Vampire Academy

Vampire Academy series

Vampire Academy – book 1
Vampire Academy Frostbite Shadow Kiss Blood Promise Spirit Bound Last Sacrifice
Author	Richelle Mead
Cover artist	Emilian Gregory
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Young Adult Urban Fantasy Dark fantasy Paranormal romance
Publisher	Razorbill
Media type	Print (Hard, Soft) e-Book (Kindle, Nook)
No. of books	6
Followed by	Bloodlines series

Vampire Academy is a best-selling series of six young-adult paranormal romance novels by American author Richelle Mead. It tells the story of Rose Hathaway, a seventeen-year-old Dhampir girl, who is training to be a bodyguard for her Moroi best friend, Vasilisa "Lissa" Dragomir. In the process of learning how to defeat Strigoi (the evil undead vampires) in St. Vladimir's Academy, Rose finds herself caught in a forbidden romance with her instructor, Dimitri Belikov, while having an unbreakable bond with Lissa.

The book is narrated from Rose's point of view. Due to her mysterious bond with Lissa, she is able to slip into her mind, which enables her to read her mind and feelings.

Books

There are six books in the original series, which will be followed by a spin-off series consisting of six more books. As of December 2010, there were more than 4.5 million copies of Vampire Academy books in print.

Books in order

1. Vampire Academy, 2007, ISBN 978-1-59514-174-3
2. Frostbite, 2008, ISBN 978-1-59514-175-0
3. Shadow Kiss, 2008, ISBN 978-1-59514-197-2
4. Blood Promise, 2009, ISBN 978-1-59514-198-9
5. Spirit Bound, 2010, ISBN 978-1-59514-250-4
6. Last Sacrifice, 2010, ISBN 978-1-59514-250-5

Spin-off series

1. Bloodlines, 2011
2. The Golden Lily

The series made its first appearance on the New York Times Best Seller list at #4 with the release of Shadow Kiss. It has since made the list with each new book release, including an appearance at #1 when Spirit Bound was released.

Characters

Rosemarie "Rose" Hathaway – Rose is a seventeen-year-old, half-vampire, half-human (which makes her a Dhampir) protagonist of the Vampire Academy series and was best friends with Princess Vasalisa (Lissa) Dragomir. Her birthday is at the end of March. She died in the same accident as Lissa's parents and brother in the past, but Lissa unknowingly brought her back after the car accident in which her parents died making her a "Shadow-Kissed" Dhampir. Because of this, Rose has had a one-sided bond to Lissa for two years, allowing her to read Lissa's thoughts, sense her feelings and see the world through her eyes. Sarcastic and quick-witted, Rose is training to become Lissa's Guardian, while in the process falling in love with her older mentor, Dimitri Belikov. Rose is described as beautiful with semi-exotic desert-princess features: big dark eyes, dark brown hair, and lightly tanned skin. She is 5'7" with an athletic and curvy figure. She has a strained relationship with her mother,because she thinks her mother abandoned her, the famous Guardian Janine Hathaway. She is framed of murdering Queen Tatiana at the end of Spirit Bound but is later revealed to be innocent. She enters into a promised relationship with Adrian,Queen Tatiana's nephew, after returning from Russia and tries to deny her feelings for Dimitri throughout the course of Last Sacrifice. Nearing the end of the book, she is surprised to learn of Dimitri's still strong feelings for her, feelings he had previously denied to protect her,and to Dimitri's strong disbelief, she returns his feelings and they reunite once more. She loses her bond with Lissa in Last Sacrifice when Rose almost died but comes back on her own, rather than being brought back by Spirit.It all ends with Rose officially re-starting her relationship with her true love, Dimitri,after hiding it for so long, her future looking bright.

Vasilisa "Lissa" Dragomir (Vasilisa Sabina Rhea Dragomir) – A seventeen-year-old Moroi princess and Rose Hathaway's best friend. Lissa is the last vampire in the Dragomir royal line, giving her the title "Princess." Her family, along with Rose, died in a car accident when she was fifteen, but Lissa unknowingly brought Rose back from the dead, creating a bond between them. Lissa is described as beautiful, with long, platinum blond hair and jade green eyes. Her element is the extremely rare "Spirit" like St. Vladimir's, which is a psychic element that comes from the mind and soul. Before she left the Academy, she was in a relationship with Aaron, who Mia Rinaldi started dating after Lissa left. She develops feelings for Christian Ozera in Vampire Academy and starts dating him later on in the same book. Lissa later discovers to have a half-sister, Jill, by her father and subsequently is crowned Queen. She loses her bond with Rose in Last Sacrifice when Rose almost died but came back on her own, rather than being brought back by Spirit. The series ends with her coronation as queen.

Dimitri Belikov – A well-respected 24-year-old Dhampir of Russian origin from Siberia, assigned to be Lissa's Guardian along with Rose. Dimitri has a slight Russian accent, and likes old western novels. He is 6'7", has brown eyes, shoulder length hair a few shades lighter than Rose's dark brown hair, and tanned skin. He is sometimes described as a 'god,' in reference to his reputation as one of the most skilled and 'badass' guardians around. He is also Rose's mentor and love interest. He returns Rose's feelings but attempts to stay out of a relationship with her for most of the series, since it would interfere with his guardian duties. He is turned Strigoi at the end of Shadow Kiss and is later turned back by Lissa near the end of Spirit Bound. He becomes increasingly depressed after being turned back to a dhampir, riddled with intense guilt over the things he did while he was Strigoi. He helps Rose break out of prison in Last Sacrifice and goes on the run with her. Throughout the journey, he slowly starts to open his heart and discover life and love again. Though at first claiming to have lost his love for Rose, he later admits otherwise and they begin a relationship nearing the end of Last Sacrifice.

Christian Ozera – Lissa's primary love interest. He is an outcast because his parents (Lucas and Moira) willingly became Strigoi. He's a royal Moroi who holds radical ideas about fighting against Strigoi. He specializes in Fire magic. His physical appearance is described to be tall with black hair and crystal blue eyes. After his parents were killed, he was raised by his aunt Tasha Ozera. He is left devastated at the end of Last Sacrifice, when it was revealed that it was his aunt that killed Tatiana. Also in the last book his relationship with Lissa seems to look bright and with out any trouble with her as queen.

Adrian Ivashkov – A royal Moroi and great-nephew of the queen. He has messy but stylish brown hair, emerald green eyes, and high cheekbones; 6'1" tall. He, like Lissa, is a Spirit user and suffers the same side effects as she does. He numbs the effects by drinking alcohol and chain smoking. He and Lissa start to explore the different abilities Spirit users have. Adrian has the ability to "walk dreams," which he often uses to visit Rose when they are both sleeping. Rose meets Adrian at the ski resort in Frostbite where his feelings for her are no secret. He enters into a relationship with Rose in Spirit Bound, but is broken-hearted at the end of Last Sacrifice, when Rose reveals she still loves Dimitri and is unable to continue their relationship.

Victor Dashkov – A royal Moroi with Sandovsky's Disease. He is Natalie's father and was a dear friend of Lissa's father. Due to his disease, he does not have a chance of ever becoming king of the Moroi. He was imprisoned for torturing Lissa into curing his disease with Spirit in Vampire Academy and is later broken out of prison by Rose, Lissa, Eddie, and Mikhail in Spirit Bound. After a Strigoi attack, they lose Victor and his brother Robert Doru in a Las Vegas casino. Rose unintentionally kills him at the end of Last Sacrifice.

Natalie Dashkov – A royal Moroi with jet-black hair and jade green eyes who specializes in earth magic. She is very awkward among other royals and is known for talking a lot. She was once a good friend of Lissa's but later becomes Strigoi to rescue her father Victor from the Academy's jail. Dimitri kills her in Vampire Academy after she tried to kill Rose. In Spirit Bound, it is implied that Victor had her turn Strigoi because he hoped his brother would be able to turn her back after she broke him out.

Mason Ashford – A Dhampir who is one of Rose's best friends, and also a novice Guardian like her. He frequently helps out Rose throughout the series. He is interested in her romantically, and Rose eventually attempts a relationship with him, only to find it fall apart because of her unbreakable connection to Dimitri. He dies in Frostbite while the others (except Rose who is fighting alongside him) escape. His ghost continues to aid Rose in Shadow Kiss and finds peace at the end of the book.

Mia Rinaldi – A non-royal Moroi whose element is Water. Mia had a grudge against Lissa (and by default, Rose) because of how Lissa's older brother, Andre, used her and broke her heart. After the events in Frostbite, she gets over it and has since been a trusted friend to them. She is described as having a soft face and curly blond hair that makes her look very young and almost doll-like. Her parents work for one of the royal families but she prefers to keep it a secret; however, Mason found this out in Vampire Academy and told Rose.

Tasha Ozera – Natasha "Tasha" Ozera is Christian's aunt. Like Christian, she has black hair, wintry blue eyes, and is a Fire user. She took care of Christian when his parents turned Strigoi. She has a scar across her face from the fight she put up when Christian's parents tried to turn him. She is romantically interested in Dimitri, and wanted to have a child with him, but he did not return the feelings because of Rose.

Janine Hathaway – Rose Hathaway's legendary mother who is 5'1" feet tall, has curly auburn hair, brown eyes, and is very stern. She appears in Frostbite. She is a very 'badass' Dhampir, according to her reputation, who has killed many Strigoi. Her relationship with Rose starts off very sketchy but improves throughout the series.

Ibrahim 'Abe' Mazur – Rose Hathaway's father and a well-known Turkish mobster described as the 'knee cap-breaking' type. His physical appearance is tall (like any other Moroi), slightly broad, dark-haired and threatening, and is known for his unusual fashion sense, wearing bold colors and scarves with a beard and earrings to top it off. Rose once described him as a "pirate mobster." He is guarded by two Dhampirs and is known for making trades, blackmailing, and other illegal businesses. He also has many connections in the Moroi world. Rose meets him during her journey in Siberia in Blood Promise. After Rose was accused of killing Queen Tatiana in Spirit Bound, Abe offers to be her lawyer despite not officially being one.

Sydney Sage – An Alchemist who helps Rose find Dimitri's hometown, Baia, in Siberia. She is a human who knows a lot about Moroi and dhampirs but dislikes them. She has many tricks and techniques in getting rid of Strigoi bodies and is also equipped with a special potion that can turn a dead Strigoi corpse into a fist sized ball so it is unrecognizable. Sydney helps Rose escape from jail and find the last Dragomir in Last Sacrifice. She is the narrator of the spin-off series Bloodlines. During the book, it is revealed she has a strained relationship with her rigid father and younger sister, Zoe, mainly because of her apparent 'betrayal' of the Alchemists in Last Sacrifice. She is grudgingly sent to guard Jill Mastrano Dragomir in Palm Strings where she uncovers an illegal trade involving Alchemists dealing in Moroi blood and saliva which redeems her in her fellow Alchemists' eyes.

Queen Tatiana Ivashkov – Ruler of the Moroi and dhampirs. She was killed in Spirit Bound. Rose is accused of killing Tatiana, but she was actually killed by Tasha Ozera. She was also said to have a secret relationship with Ambrose and Blake Lazar. Her political views leaned away from Rose's point of view, causing bad blood between them.

Jillian "Jill" Mastrano – Jillian Mastrano is a Moroi, a Water user who attends St. Vladimir's. She is 15, has green eyes and brown curly hair. Her mother is a ballet dancer, and they live in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She meets Rose in Shadow Kiss, and asks her how to fight the old-fashioned way, but Rose tells her to ask Christian Ozera. In Last Sacrifice, she was revealed as the illegitimate daughter of Eric Dragomir, thus the half sister of Lissa. After dying before the beginning of Bloodlines and being brought back as a shadow-kissed by Adrian, she is anonymously sent away to Palm Springs for her own protection. She develops a crush on Lee as is very shaken when he's killed by the Strigoi.

Eddie Castile – He is a Dhampir and is one of Rose's closest friends after the Spokane incident involving him, Rose, Mason, Christian, and Mia. He's loyal and after the book Frostbite it is told he matures a lot from Spokane. He was also the best friend of Mason Ashford. In Last Sacrifice, he kills a Moroi defending Lissa, and is tried for his actions. He has a crush on Jill.

in Blood Promise. He has two children; Avery Lazar, and Reed Lazar. He withdraws his position after his daughter's insanity caused by wielding Spirit, leading to her hospitalization in a sanatorium.

Avery Lazar- A royal Moroi who appears in Blood Promise when her father takes over as the academy's headmaster. She makes friends with Lissa and Adrian and expresses interest in Adrian, but after a while of being in Lissa's head, Rose determines that Avery is out to destroy her reputation by getting her to drink and thin down her spirit powers. Rose also figures out that Avery is a spirit user who wants to kill Lissa and make her "shadow-kissed" so that they could share a bond.

Simon – Avery's guardian who is also bonded to her. It is said that Avery found Simon dying after a battle and made him Shadow-kissed.

Reed Lazar – Avery's brother and is bonded to her. Reed is known to be very non-social most of the time. When he does talk he's very rude. He appears in Blood Promise, when his father was the new headmaster. Rumors said that Avery killed him, so that she could make him be Shadow-kissed.

Adaptations

Film

In June 2010, Preger Entertainment optioned the film rights to the Vampire Academy series. On July 6, they announced that producer Don Murphy joined them to help bring the series to the big screen.

Graphic novel

A graphic novel based on the first Vampire Academy book was published on August 23, 2011. The graphic novel is adapted by Leigh Dragoon and illustrated by Emma Vieceli.

External links

• Official website of the Vampire Academy series
• Official website of the Bloodlines series