Vampire Academy Box Set 1-6

I was a little late to the show when it came the Vampire Academy Series, I purchased a box set and spread out the Rose and Dimitri goodness for about a year. I have to admit that it was the film adaptation that inspired me to pick up this collection of books. The tongue-in-cheek witty one liners and kick-ass heroine had me sold instantly.

The film didn’t get that much praise, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved the silliness and mythology of the world, though it was easy to see where it failed. There is so much information in every book in this series, that the movie could not include it all in order to help drive the plot forward. I also did not get the chemistry from the couple on screen that I did in the novels.

Richelle Mead is a master of plot. The novels just kept getting better the further I got into the series. My favourite being ‘Blood Promise.’ What starts as a typical smart-mouthed teen, Rose really develops into a selfless warrior.

I did want a little more from the end of the series though; there were many questions I did not get answers to, but I’m wondering if it will get explored further in the Bloodlines series.
An attractive boxed set that gave me many, many hours of fun entertainment and solidified Rose as one of my favourite heroines. Glad to have it in my library collection.

Book set is in great condition. The price was great for a set of 6. Some are saying it's cheaper to buy individually but if you do the math and factor in shipping your not saving much if not at all.

I haven't heard from my wife in 2 days since she bought this set.

Curse or blessing... you decide.

I ordered the series after watching the first movie. In general it is an easy read, with a mediocre storyline. The books themselves were good quality with a nice size print.

My only complaints are:
1. That the 6 books have a very weird feel for the overall timeline in which they occur.
2. The storyline looses some of it's initial creativity after the first book and falls into several common tropes.
3. The series focuses significantly on typical "high school" problems: concerns about appearance, social standing, and relatively immature responses to big situations and problems. While being set in high school, there was significant potential for the author to show the characters growing out of the immature high school responses and into adults, but even by the last book, I felt for the most part this was missing in a major way. I was very disappointed.

In general, the story is geared towards teenagers ready to read about some very adult problems (death, murder, loss of a friend due to a direct result of the main characters actions, sex, and falling in love with someone who is not necessarily a good option).

I would recommend this to a teenager ready to read about those problems, or an adult willing to put up with the high school nonsense for the sake of reading a somewhat different story.

I loved the Vampire Academy series so much that I'm still following the spin-off Bloodlines. I own the books on my Kindle but I've been waiting for the set to come out. I wish it was in hardcover but I removed the one star because the first book doesn't match the others: it's an obvious add for the upcoming film, which as a fan I didn't need!

Tape was wound around the box set box. I assume this was to make sure the books didn't fall out and bump around inside the amazon box. This was a really bad idea however, as the tape was put directly on the books, which are made of paper. Paper rips when you try to remove tape. I am very disappointed.

I ordered this two days ago and got it in record time. I've read the series multiple times and hope to one day get these signed by the author. I don't like the movie add in the first book's cover, so I ordered a different VA Book 1 that matches the rest of the covers. With that, this series looks great on my "fiction books about vampires" shelf. :D

I confess I wanted to read the book because of the upcoming movie preview, and boy, I am happy I did! This review covers only the first book in a six book set. I bought the set based on recommendations I read here.

Welcome to St. Vladimir's Academy, a private high school for vampires and the half-bloods who are bound to protect them. The Moroi are vampires, and the descendants of Moroi royalty are the social elite of St. Vladimir's. The Moroi are at constant risk, though. The Strigoi, the fiercest vampires, are out to get them, any way they can. The Moroi are protected by Dhampirs, guardians who are sworn to lay down their lives to assure that the Moroi bloodlines continue.

Our main characters are Lissa Dragomir, a Moroi princess, last of her family line. Her best friend is Rose Hathaway, a dhamphir guardian who is dedicated to her protection. After two years of freedom and being on the run against the Strigoi, they are returned to the Vampire Academy where Rose must begin a training regime if she means to be a true guardian. And Lissa must learn to understand the elemental magic that all Moroi wield, and chose an elemental form to specialize in.

The cast of characters is large and diverse. Mead manages them with casual flair and we hardly realize how deftly she shifts the board. The dialogue is easy and has a mature voice which I enjoyed.

There are many kinds of vampire stories out there but this one has a great sense of originality. Vampire aficionados will recognize the strigoi from legends but Mead manages to create both "good" and "bad" vampires which I prefer and enjoyed. This is a new twist on old legends and in a literary world glutted with vampire tales, this is why Mead is a best-selling author with VA being made into a movie.

The pacing, like the dialogue is easy. The suspense is not dragged out but comes in bursts. The surprises tho are especially nice because they are with you before you know they are coming. This, too, I really enjoyed.

I'm in for the next book. Don't know if the movie is any good, but I hope so. Where other movies failed to translate successfully from the books (Beautiful Creatures and Mortal Instruments), I hope this one fares better. It deserves to have a fun run and Mead deserves the kudos for a wonderfully original take on vampires.

If you like vampires and you like strong female leads (with a little adolescent snark added in), this is for you.

Package didn't arrive to my house, however I picked it up at the post office. I am absolutely in love with the series so I had to purchase. I was concern about the books covers not matching because book 1 was different from the rest; but my collection matches. I haven't read this series in years so I'm so excited to get to read them again

I've probably read this series a hundred times. Very sad the movie could never do it justice! One of my all time favorite vampire stories to read, the depth of the story is beyond anything I imagined when I first read them. Highly recommend! (If you've seen the movie, PLEASE DONT JUDGE THESE BOOKS BASED OFF OF THAT. The movie was alright, but in my honest opinion the first book is more centered around their high school type life, while the rest of the books are MUCH more thrilling! If you can get through the first one, which ive never had a problem with, then the entire storyline from there only gets better!)