Product Description

THIS EDITION IS INTENDED FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. Rose Hathaway knows it is forbidden to love another guardian. Her best friend, Lissa-the last Dragomir princess-must always come first. Unfortunately, when it comes to gorgeous Dimitri Belikov, some rules are meant to be broken . . .

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3125 in Books
• Published on: 2008-11-13
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781595141972
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From the Publisher
Praise for the Vampire Academy series

"Mead...weave[s] a unique and mesmerizing mystery with a whodunit ending that even the most skilled detectives will not predict...this little gem is sure to be a hit." --VOYA

"Teens able to handle to edgy elements will speed through this vamp story and anticipate the next installment." --Booklist

"In a world that seems saturated with vampire books, Richelle Mead has created characters and a world that is both unique and believable." --TeensReadToo.com

About the Author
Richelle Mead is the author of Vampire Academy and Frostbite. She lives in Seattle.

Customer Reviews

Up all night, disturbed and sad
I didn't want the book to end. But by the time I got to the end I was so drained, emotionally and physically (pacing around reading) I collapsed in a heap.

First of all is a change in Rose. Not only does she view her relationship with Lissa differently, she starts to question her purpose in life and the choices that have been thrust upon her. The life of a dhampir is one of duty and hardship. She'd always thought the only other choice was to be be a blood whore, so of course, being a guardian for her best friend, the Dragomir Princess was a better life.

But all that is turned on it's head when she discovers the true meaning of what it means to be Shadow Kissed. That it wasn't just a name given to St. Vladimir's friend and help mate, Shadow Kissed Anna, there was a more relevant meaning behind it.

With this knowledge and the disturbing presence of a lost friend, her life is in turmoil when it should have been smooth sailing with Victor Dashkov in prison and the trials going swimmingly for her.

Then comes tragedy. I can't write about it. I don't want to spoil the book for anyone, I will say this though, I spent over half the book cringing at each page I turned, hoping that I was wrong, that Ms. Mead wouldn't do what I was terrified she would do in the end. So by the time it happened I was a mess; weepy and depressed.

I hate and love this book.

I can't wait for the next one, so addicted.

Adult audience worthy series...
A little background... I am in my mid 20's and a high school teacher who loves to read when I can but doesn't get much time to do it in. I picked up the twilight series a year ago at a students request and was pleasantly surprised. Once the series was finished I needed another one! Before Twilight I had not been into teen romance/ fantasy books especially with vampires and such. I saw a book-list of recommendations by Twilight followers and picked up the "House of Night" series by PC Cast. This was worth reading and I am waiting for the next book to come. My husband now calls me addicted to Vamps since I started looking for a new series to pick up. I was strongly recommended to pick up the Vampire Academy series by my 20 year old sister who has always been a fan of this genre of books.
Wow! I loved this series, I know I might get some backlash on this from serious twilighters out there but I would say this is a close second to twilight though it has a very different storyline/plot. I love the background Richelle Mead gives her characters even ones that don't seem to significant at first. Rose is an amazing self conflicted character to read about. A young but amazing heroine conflicted between her life duty/purpose to protect her best friend Lissa, a last in her family royal, or choose another "alluring" path. Rose is a woman coming into her own through the series having to deal with self conflictions while those around her often idolize her more than she likes. Oh, and the fact that there is a gorgeous & lethal male "mentor" named Dimitri in it doesn't hurt! In this latest installment things heat up between a few characters and hard decisions are made that will touch everyone in the long run.
I have enjoyed each of the books but "Shadow Kiss" is what I would call the best in series so far. It is longer, which is great for how fast I read, and for those of you who like a little adult content this book alludes to some in a tasteful way. This is the most "mature" book and has lots of action and some new characters who I find very interesting. I couldn't put this book down. I bought it the day it was released and finished it one day (reading in between classes and my lunch break). I love it when a book can grab me and by the end of the book make the story seem complete but at the same time still agonizing that the next book doesn't come out until late next year!

I hope this helps anyone looking into the series and if you already have read the first two there is no way you should pass this one up (as I said it's the best so far). Anyone out there who enjoyed the The Twilight Saga: Slipcased or Untamed (House of Night, Book 4) then I would highly recommend picking up the Vampire Academy series. I am not guaranteeing anything because as I tell my students "everyone has and is entitled to there own opinion", however I have run across students and adults alike who liked this genre and were not to impressed with Twilight but still found this series a great read. As I said before great for the teen as well as the adult in the family.
Best of Luck Book Hunting!

In Between
I have mixed feelings about this book. As a fan of Mead's previous two books in this series, I was excited to see that this one was thicker...yay, more story! Well, it didn't take long to figure out why the book was thicker. It was filled with an excess of telling rather than showing. I also had a problem with the over use of the word 'had'. It really made for a lot of passive sentences...and passive sentences make for a slow moving book.

I got frustrated with the over-explainations of everything. I know this is a series so sometimes we need to be reminded of things that happened in previous books, but this is the third, we didn't need a recap on why Strigoi are bad and how some Moroi use spirit OR what Spirit actually is. Those are just two of many examples of where the story goes into
"telling" right in the middle of "showing". The action was often broken up with Rose's thoughts or memory or something else that didn't move the action along.

I found myself skimming through chunks of rehashing and I didn't miss anything important. I didn't find any of this in the first two books, or if I did, it wasn't in the excess that it was in Shadow Kiss.

Mild Spoiler below*****




The love scene between Rose and Dimitri was kinda disapointing. On one hand, I was very happy that they got together, but it was all very bland. I didn't feel any passion, despite being told it was passionate and loving and wonderful...but that's just it, we were TOLD that it was passionate instead of describing how Rose was unable to control herself, how she may have moaned or how Dimitri may have goaned. Things like that let us understand the passion. It's like this line sums it up perfectly: "I wish I had the words to describe sex, but nothing I can say would really capture how amazing it was."
Well, I wish she would have found the words. I didn't want it to be erotica. I understand that this is YA, but it could have had more passion. Maybe Mead isn't comfortable writing that kind of stuff and that's fine, it just left me wanting more.

I did like the book, despite what it sounds like. I just felt like Mead got in her own way of telling a tight story. I loved the end, even though it was sad. I get the feeling that Rose is on her way to an awesome adventure and I'll surely be there for it. I just hope that before Mead sends her manuscript off to her editor, she takes an axe to all the, 'he had, she had, we had, I'd had, and had been's' that took over Shadow Kiss.