Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead - This book is so compliated, I'm not sure I could give a summary without spoiling it, so the following is fthe book's blurb.
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 dangrous 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; she 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 bak to St. Vlandimir'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. Vlandimir's - but their world is fraught with danger both inside and out of the Academy's iron gates. 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 the dangerus world, confront the temptation of forbidden romance, and never once let thir guard down, lest the Strigoi make Lissa one of them forever...
Not that long ago, I read Marked by P.C. and Kristin Cast, and there are some similarities between these novels; they're set in campire schools, and vampire students can specialise in elemental magic. But there the similarites end. Anyone who may dismiss Vampire Academy of being another Marked - like I believed it would be - should stop now. I liked Marked, but I loved Vampire Academy!
The plot and structure of this book are just outstanding! It's told from Rose's point of view, and a fair few times, the past is mentioned in conversation without an explanation, but the flash backs come a little later - and the plot is so complicated that the smallest detail, either something in the past or smething said in conversation, can end up becoming a big puzzle piece later on down the line. Nothing in this novel is there by chance. I was copletelyblown away byhow everytingfit together!
I love the mythology in the novel of the mortal vampires, Morai, and the immortal vampires, Stigoi, who are evil incarnate, afeed from Morai to be at their strongest. Even the Dhmpure are cool, the guardians who protect the Morai from the Strigoi. It's fascinting!
It was awesome having Rose narrates the story too, as she is extremely tough and loyal, with a wicked sense of humour. It was unexpected, as, generally, vamps tend to be the strongest; I was thinking Lissa would have all the action and Rose would be "watching fom the sidelines"so to speak, we wouldn't get it first hand. But Rose was always right in there. And the action was just awesome, it definitely gets the adrenalin rushing.
Lissa is such a lovely girl, and wouldn't hurt a fly, but as nice as she is, the girl has issues, so with Rose narrating, it wasn't as heavy, or fluffy, as it could have been. We get some brilliant literary-candy in this book, too. If Dimitri, guardian and Rose's mentor, dosen't get the heart pumping, I'll be amazed! He is just amazing!
I so can't wait to read the next in the series, Frostbite! Its going to be awesome, I just know it! Go read Vampire Academy, now!