Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy: Book One)
Written by Richelle Mead
Published in Australia December 20th 2013
332 Pages
Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Teen Australia
Also purchased my own paperback copy.
Lissa Dragomir is a Moroi princes – 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 deep in the 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.

It was only a matter of time before they were tracked down, Rose and Lissa now forced back to the academy they both fled to avoid. The Academy houses more than just teen, but vampires and those they train to protect them. Rose is a Dhampir, having been raised at the Academy since the tender age of four. Now back at the institute, she is expected to be on her best behavior, but for the sassy Rose Hathaway, changing her spots has never been more daunting. She's thrown back into conditioning, resuming her role as training to protect Lissa, a high society Moroi Vampire princess. But after two years on the run, Rose is trying to find her place within her peers again, and rather than resume her wild girl reputation, she's introduced to the dark, brooding instructor Dimitri. With his sexy Russian accent, Dimitri is a guardian, a fighter and won't stand for Rose's antics. Reluctantly, she submits to his lessons in order to continue at the Academy, but finds her mind never strays far from the godly Russian.

Lissa is struggling being accepted back into the social fold that she's always tried to avoid. Her former boyfriend has moved on and Lissa finds solace with social outcast Christian, their secret meetings taking place with the confines of the on campus church attic. Sharing a bond with the Moroi princess allows Rose to see through Lissa's eyes, often sharing her feelings and thoughts without her knowledge, and she can see that Lissa is becoming dangerously smitten with the boy who is on the outer for a reason. Christian's parents were once Strigoi, a race of former Moroi's that have drained their victims of life. Christian is just another complication in Lissa's life that the young Moroi doesn't need. She's yet to specialise in her element, a trait that all Moroi master. But when the very reason Lissa and Rose fled the Academy begins to resurface again, Rose turns to Dimitri for help.

But neither girl realises that the biggest threat to them both will come from the inside, leaving Rose wondering if they two girls should have fled a second time.

My Thoughts


I'm probably one of the very last young adult readers to have picked up this series, and only now that I've Read Vampire Academy, I'm wondering why I didn't pay attention to the hordes of fans singing the praises of the series. It was incredibly entertaining, fun and flirtatious with the dark elements adding just a touch of danger. I hadn't realised that so many other young adult authors have tried to cash in on the Vampire Academy phenomena, but having read so many others, the original is without a doubt far superior. I loved Rose's character. She's strong, sassy and has attitude in abundance. She's feircely protective of the shy and quiet Lissa, going far and beyond the Academy's requirements in keeping her best friend safe. Moroi girls are thin, tall and lack womanly attributes that Rose the Dhampir proudly displays. She may not be royalty, but Rose has the Moroi males ready and willing, but she only has eyes for Dimitri.

Dimitri may be brooding, moody and no nonsense, but he has the ability to bring the female reader audience to their knees. He's involved in one of the sexiest scenes I've read in any young adult novel, not surprising he's considered to be among the most loved male protagonists today. He's protective, but doesn't come across as dominant or possessive. Lissa is shy and mostly allows Rose to dictate her life, apart from ignoring her warning about spending time with Christian. She frustrated me, I wanted her to take control of her life, and when she finally begun to choose her own path, she seemed to be always one step away from disaster. It's no wonder Rose's character needed to be so strong and feisty, to compensate for Lissa. But together, they made an incredible team, not often do you see teens who both show a genuine respect for one another, without something sinister being involved. I really enjoyed their friendship, it complemented one another.

Stick to the original Vampire Academy series, anything else is just a poor imitation. 

16 comments

  1. Nope. You're not the last. I haven't either. ;) I want to though! At first I thought, "meh, just another vampire book" but this is the original stuff, eh? And everyone's raving about it. (Even if most people apparently loathed the movie...but lol, that's kind of normal.) I should see if the library has the first one...

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    1. I didn't realise either until I read it, how many authors have completely stolen the entire concept. Jennifer Armentrout's Covenant series is the main one that comes to mind. Yeah, I haven't heard anything positive about the movie at all either, will you be going to see it?

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  2. Definitely agree with this review! Rose was super kick-ass and Dimitri was hot. Lissa, though? She bothered me throughout the entire series. But she and Rose were good together. Lovely review!

    Aimee @ Read by the Undead

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    1. Thanks Aimee. I finally understand what all the buzz about Dimitri is. Even seeing the movie trailer before starting the series, I couldn't see it. I had the same feeling about Lissa, although you can't have two sassy kick ass chicks, I really wish she'd form some sort of sensible opinion of her own. She just seems too weak.

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  3. You are not the only one. I haven't finished reading this. I keep putting it off...it's boring me. Literally puts me to sleep! I will have to find time and energy to really finish this book because my cousin said that only the first book is boring.

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    1. I tried starting this one a few times early last year and thought the same, but I read past where I left off last time and it picked up dramatically and I'm glad I stick with it. It does get better Dre, maybe read it before you see the movie, might be a little more motivating.

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  4. Omg, yay! KELLY. I'm so happy you liked VA! It's one of my favorite series EVER, and now you have so many more to look forward to. I actually love the next one although not everyone does, so I'm very curious to see what you'll think of it. And you're going to get to meet Adrian in it. *sigh*

    I'm so happy you "get" Rose, too. It makes me so sad when people don't.

    Wendy @ The Midnight Garden

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    1. Wendy Daaaarling, lovely to see you again. Adrian? Hmm, you have my interest now. I'm assuming he might be a new student, surely we couldn't have two smoking hot instructors could we? I'm actually heading out today to pick up books two and three. I think it's one that needs to be read in paperback, rather than Kindle editions.

      It was actually your film review that spurred me onto reading this sooner than I thought. I moved it up my list and kicking myself that I hadn't read it sooner.

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  5. YAY I am so glad you have discovered the fandom that is VA! I love it myself, it was one of the first YA series outside of Twilight and Hunger Games that got me addicted. I just love the friendship between Rose and Lissa and the hot smokin' Dimitri <3 Hope you enjoy the rest of the series!

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    1. I hope so too Jeann, I went looking for the series in my local bookshops yesterday, but had to head online to find the copies with the newer covers. Picked them up for $10.00 each on Fishpond (along with a few other goodies I picked up). I'm really looking forward to seeing the movie now.

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  6. I believe the hype got to me for this series because when I ended up reading it, it wasn't that good.

    Lovely review, girl! <33

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    1. Hey Mel,
      Was it a while ago when you read it? I picked it up a few times (had bought it on my old Kindle, but wiped it clean when I upgraded) and at the time, I couldn't get into it. But this time I read it through and really enjoyed it. At the very least, it was really entertaining. Lissa's character annoyed me though and I'm hoping she grows a pair soon.

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  7. LOL...you're not the last one to pick this series up! I still haven't read it, but I'll definitely have to get onto reading it pronto since you gave it such a glowing rating! I'm loving the sound of Rose...she sounds like a great protagonist, and I'm looking forward to experiencing her for myself!

    Thanks for sharing Kelly, and, as always, brilliant review! :D

    ~ Zoe @ The Infinite To-Read Shelf

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    1. Hey Zoe, lovely to see you again. Definitely grab a copy of this one. More than likely you've read some of the blatant rip off series the were almost identical to Vampire Academy, it was until I read it that I realised how many other authors have tried to rip it off. The original is always the best. Can't wait to see what you think of it.

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  8. I just bought the first two books recently to. I haven't read them yet either, and I know I will want to kick myself for not doing it earlier when I do. Great review!

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    1. Hey Ellen, fabulous to see you again.
      Definitely move them up your list, I'm sorry that I didn't discover the awesome that is the Vampire Academy sooner.

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