OK, last one for today, I promise (hello, HR! I'm really working hard!)
Matrice got me hooked on this book and I just wrestled the sequel from her to read over the weekend. Vampire Academy features best friends Rose and Lissa, two teens who share a special bond. Lissa is a vampire, and Rose is the half vamp, or dhampir, destined to be Lissa's protector for life. The two have escaped Vampire Academy, where it seemed someone was trying to hurt Lissa, but now they've been captured and brought back in shame. And then the fun begins...starting with Rose's sexy new trainer, the man who captured them and brought them home, Dimitri.
Told from Rose's point of view, this story feels different from other vampire books. Read has created some new rules and inhabitants of the vampire world--the Moroi, vamps who have some witch-like abilities and who are alive, and the Stirgoi, dead, hugely powerful vamps who want to capture the magical Moroi and turn them into Stirgoi. And the dhampirs, trained to be warriors to protect the Moroi and the world from the Stirgoi. It's more complex than that, but hey, I do have work to do.
The story is dark, sexy, and hugely fun--kind of like Gossip Girl with vampires. Another one for Stephenie Meyer fans to try.
--Tashya
