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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

Aug 30, 2009 Bonnie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, vampires-werewolve-zombies-oh-my, ya-paranormal, boarding-school-of-adventure

Why I shouldn't have liked this book: (1) it's about a vampire boarding school (2) the main character is protecting a vampire princess (3) the vampires all have magic powers (4) there are good vampires and evil vampires each set clearly separated with different abilities [good vampires are only really good because they don't drink to kill; some of them are not very nice in general] (5) did I mention it is at a vampire boarding school with vampire royalty?!?!?

And yet, it is delicious good fun. An ...more

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Jan 03, 2010 Morgan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: vampires-and-immortals, fiction, paranormal, young-adult, kindle-read, five-star-reads

**Kindle Read**

I finally got around to reading this. I had hesitated at first just because it was a YA Vampire book. Then I kept hesitating, because I really enjoy Richelle Mead's Georgina Kincaid series. I was worried that her style would change or that something would be severely lacking.

Not the case.

Richelle Mead delivers an intriguing story that we try to unravel right along with Rose. Dimitri/Rose (especially near the end) was really rather hot for a YA book. I was not expecting that eithe ...more

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Jan 05, 2011 Lisarenee rated it it was amazing

Shelves: paranormal

Rose and Liss ran away from friends, family, and the vampire academy two years ago. Rose is Liss' guardian, although that title is not official. She hasn't completed her training yet. Just when they were starting to feel comfortable in their new life, they get caught by the academy. The reason they ran two years ago was they felt Liss' life was in danger. The feeling of being watched and a feeling of ill ease is what prompted the two to make their escape. Now stepping back into their old life th ...more

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Aug 17, 2011 Nairabell rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 4-star, teen-ya-paranormal, read-in-2013

Vampire Lissa Dragomir is the last surviving member of her family. Rose Hathaway is sworn to protect her, and because of that Rose and Lissa fled St. Vladimir's academy and have been on the run for nearly two years. But when they are dragged back, Rose and Lissa must attempt to fit in and follow the rules...even if the threat that made them run still lingers.

This is the first in the much loved Vampire Academy series and I found it to be a great read, although it isn't without faults. On the plus Vampire Lissa Dragomir is the last surviving member of her family. Rose Hathaway is sworn to protect her, and because of that Rose and Lissa fled St. Vladimir's academy and have been on the run for nearly two years. But when they are dragged back, Rose and Lissa must attempt to fit in and follow the rules...even if the threat that made them run still lingers.

This is the first in the much loved Vampire Academy series and I found it to be a great read, although it isn't without faults. On the plus side the storyline is well paced and has a new take on vampires which is well explored. Dividing vampires into good (the Moroi) and bad (the Strigoi) is something I've seen done before, but the author blended magic and politics with the vampires which makes this stand out. I also loved how the training of the guardians was shown as it isn't really something I've seen before.

One thing I disliked was that the story relies heavily on flashbacks to tell the story of why Rose and Lissa left St. Vladimir's in the first place, but these flashbacks feel a lot like info-dumping at times and are intrusive to the storyline. They pull you away from the current world and it's more than a little annoying at times. I'm hoping this is just part of the standard first book issues though and won't continue.

In terms of the characters, even after finishing, I'm still not sure what I think of Rose. I prefer to like the lead characters, even if they are flawed, but Rose was very bitchy at times and I found myself disliking her. There were a few instances where she did to someone else what they'd done to her and was apparently unaware that they would then go through what she had. That said I admired how in-your-face she could be and the confidence she was always able to project. Lissa on the other hand I liked from the beginning and only grew to like her more as the storyline progressed as she is a genuinely nice person.

Having two lead characters also means that there are two romantic storylines which contrast really well. Rose is attracted to her mentor Dimitri who is a real sweetheart, while Lissa is drawn to outcast Christian. Both are choosing 'unsuitable' partners but Lissa ends up following her heart rather than peer pressure which is great to see in a young adult book.

All in all, this was a good read and I'm looking forward to Frostbite.

Plot: 9/10
Characters: 8/10
Ending: 10/10
Enjoyment: 8/10
Cover: 7/10

Overall: 42/50 ...more

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Jan 01, 2012 Rachel Willis rated it liked it

Shelves: books-read-in-2012

I'm not loving this book so far. I'm on page 63 and already I'm having to force myself to continue. It is a nice enough story and if I were in the mood to read YA then I'd probably like it. Unfortunately I'm not in the mood so every sentence sounds trite and I'm rolling my eyes every other page... I might put this down until I'm in a fluffier mood. ...more

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Feb 10, 2011 Beth rated it really liked it

It was good. I was surprised that I enjoyed it for the most part. I like a kick-ass heroine, especially one with a smart mouth.

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Sep 03, 2009 Sonya rated it really liked it

Shelves: urban-fantasy, great-series, 2009

Fun series!

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Jan 09, 2011 jodiel86 rated it it was amazing

Shelves: genre-ya, genre-fantasy, genre-romance, on-my-bookshelf

See more reviews at Words Read & Written

Re-Read: 23.02.2014

Loved this just as much as the first time I read it. Rose and Dimitri is just so unnnfff.

Read: Jan 09, 2011 - this is the date I added it to GoodReads but I reckon I read it for the first time before that... maybe in 2010... I can't remember. ...more

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