155. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead...

About the book:

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 dangerous 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 her one of them.

After two years of illicit freedom, Rose and Lissa are caught and dragged back to St. Vladimir'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 Academy hearts.

Fear made Lissa and Rose run away from St. Vladimir's--inside the Academy's iron gates, their world is even more fraught with danger. 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 this dangerous world, confront the temptation of forbidden romance, and never once let their guard down, lest the Strigoi make Lissa one of them forever...

drey's thoughts:
LOVED this! Two different types of vamps? One of 'em alive? (The other would be the "normally expected" dead ones...) Where do authors come up with this stuff? =)

Not that I'm complaining. Especially when the story flows like this one does. I really liked Lissa and Rose as characters, and their friendship is written beautifully. There's a bit of the teenager angst and drama, but only a teeny bit--for teenagers, anyway. =) And Rose being so sassy doesn't hurt, in my opinion. She needs something as a shield. Having the guardian responsibility--even if it would've been just the knowledge of it--foisted on so early on can be daunting.

Dimitri and Christian are good foils for these girls. I'm just a little leery of Dimitri--he's older than Rose, and yes, while it's "only" seven years, that's quite a bit when she's still a teenager. I won't tell you how far they do--or don't--go. Read it and find out. Heh. Mia's enmity is a mystery, and there's plenty of that (mystery) to go 'round in this first installment. Vampire Academy is a YA book that will appeal to vampire fans, regardless of age. I can't wait to read Frostbite.

Title: Vampire Academy
Author: Richelle Mead
ISBN-10: 159514174X
ISBN-13: 978-1595141743
Paperback: 332 pages
Publisher: Penguin Group, 2007

Challenges: 100+, Support Your Local Library, Vampire, 1st in Series