Alright! Second Review! First Review for a new series for you. BUT WAIT, you might be saying Voidfriends. That’s right, this wasn’t only TBR this month. TBH I was going to read this in October for Zombies and Vampires. However, one of the people from my Book Clubs asked me if I wanted to join for the VA read along, and I said SURE. Here we are. Besides I’m reading The Enemy this month, and that’s a Zombie/Monster book. So I guess October came early this year.
Either way! Here we go!
Customary warning: This is a reminder that these are my personal opinions. My thoughts and feelings are not your thoughts and feelings. I may not always be the target audience for a book; sometimes I am. If I do not like a book, that doesn’t mean you’ll dislike it. If I love a book or simply like a book, you may hate it. Take everything I say with this knowledge. If it sounds interesting to you despite what I’ve said, then go ahead and read it. You’ll only know you like something if you read it yourself.
That being said… Spoilers ahead.
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
Synopsis From The Book
Hello My Name Is Rose Hathaway tracks the shenanigans that ensue when Rose and Dimitri become unlikely teammates in a high-stakes scavenger hunt…
Lissa Dragomir is a Moroi princess: 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 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, where vampire royalty and their guardians-to-be prepare for a life fraught with danger. Rose and Lissa must navigate their treacherous world and never once let their guard down, lest the evil undead make Lissa one of them forever. But soon Rose finds herself gripped by temptation of forbidden love, leaving Lissa exposed to Strigoi attack. Now she must choose between the best friend she lives for, and the man she can’t live without….
Fantasy – Paranormal Romance| YA – PW | Physical Abuse, Bullying, Rumors, Depression | Dedication, Family, Ignorance and Inferiority, Love
Initial Thoughts Before Reading:
So, one of my Book Club members asked me if I would be interested in doing a read along with the VIPers of a book book readers group. I said sure. Lol. I was already planning on reading this series this year. And then having other people to read it with will motivate me to read it more. of course I know that this limits my chances of actually finishing the other books that I had planned this month. However! I am doing pretty frickin good I think. Maybe. Idk. I just wanted to join another group. So I did. Lol I also need to read The Starless Sea now for book club at the beginning of August.
Anyway, what I know about this book series: it became a TV show. Otherwise? I am not too sure. I know it, Vampire Diaries, and Blue Bloods got compared A LOT. I own all three series. So this will be the end, all for me, on which of the vampire series is superior. I also haven’t read any of those three series mentioned, so it’ll be with you all in book review form!
Initial Thoughts After Reading:
Alright, well that was a lot more entertaining than I think I was expecting. This is to say I expected something but I wasn’t sure what I was expecting. Something worse than this tho. This was really fun. I really didn’t go deep in this plot overview, as I am writing it a day later, instead of the day of. I’m just a bit tired, so sorry.
Plot Overview:
Rose took Lissa out of the Academy two years ago. They had lived at the Academy for the majority of their lives, but Lissa no longer felt save at the Academy and Rose took her to leave. However, after two years, their luck has finally worn out and the Academy Guardians have found them again. They take Lissa and Rose back to the Academy and the girls are reenrolled at the school for Vampires and their guardians. Lissa is a Moroi, a vampire who is living. Rose is a dhampir, half human half moroi, and built to be the guardians of the Moroi. They gaurd the Moroi from the Strigoi, dead vampires that gave up their mortality and powers to be alive forever.
The girls, at school, try to fit back in, in a different way than before. They can’t really be a part of the in crowd after doing what they did. Lissa is trying to get her magic specialization and Rose is trying to catch up in her guardian training. In this, both girls move about dangerously close to two different boys: Christian, the misfirt, for Lissa, and Dimitri for Rose, her guardian instructor. Christian’s family willingly became Strigoi, making him a major outcast, and Lissa really likes him. Rose is drawn to Dimitri despite knowing that she should not be close to him.
The two girls have a spat with another girl Mia. Mia starts spreading rumors about them and they spread rumors about her back. As the rumors are being spread, Lissa has massive depressive episodes and is mentally unwell, particularly after dead animals star appearing on and around her things. Someone knows that Lissa can heal, and bring back the dead. Someone knows that Lissa did it for Rose, after an accident that killed Lissa’s whole family and rose. They are trying to use her and Lissa is losing grip of herself and her safety. Rose lies to Christian to keep her away from Lissa, but after Mia spreads a particularly bad lie about Rose, Rose tries to make sure Christian talks to her again. Lissa and Rose find out that the reason that Mia hates them, is because of Lissa’s older brother hurting Mia years ago.
Lissa is kidnapped by her uncle, who has a deadly disease. When this happens, Rose is brain washed into trying to seduce Dimitir, who falls under the brain washing too — they both like each other, which is why it worked. Only when Dimitri removes Rose’s necklace gift from Victor, do they go back to normal. Victor forces Lissa to heal him, and the guardians go to save her. Rose and Christian find Lissa but Christian almost dies and Lissa has to save him with the help or drinking Rose’s blood. Victor, Lissa’s uncle, tries to help with Natalie, Lissa’s friend who had been leaving the dead animals. She has become a Strigoi and Dimitri kills her and stop the escape.
What I Liked:
Rose; Not gonna lie, I really liked her from page one. I think that she’s actually relatively complex for her hero mask that she puts on. She does feel inferior, but she did what was best for her Moroi. I am excited to see where we go for this story as her as the lead. She is impulsive, but protective, jealous, and thinks she’s weak. She has a lot to grow from, and I am willing to stick around for that growth.
Lissa; She’s so sweet and I can understand why you’d want to protect her. However her depression is extremely dark. How she masks her negative thoughts behind her demeanor, I can relate to far too much. Seeing her change herself, holding back and blending in to becoming queen B, was also admirable. She would do anything for Rose, just as Rose would do anything for her. Lissa falling for Christian is so sweet and I hope that she can be happy with him.
Mia; I really hope she grows. She was an interesting childish villain, but she is clearly hurting from the society as Lissa and Rose are. I want to see her grow so much. I hope she does.
Christian; On the topic of those hurt by the system, we have Christian. Christian who is ostracized by his peers because his mother and father decided to give up life to be immortal and then tried to kidnap to change him one day. He is ostracized for what his parents did, even though he didn’t have a choice. He was a child, and everyone hates him. Everyone thinks he’ll change at any moment, when he was raised by someone who would have helped him not to, and yet he is treated in the way from everyone else that would probably make him. I hate how he is treated, yet it is all too real. I want him to be happy to.
Mason; Kill me with those laughs boy. He’s great.
Dimitri; I don’t hate Dimitri, but he is very brooding. And then compared to Christian, I don’t feel like I’m getting much more from him than that. Then compared to funny Mason, Dimitir is just sigh. However he is hot, and the bad boy so I totally understand why Rose likes him. He is a challenge and outside of her real of control. So I just hope he grows more. I want more.
Natalie and Victor Twist; Will I say I saw this coming? No. Was I surprised? Also no. Honestly, for such a restrictive and controlling culture they have, I am not surprised that characters would be this bad and dark. It has been expressively said that there are people who would give up their life to become immortal, Victor wanting to be healed is on the same level. He doesn’t care if it kills Lissa, and honestly I can see it happening in such a two faced cut throat society. I did like how this added depth to the fact that anyone could or may want to change, as Rose said before.
School; When ever we go into school stories for Paranormal Romance, I’m either bored by the school, or irritated. This school, however, is a microcosm for their society and I am here for it. I learn so much about politics and culture from seeing how their school works.
The Human Troupe; Can I say, that this is probably the first time I am with a series that has the MC not as a human learning about society for the first time. She is a part of it, only she ran away. This is so cool. I really like the idea of having the characters a part of the world and knowing the ins and outs. Not only that but she’s powerful. Humans are so weak and frustrating in romance. So I really liked that this book series does not do that. It is almost more Fantasy than it is Romance and I was hesitant on where to put it for the Genre
What I Would Have Liked or Changed:
Mmm not sure. This is a series, so I think I’ll get more as we go on. I want to know more about society as a whole, but I know that we will get it. This was just a first book and I am ready for the ride going forward.
Rating: 4/5
Notable Quotes:
None
Marlena Marie 
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