Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

I've been waiting so long to read this and I was not disappointed! I didn't have much idea about the plot, only what people have said about the characters and what I saw in the film trailer. Rose and Lissa are great friends and they are so well suited to each other which was really enjoyable to read. The plot was not too complicated, gentle in yet exciting, the kind of book that makes you forget the real world and whizz through a hundred pages without even noticing!
I gave it four stars on goodreads c:

Rose is one of the rare female protagonists who actually knew she was pretty and wasn't afraid to let others see it/ too. I hope that the whole 'girl doesn't know how beautiful she was' thing dies out because it doesn't encourage people to appreciate that they are pretty and beautiful. 

Natalie and Victor were very surprising villains, I liked that I didn't even suspect them. I really should have, I mean, who else had access to Lissa's room?? Ah well, I have learnt that lesson. I certainly didn't expect Natalie to become a Strigoi until a few pages before it actually did. Speaking of which, all the Russian/Romanian/anything else added something special to the whole Vampire element. After all there are so many vampire books out there it's difficult to bring something new to the theme. The Moroi and dhampirs and whatnot achieved this really well.

The balance between high schooly-ness with boyfriends and revenge and the dark politics of the Moroi was very good. They mingled together creating this beautiful world that was both old fashioned and contemporary.

I look forward to reading the other five, I'm told they really pick up after book two!

Until next time (probably tomorrow),
-Emilia  c: