Tuesday Top Ten: Favorite Fictional Book Couples!

February 10, 20152 Comments

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

Well, online almost. But its nearly there and to celebrate, price this week’s Tuesday Top Ten is getting a little romantic. Now, I know this is a post that I’ve already done but that was QUITE a long time ago and I’ve read so many books since then…its hard to narrow it down!

However, my poor sentimental heart was finally able to do so and I present to you my top ten favorite fictional book couples!

10. William Herondale and Tessa Gray from The Infernal Devices Series

Will and Tessa have one of those romances that, if it actually existed in real life, you’d be torn between being massively jealous and also massively apt to throwing up all the time. Its incredibly beautiful, tragic, deep, genuine, intense. Its one of the most beautiful love stories I’ve read and what makes it even more beautiful is the love that the two of them share with Jem as well. Its just…amazingly written. It should be a love triangle but it doesn’t feel that way because the three of them love each other so much. Plus, there’s just something amazing about their love of books and how their love of words bring them together, and how they fight alongside each other…sigh.

9. Cara and Aelyx from The Alienated Series

This is one of my newest favorite couples to come into my life, just this past summer. I met Melissa at ALA and got an ARC of Invaded and knew I had to read the first one and I am SO glad I did! This two part series is AWESOME and I’m massively in love with Cara and Aelyx and their story. What makes it so great is how annoyed and disgusted (especially on Aelyx’s part) they are with each other and how it slowly builds to something else. I love how they figure things out. I mean, Aelyx GOOGLES how to kiss. Its silly and sweet and intense and I love every single moment of it.

8. Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark from The Hunger Games Series

DUH. I know its cheesy and so completely unrealistic as far as fictional relationships work out but I still love every minute of it. Because despite everything that their world throws at them, they still make it through. I tend to like Gale more as a character but I love Peeta more for Katniss and I think its because they balance each other out SO much. Plus its kind of bittersweet how they work so hard to protect each other and it always seems to fail but they never ever give up on it. I don’t like the conclusion, so to speak, of their relationship, I don’t think it makes sense with the characters at all but I love their relationship.

7. Four and Tris from the Divergent Series

This is one relationship that I love, not just because I’m absolutely obsessed with this series but because it turns out to be completely opposite of what you expect. When you meet Tris, she’s unsure, unconfident, struggling to figure out who she is, while Four seems strong, confident, sure. But the closer they get to each other, the more you realize that its Tris that helps Four, brings him out, makes him a better person. He relies on her, looks into her for strength and I love that. I think its better when a couple is equal but I love seeing that a female character can be seen as the strength in a relationship.

6. Aly and Nawat from The Tricksters Series

This is one of my favorite relationships, so easily because it is one of the most unique ones I’ve come across in any book. Aly is a born noble girl, trained in the ways of a noble lady but also the fighting and stealth of a common born spy. She’s kidnapped and sold into slavery for a wealthy family in an enemy kingdom. She meets Nawat, who is a crow turned man. They each have their own journey to take, though they are inevitably intertwined with each other, and what I love is that they each do the things they need to do before they came together. Its beautiful. It really shows…you don’t need a guy to get where you need to be, and that a really great guy will be there, even if you can’t be there yourself.

5. Levi and Cath from Fangirl

Okay, I love this relationship because I want this relationship. Seriously. I want this relationship so bad. I love 1-4 so badly on this list but if I had to choose a relationship that I genuinely wanted more than anything…it would be this one. I think a lot of that comes from the fact that I feel very connected to Cath. She feels like me in so so many ways and I can understand her fears and her concerns and her anxiety and her struggle to become close with people because she’s afraid they can’t handle who she is. But Levi comes in and just loves her, for every single thing that she is. And he’s a goofball, which I just love, and he just is so genuine and real and I love everything about their relationship. This is relationship goals.

4. Rose Hathaway and Dimitri Belikov from The Vampire Academy Series

I want to be Rose Hathaway. Or I want to be with her. I can’t really figure it out. Maybe both. That’s kind of weird ;) Either way, the Vampire Academy series is one of my favorites ever and I love that it takes legitimately all six books for Rose and Dimitri to get where you finally wish them to be. Their relationship is SO tragic BUT neither one of the characters are tragic. They always focus on their job as dhampirs, as guardians and getting the job done, and that’s why they’re one of my favorite relationships. They are awesome together, but as more than a couple, as a team.

3. Adrian Ivashkov and Sydney Sage from the Bloodlines Series

When I first started reading the Bloodlines series, it was clear that the couple that would come out of this series was Adrian and Sydney. Having met and fallen in love with both of those characters in the VA series, I was so confused on how these two would even WORK. But as the series continued and you watched them fall in love with each other, I was panting alongside everyone else. I just finished the finale book, The Ruby Circle, today, release day and I won’t say much because of spoilers but I’m so happy with this relationship. They both changed from book one to book six and they did it together. They were equals from beginning to end and I love that. They rely on each other and they save each other and I ship it so hard.

2. Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger from The Harry Potter Series

All you haters can sit down and shut up. Everyone says that Ron doesn’t deserve Hermione and all that junk. I myself read way too much Dramione fan fiction, admittedly. But this is one of my favorite couples because I think they work together. They are different, but I think that’s what makes them work. Ron loves Hermione, even though she’s much smarter than him and is constantly berating him and all that kind of thing. Hermione loves Ron, even though he can be selfish and unthinking. Love, real love, is about accepting each other’s flaws and still loving each other anyway. Of course there’s a limit to that but I think Ron and Hermione are the example of a perfect imperfect relationship. Relationships aren’t beautiful and amazing and all that. They take work and they don’t always go the way its planned and that’s exactly what this relationship is.

1. Jace Lightwood and Clary Fray from The Mortal Instruments Series

They continue to be my favorite couple and I think that’s because of when I read the book. You want to talk about an overdramatic, tragic story of a relationship? This is it right here. Book One: Jace can’t admit he has feelings. Finally kind of does…oops, him and Clary are brother and sister. Or wait they’re not brother and sister. Oh, wait, he’s being possessed by Lilith, oh, wait, now by the real Jonathan Morgenstern. I mean, seriously. Its the most dramatic relationship that takes place over a period of, like, five months. But I love both of these characters. I love the way they fall in love, I love the way they balance each other out, I love the way they eventually fight together, I love every single bit of them. And that is not going to change.

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Who are some of YOUR favorite book couples? Make sure to share in the comments!

Fictional Crush of the Week-Rose Hathaway from the Vampire Academy Series

February 10, 2014February 10, 20141 Comment

Character Name:

Rose Hathaway

Book or Series They Appear In:

The Vampire Academy Series

Vampire Academy, cheapest Frostbite, dosage Shadow Kiss, viagra approved Blood Promise, Spirit Bound, Last Sacrifice

She also makes appearances in the spin off series, Bloodlines.

Author/Creator:

Richelle Mead

Played By:

Zoey Deutch

Who They Are:

Rose Hathaway is the main character of the Vampire Academy series. She is what is known as a dhampir, a half human and half vampire, sworn to train to protect the Moroi, the peaceful vampires who drink blood but don’t kill, and age just as we do. She protects them from the Strigoi, the immortal, evil, killing vampires. Her main task is to protect her best friend, Lissa, who is the Dragomir princess. When her and Lissa are in a bad car crash, Lissa heals Rose from death and they are bonded. Rose works hard to protect her, and keeps her distance from Dimitri Belikov, her mentor and love of her life, in order to put Lissa first. She’s witty and sarcastic and a total flirt.

Why I Am Crushing On Them:

Okay, I had a crush on Rose Hathaway just reading the book but seriously I’m massively in love with Zoey Deutch. Meeting her this past week made me so happy, I can barely handle it. I would totally date her. She’s absolutely beautiful and I have this weird thing with her voice. Like, she has this normal voice. So many girls have this weird, sexy low voice thing going on but her voice is all high pitched and girlie and then she punches you. Okay, let’s move on to actual Rose Hathaway and not just Zoey Deutch…

Rose Hathaway is like everything I like in a boy character, but in a girl. She’s sarcastic and confident and a total flirt and she knows exactly what she wants. But she’s also real and constantly trying to figure things out. She’s such a real person and she’s kind of what I’d imagined I was before I had a boyfriend. Except for the whole badass fighter thing.

Because Rose is a badass guardian. She learns fast, and she’s determined about it, and she’s willing to do whatever she can to protect those she loves. She’s fiercely loyal to Lissa and Dimitri and Adrian and Mason and the rest of them. She never really works to make friends but people love her anyway, and I think people love her because she’s so…confident and she doesn’t back down. She’s constantly breaking the rules but she’s so brave and stupid and awesome.

But I think I also love her because she makes me laugh. Even when the world is going to shit, even when her heart is broken or she’s on the run, and she’s fighting the world, she always finds a way to be sarcastic and hilarious. She always a one-liner to make everyone laugh and I swear that’s part of why Dimitri loves her so much. She’s brave and an incredible fighter but she never loses herself and I love that. Rose is always going to be herself, no matter what happens to her. She’s resilient and awesome.

Notable Quotes:

I was trying to find, like, a serious GIF of Zoey as Rose in Vampire Academy but this one is SUCH a win haha.

Vampire Academy Movie Review

February 7, 20143 Comments

Wrapping up the day of Vampire Academy posts (check out my recap of the mall tour in Los Angeles here and my recap of the premiere here). Now a spoiler free review of the movie! Read on…

Vampire Academy

Rated:

Rated PG-13 for violence, more about bloody images, find sexual content and language

Directed By:

Mark Waters

Cast:

Zoey Deutch, Danila Kozlovsky, Lucy Fry, Dominic Sherwood, Cameron Monaghan, Sarah Hyland, Sami Gayle.

Find the rest on IMDB here.

IMDB Movie Synopsis:

Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, half human/vampire, guardians of the Moroi, peaceful, mortal vampires living discretely within our world. Her legacy is to protect the Moroi from bloodthirsty, immortal Vampires, the Strigoi. This is her story.

My Review:

I am literally blown away at how well they did with this movie. While it wasn’t absolutely perfect, I thought they did a wonderful job with it.

First off, I wanted to talk about going into the movie with an open mind. I do not say this to scare you, but I honestly think with that attitude, I enjoyed the movie more. I was high on adrenaline, after being on the red carpet and sneaking pictures with cast members in the lobby of the theater, but when I went into the theater, I told myself, “open mind”. And I’m really glad I did. I think there are too many people judging the movie by the stills and the trailer and I think thats detrimental to the success of the film. YA adaptations aren’t doing well in the theaters and unless we go out and support them, they’ll just stop making them.

Oh, one more thing, with the whole “Mean Girls” thing. A lot of people don’t like that they keep putting emphasis on that, but I like it. It has the humor of Mean Girls, which is GREAT. I think it was hilarious and I’ll talk more about that later. But also, like I said, we NEED this movie to do well to get Frostbite and people love Mean Girls and I applaud anything that gets them into the theater.

Okay rant off. That being said, I went in open minded, and also with the reminder that the first book is much more lighthearted than the rest of the series.

I was immediately struck at how well each of the actors understood their characters. I was amazed at how well Zoey was Rose, Danila was Dimitri and so on. I think I was most impressed with Dominic as Christian. Christian is one of the characters that I’ve always loved and I think he rocked it big time. After meeting the cast the day before, and seeing how nice and genuine they were, I was so impressed with how well they knew their characters and how well they portrayed them in the movie. I will now think of most of these actors and actresses when I go to read the book. They just captured them so well.

I also think there was an incredible balance of action and romance. The romance building between Christian and Lissa and the subtle one between Rose and Dimitri were just as how I’d imagine it in the novel. Its important and its there but its not overwhelming. The movie is not wrapped in the romance and I’m okay with that. There was a ton of action. I loved watching both Rose and Dimitri kick some serious ass in this movie. They really did the story of Rose’s return and work to become caught up on her guardian skills so well.

I really think the movie was about the friendship between Rose and Lissa, just as it should be. Vampire Academy is a huge story about friendship and loyalty, and that is definitely what they got. The friendship between Lissa and Rose has its sweet moments, it has the moments where Rose is protective and it has hilarious moments. Its perfect.

Which leads me to one of my favorite parts of the movie: the humor. The chemistry between the actors led to some well-placed lines and me laughing in my seat the whole movie. Myself and the 7 other people I was with were rolling around in our seats, laughing out loud. I’m pretty sure we were the loudest people in the theatre and I wish I knew the casts’ reactions to our reactions haha. It was a VERY funny movie. I really could not stop laughing.

There were minor things that bothered me. I was hoping for a bit more Mason, but if we get Frostbite, I have hopes we’ll get way more Mason. I think I need to rewatch the movies with subtitles because of all the accents haha. Dominic wasn’t too bad because he spoke loud and clear so I got all of his lines, same with Lucy. Danila talked really really low for some reason so sometimes I wasn’t sure if I was hearing what he was saying correctly. He just needed to speak up a bit but he really rocked as Danila. I thought the end scene (I won’t ruin it for those who haven’t read the book) was a little rushed, and the lust charm scene was a bit cheesy but all in all, it was only small details that bothered me and none of them were deal breakers for the movie in the slightest.

And now that I’ve watched the movie, I want to watch the movie again and I want to reread the books again. I’m all obsessed with VA right now haha.

Rating:

4 out of 5

* * * * *

So get out there this weekend and see this movie! It was SO enjoyable to watch and, as a VA fan, I was incredibly impressed with it. I would love to see more of the series, I would absolutely love to see Frostbite (admittedly because more Zoey Deutch and we could cast Adrian!!!) and the only the way to get sequels for further movies would be to go out and see this one! So go go go go and tell me what you think when you do!

Vampire Academy Week: Mall Tour Meet and Greet and Music Afterparty!

February 6, 2014February 5, 20143 Comments

Hello there my friends! This week on What A Nerd Girl Says is Vampire Academy week. Monday and Tuesday was all about Vampire Academy. I spent hours waiting for a meet and greet, this partied with the cast, remedy and got to see the movie at the red carpet premiere and it was all incredible. Now I’m ready to share it all with you!

The first event of Vampire Academy week was the Mall Tour stop at the Grove in Los Angeles.

Sylvia (Fangirl Feeels), Erin (That One Geek Girl) and I arrived at the Grove SUPER early, around 6 am, and were by far the first people there. We have a tendency to do that. When we got there, they were just beginning to set up for the event!

They started an official line at around 9 am and we were able to get our wristbands! Yay for wristbands!

The day was spent with Sylvia, Erin, and my other fangirl friends, Cassandra, Mina, Jeanette, Jade, and Alex. We all had such a fun time hanging out and getting food and talking about fandoms and books. When we all get together, we have such a fun time. We all instantly bond because of our love for books and all things nerd.

Awkward elevator selfie….which is also SUPER awesome!

The Vampire Academy was really cool! They set up hairstylists and makeup artists to make us absolutely fabulous.

Me and my beautiful friend Cassandra after our makeovers!

The people that were holding the event had professional photographers and once you got all glammed up in your makeup and hair, you could put on some accessories (check out the tiara!) and take some pictures. They asked us to take a “serious” pose and it was just so ridiculous that I will never forget this picture. Its just too fantastic for life. It reminded us all of those glamour shots you could take with your best friends at the mall in junior high haha.

The VIPs were able to get these SUPER amazing Vampire Academy sweatshirts. My friends and I tried so hard throughout the whole event to get our hands on some and we all ended up with one! Which made me SO happy! I had to answer a trivia question and it was who wrote the books. Not exactly hard haha.

Then it was time for the actual meet and greet. Now I’ve been to a ton of signings and one thing that is always a bummer is the whole thing with pictures. Because most events get all LAME with photos and practically chop your head off when you even think of touching your phone while meeting the guests. This event was SO refreshingly different. They had a professional photographer taking pictures of us, and us with the cast. SO perfect.

My friends got some pictures too though :)

Me walking up to talk to Cameron Monaghan, who plays Mason in the film. He was SO incredibly sweet. He introduced himself, like “Hi I’m Cameron” and me, being insanely awkward, I just went “I know!” in a squeaky voice.

I think I’m discussing my tattoos with the cast. I was talking to Cameron and Lucy Fry when Dominic Sherwood noticed my Deathly Hallows tattoo and then Zoey Deutch (MY LOVE!) noticed my Divergent tattoo, and then I decided to show them the rest haha. It was funny!

I think this was when I told Zoey that I had a massive crush on her and Dominic started laughing and it was just all fun. Straight up, I do have a crush on Zoey. She was so sweet. I was like “I have a crush on you” and she was like “I have a crush on you too!” which I know she only said to be nice but pssssh I’ll never live it down haha.

It’s kind of blurry but you can kind of see me hugging Zoey Deutch. Basically the best thing that happened that night. I died.

The beautiful professional picture of me with the cast: Sami Gayle (Mia), Dominic Sherwood (Christian), Zoey (Rose), Lucy (Lissa), and Cameron (Mason). I was so excited that we got two more cast members in the addition of Cameron and Sami!

The photographer caught my hug with Dominic, which made me so happy. SO freakin cute.

After the actual meet and greet, we all converged to charge our phones and basically freak out about how awesome it was to meet the five of them. We waited a bit to go back, because we wanted to grab some extra posters for some giveaways (keep an eye out this weekend!) and then we got to take some selfies with the cast, which is always fun!

The absolutely GORGEOUS Dominic Sherwood. He was absolutely amazing as Christian. His eyes are mesmerizing. I can’t handle his eyes.

The super adorable Cameron Monaghan :D

After the mall tour stop, Sylvia, Erin and I met up with our friend Marla in Hollywood at this club called Lure to attend the SUPER awesome music afterparty, where the cast was going to make an appearance, and where Iggy Azalea performed as well. It was SUPER fun. We danced, and partied, had some free drinks (with red bull, which was SUPER weird haha and made me hyper).

Sylvia and I! We were so silly and accidentally grabbed drinks with whiskey in them. If you’ve never had whiskey before, its absolutely disgusting. We tried to handle it but…yeah, that didn’t go well. So we ditched the drinks and went to go get better ones. As we’re walking up to the bar, we realize the cast had arrived. It was so loud and Sylvia was pointing something out to me, which I thought was Dominic Sherwood. I was like “yes, I know, he’s there, he’s hot, we just saw him” and she was like “No, Sara, its Danila!!” and I basically fainted with excitement.

We weren’t expecting Danila to appear because he had just flown in from Russia. You could tell he was feeling tired and laidback, just in jeans, t-shirt and hoodie and he was hanging out with his friends. I was nervous and anxious to interrupt him but I knew if I walked away, all my fangirls friends (and YOU guys) would never let me live it down.

So I asked Danila for a picture and a hug and it was awesome. I didn’t think it was possible but he is even better looking in person than in the pictures. Seriously guys. Swoon!

Then I spent the next few minutes stalking the rest of the cast to get some selfies with them!

Me and the beautiful Lucy Fry!

I love this picture of me and Sami Gayle. I love that she plays Mia, who is SUCH a bitch, but she’s such a sweet person. Isn’t it funny how that works out haha.

I was SO determined to get a picture with Zoey and I got one! She is too beautiful for life.

They introduced the cast on stage, and I had to share this picture because Zoey looks so cute! She is seriously a goofball.

Then Iggy Azalea performed. I honestly had no idea who she was, and she’s not really the music I listen to AT ALL but she was seriously so pretty and so charismatic on stage and I super enjoyed it. It was fun to dance to, and I was hopped up on some red bull haha.

My poster! Signed by Zoey and Lucy on top, and then Dominic, Sami and Cameron on the bottom!

* * * * * *

All in all, Monday was a SERIOUSLY successful day! I had a blast, and meeting the cast and hanging out with my friends all day. I got no sleep, barely ate, and was SUPER exhausted by the end of the night but it was so so so worth it. And the next day was the premiere. Come back later for the recap of that event!

To see all the pictures of the event, check out the album on Facebook here.

Spirit Bound and Last Sacrifice Book Reviews

December 18, 2013December 18, 2013Leave a comment

I don’t normally do dual book reviews but I read this so quickly, case and they sort of blended together, so its easier for me to do that. Also, since then, I’ve read three more books and I need to review those as well, so it would just be easier for me to review them together.

Spirit Bound and Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead

You Can Find the Books At:

GoodReads-SB/LS

Amazon-SB/LS

Barnes and Noble-SB/LS

Book Depository-SB/LS

Author Website

GoodReads Summary:

Please keep in mind that while there will be NO spoilers for these two books, there will be spoilers for the previous four books. You can read the reviews for Vampire Academy, Frostbite, Shadow Kiss and Blood Promise by clicking their titles.

For Spirit Bound:

After a long and heartbreaking journey to Dimitri’s birthplace in Siberia, Rose Hathaway has finally returned to St. Vladimir’s-and to her best friend, Lissa. It is nearly graduation, and the girls can’t wait for their real lives beyond the Academy’s iron gates to begin. But Rose’s heart still aches for Dimitri, and she knows he’s out there, somewhere.
She failed to kill him when she had the chance. And now her worst fears are about to come true. Dimitri has tasted her blood, and now he is hunting her. And this time he won’t rest until Rose joins him… forever.

For Last Sacrifice:

Rose Hathaway has always played by her own rules. She broke the law when she ran away from St. Vladimir’s Academy with her best friend and last surviving Dragomir princess, Lissa. She broke the law when she fell in love with her gorgeous, off-limits instructor, Dimitri. And she dared to defy Queen Tatiana, leader of the Moroi world, risking her life and reputation to protect generations of dhampir guardians to come.
Now the law has finally caught up with Rose – for a crime she didn’t even commit. She’s in prison for the highest offense imaginable: the assassination of a monarch. She’ll need help from both Dimitri and Adrian to find the one living person who can stall her execution and force the Moroi elite to acknowledge a shocking new candidate for the royal throne: Vasilisa Dragomir.

But the clock on Rose’s life is running out. Rose knows in her heart the world of the dead wants her back…and this time she is truly out of second chances. The big question is, when your whole life is about saving others, who will save you?

My Review:

I am incredibly impressed with how much better each of these books get as the story goes along. I’ve made it clear before: series that go longer than a few books don’t usually hold up. At least I don’t tend to think so. Its hard to continually keep a story going. But Richelle Mead does it, and does it very well. After the complete heartbreak that was Blood Promise, I was immediately hooked back into the story, and finished these two books quickly.

The characters become so much better than what they were in the first four books. They become more complex, they are more than just teenagers. Rose and Lissa and Adrian and Dimitri and Christian, and all of them, its more than just the typical teen problems. They are now so much involved in their world, in the politics and the sort of dramatics that are going on that they just didn’t see when they were in school. I also think this is the novel where they begin to grow up. They are starting to experience things that make them older, wiser, smarter. Rose went through the entire experience in Russia with Strigoi Dimitri, and that has changed her. The journeys that the characters take as Dimitri returns, as a murder occurs and Rose is framed for it, as Lissa embarks on a challenge that will change her life…they all change. I think Richelle Mead really realizes that her characters are not children anymore and she reflects that so much in these last two books.

I also really enjoyed how she wrapped up these novels. I didn’t expect the things that happened to happen. I know that’s very vague but I don’t want to ruin the story in the slightest for those of you who have never read it. I think she creates all this drama, in the unexpected plot turns, like Rose being framed, and Lissa’s…challenge and I didn’t expect the outcome for any of it. I was gripping my Nook in excitement, staying up until all hours to finish the books. There was so much tension, so much mystery to the end, and it keeps you wondering how on earth it was going to end. I honestly didn’t see it coming at all. I also love all the feelings the books gave me. There was so much heartbreak but also romance, and happy endings too. I had these times of emotions that I could barely handle. There is a part with Dimitri, Rose and a little boy….and that part drove me to tears.

I think that Richelle Mead creates an incredible world, with really well developed characters. Her books have it all: action, romance, politics, coming-of-age-ness (yeah, I just made that up), humor, and so much more. It took me years to read these books because I don’t read vampire novels, but these are so much more than vampire novels. In fact, it wasn’t hard for me to forget that these characters were vampires. Her world is wonderful, and I love Rose and the rest of the characters. Its no wonder that she returned to that world for the Bloodlines series. Its addicting and fun, and I am truly in love with these books.

My Rating:

Spirit Bound: 5 out of 5 Stars

Last Sacrifice: 5 out of 5 Stars

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Shadow Kiss Book Review

September 18, 2013September 17, 2013Leave a comment

Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads Summary:

It’s springtime at St. Vladimir’s Academy, erectile and Rose Hathaway is this close to graduation. Since making her first Strigoi kills, Rose hasn’t been feeling quite right. She’s having dark thoughts, behaving erratically, and worst of all… might be seeing ghosts.

As Rose questions her sanity, new complications arise. Lissa has begun experimenting with her magic once more, their enemy Victor Dashkov might be set free, and Rose’s forbidden relationship with Dimitri is starting to heat up again. But when a deadly threat no one saw coming changes their entire world, Rose must put her own life on the line – and choose between the two people she loves most.

My Review:

Note: This review will NOT contain spoilers for THIS novel, however there WILL most likely be spoilers for the first two novels of the series.

I think this is the book that finally sold me fully and completely on the Vampire Academy series. I have thoroughly enjoyed the first two novels, and have enjoyed them enough to continue to read them, especially since everyone keeps telling me to read them, and keeps applauding me the further that I venture into the series. However, I think that with the first two books, I was merely reading them and enjoying them, and marveling at the fact that I was so enjoying books about vampires (gasp!) but after this third book, I can say, officially that I’m converted.

I am a fan. I’m a fan of the Vampire Academy series and I haven’t even finished it yet. This book was incredible. From beginning to end, it had me hooked. There was SO much going on in this book and it was hard to keep track of what was going to happen, what could possibly happen. Richelle Mead has completely mastered the idea of a red herring. She has your attention for so long on something and then suddenly, wham! Something happens that you honestly would have never expected and it leaves you wanting to throw the book against the wall. Not in a bad way though, in the best way. I was left absolutely flabbergasted, unaware that this was the way the book was going to end. I am COMPLETELY broke right now and am unable to purchase the fourth book right now, and I hate that. I want to know what happens next!

I really like that in this book, you really start to see more of Rose’s personality outside of her duty. Because of the events that have taken place in previous novels, she’s kind of a wreck in this novel but she refuses to believe for a moment that she is. She continues to stand tall, and straight and she refuses to ever let anyone think something is wrong because of her duty. She doesn’t want Lissa to know because Lissa will feel anxiety and Rose is extremely protective of Lissa and is her future guardian and doesn’t want to cause burden on her. She doesn’t want to share it with Dimitri, I feel, because it makes her look weak and it makes her look maybe younger, and that’s the last she wants. She’s in the last stages of her guardian training and its so hard for her. But as she starts to sort sift through the things going on in her life, she starts to focus more on herself and less on everyone else. She starts to question all the things she’s been taught is 100% law her entire life.

And I really like that direction that she’s going in, even if I’m confused and scared and anxious about where it will take her. I appreciate that Rose is dhampir, a guardian and that she wants to protect Lissa, but I’ve always felt like everything in the world gets set aside for that, including her own personal choices and life. She doesn’t really get to choose where to go to school; she’ll go to school wherever Lissa goes to school. She can’t choose to be with the one she loves because of her duties as a guardian. There is a lot holding her back and I feel like there is a huge part of this novel where she starts to question that and I like that. I like that Rose is not stuck in her ways, but she questions and she changes and she challenges and its going to be interesting to find out where this goes in the next few books.

I don’t want to say too much more because I fear that I will spoil it all but I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. There was so much that Richelle Mead put into this novel. There was a TON of action, there was friendship and romance and there were loyalties tested, and there was the psychology of what was going on with Rose that causes a lot of tension and anxiety and there’s just a lot going on in this book. From page one to the very end, it had me absolutely hooked and I can’t wait to speed through the rest of it to find out what happens next to the characters. She has a beautiful world built and a wonderful, exciting and gripping story going on and I am already so addicted.

So call me a fan. I’m a bandwagon fan, but I’m here. These books are SO good so far.

Rating:

5 out of 5 stars