Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

33 reviews

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

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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 against another edition

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!

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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.

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

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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

lmcknight's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Blood, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Drug use, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Violence, Animal death, Car accident, Misogyny, Pedophilia, and Suicidal thoughts

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

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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.

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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

madalynmiles's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

i had such a great time reading this. i love all of them so much (especially christian)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Animal death, Blood, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Kidnapping

Minor: Abortion, Alcohol, Bullying, and Fire/Fire injury

readwithchar's review against another edition

adventurous

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Kidnapping, Torture, Death of parent, Mental illness, Self harm, and Animal death

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Grief

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!

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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

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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