A Reader's Ramble- Vampire Academy

Today for this Reader's Ramble I will be reviewing the first book in the Vampire Academy series, Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead. I probably won't be reviewing the others because I'll just be repeating myself. Maybe I'll review the last book in the series, although.

Page count- 332

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.

Plot- OH MY GOSH! Why did I ever put off reading this?! It's been on my to-read list since February and I just got to it now! Why was I so stupid? 

Everyone raves about how great this series is, *cough* Marisa *cough* Evie *cough* Laura.. but they finally convinced me to read this and I'm so glad they did! 

When I first read the pitch to this, I was a little bit turned off. First, it's fantasy and vampires, my least favorite things in reading. After Twilight started the vampire craze, I was sick, sick, sick of them. Like I never want to read about a vampire for the rest of my life. 

But THESE vampires... hehehe... They are so cool! They don't sparkle like idiot Edward Cullen and be all stupid like he is! I don't even know why I'm comparing this to Twilight.. it's nothing like it.. and IT'S BETTER! WAY BETTER! 

This is such a unique world that hooks you in right away. I can't even pronounce the words Moroi or Dhampir, but they are both such amazing creations. Mead is a genius. The first pages of this book had me going.. WOAH WHAT THE HECK?!? SHE JUST......WHAT? 

But it made me keep reading.

I couldn't put this book down. You can't stand not to know what is happening next. There is everything in this book, it's the full cake with icing and candles too! Action, Drama, Romance, Friendship, Danger, Mystery, and Magic! 

And you know me, I love stories with rumor spreading and friend drama, and this was filled with a lot of that! Romance too. Mead added just the right amount in that you are satisfied with it.

The narration of this is great, I love the voice and the humor. This was just a great story line and I can't wait to read the next one! 

Setting- The coolest place ever, St. Valdimir's Vampire Academy! I loved it. I think it's the perfect place to have this story take place. They are in their own little bubble of life, no stupid humans to get in the way. It's dark, dangerous, scary, and great for vampire teens! 

Theme- I wasn't really thinking about the theme as I read this. But I say that it is caring about other people more than you care about yourself, and bravery. Rose cares so much about her best friend Lissa, and she'd do anything for her even if it would cost her her own life. She's a true guardian. 

Characters- Love, love, love! Even the mean characters, I love them! Even though they are all vampires or guardians of vampires, they are really realistic and relateable. I could see SOME of the things they went through happening at a real high school. 

Rose- MC, Narrator, Dhampir, Gaurdian to Lissa. She was just, wow, wow, wow! I loved her bad ass attitude how she just never backed down from a fight. She always stood up for herself and Lissa, even if that meant a punch in the face here and there. I think she was a great choice to narrate this book, I loved her voice and just overall personality. 

Lissa- Vampire, Rose's best friend, Moroi Princess. I loved her also. She was a good girl and always listened to Rose. She has more power than she's ready for, and I'm hoping it doesn't drive her insane. Just her innocence was really likable. Just a great and unique character with a troubled past. 

All of the minor characters were amazing. Even Mia, the evil little royal wanna-be, was interesting to me. She's that bitch popular girl character that I like to use in my writing. She is a lot stronger than she looks and is always out for revenge, which is a great conflict starter. Some characters that were from the past have a meaning in the story, and I love how Mead incorporated that in.

Characters were just wonderful, all of them. 

Cover- Eh. I like the gates to the Vampire Academy, but the girl on the front really isn't even how I imaged Rose, and that's not even that pretty of a picture either. I don't think it does justice to the greatness of this book.  I would not have picked this up off the shelf unless people told me how good it was. Because, I do judge books by their covers, we all do even if we don't know it. On a positive note, the girl does look sinister and evil like Rose does sometimes. 

Overall- Again, I don't know why I put this off so long. I guess I was nervous about reading it because it has fantasy and vampires. But even for a fantasy hater like myself, that was amazing! No matter what you like, you'll love this series. This is just such a unique and exciting book, Mead is brilliant. I can't wait to read the other books in the series! Sunday needs to come now so I can go get the next one! 

So with that being said, this book gets 5/5 stars! It is one of my favorites and I HIGHLY recommend it to everyone! Read it!