Silver Shadows by Richelle Mead: I can't seem to get enough of this world!

ISBN: 9781595143211
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased
Series: Bloodlines #5
Released: July 29, 2014
Length: 380 pp
Goodreads  |  B&N

     SUMMARY

In The Fiery Heart, Sydney risked everything to follow her gut, walking a dangerous line to keep her feelings hidden from the Alchemists.
Now in the aftermath of an event that ripped their world apart, Sydney and Adrian struggle to pick up the pieces and find their way back to each other. But first, they have to survive.

For Sydney, trapped and surrounded by adversaries, life becomes a daily struggle to hold on to her identity and the memories of those she loves. Meanwhile, Adrian clings to hope in the face of those who tell him Sydney is a lost cause, but the battle proves daunting as old demons and new temptations begin to seize hold of him. . . .

     REVIEW

Whew. I just finished reading Silver Shadows. And when I mean just - I mean just, like five minutes ago finished reading Silver Shadows. I had to get my thoughts and feelings out immediately, and posting it on GR to leave for later blog post was just not going to cut it.

I've been waiting for this book to release since March of this year when I finished The Fiery Heart which KILLED ME. That book straight up murdered me and I needed this book to put me back together. When I started reading it, I couldn't believe how hard it was for me to get into it. The only Richelle Mead books I've ever read that I didn't really, really like were the first to Vampire Academy books. But that's not to say I was a stranger to her slow start and bangin-ass finish - it's kind of her MO.

It was definitely tough for me though, considering it'd been months since my last book in the series and it took about 40% in for things to heat up. Adrian is obviously miserable with Sydney missing - I get that. But he was so annoying and childish and basically reverted back to all the old ways he kept in VA which is when I truly disliked him. After finishing the book, I can obviously see why it happened and was necessary but boy it took me a good week to finally sink my teeth into this book.

Once things turned around.... I can't even begin to tell you the emotions I experienced at the hands of Silver Shadows. I think I've mentioned in past Mead reviews that she is the queen of action. I haven't read an action scene of hers that I wasn't hooked on. Well just know, the second half of the book is pure action and I couldn't put it down after that!

I'll admit Mead did her usual info-dumping in the beginning but I'm so used to it, I kind of rolled my eyes and skimmed it, but luckily it didn't take up much time. Also, there were a few times that the dialogue seemed a bit more stiff than usual for Mead... and there were a few convenient loop holes and abilities that allowed things to happen a little too easily.

With that being said, I'm way too invested in this series to even care. Silver Shadows topped everything for me (except for Fiery Heart because that's where Sydrian really took off) and some amazinggggg things happened that I obviously can't tell you.

We're also left with one hell of a cliff hanger that, oddly enough, I did not see coming at all. After I finished, I felt like I should've seen it coming but I didn't and now I'm pissed because I have to wait until February until the final book, The Ruby Circle come out. I'm going to go cry under a rock until then. See ya.

     THE BREAKDOWN

RATING: ★★★★ 1/2 - Really enjoyed it!

After waiting months for Silver Shadows to release, it was everything I wanted and more! Mead had her standards: a slow start and some classic info-dumping in the beginning but once she turned up the heat, I couldn't pull myself away!

She adds more and more to the world with each book and I can't even begin to talk about how much I love almost every single character in the series. Needless to say, it was another amazing addition to Bloodlines by Mead and now I've got to wait 6 more months until the finale releases.

Can I just say that there better be another spinoff? If I don't get like a Jill/Eddie or Olive/Neil or Nina/Somebody. Or Angeline! OMG or Marcus/Can't say who! OMG I just got so excited when I thought of Marcus and she-who-must-not-be-named!!! I need another spinoff! For those of you who've read it, you know who I mean right? This one fits best if she's going to write any more - you know it would be another amazing series, yes?

Anyhow, have you read Silver Shadows yet? What did you think? If you're a fan like me, chances are you loved it, but I'm intrigued to know if anyone didn't love it. Can't wait to hear from you!!


A.

Series Review: The Bloodlines Series by Richelle Mead

I've never really done a series review before, but since I have quick opinions on each book and some things to say about the series as a whole, I thought it'd be easier than posting four separate pointless reviews. Below are the mini-reviews for the following:

Bloodlines (#1): ISBN: 9780141337111, released: August 23, 2011;
The Golden Lily (#2): ISBN: 9781595143181, released June 12, 2012;
The Indigo Spell (#3): ISBN: 9781595143198, released February 12, 2013; and
The Fiery Heart (#4): ISBN; 9781595143204, released November 19, 2013.

**The following mini-reviews may contain spoilers for the Vampire Academy series. Click here for spoiler free reviews of the Vampire Academy series**

     SERIES REVIEWS:

BLOODLINES (#1);

     I went into this first book looking forward to continuing a series I enjoyed a lot, Vampire Academy, but not expecting anything fantastic. While I enjoyed VA, it wasn't life changing and I had a lot of grievances over Mead's writing and choices in the story. As I started Bloodlines, I realized there was nothing life changing at first either, and then I realized that Mead was actually not doing some of the annoying things she did throughout VA, e.g., info dumps, etc. I ended up liking it a whole lot more than I expected to and really connected with Sydney, Adrian (who I really hated in VA) and some of the other minor characters (though Jill tended to get on my nerves). I loved it more than I think I loved any of the VA books and was so eager to move on to book 2.

THE GOLDEN LILY (#2):
*Please note there may be spoilers for Bloodlines in this mini-review*

     I ended up enjoying this one a lot but not quite as much as I enjoyed Bloodlines. I was annoyed by the way a lot of things played out, specifically a certain rescue that took two days! WTF! Some things just didn't go the way I'd hoped but one thing that did go the way I'd hoped was the Sydney/Adrian dynamic. I won't spoil anything that happens in this book but I love their friendship and the way they developed and Sydney stopped being an uptight little snotball (well, somewhat stopped) and opened up a lot. I really learned a lot about Sydney and grew to love her even though she was an uber-bitch in book 1.

THE INDIGO SPELL (#3):
*Please note there may be spoilers for the previous two books in this mini-review*

     I went into this one really wary, too, because a blog friend of mine, Kelly of Dandelion Dreams, didn't like it as much as the others. I was a little disappointed with the direction the Marcus Finch thing went in and I was especially surprised with the way the witch thing ended up going. All of those things aside, I LOVED this one for one reason and one reason only: Sydney/Adrian. I need nothing else in these books other than "Sydrian". This book was more character-driven this time around but I was totally okay with that. I can't count how many times my heart nearly burst from swoon and excitement and happiness and sometimes sadness. If it weren't for the out of place witch thing and the anti-climactic deal with Marcus Finch, this would've been a perfect novel!

THE FIERY HEART (#4):
*Please note there may be spoilers for the previous three books in this mini-review*

I just... am at a loss for words when trying to describe The Fiery Heart. By page one, I was already grinning like a fool and thanking the bookish gods for giving us Adrian's POV. He was hysterical, and so, so sweet, and sometimes reading about him made me a little sad. Adrian came off as very arrogant and selfish in the VA series and that's most of the reason I didn't like him. In The first three Bloodlines books we get to know him better, but nothing like in The Fiery Heart. My heart belongs to Adrian, that's all I can really say that sums it all up.

Sydney and Adrian were amazing - they just did something unnatural to my emotions with all of their interactions. And then comes the end of the book, which I guess I should've seen coming but I was very near hyperventilating and now I NEED Silver Shadows in my hands right now. It's even worse knowing I'll finish Silver Shadows in two days tops and won't have the next book for God only knows how long, 6 months, a year? Needless to day, The Fiery Heart was the best of the series so far and I think I'm going to re-read this one, just to relive all the feels.

SERIES RATING: ★★★★ 1/2 - Loved it!

I seriously didn't think I'd ever get around to reading the Bloodlines series or like it enough to read the whole thing because while I enjoyed VA, I didn't love it - not nearly as much as I love Bloodlines anyway. So when I finally picked them up and fell in love, it was quite the pleasant surprise. All four books were great, especially the last two which were fantastic!

Have you read the Bloodlines series yet? What did you think about them? If not, are you planning on reading it? You're in for a treat if that's the case! Let's talk books!


Happy Reading! A.

Review: Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead

ISBN: 9781595143068
Source: Purchased
Series: Vampire Academy #6
Release Date: January 1, 2010
Goodreads  |  Amazon
See reviews for previous books in this series
*THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR BOOKS 1-5*

     SYNOPSIS:

Rose Hathaway has always played by her own rules. She broke the law when she ran away from St. Vladimir's Academy with her best friend and last surviving Dragomir princess, Lissa. She broke the law when she fell in love with her gorgeous, off-limits instructor, Dimitri. And she dared to defy Queen Tatiana, leader of the Moroi world, risking her life and reputation to protect generations of dhampir guardians to come.

Now the law has finally caught up with Rose - for a crime she didn't even commit. She's in prison for the highest offense imaginable: the assassination of a monarch. She'll need help from both Dimitri and Adrian to find the one living person who can stall her execution and force the Moroi elite to acknowledge a shocking new candidate for the royal throne: Vasilisa Dragomir.

But the clock on Rose's life is running out. Rose knows in her heart the world of the dead wants her back...and this time she is truly out of second chances. The big question is, when your whole life is about saving others, who will save you?

     REVIEW:

So after the events of Spirit Bound, I think we were all kind of expecting an epic conclusion to the series, amiright? Wellll.... about that...

Last Sacrifice picks up very shortly after Spirit Bound and moves right into the action. The story is action packed and, yes, you guessed it: DI. MI. TRI! The romance was pretty much perfect except for a few blips in the form of Adrian, whom I adore, just not for Rose. On that note, I am pretty excited for what I expect to be a boat load of character development for him in Bloodlines, because he needs it, badly.

Anyway, there's not much left to say after having reviewed the first five books in the series. We know that the world-building was pretty good throughout the series. I think it was a little strange how some new things were thrown in with this last book that had never existed before but I hope to see more of those things in the spinoff anyway.

I had the majority of this series spoiled for me accidentally, but somehow this book did throw me a few curveballs I was not expecting, and I was pleasantly surprised. However, all in all, I think Last Sacrifice was a lazy (not to mention a little too convenient) ending  to a pretty good series. It had the potential for so much more! The entirety of this book builds up for a BANG of an ending, but **warning - spoiler** with Rose being incapacitated, we miss out entirely on Lissa taking the throne, and she just shows up kind of like.. "Oh hey, I'm the Queen, btw." **end spoiler** The book was pretty long, but I think some of the less important scenes could have been cut out and more added to the ending that deserved way better.

With that being said, I did still enjoy this book. Rose's sarcasm gets better with every book and I found myself cracking up with her several times. I loved the romance and the book was rather action packed. It wasn't a perfect book, but I enjoyed it.

RATING:  4 stars - Pretty Good

Good ending to a good series. In my opinion, the series as a whole gets a "Pretty Good" rating from me, or in other words, 4 out of 5 stars. Not amazing but I enjoyed it and I loved the romance and the world is so unique and fun to be a part of.

Have you finished this entire series? What did you think of this final installment and the series as whole?

Get a Second Opinion

Kat Kennedy's Review (Goodreads) [2 of 5 stars]

Choice Reads [3 of 5 stars]

Team Tynga's Reviews [5 of 5 stars}

A.

Review: Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead

ISBN: 9781595143662
Source: Purchased
Series: Vampire Academy #5
Release Date: May 18, 2010
Goodreads  |  Amazon
See my reviews for previous books in this series
*This review may contain spoilers for previous books in the series*

     SYNOPSIS:

Dimitri gave Rose the ultimate choice. But she chose wrong...
After a long and heartbreaking journey to Dimitri's birthplace in Siberia, Rose Hathaway has finally returned to St. Vladimir's-and to her best friend, Lissa. It is nearly graduation, and the girls can't wait for their real lives beyond the Academy's iron gates to begin. But Rose's heart still aches for Dimitri, and she knows he's out there, somewhere.
She failed to kill him when she had the chance. And now her worst fears are about to come true. Dimitri has tasted her blood, and now he is hunting her. And this time he won't rest until Rose joins him... forever.

     REVIEW:

Ever read a book that frustrates the ever loving crap out of you? Well Spirit Bound was that book for me. The thing is: I liked it so much because it caused so much emotion in me. Maybe that emotion was mostly frustration, but still. I wouldn't be frustrated if I didn't care right?

There were a few things that annoyed me, though, that I didn't find acceptable. This was a book of epic proportions from start to finish and some of just wasn't pulled off the best way it could be. Rose made some very out of character decisions, other characters acted in ways they never had or never should have.  ****spoiler**** I hated the fact that the very same day that Rose came back from hunting Dimitri and being so distraught over everything that happened, she just all of a sudden decides to date Adrian, well.. because she promise him she'd try, right? WTF. The same day, woman!? Too soon!! Also, I seriously could not stand the way Lissa and Dimitri were acting toward each other and toward Rose at the end. I mean, Dimitri, I understand. But Lissa? Back the f*** off Bitch! Oh man, that really, really got to me.****end spoiler****

All that annoying stuff aside, Spirit Bound really did jump right into the action, and while I didn't agree with everything that happened or how it went down, I think it was all very clever and the pacing was great. After reviewing four of the books previously, I guess I don't have much else to say. This was my second favorite book of the series (after Shadow Kiss) because well... Dimitriiiii!!

     RATING: ★★★★ 1/2

I really did enjoy Spirit Bound as it began to tie up a lot of loose ends and set up for what has the potential to be an awesome series-ender. And Dimitri. I think that one word says everything that anyone needs to know about the series.

How far have you gotten in the series? Did you read book 5, and if so, what did you think? Let's talk books!

A.

Book-to-Movie Review: Vampire Academy

Happy Sunday everyone!! Who went to see Vampire Academy this weekend?

THIS girl did! To be completely and totally honest with you, I expected it to be really, really bad. Have you seen Beautiful Creatures? Remember how god-awful that was? That's basically what I was expecting. Nonsensical, cheesy, alternative endings... etc.

I was so, so wrong. The usual concern for a book-to-movie adaptation are plot changes and things being added in or taken out. I won't lie: things were left out - but it worked for the movie. It moved swiftly and hit all the major plot points including things with Natalie and Victor Dashkov, and I thought it was awesome that they added in some of the tiny little details that are used in later books and could be used in later movies. ***SPOILER*** They did add in this weird little thing about Moroi spraying blood on the walls with their wrists like some strange fad which was awkward and incredibly stupid but, hey - ya win some, ya lose some. ***END SPOILER***

Vampire Academy was hysterically funny. I originally hated the trailers because they seemed cheesy and silly but the movie really played up Rose's sarcasm while still keeping the air of darkness that is part of the books. I was cracking up the whole time and even the "let's make tonight our bitch" line from the trailer seemed less cheesy in context.

Zoey Deutch did an awesome job playing Rose! She was the perfect mix of sarcasm and bad-ass, I just loved her! Lucy Fry who played Lissa made me like her character when I never liked her much in the books. She was brought to life and was a little bit more 3-dimensional in the movies. I wasn't entirely crazy about the casting for Christian but I think Dominic Sherwood did a good job, even if he didn't look exactly how I'd pictured him in my head.

Okay, so maybe I didn't hate the casting of of Dimitri that much..

And I know you're all wondering: Dimitriiiii! I was not happy with the casting for Dimitri. Danila Kozlovsky looked too old (and I think he was actually older in the movie than in the book) and he wasn't.... sexy, for lack of a better term. I think we've all pictured Dimitri as this sexy guy with a hot bod but what we got was a little more mediocre. Attractive but not sexy, stocky but not chiseled. Not to mention the creep factor of him looking like he's 34, not 24. So needless to say, I was not happy with the choice for Dimitri..... until that secretly-hunky man SMILED. I about died when he smiled...those dimples... and when he says "Roza, my Roza"... Sweet Baby Jesus, I was a goner.. He did have a heavier accent than I was expecting though, which sometimes made it hard to understand him, but it was adorable and I loved it. I went in there expecting to hate him but I actually kind of love him, just wish he was hotter (and um.. younger..).

As further evidence of the awesomeness of this movie, I dragged my fiance with me (it was our anniversary and how could he tell me no?) and he said he fully expected to hate every second of it,  but he didn't. He actually gave it a rating of 3.5 out of 5. Again... an almost-30-year-old man, hates vampire crap, hates YA crap, hates everything I'm into... and he actually kind of liked it. He said he granted the extra .5 because it made him laugh out loud. I'm still amazed.

Rating: ★★★★ 1/2

Overall, I really, really liked Vampire Academy. I was pleasantly surprised and I think it did a great job of bringing the story to life! I actually liked it more than I liked the first book (it feels blasphemous to say this). I hope they make a movie for the next book too (kind of hoping they combine some of them so it's not a 6 movie series, eek). They definitely did everything right and left it open for the movie series to continue (instead of changing the ending, *ahem Beautiful Creatures ahem* to provide "closure"). Great movie and I actually kind of want to see it again.

Did you see Vampire Academy? What did you think? I loved it, I hope you all were as pleasantly surprised by it as I was!

A.

Review: Blood Promise by Richelle Mead

ISBN: 9781595143105
Source: Purchased
Series: Vampire Academy #4
Release Date: August 25, 2009
Goodreads  |  Amazon
See reviews for previous books in this series
*Please note that this review may contain spoilers for previous books in the series*

     SYNOPSIS:

DIMITRI'S HEART HAS GONE DARK.
Now Rose must journey to the ends of the earth to find - and kill - her one true love....
Or has the time come to join him?
My heart shattered. My world shattered.You will lose what you value most....It wasn't my life.... It wasn't even Dimitri's life.What you value most.It was his soul.

     REVIEW:

Coming off of the emotional rollercoaster that is Shadow Kiss, book 3, I was really anticipating reading Blood Promise, but I was also pretty nervous on how the rest of the story was going to play out. The entire journey through the books, especially Blood Promise, had an underlying feeling of Rose's pain through everything. Unfortunately for me, though, I had the majority of the story spoiled for me, so nothing was really a total surprise for me. However, it was still nerve wracking not being 100% sure if the horrible things at the end of Shadow Kiss would be resolved by the end of the series and how.

I liked meeting some more new characters, Sydney, Abe, the Belikovs. I think that was my favorite part - branching out. Rose finally really gets to leave St. Vladimir's and I think it did wonders for the story. It opened up the world that much more and allowed us some insight into the Vampire Academy world outside of St. Vladimir's and the Royal Court.

I did, however, come to the conclusion, about halfway through this book, that 6 books is just too long for a series that isn't mind-blowingly amazing. Probably, I'm hardwired for 3-book series and that's it. By book 4, I was dying to know how it all ended already and kind of pushing myself through. Not that I didn't enjoy them all, but then the books started getting to 500-600 pages. I love a good long book, but sheesh. The whole thing was a little too drawn out and I think a lot of it could've been cut out and sped the plot along better.

Unfortunately, this installment had a lot of random little plot holes that really annoyed me. None of them were things that really affected the story - just things that make you go "hey... wait a minute....???" And none of them were ever explained. To me it seemed like straight up lazy writing which really annoyed me because the writing as a whole had gotten so much better since book 1, and then it began regressing.

But, all in all, even when I don't absolutely love one of the books in this series, my favorite thing about them is: Dimitriiiii!! Have I said that before? Even when there were bad, bad things happening, I still loved him. There honestly was no romantic development in Blood Promise, not in the real sense of the word, but it was still perfect... It killed me in so many ways, I just don't know how to describe it...what more can I say?

     RATING: ★★★★

Blood Promise was a bit predictable at times and very drawn out. I enjoyed venturing outside of the standard settings for the Vampire Academy books, but I was anxious to get through this one to move onto the next so I can finally find out how it all goes down. Did I mention that 6 books is just too many for a non-mind-blowing series?

Have you read this far into this series? What did you think of this book in particular? Can't wait to hear from you!

A.

Review: Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead

ISBN: 9781439550649
Source: Purchased
Series: Vampire Academy #3
Release Date: November 13, 2008
Goodreads  |  Amazon
See my reviews for previous books in this series

     SYNOPSIS:

It's springtime at St. Vladimir's Academy, and Rose Hathaway is this close to graduation. Since making her first Strigoi kills, Rose hasn't been feeling quite right. She's having dark thoughts, behaving erratically, and worst of all... might be seeing ghosts.As Rose questions her sanity, new complications arise. Lissa has begun experimenting with her magic once more, their enemy Victor Dashkov might be set free, and Rose's forbidden relationship with Dimitri is starting to heat up again. But when a deadly threat no one saw coming changes their entire world, Rose must put her own life on the line - and choose between the two people she loves most.

     REVIEW:

Things I think Richelle Mead is amazing at:

Writing action scenes

Writing love scenes

Awesome character development

Ripping my heart out and stomping on it, then making me come back for more

Things I don't think Richelle Mead is amazing at:

Writing "unobtrusive" narrative (making it not feel like I'm reading a book)

Showing instead of telling

So basically, Richelle Mead: Queen of Info Dumps, Heart Breaks and Ass-Kickings.

With that being said, I want you all to know that Shadow Kiss was my favorite book of the entire series, hands down. The writing seems to get better with each book - either that or I'm just used to it by now and know what to expect. Like I said before, character development is a plus. Rose has become less annoying and reckless and more like the badass heroine I always knew she could be. The pacing was pretty great overall and moved along a lot better than the last two, with the plot progression also being a plus in Mead's favor.

The romance, something that I was very excited to see develop after the end of book 2, was there and I enjoyed it when it was there, but I don't think Mead elaborated enough on it. There weren't enough opportunities to experience the chemistry. It was the same in books one and two, but it didn't bother me then because I'm not a fan of insta-love, so I liked that it took two books to build up to something awesome. About halfway through Shadow Kiss though, I was really dying for something more in the romance department. Mead did deliver, though a bit late, and I was very pleased with it.

Also, something that bothered me is that Mead will present a problem, for example *somewhat-spoiler* (highlight empty space to read) Rose seeing Mason's ghost, realizing that being outside the wards makes it unbearable, etc., then all of a sudden just being able to push it away.. *end somewhat-spoiler* which will propel the story to new heights.  An obstacle for Rose or another character to overcome... How will Rose deal with this? What awesome solution is she going to find to this problem? Then Mead presents us with a resolution that seems way too convenient, that doesn't fit the story. Again, I won't spoil, but sometimes things were just too easily pushed to the side.

It was hard for me to really, really enjoy this book because (as I mentioned in my review of the last book) I accidentally came across some reviews with major spoilers. As quickly as I clicked to another screen, I wasn't fast enough for me to not find out how this book was going to end. It did make the lead-up to the ending harder to deal with since I knew what was coming. But I think if it hadn't been spoiled for me, I probably would've been a wreck while reading it. As it stands, I was still getting pretty misty. No spoilers, I swear, but this book was intense!

Really though, Shadow Kiss was the book that really kicked off the series for me! I was kind of on the fence with the last two, but after reading this one, I knew that Mead was taking it to the next level: to awesomeness. We see definite character and relationship development, bits of world building, lots of action! I was even a little spooked at times when I was at home reading this alone, because of all the Strigoi and ghost talk. Maybe I'm just a big baby, but you can't deny the thought of Strigoi and ghostly apparitions is freaky.

     RATING: ★★★★ 1/2

Overall this was a great book, the best in the series overall in my opinion, and really set up for the next half of the series! There's really only one word I can use to describe this book: Dimitriiiiii!!!

So have you read the third book in this series? What did you think of it? Was it as good for you as it was for me (sorry, I just had to)? Let me know what you think!

A.

Review: Frostbite by Richelle Mead

ISBN: 9781595141750
Source: Christmas Gift!
Series: Vampire Academy #2
Release Date: April 10, 2008
Goodreads  |  Amazon
*Please note: this is a spoiler free review, however there may be spoilers for the previous book in this review*
See my posts for previous book in the series for a spoiler free review

     SYNOPSIS:
Rose loves Dimitri, Dimitri might love Tasha, and Mason would die to be with Rose...

It’s winter break at St. Vladimir’s, but Rose is feeling anything but festive. A massive Strigoi attack has put the school on high alert, and now the Academy’s crawling with Guardians—including Rose’s hard-hitting mother, Janine Hathaway. And if hand-to-hand combat with her mom wasn’t bad enough, Rose’s tutor Dimitri has his eye on someone else, her friend Mason’s got a huge crush on her, and Rose keeps getting stuck in Lissa’s head while she’s making out with her boyfriend, Christian! The Strigoi are closing in, and the Academy’s not taking any risks... This year, St. Vlad’s annual holiday ski trip is mandatory.

But the glittering winter landscape and the posh Idaho resort only create the illusion of safety. When three friends run away in an offensive move against the deadly Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. But heroism rarely comes without a price...

     REVIEW:

Even though the writing has improved since the previous book, I still have a have a hard time getting past the "info dumps". There's definitely still too much tell and not enough show. Actually, I think this aspect of the writing has gotten worse since the last book. For example, during the narrative portions of the book, you will see (several times, might I add), "As I've noted before..." Why are you noting things!? You are a fictional character. You are not an author/narrator talking to the reader. It wouldnt matter so much if that was how the book was set up - as if the narrator was talking to the reader. But its not. And it annoyed me. Rant over. Ugh.

As a whole, the writing did get much better... or maybe I just got used to it because the plot became so much stronger and the characters so much more awesome. We are introduced to some new characters... some of which I didn't really like that much.. but I connected with the existing characters much better this time around. Rose is much less annoying, and I respect her for the way she is... she cares what people think, but she cares about herself and Lissa more. She does what she wants, when she wants to, but she also takes care of her responsibilities.

About halfway through Frostbite, I decided to look at reviews for the next few books, and I was pretty pissed when I came across some spoilery reviews that gave no warning! So in reality, I knew how this book was going to end, which really, really sucked. With that in mind though, even though I didn't feel the impact of the events, it was still very well done and probably would have made me cry had I not known what was coming.

Overall, this second book started off a bit slow, and the writing still isn't wonderful, but it was a whole lot better than the first one. About halfway through, things really started to pick up and I couldn't put the book down. Frankly, Mead does romance and action scenes really well. Her dialogue is actually pretty great too. My problem is with the narrative, Rose's stream of consciousness, which is what ruins things for me. By the time I was done with this one, I was itching to go out and get the next few because I truly do believe the books will get better - there is just so much potential here! Actually, as I'm writing this, I am in the middle of book 6 (the final installment) and I can tell you that the next few are even better than the first two. Anyways, I enjoyed this one well enough, and can't wait to talk about the rest of the books in the next few weeks!

     RATING: ★★★ 1/2

After feeling rather "meh" about Vampire Academy until the very end, Frostbite did a much better job in keeping me interested. The writing was slightly better and with Rose's little bit of development since the previous book, it was easy to like her and care about her more. The romance was.... perfect, for lack of a better developed thought, there. It was heartbreaking and heartwarming all at once.

Did any of you who read Vampire Academy decide to keep going and read book 2? What did you think? Love it? Hate it? Still kind of meh? Let me know what you think!

Get a second opinion

Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell [2 of 5]
Effortlessly Reading [3.5 of 5 stars]
Blog of Erised [5 of 5 stars]

P.S. Did you hear!? The release date for the Vampire Academy movie got pushed forward and will be released on February 7, 2014. Just so happens to be my anniversary (7 wonderful years, might I add..) and I'm forcing my awesome fiance to take me to the movies to see it that day (I'm sure you can imagine how thrilled he is about that one, haha). I still think the movie is going to suck but as I get more into the series, the more excited I am about it, regardless. Your opinions on the movie? Talk to me!

A.

Review: Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

ISBN:  9781595141743
Source: Purchased
Series: Vampire Academy #1
Release Date: August 16, 2007
Goodreads  |  Amazon 

     SYNOPSIS:

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.

     REVIEW:

I'm not going to lie to you: I didn't love Vampire Academy. I actually felt rather "meh" about it for most of the book. I tried not to be too hard on VA because I'd just come off the high of reading Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell and, well, lets be honest - not much can compare to Rainbow Rowell.

The writing in VA wasn't all that great and took some getting used to. Let me just rant for a moment about the typos. I know these are technically not a telling attribute of the quality of the book, but I mean really! It's about to become a movie and this is the best the editors/publishers/everyone can do?! It was frustrating. It obviously didn't take away from the story itself, but it's hard to like and respect a book that no one cares enough to correct. It's not like these haven't been out for years!!

Sorry - rant over... Anyways, there was also way too much "tell" and not nearly enough show. Thankfully, though, it wasn't difficult to get through even if it wasn't the best. Thanks to the unique and interesting premise, I got through it pretty quickly.

Toward about the middle of the book, it started to flow a little better and became slightly more enjoyable. Unfortunately, the plot barely had barely moved up until that point and it still wasn't moving. I understand that the first book in a series sometimes suffers because it is setting up for the rest of the series, so I can forgive it to an extent, but I mean come on.

The world-building could've been pulled off, again, without so much tell and more show, but at least it was there. We learned a lot about the world of St. Vladimir's, the dhampirs, Moroi and Strigoi, (unfortunately through much "info dumping") even if we are unfortunately reminded all the time that we are reading a book and being told a story by a fictional character instead of being able to "fall into" the story. 

Rose is an interesting character who does experience some development but she's also a little annoying. I think she's supposed to come off as badass and reckless, and she is badass, but mostly childish. The other characters in the book are enjoyable to read about, I just wish we learned more about them. The love interest development is barely there which wasn't entirely a bad thing. I'm not a fan of insta-love, and though toward the end, the "L" word came about a bit quickly, it didn't just come out of nowhere, so that was okay.

Right in the last few chapters of the book, things begin to pick up and we see some plot movement and decent action. As a matter of fact, Richelle Mead seems to have a knack for writing love and action scenes.... so why can't we see more of them? I find the problem to be with the narrative (and only a few times with the dialogue) and if the narrative had been more like the scenes where things were actually happening, it would've been a great book instead of just alright.

It leaned a bit toward the predictable side with some twists here and there that I didn't see coming, and by the end I was committed because I could see the potential for an awesome series there. Overall, I didn't love the book but it was a decent set-up book for the rest of the series and I can't wait to see if Mead will build on her strengths to make the next five books successful. And stay tuned because I'll definitely be reviewing any other books I read in this series.

     RATING: ★★★

Have any of you read this book/series before? I've heard from a lot of people and read many reviews that say that the rest of the series is great, and usually I am skeptical on that kind of thing, but after reading this book, I believe it. Tell me what you thought of this book if you've read it yet!

On a side note though, I recently watched the trailer for the movie... and I think its going to suck. What do you all think about that?

Get a second opinion

Writer of Wrongs [3 star rating]
Paradise of Pages [4 star rating]
Divergent Gryffindor [5 star rating]

A.