Guest Review: Vampire Academy (Richelle Mead)

My lovely cousin, Jessica, has joined us again today with another review from one of her favorite books!

Publisher: Razorbill (August 16, 2007)
Paperback 332 pages

St. Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger. . . .

Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever. (Source)

Review
VAMPIRE ACADEMY, by Richelle Mead, is full of action, romance, and danger. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a half-human, half vampire who trains rigorously to protect Moroi, full blooded vampires, from the evil and undead Strigoi. For Rose, she has not yet graduated, but she still protects her best friend, Lissa, the last of the Dragomir line, with her life. They start on the run but are forced to return to St. Vladimir’s Academy. Not only is the school locked tight, it’s in the middle of nowhere with no way out. Rose and Lissa ran from St. Vladimir’s for their own protection, now back at St. Vladimir’s it seems that more and more danger keeps arising.

Vampire Academy being the first in the series of five (for now) had me nervous to read in the beginning. I always tend to judge a book by its cover but the title just couldn’t keep me away. I was excited to find that it was a story about a total butt-kicking girl who would do anything to protect her best friend. Both girls are complete bombshells. They both find love and I was instantly hooked.

In the beginning of the book it gets a bit confusing but after you get the vocabulary of the book down it’s impossible to stop reading. Lissa and Rose have a connection like no other. Rose can feel Lissa’s thoughts and emotions, making Rose the perfect protector.

Bring on the romance. Forbidden romance that is. Lissa finds Christian Ozera. It is frowned upon them being together because Christian’s parents willingly became Strigoi, which makes Christian the Royal outcast. Rose finds Dimitri. He is completely off limits because he is a teacher and Rose’s personal trainer to help catch her up on what she missed while she and Lissa ran away. Romance runs high and anticipation for the attacks of the Strigoi waiting just outside the school’s boundaries.

This book kept me on edge begging for more and more, with its twists and turns, ups and downs. Richelle Mead has taken vampire stories to a whole new level and mixed it with feelings that every teenage girl goes through. This book is good for people with the tough and rough outlook like Rose or the clear-headed logical thinking like Lissa. This book will have you gasping with how it ends. The whole series itself is absolutely breathtaking. Mead sure knows how to capture attention!