Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Review #80: Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Hello hello hello my fabulous, wonderful friends! It feels like ages since we've spoken (figuratively!)! Have two reviews today, starting with this one!

Vampire Academy is the first in the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead. Rose Hathaway and Lissa Dragomir are best friends. They are so close they are practically sisters. Lissa is a Moroi vampire princess, and Rose is her dhampir guardian. They have been on the run for two years, and are finally caught and dragged back to the school they didn't want to return to - St. Vladimir's Academy. Thrown back into the vicious social scene, Rose and Lissa will find romance, friendship, and realize they are even more in danger than before.

This book pleasantly surprised me. I've heard so many good things, seen so many Youtube reviews of it. I was hesitant at first, but I'm glad I decided to read it! Richelle Mead puts a nice, refreshing spin on Vampire lore, adding some nice romance and intrigue in there! It was fast paced, had some great twists, and was generally a fabulous read. I do have a few gripes though. It felt like the vampiness wasn't there most of the time. If you took the word vampire out of the title, took away the mentions of vampirism and the lore, this is essentially a High School story, filled with rumors, hookups, and plain old drama. Also, it felt like the "romance," or at least romantic feelings between Rose and Dimitri were not all that developed. I mean it wasn't insta-love, but I could not see why Rose was into him, other than he was sexy. If there was development, someone tell me in the comments? Grazie! Other than those two complaints, it was smooth sailing. PS, that ending was EPIC!

Rose was so kick ass. She was snarky, funny, witty, and all around a bad-ass. But she was also quite complex, deeply caring about her best friend and those she cared about in general. Yes, she had her issues, but they all made her feel real. If she existed, I think we'd have a lot of fun! Lissa was decent. I loved when she became strong, but sometimes she felt weak. She's definitely a character of extremes. I know that's part of her personality, but it still bothered me. When she was cold, whew she was damn scary. I mean that wholeheartedly. Dimitri felt one note sometimes. I've decided Christian is my favorite, and oh so sexy. 

I liked Mead's writing style. She knows how to write a high school book with added vampirism. Kudos!

Will I be picking up the second book? Probably, but because of the gripes, I think I'll wait a while. 

If you like a good High School drama story, romance or vampires, pick this up!

My next review is a surprise! I hope y'all like it!

Until next time, viva la literature!

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