Vampire Academy – Richelle Mead

Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy #1)
Richelle Mead
RazorBill (Penguin Books Aus)
2007, 332p
Read from my local library

Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, half human half Moroi vampire. The Dhampirs are guardians for the Moroi, protecting them from the threat of the Strigoi. Two years ago Rose and Lissa left St Vladimir’s, their exclusive boarding school and went on the run. Despite the many dangers out there, Rose has managed to keep Lissa, a Vampire Princess and the last of her line, safe. But now they’ve been recaptured and dragged back to St Vladimir’s. There are few repercussions for Lissa but Rose has to prove her worth and fight to be allowed to stay at the school, close to Lissa where she can keep an eye on her. Two years on the outside has dulled her training and so Rose is ordered into extra sessions with the guardian Dimitri, one of the ones who found her and Lissa and brought them back.

Back on campus, the two girls are a novelty – everyone wants to know everything about why they went on the run and what happened when they were out there. Rose is reckless, the type that’s always in trouble and being forbidden to do anything other than go to her classes or her training sessions with Dimitri doesn’t sit well with her. She’s always looking to rebel and she finds plenty of opportunities. Both her and Lissa find themselves drawn towards a forbidden romance – Rose with her instructor, the older guardian Dimitri, a Russian with a mysterious past and 6 tattoos to honour his kills. Lissa finds solace in the outcast Christian. She’s perhaps the only person to pay him any attention at the school and in return he may be the only person aside from Rose who sees her as she really is, not as the image she has carefully projected.

Danger is everywhere for the Moroi, especially the royalty. But Lissa’s special abilities add another element of danger and they live in fear of discovery. Back on campus is supposed to be the safest place they can be but Rose knows better. Danger lurks for them there too.

So, the Vampire Academy series. Everyone loves it and raves about it but when it first came to my attention, I was a bit vampired out and so I didn’t try it. It’s been hovering around on my radar for the past couple of years – I even borrowed the first book once before from my local library but never got around to starting it. However I decided to finally get into it and settled down with the first book before I had any of the rest. I know that’s a rookie mistake – when I get into a series, I want to read them start to finish back to back!

I really love Rose. She’s feisty and funny and she likes doing her own thing – rules aren’t a big deal for her, unless it’s about keeping Lissa safe. She puts Lissa first in pretty much everything. She’s pretty (Moroi are very thin and flat chested, the Dhampir much curvier so much is made of Rose’s bigger breasts) but sort of vulnerable at the same time. She’s a tough talker but underneath she needs the same sort of reassurance as any girl. She’s a bit of a troublemaker who lacks discpline and her years out of the academy have made her soft so she has to undertake extra training with Dimitri.

Which brings me to him. I know he’s got quite the fanbase out there and why not? He’s awesome. Tough, skilled, dedicated and a bit aloof, it’s his job to ensure that Rose lives up to her potential. Rose seems to enjoy baiting him (or trying to) at first but it isn’t very long before they get under each other’s skin. Dimitri is 24 though, quite a bit older than Rose’s 17 and he’s an instructor at the school. Anything between them would be forbidden, especially as Dimitri is also one of Lissa’s guardians (Rose will join him to protect her officially when she graduates). That brings up a conflict of interest. Rose and Dimitri have chemistry in spades even though they only have a few really deep scenes together. Given that I know this spins out to 6 books, obviously there’s going to be lots of heartbreak and attraction etc during that time and I’m happy to see that the groundwork laid in this book is pretty good.

I liked Lissa less as a character in the beginning but gradually as the story unfolded, she became more fleshed out and there began to be reasons for some of her more odd behaviour. I liked her more with Christian, an outcast for having Strigoi parents, considered probably dangerous by the rest of the students, than I did before she was friends with him. The two seem to work well together – she’s a blonde Royal Princess and he’s definitely not in her social league but he sees her and understands her better than another royal would. Lissa’s story got more and more interesting and I hope that continues to be explored and developed over the books and we get more insight into her mysterious abilities and what it means for her future.

I can see why this series is so popular and it’s bound to get a resurgence in that popularity when the movie is released. I wanted to read the books so that I could go and see the movie without having anything spoiled as I’m so interested in the adaptations of YA novels that are currently in production. The book is filled with interesting characters and a great take on the vampire world – the Moroi are mortal and considered the ‘good’ way to be whereas the Strigoi are immortal and evil. The Dhampirs can only have children by a Moroi, not with each other but do not usually have longlasting relationships as Moroi tend to marry their own and raise more Moroi children. The Dhampir often give their children into service early and continue to serve as guardians to protect the Moroi. This of course throws up more interesting challenges for Rose and Dimitri in the future!

Looking forward to the next book – have requested the following 5 from the library and most are ready to be picked up so I sense a marathon coming on.

9/10

Book #206 of 2013

Counting this one towards my Literary Exploration 2013 challenge in the Paranormal category. It’s book 12 so I still have 24 to go! Really need to get a wriggle on with this one.

 

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