Vampire Academy

By: Richelle Mead

Narrated by: Stephanie Wolf

“We’re suckers for it.” — Entertainment Weekly

Join the legion of fans who skyrocketed this six-book series to the top of the charts. Start here, with the first book that kicked off the international #1 bestselling Vampire Academy series.
Love and loyalty run deeper than blood. St. Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger. . . .

Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever.

Critic reviews

“We’re suckers for it.” —Entertainment Weekly

“Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy saga is set to be the next young adult paranormal series to become a household name.” —The Huffington Post

“…Mead knows her folklore, using it to great advantage in crafting a credible back story for the friction between her good and evil vampires.” —The Miami Herald

“Vampire Academy is on an entirely different playing field than Twilight…Rose shows no signs of codependency; she’s the Sasha Fierce of Vampires, kicking ass and taking names.” —Miami New Times

“[The Vampire Academy series] improves with each installment, as [Mead] keeps readers on the edge of their seats while adding unexpected twists.” —Associated Press

“Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy books are on Hollywood’s radar.” —Detroit Free Press

“[Richelle Mead] brings new blood to the vampire genre.” —Scripps Howard News Service

“Vampire Academy…is taking a bite out of the publishing world.” —Associated Press

“…Vampire Academy heroine Rose Hathaway [is] a combination of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angelina Jolie in Tomb Raider.” —The Seattle Times

“…An immediate hit, thanks to Mead’s writing talent [and] Rose’s charismatic character.” —Scripps Howard News Service

Don't let the reader turn you off the story

Alright so, the reader makes most of the characters sound like they're 9 years old. Don't let that drive you away from a good book though. This is a fun YA romp. I love what the author has done with vampires and their half human counterparts, it's different without being totally outside the traditional tropes. No sparkles here. Richelle has managed to layer in years of back story without dropping huge chunks of exposition and she's created complex, likable (and a few hateable) characters. Give the series a chance, or maybe read the first volume before listening to it.

voices

just wish the character voices she uses weren't so squeaky and child like, i get they are teens but no teen sounds like that kinda made it hard to listen to

Amazing

I love this book! This is probably one of my favorite series I have ever read!

Third time

I had read this twice over the years and this was my third time, love the story and performance of narrator.

FINALLY some good Fricken food

I have been tirelessly searching for years for another young adult novel to grab my interest.
As somebody who still continuously rereads the popular children’s books like Harry Potter and twilight, i’ve been looking to add another series to my repertoire of young adult novels that I obsess about. The issue is, that while I can find enjoyment in other young adult novels, usually I cannot freaking stand either the plot line, the characters, or both.
Vampire academy is the first time in a long time that I finally feel like I found something worthwhile.
The plotline feels very fresh to me. The connection between the best friends of Lissa and Rose is so intriguing to me. It creates a relationship between friends that I think is so important to delve into and talk about for people in general. A lot of times we look into romance and we psychoanalyze romantic feelings, but we very rarely ever focus deeply on more platonic relations like friends. Their connection is one of the most intriguing things to me throughout this whole series. Secondly, finally a female main character that I actually like again! Rose is great. I don’t care what anybody says. I have spent so many years reading about female main characters that are just written like pieces of crap. Most female main characters are always crying, always scared, and usually have the personality of a door nail, they usually only care about their main love interest and they really have no hobbies, or other main personality traits other than usually crying. Rose is so refreshing to read. She’s definitely got a ton of flaws, but she’s funny, free, and all around just more entertaining than so many other female main characters that I endure. Love her!

Wish I would’ve picked up the series years ago! It’s got plenty of great characters, especially female ones! It’s got an interesting plot line that still keeps that great aesthetic of vampires around it! All in all just fun and fresh!