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scarlettereads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
I first read Vampire Academy when I was fifteen, and wow was fifteen year old me powerful, because this is pretty bad and I thought about calling it quits a whole lot.
I’m going to put some of that down to the audio narrator who shouldn’t try for a Russian accent for any reason at all, but a lot of it is down to the writing.
The major issue I take with this book (and I felt the same fifteen years ago), is that the love interest is literally a paedophile. What was it about the 2000s that had YA authors writing about “older guy” love interests like their lives depended on it?
I hated Dimitri Belikov way back when, and I hate him even more now.
This is going to sound extremely bizarre, and perhaps it’s like when Michael Gary Scott imagined a unicorn before he’d ever seen one but hear me out: Before I even knew of the existence of Tommy Wiseau it was Tommy Wiseau who I pictured when I pictured Dimitri. To fifteen year old me that was how much older than seventeen a twenty-four year old looked. Also, how the hell did I do that?
Even after watching the terrible but bingeable TV adaptation where Dimitri is just some British guy who slipped into a sort of Russian accent about twice, I still see Tommy Wiseau when I picture Dimitri Belikov. Just wearing a leather duster coat and fewer belts.
Is it kind of iconic of me to read a book with a love interest who is kind of part vampire, who looks EXACTLY like TOMMY WISEAU, who I believe to be kind of part vampire—it explains a lot about him, just think on it for a minute—when I had never seen or heard of Tommy W? Incredibly. The accent is somewhere in the wheelhouse of what the audiobook performer went with, so why the hell not?
(But my sincerest apologies to Mr. Wiseau for picturing him when I envisioned a child predator in 2009. I know now that he’s just an “American guy” who is so super good at playing “American football” but is probably not a fan of garlic or holy water.
Anyway, this book is bad. Rose is pretty horrible. Dimitri is literally a paedophile. Etc etc etc. How the librarians at my catholic high school snuck this series onto the shelves I’ll never know, but I kind of wish they hadn’t 😬
I’m going to put some of that down to the audio narrator who shouldn’t try for a Russian accent for any reason at all, but a lot of it is down to the writing.
The major issue I take with this book (and I felt the same fifteen years ago), is that the love interest is literally a paedophile. What was it about the 2000s that had YA authors writing about “older guy” love interests like their lives depended on it?
I hated Dimitri Belikov way back when, and I hate him even more now.
This is going to sound extremely bizarre, and perhaps it’s like when Michael Gary Scott imagined a unicorn before he’d ever seen one but hear me out: Before I even knew of the existence of Tommy Wiseau it was Tommy Wiseau who I pictured when I pictured Dimitri. To fifteen year old me that was how much older than seventeen a twenty-four year old looked. Also, how the hell did I do that?
Even after watching the terrible but bingeable TV adaptation where Dimitri is just some British guy who slipped into a sort of Russian accent about twice, I still see Tommy Wiseau when I picture Dimitri Belikov. Just wearing a leather duster coat and fewer belts.
Is it kind of iconic of me to read a book with a love interest who is kind of part vampire, who looks EXACTLY like TOMMY WISEAU, who I believe to be kind of part vampire—it explains a lot about him, just think on it for a minute—when I had never seen or heard of Tommy W? Incredibly. The accent is somewhere in the wheelhouse of what the audiobook performer went with, so why the hell not?
(But my sincerest apologies to Mr. Wiseau for picturing him when I envisioned a child predator in 2009. I know now that he’s just an “American guy” who is so super good at playing “American football” but is probably not a fan of garlic or holy water.
Anyway, this book is bad. Rose is pretty horrible. Dimitri is literally a paedophile. Etc etc etc. How the librarians at my catholic high school snuck this series onto the shelves I’ll never know, but I kind of wish they hadn’t 😬
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Violence, Mental illness, Animal death, Blood, and Grief
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.
"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
welladjustedgirl's review against another edition
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Sexual assault
noellelovesbooks's review against another edition
4.25
Content Warnings: Self-harm [cutting], animal death/animal cruelty, blood, bullying, death, murder, suicidal ideations, violence, sexism, grief, torture, sexual harassment, sexual assault, age gap [17 and 24], toxic relationships, homophobia, sexual content, forced institutionalization, ableism, and stalking.
Decided it was time for a re-read ahead of binging through the new Peacock show.
A few summers ago I binged through the entire series, so fast, I could not remember what happened per book. Rereading at a slower pace while annotating, highlighting, and writing summaries every 50 pages was fun and will make it easier to remember in the future. 😅
We get a bit of a slow start as the girls are forced out of hiding and returned to the academy. As the girls attempt to readjust to living among their peers we slowly start to unravel the mystery of why they left while also being introduced to a few new mysteries.
This book was so much to reread and re-immerse myself in. I absolutely adore Rose and Lissa, the strong bond they share, and their fierce desire to protect each other. 💜
Decided it was time for a re-read ahead of binging through the new Peacock show.
A few summers ago I binged through the entire series, so fast, I could not remember what happened per book. Rereading at a slower pace while annotating, highlighting, and writing summaries every 50 pages was fun and will make it easier to remember in the future. 😅
We get a bit of a slow start as the girls are forced out of hiding and returned to the academy. As the girls attempt to readjust to living among their peers we slowly start to unravel the mystery of why they left while also being introduced to a few new mysteries.
This book was so much to reread and re-immerse myself in. I absolutely adore Rose and Lissa, the strong bond they share, and their fierce desire to protect each other. 💜
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Blood, Sexual harassment, Violence, Ableism, Self harm, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Stalking, Bullying, Toxic friendship, and Homophobia
chelsearowan's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
iviarelle's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
2022
Early on I thought I would revise my original rating more, but having finished it... Not so much. It's very 2007, from the mutual crush on a teacher (though not followed through on) to the extremely awkward handling of self harm and depression, from the Not Like Other Girls to the style and structure of the plot itself.
It's not an unpleasant read but it needs the "aged like bread" warning before you head in. Some of it still looks fine but there's some faintly blue fuzz on one corner of the loaf.
Also, I'm endlessly amused by "I'll read more!" and then proceeding to read exactly 0 further pages in 6 years. This time maybe!
=====
2016
The pacing is a little bit off for me, but this book kept me reading to the end and I'll probably read more of the series which is more than I can say for some books!
Early on I thought I would revise my original rating more, but having finished it... Not so much. It's very 2007, from the mutual crush on a teacher (though not followed through on) to the extremely awkward handling of self harm and depression, from the Not Like Other Girls to the style and structure of the plot itself.
It's not an unpleasant read but it needs the "aged like bread" warning before you head in. Some of it still looks fine but there's some faintly blue fuzz on one corner of the loaf.
Also, I'm endlessly amused by "I'll read more!" and then proceeding to read exactly 0 further pages in 6 years. This time maybe!
=====
2016
The pacing is a little bit off for me, but this book kept me reading to the end and I'll probably read more of the series which is more than I can say for some books!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Death, Classism, Self harm, Kidnapping, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Grief, Car accident, Blood, Torture, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Animal death, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Death of parent, Infidelity, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Terminal illness, Adult/minor relationship, and Physical abuse
Minor: Addiction, Drug use, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, and Outing
More...