In 2018 I had the idea to have readers and friends read my favorite books from years past. I had 20+ amazing people sign up and read some of my all-time favorite books. They took the time out of their busy lives and reading schedules and read books I love and shared what they thought on my blog. It was a lot of fun and I got to see some new takes on old favorites. It actually was a fun experience. If you are interested in the reviews HERE.
This year I decided to give back in a way and asked everyone that signed up to tell me their favorite book (that I have not read) because in 2019 it is time to do NEW TO ME.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vampire Academy by Richelle MeadPublished by Razorbill
Published: August 16, 2007
Buy on Amazon
Add to Goodreads
Only a true best friend can protect you from your immortal enemies . . .
Lissa Dragomir is a Moroi princess: a mortal vampire with a rare gift for harnessing the earth's magic. She must be protected at all times from Strigoi; the fiercest 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 Lissa one of them.
After two years of freedom, Rose and Lissa are caught and dragged back to St. Vladimir's Academy, a school for vampire royalty and their guardians-to-be, hidden in the deep forests of Montana. But inside the iron gates, life is even more fraught with danger . . . and the Strigoi are always close by.
Rose and Lissa must navigate their dangerous world, confront the temptations of forbidden love, and never once let their guard down, lest the evil undead make Lissa one of them forever . . .
Before I get into my review for Vampire Academy I think it is only fair I let my readers know that I am not a lover of vampire books. They have never appealed to me and probably never will. I have never read Twilight or any of the other vampire books people love, but you voted for me to read Vampire Academy so I gave it a shot. I won’t say I hated it, but I didn’t really enjoy myself reading it either. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t a struggle to pick up, it just wasn’t my thing so I will keep this review brief.
What I liked was Rose. She was the one character that I did enjoy. She was fierce and tough but she had a soft, protective side to her. She was a friend that more girls in YA books need, the one that always has your back. I also really loved her snark and her relationship with Dimitri. There was something about the two of them that I enjoyed more than I expected to. They worked and brought something more to the table. Now Lissa on the other hand…I was not a fan of her. To me, she was a coddled, spoiled, rich kid and I couldn’t move past that. She did what she wanted on her terms and then wanted others to fix things for her. She really bugged me and I thought she took advantage of what a good friend Rose was to her.
Like I said, this book wasn’t painful for me to read. I enjoyed it enough and got through it at a fairly quick pace. It just wasn’t the book for me. I can see what people would love about it and why they would continue on to read the 7 (or is it 9) other books. I am just not that person.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
And there you have it, February’s book selection for New to Me. Not a home run but not a swing and a miss either.
Love this blog feature! I feel you on this because I feel like I missed this boat. I did read and love Twilight back in the day, and I loved watching Vampire Diaries but on the whole I prefer witches to vampires any day. I also didn’t love the writing or characters in this book- it was ok but not enough to get me to read the rest haha.