Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Sunday I started a new series called Vampire Academy - It's been around for a bit but I hadn't picked it up til recently. There's 5 books out right now - #1 Vampire Academy, #2 Frostbite, #3 Shadow Kiss, #4 Blood Promise and #5 Spirit Bound. There's even a website for the series - Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Author Notes:

Lissa Dragomir is a Moroi princess: a mortal vampire with an unbreakable bond to the earth's magic. She must be protected at all times from Strigoi; the fiercest and most dangerous vampires--the ones who never die.

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.

After two years of illicit freedom, Rose and Lissa are caught and dragged back to St. Vladimir's Academy, hidden in the deep forests of Montana. Rose will continue her Dhampir education. Lissa will go back to being Queen of the elite Moroi social scene. And both girls will resume breaking hearts.

Fear made Lissa and Rose run away from St. Vladimir's – inside the Academy’s iron gates, their world is even more fraught with danger. Here, the cutthroat ranks of the Moroi perform unspeakable rituals and their secretive nature and love of the night creates an enigmatic world full of social complexities. 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...

My Notes:

Book #1 the start of the Vampire Academy Series starts off in the thick of it, to my surprise. It does have a steady flow, inserting the good stuff (the secret pieces your missing) here and there as you go along, learning of what has happened and lead up to Lissa and Rose's escape from the academy.

I can't say much without giving anything away lol but it has romance, twists and turns that you don't expect, a strong sister connection between Lissa and Rose - Rose is able to slip into Lissa's mind and see everything she does with their bond. There's always someone out to get them (either the Strigoi or another student) and it's hard to believe what the truth is. Love how it was done, kept me on my toes and reading.

Rose learns a lesson of how strong she is and her determination of protecting Lissa. First hating to do more lessons and take up where she left off before the escape, but then loving the new found passion of wanting to be the best Dhampir.

Lissa - the once quiet princess starts throwing her 'powers' around and earns herself a spot in the spotlight amongst all the other Royals. She has to learn to control her powers and not go nuts in the process.

Of course there's teen issues - the characters are 17 and its a school. Dead animals, talk of sex and a passionate 'almost' love seen described by the author makes it not a preteen book.

Now to read the next one!