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madscibrarian 's review for:
Vampire Academy: The Untold Stories
by Richelle Mead
I want to say I was pleasantly surprised. I can't quite say that since a lot of BookTubers/Reviewers I follow insist that this is a good series. I never picked it up because it appeared around the Twilight era and I was sick of dreamy vampires and then the concept of a school for vampires sounded dumb. (And to top it off, the cover is not pretty, either). However, I saw it in the library and decided to finally give it a try.
It IS very good. I love the relationship between the two main characters, Rose and Lissa. Lissa is a Moroi Royal, a mortal vampire who can perform magic and Rose is her guardian, a dhampir (half-human-vampire) who is sworn to protect her at all costs. Rose protects Lissa mainly from Strigoi, vampires who were once Moroi but killed a human (or where forcefully turned) to become an immortal vampire. Moroi are able to use magic, but Strigoi lose that ability in order to gain a lot of supernatural strength on top of usual heightened vampire senses (and be immortal). Strigoi thirst for blood badly and kill humans for it while Moroi drink blood from volunteers just to keep their strength but don't crave it as uncontrollably.
I went a bit off track there, but the friendship and bind between Lissa and Rose is great. It's nice to see a story where friendship triumphs romance. Don't get me wrong, there is romance, but it doesn't outshine the dedication Rose has to protect Lissa. Though the story is told in Rose's POV and it appears that Rose is perhaps more dedicated to Lissa than the other way around, throughout the story is is shown that Lissa cares for Rose just as much.
The academy setting itself is that Rose and Lissa attend this college-like high school to learn of the Moroi culture/lifestyle, general high school classes, and then either magic classes for Lissa or guardian/fighting classes for Rose. The setting allows for typical high school drama, too, and as I said it allows for a college-like setting for a teenage audience, but it isn't that focused on classes and learning. Don't think that is like that even though the title makes it seem that way. It is more about learning about Lissa's potential as a vampire Royal and how to keep her safe from the wrong people. I don't want to give too much away, so I will leave it at that.
As for the romance, both Lissa and Rose have love interests. I love Lissa's love interest, and that may be in part because I relate more to Lissa, a nice, follows-the-rules, blond, girl (versus Rose who is kick-butt outspoken party-goer), but he is great. Just great. He gives off a shady bad boy appearance with his emo past, but its great, I swear. Rose's love interest is a nice match for Rose. That's all I will say for him (though I imagine him more hunky than Lissa's). I definitely have a crush on Lissa's. ;P
It is a simple writing style, making it a quick read, but totally worth it. I am moving soon, so I won't be getting the next book from the library that quickly, but I would like to continue the series.
It IS very good. I love the relationship between the two main characters, Rose and Lissa. Lissa is a Moroi Royal, a mortal vampire who can perform magic and Rose is her guardian, a dhampir (half-human-vampire) who is sworn to protect her at all costs. Rose protects Lissa mainly from Strigoi, vampires who were once Moroi but killed a human (or where forcefully turned) to become an immortal vampire. Moroi are able to use magic, but Strigoi lose that ability in order to gain a lot of supernatural strength on top of usual heightened vampire senses (and be immortal). Strigoi thirst for blood badly and kill humans for it while Moroi drink blood from volunteers just to keep their strength but don't crave it as uncontrollably.
I went a bit off track there, but the friendship and bind between Lissa and Rose is great. It's nice to see a story where friendship triumphs romance. Don't get me wrong, there is romance, but it doesn't outshine the dedication Rose has to protect Lissa. Though the story is told in Rose's POV and it appears that Rose is perhaps more dedicated to Lissa than the other way around, throughout the story is is shown that Lissa cares for Rose just as much.
The academy setting itself is that Rose and Lissa attend this college-like high school to learn of the Moroi culture/lifestyle, general high school classes, and then either magic classes for Lissa or guardian/fighting classes for Rose. The setting allows for typical high school drama, too, and as I said it allows for a college-like setting for a teenage audience, but it isn't that focused on classes and learning. Don't think that is like that even though the title makes it seem that way. It is more about learning about Lissa's potential as a vampire Royal and how to keep her safe from the wrong people. I don't want to give too much away, so I will leave it at that.
As for the romance, both Lissa and Rose have love interests. I love Lissa's love interest, and that may be in part because I relate more to Lissa, a nice, follows-the-rules, blond, girl (versus Rose who is kick-butt outspoken party-goer), but he is great. Just great. He gives off a shady bad boy appearance with his emo past, but its great, I swear. Rose's love interest is a nice match for Rose. That's all I will say for him (though I imagine him more hunky than Lissa's). I definitely have a crush on Lissa's. ;P
It is a simple writing style, making it a quick read, but totally worth it. I am moving soon, so I won't be getting the next book from the library that quickly, but I would like to continue the series.