From the Bookshelf of Nothing But Reading Challenges…

Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy, #1)

Richelle Mead

Start date: January 1, 2011

Finish date: March 31, 2011

Why we're reading this: Part of first group series read. Group voted and it won.
[close] Part of first group series read. Group voted and it won.

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What Members Thought

Mar 11, 2009 Marla rated it really liked it

Shelves: series, adult, fantasy, romance, chick-lit, zz-2012, with-reservations, girl-power, young-adult, vampires

4.5 Stars. I really liked this book, and I would've given it 5 stars, except I wasn't crazy about Lissa for most of the book and Rose is too slutty. (But they both get better as the series goes on.)

Likes:
* Rosemarie (Rose) Hathaway is a cocky, aggressive, mouthy, super flirty, wild, self-impressed, trouble making, half-Moroi dhampir novice guardian, but she is also brave, strong, tough, clever, protective, and extremely loyal to Lissa. Rose has a personal goal to be Lissa's guardian and is train 4.5 Stars. I really liked this book, and I would've given it 5 stars, except I wasn't crazy about Lissa for most of the book and Rose is too slutty. (But they both get better as the series goes on.)

Likes:
* Rosemarie (Rose) Hathaway is a cocky, aggressive, mouthy, super flirty, wild, self-impressed, trouble making, half-Moroi dhampir novice guardian, but she is also brave, strong, tough, clever, protective, and extremely loyal to Lissa. Rose has a personal goal to be Lissa's guardian and is training hard to achieve it. Rose is not perfect but she's an interesting and tough female heroine.
* Not sure about Moroi vampire princess, Vasilisa Dragomir, she seems timid and bland, but Lissa improves at the end of the book.
* Gorgeous, lethal Guardian Dimitri Belikov who is tutoring Rose is a great mentor figure
* Brooding, sarcastic, observant, social pariah, Christian Ozera
* LOVE how loyal Rose is to Lissa and vice versa
(view spoiler)

Dislikes:
* Whew, lots of language...I know this is how teenagers talk, but it doesn't have to be that real
* Teen drama and lots of it added to political drama and power plays
* Typos were irritating...this is a huge hit series, why wasn't it proofread better?
* I don't know if I understand why Rose and Lissa ran away...kind of important, but wasn't obvious to me
(view spoiler)

With-reservations:
lots of language (a--, sh--, bast--d, p-ssed off, wh-r-, b--ch, you get the idea), violence, murder, kidnapping/slavery, prejudice, aggression, running away, malicious gossip, drugs, sex, using people, self-mutilation, mental illness, attempted suicide, and torture. ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Oct 04, 2010 Destiny rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorite-ya-paranormal-romances

I thought this was well written novel. I thought the heroine was great. She takes no crap and she's loyal to her best friend. Rose being inside Lissa's mind was cool. I've already bought the second novel, Frostbite, to read. I would reccommend it to a friend. ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Feb 09, 2009 Yz the Whyz rated it really liked it

Shelves: richelle-mead, 2010-reads

After having been recommended to me so many times, I finally got a copy from the library.

From the first page, I was enraptured as I follow the adventure of two girls, so different from each other but bound by friendship and something much more.

Rose is the smart-mouthed body guard-in-training for the beautiful, princess Lissa. The story opened with them on the run, only to be captured and brought back into the academy.

Mead's writing is fluid, and easy to follow, and before I know it, I'm as cau ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Oct 14, 2011 Aymee rated it really liked it

Shelves: contemporary, paranormal, young-adult, paranormal-romance, vampires

**Four and a half stars**

Really pretty good and a lot better than I thought it might be, having heard conflicting opinions on this series. Even though it starts a tad bit slow, it's a good story with fascinating characters. I would recommend for older teens, 16+, due to some violence and the tendency toward 'raciness' at times. ...more

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Mar 28, 2012 Sarah rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy, needing-attention, read-2012, reviewed, audiobooks

I loved loved loved the books when I read them and was oh so glad to find the audiobooks too. I was wondering what it would be read like and so on, and loved how all the characters came to life in this audiobook. Stephenie Wolf does a wonderful job of reading the book with different voices for each character. Whilst some voices are a bit too... sweet and innocent, or simply strange for my taste, she still brought the book to life.

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Dec 13, 2010 Stephanie Tuell rated it liked it

this was a quick read. not really sure how i felt about it. not a whole lot happens until the end. i guess it's a good starter book for a series. it introduces us to the characters. rose seems like a normal teenager caught in a love(crush) triangle. lissa seems way to out of it for me. i know it's a YA, but the story line seems kind of flat to me. ...more

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