The Vampire Academy series is a popular urban fantasy book series. Written by American author Richelle Mead, the books received international recognition, became number one bestsellers, and spawned a spin-off series “Bloodlines.”
This article will review the book series and compare it to the TV show adaptation.
Who is Richelle Mead?
Born in Michigan on November 12th, 1976, Richelle Mead is a fantasy book author famous for her series of young adult books. With thousands of copies sold, they became number one bestselling books internationally.
Her interest in fantasy and science fiction books began in her childhood with Greek mythology and Flash Gordon. After obtaining a liberal arts degree from the University of Michigan, she continued studying religion and folklore during her MA studies in Comparate Religion at the Western University of Michigan. Later, she obtained a Master’s in teaching from the University of Washington.
She began teaching in Seattle, where she currently lives but quit her job to pursue her writing career after her first book was such a big success.
A review of Vampire Academy
The Vampire Academy series features six books: Vampire Academy, Frostbite, Shadow Kiss, Blood Promise, Spirit Bound, and Last Sacrifice.
The story is set in a world where vampires co-exist with humans and features two girls: Vasilisa (Lissa) Dragomir, a Moroi princess, and a half-human dhampir guardian and Lissa’s best friend, Rose Hathaway.
Captured by a new dhampir professor Dimitri Belikov, they return to the St. Vladimir Academy boarding school after two years with new challenges ahead of them. Rose is put into a class taught by Dimitri with other guardian-in-training dhampirs. But even while apart, Lissa and Rose communicate with each other through a psychic bond.
The second book explores the topic of a forbidden romance more closely. While Lissa is going out with Christian Ozera, Rose pines for Dimitri, who has a different love interest. Meanwhile, Mason Ashford and a Royal Moroi aim for her affection. The plot gets even more complicated when Mason and Mia decide to go on a Strigoi hunt during the school ski trip. Mason gets killed, but Rose finally makes Dimitri fall for her.
Mason’s death haunts Rose and she can’t concentrate on her practice. What’s worse, a new Strigoi attack forces Rose and makes her choose between her best friend and her new lover. Eventually, Dimitri is taken by the Strigoi and Rose must fulfill her promise to kill him if that ever happens.
After a failed attempt to kill Dimitri, he is now after Rose and won’t rest until he turns her into a Strigoi. A new hope awakens when she learns that Strigoi can be turned back.
Eventually, they turn Dimitri back into a dhampir. However, he avoids Rose because of what he has done to her. The pair reunite when Rose is accused of killing Queen Tatiana.
With the help of Sonya, they go to find the other remaining Moroi who is needed to make Lissa the new Queen. As the group returns, they learn that Rose was framed for the crime. Tasha, the real criminal, who was in love with Dimitri all along, shoots at Lissa, but Rose takes the blame. She survives, but her bond with Lissa has been destroyed. The series ends with Rose becoming Lissa’s guardian and Lissa becoming the Queen.
While it may sound like another cliched teenage romance story like Twilight and The Vampire Diaries, the Vampire Academy series explores themes of loyalty and betrayal with a lot of action, fight scenes, and strong characters. All of which make it more than just a typical teen vampire book.
Vampire Academy show versus the books
After a 2014 movie directed by Mark Waters and starring Zoey Deutch as Rose Hathaway and Lucy Fry as Lissa Dragomir, a new series based on the same books aired in 2022. The series was adapted by Julie Plec and Marguerite MacIntyre for Peacock.
The cast included Sisi Stringer as Rose, Daniela Nieves as Lissa, Kieron Moore as Dimitri, André Dae Kim as Christian, Jonetta Kaiser as Sonya Karp, Mia McKenna-Bruce as Mia Karp, J. August Richards as Victor Dashkov, Andrew Liner as Mason, and Rhian Blundell as Meredith.
As with many adaptations, however, the series deviates from the plot of the book in several ways:
- The setting of St. Vladimir’s Academy is completely different. The Montana woods are replaced with a place in Europe, and the Academy is part of a community called the Dominion, which doesn’t exist in the book.
- The book series and the TV show start differently. While the books begin with two best friends on the run, the show opens with Lissa taking a break from school after her parent’s death.
- Mia Renaldi becomes Mia Karp in the series, and Sonya Karp is no longer a teacher but an older student and Mia’s sister.
- The Strigoi in the show are more like zombies than vampires. They no longer possess the strength and intelligence which made them intimidating in the book.
- Lissa’s healing powers don’t exist in the TV series. Her horrible temper caused by the Spirit is also not included.
Listen to vampire fiction audiobooks with Speechify
If you want to listen to any of the books from the Vampire Academy series, try Speechify Audiobooks. The platform allows you to explore many different genres, including vampire fiction.
With its user-friendly app, you can even customize the playback speed, sync your progress to other devices, and set a sleep timer. You just need to make an account and download it to your favorite device.
Try it today and jump into the amazing world of vampires and dhampirs with Lissa and Rose.
FAQ
Will there be a season 2 of Vampire Academy?
After airing for only ten episodes in the first season, the show was discontinued.
Was Vampire Academy a flop?
The ratings of the TV series were undeniably better than those of the 2014 adaptation, but the differences in the show might not sit well with diehard fans of the originals.
What are the ratings of Vampire Academy?
With 13 reviews, The Vampire Academy TV show received a rating of 77% on Rotten Tomatoes, but the overall rating was 48%.
Who is the main character in Vampire Academy?
The main character is Rose Hathaway, a dhampir.
