Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead (2007)

Lissa and Rose have been on the run for two years. As a dhampir, Rose’s only job in life is to make sure Lissa is safe, who happens to be a Moroi princess. And she was doing a good job of it, until the both got caught and dragged back to St. Vladimir’s Academy, the very place they were running from. Resuming their senior year of high school, not much seems to have changed- until someone starts leaving dead animals in Lissa’s dormroom. At the same time, Rose learns she’s not as equipped to protect Lissa as she thought, and signs on to grueling training from Dimitri, an upper dhampir who’s experience has turned him into an emotionless building. As more problems rise is Rose and Lissa’s life, discovers that to be a dhampir, she must not only protect Rose, but protect herself before everything falls apart.

For a long time, I have been putting off reading Vampire Academy, simply because it sounded so cheesy. Infact, I think I tried reading it a few years ago, but I quit. However, I’ve been hearing so much about this series, so I tried it again and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This book is part of a six-part series, and has a spin-off series, and I am definitely looking forward to continue on.

Right off the bat, I enjoyed the overall perspective of this book, which was told from Rose’s point of view. I think so many of us, including me, automatically assumed Lissa to be the hero and narrator, because she’s the princess. Hardly it’s even thought of what the princess’s protector thinks, or is going through. So, it was really refreshing to hear Rose’s thought’s, and made what could’ve been a very typical story more enjoyable. Plus, because of a special “bond” Rose had with Lissa, she was able to look through Lissa’s eyes, which in a was gave Lissa’s point of view, too.

Speaking of the plot itself, there was a lot of good old high school drama in there. Basically, if there wasn’t vampires in the story, this would totally be a contemporary. That being said, there was also a decent amount of slut shaming in the story, which I found to be really disappointing. Characters, including Rose and Lissa, were always commenting on how girls should act with their sexuality, or what they should were. Actually, a really big sub plot that there was a rumor around that Rose apparently had sex with two guys.

As you may have guessed, there’s a romance between Rose and Dimitri. And it was really weird. A lot of it was the fact that Rose was 17 and Dimitri was 24. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think age gaps are usually something to worry about is relationships, but at those ages there’s just so much development, and 7 years can equal a lifetime of differences. But my main problem was that is was insta-love. For the first half of the book, Rose didn’t feel anything for Dimitri, and then BAM she was in love. Personally, I like romances to develop in time, instead of happening overnight.

Still, despite the problems I had with Vampire Academy, it was addicting. I flew through it in a matter of hours, and it went really fastly. And yes, it was definitely like Twilight, but with way better writing, likable characters, and a decent plot. If you’re looking for a light paranormal tale, this is the one.

4 Stars