Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead


Vampire Academy
Vampire Academy, Book 1
Richelle Mead
Razorbill
August 16, 2007
ISBN# 978-1-59514-174-3


From the back cover:
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.
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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.
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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 Academy hearts.
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Fear made Lissa and Rose run away from St. Vladimir's - inside the Academy's iron gates, their world is even more fraught with danger. 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...
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My thoughts:
Two years ago Rose Hathaway thought that the best way to protect Lissa Dragomir was to run from St. Vladimir’s Academy and hide where no Strigoi could find them. Lissa is a vampire, a Moroi princess, and Rose is a Dhampir who has sworn to protect her. Their freedom comes to an end when the guardians finally track them down and return them to the school.

Now Lissa must reestablish her social standing among their classmates, which isn’t too difficult a task with such a fickle lot. Rose on the other hand will be doing double duty to make up for the time she’s missed him her training, and the academy has just the man for the job. She could learn a lot from the guardian, if she could just keep her mind on practice.

This is the first in the Vampire Academy series, and is a great read for teens or adults. Lissa would be lost without protection, and Rose is dedicated to insuring Lissa’s safety, regardless of any personal cost. Ms. Mead introduces readers to her vampire world with a fascinating and fun crash course in her brand of vampires that makes for an adventurous ride. Vampire Academy has a steady pace, the characters are intriguing and the action will have you coming back for more.

Kimberly Swan, Darque Reviews

6 comments:

ChariDee said...

I really liked this book too. I'm a fan of Mead and YA, and I think she did a great job making the books appeal to a wide variety of ages.

Kimberly Swan said...

Hi ChariDee - I enjoyed it as well. I agree, she kept it interesting for both teens and adults enjoy. :)

Christine said...

I've been wanting to read this series for a while. The last time I was in the library, they had book 2 in, but not book 1. Maybe next time.

Thanks for the review. :)

Kimberly Swan said...

Hi Christine - Smart move, because if you can then you should read this one first. Fingers crossed that they'll both be in the next time for you. :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Anonymous said...

I loved your review. This is a great series and i recommend it to anybody and everybody.

I made a fansite for it so please check it out

www.freewebs.com/vampire-academy

Kimberly Swan said...

Thank you, and thanks for stopping by. :) It's a great series and I'm glad to see others enjoying it as well. I'm still working on getting a copy of Shadow Kiss to review.

Very nice fansite...keep it up! :)