Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Holy cow!! I just looked online to see how many books were in this series thinking it was only three, yeah, we're talking about a good 6 books if not more and I've only read the first. Now I just have to mention that most books I've been reading are in a series and it's fun, but I am getting a little tired of series that last more than 3 books, especially if it's close to 7 or more like Artemis Fowl, Rangers Apprentice, Leven Thumps, etc... The only exception was Harry Potter since that was my first real series to read when I was in high school. Anyway. I've been trying to steer clear of Vampire books since it is almost embarrassing to read Vampire related books after the huge success and publicity of the Twilight series. I really liked that series until everyone got obsessed with it after I had read them already. Yeah, kinda ruined it along with the movies and my english major husband telling me that the writing is very plain and there are no details so of course I now notice whether a book is simple or complex. Sort of ruined the whole reading experience a bit for me, but I still like it.

I picked this book up since all my other books are on a long hold at the library and this one was ready to pick up. I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed reading this book and it had been a while since I've read a book I had a hard time putting down. If you noticed I'm posting this the same day as the Sorcerer's Apprentice. That's how quickly I read these two books. This isn't like Twilight in any way. You have the good Moroi who are one with the environment, vampire people who feed every day off of feeders who are humans that willingly let them drink their blood since they get a high when they get bit. Most feeders are people who were into other drugs and stuff and are recruited to be cared for in return for their blood. They get addicted to this high. Then you have Rose who is a guardian to the Moroi since the Moroi are hunted by the Stigoi (Moroi turned evil vampires). A little crazy, but it works. Rose and her Moroi friend Lissa attend the Academy where they learn to harness their unique gifts or powers for their role in life. Rose and Lissa share a unique bond that allows Rose to enter Lissa's mind and see and feel what she is feeling at the moment. Someone is threatening Lissa and Rose protects her and saves her during this book. I'm curious to see how they can get so many books from this first book, but hopefully the rest are good as well.