Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

20 reviews

tiana_king's review against another edition

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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Classism, Grief, Kidnapping, and Stalking

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Torture, Sexual content, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Death of parent

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

homesweetread's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional informative slow-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Blood, Body shaming, Torture, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, and Death of parent

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

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. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Toxic relationship, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Self harm, Kidnapping, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gaslighting and Sexual content

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

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

abookishcoffeeholic's review

adventurous dark funny fast-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm

Moderate: Torture

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

sarahsbookss's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-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? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Infidelity, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Bullying, Car accident, Death of parent, Grief, Self harm, Death, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

jenny_librarian's review against another edition

funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

I was surprised by the turns this took. Up until the last minute, it almost seemed like there wouldn’t be any “big bad” the way we’re used to in fantasy YA. It was quite interesting to explore more of the typical school drama in a fantasy way, though it did drag on a bit and became boring at times.

I like the exploration of depression and self-harm. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than I’ve seen in other work. Same for the adult/teen relationship. I was extremely worried by the fact that the author kept mentioning their age difference. Any new mention made it more impossible for them to realistically be together without irking the reader (as it should be, because teacher/student relationships are PROBLEMATIC). And the ending does feel very much Twilight-era, and I don’t doubt they’re gonna end together (🙄) but it at least tried to show that these relationships are unhealthy.

I’m debating whether or not to continue the series. Also, love Christian. Hands down my favourite character.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexism, Mental illness, and Misogyny

Moderate: Kidnapping, Torture, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Acephobia/Arophobia, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, and Ableism