October Group Read: Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

It’s no secret we love Richelle Mead’s books. Both her adult and YA titles are on our shelves. She knows how to build a unique world and her characters are so developed. I joke about how she likes to break my heart, because all her series take you on an emotional rollercoaster ride. (It’s a good thing, we swear.)

Typically we have a poll inviting you to vote for the next group read. This month, though, we made an executive decision to have the group read the first Vampire Academy novel. This will give everyone a leg-up in our current reading challenge, which needs you to read and review (just a couple sentences) at least one Vampire Academy book.

While Vampire Academy is a young adult series, it’s one adults will adore. Her writing is as strong (maybe stronger) in her YA books, and the themes are universal. (Also the love interest isn’t jail bait. So you don’t have to feel dirty for being head over heels for Dimitri… and you will be.)

If you need a refresher on how our monthly group reads work, get the details here.

Vampire Academy
Richelle Mead
Published: 2007
Purchase at: Book Depository or Amazon

Add to your Goodreads to-read list

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.

Tell us, readers, are you in? (The first 40 pages is heavy world-building, stick with it and you’ll be addicted to this series.) Again, all the details about our group reads can be found here.