I've had this series on my TBR list for a VERY long time. I can only think of one reason why I am just now getting to it. The original covers were AWFUL. I don't think these books ever would have jumped out at me with those cover. I know...don't judge a book by its cover, but in this case I did.
It took this AWESOME movie edition cover...
And...this movie trailer
AND....Book Nerd Flo selecting this as our read along to finally get my attention.
This book was AWESOME. I feel like I did when I stumbled upon the Twilight and Hunger Games series after all of the books had been released. On the plus side...I will be able to read another AMAZING series without having to wait between books, but how could I have lived with my head in the sand all this time?
Lissa is a Moroi royal and her best friend and guardian, Rose, is a dhampir. Moroi are born as vampires and dhampirs are half vampire/half human. Moroi drink blood and prefer to stay out of the sunlight, but dhampirs are just like humans only stronger, faster, etc.
Lissa and Rose fled the Academy a couple of years ago and have been living on their own in Portland. They have been attending school and maintaining a fairly normal existence until some guardians finally catch up with them and take them back to the Academy.
Rose's punishment for taking Lissa from the Academy includes a TON of additional training sessions with Dimitri. She quickly learns that she has a lot to catch up on if she wants to graduate with the rest of her class. There are far worse things than spending time with a hot Russian guy only 7 years older than you. There is definitely an attraction between the two from the start and it only intensifies throughout the book.
The story is told from Rose's POV, but Richelle has a unique way of sharing Lissa's story as well. They have a bond that allows Rose to feel and see what Lissa is experiencing whenever Lissa has very strong emotions. It eventually becomes something Rose can control regardless of Lissa's emotion.
Lissa has the ability to manipulate people with "compulsions" in addition to some other powers. There is a lot of high school drama and politics that plays out in this story. Mia is a wannabe royal that is out to get Lissa and Rose. This comes back to bite her big time, but not without Lissa and Rose receiving their own share of drama.
My favorite character has to be Christian. He is a royal, but he comes from a disgraced family. He is very attractive, but has a dark personality and stays to himself. He is always observing things and seems to know about everything that is going on. Lissa and Christian start to form a relationship, but it is very slow to develop due to some....interference...shall I say. I definitely hope there will be A LOT more of Christian in the next book.
I have already requested the second book in this series from the library. Since I prefer the ebook to a physical copy it will take a little longer for me to receive it, but I am still very anxious to find out what happens next.