Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Amazon/Barnes & Noble

Published by: Razorbill

Review by: Dani Hoots

St. Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger. . . .

Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever.

*Backcover taken from Amazon*

Full of action, adventure, blossoming romance, and teen drama, this book is one of the best teen vampire books I have read so far. Set in Montana, St. Vladimir’s Academy teaches both Moroi, vampire-like creatures, and Dhampir, super human bodyguards for the Moroi, teens who are to be trained to go out into the world and be protected from the Strigoi, evil moroi who only want to kill. It is quite an interesting take on vampires and was refreshing to say the least.

The story follows Rose, as she is a Dhampir guarding Lissa, a royal Moroi whose family line depends on her. They had run away from the academy two years before and were just caught and taken back to the academy where they are told that they need to be schooled and trained more. After seeing how much her training had slacked, she tries her best to become the bodyguard she needs to be to protect Lissa, as they have a special bond. That is until someone starts tormenting Lissa by putting dead animals in her dorm room and leaves scary notes. Now they must figure out who is doing this and what they want.

Rose is a strong female lead who has her own troubles but knows how to fight them. I like her attitude and how well she compliments Lissa. She definitely has an interesting arc and I can’t wait to read more of the series to see what else is in store for her. I also like her budding romance, along with Lissa’s romance, and think that Mead does a great job putting characters in love.

The plot itself was very structured and I could follow along quite easily. I read this book after watching the movie and although I thought it was a good teen-flick, it definitely didn’t do the book justice. The book is much better and if you haven’t read it, please do!

I give this book a 5/5 and can’t wait to read the rest in the series. I hope that the movie didn’t turn you away from this lovely book as it definitely left out a lot and made some parts confusing.