Vampire Academy - Richelle Mead

Title: Vampire Academy - Richelle Mead
Publisher: Razorbill
Series: Vampire Academy #1 (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
Service: Own 
Release Date: 11/2013
Pages: 332
Format: Paperback

Rating: ★★★★

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Lissa Dragomir is a mortal vampire. She must be protected at all times from fiercest and most dangerous vampires of all – the ones who will never die.

Rose Hathway is Lissa’s best friend – and her bodyguard.

Now, after two years of illicit freedom, they’ve been dragged back inside of the iron gates of St Vladimir’s Academy. The girls must survive a world of forbidden romances, a ruthless social scene and terrifying night-time rituals.

Give me one word…

Why do you say that?

Vampire Academy is set in a private school that houses and trains Vampires and Dhampirs (half human/half vampire) species. This story starts with a Dhampir, Rose and her best friend and Vampire princess, Lissa, returning to school after being away for quite some time.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a nice, easy read and Richelle Mead kept up a good pace throughout the whole book. I finished within two days wanting to know what was going on. I liked the fact that we were drip fed secrets rather than being given them all in one go and that was the primary reason for me to continue on to the end of the novel.

I did have some issues with the characterisation. Rose and Lissa are our main characters and I struggled to read them at times. Although their friendship is heart warming and genuine their personalities are somewhat bland. I just felt that they seemed to be ‘too perfect’ at times and balanced each other out in an almost unnatural way, with Lissa being girly and polite and Rose being an utter badass. That being said I managed to look past it and considering there are various books in the series I am hoping that development will be present.

There are a variety of other character in this book that bring the plot to life. I personally love Christian’s quick wit and hope to see more of him as the series progresses.

You may have heard/seen a lot about the romance aspect of this book but I felt this really did not overshadow the whole storyline, which I was glad about. There was a healthy mix of romance and action.

If you want paranormal romance and friendship with some witty humour thrown in then Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead is a definite.