) vampire and Rose – her guardian, sworn to protect her.
These two best friends are on the run, after Lissa’s family has been killed. Now, they unwillingly return to the Vampire Academy, and try to live their normal lives, but danger is on their doorstep.
I loved the plot, and the idea of the world building, even though, I have to admit, I wish we had more pages of the Vampire Academy description. Or maybe this is just me screaming – ”I want a vampire Hogwarts description right here, right now!”
I loved their friendship, and I loved how both of them would sacrifice so much for each other. It is a character quality we rarely see, and it was so well delivered that it gave me shivers for a few scenes.
However, the characters themselves weren’t much likeable. Lissa, well, we hardly get to really know her. She is mostly a shadow of Rose’s opinions of herself. And as of Rose, as much as I admired her bravery and wisdom, sometimes she was just so dumb for her own good.
I loved the plot twists, and the cliffhangers, especially the few ones right at the very end, but it took so long for them to come. Despite that, this book was still such a fast read, and you can’t take your hands off it.
”For they (women) are strange and mysterious creatures,” he continued in his scholarly voice, ”and a man must be a mind reader if he ever wishes to make them happy.”
I wanted to not mention the romance bit of the novel, but I have to stay honest to myself and do it. Unrealistic romances will happen that will make you cringe. I won’t spoil it for you, but I happened to love these two people together, even though their so called love happened instantly.
”And sometimes, if I was really, really lucky, he’d smile at me. A real smile too – not the dry one that accompanied the sarcasm we tossed around so often.”
A typical high-school fantasy novel, with vampires included, this will be a great addition to your shelves if you love this genre. I greatly enjoyed it, but being older I think these things stuck a bit to me.
If you haven’t read this, I do recommend it. Even though it had a few weak points, I would definitely read the second book of the series.
Have you read Vampire Academy? Is it on your TBR? I would love to see what you think!
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October 1, 2021
it was so fun to take trip down 2007 YA memory lane
___
pre-read thoughts
The cast for the new TV series was announced so of course I'm taking it as my sign to do a re-read 😊.
Buddy reading with Azrah
___
pre-read thoughts
The cast for the new TV series was announced so of course I'm taking it as my sign to do a re-read 😊.
Buddy reading with Azrah
February 13, 2014
Dear Vampire Diary,
wait, why did I write that? "vampire" diary? maybe cause everything in my life is vampire, vampire, vampire! best friend vampire. training to protect vampires. actually protecting vampires. I'm half-vampire. I go to a Vampire Academy for chrissakes. vampires, vampires, everywhere. and now apparently I have a vampire diary too. hello, unconscious. argh! ok enough of this bs, I'm getting annoyed and need to work it out by working out. maybe this diary thing isn't going to work out. I wish I could talk to Dimitri instead.
Rose
❁
DearVampire Diary,
ok, let's try this again. just came back from a great workout with Dimitri and I need someplace to vent. hello, diary. I'm not really a diary sort of girl, whatever that even means. that's probably more of a vampire type thing, thinking about life, deep thoughts, writing it down, all that. deep. deep and not exciting. but I need someplace to put all thesedimitris thoughts. whoah! ok, I guess I need someplace to put all my thoughts about Dimitri. those eyes! that voice! the body! shoulder length hair! now I know that shoulder length hair on guys is a total romantic cliché but whatever. I love that shoulder length hair. oh, Dimitri! Dimitri. ok, enough about Dimitri. I should talk about more important things like my training and my best friend Lissa and all the plots swirling around her and stupid school cliques and my hectic schedule and what I learned in dimitri today. what I learned in class today! it was something about - uh - hmmm - I don't know. honestly I was thinking about Dimitri the whole time. ok I think I need to take care of some business here because I'm feeling sorta frustrated and I can't get Dimitri out of my dimitri.
Rose
❁
Dear Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead,
there, that feels better. who needs a stupid diary when I can just write to the story of my so-called life. it's not like anyone's going to read this, they can just read the book. so anyway... I want to thank you, Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead. you really got it right. sure you put a lot in about Dimitri and his hair but all that stuff really wasn't the point and you know that. first of all, I want to say how much I just plain LIKED the story you made of my life. it was fun to read! and exciting. you kept some of the boring parts, sure, whose life is all excitement, but mainly it was fun from beginning to end.
ok, that's all I want to say about the fun. you made it fun, thank you, but fun is not everything. what really counts for me is that you did not gloss over the things that were uncomfortable and deep and sometimes even ugly.
you got the addictive part right, the blood sucking, how it is like a drug or like sex and how much I want to do that drug-sex thing (or actually how much I want Lissa to do it to me). and getting bitten feels so good, so incredible, damn how it makes me feel! but I can't admit it. I don't want to admit it to myself and I especially don't want to admit how much I like it to other people, they'll think I'm some junkie or some slut or whatever, and if I think too hard about it, I'll probably think the same thing about myself. so yeah, you got that right, Vampire Academy. the self-loathing that comes with feeling good about doing something bad. but is it so bad? I like how you left that ambiguous.
you left Lissa's cutting in. I love you for that. you made sense of the cutting and why she did it. you didn't dismiss it, didn't shy away from it, and you didn't make it pathetic. you made your readers understand cutting in an honest and real way.
here's another thing you got right: my pettiness and my hypocrisy. I used the same disgusting tactics of gossip and shaming - both slut-shaming and shaming around status & class - on the people who used it on me. you didn't leave that out. you didn't excuse it. you showed how I was sometimes just as bad as the villains in the book. you didn't justify how low Lissa and I went in trying to defend ourselves, how we became just as terrible as the people who were tormenting us. that was hard for me to read. and it was important for me to read too.
but the most important thing you got right was the central relationship. you are not about me and my thing for Dimitri. you are about friendship between women. you are about two best friends, me and Lissa, everything else is secondary. that's the point of your whole story. sisterhood! that feels corny to write but whatever. it's true. your story is moving because it is about how girls can bond and protect each other and hurt together and move forward together. how they can understand each other. thank you for getting all of that right.
so in case you're wondering, I gave you 3 stars instead of 4 and that's because the writing was kinda bland and the second half got a little bogged down in DimitriDimitriDimitri. but so what! nobody's perfect (except Dimitri). I will still read your sequels.
Rose
❁
Dear mark monday,
Stop pretending to be Rose.
Richelle Mead
wait, why did I write that? "vampire" diary? maybe cause everything in my life is vampire, vampire, vampire! best friend vampire. training to protect vampires. actually protecting vampires. I'm half-vampire. I go to a Vampire Academy for chrissakes. vampires, vampires, everywhere. and now apparently I have a vampire diary too. hello, unconscious. argh! ok enough of this bs, I'm getting annoyed and need to work it out by working out. maybe this diary thing isn't going to work out. I wish I could talk to Dimitri instead.
Rose
❁
Dear
ok, let's try this again. just came back from a great workout with Dimitri and I need someplace to vent. hello, diary. I'm not really a diary sort of girl, whatever that even means. that's probably more of a vampire type thing, thinking about life, deep thoughts, writing it down, all that. deep. deep and not exciting. but I need someplace to put all these
Rose
❁
Dear Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead,
there, that feels better. who needs a stupid diary when I can just write to the story of my so-called life. it's not like anyone's going to read this, they can just read the book. so anyway... I want to thank you, Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead. you really got it right. sure you put a lot in about Dimitri and his hair but all that stuff really wasn't the point and you know that. first of all, I want to say how much I just plain LIKED the story you made of my life. it was fun to read! and exciting. you kept some of the boring parts, sure, whose life is all excitement, but mainly it was fun from beginning to end.
ok, that's all I want to say about the fun. you made it fun, thank you, but fun is not everything. what really counts for me is that you did not gloss over the things that were uncomfortable and deep and sometimes even ugly.
you got the addictive part right, the blood sucking, how it is like a drug or like sex and how much I want to do that drug-sex thing (or actually how much I want Lissa to do it to me). and getting bitten feels so good, so incredible, damn how it makes me feel! but I can't admit it. I don't want to admit it to myself and I especially don't want to admit how much I like it to other people, they'll think I'm some junkie or some slut or whatever, and if I think too hard about it, I'll probably think the same thing about myself. so yeah, you got that right, Vampire Academy. the self-loathing that comes with feeling good about doing something bad. but is it so bad? I like how you left that ambiguous.
you left Lissa's cutting in. I love you for that. you made sense of the cutting and why she did it. you didn't dismiss it, didn't shy away from it, and you didn't make it pathetic. you made your readers understand cutting in an honest and real way.
here's another thing you got right: my pettiness and my hypocrisy. I used the same disgusting tactics of gossip and shaming - both slut-shaming and shaming around status & class - on the people who used it on me. you didn't leave that out. you didn't excuse it. you showed how I was sometimes just as bad as the villains in the book. you didn't justify how low Lissa and I went in trying to defend ourselves, how we became just as terrible as the people who were tormenting us. that was hard for me to read. and it was important for me to read too.
but the most important thing you got right was the central relationship. you are not about me and my thing for Dimitri. you are about friendship between women. you are about two best friends, me and Lissa, everything else is secondary. that's the point of your whole story. sisterhood! that feels corny to write but whatever. it's true. your story is moving because it is about how girls can bond and protect each other and hurt together and move forward together. how they can understand each other. thank you for getting all of that right.
so in case you're wondering, I gave you 3 stars instead of 4 and that's because the writing was kinda bland and the second half got a little bogged down in DimitriDimitriDimitri. but so what! nobody's perfect (except Dimitri). I will still read your sequels.
Rose
❁
Dear mark monday,
Stop pretending to be Rose.
Richelle Mead
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