Vampire Academy - Book Review

This past week I've been sucked into the world of Moroi and Dhampir.  I've traveled from Montana to Siberia and taken road trips all over the U.S.  I've had several encounters with the deadly Strigoi, gotten into more fights than Chuck Norris, and fell in love with one hot Russian.  I've been reading Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy books.

This 6-book series is one of the many "vampire" books that has emerged recently, most of them in the Teen Fiction section.  I admit, before walking down this aisle I take a quick peek over my shoulder to make sure nobody is standing behind the closest stack of books and snickering at a grown woman reading "teen" books.  However, sometimes I cross a book, or series of books, that not only is enjoyable by adults as well as teens, but also has the power to transport me from my living room into an undiscovered world.  The Vampire Academy books series is one of these few.

The story is told in 1st person by Rose Hathaway.  Rose is easy to relate with and someone who instantly draws admiration and respect.  I'm sure she would be delighted to hear I consider her a true bad-ass.  She's got fast moves and the attitude to match.  I often caught myself laughing out loud and cheering her on as I read.  Rose is a Dhampir - half human genes and half Moroi genes.  She is training to be a Guardian, who are Dhampir committed to protecting Moroi against the Strigoi. 

Moroi and Strigoi are both vampires with extreme differences.  Moroi are good vampires.  They drink blood, but only from willing humans, can technically be out in the sun, and are mortal.  They are conceived, grow through life, and die.  Moroi also can use elemental magic.  Strigoi are the evil vampires.  They are made by either force or by choice through killing by drinking all the blood from someone.  Strigoi have no sense or right or wrong, cannot go out in sunlight, and have lost their magic.  As you can imagine, the two don't exactly get along.

Rose has interest in protecting only one Moroi, her best friend Lissa.  Rose and Lissa are bonded.  Through that bond we, the readers, are able to not only experience Rose's point of view, but also Lissa's.  Lissa is the last of the royal Dragomir blood line, making her a princess and extremely valuable.  The friendship between these two get tested and grow stronger as the books progress.

With any series, the main character needs to face a series of obstacles to overcome.  It isn't supposed to be easy, and we're supposed to think at times she isn't going to be able to do it.  I will say Mead does a great job with that.  After Book 3 (Shadow Kiss) I was ready to throw the books into a fire and write a scathing e-mail to Mead about her plot.  I'm happy I didn't, but that doesn't change the fact that I was very, very angry with the way things were going.  I truly wasn't happy after Books 4 (Blood Promise) or 5 (Spirit Bound) either.  Let it be known, I read books for the happy endings.  Even when it seems impossible, I want my characters to be happy in the end.  On the flipside of that, if the characters don't struggle enough, their happy ending is too good to be true.  What can I say - I'm picky.

Another thing Mead does with these books that stands out among the other Teen book authors is her character development.  Rose and Lissa grow and mature throughout these books, but they aren't the only ones.  I love to see the secondary characters grow into themselves, and some of them take on a greater part of the story than expected.  It's amazing to watch a character who stays in the background during the first few books suddenly stand up and yell "Hey!  Look at me." 

It would just be wrong to write about the Vampire Academy without mentioning Dimitri.  Oh, hot and sexy Dimitri.  That man is simply edible.  Not that anything was explicitly detailed - much to my regret - but seeing as these books are marketed to teens, I was just happy I got to see Dimitri half naked as often as I did.  Like any other man, Dimitri managed to frustrate me to the point of downright anger.  I was giddy when Rose verbally bitch slapped him a couple of times along the way.  Watching the relationship between Rose and Dimitri progress is a true nail-biter.  The challenges these two face were ones I've never crossed with any of my other male heroes, but through every struggle I never doubted they were meant for each other.  There were times - several in fact - I hadn't a clue how things could possibly turn out for the best for these two, but I, like Rose, fell in love with Dimitri, and I just couldn't give up on him.

Lissa, likewise, has a romantic interest throughout the books.  Christian is supposed to be the bad boy of the school, and he definitely has some serious heart racing qualities.  I immediately liked Christian.  I didn't fall in love with him - how could I when Dimitri had already stolen my heart - but there was something about him that I instantly was drawn to.  I was happy to see Christian get his chance to fight in Book 3.  He's just not the kind of guy to sit on the sidelines.  Although, I will say his and Lissa's relationship didn't seem to grow quite like the way Rose and Dimitri's did.  Obviously, they are two very different relationships, and not that Lissa and Christian didn't have their share of problems, but I didn't feel the progression the same way.  I wish Christian had played a larger role in story in general.  I could have easily fallen in love with him, or at least had one hell of crush.

Overall, the Vampire Academy books were excellently written, timed to perfection, and had very real characters.  It also passed my length test.  I hate skinny books, and Mead's range from 327 to 594.  This will definitely be one of those books I go back to over and over again.  I was a little skeptical in the beginning, the whole vampire-school thing reminded me too much of the School of Night books - I didn't like those very much - and one review told the reader to replace the Twilight books with these.  I was little offended by this as I've already read my Twilight books too many times to count, but luckily there is plenty of room on the shelf for the Vampire Academy novels.  Highly Recommended. 

If you're a fan of things that go bump in the night, romance mixed with ass-kicking, intrigue, and friendship, this is one series you don't want to miss. 

Welcome to La La Land

This is my first blog...ever.  Unless you count Myspace, which I don't (and let's face it, neither do you).  I'm in that fun place in my life when I'm too old to fall back on parents and too young to be taken seriously.  I'm 25, currently unemployed, a college graduate, and I have no idea what my life will be like in 5 months, much less 5 years.  If you're wondering, I'm not unemployed due to laziness or lack of skills.  At my last job, which ended 4 days ago, my boss called me unmotivated and not dedicated to the company.  I can't blame her.  I wasn't motivated and couldn't bring myself to care about a job that was just that...a job.  Not a career, not a life-long dream, not even a place I wanted to wake up in the morning and go to every day.  I'm an English major (which means I realize my last sentence wasn't even a real sentence and I wrote it that way anyways) and there aren't a lot of job opportunities for a writer/editor looking to break into the business.  That is why I decided to start this blog.  As one of my teachers once said, "Writers write," and I haven't been doing a lot of writing lately.  I don't count resumes and job applications.

On a personal note, I live with my boyfriend of nearly 5 years and our 2 dogs, both German Shepherd mixes.  I love my little family.  I love the house we just rented 6 months ago.  I love the little town we moved to so my boyfriend could attend the motorcycle mechanic school he hasn't started yet.  And, there are some days I just want to pull out my hair because I hate feeling lost in life.  If there was a road map for getting from just hanging on to happily ever after I would have bought it, jumped in the car, and followed it a long time ago.  But, there isn't such a map.  It's hard enough to find an on-ramp or exit sign...even the food stops are few and far between.

As a note of caution for those who actually plan on reading this...keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times; this may be a bumpy road.  Welcome to my life, welcome to La La Land

~L.A.