Vampire Academy (Book #1) by Richelle Mead

Vampire Academy (Book #1) by Richelle Mead

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Release Date: August 16th 2007
Publisher: Razorbill
Page Count: Paperback, 332 pages
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal

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. - Good Reads

Before I get to picking on Vampire Academy, I will say I did like it this book and will continue on with the series...

But there were flaws. Flaws that personally irritated me and probably wouldn't bother the majority of the readers. The author brought the Russian Orthodox Church into the book, yet all her references were wrong. It isn't "mass", it's "Divine Liturgy". We cover our heads in church, we cross ourselves upon entering, we light candles and there are no long sermons and no sitting down. The "long boring sermons" part really irritated me. There aren't really any long sermons in the Orthodox church, just brief messages towards the end, but that's the quickest part of the service. It would have been better if the church would have been neutral and she hadn't picked a denomination. It would have been even better if she put effort forth to research it since I see how she wanted to tie it in with the Russian and Romanian background. The majority of Russians and Romanians being Orthodox Christians and all.

The other thing that bothered me and I might just be going overboard with this, but Lissa is not the nickname for Vasilisa, nor could it be. Vasilisa is pronounced "Vah-see-leesa". Leesa sounding like Lisa. So, Lisa would be a more valid nickname, though the nickname for Vasilisa is actually Vasya or Vasyona. Rose mentioned that she liked her "American" version better, which would had to of made it Lisa. Also, the female guardian with Dimitri who's first name slipped my head had the last name "Petrov". She's a girl, so it would be Petrova. Like in my instance my husband is Kurlykov and I'm Kurlykova.

Now, putting that aside it was an interesting read and it did drag me in. At first I didn't like Rose much at all. But she did show some growth throughout the book and by the end I warmed up to her a little more. I'm hoping for more growth and maturity in the coming books. I was kept in suspense throughout Vampire Academy and I honestly didn't know who done it for a long time. I only figured it out right before Rose did. Rose could be a little too self-confident for my taste at times and I was ready to reach in the book and slap her for being such a jackass sometimes and then other times I wanted to reach in and shake her for being so passive. Sometimes the way she referred to Dmitri was silly and immature. The whole 'badass god' thing got old. It's cool that he's strong, but it would have been nice if the vocabulary expanded. The writing wasn't amazing and a lot of phrases were reused, but I think the story was interesting enough for me to put that aside and enjoy it. I really like the fact that we get to see Lissa's views through Rose. That really enhanced the story and I loved her character.

What I really liked about this book was the lore though. Vampires are an interesting subject, but everyone represents them differently and I really liked Richelle's version of vampires and the whole world she's created. 

I checked this out from the library, but I think it's something I'll buy if I turn out to like the rest of the series. Which I'll admit I want to read ASAP. I'M SO MAD THE LIBRARY IS CLOSED RIGHT NOW AND TOMORROW I'LL BE BUSY ALL DAMN DAY, SO I HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL THURSDAY.  So, there. I liked it enough!