Vampire Academy Series:
Book 1: Vampire Academy
Book 2: Frostbite
Book 3: Shadow Kiss
Book 4: Blood Promise
Book 5: Spirit Bound
Book 6: Last Sacrifice
Synopsis:
Vampire Academy is an American best-selling series of six young-adult paranormal romance novels by author Richelle Mead. It tells the story of Rosemarie “Rose” Hathaway, a seventeen/eighteen-year-old Dhampir girl, who is training to be a guardian of her Moroi best friend, Vasilisa “Lissa” Dragomir. In the process of learning how to defeat Strigoi (the evil undead vampires) in St. Vladimir’s Academy, Rose finds herself caught in a forbidden romance with her instructor, Dimitri Belikov, while having an unbreakable psychic bond with Lissa.
The first book in the series, Vampire Academy, was published in 2007; it was followed by Frostbite in 2008. The third book in the series, Shadow Kiss was published also in 2008, and the fourth book, Blood Promise, was published in 2009. The fifth book, Spirit Bound, and the sixth book, Last Sacrifice, were released in 2010. As of 2013, the series has sold 8 million copies in 35 countries.
The first in the series was adapted into a movie directed by Mark Waters, starring Zoey Deutch, Lucy Fry, Danila Kozlovsky, Olga Kuryled, Gabriel Byrne and was released by The Weinstein Company on February 7, 2014.
Characters:
Main Characters:
Rosemarie “Rose” Hathaway – Rose is a seventeen-year-old, half-vampire, half-human (which makes her a Dhampir) protagonist of the Vampire Academy series and is best friends with Princess Vasilisa (Lissa) Dragomir. Her birthday is at the end of March. She died in the same accident as Lissa’s parents and brother in the past, but Lissa unknowingly brought her back after the car accident in which her parents died making her a “Shadow-Kissed” Dhampir. Because of this, Rose has had a one-sided bond to Lissa for two years, allowing her to read Lissa’s thoughts, sense her feelings and see the world through her eyes. Sarcastic and quick-witted, Rose is training to become Lissa’s Guardian, while in the process falling in love with her older mentor, Dimitri Belikov. Rose is described as beautiful with semi-exotic desert-princess features: big dark eyes, dark brown hair, and very light tanned skin. She is 5’7″ with an athletic and curvy figure. She has a strained relationship with her mother, because she thinks her mother abandoned her, the famous Guardian Janine Hathaway. She is framed for murdering Queen Tatiana at the end of Spirit Bound, but is later revealed to be innocent. She enters into a promised relationship with Adrian, Queen Tatiana’s nephew, after returning from Russia and tries to deny her feelings for Dimitri throughout the course of Last Sacrifice. Nearing the end of the book, she is surprised to learn of Dimitri’s still strong feelings for her, feelings he had previously denied to protect her, and to Dimitri’s strong disbelief, she returns his feelings and they reunite once more. She loses her bond with Lissa in Last Sacrifice when Rose gets shot in the chest by Tasha trying to protect Lissa and dies but comes back on her own, rather than being brought back by Spirit. Rose becomes Lissa’s Guardian after Lissa is crowned Moroi Queen. Adrian visits Rose and they break up. Adrian is hurt and angry over Rose’s love for Dimitri, but Rose says when you find that person, he’ll know and also that he needs someone who inspires him to change, not someone to be a crutch, like she was. It all ends with Rose officially restarting her relationship with her true love, Dimitri, after hiding it for so long and her future looking bright.
Vasilisa ‘Lissa’ Sabina Rhea Dragomir is an eighteen-year-old Moroi Queen. Lissa is described as having long, platinum blond hair and jade green eyes. Her element is “Spirit”, a psychic element that draws from the body and soul, giving her the following abilities: extremely powerful compulsion, healing and resurrection. Her powers first manifest during a car accident when she was fifteen, killing her entire family and best friend Rose. Her extreme shock and dismay unearthed her powers and she accidentally resurrected Rose, binding the two spiritually. The more she uses her powers, the more Spirit dissolves her sanity. The situation deteriorated so severely that Lissa resorted to cutting herself as an outlet for her psychotic breakdowns. Later on, Lissa discovers that the use of Spirit and the darkness that is produced from it directly affects her bondmate Rose, yielding the same product of darkness, uncontrollable rage and bloodlust, and insanity. She is romantically involved with Christian Ozera. In Last Sacrifice, Jill Mastrano is revealed to be her half-sister, the result of an affair between her father and Jill’s mother. Lissa is–against her will–elected as a candidate for the next Moroi monarch as an attempt to divert attention while trying to discover the identity of the queen’s murderer. Due to unwavering support from the public–as well as adhering to Moroi laws that a monarch must have at least one relative alive to ascend the throne–Lissa is elected Queen of the Moroi.
Dimitri Belikov is a 24-year-old dhampir of Russian origin from Siberia, assigned to be Lissa’s Guardian along with Rose. He is 6’7″, has brown eyes, shoulder length hair, a few shades lighter than Rose’s dark brown hair, and tanned skin. Dimitri has a slight Russian accent, and likes old western novels. Often described as a ‘god’ he is a very skilled fighter and respected among the Guardians. He was also Rose’s mentor in St. Vladimirs Academy and future husband at the end of “The Ruby Circle”.
He returns Rose’s feelings but attempts to stay out of a relationship with her for most of the series, since it would interfere with his guardian duties. He is turned Strigoi at the end of Shadow Kiss and is later turned back by Lissa near the end of Spirit Bound. He becomes increasingly depressed after being turned back to a dhampir, riddled with intense guilt over the things he did while he was Strigoi. He helps Rose break out of prison in Last Sacrifice and goes on the run with her. Throughout the journey, he slowly starts to open his heart and discover life and love again. Though at first claiming to have lost his love for Rose, he later admits otherwise and they begin a relationship nearing the end of Last Sacrifice. In the end of Last Sacrifice it is revealed that he is now Christian’s guardian.
Christian Ozera – Lissa’s primary love interest. He is a social outcast due to his parents willingly becoming Strigoi. Unusual for a Moroi, Christian is an avid survivalist and believes in learning self-defense and offensive spells. His elemental specialization is fire, an element that is directly lethal to Strigoi. Christian is described as tall with messy black hair and ice blue eyes. He is also described as sarcastic, cynical, depressed, and introverted. It is observed that he smirks when he doesn’t want to reveal his true feelings. He is kidnapped along with Rose, Mason, Mia and Eddie in Frostbite. Later on he helps them escape by melting Rose’s hand cuffs as he is a fire user. Although he breaks up with Lissa at the end of Blood Promise due to her odd behaviour and her kissing Aaron at a party they later on they get back together at the end of Spirit Bound.
Adrian Ivashkov – A former love interest for Rose Hathaway and primary love interest for Alchemist Sydney Sage, he is a member of the Ivashkovs family and great-nephew of Queen Tatiana Ivashkov. Adrian lives a lavish and privileged lifestyle, donning a ‘devil-may-care’ attitude. It has been hinted that his childhood and family relations aren’t healthy. He is 6’1, has messy brown hair, emerald green eyes, and high cheekbones. Adrian is a Spirit user and suffers from the same mental side effects as Lissa after using Spirit. He drinks alcohol and smokes cigarettes excessively in an attempt to hamper these effects. Adrian possesses the ability to “walk dreams,” meaning he can psychically enter a person’s subconscious during the receiver’s dreams, as well as an increasing ability to heal and the ability to read auras. Rose first meets Adrian at an exclusive ski resort in Frostbite where his attractions for her are no secret. His relationship with Rose becomes apparent in Spirit Bound. Adrian later breaks up with Rose in Last Sacrifice after discovering that she has cheated on him. During the novel Bloodlines, it is shown Adrian harbors resentment toward Rose, who he still deeply loves. Later in the series, Adrian displays an attraction to Alchemist Sydney Sage throughout The Golden Lily, and the two share a passionate kiss. He is heartbroken when Sydney flees his house in horror and shock of what she has just done. However, those feelings of hurt quickly fade as Adrian is determined to keep loving and supporting Sydney, even if that means he’s doing it from afar. Throughout the novel, The Indigo Spell, Adrian remains to be a steady support for Sydney, accompanying her on trips in her pursuit against Veronica, a vain and soul-seeking witch. Particularly in the novel, the lax and ‘devil-may-care’ attitude that fans know and love are brought out, as opposed to the previous heartbroken, lost, and sulky Adrian in Bloodlines and The Golden Lily. Even the sensual side of Adrian, first fully highlighted in Spirit Bound, is brought out in the Indigo Spell when Sydney finally loses restraint, showing exactly how good Adrian is with his lips and hands. As the final act of romance in the Indigo Spell, and showing just how much Adrian knows Sydney, he makes her meet him in an ancient Roman and Greek museum where the couple is finally reunited. There the two have a moment, or a few moments, and Sydney finally accepts him, showing in that moment in time, Adrian’s happy ending.
Other characters:
Moroi:
Jillian “Jill” Mastrano Dragomir – Jillian Mastrano is a 15-year-old Moroi Princess, sister to Queen Vasilisa. Jill is extremely tall and rail-thin, with green eyes and curly brown hair. When first introduced, Jill is shy, easily impressed, and naïve. Jill is a Water user who believes in learning self-defense and utilizing her elemental magic against Strigoi, similar to Christian. During Last Sacrifice Jill discovers she is Princess Vasilisa Dragomir’s half-sister, and one of the last members of the dying Dragomir family, providing her half-sister with the mandatory family quorum. However, as she is Lissa’s only family member, Lissa loses her right to the throne if she dies. This makes Jill extremely valuable and a major political piece. Jill attended St. Vladimir’s Academy in the Vampire Academy series, but transfers to Amberwood Private School after Lissa’s ascension to the throne in order to secure her safety. In Bloodlines Jill reveals to Alchemist Sydney Sage that she died during an assassination attempt and was resurrected by Adrian Ivashkov. Due to her spiritual bond with Adrian, she begins experiencing the effects of Adrian’s extensive drinking and smoking until Sydney brings this to Adrian’s attention and warns him about his actions and their consequences on Jill. During Bloodlines Jill develops a crush on Lee and is extremely shaken when he is killed. She soon overcomes this and begins a very innocent and monitored relationship with a Micah. All goes well during the second novel The Golden Lily until Jill realizes her relationship is steadily intensifying, and her restrictions prevent her from furthering it. She has also expressed feelings for Guardian Eddie Castile. During her time in the St. Vladimir’s Academy in she also develops a crush on Adrian Ivashkov. Jill is surprisingly mature and responsible for her age.
Victor Dashkov – A royal Moroi. Throughout the novel Vampire Academy he possesses the fatal respiratory ailment Sandovsky’s disease. He is Natalie Dashkov’s father and was a dear friend of Lissa’s father, Eric Dragomir. He is described as having brown hair, emerald eyes, and pale skin. Before the discovery of his disease, Victor was to be Moroi Queen Tatiana Ivashkov’s heir to the throne, but was overlooked to become the next King. Realizing the Guardian-Strigoi crisis was worsening, Victor grew desperate for a cure and searched for a solution until he came across Spirit. After watching Lissa for many years, Victor determined Lissa was a spirit-user, and kidnapped her during a school dance. He tortured Lissa with the help of an air-user when she refused to heal him after learning that Victor intended to imprison her to ensure his health. Thanks to Rose, Victor was apprehended and later convicted of his crimes and sent to prison. In Spirit Bound he is broken out of prison by Rose and her accomplices in order to find his brother, Robert Doru who was a Spirit-user and the first ever to turn a Strigoi back into a Human/Moroi/Dhampir. For the majority of Spirit Bound, Victor and his brother are held in the custody of Rose, but manages to slip away during a Strigoi assault. After discovering that Jill Mastrano is Princess Vasilisa Dragomir’s half-sister, Victor and Robert kidnap her for political uses. When Rose, Dimitri and Sonya Karp eventually catch up to the two, a fight ensues and Rose unintentionally kills him.
Mia Rinaldi – A non-royal Moroi whose element is Water. Mia had a grudge against Lissa (and by default, Rose) because Lissa’s older brother, Andre, used her and broke her heart. She is kidnapped along with Rose, Mason, Christian and Eddie in Frostbite and her relationship with Rose and Lissa changes and she has since been a trusted friend to them. She is described as having a soft face and curly blond hair that makes her look very young and almost doll-like. After her mother is killed during a Strigoi attack that is mentioned in Frostbite, she moves to Court to live with her father.
Natasha “Tasha” Ozera – A member of the Ozera family and Christian’s aunt. Like Christian, she has raven black hair, and ice blue eyes. She has a scar across her face received when her brother and sister-in-law willingly turn Strigoi and attempted to take Christian with them. She assumed custody of Christian after the ordeal and ultimately became the subject of gossip and a social outcast. After the attack Tasha decided that relying on guardians was too archaic and began using self-defense and her elemental specialization (fire) as a weapon. She has a romantic interest in her long-time friend Dimitri and wanted to start a family, but he turns down her offer. She aids in the search for evidence that will prove Rose’s innocence for murdering the queen, but it is revealed that it was in fact Tasha who murdered Queen Tatiana and framed Rose in order remove her from between Tasha and Dimitri. It is assumed that Tasha was executed for the murder.
Ibrahim “Abe” Mazur – Rose Hathaway’s father and a well-known Turkish ‘mobster’ described as the ‘knee cap-breaking’ type. His physical appearance is tall, slightly broad, dark-haired and threatening, and is known for wearing bold colors and scarves with a beard and earrings to top it off. Rose once described him as a “pirate mobster.” He is known for making trades, blackmailing, and Rose often hints that he is involved in illegal businesses. He has many connections among both the Moroi and the Alchemists. Rose meets him during her journey in Siberia in Blood Promise and does not discover their relationship until she has returned home. After Rose was accused of killing Queen Tatiana in Spirit Bound, Abe masterminds her escape from Court while her friends investigate the murder. Despite having not known her throughout her life, Abe is very protective of Rose, and shares many of her characteristics. In Rose’s own words, he is “arrogant, sarcastic, likes to intimidate people”.
Queen Tatiana Ivashkov – Ruler of the Moroi and dhampirs. She was killed in Spirit Bound. Rose is accused of killing Tatiana, but she was actually killed by Tasha Ozera. She was also said to have a secret relationship with Ambrose and Blake Lazar. Her political views leaned away from Rose’s point of view, causing bad blood between them.
Natalie Dashkov – A royal Moroi with jet-black hair and jade green eyes who specializes in earth magic. She is very awkward among other royals and is known for talking a lot. She was once a good friend of Lissa’s but later becomes Strigoi to rescue her father Victor from the Academy’s jail. Dimitri kills her in Vampire Academy after she tried to kill Rose. In Spirit Bound, it is implied that Victor had her turn Strigoi because he hoped his brother would be able to turn her back after she broke him out.
Headmistress Ellen Kirova – Headmistress at St. Vladimir’s.
Aaron Drozdov – Lissa’s ex-boyfriend. He started dating Mia Rinaldi while Lissa and Rose were gone.
Ralf Sarcozy – member of the “Mana” club. He and Jesse invites Christian to join their club, but Christian refuses. Later, they invite Lissa to join their club. Lissa agrees, finding the invitation as a chance to spy on them. After they invite her, they attack her, and Rose comes to Lissa’s aid. Due to Lissa’s Spirit powers, Rose is persuaded to torture them, until Dimitri and Alberta arrive.
Jesse Zeklos – Was caught by Dimitri for making out with Rose in Vampire Academy. A member of the “Mana” club. He helped Ralf attack Lissa in the woods. After an incident with Rose, they are both enemies.
Robert Doru – Victor’s half-brother and a spirit user. He was apparently the first Moroi ever to restore a Strigoi back to Dhampir or Moroi. He made his first appearance in Spirit Bound.
Clarence Donahue – A Moroi who fears Vampire hunters, whom he believes killed his niece, Tamara, simply to push away the possibility of his own son being the murderer. Keith becomes friendly with him and extracts his blood and saliva to sell to the tattoo parlor called Nevermore.
Daniella Ivashkov – Adrian’s mother. She appears kind towards Rose and oddly accepting of her and Adrian’s relationship. She pays Joe, a janitor, to testify that he saw Adrian the night Tatiana was killed to cross Adrian’s name out of the list of suspects. She is revealed to have known about Jill and stealing any of the Alchemist’s records of her to ruin Lissa’s credibility as a candidate for Queen, and was having a secret affair with Ambrose,Tatiana’s lover.
Emily Mastrano – Jill’s mother who is a professional dancer. When she was young she worked in Nevada as a Las Vegas showgirl, where she met Eric Dragomir and had a brief affair with him, thus creating Jill.
Dr. Olendzki – A female Moroi who is the doctor at St. Vladimir’s.
Dhampirs:
Mason Ashford – A Dhampir who is one of Rose’s best friends, and also a novice Guardian like her. He frequently helps out Rose throughout the series. He is interested in her romantically, and Rose eventually attempts a relationship with him, only to find it fall apart because of her unbreakable connection to Dimitri. He dies in Frostbite while the others (except Rose who is fighting alongside him) escape. His ghost continues to aid Rose in Shadow Kiss and finds peace at the end of the book.
Eddie Castile – He is an eighteen-year-old dhampir who is tall, and has sandy blond hair and hazel eyes. Eddie is one of Rose’s closest friends after the Spokane incident involving him, Rose, Mason, Christian, and Mia. He’s loyal, and after the second book (Frostbite) is told he’s matured a lot. He was also the best friend of Mason Ashford. In Last Sacrifice, he kills a Moroi defending Lissa, and is tried for his actions. He is sent to Palm Springs along with Sydney to protect Jill, the princess Dragomir and Queen Lissa’s half sister. He has a crush on Jill, but can’t do anything about it because she’s a Moroi and a princess. He sees her falling in love with a Moroi, who is later discovered to be a psycho Moroi who wanted to kill her and himself to become Strigoi and live forever together with her – just the two of them. In the second book (The Golden Lily), Eddie has to witness, again, Jill forming a relationship with his roommate, Micah, who is a dead ringer for his dead best friend, Mason Ashford. Meanwhile, he’s being strongly pursued by another dhampir, Angeline Dawes, who keeps rubbing up against him and winking at him while the two of them train. Later, because of Angeline’s sudden but good change and his wanting to move on from his feelings for Jill, he starts liking Angeline more. He later asks her out on a date. In Indigo Spell, Angeline is found to have been having a secret affair with Trey, and Sydney revealed that Jill has strong romantic feelings for him.
Angeline Dawes – She is fifteen years old and is part of the “Keepers”, a group that follows the old and ancient ways Moroi and dhampirs practiced. Angeline is known to be shorter than most Dhampirs. She has blue eyes and strawberry blonde hair. She is moved to Palm Springs to help protect Jill at the end of the first book (Bloodlines). For the majority of the second book (The Golden Lily), she is reckless and ill-behaved. She develops a not-so-secret crush on Eddie early in the book and keeps throwing herself at him to let him know her interest. Sydney talks to her after Angeline punched the motivational group and threw a speaker at them, and tells her to stop attacking Eddie. Angeline then stops and she starts to behave more like a guardian. Eddie sees this change and starts to like Angeline. They talk about going on a date at the end of the second book (The Golden Lily). In The Indigo Spell, she is dating Eddie, until being tutored by Trey, when it’s revealed they are having a secret affair together. Angeline and Eddie break up. Trey feels bad and guilty, he decides to stay away from Angeline even though he’s falling for her. In The Fiery Heart, Angeline is trying to forget Trey by forcing herself to like Neil, the new dhampir in Palm Springs. Her plan never works as she’s already in love with Trey. Later, she and Trey team up and help the rest of the gang killing a Strigoi. After this, Angeline and Trey talk and make up. They’re finally together by the end of the book.
Janine Hathaway – Rose Hathaway’s legendary mother who is 5′ feet tall, has curly auburn hair, brown eyes, and is very stern. She appears in Frostbite. She is a very ‘badass’ Dhampir, according to her reputation, who has killed many Strigoi. Her relationship with Rose starts off very sketchy but improves throughout the series.
Alberta Petrov – The captain of the guardians at St. Vladimir’s. She is revealed to have known about Dimitri and Rose’s relationship.
Stan Alto – A male guardian and teacher at St. Vladimir’s. He and Rose often fought.
Alchemists:
Sydney Katherine Ivashkov (née Sage), Lady Ivashkov – Sydney is an Alchemist who helps Rose find Dimitri’s hometown, Baia, in Siberia. She is a human who knows a lot about Moroi and dhampirs but dislikes them. She has many tricks and techniques in getting rid of Strigoi bodies and is also equipped with a special potion that can turn a dead Strigoi corpse into a fist sized ball so it is unrecognizable. Sydney helps Rose escape from jail and find the last Dragomir in Last Sacrifice. She is the narrator of the spin-off series Bloodlines. During the book, it is revealed she has a strained relationship with her rigid father and younger sister, Zoe, mainly because of her apparent ‘betrayal’ of the Alchemists in Last Sacrifice. She is grudgingly sent to guard Jill Mastrano-Dragomir in Palm Springs where she uncovers an illegal trade involving Alchemists dealing in Moroi blood and saliva which redeems her in her fellow Alchemists’ eyes. Adrian Ivashkov is deeply in love with her and was revealed so in The Golden Lily after a steamy kiss shared between the two. Sydney walks away from him, denying that they could never be involved in that way. Throughout The Indigo Spell, her thoughts and feelings for vampires, Adrian and the Alchemist change; she breaks her tattoo with help from Marcus. She realises that she was in love with Adrian all along, causing them to be become a happy couple, at the end of The Indigo Spell. They are married at the end of Silver Shadows and Sydney moves to northern Maine to live with Adrian, their adopted dhampir son, Declan, Adrian’s mother, Daniella, and their guardian and friend, Eddie Castile, in the epilogue of The Ruby Circle.