Title: Vampire Academy
Author: Richelle Mead
Position in Series: Book 2
Publisher: Penguin Group, Razorbill
Pages: 336
Release Date: April 10, 2008
Genre: Young adult, Fantasy, Romance
Read Excerpt: Here
Buy: Here
Followed by: Shadow Kiss
In senior year all guardians have to pass a qualifier exam, Rose missed hers and now she has to travel to the Badica’s household where their guardian, Arthur Schoenberg, a legendary Strigoi slayer and past head of the Guardians Council will interview Rose and decided if she has what it takes to become a Moroi guardian. Dimitri and Rose make the five hour journey to the Badica house however all is not well when they arrive.
Schoenberg is there, as well as the Badica’s, a royal Moroi family, but they are all dead. Dimitri searches the house and disobeying orders yet again Rose searches the outside where she finds a discarded silver stake – a weapon used by guardians to kill Strigoi. Only this stake had been used to break the protective ward surrounding the house. Wards were magic rings cast by Moroi. Like stakes they were made using the magic from all four elements. Wards could block Strigoi because magic was charged with life and Strigoi had none. Suspect humans of helping Strigoi. In the house Rose notes a message that has been left in the bathroom; “Poor poor Badicas. So few left. One royal family nearly gone. Others to follow.” Rose’s thoughts instantly turn to Lissa and how she is the last surviving Dragomir. St. Vladimir’s is on high alert and the academy decides to make the winter ski trip mantatory. All students and guardians will go, giving families the chance to be together during the Christmas holidays.
Ahead of the Ski trip Christian’s aunt, Tasha Ozera comes to the academy and Rose is surprised at the easy and unguarded relationship Dimitri and Tasha have. Rose instantly likes Tasha and suggests that Dimitri should accompany Tasha on a shopping trip since she doesn’t have a guardian of her own and she is part of a royal family. Dimitri gets back late and so Rose’s mom, Janine Hathaway who has come to the Academy with the family she projects, stands in for him during one of Rose’s training sessions. Rose and her mom parry and Rose ends up with a black eye. From her mom.
Rose is furious with her mom and Dimitri tries to comfort her but they loose their self control in a heated argument when Rose accuses him of not caring for her, Rose kisses Dimitri and he warns her not to do it again. Janine attempts to make amends with Rose at Christmas but whilst talking about Tasha Janine lets slip that Tasha is interested in Dimitri and has asked him to become her guardian. Rose is devastated and asks her mom to leave.
The academy leaves Montana for the Ski Lodge on the 26th. Rose tries to put Dimitri out of her mind and build a relationship with Mason. The pair take on some extreme slopes and Mason ends up injuring himself. Rose runs into Adrian, an interesting yet highly annoying royal Moroi and Mason and Lissa give her a hard time about being friends with a guy who has such a bad reputation with girls. Tasha practices offensive magic with Christian and explains that Moroi could be useful to their guardians too.
Another Strigoi attack shocks the Academy when 8 Moroi ar killed along with their 5 Guardians. The guardians believe there had to be at least 9 Strigoi which is surprising since Strigoi find it very difficult to work together. Another royal family, the Drozdov’s are wiped out and Rose learn’s that Mia’s mum, who worked for them has been killed.
A meeting is arranged to discuss the systematic killing of royal Moroi families. Tasha suggests that Moroi should learn to fight beside their guardians and use their magic offensively once again. Rose confronts Dimitri about his relationship with Tasha and is hurt when he tells her that her actions are showing how much of a child she is. Adrian interrupts their argument and asks Rose to go to a royal party. Rose goes and takes Christian, Lissa and Mason.
At the party Rose gets in the middle of a fight, two Moroi boys are arguing about the use of guardians. One believes Guardians should be sent out younger than 18 and the other believes that Moroi should once again use their magic to protect themselves. Mason comes to Rose’s rescue but she doesn’t agree with his view that Guardian’s should graduate earlier.
Rose walks off and ends up talking to Adrian again. When he continually asks questions concerning Lissa, Rose becomes suspicious but Adrian assures her that he isn’t interested in Lissa, the way he’s interested in her. Later on Dimitri and Rose talk about the recent attacks and he shares some important information with her. The Guardian’s had managed to track some of the Strigoi to a shopping mall in Spokane, Washington which was located about some under-ground tunnels that the Strigoi were using. Dimitri trusts Rose to keep the information to herself, but angered by another run-in with Tasha Rose lets slip to Mason that the trail leads to Spokane. Mason suggests that they go, alone, to Spokane but Rose insists that it would be stupid to go after the Strigoi.
That evening Rose attends a royal function with Lissa and is horrified when her mother drags her out of the event for flirting with Adrian. Dimitri finds her and comforts her and Rose tells him that he should take Tasha’s job offer. She also decides to finally stop stringing Mason along and tell him how she really feels. Rose sets off to find Mason but soon discovers that he, Eddie Castile and Mia managed to escape the confounds of the ski resort. Rose instantly knows where the trio have gone. Spokane. Racked with guilt Rose decides to go after them, but she can’t get out of the complex alone so she asks Christian to use compulsion on one of the guards so that she can escape. Christian helps her but Rose is surprised when he insists on helping her bring the group back.
Rose and Christian find the group sat in the shopping mall, Mason explains that they found the tunnels but that they were empty. Christian insists on seeing the tunnels before they return and Rose reluctantly agrees. In the tunnels they find an obscure list of all the royal families, some names like Badica and Drozdov have been crossed out …
On the walk back to the resort the group are set upon by three men, a fight ensues but one of the men grab Mia and hold a gun to her neck. Trained to protect Moroi above everything the group agree to the attackers demands. They have to get into the car. The group are taken captive, to a house run by two Strigoi; Isaiah and Elena.
Impressed by Christian and his deference Isaiah gives him and Mia a choice. One of them can survive if they kill either Rose, Mason or Eddie and drink their blood. Both refuse but Isaiah doesn’t back down, offering to let them think on it. In the mean time he brutally bites Eddie and feeds off him. As the days pass on Christian and Mia become weaker and weaker. Due to the constant bites Eddie is out of it and Rose desperately tries to come up with an escape plan.
Eventually she comes up with a plan to use Christian’s fire element to escape. Christian tells their captors that he’d like to take Isaiah up on his offer; he’d like to drink from Rose. The guards free him and Christian seemingly goes to bite Rose but instead uses his element to melt Rose’s plastic restraints.
The group manage to overpower the humans however when they come close to escaping they are attacked by Isaiah and Elena. Rose attacks first and orders Mason to get Christian and Mia out, which he does. Isaiah has Rose close to death but Mason charges back in an attempt to save her. Isaiah wastes no time and quickly attacks Mason, killing him in an instant. In a rage Rose attacks again, aided by Mia who returns and uses her water element to distract Isaiah. Drawing on all of her training with Dimitri Rose is able to kill both Strigoi and later receives two Molnija marks.
Back at the Academy Lissa tells Rose that Adrian is coming to stay at the school. Adrian was interested in Lissa because he also is a spirit user and the pair agree to help each-other with learning the different abilities that come with using Spirit. Dimitri counsels Rose on her recent killings and tells her that he has turned down Tasha’s job offer. The two share a stolen kiss and agree to continue as before.
