5 out of 5 stars.

Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy will leave you hungry – er, thirsty – for more! In this enrapturing read, Mead paints the picture of a society of vampires hidden within our own. There are the Moroi, the good vampires, who do not kill and specialize in elemental magic (magic over Air, Earth, Fire, or Water) and there are the Dhampirs, the Guardians, who are half-vampire and half-human, the perfect combination to protect the Moroi. The Moroi need protection because they are not as capable of protecting themselves (although there are voices in Moroi society that push for defensive magic).

The humans aren’t what the Moroi are afraid of, though. Their greatest enemy are the Strigoi, the vampires who kill their victims and do not possess the elemental magic of the Moroi. Strigoi can be made two ways – a Moroi can kill when they drink, or a human or Dhampir can be drained of blood and then fed Strigoi blood. These fierce vampires are evil, and burn in the sun (quite literally – they will go up in flames if they go for more than a second in the sun). They are pale, and have red rings around their eyes. They are also deadly strong and fast, which is why the Dhampirs have such trouble fighting them off. The Dhampirs have one advantage, though – Strigoi are burned when they touch enchanted silver, which is what the Guardians’ stakes are made of.

This story follows Lissa Dragomir, a young Princess and the last of her line, and her future Guardian and best friend, Rose Hathaway. Rose and Lissa are brought back to school after a two year excursion of hiding in the real world.

Lissa hasn’t specialized in an elemental magic, and Rose and Lissa have a bond. Not just emotional – Rose can get into Lissa’s head and hear what she’s thinking. The bond does not do both ways, however.

As they try to figure out why they have this strange bond, they have to go through the normal stresses of high school – with a bit of the supernatural added in, of course. Rose is training to be a Guardian, and she fights feelings for one of the Guardians at the school, Dimitri Belikov. Lissa is having problems getting back into the swing of things, and finds herself sucked once more into the world of the Moroi elite – partying and gossiping.

I could not put this book down, from the first word to the last. Mead creates an intriguing world in Vampire Academy.