Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

15 reviews

atherius's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death

Minor: Terminal illness and Suicidal thoughts

dreamingelfhame's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

I remembered a few major moments from the first time I read it, but I enjoined it a lot and liked Christian a lot. I’m not sure about Rose, but I guess I’ll decide after reading the next book, I thought she was a bit annoying sometimes, but she’s just 17 I guess 🤷‍♀️

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Self harm, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Terminal illness, Torture, Bullying, and Classism

Minor: Suicide attempt, Car accident, and Death of parent

sweetchocolatez's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Kidnapping, Self harm, Sexism, Animal death, Sexual harassment, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Misogyny

Moderate: Chronic illness, Murder, Terminal illness, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Classism, Infidelity, Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, and Mental illness

Minor: Pregnancy, Stalking, Abortion, Death of parent, Grief, War, Death, Suicide attempt, and Cursing

zoeelora's review against another edition

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

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Gore, Medical content, Terminal illness, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Classism, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Sexual content, Torture, Bullying, Cursing, Kidnapping, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Blood, Mental illness, Car accident, and Physical abuse

elskabee's review

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Anything over a 3.5 for this would be generous despite my nostalgia.

This is my first time rereading this book in over ten years and I liked it more than I was worried. I can't say it has aged amazingly, but most of the difficult topics (self-harm and depression, age gap crushes) are dealt with in a way that never glamourises or romanticises and even has some good healthy takeaways by the end. I do however wish that conversations around slut-shaming and bullying were handled a bit better. The former simply had a messy message and seemed to contradict itself, the latter not seriously acknowledged despite how prominent the bullying/school drama plotlines are throughout.

The writing style is very simple and easy to read which is fine, but older readers might find it a bit lacking. I found the multiple plot elements enough to hold interest. The school politics wore on me a bit, whereas the journey Rose goes on to learn to be more responsible and trust people around her was well done imo. I also really enjoyed the worldbuilding of the vampire society and how the school is run. I think the author put a lot of thought into the position each character in the book has in society and how that affects their choices and how they treat others. Most of the time they treat each other poorly! but societal pressure and petty teenage angst create a pressure cooker environment in the school that is palpable. Rose in particular is mean to almost everyone except Lissa, which is acknowledged in the book and honestly just made me like Rose more. Give me petty teenage characters that get angry and mess up (Not perfect and bland protags that have no room for growth)

Anyway, this book despite its length has a lot going on and although it is very much a vampire YA book published in 2007, I did enjoy my time reading it!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Self harm

Moderate: Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, and Kidnapping

Minor: Death of parent, Alcohol, and Terminal illness

The adult/minor relationship is between a 17 year old and a 25 year old. He is her mentor and never pressures her and in fact actively avoids pursuing her. The minor doesn't spend much time pursuing him but does think about her attraction to him and internally acknowledges that the relationship probably shouldn't happen due to the age gap between them. Near the end of the book

they engage in a lot of kissing which she is undressed for while they are both under the influence of a lust spell. He regrets it and wants her to report him and accepts that he would likely get fired as a consequence, though she does not.

Also later in the series

they do eventually get together.

hoffmann's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

If you liked Twilight, but wished it wasn’t problematic garbage- this might be for you!! it’s sexy, stupid teens, who are also vampires. What could go wrong? 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Blood, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death of parent, Death, and Animal death

Minor: Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Terminal illness, and Murder

the_escapist's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted tense fast-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Classism, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Self harm, Car accident, and Blood

Minor: Abandonment, Addiction, Sexual assault, Animal death, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Torture, Terminal illness, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Gore, and Animal cruelty

tiana_king's review against another edition

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!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Animal death, Self harm, Terminal illness, Torture, Grief, Medical trauma, and Classism

Moderate: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Car accident, Adult/minor relationship, and Kidnapping

Minor: Sexual content, Abortion, and Death of parent

martamae77's review against another edition

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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Kidnapping, Toxic friendship, Blood, and Mental illness

Moderate: Terminal illness, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Torture, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Gun violence

cgn's review

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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Adult/minor relationship, and Blood

Moderate: Mental illness, Self harm, Murder, Sexual content, Car accident, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, and Violence

Minor: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Death of parent