What do you think?
Rate this book
Vampire Academy #1-6
Vampire Academy Box Set 1-6
Enter the complete saga of the international #1 bestselling Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead.
Lissa Dragomir is a Moroi princess: a mortal vampire with an unbreakable bond to the earth’s magic. The powerful blend of human and vampire blood that flows through Rose Hathaway, Lissa’s best friend, makes her a Dhampir. Rose is dedicated to a dangerous life of protecting Lissa from the Strigoi, who are hell-bent on making her one of them. Rose and Lissa must navigate through this dangerous world, confront the temptation of forbidden romance, and never once let their guard down, lest the Strigoi make Lissa one of them forever.
Lissa Dragomir is a Moroi princess: a mortal vampire with an unbreakable bond to the earth’s magic. The powerful blend of human and vampire blood that flows through Rose Hathaway, Lissa’s best friend, makes her a Dhampir. Rose is dedicated to a dangerous life of protecting Lissa from the Strigoi, who are hell-bent on making her one of them. Rose and Lissa must navigate through this dangerous world, confront the temptation of forbidden romance, and never once let their guard down, lest the Strigoi make Lissa one of them forever.
2784 pages, Paperback
First published August 20, 2010
884 people are currently reading
4358 people want to read
About the author
Richelle Mead
105 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 391 reviews
June 30, 2020
FANTASTIC
This is without a doubt one of my favorite YA Fantasy series.
I do love Richelle Mead, her series Succubus Blues is also one of my favorite UF series ever.
What you'll find in this series:
Entertainment from beginning to end. Action, emotion, badassery, growth, adventure, VAMPIRES, fighters, excitement, suspense, intrigue, passion, love.
Great plot. Brilliant story evolution, believable succession of events and excellent plot development.
Fantastic characters and character development. Intelligent, brave, responsable, tough and feminine heroins that make smart choices. Hot, mysterious, loyal, intriguing, inteligent and badass male main characters. Characters than mature, learn and behave accordingly to their ages, circumstances, and life lessons.
Incredible relationships. Intense and developed romance with out of this word chemistry and longing. True bounds of friendships and loyalty.
Exemplary.
This series has it all. I have reread it many times and I will do it again. I eat this series up!
My favorite book within this series is Blood Promise (Book 4), which is one of my favorite books of all time. However, the book that truly made me a hardcore fan of the Vampire Academy was Shadow Kiss (Book 3), the final part enthralled me and trapped my heart.
I do have some issues with Spirit Bound (Book 5) regarding Rose's relationship with Adrian, her thoughts and actions regarding him and Dimitri. It bothered me, and I don't really see how it was that relevant to the story. The way the relationship unfolded made little sense to me, specially because of the small time-lapse everything happened in. If we had had a much longer time interval, her feelings and thoughts would have made more sense to me.
The audiobook narrator is very good. My first time with these books was by paperbacks, after that, all my rereads have been by audiobooks.
I highly recommend this series, both to YA and adults, females and males. It is just great.
P.S.: The movie is appallingly TERRIBLE and does an atrocious disservice to these books. It should be staked in the heart!
This is without a doubt one of my favorite YA Fantasy series.
I do love Richelle Mead, her series Succubus Blues is also one of my favorite UF series ever.
What you'll find in this series:
Entertainment from beginning to end. Action, emotion, badassery, growth, adventure, VAMPIRES, fighters, excitement, suspense, intrigue, passion, love.
Great plot. Brilliant story evolution, believable succession of events and excellent plot development.
Fantastic characters and character development. Intelligent, brave, responsable, tough and feminine heroins that make smart choices. Hot, mysterious, loyal, intriguing, inteligent and badass male main characters. Characters than mature, learn and behave accordingly to their ages, circumstances, and life lessons.
Incredible relationships. Intense and developed romance with out of this word chemistry and longing. True bounds of friendships and loyalty.
Exemplary.
This series has it all. I have reread it many times and I will do it again. I eat this series up!
My favorite book within this series is Blood Promise (Book 4), which is one of my favorite books of all time. However, the book that truly made me a hardcore fan of the Vampire Academy was Shadow Kiss (Book 3), the final part enthralled me and trapped my heart.
I do have some issues with Spirit Bound (Book 5) regarding Rose's relationship with Adrian, her thoughts and actions regarding him and Dimitri. It bothered me, and I don't really see how it was that relevant to the story. The way the relationship unfolded made little sense to me, specially because of the small time-lapse everything happened in. If we had had a much longer time interval, her feelings and thoughts would have made more sense to me.
The audiobook narrator is very good. My first time with these books was by paperbacks, after that, all my rereads have been by audiobooks.
I highly recommend this series, both to YA and adults, females and males. It is just great.
P.S.: The movie is appallingly TERRIBLE and does an atrocious disservice to these books. It should be staked in the heart!
February 11, 2012
This series is just pure excellence.
When starting the book, I was pretty sure that this book would be like most of the books I've read - boring, cliched. However, when I read the first book, I got hooked, I couldn't stop reading. I sacrificed my sleep to finish the book, and I finished the whole series in about a week.
This series is completely action-packed - what makes it special. Action, action, action. You'll never get bored. The twists and turns are just amazing. What I like most is the romance between the characters. Their relationships are very special, one that you do not often find. It is very heartwarming, and you can't find a lot of books with characters like that. Rose and Dimitri were completely made for each other. They made up for each other's weaknesses.
My favourite part though, would be the heart pounding moments when Rose Hathaway - the main character - does something reckless. You can never tear your eyes off from those moments. I also love this book because the author chose to write about them at their age. She could've chose to write it when they were younger, or older, but she chose those moments - those moments whereby the characters in the story mature. Watching Rose growing up, maturing, I was deeply touched. From a reckless immature girl, she grew up to become someone who is level-headed, and understands her duty, and the weight of it. Likewise for the rest of the characters.
Never before have I thought that I would be this affected by a book. For I am still young and immature, just like Rose, I never thought that I would be thinking about it so much. I haven't realized my duty, what I needed to do, until now. I haven't realized how immature I was, I haven't realized how my actions are just plain idiotic, and how heavy the weight of my actions were, until I read the book. As such, I have started viewing the world differently - and I owe the book for that. Honestly, when I finished the book, I was unsatisfied. Really, perfect ending, perfect. There is even a spin-off series of this book, which explains what happens to the rest of the characters afterwards. Everything was covered, really. However, what I was unsatisfied at was that the book has ended. Of course, it is my fault. I was too hooked on it, I couldn't accept the fact that it has ended. I really really cried after it ended. I wanted to know more, read more, understand more. Its like the ending has left a hole in my heart.
Nevertheless, the book was just awesome. Too awesome for words. Richelle Mead has perfectly described the actions of the characters in the books. For a book consisting of fighting, it is extremely difficult to portray and describe the every action of a character. As such, not many books which consist of fighting is as good as this one. Her innovative mind and imagination is also extremely good. Its totally... breathtaking. I applaud her for that. Read it, or you'll miss out. Not to mention, I can proudly say that this is by far the best book I have ever read in my life. Really, I've read hundreds of books, and I can say that this is the best to me. No other books has touched my heart this deeply.
When starting the book, I was pretty sure that this book would be like most of the books I've read - boring, cliched. However, when I read the first book, I got hooked, I couldn't stop reading. I sacrificed my sleep to finish the book, and I finished the whole series in about a week.
This series is completely action-packed - what makes it special. Action, action, action. You'll never get bored. The twists and turns are just amazing. What I like most is the romance between the characters. Their relationships are very special, one that you do not often find. It is very heartwarming, and you can't find a lot of books with characters like that. Rose and Dimitri were completely made for each other. They made up for each other's weaknesses.
My favourite part though, would be the heart pounding moments when Rose Hathaway - the main character - does something reckless. You can never tear your eyes off from those moments. I also love this book because the author chose to write about them at their age. She could've chose to write it when they were younger, or older, but she chose those moments - those moments whereby the characters in the story mature. Watching Rose growing up, maturing, I was deeply touched. From a reckless immature girl, she grew up to become someone who is level-headed, and understands her duty, and the weight of it. Likewise for the rest of the characters.
Never before have I thought that I would be this affected by a book. For I am still young and immature, just like Rose, I never thought that I would be thinking about it so much. I haven't realized my duty, what I needed to do, until now. I haven't realized how immature I was, I haven't realized how my actions are just plain idiotic, and how heavy the weight of my actions were, until I read the book. As such, I have started viewing the world differently - and I owe the book for that. Honestly, when I finished the book, I was unsatisfied. Really, perfect ending, perfect. There is even a spin-off series of this book, which explains what happens to the rest of the characters afterwards. Everything was covered, really. However, what I was unsatisfied at was that the book has ended. Of course, it is my fault. I was too hooked on it, I couldn't accept the fact that it has ended. I really really cried after it ended. I wanted to know more, read more, understand more. Its like the ending has left a hole in my heart.
Nevertheless, the book was just awesome. Too awesome for words. Richelle Mead has perfectly described the actions of the characters in the books. For a book consisting of fighting, it is extremely difficult to portray and describe the every action of a character. As such, not many books which consist of fighting is as good as this one. Her innovative mind and imagination is also extremely good. Its totally... breathtaking. I applaud her for that. Read it, or you'll miss out. Not to mention, I can proudly say that this is by far the best book I have ever read in my life. Really, I've read hundreds of books, and I can say that this is the best to me. No other books has touched my heart this deeply.
August 12, 2016
What kept me going from book to book (total 6) in a span of 3 and half days, you ask me? DIMITRI. DIMITRI. DIMITRI.
So do I have a new crush (more like gut wrenching- overpowering-heart aching- obsessive-unrequited-love)? YES. Do I want to re-read this series? YES. . Although I wanted to smash away the books, whenever the annoying love triangle was thrown in the mix. Do I want to read more paranormal fiction stories? YES. Do I want to read the bloodlines series? HELL NO. Thank you author, for VA, but I think I’ll pass without any more love triangles or other polygons to deal with.
Aaah! I started the first book after much contemplation. Somehow Paranormal Fiction didn’t seem very appealing to me before. So VA opens up a whole new world for me to explore.
Now let me give you a part history of my acquaintance with the subject here- I hadn’t read any other paranormal romance books before now, including the Twilight series, gave up on the movie versions halfway, and the farthest understanding I have of fantasy creatures is from LOTR, Harry Potter, Disney and some fantastic popular culture- Van Helsing and Vampire Hunter D.
I don’t like love triangles, well, mostly. They seem so unnecessary and obviously ANNOYING. That’s the whole problem with the Twilight series. I thought every book in this genre couldn’t do without it. And actually, VA doesn’t do much to squash that opinion of mine, either.
HONEST TO GOD! I don’t really see the need for Adrian here, except benefitting a new spin-off series with him in the lead. What’s between Dimitri and Rose is so electric. It’s a no-brainer that, from the start, Rose’s relationship with Adrian didn’t even scratch the surface. Quite frankly, it did seem like she was using the poor guy. Not that I like Adrian (I don’t get how he falls for her- lust, I’ll agree. Love? Who are we kidding.) Their relationship seemed like a friends-with-benefits kinda thing, in the case, some ‘thing’ really happened.
And I found the recap of the story as recalled in each succeeding book quite irritating. Books like HP worked well without having to do that. And if the author thinks that is going to help new readers start reading from the middle of a series, then again, I don't think it really helps.
Rose is the perfect rebel. She’s feisty, reckless, restless, independent, angry and TONS OF ANNOYING. I can’t understand her hypocrisy and judgmental nature. Dimitri is the opposite- responsible, patient, controlled and everything else wonderful... mmhm...They both complement each other perfectly; we get a sort of Yin-Yang vibe about them. There’s something achingly beautiful and bittersweet about star crossed love. Adrian’s the boy-friend. He’s fun to hang out with, he makes you laugh, but he’s NEVER a good influence on you. Or any influence at all. And nothing good can ever come out of starting something with a boy-friend. If you are having doubts and issues, it’s time to run, girlfriend.
BEGINNING-
The first two books were great as introduction into the world of these ‘creatures of the night’. Richelle Mead paints a fairly beautiful picture of their world with much detailing. But there may be a few loose ends. What good it did me was the drop back into the world of Hogwarts and magical creatures etc. NOSTALGIA!!! It had been so long since I read any fantasy. Also the relationship between Rose and Dimitri develops slowly and gradually. The chemistry is great. And other characters are also developed well, to level the plane.
MIDDLE-
Books 3 and 4 were great with some bleak moments in their relationship, which were heartbreaking. The lead characters discover themselves, are on their individual paths to find themselves. Rose transforms a lot during this phase. There were moment when I really believed that Rose had to move on with someone new, and it would be the end of Dimitri. This was against my never ending hope that they’d get together in the end. It was gut wrenching and over powering with so many other emotions.
END-
Sloppy, very sloppy. The last two books had some of the best and the worst moments in the whole series.
First, Adrian. Completely unnecessary, trying to divert the attention to the relationship-that-would-not-work-even-if-Dimitri-was-not-in-the-picture. Saw it coming, but the ending of that seemed very puke inducing. How could Rose not feel guilty enough about that? Again, I’ll mention- I don’t like Adrian. Still.
Second, the breaking of Rose and Lissa’s bond. Hey author, i know it is all your creation and all. But this doesn’t really make any sense.
Third, Tasha. How could the author create a lovely nice picture of her and rip it apart later, to say she was a witchy little thing. The ending there seemed a little.. off. Now there’s someone I really feel sorry for- Christian. I don’t see a great future for him with murderers (strigoi or not) as relatives! And with the start of the series I thought it would be about a victory over the dark forces. (Like in Harry Potter, where the Death eaters are almost extinct by the time the story wraps up.) This would be four. But then, here unlike the Harry potter series, a mega-sorta- villain was not really developed, you know, to bring about a finale of sorts.
For the above reasons I can’t give the series a full five star rating.
But if we focus on Rose and Dimitri, I can live with that. The tension between them is brought up to high intensities. And so much more time these two spend around each other, unlike the previous books. In that way, the series leaves me completely satisfied!!!
So Imma go back to gushing about DIMITRIIIIIIIIII <3 <3 <3
So do I have a new crush (more like gut wrenching- overpowering-heart aching- obsessive-unrequited-love)? YES. Do I want to re-read this series? YES. . Although I wanted to smash away the books, whenever the annoying love triangle was thrown in the mix. Do I want to read more paranormal fiction stories? YES. Do I want to read the bloodlines series? HELL NO. Thank you author, for VA, but I think I’ll pass without any more love triangles or other polygons to deal with.
Aaah! I started the first book after much contemplation. Somehow Paranormal Fiction didn’t seem very appealing to me before. So VA opens up a whole new world for me to explore.
Now let me give you a part history of my acquaintance with the subject here- I hadn’t read any other paranormal romance books before now, including the Twilight series, gave up on the movie versions halfway, and the farthest understanding I have of fantasy creatures is from LOTR, Harry Potter, Disney and some fantastic popular culture- Van Helsing and Vampire Hunter D.
I don’t like love triangles, well, mostly. They seem so unnecessary and obviously ANNOYING. That’s the whole problem with the Twilight series. I thought every book in this genre couldn’t do without it. And actually, VA doesn’t do much to squash that opinion of mine, either.
HONEST TO GOD! I don’t really see the need for Adrian here, except benefitting a new spin-off series with him in the lead. What’s between Dimitri and Rose is so electric. It’s a no-brainer that, from the start, Rose’s relationship with Adrian didn’t even scratch the surface. Quite frankly, it did seem like she was using the poor guy. Not that I like Adrian (I don’t get how he falls for her- lust, I’ll agree. Love? Who are we kidding.) Their relationship seemed like a friends-with-benefits kinda thing, in the case, some ‘thing’ really happened.
And I found the recap of the story as recalled in each succeeding book quite irritating. Books like HP worked well without having to do that. And if the author thinks that is going to help new readers start reading from the middle of a series, then again, I don't think it really helps.
Rose is the perfect rebel. She’s feisty, reckless, restless, independent, angry and TONS OF ANNOYING. I can’t understand her hypocrisy and judgmental nature. Dimitri is the opposite- responsible, patient, controlled and everything else wonderful... mmhm...They both complement each other perfectly; we get a sort of Yin-Yang vibe about them. There’s something achingly beautiful and bittersweet about star crossed love. Adrian’s the boy-friend. He’s fun to hang out with, he makes you laugh, but he’s NEVER a good influence on you. Or any influence at all. And nothing good can ever come out of starting something with a boy-friend. If you are having doubts and issues, it’s time to run, girlfriend.
BEGINNING-
The first two books were great as introduction into the world of these ‘creatures of the night’. Richelle Mead paints a fairly beautiful picture of their world with much detailing. But there may be a few loose ends. What good it did me was the drop back into the world of Hogwarts and magical creatures etc. NOSTALGIA!!! It had been so long since I read any fantasy. Also the relationship between Rose and Dimitri develops slowly and gradually. The chemistry is great. And other characters are also developed well, to level the plane.
MIDDLE-
Books 3 and 4 were great with some bleak moments in their relationship, which were heartbreaking. The lead characters discover themselves, are on their individual paths to find themselves. Rose transforms a lot during this phase. There were moment when I really believed that Rose had to move on with someone new, and it would be the end of Dimitri. This was against my never ending hope that they’d get together in the end. It was gut wrenching and over powering with so many other emotions.
END-
Sloppy, very sloppy. The last two books had some of the best and the worst moments in the whole series.
First, Adrian. Completely unnecessary, trying to divert the attention to the relationship-that-would-not-work-even-if-Dimitri-was-not-in-the-picture. Saw it coming, but the ending of that seemed very puke inducing. How could Rose not feel guilty enough about that? Again, I’ll mention- I don’t like Adrian. Still.
Second, the breaking of Rose and Lissa’s bond. Hey author, i know it is all your creation and all. But this doesn’t really make any sense.
Third, Tasha. How could the author create a lovely nice picture of her and rip it apart later, to say she was a witchy little thing. The ending there seemed a little.. off. Now there’s someone I really feel sorry for- Christian. I don’t see a great future for him with murderers (strigoi or not) as relatives! And with the start of the series I thought it would be about a victory over the dark forces. (Like in Harry Potter, where the Death eaters are almost extinct by the time the story wraps up.) This would be four. But then, here unlike the Harry potter series, a mega-sorta- villain was not really developed, you know, to bring about a finale of sorts.
For the above reasons I can’t give the series a full five star rating.
But if we focus on Rose and Dimitri, I can live with that. The tension between them is brought up to high intensities. And so much more time these two spend around each other, unlike the previous books. In that way, the series leaves me completely satisfied!!!
So Imma go back to gushing about DIMITRIIIIIIIIII <3 <3 <3
March 5, 2013
YES YES YES YES YES YES.
This is one of my favorite series of all time. I freakin love Rose, the main character. She's kick ass and awesome and the series is so amazing.
My rank of favoritism:
1) Blood Promise (book four)
2) Last Sacrifice (book 6)
3) Spirit Bound (book 5)
4) Shadow Kiss (book 3)
5) Frost Bite (book 2)
6) Vampire Academy (Book 1)
Lemme explain.
I love the fourth book the best probably because of the hero's journey. She goes all the way to Russia, where she has to fight Dimitri and fight her own inner turmoil and struggles and the book is just done so beautifully. I truly love Richelle Mead for writing these books.
There is almost no slow moment throughout this entire series. I literally stayed up all night reading it, yelling at the book, crying with it. At the end of Shadow Kiss I was nearly sobbing.
I became so emotionally invested in the characters and the story and the world. Everything is wonderful!!
Characters (for the heck of it):
1) ROSE HATHAWAY (this is one of the only series/books where I can say that my favorite character is the main one. But Rose is just so selfless and kick ass and beautiful and caring and funny and kick ass that I just can't help but hold so much love for her.)
2) Adrian Ivashkov (of course. He is hilarious and rebellious and tormented and I just love it.)
3) Christian (Yay! I love him. He is very good to Lissa, good to everyone really. He's funny and is a good friendly match for Rose's personality. He also kicks ass--*cough* Shadow Kiss *cough*--and I love him very much.)
etc etc
Anyway, GREAT series!!
This is one of my favorite series of all time. I freakin love Rose, the main character. She's kick ass and awesome and the series is so amazing.
My rank of favoritism:
1) Blood Promise (book four)
2) Last Sacrifice (book 6)
3) Spirit Bound (book 5)
4) Shadow Kiss (book 3)
5) Frost Bite (book 2)
6) Vampire Academy (Book 1)
Lemme explain.
I love the fourth book the best probably because of the hero's journey. She goes all the way to Russia, where she has to fight Dimitri and fight her own inner turmoil and struggles and the book is just done so beautifully. I truly love Richelle Mead for writing these books.
There is almost no slow moment throughout this entire series. I literally stayed up all night reading it, yelling at the book, crying with it. At the end of Shadow Kiss I was nearly sobbing.
I became so emotionally invested in the characters and the story and the world. Everything is wonderful!!
Characters (for the heck of it):
1) ROSE HATHAWAY (this is one of the only series/books where I can say that my favorite character is the main one. But Rose is just so selfless and kick ass and beautiful and caring and funny and kick ass that I just can't help but hold so much love for her.)
2) Adrian Ivashkov (of course. He is hilarious and rebellious and tormented and I just love it.)
3) Christian (Yay! I love him. He is very good to Lissa, good to everyone really. He's funny and is a good friendly match for Rose's personality. He also kicks ass--*cough* Shadow Kiss *cough*--and I love him very much.)
etc etc
Anyway, GREAT series!!
July 25, 2021
Buddy read with Nashita.
I started reading this series ironically but ended up being completely invested. I love vampire books because I love vampires in general but this is the first time that I loved the protagonist as well. The series is has an amazing mix of action, adventure, romance, petty high school drama, royal drama, vampires, fugitives, etc.
Rose Hathaway: One of the best heroines ever! She’s strong, opinionated, stubborn, sassy, reckless, loyal and extremely brave Dhampir. She does make some decisions that I didn’t agree with, but hey, so does everyone. Rose is definitely one of those people you really want to be.
Lissa Dragomir: AKA Princess Vasilisa Dragomir is a moroi and is Rose’s best friend. I like Lissa, but putting her alongside Rose makes her not that impressive. In fact in the first few books she was insanely immature but i do have to say that she had amazing character development. She totally grew on me and I ended up loving her in the last books.
Dimitri Belikov: Also a Dhampir and is Rose’s training instructor. I liked him from the start and oh boy did he make me feel so many things during this series.
Christian Ozera: A royal moroi with a tragic backstory. I was extremely skeptical of Christian at first but he really turned out to be such an amazing and caring character.
Adrian Ivashkov: Also a royal Moroi. He doesn’t show up until the second book but he is the main reason that book got a 5 star rating and every scene he shows up in from book 2 until the last one is perfect!
There are other characters, but so many and some of them give major spoilers by just existing, so those are just the main characters and also my top 5 in this series.
If you’re familiar with Romanian vampire folklore, you’ll know that there are different types of vampires:
Moroi: vampires that are able to wield magic. Each moroi is able to specialize in one type of elemental magic: water, fire, air, earth an s a surprise new element.
Dhampir: these are vampire-human hybrids, they are stronger than the Moroi and thus, most are guardians to the Moroi. (this is actually Balkan folklore, not Romanian).
Strigoi: troubled spirits that are said to have risen from the grave and love feasting on Moroi blood. Thanks to the book descriptions and also the movie, I just imagine them as zombies (but they are not).
Romance: I generally loved most of the romance, most of it was very dramatic but so understandable and entertaining.
Individual book ratings:
Vampire Academy: ★★★★☆
Frostbite: ★★★★★
Shadow Kiss: ★★★★★
Blood Promise: ★★★★☆
Spirit Bound:★★★★☆
Last Sacrifice: ★★★★★
Overall Series Rating: ★★★★.5 rounded up to 5 because this goes into my top 10 favorite series all time and is my favorite vampire book series.
I started reading this series ironically but ended up being completely invested. I love vampire books because I love vampires in general but this is the first time that I loved the protagonist as well. The series is has an amazing mix of action, adventure, romance, petty high school drama, royal drama, vampires, fugitives, etc.
Rose Hathaway: One of the best heroines ever! She’s strong, opinionated, stubborn, sassy, reckless, loyal and extremely brave Dhampir. She does make some decisions that I didn’t agree with, but hey, so does everyone. Rose is definitely one of those people you really want to be.
Lissa Dragomir: AKA Princess Vasilisa Dragomir is a moroi and is Rose’s best friend. I like Lissa, but putting her alongside Rose makes her not that impressive. In fact in the first few books she was insanely immature but i do have to say that she had amazing character development. She totally grew on me and I ended up loving her in the last books.
Dimitri Belikov: Also a Dhampir and is Rose’s training instructor. I liked him from the start and oh boy did he make me feel so many things during this series.
Christian Ozera: A royal moroi with a tragic backstory. I was extremely skeptical of Christian at first but he really turned out to be such an amazing and caring character.
Adrian Ivashkov: Also a royal Moroi. He doesn’t show up until the second book but he is the main reason that book got a 5 star rating and every scene he shows up in from book 2 until the last one is perfect!
There are other characters, but so many and some of them give major spoilers by just existing, so those are just the main characters and also my top 5 in this series.
If you’re familiar with Romanian vampire folklore, you’ll know that there are different types of vampires:
Moroi: vampires that are able to wield magic. Each moroi is able to specialize in one type of elemental magic: water, fire, air, earth an s a surprise new element.
Dhampir: these are vampire-human hybrids, they are stronger than the Moroi and thus, most are guardians to the Moroi. (this is actually Balkan folklore, not Romanian).
Strigoi: troubled spirits that are said to have risen from the grave and love feasting on Moroi blood. Thanks to the book descriptions and also the movie, I just imagine them as zombies (but they are not).
Romance: I generally loved most of the romance, most of it was very dramatic but so understandable and entertaining.
Individual book ratings:
Vampire Academy: ★★★★☆
Frostbite: ★★★★★
Shadow Kiss: ★★★★★
Blood Promise: ★★★★☆
Spirit Bound:★★★★☆
Last Sacrifice: ★★★★★
Overall Series Rating: ★★★★.5 rounded up to 5 because this goes into my top 10 favorite series all time and is my favorite vampire book series.
June 25, 2018
2.5 stars rounded up
Re-read the entire series after almost a decade of having read it originally. I needed a comfort read, something that was familiar and I felt like this one would do the trick and it did.
And my thoughts about it remain basically the same. I thought ten years of life would give me a different take on the story, that I would see some things differently. But nope.
The first 3 books are almost perfect. Rose's voice remains to be probably the best female teen voice I've read in all of YA. She's a little shit. She's sarcastic, incapable of taking anything seriously, she's impulsive and a bit of a bitch. And she's the absolute heroine of the story. Hers and Dimitri's relationship is played out fantastically. There's the obvious ethic issue with it, being as they are older teacher/younger student. But there's also this incredibly well played scenes of how they fall in love with each other without the story ever becoming about their romance. It's all about Rose.
And then books 4,5 and 6 happen. And everything goes to shit. I hated Lissa and Dimitri so much by book 6 that there was nothing to salvage the story for me. It's been a fucking long while since these books came out, so spoilers be damned because I truly fucking hated that reckoning scene where Lissa stabs Dimitri to turn him back from a Strigoi and he cries with her. Fuck her and fuck him. I wouldn't have taken him back.
#TeamAdrian all the way.
Which is also the reason why I never read the spin- off and I thought I would change my mind about it and give it a go now, but nope. Still not interested.
Re-read the entire series after almost a decade of having read it originally. I needed a comfort read, something that was familiar and I felt like this one would do the trick and it did.
And my thoughts about it remain basically the same. I thought ten years of life would give me a different take on the story, that I would see some things differently. But nope.
The first 3 books are almost perfect. Rose's voice remains to be probably the best female teen voice I've read in all of YA. She's a little shit. She's sarcastic, incapable of taking anything seriously, she's impulsive and a bit of a bitch. And she's the absolute heroine of the story. Hers and Dimitri's relationship is played out fantastically. There's the obvious ethic issue with it, being as they are older teacher/younger student. But there's also this incredibly well played scenes of how they fall in love with each other without the story ever becoming about their romance. It's all about Rose.
And then books 4,5 and 6 happen. And everything goes to shit. I hated Lissa and Dimitri so much by book 6 that there was nothing to salvage the story for me. It's been a fucking long while since these books came out, so spoilers be damned because I truly fucking hated that reckoning scene where Lissa stabs Dimitri to turn him back from a Strigoi and he cries with her. Fuck her and fuck him. I wouldn't have taken him back.
#TeamAdrian all the way.
Which is also the reason why I never read the spin- off and I thought I would change my mind about it and give it a go now, but nope. Still not interested.
August 10, 2012
Favorite series of all time. Definitely the best of the 'vampire' novels.
April 24, 2023
I read all 6 of these in 5 days. I don't want to talk about it.
August 24, 2020
This is my all time favorite series. I love Rose and Adrian. They are my favorite YA characters. I love everything about these three books.
Vampire Academy - 5 stars
I loved the writing and the story. This book got me hooked from the very first page and I loved it.
Frostbite - 5 stars
Frostbite is my favorite in the series.
Shadow Kiss - 5 stars
I loved this as well and that ending comes out of no where.
Blood Promise - 5 stars
Even though Rose was annoying in this one, I enjoyed it.
Spirit Bound - 5 stars
Adrian has my heart.
Last Sacrifice - 5 stars
Adrian has my heart.
Vampire Academy - 5 stars
I loved the writing and the story. This book got me hooked from the very first page and I loved it.
Frostbite - 5 stars
Frostbite is my favorite in the series.
Shadow Kiss - 5 stars
I loved this as well and that ending comes out of no where.
Blood Promise - 5 stars
Even though Rose was annoying in this one, I enjoyed it.
Spirit Bound - 5 stars
Adrian has my heart.
Last Sacrifice - 5 stars
Adrian has my heart.
November 7, 2022
I’ve read these books before, so you all already know what I think about the books.
The first book was ok but as the series continued it got better and better. Of course I recommend:)
The first book was ok but as the series continued it got better and better. Of course I recommend:)
May 25, 2014
This isn't the regular flowery high school paranormal romance but darker than that. The series starts out good and interesting and as it progresses the plot gets more complicated. The characters like Lissa and Christian are okay, though not that extraordinary despite their awesome powers. I liked the ingenuity of the narrative, making us follow both Rose's and Lissa's adventures at the same time.
Now to more important stuffs:
Despise is a strong word but it is close to what I do Rose. She is not as smart, cool, funny or sarcastic as she thinks she is. It is amazing how generous and self-sacrificing she considers herself to be, in spite of being utterly selfish, always using people for her own good and then discarding them without second thought and one realizes this gradually as one continues with the series. She is not even that good a fighter as she is made out to be. She almost always needs help from others, some of them even losing their lives to save her's.
In other words, Rose is not even close to being one of my favorite rock chicks. In fact, I considered leaving the series mid-way every time she blatantly used someone and then forgot about their help. Adrian is a case in point. I was rooting for him towards the end, though, given Rose's nature, I knew he was going to get his heart broken. He is absolutely right when he says that Rose destroys lives, drawing others into her crazy plans, getting them in all sorts of troubles, and then when her work is done, she just leaves them to their own devices to clean the mess she created. One word: Disgusting.
I liked Dimitry from the very beginning,though at times I resented his excessive philosophizing and control. Nevertheless, he is tall, handsome, beautiful, powerful, and appeared almost invincible until he fell prey to the Strigoi. It was a shock how different he became after being transformed and I could sympathize with Rose. But still I would have preferred it if he had stayed dead. Rose fulfilled her promise and it would have been better if it were the end of her and Dimitry's love story. As I said, I was rooting for Adrian and didn't appreciate the way he suffered.
Other than that, I also felt that the last book ended a bit abruptly and didn't provide appropriate closure.I would have liked to know more about characters like Sidney and Abe.
Now to more important stuffs:
Despise is a strong word but it is close to what I do Rose. She is not as smart, cool, funny or sarcastic as she thinks she is. It is amazing how generous and self-sacrificing she considers herself to be, in spite of being utterly selfish, always using people for her own good and then discarding them without second thought and one realizes this gradually as one continues with the series. She is not even that good a fighter as she is made out to be. She almost always needs help from others, some of them even losing their lives to save her's.
In other words, Rose is not even close to being one of my favorite rock chicks. In fact, I considered leaving the series mid-way every time she blatantly used someone and then forgot about their help. Adrian is a case in point. I was rooting for him towards the end, though, given Rose's nature, I knew he was going to get his heart broken. He is absolutely right when he says that Rose destroys lives, drawing others into her crazy plans, getting them in all sorts of troubles, and then when her work is done, she just leaves them to their own devices to clean the mess she created. One word: Disgusting.
I liked Dimitry from the very beginning,though at times I resented his excessive philosophizing and control. Nevertheless, he is tall, handsome, beautiful, powerful, and appeared almost invincible until he fell prey to the Strigoi. It was a shock how different he became after being transformed and I could sympathize with Rose. But still I would have preferred it if he had stayed dead. Rose fulfilled her promise and it would have been better if it were the end of her and Dimitry's love story. As I said, I was rooting for Adrian and didn't appreciate the way he suffered.
Other than that, I also felt that the last book ended a bit abruptly and didn't provide appropriate closure.I would have liked to know more about characters like Sidney and Abe.
May 26, 2014
This series was absolutely amazing. Possible the best books I have ever read.
Richelle Mead's amazing writing never failed to keep me on the edge of my seat (or bed, or bus, or car or everywhere my kindle and I have travelled!), and I was constantly waiting to know what was going to happen next.
I have never become to emotionally attached to characters as I have to Rose, Dimitri, Lissa, Christian, Adrian just to name a few. These characters have been brought to life so beautifully, and will definitely continue to live in my heart.
To anyone who loves action, mystery, adventure and romance, this series is definitely for you!
Richelle Mead's amazing writing never failed to keep me on the edge of my seat (or bed, or bus, or car or everywhere my kindle and I have travelled!), and I was constantly waiting to know what was going to happen next.
I have never become to emotionally attached to characters as I have to Rose, Dimitri, Lissa, Christian, Adrian just to name a few. These characters have been brought to life so beautifully, and will definitely continue to live in my heart.
To anyone who loves action, mystery, adventure and romance, this series is definitely for you!
July 30, 2019
Mein bester Freund hat mir den Film gezeigt und der war sooooo trashig gut – im allerallerbesten Sinne, dass ich mir von ihm auch gleich die Reihe ausgeliehen habe. Und was muss ich sagen: GENIAL! Die Idee ist so klasse, die Helden grandios! Ich liebe Rose und ihren Humor einfach, ihre schlagkräftige Art und ihr taffes Auftreten. Dimitri natürlich – oho ^^ !!! Auch die Charaktere, die ind er Reihe dann weiter dazukommen, muss man einfach gerne haben!
In der Mitte hatte es so seine Längen, aber durch das Gesamtpaket wurde das dann wieder wett gemacht.
Wer Vampire mal auf andere Weise kennenlernen will, für den ist Vampire Academy das fehlende Puzzleteil. Und den Film dazu nicht vergessen!
In der Mitte hatte es so seine Längen, aber durch das Gesamtpaket wurde das dann wieder wett gemacht.
Wer Vampire mal auf andere Weise kennenlernen will, für den ist Vampire Academy das fehlende Puzzleteil. Und den Film dazu nicht vergessen!
Read
August 27, 2016I've noticed this thing about Mead's books; the first halves are boring and slow, but the second halves are bloody amazing so that's why I have so many mixed feelings about this series. :/
So the first 3 books were pretty good! The last three books were quite disappointing...:(
I'm very doubtful about Mead's spinoff series' Bloodlines...
So the first 3 books were pretty good! The last three books were quite disappointing...:(
I'm very doubtful about Mead's spinoff series' Bloodlines...
February 12, 2013
"Voi non capite! [...] Se lo metto sul volto riesco a trasformarmi!" (cit.)
Want to read
October 12, 2014Who recommends this series? Not sure on whether to start it!
October 20, 2014
Една от най-добрите поредици на вампирска тематика за да не кажа най-добрата. Все пак съм лоялна и към друга поредица.
June 22, 2015
amazing books really!
May 18, 2025
I’ve read this series a few years ago, but i absolutely loved them.
I wanted to keep reading😩
This series is insanely good, there’s so much happening but it makes all sense.
I’d read it all over again😩
I wanted to keep reading😩
This series is insanely good, there’s so much happening but it makes all sense.
I’d read it all over again😩
February 19, 2018
The movie was atrocious. Pretend it doesn’t exist. The books were fantastic.
Storyline wise, I think they get a 3.5/5; but I loved Rose and Dimitri so much that I’m giving this book a solid 5 stars.
Storyline wise, I think they get a 3.5/5; but I loved Rose and Dimitri so much that I’m giving this book a solid 5 stars.
November 22, 2013
I read the series in 2 days because it was, well, gripping!
There are many clichés - the dark, brooding, stronger-than-everyone else, honorable heartthrob, the volcanic heroine, and goddess save us: High School -
many shortcuts and things I would probably have found highly illogical if I hadn't been reading so quickly,
as well as somewhat annoying world foundations/rules; 'good' vampires who wield magic vs 'bad' vampires who are, well, VAMPIRES? The 'reasons' the heroes cannot ever ever be together (a 7 year difference? Puh-lease!) A monarch for all vampires who OF COURSE settled in the US. The dichotomy between feisty dark heroine and blonde princess sidekick. 'Alchemists' who are all about vampires but hate them?...
However, many things were also completely unexpected in a very good way. Rose's relationship with her parents (not gooey or sirupy). The enforced prevalence of Russian/Romanian names and culture. Rose going to Russia and her bittersweet interactions with Dimitri's family as well as ways to find closure. What happens when Dimitri finally captures her (which i found very believable as a description of codependent all-encompassing 'love'). Lissa's unexpected political shrewdness. The ragtag group that forms around Rose. The way she messes up with men. The way some characters, while 'bad', also have undeniable qualities (Victor Dashkov) - yes, ambiguity; Daniella Ivashkov. Fear during in all-out attack. A former bully changes for the better - believably. The way that unexamined prejudice can get busted...
What carries the whole thing is Rose's vitality, undeniably. If I sat down to dissect the books, I would probably groan and eye-roll a lot from all the unbelievability, but as it is, I thoroughly enjoyed Richelle Mead's romp and I have no desire to mar my enjoyment. Yep, it's been good.
There are many clichés - the dark, brooding, stronger-than-everyone else, honorable heartthrob, the volcanic heroine, and goddess save us: High School -
many shortcuts and things I would probably have found highly illogical if I hadn't been reading so quickly,
as well as somewhat annoying world foundations/rules; 'good' vampires who wield magic vs 'bad' vampires who are, well, VAMPIRES? The 'reasons' the heroes cannot ever ever be together (a 7 year difference? Puh-lease!) A monarch for all vampires who OF COURSE settled in the US. The dichotomy between feisty dark heroine and blonde princess sidekick. 'Alchemists' who are all about vampires but hate them?...
However, many things were also completely unexpected in a very good way. Rose's relationship with her parents (not gooey or sirupy). The enforced prevalence of Russian/Romanian names and culture. Rose going to Russia and her bittersweet interactions with Dimitri's family as well as ways to find closure. What happens when Dimitri finally captures her (which i found very believable as a description of codependent all-encompassing 'love'). Lissa's unexpected political shrewdness. The ragtag group that forms around Rose. The way she messes up with men. The way some characters, while 'bad', also have undeniable qualities (Victor Dashkov) - yes, ambiguity; Daniella Ivashkov. Fear during in all-out attack. A former bully changes for the better - believably. The way that unexamined prejudice can get busted...
What carries the whole thing is Rose's vitality, undeniably. If I sat down to dissect the books, I would probably groan and eye-roll a lot from all the unbelievability, but as it is, I thoroughly enjoyed Richelle Mead's romp and I have no desire to mar my enjoyment. Yep, it's been good.
March 2, 2013
Um, WOW. This book series was FREAKING amazing. I loved it so much, and Ive read the whole series cover-to-cover four times.
Good Points:
~Adrian. I really don't think that needs elaborating. Admit it. We all want one.
~The storyline. This was so well-thought out and unique. It really was one-of-a-kind. No cliche love stories<3
~Action. It had some kick-ass fighting scenes that rivalled that of violent books. It was fast-paced, descriptive and amazing.
~Lissa. She's an amazing best friend, just like my own<3
~Rose. She really is the most amazing protagonist ever! I mean, she is smart, sassy, strong and capable. She is a fantastic heroine and she had all the right things.
Flaws:
~Dimitri Belikov. He was NOT my idea of a hero, I'm afraid to say. Please don't hurt me!!!! Nothing about a leather duster and long black hair in a ponytail and a Russian accent excites me. I get that he's hot, but I like a man with short, neat hair. And I have nothing against Russian accents, it just... didn't have the desired effect on me. I was wishing the whole time she was with Adrian, despite the unmissable chemistry between Rose and Dimitri.
~Sometimes the dhampir thing got confusing, and I needed to skip back to the beginning of the first book to try and get the rules straight. It was kinda confusing figuring out the rules for Moroi, Strigoi and Dhampirs.
~Christian. I don't know what it is, but something always seemed off with Christian and Lissa.
But still a great, book, highly recommended
Good Points:
~Adrian. I really don't think that needs elaborating. Admit it. We all want one.
~The storyline. This was so well-thought out and unique. It really was one-of-a-kind. No cliche love stories<3
~Action. It had some kick-ass fighting scenes that rivalled that of violent books. It was fast-paced, descriptive and amazing.
~Lissa. She's an amazing best friend, just like my own<3
~Rose. She really is the most amazing protagonist ever! I mean, she is smart, sassy, strong and capable. She is a fantastic heroine and she had all the right things.
Flaws:
~Dimitri Belikov. He was NOT my idea of a hero, I'm afraid to say. Please don't hurt me!!!! Nothing about a leather duster and long black hair in a ponytail and a Russian accent excites me. I get that he's hot, but I like a man with short, neat hair. And I have nothing against Russian accents, it just... didn't have the desired effect on me. I was wishing the whole time she was with Adrian, despite the unmissable chemistry between Rose and Dimitri.
~Sometimes the dhampir thing got confusing, and I needed to skip back to the beginning of the first book to try and get the rules straight. It was kinda confusing figuring out the rules for Moroi, Strigoi and Dhampirs.
~Christian. I don't know what it is, but something always seemed off with Christian and Lissa.
But still a great, book, highly recommended
May 27, 2016
I was a little late to the show when it came the Vampire Academy Series, I purchased a box set and spread out the Rose and Dimitri goodness for about a year. I have to admit that it was the film adaptation that inspired me to pick up this collection of books. The tongue-in-cheek witty one liners and kick-ass heroine had me sold instantly.
The film didn’t get that much praise, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved the silliness and mythology of the world, though it was easy to see where it failed. There is so much information in every book in this series, that the movie could not include it all in order to help drive the plot forward. I also did not get the chemistry from the couple on screen that I did in the novels.
Richelle Mead is a master of plot. The novels just kept getting better the further I got into the series. My favourite being ‘Blood Promise.’ What starts as a typical smart-mouthed teen, Rose really develops into a selfless warrior.
I did want a little more from the end of the series though; there were many questions I did not get answers to, but I’m wondering if it will get explored further in the Bloodlines series.
An attractive boxed set that gave me many, many hours of fun entertainment and solidified Rose as one of my favourite heroines. Glad to have it in my library collection.
The film didn’t get that much praise, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved the silliness and mythology of the world, though it was easy to see where it failed. There is so much information in every book in this series, that the movie could not include it all in order to help drive the plot forward. I also did not get the chemistry from the couple on screen that I did in the novels.
Richelle Mead is a master of plot. The novels just kept getting better the further I got into the series. My favourite being ‘Blood Promise.’ What starts as a typical smart-mouthed teen, Rose really develops into a selfless warrior.
I did want a little more from the end of the series though; there were many questions I did not get answers to, but I’m wondering if it will get explored further in the Bloodlines series.
An attractive boxed set that gave me many, many hours of fun entertainment and solidified Rose as one of my favourite heroines. Glad to have it in my library collection.
December 27, 2012
I loved Buffy when I was young, and even now (when I am OLD, 42!) I enjoy YA novels and still really like vampire reads. This was a little different than others I've been familiar with (a complete vampire society, different types of vampires) but I really liked it.
The first book was actually the most difficult to get into. It had a very abrupt start and was a little hard to understand until it explained some things later on. All the remaining books did have quite a bit of repetition (which would be helpful to a reader who had a long wait between books, or was reading a middle one as a stand alone ... but reading them back to back, it was rather annoying!) All the books would start a little slow, then build to an action packed climax.
Here on this family account, I'm trying to review things from a PARENT perspective. I have 5 boys, I know none of them are going to read this series! If I had girls ... hmmmm, I'm not positive I would recommend it. Throughout the series, there is some sex and language (f word, not a LOT, but a here and there, a little more as the series progresses).
The first book was actually the most difficult to get into. It had a very abrupt start and was a little hard to understand until it explained some things later on. All the remaining books did have quite a bit of repetition (which would be helpful to a reader who had a long wait between books, or was reading a middle one as a stand alone ... but reading them back to back, it was rather annoying!) All the books would start a little slow, then build to an action packed climax.
Here on this family account, I'm trying to review things from a PARENT perspective. I have 5 boys, I know none of them are going to read this series! If I had girls ... hmmmm, I'm not positive I would recommend it. Throughout the series, there is some sex and language (f word, not a LOT, but a here and there, a little more as the series progresses).
January 16, 2014
You know the feeling when you read a book, finish it and feel like you don't know what to do with your life anymore?
I didn't either.. until i finished this collection's last book.
When i first started this, i said wow, another book about vampires, hooray.. However, I couldn't stop reading!!! I sacrificed my sleep, and space in my luggage insisting to carry book no. 4,5 and 6 all way to Greece, rather than more clothes because i couldn't have waited until my return to know what's gonna happen next.
This series is completely action-packed - what makes it special. Action, action, action. You'll never get bored. The twists and turns are just amazing. And the characters are A-MA-ZING ! Funny, smart, determined, more funny. Laughing out loud sincerely.
They are all just made for each other. Enemies, lovers, friends, teachers.. put toghether perfectly.
Richelle Mead, you rock !!!
I didn't either.. until i finished this collection's last book.
When i first started this, i said wow, another book about vampires, hooray.. However, I couldn't stop reading!!! I sacrificed my sleep, and space in my luggage insisting to carry book no. 4,5 and 6 all way to Greece, rather than more clothes because i couldn't have waited until my return to know what's gonna happen next.
This series is completely action-packed - what makes it special. Action, action, action. You'll never get bored. The twists and turns are just amazing. And the characters are A-MA-ZING ! Funny, smart, determined, more funny. Laughing out loud sincerely.
They are all just made for each other. Enemies, lovers, friends, teachers.. put toghether perfectly.
Richelle Mead, you rock !!!
January 27, 2013
This is arguably my favorite book series. The first half of the series, which takes place so heavily in a high-school setting, portrays teenagers in their every-day interactions so well, even though the teens in this book aren't even human. Richelle Mead never failed to make me laugh, smile, cry, or curse. The story itself is spellbinding from start to finish and anyone who can stand the vampire genre should definitely give it a shot - especially because the mythological material dealt with is so different from other vampire legends.
July 9, 2020
If I could rate this series higher than allowed I would. I was Recommend this series by a friend of my aunts and I cannot thank her enough for it. It is by far one of the best series I’ve ever read filled with romance and adventure and mystery. I recommend this series for anybody that loves the world of vampires and romance and discovering who you are.
The minute I picked up these books I couldn’t put them down. I read them all in a bit over a week and I can’t wait to reread them
The minute I picked up these books I couldn’t put them down. I read them all in a bit over a week and I can’t wait to reread them
January 21, 2019
a favourite for nostalgia's sake
having read this series about 8 years ago, i'm not so sure how much i would enjoy it now but i loved it so much as a wee younglin' that i can't bear to reread it...
guess it's staying on the favourite's shelf for now ^^;
having read this series about 8 years ago, i'm not so sure how much i would enjoy it now but i loved it so much as a wee younglin' that i can't bear to reread it...
guess it's staying on the favourite's shelf for now ^^;
September 11, 2016
Delightful beach reading. The fourth and fifth books seemed to get bogged down in its own angst, but 1-3 and 6 were incredibly enjoyable. Read the series in a week, then made the mistake of paying to see the movie. Stick to the pages on this one.
June 11, 2015
I loved this series! It was so good and kept me in suspense the whole time! The end is perfect!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 391 reviews