Review: Shadow Kiss

Shadow Kiss – Richelle Mead

This is the third book in the Vampire Academy series and is the thickest and plot-heaviest.  Lots of plots and machinations and a trip to the Vampire Court.  It also continued to be much more about Rose than the first book in the series, which is good since she is clearly the most interesting character (though the Chuck Bass-like Adrien is pretty engaging in this book).  Her best friend and Vampire Royal, Lissa, (who she will be charged with protecting once they graduate) may turn out to be powerful and influential, but she’s pretty boring.  The sexual tension with Dimitri is as fun as it was in the first book, though.

This series is doing a good job of writing distinct stories that fit in within a larger narrative.  The big stuff, like teaching the Moroi to fight for themselves and changing the status of Dhampirs in society is all advancing, but at the end of each book, something has been resolved.  And at the end of this book, everything has changed.  I pre-ordered the fourth part from Amazon as soon as I was finished because I am that anxious to find out what happens next.

At the end of the last book, Rose proved herself to be as good of a fighter in reality as she believed herself to be at school.  But she is also headstrong and immature and as a reader you can both understand why adults would try to restrain her but also trust her.  This book is very good with the tension between her wanting to do things her way but then understanding that while she is right, there is a better way to do things than by herself.  And when she’s right and has a plan, she’s listened to.  And when she’s right, but sounds crazy because she’s saying a ghost told her to do it, the people who trust her the most listen to her once she gathers evidence that she’s not just crazy.

It also has the most mature examination of the power structures of the vampire world and when Rose begins to question her place in that world, it’s believable.  And so are the consequences of that questioning.

Yeah, these books are kind of “trashy” but not as bad as their covers suggest (ugh, I hate the last two covers) and they’re ultimately really solid and engaging.  I like it when my fun is skillfully and intellegently done.

Review: Frostbite

Frostbite – Richelle Mead

This sequel to Vampire Academy starts out with a step by step, plodding recap.  Helpful if you want to start in the middle, painful if you’d already read the first.  I’m sure I’m not the only person who falls for these recaps: Babysitter’s Club got me every time.  For some indefensible reason, I just felt too guilty skipping that part at the beginning.  But since Vampire Academy is the stranger book, it’d be a shame to skip it even though you could be all caught up without it.

The deadly, evil Strigoi vampires seem to be organizing and collaborating with humans to execute royal Moroi families.  So what’s to be done?  A ski resort vacation!  All the kids and their families will be safer in one place than unprotected out in the world.  Unfortunately, the family that Rose’s mother works for will be there as well, forcing Rose to come to terms with her mother’s decisions and legacy.  Confronted with the threat of an organized enemy, the Moroi finally begin to contemplate learning offensive magic but will discover that their ingrained rules against it will be hard to shake.  Rose is headstrong, and very heroic in this book, but ends up pretty broken because of what she does and what she loses.  As short a timeframe as these books take place in, Rose is maturing a lot and belivably so.

Sex is not as much of a theme in this book as it was in the first, but it’s still a pretty mature book.  Other than the cursing, a lot of it is likely to go over the heads of younger kids who read it.  As I was reading it, I was thinking I would probably stop with the series after this, but by then end I was caught up again.  I’m sure once the third book is published next month, I’ll be grabbing it as soon as it comes in.  There’s something really solid about these books that keeps them from being merely a guilty pleasure.  Which is a nice surprise considering how little more than their concept they could have ended up being.

Review: Vampire Academy

Vampire Academy – Richelle Mead

Vampire boarding school? Yes, please. Starting off by breaking down the world of the book, there are the Moroi, full-blooded vampires, who study magic at the Montana school, though they (boringly) only use it for the good of humanity. There are the half-vampire Dhampir, who train to be Guardians, the protectors (and consorts) of the Moroi. The Moroi are so busy being good, they don’t bother to protect themselves from the Strigoi, immortal and cannibalistic vampires (which seems as if it will be a theme of the series, not fighting back despite the ability to do so).

Rose, pictured, is a Dhampir who starts out the book in hiding with her best friend and Moroi Princess, Lissa. Their reasons for running away from the Academy are slowly revealed throughout the course of the book, all we know is that when they’re captured and sent back, both girls are terrified, even if just because the machinations of Moroi society rival those of any Court. Rose and Lissa share a psychic bond, one that allows Rose to sense Lissa’s emotions at all times, and to fully enter her consciousness with effort. Lissa’s magical abilities aren’t manifesting in any of the normal ways, but are instead more dangerous and powerful than those of other Moroi.  This leads to rivalries, plotting, and romance.

For me, the most notable aspect of the book is Rose’s expansive and bawdy sexuality. She is curvy and sexy and strong with a large appetite for danger and adventure (she’s also witty, and really good at flirting). Though most of all she wants to serve and protect Lissa, she isn’t beyond having some fun in the process. But the politics of Dhampir sexuality are complicated. Dhampir women can only mate with Moroi men. Dhampir men cannot mate at all (though the most sexual and attractive character in the book is an adult Dhampir Guardian). Moroi men only marry Moroi women, but often impregnate Dhampir women in their youth or on their visits to “blood whores,” single Dhampir mothers who live in communes and prostitute themselves, allowing the men to feed on them during sex. Rose is sexual more than she is slutty, though she struggles with her desires and her internalized fear of doing anything “dirty.” In this aspect, it can be hard to separate Rose’s thoughts from those of the authorial voice, but other characters call Rose out on certain things enough that the implied author seems to be a trustworthy one. But trusting in the author means sometimes harshly judging an otherwise sympathetic character. And I don’t know if younger teens will catch those layers. Because of the language and how much about sex and sexuality this book is, I think it’s probably a better fit for high school students.