GLAMITURE #7 - VAMPIRE ACADEMY (BOOK ONE)

*SIX BOOK SERIES*

TITLE: 

VAMPIRE ACADEMY

AUTHOR:

RICHELLE MEAD

PUBLICATION:

2007

PAGES:

340
START DATE:
12/24/17
FINISH DATE:
12/28/17

RATING:

5

I decided to read and start this series to get out of a reading slump because of book that ended badly.. I was skeptical at first about reading it and here's why: this is a book that is loved by almost every YA reader out there, its had fans from the beginning which therefore made it one of the most hyped up books, and if you know ANYTHING from my blogs, I don't really do hyped up books because of the fact that some people don't like what I do, and my other reasoning because I thought this was twilight type story, and lord know how much I HATED twilight with a passion, not that I didn't attempt to try and like twilight...I was surprised though, this book was far from anything like twilight it was more "mortal instruments" style than anything, in my opinion and it kept my attention from the moment I started reading it...and kept my attention throughout the whole book, there was never a dull moment and I was eager to continue on to find out what was gonna happen next, this is the first book in a series and sometimes the first book can always be boring with all the world/character building, but this definitely didn't fail in that part, Richelle did a good job integrating that in throughout the story line. Richelle effortlessly blends together the different worlds or Moroi and Dhampir and Strigoi and the Academy life. It truly was hard to put this book down once I started it. I took me a total of 4 days to read this book, and I whizzed through it. My skepticism is gone about this book and I already have book two downloaded and read to go.

The book starts off with Rose and Lissa being taken back to the Academy in Montana (really though, Montana, why not some other mythical world?) after Rose and Lissa had "runaway" two years prior for reason which you'll learn as you get further into the book. Once they get back to the academy the headmistress wants to send Rose away, to separate her and Lissa (Lissa is Rose's best friend, and Rose is Lissa's bestfriend and guardian), however Dimitri (another guardian, sent to bring Rose and Lissa back) convinces her to let rose stay, but rose must agree to some "conditions" in order to be able to stay, basically she is put on "house arrest". Once they settle back into life on campus it becomes VERY clear that someone is targeting Lissa which gets Rose worried. However, Rose soon gets further distracted when she starts taking lessons with the god-like guardian Dimitri.

I must however talk about rose and Dimitri really quickly, because if I didn't then it would just be wrong. Rose and Dimitri start of as mentor/mentoree (not really friends, or anything else for that matter) but there is clearly a connection between them that is special. Rose is outspoken, witty, strong, and brave, and will do anything to protect Lissa. Whereas Dimitri is brooding, honorable, and the strong silent type (loner) guy. Underneath it all is also this romantic  tension that you cut literally with a knife. This is where it gets good. I liked the reasoning on why they couldn't be together. It made sense. Its a rule at the Academy that guardians cannot be together, which honestly, makes sense, their job is to protect the Moroi and they can't be putting someone else into danger, ahead of that duty. 

I won't go into detail or explanations of the world in this review because that's one you have to figure out for yourself. However if you find yourself skeptical as I was about reading another "hyped" up vampire series, my suggestion is give it a chance. This series is more "mortal instruments" style than the lusty "twilight". Richelle Mead sets the stage for the rest of the series in this, while creating a very engaging, and intriguing book with a GREAT story line, its very much addictive once you get into it. I was literally taken aback at the plot twist in the final 2-3 chapters, and I never would have guessed the people who had done it were the ones who were targeting Lissa. In this book you have subplot, with Lissa and Christina, the danger surrounding Lissa, the budding 'something' between Rose and Dimitri, and the drama of high school.