Book 1: Vampire Academy
Synopsis (taken from Goodreads.com):
St. Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger...
Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever.
Thoughts:
Given that I had been having trouble with the narratives in most YA novels as of late, it was really easy to get into this book. Mead has a voice that is consistent and reassuring in a way that I felt convinced with the story. It was really easy for me to accept the VA world and simply put, I really enjoyed it.
I love the pure badassery of Rose and I can relate to her on many levels. I totally understand how she strongly feels about Lissa and how she works with the dynamic of their friendship. The protectiveness she feels and the compulsiveness of her actions remind me of myself a bit...when I was much younger. (Oh god, I'm old.) There is an aspect of Rose that I find a bit disconcerting but I will elaborate more on this in my next review for Book 2 and 3. This is because this quality of hers is more prominent in the next two books.
What strikes me as funny and simply pure genius is that Mead manages to incorporate both paranormal and normal elements very well. Often you will find that the characters in a paranormal novel will act differently and experience very outwordly things and you tend to expect that because it is a paranormal novel. But Mead made her paranormal characters so normal and especially so young adult that you feel that the Moroi and Dhamphirs are a cast from the Gossip Girl series rather than in a vampire book. It makes the characters quite endearing actually.
It is very easy to go through this book and before you know it, you have reached the end. I find that the plot is quite predictable and it didn't take me long to figure out who is the villain. Somebody commented on Goodreads that Book 1 was a big MEH and in my opinion, she/he is not that far off. It is a bit bland for me but it has a lot of potential and everything about the world is so convincing that you would actually go off to read the second book. Even though I felt that the book was just okay, I really did enjoy it so I picked up Book 2. And let me tell you, THAT WAS A FREAKING GREAT DECISION!
Review: 3 out 5
Obsession Review: 4 out of 5
Book 2: Frostbite
Thoughts:
Major turning point for the series for me! I didn't have any high expectations for this book given the amount of pages it has. But Oh My God, I enjoyed this immensely. I devoured the book within a day. Let me just tell you the reasons why I love this book:
a) It was really entertaining to have the whole of St. Vladimir in one ski lodge. Who knew it could be that dramatic and funny and just hsadkhkdhdahj! Some of the characters started to become very witty and I just can't resist wittiness.
b) Introduction to my most favourite character! Adrian Ivashkov. My feelings, I tell you! MY FEELINGS!
c) As the book neared its climax, I thought I had it figured out. Oh no.....there is a twist. And what a twist it is. Although I would like to comment on the nature of an unexpected pairing that made so much sense to me! Rose and Christian are the ultimate partners-in-crime! I love how Mead just pair off unsuspecting characters and throw them into high-need situations! We have seen Rose and Christian work together in Book 1 and we see them again in Book 2. One would typically expect Rose to be with Dimitri or Lissa during these times given their close relationships but they were absent. I love that!
Now onto addressing my issue with Rose. I just find it a tad annoying how Rose refuses to share certain information (which you know will resolve the problem instantly) with others and assumes this martyr-like role. I do understand the whole shadow-kissed thing and why she might find reason in refusing to indulge information with her friends but seriously, I hate it when authors drag out the drama.
Okay, that comment might seemed a bit harsh because the book redeems itself. You don't have to wait till the end for Rose to explain everything to her friends. It happens before anything gets too serious.
Review: 4 out of 5
Obsession Review: 5 out 5
Book 3: Shadow Kiss
Thoughts:
Honestly, the story gets better as you read through the series. Everything just kicks up a notch in Shadow Kiss. There are more pages in this one and things get more complicated. I'm happy to see that Adrian now joins the permanent cast and even Eddie, an unexpected character from Frostbite. I love that readers get to enjoy more of Christian and Adrian's wittiness because their scenes are like the highlight in this book for me. At this point of the story, I find it quite intriguing that Lissa's role is not as prominent as how she was portrayed in Book 1. Granted most of her scenes are told from Rose's POV or when she actually sees her in person but really, her role is quite little in this book. Again the climax of this book is just too good to pass and again, readers will be treated to another twist. It didn't hit me as hard because I don't feel much for the character but if you are, this turning point will hit you HARD. I honestly didn't expect for the series to take this turn.
Review: 4 out of 5
Obsession Review: 4.5 out of 5
My overall complaint(?): I am seriously annoyed with how this series was marketed. When they first came out, I didn't even want to pick them up because the covers are just so tacky and I really hate the text that runs under the main title of the book. I don't really know what those texts are formally called but they are so cheesy! The first editions are really badly designed but the books came out at the height of the vampire craze so it is understandable why many would pick them up anyway. I'm quite satisfied with the new repackaging (note: the RED editions) but they kept the cheesy texts so yeah, you win some you lose some eh?
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