March 7, 2011

Series Spotlight: Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

The Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead



Goodreads Links:

1. Vampire Academy
2. Frostbite
3. Shadow Kiss
4. Blood Promise
5. Spirit Bound
6. Last Sacrifice


Short Series Synopsis: (from author's website)
Two races of vampires walk our world. One, the Moroi, are alive and wield elemental magic. The other, the Strigoi, are undead and evil--feeding on the innocent to survive. Rose Hathaway --a half-vampire with poor impulse control-- is training to be a bodyguard for a Moroi princess. Learning to decapitate and stake is hard enough, but Rose's real danger may lie in an illicit romance with one of her instructors...

My (Spoiler Free) Thoughts:
Let’s start this off by summing up the series in one word: Amazing. Two words? Absolutely amazing. This is not your typical vampire series. Don’t let stereotypes or the cheesy covers (see: above) turn you off, because this is absolutely a series worth picking up, even if (or perhaps because) you’re not usually a vampire or paranormal fan.

I first heard of these books a couple of years ago, but I pretty much instantly dismissed them. Ouch, I know. If I had read as many blogs as I do now I probably wouldn’t have done that, because it was all the squee’ing over ‘Last Sacrifice’ that caused me to pick up the first ‘Vampire Academy’ book. I thought “If all these bloggers, whose opinions I trust, are going insane over this series, there must be something to it.” And believe me, there is!

To start with, the main protagonist of ‘Vampire Academy’ is Rose. Rose is a kick-ass heroine who is physically strong, but is also funny, loyal, and smart. The great thing about Rose is that she defies a lot of the stereotypes of strong female characters. She’s intelligent, but she’s not all bookish. She’s strong, like I said, but she’s not stand-offish. Rose cares deeply about her friends, especially her best friend Lissa, and she knows how to feel things: in fact, sometimes her emotions run away with her.

While Rose is the main character in the series, there are a whole cast of characters to fall in love with. The thing that’s so fabulous about these characters is that they all have their purpose. Some authors create throwaway characters, but not Richelle Mead. If you see a character who seems like they have a small role, don’t be fooled: they’re sure to pop up later when you least expect it. I don't even want to start writing about the specific characters (Christian, Adrian, Eddie, etc) because I could write paragraphs on how much I love each one.

As I mentioned, these books are great even if you’re not usually a vampire fan. I know I'm definitely not a vampire fan, but the world that is created in these books is different from any other vampire book I’ve read. I love how there are both “good” and “bad” types of vampires, and there is a very specific distinction between them. I love how the vampire world exists in and alongside the human world, but is secret all the same. Much like with the characters, every little decision made within these books has repercussions. Plot lines get wrapped up, and the action always comes to a conclusion perfectly.

These books are so much more than typical vampire books, as they feature themes of love, friendship, and loyalty. Most of all, the characters are so strong and amazing and the plots are action-packed. If you’re looking for an addicting new series, definitely be sure and check out the six ‘Vampire Academy’ novels, and the upcoming spin-off series, Bloodlines. I'm still thinking about these books a couple of weeks after I read them, and I anticipate reading them again in the not too distant future.

Series Rating:


Check Richelle's website for information on how to purchase signed copies, as well as find links to Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.

12 comments:

  1. I completely agree with all of this! I recently discovered this series (honestly, I don't know why the heck I took so long!) and I am now obsessed. I'm so sad that it's over.

    Rose, Dimitri, Adrian, Christian, Abe.. they're the best characters I have ever read about. I think everyone should read these books.

    I'm definitely going to have a reread in a month or so! :D

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  2. YES! Absolutely amazing is the perfect way to describe this series! I like how you said that even if you're not a vampire fan, they still worthwhile reads. I found I didn't really even pay attention to the vampire element, I got so caught up in the character relationships:)

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  3. I've very glad you finally picked up, and loved, the VAMPIRE ACADEMY. It has been one of my favorite vampire series and possibly my favorite series period for a while now.

    Great review!

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  4. I'm impressed with how quickly you got through this series! It's nice you could read them straight through without having to wait to read the next installment. This is one of the better vampire series, but like you say, it is even compelling for the non vampire fan. I really like her Succubus series too.
    Great review of the series!

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  5. I love the Vampire Academy series. And I, too, instantly dismissed them when I walked by them in Target's book aisle for the first time. But, cut to a few months later when I finally opted to buy book one (I was bored and had some extra money, and at this time the first 4 books were out). I got home and DEVOURED book 1. Went out the next day and bought the other 3.

    And like you said - Rose might be the "main" character, but its ensemble book. I cared as much for Christian as I did for Rose by the end of the series. I loved them all.

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  6. Wow did you read the whole series in one go? I've heard that its an awesome series and I do have a couple of the books but haven't had time to read it yet.

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  7. I love how even the comments are a Vampire Academy love parade, haha. =)

    And Jenny, yes, I basically read the whole series straight, with only a couple of books in between when I was waiting for the books to come from the library.

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  8. I too am enjoying this series. I must admit, I was hesitant to read these books but once I started, it is difficult to put them down. It has been a long time since I have been so engaged. The storyline is captivating and the characters are so believable and likeable. Thanks for the recommendation Ashley.

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  9. I'm so glad you finally read the Vampire Academy series Ashley!!!!!! I've been a huge fan of this series from the very beginning and it was probably one of the very first vampire series I ever started reading.

    You probably wouldn't believe this but even though I bought Last Sacrifice the week it came out, I still HAVEN'T read it yet! *gasp on your part* I know, I know. It's sad but I have no idea why I haven't read it considering how hyped I was for its release! *now hides after admitting this horror*

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  10. Haha Liz, it's sad that I started this series a month ago or something and have read them all, yet you haven't, lol. No, but I can understand... there have been a couple books that I desperately wanted to read that I kept around for a while before I did so, and I wasn't really sure why.

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  11. Nice review :) I am still debating about whether or not I actually want to read this series. I know there are a bazillion fans out there, but I'm not really a lover of Paranormal at all, so I'm still a bit torn. I'll have to think on it, but it is always nice to see so much love for a book/series! :)

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  12. I think I dismissed these because I don't tend to like vampire stories and the covers are super cheesy-it didn't matter how much good buzz they got as those were some tough hurdles to clear. Now that I've read Gameboard of the Gods though I am much more convinced that Mead's talent will rise above.

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Thank you so much for taking the time to comment; I appreciate each one!

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