Review: Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Publisher: Razorbill
Publishing Date: August 16, 2007
ISBN: 9781595141743
Pages: 332 pages

My Rating: 4 Stars

Summary from GoodReads:

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.

My Review:
This is another one of those series that everyone seems to have read and I hadn't. I thought that this book was really well written and gave a different spin on vampires. I like that there are 2 different kinds of vampires- the living vampires and the undead vampires. I also like how there were guardians/protectors. I really like Rose's character and I thought that she stayed true to her character the whole way through the novel. She was driven, opinionated, outspoken and best of all she is devoted and kind to her best friend. I also liked Lissa who was the most genuinely kind character in the book. I have to say that something about Lissa's cousin always screamed desperate but I didn't really realize how desperate she actually was. I also wasn't sure how to read Lissa's uncle and I have to admit that I was a bit surprised at how the novel ended. The whole romance between Rose and Dimitri was quite intriguing as well. I have to say though that the whole teacher/student relationship has been done many times before. I sometimes wish they would come up with something different. I will say that though the vampire thing has been quite popular as of late, I really like the way Mead came up with something unique in this genre. I will definitely be reading the rest of this series and I can't wait to see how they develop the characters. Overall I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.