Pages: 332
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: August 16th 2007
Goodreads Synopsis:St. Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger...
Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever.
My Review:
No, I haven’t just read this book for the first time. I read
it way before I had a book blog. But with a lot of new fans coming to the
series because of the film adaptation, I thought I’d take a little time to post
my review on book one of this awesome series.
I didn’t start off thinking it was too awesome, if I’m
honest. When I read it the first time around, I was surrounded by so many vampire
books that the thought of reading another one made me want bury my face in a
pillow. So I don’t think I gave it a fair chance. I read half of it, only half
paying attention, and then left it.
But when the last book in the series was about to come out
and everyone was getting excited, I started to wonder if I’d misjudged that
first book. So I went over to the book shelf, picked up book one and started
again. And boy did I regret ever dismissing that book as just another, cliché vampire
story.
This book is so much more than that.
Let’s start with Rose, shall we? Rose is not your typical YA book heroine, oh no.
She’s feisty, tough and confident. Okay, she’s a little more than confident,
sometimes, and that is exactly what I love about her. She is not the kind of
girl who stays hiding in the shadows, spending hours analysing every
interaction with a guy to work out whether he like her it or not. She’s hot and
she knows it. Reading that, you might think that she’d be an annoying
character, but she is so not. She is strong, determined, and extremely loyal.
She will always stand up for herself.
The story follows Rose and her best friend, Lissa, who
happens to be a Royal. The two are much more than friends, however, as they
share a psychic bond. Her and Lissa’s friendship
is one of the key points in this story. It isn’t just a story about a romance.
Friendship is a strong theme throughout.
But, of course, we do have Dimitri. Tall, gorgeous, Russian
guy who is seen as a God. And you can really see why. His relationship with
Rose is a difficult one, due to the small facts that he’s seven years older
than her and is practically her teacher. Oh, and a relationship between the two
of them also happens to be forbidden because they are both Lissa’s guardians.
There is so much action within this story, but there is also
the typical high school element to things and I think that Richelle does a
perfect job in including all of that into the book.
If you read the title Vampire Academy and, like me, assume
that this is going to be just another vampire love story, you are so wrong.
Seriously, let this book restore your faith in vampire novels. I promise you
that you won’t be disappointed.
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