I've Got a Vampire Series for You...and it's Better Than Twilight

Yup. I said it. Better than Twilight. And don't get me wrong. I LOVE Twilight; even have my own Team Edward Shirt. But after the initial craziness over Edward and Jacob, there are a few things that annoy me about the series. Like Bella. She's so whiny and insecure. She totally drives me nuts. And, since I'm a total action freak, I was so disappointed when there wasn't an all out battle at the end of book four. Anyway, a friend of mine tipped me off to this new series, which I had never even heard of: Vampire Academy.

Title: Vampire Academy (Book 1)

Frostbite (Book 2)

Shadow Kiss (Book 3)

Blood Promise (Book 4)

Author: Richelle Mead

Reading Level: YA

Rating: between 4 and 5 (since I'm rating all 4 together here)

Summary: After two years on the run, Rose and Lissa are caught and dragged back to St. Vladimir's Academy, a school for vampire royalty and their guardians-to-be, hidden in the deep forests of Montana. But inside the iron gates, life is even more fraught with danger...and Strigoi are always close by. Rose and Lissa must navigate their dangerous world, confront temptations of forbidden love, and never once let their guard down, lest the evil undead make Lissa one of them forever... (taken from the back of Book 1)

Review: I must first say that I LOVED THESE BOOKS! And I'm pretty sure you will too, especially if you're into vampires, love and action. So I actually don't want to give too much away and it's a bit hard for me to review book 1 only considering I read all four but I will say that Mead does an excellent job blending intricately detailed fantasy with a contemporary setting; teen-relevant issues and a great cast of characters. Rose is a far more interesting character than Bella. Tough, a bit edgy and a serious bad-a. Much more my style. :0) And for those of you who love the love, there is some seriously good stuff going on in these novels. :0) I almost died at the end of book 3! So, lest I give anything else away, I'll stop here. So, if you're looking for an awesome summer read, check out Vampire Academy. :0) By the way, Spirit Bound (Book 5) is being released May 18th and the final book of the series Last Sacrifice will be released December 7th.

Oh, and I'm sorry again for not posting in so long. I had to get my lil' guy through surgery number two and it took some time to get back in the swing of things.