Vampire Academy Book Review

Hi Guys,
Today I'm going to review Vampire Academy, the first book in the Vampire Academy series, by Richelle Mead. This is a story about a vampire princess and her dhampir bodyguard, who go on an adventure, and find themselves in some trouble. Here is the synopsis from the back of the book:

 St. Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger...
Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever.

My first impression of this book was "it's too girly, and a knock-off of every other vampire book I've read". For this reason, I didn't pick up the book and read the synopsis for... well, until the fourth book was released. When I read the synopsis though, I knew it wasn't going to be like any vampire book I've read. I was correct, this book is unlike any other vampire book I've read (and I've read a lot). I loved how they had an academy for both vampires and dhampirs,  and I also liked the cool "power" element that was added to the vampires. I liked the characters for the most part... Rose was a little too hot headed for me, and I didn't really like that, also Lissa was a little too selfless. But I liked all the other characters... oh wait, except for Mason, for some reason I didn't really like him either. Wow, that really doesn't leave that many characters... well, I hope the characters I've listed can mature a little in the next book. I give this book 4/5 stars, because the lack of great characters... major or minor. I'm hoping the series gets better as I keep reading... but if the characters remain the same through the rest of the series, I might not want to read them as much. Hopefully the amazing plot, dialogue, and twists, can overpower the characters. 


Additional Announcement: This book has been offered many movie deals, but so far I don't believe there is a real, "We're going to start casting next week", chance that this book will become a movie... at this time... I can't tell the future, but I hope it does become a movie.