2-in-1 Review! Vampire Academy

Basic Information
Title: Vampire Academy Series
Author: Richelle Mead
Publisher/Publish Date: The Penguin Group (razOr bill)/ August 2007 (date of first novel)
Pages: Books 1-3 about 400, books 4-6 about 500-550
Sales Rank(B=Book + the book number): B1-123/B2-244/B3-462/B4-467/B5-284/B6-33
Rating for the series: 5/5
Rating for Last Sacrifice: 4 and 1/2 out of 5


Synopsis
Vampire Academy (Book 1)

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.

Last Sacrifice (Book 6)

The astonishing final novel in Richelle Mead's epic series!

Murder. Love. Jealousy. And the ultimate sacrifice. Now, with Rose on trial for her life and Lissa first in line for the Royal Throne, nothing will ever be the same between them.

Review

Okay so this is a 2-in-1 review because I'm going to review the Vampire Academy series as a whole, but I'm also going to do a mini review on the book Last Sacrifice which is the last book in the series. I'm focusing a bit more on that one because it is the ending to my favorite book series of all time, and because it's the most recent of the books (so I'll be careful of spoilers!).

 So first off, this series as a whole is just, amazing. Series like the Hunger Games and Harry Potter were amazing as well, but for me those books had up and down moments. While I know this won't be the case for everyone, I was always constantly happy with the outcome of the book, as well as the writing of Richelle Mead. I feel strongly that this series will leave a deep impression on you in a positive way whether it be the plot, the characters, or the romance. The storyline is very original and for the first time in a while, I found myself analyzing the actual writing of the author instead of just the plot. The reason why I was able to pay so much attention to her writing is because Richelle Mead made it that way. Her writing not only drew me into the plot, but it made me stop and realize how much thought she was putting into these novels. When you are able to gather from an author's writing how much time and effort she put into this novel, you will be able to:

• Know that the book will be amazing just because of the amount of work and dedication she is putting into it.
• You'll know that when she was writing this, she had her fans in mind and wrote this amazing book because she truly cares about them.

and lastly

• The author's writing becomes more realistic and that creates an opportunity for readers to really connect to the characters and their situations.

That's how I felt when reading this book. For a book about supernatural beings, Mead really made their situations relatable by keeping the journey of Rose and Lissa the dominant part of the story. I mean, Rose kicks Strigoi butt and trains 24-7 at a school specifically made for half vampires like her, but she still deals with guy trouble and the fact that she's running out of her favorite lipgloss. These little tidbits really make the characters real, because when I think of Lissa, I don't think of her as vampire royalty. I think of her as Rose's best friend who is elegant, smart, independent, and the one who will always be there for Rose, even if Rose is the one who is supposed to be protecting her. When I think of Rose, I think of this beautiful yet fierce girl who is in love with someone she shouldn't be, and even though she is amazingly strong she needs someone to save her every once in a while too. The strong characters make this series an exciting read, and the love triangles make it all the more interesting. 

For those of you have read Last Sacrifice....


OHMYGOD.


How many of you agree with me that it was just AHMAYZING? My gosh Richelle Mead never disappoints. Each book came with twists and moments that just made my mouth drop. Like this ------> :O I think Richelle did a pretty good job at keeping the ending with the love triangle kind of hush hush, I mean it's hard to keep it a secret but still I think she did a good job of giving page time to both Adrian and Dimitri. But what I really like is that the book didn't stray from its original purpose and focus on the romance. This book showed plenty Rose/Strigoi action and had A LOT of character development. Lissa finally sticks up for herself and Rose starts to accept her vulnerability. The reason why i gave this a 4 1/2 was because it was a little open ended. I know that there are a lot of....constraints when it comes to writing, including the amount of pages and such, and I was actually very pleased with the ending. But I still felt that a few important characters didn't get their last chance to shine in the end and it was a "everything will work itself out even if you don't read about it" type of ending you know? But otherwise I loved loved loved the ending and for those of you who still haven't started the series, I suggest you do, even if its only to read this last book!