Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

18 reviews

tiana_king's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

This was always my favorite vampire book series. Lots of original content, addressing classism, plenty of drama, and a ton of adventure. My only criticism is that there isn’t a ton of build up for either of the romances. I understand that a decent amount of time passed in the book and the author couldn’t write about every little interaction that made people fall in love but she could’ve spent a smidge more time on it. Other than that a great read with good plot twists! The narrator was good but she said Strigoi weird

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bookswithlauren's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I picked this up out of curiosity for the beloved YA vampire story.
"Vampire Academy" is a YA story that follows Rose, a mix of human and vampire, who is dedicated to protecting Lissa, a Moroi princess. Two years ago, Lissa and Rose ran away from St. Vladimir's academy because of the dangers that lie within its gates. Unfortunately, the pair have finally been caught and are dragged back to the school. Now, the best friends have to work together to protect Lissa from the undead that want to make her one of them.
I never got into the early 2000s obsession with vampires, so out of curiosity, I have been dipping my toes into the vampiric world now (in the 2020s). With that in mind, I did not have very high expectations for this story, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. This novel is definitely not amazingly written, nor do I think it has aged super well, but it was just a fun book about best friends who happen to be vampires.
My absolute favorite aspect of this book was the depiction of Lissa and Rose's friendship. Both of these girls will stop at nothing to help the other. When one of them needs something, both do not hesitate to jump in and help their friend. I love seeing depictions of friendship, especially in a YA book. I think it is so important to highlight the importance of friendships, depict what makes a good friend, and show teenagers that there is more to life than romantic love. I am a firm believer that a soul mate does not have to be a romantic relationship, sometimes the people that light your soul on fire are in fact your friends.
I am definitely intrigued, and I will be curious to pick up the rest of this series. 

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zoeelora's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0


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amandasbooks1's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

These were the books that made me love reading 10 years ago and since the show just aired I decided to re-read them just for fun to see if they hold up in an adults eye. 

I do love Rose and she is the perfect exemple of what I think most YA/NA fantasy MC's lack; confidence. I love that Rose knows she is a bad b*tch and hot enough to get anyone she wants. For young girls to read more of women like her, who arent afraid to love themselves no matter their flaws can change the way the see themselves. 

For the story, these is a good amount of suspense to drive it forward and the writing is ok, not too bad but not the most amazing either. 

One thing that did bother me was that Rose always seemed to figure things out in the right second it was happening or she had figured things out wayyyyy before Lissa or the heavy plotline arrived. That kind of foreshadowing isnt foreshadowing but just a hope the reader wont remember that Rose had already "spoiled" an important twist. But this could also be my eye being on the look out for certain things since I knew it was coming. 

Thoughts on the love relationship between you know who
I didnt see anything wrong with Dimitris and Rose's flirting/relationship when I was 12-14 and reading these books. I thought it was steamy. 
But now that I have been 17 myself the age gap from 17-25 is seriously messed up. Like... very much so!! 
I understand its appeal, because in our heads we dont think of Rose as 17, she acts like she is in her early 20's but she isnt and that just kinda gives me the ick over their relationship. 
AND the reason why Dimitri had a problem with dating A CHILD and his STUDENT was not due to the fact that she is *gasp* A CHILD but for the fact that he might be a sucky guardian if they fell in love. 
Hey I get it, I would throw myself in front of my love too instead of someone I didnt care for, but that could have been angled to the real issue instead of made romantic.
 

In the end, a fast entertaining read with surprising turns and I would recommend it. Tho do look up warnings and triggering topics beforehand bc some of them could be triggering for some people. 


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lmcknight's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

It’s not for me 

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tiana_king's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Phenomenal world building

This was always my favorite vampire book series. Lots of original content, addressing classism, plenty of drama, and a ton of adventure. My only criticism is that there isn’t a ton of build up for either of the romances. I understand that a decent amount of time passed in the book and the author couldn’t write about every little interaction that made people fall in love but she could’ve spent a smidge more time on it. Other than that a great read with good plot twists!

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martamae77's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5


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cgn's review

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adventurous dark lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I had an absolute blast reading this. There were several problematic things I didn’t remember (such as how Rose is 17 when her and Dmitri get together for the first time), but there were some good messages mixed in too, and honestly, I just had fun. I can’t ask for anything more from a 2007 vampire novel

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betweendotsandletters's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

Sagen wirs mal so, mein Lesegeschmack hat sich sehr verändert, seit ich die Vampire Academy Reihe zum ersten Mal gelesen habe.

Ich achte mittlerweile auf so viel mehr, was mir damals nicht auffiel. Es ist für Jugendliche geschrieben und das ist sicherlich ein großer Grund dafür, warum ich für mich nur sagen kann, es war entertainment und okay. 
Das slutshaming und generelles Lästern und Runtermachen der weiblichen Charaktere hat mich doch immer wieder gestört. 

Die Anziehung und sich aufbauende Spannung zwischen Rose und Dimitri wirkte auf mich überhaupt nicht mehr so überzeugend und spannend wie ich es in Erinnerung hatte. Eher stellenweise ein wenig plötzlich und wenig entwickelt, was die Entwicklungen am Ende (obwohl ich wusste was passieren würde) plötzlich und etwas unverhältnismäßig erscheinen ließ. 
Mir ist klar, dass das hier weniger ein Review über die Schwächen und Stärken des Buchs als vielmehr ein Resume meiner Re-Read-Erfahrung ist. Und dazu gehört eben eindeutig auch, dass sich mein Lesegeschmack verändert hat und mich Teenie-Fantasy-Romanzen aus den späten 2000ern nicht mehr so mitreißen, wie mit 13 oder 14.

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