Vampire Academy: A Diamond in the Rough

Jul 16, 2010 23:15

There are so many books that I have reviewed that I didn't care for or find mediocre at best. So I happy to finally be talking about a book series that I hold in high esteem. That is the Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead.




Now at face value I can totally understand why people would be put off by this book series. The covers and title make it seem like another mindless vampire romance riding on the coattails of Twilight and House of Night. If I hadn't read these books when I did I'd probably feel the exact same way. The YA supernatural genre has been filled with so much mediocrity that finding a diamond in the rough is difficult. Well this series is my Aladdin.




The plot of the books centers around Rose Hathaway and her best friend Lissa. They live in a world were there are three types of vampires: Strigoi (undead vampires=evil), Moroi (living vampires=good) and Dhampir (half-breed vampires). The Strigoi want to kill all Moroi, especially the ones of royal blood, like Lissa. The Moroi, while having the ability to control magic, have become passive and rely on Dhampir bodyguards called Guardians to defend them from these Strigoi. Most Moroi are able to control one element: Air, Water, Earth or Fire. However there is a fifth, rare element called Spirit.

One of the interesting things about the series is the political dynamic between the Dhampir and Moroi. The Dhampirs have been raised from birth to protect and serve the Moroi having been instilled with the mantra of "they come first" from the moment they enter the academy. It has become so engraved into their minds that many of them do not realize the slave like traits of this relationship. From eighteen on these young men and women are to be shadows to these Moroi, not allowed to have their own lives and must be willing to risk their own without question. Many of them are not even able to raise their children.

This issue comes back throughout the books and the primary antagonist tries to use this argument to justify his actions in trying to rebel against the system that has been put up by the Moroi.

Now onto the characters.

Rose is the main lead and POV in which the books take place. In the first book, Rose can be a little Sue-ish and unlikable, however she grows up throughout the books and becomes a very complex, but enjoyable character. She is a Dhampir.

Lissa, is Rose's best friend and is the last of a royal bloodline as well as being one of the rare Sprit Users in the Vampire Academy Universe. She can be called our Co-Protagonist. Many of the events in the book circle on the bond shared between the two girls. Both as a friendship and as part of the political issues mentioned before. Lissa is one the characters that I started off hating, but in the last book (Spirit Bound) her character development filled me with so much respect for her.

Dimitri is our primary love interest and Rose's teacher. Dimitri is an interesting character in his own right, although we do initially only care about him because of his May-December relationship with Rose. His character becomes more developed as the series progresses.

There are other interesting characters: Adrian, Christian, Mia, etc. however I want to give you the opportunity to find out about them on your own.

As much as I enjoy these books they are not perfect. Rose's Sue-Like qualities weaken the first book a little, but the development she gets in the second book turned my mind. The fourth book I hold in lesser esteem because it brought the romance to the forefront something the other books were good at not doing. Rose became less of an action chick in this book and more of a love interest. It was still a good book, but it is a slower read than the rest, plus there are some moments were I was like "Really?"

Final Grade: A- Due to a solid group of characters, an actual plot going on-not just a romance, plus a romance that actually gets developed I give this series an A- . It has two books that bring it down, but all and all I think these books are worth checking out. Read the first three and if you don't come back for more I will give you a personal apology.

Individual Book Grades:

Vampire Academy: B+
Frostbite: A
Shadow Kissed: A+
Blood Promise: B
Spirit Bound: A+

richelle mead, dimitri, rose hathaway, melina pendulum, book review, lissa, vampire academy, christian, adrian

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