Vampire Academy Book One- 5 stars!

Please note: this post will be continuously updated as I read the other books.

Today's Tea Choice: Starbucks Peppermint Mocha (cuz we all still need a boost!)

Trigger Warnings: scenes with blood (duh, it’s vampires) parental death, grief, animal death scenes, self-harm

Genre: YA Paranormal

Pages: 332

Summary(goodreads.com):

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...

My Review:

 Vampires are a classic, from Bram Stoker’s Dracula to Stephanie Meyers’s Twilight series, and remain popular to this day. This book was first published in 2007 when I was in high school during the vampire craze. I’ve always been more of a werewolf girl, but after reading this first book, I might turn over to the no-sun-bloodsucker side!

What I loved:

Plot: The book begins in media res, creating tension within the first few pages. Several events have led the main characters to run away from the Vampire Academy (you learn more later- no spoilers!), tying back to Lissa's parents and brother being killed in a car accident. However, they live like fugitives in the first chapter until a few skilled guardians from the academy track them down. From there, the pacing is a bit slow with occasional events to propel the plot, but I wanted to see more by the hundredth page. However, there is plenty of clique drama that held my interest despite this being for teens! We also learn more about vampire powers and how Lissa is special along with how these powers affect her mind.

Toward the end there is a great climactic event that leads into the next book!

Characters: Rose and Lissa are described right away. Lissa is a blonde Moroi (see later on), who is royal, more controlled with her emotions, loves animals, and is super powerful. Rose is a dhampir, and since she is training to be Lissa's bodyguard, she is protective and defiant, often acting on her emotions instead of what's best for her. In fact, Rose reminds me of myself in high school, much like Violet is in the Skin Walker series. Even though these characters are different from one another, they have a psychic bond that is legendary among their race, so it was cool to see the descriptions of Rose feeling Lissa's emotions and seeing through her eyes.

Vampire elements: Within the first few pages, we see Lissa's first feeding on Rose, something that is considered very taboo and wrong(we learn later why). In this world, vampire saliva has endorphins, creating a euphoric feeling anytime they feed. Some can also compel others, which is a hypnotic power, but it's frowned upon to use it in vampire society.

There are different vampire levels in this society, which is also very cool.

Moroi: vampire royalty who also wield earth magic that is considered sacred and not used for violence (Lissa).

Dhampir: half vampire, half human(Rose), they are trained to be guardians for the royal Moroi and protect them against the next race.

Strigoi: immortal vampires who have a thirst for Moroi blood. They completely drain their victims, causing them to turn into murderous monster vampires who are super powerful and strong.

POV:  The story is told in first person POV from Rose's perspective. While using this perspective allows us to see and feel the character's emotions, I wish we could've seen some chapters in Lissa's perspective as well since she is an integral main character.

Setting: The school was described well, with towering Gothic architecture and modern furnishings inside. Within the school are the usual cliques and drama like any other school. At times, it was difficult to picture how the school was laid out since it's pretty complex.

Dialogue: The dialogue was well written and authentic, especially since this an older vampire novel. Richelle Mead uses minimal dialogue tags to keep the focus on the exchanges while also using subtext or the show-don't-tell method to reveals emotions/tension. Some slang and curses are also used in moderation, adding another layer of authenticity. Rose is very sarcastic and ruthless, so reading her dialogue was funny!

What Needed Improvement:

It's difficult to say what needed improvement since I really enjoyed this first novel! The pacing was a bit slow in some parts, but otherwise, I carried this book everywhere.

While I was sewing.

Before bed.

Even in the bath!

I couldn't stop reading it!

Authors Can Learn:

• How to create a different perspective on classic monsters along with a distinct society.

• The importance of first person POV, and whether a second POV is needed.

• How to create authentic dialogue.

Readers Will Love This For:

A thrilling first novel in this distinct vampire series with plenty of romance, terror, and blood :)

I give this book 5 stars.

Kyla