Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy, #1) in The Not-So Austen Bookclub

Jan 17, 2013 Booknut 101 rated it it was amazing

Shelves: strong-and-kickass-heroines, gorgeous-guys, favorites, knight-in-shining-armour, books-i-love-dearly, can-t-get-enough-of, secret-schools, people-with-powers, paranormal-peoples, vamps-and-fangs

I think I'm in love.

With the book...and Dimitri ;) ...more

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Jul 23, 2012 Rebecca Gordon rated it it was amazing

One of the things in life that make me happiest is finding a new book series to read. Vampire Academy is one of those series. I was unsure how I would feel about it when I began reading it. Lissa Dragomir is a vampire princess. Surprisingly, she is also mortal. She is protected by her best friend Rose Hathaway. Rose Hathaway is half human and half vampire. Originally, the two young women escaped from St. Vladimir’s Academy due to an unknown threat to Lissa. However, they are captured and forced One of the things in life that make me happiest is finding a new book series to read. Vampire Academy is one of those series. I was unsure how I would feel about it when I began reading it. Lissa Dragomir is a vampire princess. Surprisingly, she is also mortal. She is protected by her best friend Rose Hathaway. Rose Hathaway is half human and half vampire. Originally, the two young women escaped from St. Vladimir’s Academy due to an unknown threat to Lissa. However, they are captured and forced to return to the Academy. One of their captors is the sexy Dimitri. Rose is drawn to Dimitri and he is also attracted to her. St. Vladimir’s is where the friends will once again encounter friends, romance, catfights, and danger. They will have to unite to preserver over danger and to have their heart’s desires.
Vampire Academy grabbed my attention from the first page and captivated me until I closed the book for the last time. Rose is a strong and sassy heroine. She is willing to sacrifice what she wants for Lissa’s safety. Richelle Mead has crafted a complex vampire world that I enjoyed learning about. Dimitri sounded very delicious and had very good chemistry with Rose. There is also mystery in this book and I was eager to find out who the culprit was. When the culprit was revealed, I was very surprised. I could envision the Academy while reading as the world-building was superb. Rose and Lissa’s friendship seemed realistic. They did get into disagreements but always wanted the other one to be happy and safe. I enjoyed the supernatural setting combined with the usual teen normalcy and drama. The dialogue really matched how the characters were portrayed. I could see Rose conversing and being sarcastic while I was reading. One of my favorite things about this series is the characters were aware that they were vampires. However, they still discovered unexpected powers. There is one very sexy scene in this book that will leave readers swooning and wanting more. The ending alludes to the next installment, but does not end on a crucial moment. Rose acknowledges her looks which is unusual to see in young adult book series. I found it made the book more believable. The two main characters have a desire to be better, which a feeling many of us can relate to. However, they never dwell on their problems; they attempt to solve them. Overall, if this series continue on this excellent path it will be one of my favorite series. I would recommend Vampire Academy to readers who enjoy paranormal romance
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