Pages: 332 pages
Publication Date: November 2013 by Razorbill
ISBN: 159514174X (ISBN13: 9781595141743)
ONLY A TRUE BEST FRIEND CAN PROTECT YOU FROM YOUR IMMORTAL ENEMIES…
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 the 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, a school for vampire royalty and their guardians-to-be, hidden in the deep forests of Montana. But inside the iron gates, life is even more fraught with danger…and the Strigoi are always close by.
Rose and Lissa must navigate their dangerous world, confront the temptations of forbidden love, and never once let their guard down, lest the evil undead make Lissa one of them forever…
Now, What I Thought:
Where to start with this... Vampire Academy is just a classic. Everyone knows it and mostly everyone has read it. It starts off with Lissa, a vampire princess, and her best friend Rose, a half-vamp half-human guardian in training. They are on the run from their school, St. Vladimir's Academy in Montana. They escaped because Lissa wasn't feeling safe anymore considering she is the last Dragomir alive, in her whole line. The Strigoi, the vampires who choice evil and the strongest kind, are more than ever persistent on making Lissa one of them. Lissa and Rose get caught by the oh so cute-love interest, Dimitri, who just so happens to be a guard at St. Vlad's and one of the best fighters known to man. Lets just say Rose isn't any happier than Lissa is to be dragged back, considering Rose still thinks the danger is inside the school itself.
Mead really did a good job with her characters. They are all so well developed and fit so nicely in the plot, it's almost seamless.
Rose is a very aggressive, free spirited and dedicated person who loves Lissa like no other. Rose has this intense dedication towards protecting Lissa, it's insane and so nice to read about. She slowly gets back into things at St. Vlad's such as training, maturity, and more focused on her studies a.k.a Strogoi killing for Dummies.
Lissa is the dainty, sweet, charming, and smart princess. Instead of being the stereotypical 'not a care in the world' princess, she's smart and calculating. Also since she lost her parents and brother in a car crash, she's grown stronger and more independent. The big question she has to ask herself is, why wasn't she or Rose dead from the accident and her parents and brother were?
Dimitri is the ultimate badass, perfect for Rose. He's the top guard at St. Vlad who was tasked with retrieving the girls, since for 2 years they couldn't find them. He's a Russian dhampir with a lot of experience killing Strigoi. He slowly gets to learn about Rose and her life, as he is the one who convinced the headmistress to let her stay in school, only if he'd be the one to train her. Privately ;). You can imagine the straight connection when he realizes just how smart and dedicated Rose is.
I really liked the romance in this book, I felt like it was natural and well-paced. Considering the circumstances, with her being his student and all, it was definitely enjoyable and not in your face. The humour was also very much there, Rose is a hilarious character and isn't afraid to speak her mind, which isn't always nice haha. These books are a must read and definitely a staple in your collection!
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