The Academy Wasn't The End

"I stared at him incredulously, too shocked to even come up with a response.
What did a Moroi know about weight gain? 
They had perfect figures. 
They didn't know what it was like to look in the mirror and see inadequacy, 
to never feel good enough. 
It was effortless for them, 
whereas no matter how hard I worked, 
I never seemed to match their inhuman perfection."

--Richelle Mead, Bloodlines

Genre: YA Paranormal

Publisher: Razorbill, 429 pages

Publication Date: August 23rd, 2011

Source: Bought...obvi

Goodreads

Goodreads Description

Blood doesn't lie...

Sydney is an alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of human and vampires. They protect vampire secrets - and human lives. When Sydney is torn from her bed in the middle of the night, at first she thinks she's still being punished for her complicated alliance with dhampir Rose Hathaway. But what unfolds is far worse. Jill Dragomir - the sister of Moroi Queen Lissa Dragomir - is in mortal danger, and the Moroi must send her into hiding. To avoid a civil war, Sydney is called upon to act as Jill's guardian and protector, posing as her roommate in the last place anyone would think to look for vampire royalty - a human boarding school in Palm Springs, California. But instead of finding safety at Amberwood Prep, Sydney discovers the drama is only just beginning...span>

My Thoughts


*sigh* It feels good to be back. I gave myself a mental week off from the fabulous world of the Moroi and dhampir and now I'm back and more excited than ever to see where our story goes. While I wasn't a huge fan of Sydney in Vampire Academy, the fact that I knew Adrian was a huge component in this series MORE than made up for my lack of initial warmth towards her.

So this spin-off brings us Sydney, taking a job helping to protect Jill Dragomir because an attack was made on her life so she has to go into hiding. Along with Jill, we get Adrian and Eddie (oh hey boy! How you doin'?!) and we also meet Clarence, Lee and Keith (another Alchemist...he's a huge prick by the way). Solely with the addition of Adrian and Eddie, I'm loving this book already. Gotta say, once again, I'm loving the boarding school scene. We don't see too much of it but it just being there is enough. 

I love how the plot and story line unfolds in this newest installment. I think the pacing is fantastic and there is a perfect amount of mystery and intrigue to keep you reading into the night...it definitely did for me. I really was curious as to how Richelle Mead was going to twist the story to give us another whole series and I'm liking what she did so far. There is a lot of room to move and breath and develop things in an infinite amount of ways. 

Our main players. Let's start with Sydney. Like I said, not a huge fan of her from the get-go. I liked her enough, I liked that she helped Rose and Dimitri, but the qualities I didn't like in Vampire Academy were magnified in this book. Which brings me to another point actually. What I liked least about Sydney was her very black and white view of the vampires. The fact that she was brought up with such bigoted and hate-fueled views was really sad. I know it propels the story line so it has to be there, but it is still very hard to read about. I wanna just scream at some of these Alchemists and say WE'RE ALL PEOPLE AREN'T WE?! WHAT THE HELL MAKES YOU SO HIGH AND MIGHTY!? Ugh, some of the characters are just so close-minded. I can't wait to see Sydney start breaking out of this mindset.

OH but what sold me on Sydney...my quote at the top. Once I read that I felt connected to her in a way I didn't think was going to happen. I can understand her need for control and trying to be perfect and live up to expectations. I just love her so much more because of this. It's just something I get and I'm glad we were able to see a little bit more emotional insight to her...totally made her so much more :)  

Adrian...Whew, was I glad to see him. I LOVED him in Vampire Academy and while I never wanted him to be with Rose I do definitely want him to have a happy ending...preferably with lots of kissing involved. I LOVED seeing his transformation in this book. I did not like how, forgive me, useless he was in Vampire Academy in the physical sense. It just seems so weird to me that a young, handsome guy wouldn't want to know how to defend himself. Man up, bro. His change in attitude into wanting to be more and take responsibility for himself was just amazing. And his art?!?! Swoooooooon!!! I want more of this immediately!

I loved being back into the world of the vamps. It was also amazing to get a peek at a few of our favorites from books before :) I can't wait to see where this story goes! Eep!

Should You Read This? Psha, yeah!! If you loved the Vampire Academy ( uh, who doesn't) then you will love this as well. While, in my humble opinion, it will not replace the epicness that is Vampire Academy, it is an amazing spin-off to continue our story with :)