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Vampire Academy
Vampire Academy - The Ultimate Guide
Prepare to be Tested.
The story that kicked off the international #1 bestselling Vampire Academy series is NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE.
Read it Before it Hits Theaters February 14th, 2014!
The official guide to the #1 international bestselling Vampire Academy series
Sink your teeth into the perfect holiday gift and must-have collector's item for every fan of Richelle Mead's totally addicting Vampire Academy series.
Discover the history of St. Vladimir's Academy, explore the dark psychology behind Rose and Lissa's spirit bond, and find out even more illicit secrets about Moroi society. This ultimate guide will feature everything readers want and need to go even deeper into the world of Vampire Academy, Frostbite, Shadow Kiss, Blood Promise, Spirit Bound, and Last Sacrifice . . . every heartache, every betrayal, every sacrifice, and so much more!
The story that kicked off the international #1 bestselling Vampire Academy series is NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE.
Read it Before it Hits Theaters February 14th, 2014!
The official guide to the #1 international bestselling Vampire Academy series
Sink your teeth into the perfect holiday gift and must-have collector's item for every fan of Richelle Mead's totally addicting Vampire Academy series.
Discover the history of St. Vladimir's Academy, explore the dark psychology behind Rose and Lissa's spirit bond, and find out even more illicit secrets about Moroi society. This ultimate guide will feature everything readers want and need to go even deeper into the world of Vampire Academy, Frostbite, Shadow Kiss, Blood Promise, Spirit Bound, and Last Sacrifice . . . every heartache, every betrayal, every sacrifice, and so much more!
305 pages, Paperback
First published November 23, 2011
129 people are currently reading
16682 people want to read
About the author
Richelle Mead
106 books69.4k followersScorpio Richelle Mead is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of urban fantasy books for both adults and teens. Originally from Michigan, Richelle now lives in Seattle, Washington where she works on her three series full-time: Georgina Kincaid, Dark Swan, and Vampire Academy.
A life-long reader, Richelle has always loved mythology and folklore. When she can actually tear herself away from books (either reading or writing them), she enjoys bad reality TV, traveling, trying interesting cocktails, and shopping for dresses. She's a self-professed coffee addict and has a passion for all things wacky and humorous.
A life-long reader, Richelle has always loved mythology and folklore. When she can actually tear herself away from books (either reading or writing them), she enjoys bad reality TV, traveling, trying interesting cocktails, and shopping for dresses. She's a self-professed coffee addict and has a passion for all things wacky and humorous.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 246 reviews
August 5, 2019
4 VA ★'s
Vampire Academy: The Ultimate Guide by Michelle Rowen with Richelle Mead
If you are a true fan of the Vampire Academy series, as I am, this Ultimate Guide is a great addition! It includes: book summaries, passage quotes, insights into the vampire world, character profiles, an exclusive Q&A with Richelle Mead and quizzes. You will lose yourself in the familiar memories of this addictive and absolutely freaking AMAZING series. It made me want to reread the entire VA series again! Even though, I just read the whole series for the 5th time this year lol.
Vampire Academy series is and forever will be my #1 favorite Young Adult series!! It's by far the best vampires books I have ever read and that's saying something because I have read a lot of books on vampires :D
♥Rosemarie Hathaway & Dimitri Belikov♥, are my all-time favorite couple!! I ship them very much 😉
Vampire Academy: The Ultimate Guide by Michelle Rowen with Richelle Mead
If you are a true fan of the Vampire Academy series, as I am, this Ultimate Guide is a great addition! It includes: book summaries, passage quotes, insights into the vampire world, character profiles, an exclusive Q&A with Richelle Mead and quizzes. You will lose yourself in the familiar memories of this addictive and absolutely freaking AMAZING series. It made me want to reread the entire VA series again! Even though, I just read the whole series for the 5th time this year lol.
Vampire Academy series is and forever will be my #1 favorite Young Adult series!! It's by far the best vampires books I have ever read and that's saying something because I have read a lot of books on vampires :D
♥Rosemarie Hathaway & Dimitri Belikov♥, are my all-time favorite couple!! I ship them very much 😉
January 14, 2012
This book is shit. You fucking call this "The Ultimate Guide?", motherfucker please. It's basically a written masturbatory piece over Rose/Dimitri with shit that we already know about other fucking characters and tries to justify the cheating in the books by making them look all preshious~~~ and angelic~~~ Did I also mention how amazing Dimitri and Rose are?? And how awesome they are, soaking in eachother's awesomeness? OMFGz!!!111
It's so shit, it made my chemistry textbook look like porn.
_______________________________________________________
I shall read this because if it includes profiles for Adrian, Lissa, Christian and Avery then I shall enoy it because they were the only characters I care about, the rest can get their irrelevant asses off. Also, I want to draw on Rose and Dimitri's faces or rip out their pages and stick it on a dartboard. It'll help me aim! :) Or put a pedobear stamp of approval on Dimitri's face.
It's so shit, it made my chemistry textbook look like porn.
_______________________________________________________
I shall read this because if it includes profiles for Adrian, Lissa, Christian and Avery then I shall enoy it because they were the only characters I care about, the rest can get their irrelevant asses off. Also, I want to draw on Rose and Dimitri's faces or rip out their pages and stick it on a dartboard. It'll help me aim! :) Or put a pedobear stamp of approval on Dimitri's face.
Want to read
September 6, 2011The first vampire book I have read was Twilight....got addicted to it but then got over it. BUT THIS!...well let's just say when I saw they Richelle Mead was making an ultimate guide I instantly lusted for this book to be MINE. Twilight was, is and never will be in the same level as Vampire Academy.
January 15, 2012
I was disappointed to say the least and I LOVE vampire academy. The book should be titled the ultimate vampire academy summary. I think the book would be ideal for people who have read the first book of the series and are unsure about continuing the series. But beware of spoilers because this book is a very precise recount of the vampire academy series like you get the entire vampire academy 6 book series compiled into 200 over pages which may not seem a lot but then you realize that the ultimate guide is only about 280 pages long so...
The bad:
-there is basically no 'new' information, most of the details are lifted exactly/almost exactly from the vampire academy books
-I was expecting richelle's thoughts to be longer and I don't know, maybe some extra bits like 'Did you know Rose was supposed to be a dark blonde with blue eyes named Saphira?' or maybe a lesson plan of the Moroi's magic class? Stuff that have happened outside the books would have been interesting to share.
The good:
-It's a good book to pick up if you feel like you've missed the vampire academy world but don't wanna go through all 6 books again to relive those moments
-The quiz at the end of the book was funny
The bad:
-there is basically no 'new' information, most of the details are lifted exactly/almost exactly from the vampire academy books
-I was expecting richelle's thoughts to be longer and I don't know, maybe some extra bits like 'Did you know Rose was supposed to be a dark blonde with blue eyes named Saphira?' or maybe a lesson plan of the Moroi's magic class? Stuff that have happened outside the books would have been interesting to share.
The good:
-It's a good book to pick up if you feel like you've missed the vampire academy world but don't wanna go through all 6 books again to relive those moments
-The quiz at the end of the book was funny
April 14, 2015
If you're a fan of the Vampire Academy series, this Ultimate Guide is a must-have! With book summaries, in-depth character profiles, insights into the vampire world, an exclusive Q&A with Richelle Mead and so much more, you'll easily lose yourself in the familiar memories you have of this fabulous series.
The six book recaps take up about two-thirds of the guide and are 30 pages long each, with Richelle Mead preceding each one with an explanation about her ideas and thought processes while writing. Michelle Rowen is a fantastic writer who so obviously has the same passion for the series as we do, reading as a fan rather than as a critic. Appropriately outraged and swoony in just the right places, Rowen's summary of the series is almost as entertaining as the real thing. In fact, her detailed summaries turned out to be so interesting that I found myself reading them in detail. I had only meant to skim but got caught up in the story all over again! By reading this guide, you'll reignite the passion you had for the series and won't regret having a trusty guide for future emergencies too. It doesn't hurt to re-read the amazing quotes Rowen highlights either!
The summary is not where the guide shines though. The last third of the book (part 2) is where we really get into the thick of things. I was surprised by how much information was given about each character and relationship in their breakdowns. Those minor characters you always forget about? They're featured too! While I loved the quizzes and colour inserts, Richelle's Q&A is my favourite part of the guide. She talks about her favourite characters, her thoughts on the love triangle, vampire mythology, the school, tattoos and loads more! I had a blast in that section and surely you will too. There are a hundred other things in part 2 I can't even begin to name but it's all fun and informative, trust me!
When you read Richelle's answers you'll realise what a well thought out series this is. Things that may have seemed random or insignificant were deliberated on carefully and planned to a T. Richelle speaks as if her characters are real when discussing their motivations and backgrounds,
The six book recaps take up about two-thirds of the guide and are 30 pages long each, with Richelle Mead preceding each one with an explanation about her ideas and thought processes while writing. Michelle Rowen is a fantastic writer who so obviously has the same passion for the series as we do, reading as a fan rather than as a critic. Appropriately outraged and swoony in just the right places, Rowen's summary of the series is almost as entertaining as the real thing. In fact, her detailed summaries turned out to be so interesting that I found myself reading them in detail. I had only meant to skim but got caught up in the story all over again! By reading this guide, you'll reignite the passion you had for the series and won't regret having a trusty guide for future emergencies too. It doesn't hurt to re-read the amazing quotes Rowen highlights either!
The summary is not where the guide shines though. The last third of the book (part 2) is where we really get into the thick of things. I was surprised by how much information was given about each character and relationship in their breakdowns. Those minor characters you always forget about? They're featured too! While I loved the quizzes and colour inserts, Richelle's Q&A is my favourite part of the guide. She talks about her favourite characters, her thoughts on the love triangle, vampire mythology, the school, tattoos and loads more! I had a blast in that section and surely you will too. There are a hundred other things in part 2 I can't even begin to name but it's all fun and informative, trust me!
When you read Richelle's answers you'll realise what a well thought out series this is. Things that may have seemed random or insignificant were deliberated on carefully and planned to a T. Richelle speaks as if her characters are real when discussing their motivations and backgrounds,
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 30, 2011
Calling all FANS of Vampire Academy. Do you think you know everything about Vampire Academy? About Rose, Lissa, Dimitri? We'll look no further than this guide. It will give you insider information that you didn't know and NEED to know!
I love Vampire Academy. The series itself is amazing written and the way the plot unfolds with each book only brings the reader closer the school then they can ever imagine. I am a big and avid fan of Vampire Academy and even though the series has ended, this is a book I had to read. It like this book gave me some more information on the characters than I thought I knew. Ms. Rowen and Ms. Mead, break down each book, giving each character and every plot line a whole new view.
I especially enjoyed the thought of the amazing writer herself, Richelle Mead. I enjoyed reading Ms. Mead answer many questions that all her readers wanted to know. I also liked getting to read what she had to say in starting this series. How she came up with the ideas, the characters, every single amazing plot line. Ms. Mead express her feelings in what she created. I adore how Ms. Mead is humble in what she wrote. She didn't brag, but really wanted to write a book that all teens can get into. She express her anxiety over starting a new series as well as her excitement that it became such a great hit!
For fans of VA, this book is your guide. It's a great break down on each story that pretty much hits all high and low points of every book. It even gave more information on minor characters and some new tidbits on the new series Ms. Mead just release Bloodlines.
I love Vampire Academy. The series itself is amazing written and the way the plot unfolds with each book only brings the reader closer the school then they can ever imagine. I am a big and avid fan of Vampire Academy and even though the series has ended, this is a book I had to read. It like this book gave me some more information on the characters than I thought I knew. Ms. Rowen and Ms. Mead, break down each book, giving each character and every plot line a whole new view.
I especially enjoyed the thought of the amazing writer herself, Richelle Mead. I enjoyed reading Ms. Mead answer many questions that all her readers wanted to know. I also liked getting to read what she had to say in starting this series. How she came up with the ideas, the characters, every single amazing plot line. Ms. Mead express her feelings in what she created. I adore how Ms. Mead is humble in what she wrote. She didn't brag, but really wanted to write a book that all teens can get into. She express her anxiety over starting a new series as well as her excitement that it became such a great hit!
For fans of VA, this book is your guide. It's a great break down on each story that pretty much hits all high and low points of every book. It even gave more information on minor characters and some new tidbits on the new series Ms. Mead just release Bloodlines.
December 18, 2014
It was so good to read about all of the characters I love and to be back in this world...
I'll write a review later in the day...
I'll write a review later in the day...
April 5, 2017
Kind of pointless guide, tbh. Most of it was summaries of the books and quizzes, but not fun quizzes.
January 14, 2012
To be honest, I expected a whole lot more of this book! I mean, Vampire Academy has to be my favorite series ever, so the guide HAS to be awesome, right?
Wrong, this book was so disappointing. On the summary, it mentioned exclusive secrets and a lot of juicy stuff which it failed to deliver.
Throughout the beginning and middle, she just wrote a summary of all the books adding to about 200 pages! No juicy stuff, just a brief summary. Of course, if we're reading the guide, we already know all of this junk!!
Then, she addresses the relationships, and how they started and developed. Well... the whole story of all of their relationships was told in the books' summaries so no need for that!
Finally, she just lists ALL of the characters from the book which after Rose, just gets boring and repetitive.
The only good parts were the Q&A with her. Unfortunately, they were short and infrequent throughout the book. I also liked the quizzes but hated how the quiz answers were at the back. It just takes too long to flip to the back. It DOES!!
Those factors all together, add up to a 2 star. :(
This was NOT the ultimate guide. Just wasn't. I'm so disappointed. :/
Wrong, this book was so disappointing. On the summary, it mentioned exclusive secrets and a lot of juicy stuff which it failed to deliver.
Throughout the beginning and middle, she just wrote a summary of all the books adding to about 200 pages! No juicy stuff, just a brief summary. Of course, if we're reading the guide, we already know all of this junk!!
Then, she addresses the relationships, and how they started and developed. Well... the whole story of all of their relationships was told in the books' summaries so no need for that!
Finally, she just lists ALL of the characters from the book which after Rose, just gets boring and repetitive.
The only good parts were the Q&A with her. Unfortunately, they were short and infrequent throughout the book. I also liked the quizzes but hated how the quiz answers were at the back. It just takes too long to flip to the back. It DOES!!
Those factors all together, add up to a 2 star. :(
This was NOT the ultimate guide. Just wasn't. I'm so disappointed. :/
January 17, 2012
As an Ultimate Guide, this guide fell short. The first 75% is an extremely in depth, chapter by chapter recap of all the books. Now, if you're a fan of the Vampire Academy books, then chances are, you don't need the recap. The last 25% are character profiles and some background about St. Vladimir's and the Moroi Royal Court. Personally, I would have loved to learn more about the world of Vampire Academy.
January 14, 2012
Wanted the dirt. Got a Spark Notes overview of the series instead with an unwanted Squee Mob slant that made me twitchy. There are some writers I never want to hear talk about their creations for one reason or another and this author is one of them.
June 29, 2015
Reading this was like reading a long list of reviews for The Vampire Academy Series. It got boring because I already knew what happened in each book because I read them, but this is still a good book to have if you loved the series.
Currently reading
January 1, 2015I'm not obsessed or anything.
AM I?
So far this was nothing but summaries. :/ I was actually hoping to find bonus scenes and such.
AM I?
So far this was nothing but summaries. :/ I was actually hoping to find bonus scenes and such.
December 24, 2011
Originally posted at Read Me Bookmark Me Love Me
If you're a fan of the Vampire Academy series, this Ultimate Guide is a must-have! With book summaries, in-depth character profiles, insights into the vampire world, an exclusive Q&A with Richelle Mead and so much more, you'll easily lose yourself in the familiar memories you have of this fabulous series.
The six book recaps take up about two-thirds of the guide and are 30 pages long each, with Richelle Mead preceding each one with an explanation about her ideas and thought processes while writing. Michelle Rowen is a fantastic writer who so obviously has the same passion for the series as we do, reading as a fan rather than as a critic. Appropriately outraged and swoony in just the right places, Rowen's summary of the series is almost as entertaining as the real thing. In fact, her detailed summaries turned out to be so interesting that I found myself reading them in detail. I had only meant to skim but got caught up in the story all over again! By reading this guide, you'll reignite the passion you had for the series and won't regret having a trusty guide for future emergencies too. It doesn't hurt to re-read the amazing quotes Rowen highlights either!
The summary is not where the guide shines though. The last third of the book (part 2) is where we really get into the thick of things. I was surprised by how much information was given about each character and relationship in their breakdowns. Those minor characters you always forget about? They're featured too! While I loved the quizzes and colour inserts, Richelle's Q&A is my favourite part of the guide. She talks about her favourite characters, her thoughts on the love triangle, vampire mythology, the school, tattoos and loads more! I had a blast in that section and surely you will too. There are a hundred other things in part 2 I can't even begin to name but it's all fun and informative, trust me!
When you read Richelle's answers you'll realise what a well thought out series this is. Things that may have seemed random or insignificant were deliberated on carefully and planned to a T. Richelle speaks as if her characters are real when discussing their motivations and backgrounds, and I'm just a little jealous that there's so much more of these characters that'll only ever exist in her mind! Simply reading those final lines of Last Sacrifice again sent my heart fluttering - what a way to end the summaries! Oh how I adore my hard-earned happily ever afters. I can't say enough - grab this guide if you haven't ready!
If you're a fan of the Vampire Academy series, this Ultimate Guide is a must-have! With book summaries, in-depth character profiles, insights into the vampire world, an exclusive Q&A with Richelle Mead and so much more, you'll easily lose yourself in the familiar memories you have of this fabulous series.
The six book recaps take up about two-thirds of the guide and are 30 pages long each, with Richelle Mead preceding each one with an explanation about her ideas and thought processes while writing. Michelle Rowen is a fantastic writer who so obviously has the same passion for the series as we do, reading as a fan rather than as a critic. Appropriately outraged and swoony in just the right places, Rowen's summary of the series is almost as entertaining as the real thing. In fact, her detailed summaries turned out to be so interesting that I found myself reading them in detail. I had only meant to skim but got caught up in the story all over again! By reading this guide, you'll reignite the passion you had for the series and won't regret having a trusty guide for future emergencies too. It doesn't hurt to re-read the amazing quotes Rowen highlights either!
The summary is not where the guide shines though. The last third of the book (part 2) is where we really get into the thick of things. I was surprised by how much information was given about each character and relationship in their breakdowns. Those minor characters you always forget about? They're featured too! While I loved the quizzes and colour inserts, Richelle's Q&A is my favourite part of the guide. She talks about her favourite characters, her thoughts on the love triangle, vampire mythology, the school, tattoos and loads more! I had a blast in that section and surely you will too. There are a hundred other things in part 2 I can't even begin to name but it's all fun and informative, trust me!
When you read Richelle's answers you'll realise what a well thought out series this is. Things that may have seemed random or insignificant were deliberated on carefully and planned to a T. Richelle speaks as if her characters are real when discussing their motivations and backgrounds, and I'm just a little jealous that there's so much more of these characters that'll only ever exist in her mind! Simply reading those final lines of Last Sacrifice again sent my heart fluttering - what a way to end the summaries! Oh how I adore my hard-earned happily ever afters. I can't say enough - grab this guide if you haven't ready!
February 7, 2012
This book begs the question: why was it published? Oh right, for monetary gain. Duh. Beyond that I have absolutely no clue as to why this was printed. Thankfully this was a library loan or I would be quite irritated.
The book itself is mostly one large summary of the Vampire Academy series. Each book is summarized with quotes thrown in there now and again. As if the summary aspect was not bad enough it was written like a book report, a book report by a valley girl. Like it was like so totally...craptastic. The summary elicited more eye rolling than the VA books could ever possibly, especially with all of the unnecessarily italicized words and immature writing. Rose, the main character in VA, is more mature than the summary cared to convey. Did I mention that the whole valley girl thing drives me a bit crazy? The only good thing about it is making fun of it! Like totally! (Sorry.)
The remaining bits of the book included character summaries and quizzes. I love quizzes myself so that I enjoyed. However, such quiz questions could have easily been on a website, saving trees around the world. I also liked the little "behind the scenes" Q&A with Richelle Mead. However, the quizzes and Q&A were the only highlights of the book which amounts to about 10 pages of good material.
I ask again, why? Why do these series "ultimate guides" continue to pop up? They're useless unless they contain substantial new material.
The book itself is mostly one large summary of the Vampire Academy series. Each book is summarized with quotes thrown in there now and again. As if the summary aspect was not bad enough it was written like a book report, a book report by a valley girl. Like it was like so totally...craptastic. The summary elicited more eye rolling than the VA books could ever possibly, especially with all of the unnecessarily italicized words and immature writing. Rose, the main character in VA, is more mature than the summary cared to convey. Did I mention that the whole valley girl thing drives me a bit crazy? The only good thing about it is making fun of it! Like totally! (Sorry.)
The remaining bits of the book included character summaries and quizzes. I love quizzes myself so that I enjoyed. However, such quiz questions could have easily been on a website, saving trees around the world. I also liked the little "behind the scenes" Q&A with Richelle Mead. However, the quizzes and Q&A were the only highlights of the book which amounts to about 10 pages of good material.
I ask again, why? Why do these series "ultimate guides" continue to pop up? They're useless unless they contain substantial new material.
August 15, 2014
Really, I'm not finished, but I have read some of it- not saying it's a bad book, just haven't felt like it, so I'm going to say It's read.
My Review:
This is definitely the ultimate guide for the Vampire Academy series. It has bios on the characters, passage quotes and Michelle Rowen's Interpretations. This is a must read for all VA fans.
My Review:
This is definitely the ultimate guide for the Vampire Academy series. It has bios on the characters, passage quotes and Michelle Rowen's Interpretations. This is a must read for all VA fans.
December 22, 2011
Read in a day. Lots of repetition (most of the book is recapping each book in the series) and no new info on the VA world. Not what I was expecting and a bit of a let down.
December 27, 2011
I didn't read the entire book, because I know the story lines to each book. I found it really good. It made me want to read the entire VA series again!
June 18, 2017
It's good to revisit the series but I ended up wanting even more from Mead and her process of writing.
Want to read
October 30, 2011I WAAAAAAAAANT THIS >.<
February 9, 2021
Didn't get much of anything new, mostly retelling what you already know from reading VA books, a nice way to revisit the world but lacks in more trivia or interview details with the author to stand alone and not be overly repetative
March 11, 2024
I loved the Q&A and how she came up with each book.
December 17, 2011
This is the first "guide" book that I have ever read for a book series, so I thought that it was only fitting that my first would be for my favourtie series, and I loved it!
The book re-caps. For a little bit over half of the book there are re-caps of all of the six books which I thought was great as they are all condesed down into about 30 pages each and I found that the re-cap for each of the books was quite in-depth and didn't brush over any of the important parts in the books. Another thing that I loved about these re-caps was that at the start of each new book there was a page of Richelle Mead talking about how she got her ideas for the book, how it was writing the book and the fans response which I really loved and what I was really hoping for when I read this book. when I first saw that there were going to be re-caps after buying this book I thought that I would skip it just because I am so farmiliar with the storyline of each of the book after reading them a couple a times a year for about the past three years, but I am really glad I didn't.
Character Bios. I thought it was great how in the book there war character bios, because this tells you really all you need to know about the character but it also goes into the main events that happened to the character throughout the course of the books so I thought that it was a great way to quickly find out all you need to know about the character.
Q&A with Richelle Mead. I didn't even know that this was going to be in the book and this is something that I really loved about the book because this is where we got to get more insight into what made he write the book the way she did and how she came up with the ideas for certain things in the book.
Overall I completley loved this book and it definitley has all you need to know about the Vampire Academy series in this one book which I love. This is definitley a must-have for all Vampire Academy fans.
The book re-caps. For a little bit over half of the book there are re-caps of all of the six books which I thought was great as they are all condesed down into about 30 pages each and I found that the re-cap for each of the books was quite in-depth and didn't brush over any of the important parts in the books. Another thing that I loved about these re-caps was that at the start of each new book there was a page of Richelle Mead talking about how she got her ideas for the book, how it was writing the book and the fans response which I really loved and what I was really hoping for when I read this book. when I first saw that there were going to be re-caps after buying this book I thought that I would skip it just because I am so farmiliar with the storyline of each of the book after reading them a couple a times a year for about the past three years, but I am really glad I didn't.
Character Bios. I thought it was great how in the book there war character bios, because this tells you really all you need to know about the character but it also goes into the main events that happened to the character throughout the course of the books so I thought that it was a great way to quickly find out all you need to know about the character.
Q&A with Richelle Mead. I didn't even know that this was going to be in the book and this is something that I really loved about the book because this is where we got to get more insight into what made he write the book the way she did and how she came up with the ideas for certain things in the book.
Overall I completley loved this book and it definitley has all you need to know about the Vampire Academy series in this one book which I love. This is definitley a must-have for all Vampire Academy fans.
January 25, 2012
Okay, I've had it on my TBR pile for over a month but finally read it, Vampire Academy: The Ultimate Guide by Michelle Rowen with Richelle Mead, and it was great! I've only read one other "world info" type book and found it to be fun and so was this one!
To my knowledge, Michelle Rowen is doing most of the writing this time, but of course she has input from Richelle and there are a few QAs in the book with Richelle. It was all very fun and fascinating. I've read all the books in the series, yet it's been sooo many books ago and in between since I've read them all, so the detailed summaries of each book in the beginning was terrific! It really helped refresh my brain of what happened in each book.
Although at times, the third person narration got a little confusing. I couldn't tell at times if this was the omniscient narrator or perhaps a bit of Rose herself. Maybe it was both or maybe not. There were just comments occasionally and it just kinda threw me off. It wasn't bad, just a little mind boggling!
There's also details about everything else to know in the Vampire Academy world, including character bios, looking at the relationships of the main characters, the ways of the world here, including clear definitions on Moroi, Dhampirs, Strigoi and so much more!
This is definitely a must read for fans of the Vampire Academy series! It's terrific! Think of it as an insider's guide to the series, which that is what it is!
Overall rating 5/5 stars
To my knowledge, Michelle Rowen is doing most of the writing this time, but of course she has input from Richelle and there are a few QAs in the book with Richelle. It was all very fun and fascinating. I've read all the books in the series, yet it's been sooo many books ago and in between since I've read them all, so the detailed summaries of each book in the beginning was terrific! It really helped refresh my brain of what happened in each book.
Although at times, the third person narration got a little confusing. I couldn't tell at times if this was the omniscient narrator or perhaps a bit of Rose herself. Maybe it was both or maybe not. There were just comments occasionally and it just kinda threw me off. It wasn't bad, just a little mind boggling!
There's also details about everything else to know in the Vampire Academy world, including character bios, looking at the relationships of the main characters, the ways of the world here, including clear definitions on Moroi, Dhampirs, Strigoi and so much more!
This is definitely a must read for fans of the Vampire Academy series! It's terrific! Think of it as an insider's guide to the series, which that is what it is!
Overall rating 5/5 stars
February 19, 2012
If you are a fan of the Vampire Academy series, you probably think you know everything there is to know about them. Even if you think you do, you still need to give the Ultimate Guide a chance because it will definitely surprise you with things you didn't know.
I loved how it was broken down by each book in the series. We get a small section from author Richelle Mead before each summary and she shares her thoughts on the writing process of each story. We get to hear about her struggles, feelings, and character creation that we don't get to read about in the original stories. Then each book is broken down into sections as well explaining certain quotes, story arcs and more. It even features a pop quiz at the close of each one. I loved taking the quiz after each section because it really made you think about what you have read. Great for readers in testing their reading comprehension.
In the middle of the book, we are also treated to color photos of the illustrated novel, photos of the author at signings, and web site links to further our experience into the Vampire Academy world. The final part of the guide is a glossary. It explains certain terms that readers will come across in the world that the author created for us.
If you are a fan of this author and/or the series, then this is a book you have to have in your collection. It completes the collection and series perfectly and is perfect for gifts as well. A great addition to my bookshelf!
I loved how it was broken down by each book in the series. We get a small section from author Richelle Mead before each summary and she shares her thoughts on the writing process of each story. We get to hear about her struggles, feelings, and character creation that we don't get to read about in the original stories. Then each book is broken down into sections as well explaining certain quotes, story arcs and more. It even features a pop quiz at the close of each one. I loved taking the quiz after each section because it really made you think about what you have read. Great for readers in testing their reading comprehension.
In the middle of the book, we are also treated to color photos of the illustrated novel, photos of the author at signings, and web site links to further our experience into the Vampire Academy world. The final part of the guide is a glossary. It explains certain terms that readers will come across in the world that the author created for us.
If you are a fan of this author and/or the series, then this is a book you have to have in your collection. It completes the collection and series perfectly and is perfect for gifts as well. A great addition to my bookshelf!
February 16, 2012
I really loved the Vampire Academy books, but this guide was a waste of time. It was interesting reading the summaries and familiarizing myself with the series again (it's been awhile since I read them), but there was nothing else! The first 3/4 of the book is spent summarizing the 6 books. The last 1/4 is spent talking about the characters & their relationships, again summarizing everything we already knew. I didn't learn anything new about any of the characters. No creative backstories, no glimpses into what happens in their futures, no new insight...nada, zilch, zero. The only reason I gave it 2 stars instead of 1 was because I did enjoy being reminded of why I enjoyed these books in the first place. I'm glad I read this from the library and didn't spend $$ on it.
June 30, 2015
I was so excited that I was able to revisit the world of the Vampire Academy series in this book. A majority of this guide is dedicated to recapping what happened in each book of the series. The second half goes on to provide readers with character profiles, some basic descriptions of various elements of the Vampire Academy series, and a quiz based on what you read. Throughout the novel, Q&A sessions with Richelle Mead were inserted into the text, which provided an interesting, "insiders" look at the series. In all honesty, I had been missing Rose, Dimitri, and the rest of the unique cast of characters that I have come to love. So, thank you, Vampire Academy: The Ultimate Guide, for giving me one final fix of Vampire Academy and helping to feed my addiction.
February 25, 2012
I thought this guide has some awesome features inside it but I was so dissapointed when I read it....well no actually I didn't read it I just scan the pages ,answer the questions and then put it back down because really what else is in there to read? It just repeated the scenes from book 1 to 6......the only consolation for me is the questionnaire and the tattoos!!!.....its pretty awesome especially the golden lily tattoo I want to have something similar like that someday...... sigh (wishful thinking)....
August 19, 2012
I was really disappointed by this 'Ultimate Guide'. It wasn't ultimate at all. It just repeats book 1-6 and tells you things you already know about the main characters. There is a mini-interview with Richelle Mead and a test about how many you know about VA.
There was nothing new in it - no background stories or whatsoever. Very disappointed.
There was nothing new in it - no background stories or whatsoever. Very disappointed.
April 12, 2013
This is NOT an ultimate guide. It basically repeats each book in the Vampire Academy series, short already-known information about the characters and other things which simply is collected from the books, not Richelle Meads mind.
There are however Questions and Answers with Mead that are new information.
To sum up: this is not worth buying.
There are however Questions and Answers with Mead that are new information.
To sum up: this is not worth buying.
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