Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy #1) by Richelle Mead

Title: Vampire Academy
Author: Richelle Mead
Type: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy/Sci-Fi
Tea: Pineapple and Blueberry iced tea, a tart and playful punch with a lot beneath the surface.
Rating: 5 out of 5.

So I don't know why I took so long to read Vampire Academy, but oh am I glad I finally did! I was afraid it was going to be like many of the other supernatural private school novels out there today, but it wasn't!

First off Rose is a great main character! I like that we don't read it from the "golden girl's" point of view. As much as I like Lissa, this novel would not be nearly as interesting from her perspective. Rose is funny and snarky and not your typical main character. She's also strong (thank you Richelle Mead). I also like that she starts to mature as a character in this book as well, but it's not rushed like some books are.

I really like the mythology in here, it's very well thought out, as is the world building. You get the characters religion, which is really cool and learn about their saints and people involved. It's interesting that there's two types of vampires (Moroi and Strigoi) and then there's Dhampirs. I think it's a fresh take to see that Dhampirs are stronger than Moroi and are their guardians. For once humans aren't the weak ones. I also like the story behind Strigoi, it's gritty and scary.

Secondly everything ties together really well. Anything that's brought up, such as St. Vladimir and Anna, Ms. Karp, etc., is always mentioned again and not just forgotten. It all relates to the story. I was also very surprised who the bad guy was, I didn't expect that.

Also the twist with Rose and Lissa was great. I kinda figured it out right before I read it, but it still surprised me. I really can't wait to see where Ms. Mead takes it. Also curious to see where she takes Lissa's uncle and what he meant by his cryptic words at the end.

For a first book, this was amazing. It didn't suffer much of first novel syndrome and it made me want to snatch up the second one right when I finished. Can't wait to see where this goes!