Panty-Dropping Russian Bastard

"Only a true best friend 

can protect you from your immortal enemies."

--Richelle Mead, Vampire Academy

Genre: YA Paranormal

Publisher: Razorbill, 332 pages

Publication Date: January 1st, 2007

Source: Bought

Goodreads

Goodreads Description

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.

My Thoughts

Welcome! To the Main Event!! I have found the Vampire Academy books and from this day forward and for the next 2 weeks my blog will be FILLED with all things Vampire Academy and then onto Bloodlines!! Eep!! So welcome, to the impromptu VA marathon on the blog. Hope you enjoy and I hope you can share your VA love OR start reading them...either way! Ok, so here we go!

Um...riiiiight....where do I even begin? I am not a fan of vampires as a rule. Which is why I stayed away from this series for so long. Not gonna lie, the craziness of Twilight turned me off. And these covers...um, not my style. BUT I have some VERY fabulous friends (cough Book Rock Betty cough) who, with the exception of threatening physical harm, told me I NEED to read these books. Like there was no other option. I would fall in love with Dimitri, Rose is kickass, yadda yadda yadda. Yeah ok, Betty, I mean how good could these be...this is where I insert my foot in my mouth, no wait, probably my entire leg...no, let's be honest, I should probably find a way to invert my entire body because these books were FUCKING' amazing. Oh yeah, I should mention that I WILL be using curse words in ALL of my VA reviews. It doesn't do them justice otherwise...and Rose would totally approve. 

Ok, so let's start with the story. It took me awhile to wrap my head around the details and rules of this vampire world. Moroi, dhampir, Strigoi, royal, non-royal, who drinks blood, who has fangs, etc. It was a bit confusing at first but you eventually get the swing of things. Richelle Mead knows how to write a story. I will say this in every review. She keeps you on your toes. The mystery is always suspenseful. She keeps you guessing almost the whole way through...except for me when I figured everything out at page 240-something. You'll see below :) It is just an amazing story!

Rose. Uh, move over Katniss and Tris there is a new sheriff in town and this badass bitch's name is Rose Hathaway. I had heard she was pretty cool and that might be the understatement of the century. This. Girl. Is. Fierce. She speaks her mind, she stands up for what she thinks is right, she is loyal beyond a shadow of a doubt to those she loves, and she can kick major ass. I want to be her. I loved her smart mouth and sarcastic attitude about everything. She had no problem talking back. LOVE. I just loved her. I legit fell in love with her character in the first 4 pages...right after she tells the story about how she called her teacher a fascist bastard in kindergarten...yep, she stole my heart right there and won my #1 female heroine award. That is not easy.

Rose is bound to Lissa, the last of the Dragomir family and also a Princess. I thought I would dislike Lissa a lot more. I never understand the weaker character and I thought that is who she would be. How wrong I was. She is strong in her own way. She recognizes where her faults and weaknesses lie and tries her best to compensate for them in other ways. LOVED this. Her and Lissa are so perfect together. I love their friendship and you know they would do anything for one another. 

I went back and forth between respecting the entire idea of dhampirs and their sacrifice of their own life for the Moroi...but at the same time the fact that their race is so weak and depend on others to protect them didn't sit well. Obviously this is where the entire book comes from but it still makes me sad to think any dhampir really doesn't have the chance for a real life...or children...if they still want to be a guardian. This idea is obviously explored throughout the book and I loved the debate about it over the entire story line.

Now. Dimitri. Holy 10 alarm fire, this man is HOT. Russian. Badass. Trained fighter and best guardian around. Tall. Hot. Russian. Hot. Tall. Hot...did I mention he was hot? Holy hell, Betty was right. I loved his quiet demeanor, his constant patience and need to be in control. He is just perfection. Read: sexy. Shit man. Him and Rose are just...ae;lrkfjsdlk;fjewoi. Their sexual tension is palpable and you are just screaming at them to get it on already! They are on fire. I could NOT get enough.

Ok. So, just like Betty said, I would love these books. And I did. Obsess. Adored. Fell in love with. LOVE LOVE LOVE! I can't stop reading. I can't get enough. I can't wait to kep reading....EEEP! So...

Should You Read This? Holy crap YES!!  What the hell are you waiting for?! Go get it now, take a week off of work, grab all 6 books and binge read until you are done. Enjoy.

Below are my screen shots of texts back and forth while I was reading. I hope you enjoy these as much as I do. :) WARNING: THERE ARE SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE BOOK....READER BEWARE!!

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Uh so yeah, those are my thoughts while reading...sorry not sorry. :)