Review: Vampire Academy by. Richelle Mead

Title: Vampire Academy                                                  
Author: Richelle Mead
Reading Level: 14+
Publication Date: August 2007
Pages: 332
Series: Vampire Academy, Frostbite, Shadow Kiss, Blood Promise
Rating: 8.3/10

Synopsis from richellemead.com:
Lissa Dragomir is a Moroi princess: a mortal vampire with an unbreakable bond to the earth's magic. She must be protected at all times from Strigoi; the fiercest and most dangerous 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; she is dedicated to a dangerous life of protecting Lissa from the Strigoi, who are hell-bent on making her one of them.
After two years of illicit freedom, Rose and Lissa are caught and dragged back to St. Vladimir's Academy, hidden in the deep forests of Montana. Rose will continue her Dhampir education. Lissa will go back to being Queen of the elite Moroi social scene. And both girls will resume breaking hearts.
Fear made Lissa and Rose run away from St. Vladimir's--but their world is fraught with danger both inside and out of the Academy's iron gates. Here, the cutthroat ranks of the Moroi perform unspeakable rituals and their secretive nature and love of the night creates an enigmatic world full of social complexities. Rose and Lissa must navigate through this dangerous world, confront the temptation of forbidden romance, and never once let their guard down, lest the Strigoi make Lissa one of them forever...
Review: 
 
Richelle Mead's introduction to Vampire Academy was one of the best vampire books I have ever read. I loved how Richelled Mead combined the cliche part of what a vampire is and added new ideas to the book. And even though for some "unexplainable reason" I have become obsessed with vampires. I didnt have high hopes for this book. When I thought of it I figured it was going to be another boarding school, girly kind of book that just happened to have vampires. I was greatly proved wrong. This book was so incedible. I read it in about four hours and I was so sad when it ended. This is book is the perfect paranormal romance. With all the action packed vampire butt kicking along with all the steamy and scandalous romances developing this book was one of the best vampire novels I have ever read.


I really loved the main character in this book. Rose who is a guradian to her best friend and Moroi Princess is a very unique character. I loved Rose throughout the book. She is so devoted to Lissa as a friend and as Gurdian. She is such a strong character, she is her own person no matter what other people think she should be like. And as she discovers her feelings for Dimitri we start to see a new side of her that isnt always hard and defensive.Lissa on the other hand I found to be annoying in her reliance on Rose. I felt that she couldnt be her own person without Rose around. But she finally seems to start discover herself in a way when a forbidden romance of her own starts to bloom. Another greatly loveable character is Dimitri. In the beggining of the book when we are first meeting Dimitri he seems kind of like the boring all work no play no nonsence type. But as his and Rose's relationship starts to go deeper, we see him opening up and a deeper side to him.


The plot of this book was extremely engaging. There was so much happening at once without it being confusing. There are a multiple of romances with love triangles, and with the development of Rose and Lissa's bond, and both of them still trying to figure out whether or not they should run away from the Academy again or not. And the ending was the best part. It is so action packed with twists and turns over her and over there that you'll probably be holding your breath throughout the ending. After reading this book it took me the whole of 2 hours to go out and buy the next in the series. There was so much drama and suspence and romance in this book and to top it all off it all off all of the characters are vampires. This is the beginning kick ass paranormal romance series and I cant wait for the next in the series.


Characters: 8/10
Plot: 9/10
Originality: 8/10
Entertainment: 9/10
Ending: 9/10
Writing Style: 8/10
Cover: 7/10
Total: 8.3/10 

 

Posted in: paranormal romance,romance,vampires