eclark93's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
andshe_reads's review against another edition
4.0
This is totally up my street. Just from reading the very first book of the series I know vampire academy is going to be awesome! I'd heard many great things about them so I had to give it a go.
The first novel completely sets the scene and you get to know and like many of the main characters like Rose and Lissa. I loved Meads take on the vampire world with dhampir guardians and the royal moroi also the bad guys strigoi. The characters are so much different to what I initially expected. Mead draws us in and takes us on a paranormal journey through another world making it all so believable.
Mead covers some issues like depression we all come across in our everyday lives, and she portrays perfectly without too much heartache and shows how the sufferer is effected and the outcome with people start to know, but I won't go into it too much because it would just spoil it and if you hadnt seen already *spoiler free zone* =)
Overall so far a brilliant book, have already started #2 definately reccomend!
The first novel completely sets the scene and you get to know and like many of the main characters like Rose and Lissa. I loved Meads take on the vampire world with dhampir guardians and the royal moroi also the bad guys strigoi. The characters are so much different to what I initially expected. Mead draws us in and takes us on a paranormal journey through another world making it all so believable.
Mead covers some issues like depression we all come across in our everyday lives, and she portrays perfectly without too much heartache and shows how the sufferer is effected and the outcome with people start to know, but I won't go into it too much because it would just spoil it and if you hadnt seen already *spoiler free zone* =)
Overall so far a brilliant book, have already started #2 definately reccomend!
connor4jan's review against another edition
5.0
One of my favorite series. Even though there are plenty books in the series, they all are such an intense and incredible read that I cannot put them down!
notapanda's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ark99's review against another edition
3.0
trashy vampire novel? yes
This was decent! I really love the friendships in this, Lissa and Rose's friendship I think was written really well and honestly kinda thought it was gonna end up with them together or something bc omg they REALLY care for each other which I would've loved to hope for if this series was written in like this time right now and not back in like 2007 lol bc that wouldn't have been very possible back then if an author wanted a book that could sell and actually be accepted by publishers oops
This was decent! I really love the friendships in this, Lissa and Rose's friendship I think was written really well and honestly kinda thought it was gonna end up with them together or something bc omg they REALLY care for each other which I would've loved to hope for if this series was written in like this time right now and not back in like 2007 lol bc that wouldn't have been very possible back then if an author wanted a book that could sell and actually be accepted by publishers oops
mollymarsland's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
alexabookish's review against another edition
4.0
look, i know i’m over ten years late to this party. but you know what? i’m super happy to be here. i really really enjoyed this book, and i rate based on enjoyment, so that’s why this is getting a 4. but that’s not to say that i didn’t still have some issues with it. still, it was honestly so much fun. it had all the things i love in books: vampires, magic, a boarding school, girls that are really badass. i really liked rose as a protagonist, and liked seeing her development over the course of the book. that being said, i did have a couple issues with it, most of witch can be attributed to the time in which it was written. the first being all the slut shaming. i mean come on people, that was never a good look. there were a couple times it was challenged which made me feel a little better, but still, all the “blood whore” talk was just not it for me. next, i was pretty confused about the 3 different types of vampires for a while, and it took me way too long to understand all the differences between them. last but not least, was the relationship between rose and dimitri. why did they need to be 7 yrs apart??? why couldn’t rose just be 18 instead of 17??? anyway, i’m glad that it was addressed at the end of the book at least, and that made it a lot better for me lol.
theatomicpirategirl's review against another edition
4.0
(this review can also be found on my blog! Atomic Pirate Girl's Book Worm Booty
I totally avoid this book for a while. The title, to be honest, is a little hokey. I wasn’t too sure that I wanted to read this. I was not drawn in by the cover or the title. I think I first laid eyes on this book a couple years ago at the book store…and just walked by. However, I stumbled across a book called “Bloodlines” and thought, “ah! Now this looks interesting.” Of course, then I found out it was a spin off series of Vampire Academy. Damn. I’m going to have to read this series first.
But I am happy to report, I actually enjoyed this book. No, really. I did.
I enjoyed the character of Rose, the kickass Dhampir. She was tough and super sassy and had a mouth like a sailor: my favorite type of heroine. I forgot from time to time that I was reading a book about a teenage half vampire faced with a bang load of high school drama. From mean girls to high school prom fist fights, to protecting her best friends for falling head over heels for her instructor and mentor, Rose faces all these challenges that seem to fit with her fiery and head strong personality.
What I found super interesting what how Mead was able to take the mythology of vampires and tweak it. I appreciated that there was a history lesson in the book about the history of the vampires and the dhampirs. It helped develop and ground the story in a believe reality.
With all books I felt there were flaws in the story. My main little niggle of dislike was Lissa. Though Rose is strong and independent, I felt that bother her and Lissa relied too much on each other. Yeah, yeah. I get the why. They are spirit bound together and blah blah blah. I felt that Lissa was a character that was holding Rose back. Granted, Lissa did keep Rose in check when Rose got a little too crazy. However, near the end of the book, Lissa did seem to discover some self reliance that she did not have when first introduced.
By the time I ended reading this book, I found that I have to finish reading this series. One book down, five to go. Here’s hoping that these books do not end up making me made like the House of Night books did. (And that is a totally different blog post)
I totally avoid this book for a while. The title, to be honest, is a little hokey. I wasn’t too sure that I wanted to read this. I was not drawn in by the cover or the title. I think I first laid eyes on this book a couple years ago at the book store…and just walked by. However, I stumbled across a book called “Bloodlines” and thought, “ah! Now this looks interesting.” Of course, then I found out it was a spin off series of Vampire Academy. Damn. I’m going to have to read this series first.
But I am happy to report, I actually enjoyed this book. No, really. I did.
I enjoyed the character of Rose, the kickass Dhampir. She was tough and super sassy and had a mouth like a sailor: my favorite type of heroine. I forgot from time to time that I was reading a book about a teenage half vampire faced with a bang load of high school drama. From mean girls to high school prom fist fights, to protecting her best friends for falling head over heels for her instructor and mentor, Rose faces all these challenges that seem to fit with her fiery and head strong personality.
What I found super interesting what how Mead was able to take the mythology of vampires and tweak it. I appreciated that there was a history lesson in the book about the history of the vampires and the dhampirs. It helped develop and ground the story in a believe reality.
With all books I felt there were flaws in the story. My main little niggle of dislike was Lissa. Though Rose is strong and independent, I felt that bother her and Lissa relied too much on each other. Yeah, yeah. I get the why. They are spirit bound together and blah blah blah. I felt that Lissa was a character that was holding Rose back. Granted, Lissa did keep Rose in check when Rose got a little too crazy. However, near the end of the book, Lissa did seem to discover some self reliance that she did not have when first introduced.
By the time I ended reading this book, I found that I have to finish reading this series. One book down, five to go. Here’s hoping that these books do not end up making me made like the House of Night books did. (And that is a totally different blog post)