What Does the Bookworm Say?: The Change-Up - Vampire Academy

Hi and welcome to What Does the Bookworm Say?, a feature that I am doing with my friends The Reader's Antidote, Elegantly Bound Books and The Windy Pages. This week's topic is a recurring one called The Change-Up in which we discuss cover changes. Since the Vampire Academy movie is opening wide this week, we though it would be fun to discuss the recent cover changes. If you want to know what I though of the movie, check out this post. Spoiler - I liked it.

These are the original Vampire Academy series covers.



And these are the new revamped covers.



Let me start this off by saying that I have never really liked the original VA covers. They are really cheesy to me and just scream "I'm an angsty teenage girl!" And I could never tell if the girl on the cover was supposed to be Rose or Lissa. I just knew that she didn't look how I imagined either of them. I was pretty excited when I hear that they were finally going to re-do the covers to coincide with the movie release.

However, when the new covers were revealed, I was less than thrilled. If possible I think the new covers might be even cheesier than the old ones. At least the old covers had a bit of personality. The new ones look super generic with the big VA emblem and then they still use the same random girls on the cover. I really wish they would have take the time to design something new and interesting instead of just another version of the old covers. I mean, they're not terrible, and I kind of like the uniform look to them, but they are very bland. I also find that I am kind of sentimental towards the old covers now. The winner for me in this battle (fake battle) are the original covers. They're old fashioned looking but they have more personality than the new versions.

Bonus: What do you think of the movie tie-in cover for VA?

As movie tie-in covers go, I really like this one. I love the colors and the logo is visible but not crazy huge. If you didn't know that this was made into a movie, you might think it was a regular cover with two cover models on it. Thumbs up from me. I would totally get a copy if I didn't already have a set. 

Those are my thoughts on the new Vampire Academy covers. Let me know what you think below. Love them, hate them, bought them on e-book because they were so bad? And don't forget to visit the other lovely bloggers participating ad well. Have a great weekend!

---

Not Really a Movie Review: Vampire Academy

Hi, guys. As you can tell from the title of this post, this is not really a movie review. I wanted to write about the Vampire Academy movie, but I kind of suck at writing movie reviews and it would take forever. I wanted to share with you my feelings while it was still fresh in my mind, so with inspiration from this Buzzfeed list, I am going to list for you the reasons that I recommend seeing the VA movie. I'll preface this by saying that I am a big fan of Richelle Mead and the series, but I really tried to keep my expectations pretty low for the movie since Hollywood has a pretty good track record of producing some really bad YA/MG book to movie adaptations (Percy Jackson, anyone?).  Like many, the marketing for this movie worried me. Glad to say though that I was pleasantly surprised by the film and would definitely watch it again.

Alright, here are my my reasons why you should see the Vampire Academy movie.

1. It is true to the books. 
It's been quite a while since I've read the first Vampire Academy book but I didn't notice any huge omissions or changes. I was a little bit sad that Adrian didn't make an appearance though. Pretty sure he doesn't really show up until book 2 in the series as well, but I would have loved to have had an Adrian cameo.

2. Zoey Deutch as Rose
I was a little skeptical when Deutch was cast as Rose. I think in my head, there was no one who was going to be able to play and be good enough. But Detuch really throws herself into the role (literally at times) and I think she really captured the fierce, badass Rose that we all love and still manages to act like a teenager. I may have a girl crush on Zoey (just a small one).

3. The fight scenes
There were a few instances where the fighting was a bit over the top (my friend could not stop laughing at the head butting scene) but, for the most part, I really enjoyed the fighting choreography. I loved the brief glimpse we got of the training ground with the obstacle course and wish we could have seen more of it. (Note that I would love to see a training montage in the next film, if there is one. There's just something about training montages that are just so entertaining and make you feel like you should go out and run  a mile. Not that I do.) It's also clear that Deutch is doing a lot of the actual fighting herself and I give her props for doing it.

4. The friendship between Lissa and Rose.
I am so glad that the movie got this part right. The friendship is a huge part of the VA books and I am glad that they didn't throw it over for the popular romance angle. Yes, there are boys, but Rose and Lissa's friendship is the main focus here, not romance. They fight, like teenagers girls will do, but in the end their loyalty to each other always wins out.

5. It's funny.
Yes, the trailers made it look like this movie was going to be just a big one-liner. However, I think the film has a nice mix of humor and drama. I loved the pop culture references (like when Rose calls Mason "Ducky") and I definitely laughed out loud a few times.

6. World building that isn't painfully awkward.
I get it. It's hard to set up a world in a 2 hour film. What's done in hundreds of pages in a book has to be done quickly in a movie in order to snare the audience. Movies will often resort to bad voice over or a quickly constructed history lesson at the beginning of the film to get readers up to speed, which always feels slightly pandering to me. I think VA does a pretty good job of laying out the world without being too overt or cheesy. The flash backs were a little choppy at times but overall the film did a good job of explaining the world in a way that wasn't eye-roll inducing.

7. Good looking cast
Yes, I am shallow. I like looking at pretty people. VA boasts an attractive cast, though not unbelievably so. I personally hate it when every person looks like a supermodel in a movie (blasphemy, I know). They also had great chemistry together and were believable as friends on-screen.

8. Rose & Dimitri
YES. One of my favorite couples is finally on the big screen. I think Zoey Deutch and Danila Kozlovsky make a pretty adorable Rose and Dimitri.

9. It's fun.
Yes, I said the F word. Not every movie has to be an Oscar contender. I like that Vampire Academy doesn't take itself too seriously and isn't afraid to poke fun at itself. It's a movie about vampires in high school, for goodness sake. Let's have some fun with it.

There you have it - my reasons for seeing the VA movie. I know it's not going to be everyone's cup of tea but I think it's worth a try and you may be surprised. Personally I had a good time watching it and would love to see a sequel.

Agree, disagree? I'd loved to hear your opinions, so let me know what you thought of the movie in the comments below. :)

---

**Images are not ours and belong to their respective owners. No harm or infringement is intended. If you own one of these images and would like us to remove them, please let us know and we will do so.

New Trailer: Vampire Academy

The film is just days away and The Weinstein Company has released another trailer for Vampire Academy. I am really excited to see the badass side of Rose and can't wait for Friday. Who else has their tickets ready?

Vampire Academy will be in theaters on Feb 7, 2014.

---

TV Spot: Vampire Academy

A new TV spot was just released for the upcoming Vampire Academy movie. It has a darker tone than the previous trailers, which some thought were too cheesy (but I loved them). Dark or campy, I don't care. There's no way I am missing this movie. The release date has also been moved up a week and is now set to release on Feb 7, 2014.

---

New Trailer: Vampire Academy

The Weinstein Company just released the full theatrical trailer for the Vampire Academy movie. What do you guys think? It's getting a lot of flack for looking too campy. Though I am still not sure I am sold on the overall tone of the movie, there's no way I am not going to see it. I mean, I have seen way worse adaptations and I love VA, so I will be there opening weekend. Who else is coming with me?

---

Vampire Academy - New Trailer

I just posted this on Facebook but thought it warranted a quick post as well. Yahoo Movies has just released the first trailer for Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters.

What do you guys think? It looks campy, vampy, and full of high school angst. Count me in! We only get a brief glimpse of Dmitri but Rose is looking pretty badass. Anyone else excited for this movie?

---

Bloodlines - Review

Bloodlines (Bloodlines #1) by Richelle Mead

Publication date: 23 Aug 2011 by Razorbill

ISBN 10/13: 1595143173 | 9781595143174
Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | Indiebound

Category: Young Adult Paranormal/Mystery
Keywords: Paranormal, romance, Vampire Academy, vampires, alchemy
Format: Hardcover, paperback, eBook
Source: Purchased

Synopsis:

Blood doesn't lie...

Sydney is an alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of human and vampires. They protect vampire secrets - and human lives. When Sydney is torn from her bed in the middle of the night, at first she thinks she's still being punished for her complicated alliance with dhampir Rose Hathaway. But what unfolds is far worse. Jill Dragomir - the sister of Moroi Queen Lissa Dragomir - is in mortal danger, and the Moroi must send her into hiding. To avoid a civil war, Sydney is called upon to act as Jill's guardian and protector, posing as her roommate in the last place anyone would think to look for vampire royalty - a human boarding school in Palm Springs, California. But instead of finding safety at Amberwood Prep, Sydney discovers the drama is only just beginning.

Review:

Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy was one of the first series that I really got into when I started to read YA books. I loved the world of the Moroi and Strigoi and the fact that Mead's characters weren't perfect and were fallible. Since then, Mead has become one of my favorite writers. From YA to urban fantasy to romance - if Richelle Mead writes it, I'll read it. However, I was hesitant to read Bloodlines because I was afraid that it would not be as good as VA. Sydney also wasn't my favorite character, which also added to my reluctance to start this series. But I finally decided to take the plunge and I am so glad I did because Bloodlines is so fun and absolutely addicting.

Bloodlines is told from the point of view of Syndney, the alchemist who aided Rose in Vampire Academy. Her actions have put her in hot water with the alchemists, who believe that she may be getting too friendly with the vampires. Sydney must prove her competence and loyalty on her new mission posing as the sister of Jill Mastrano, sister to Moroi queen Lissa Dragomir. Sydney moves to Palm Springs with Jill along with her guardian Eddie, and VA favorite Adrian Ivashkov.

I was never a huge fan of Sydney. While helpful in Vampire Academy, she always came off as sort of snobby and judgmental. In Bloodlines, we get to understand Sydney a little more and what originally came off as snobbishness is more likely attributed to social awkwardness. Living with the alchemists her entire life, she hasn't had much practice interacting with people her own age. She is also very uncomfortable around the vampires, having been told that they are evil and unnatural her whole life. But she isn't narrow minded and must reconcile what's she has been told with her own experiences with them. In many ways, she is the opposite from Rose. In other ways, she is very similar. She is smart, determined, protective, and every bit as fierce as Rose when it really counts. And I love that she doesn't let Adrian get away with things and calls him on his bullshit.

Now we get to Adrian, the partying playboy. While I felt bad for what happened with him in Vampire Academy, I have to admit that I have always been annoyed by his spoiled and self-indulgent attitude. While he hasn't changed in Bloodlines, there's a definite shift in him. I think we're finally starting to see some of Adrian's true potential come through. He and Sydney also have some great chemistry together. Unfortunately there wasn't a ton of romance in this one, just a lot of banter. And you know what that leads to. :) Mead is a master of drawing out the tension though and I am excited to see where their relationship goes.

The plot moved quickly with plenty of action and intrigue to keep things interesting. Even though I figured out the bad guy pretty early on, I still had fun watching it unfold.

I am so glad that I finally decided to read Bloodlines. I loved jumping back into the VA world and learning more about the alchemists and vampires. Richelle Mead has done it again. I am totally hooked on this series and can't wait to read the next installment. Bring on The Golden Lily!

---

Visit the author online at www.richellemead.com and follow her on Twitter @RichelleMead

Richelle Mead at B&N Third Street

Hello, eveyone! Wow it has been an amazing and crazy weekend. My brother's baby was born and I made a whirlwind drive up to northern California. I was awesome and no words can describe how much I love my niece. Anyway - upon my return I had a fun event to look forward to. Richelle Mead, author of such awesome series as Vampire Academy, Dark Swan, and the Succubus series was heading to Santa Monica for a signing. 

I really kind of hate the B&N procedure for signings though. You have to buy the book and get a wristband on the same day as the signing. This becomes an issue when the event is on a weekday and also when the store is far from you, and this event was both. It took some plotting and lots of driving but we got to B&N at 9am, bought our books, came home for a few hours, then drove 45 min back to Santa Monica, where we got to stand in line in a really hot place for about 2 hours. As uncomfortable as it was, it was totally worth it for Richelle. 

the richelle display at the entrance to the store

more richelle books upstairs in ya

I've actually seen Richelle once before at a Comic Con a few years ago. Since I already had some of my Vampire Academy books signed, the only dilemma now was deciding which books to get signed this time (she has a 3 book limit). Finally decided on the Vampire Academy Guide and the first and last Succubus books. 

Since we had gotten there so early that morning, we had A bands, which I was very grateful for. There was quite a turnout and I think I heard one of the B&N employees say that they though maybe 140 people were there.  They seated us a little after 7pm and Richelle came in pretty soon after everyone was settled. We made it to the very front row. :)

richelle with the great b&n employee (think his name is shane)

Richelle is pretty much what you expect - sweet, funny, and humble. She started off with a reading from The Golden Lily. It involved Sydney, Adrian, a guy named Wolfe, and some nun-chucks. :) I have some video of Richelle which I am trying to upload for you guys but Youtube uploading is slow. I may have to do a separate post of the videos. 

After the reading Richelle took questions from the audience. Someone asked if she would ever write another story with some of the series that have ended (like Dark Swan and Succubus) and Richelle said that she likes to never say never. While she doesn't have any immediate plans for anything, she said that anything is possible (yay!). When asked when she knew that she was going to write a VA spinoff series, she said maybe about halfway into it. She said that she had created this world that she loved and was interested in exploring still but that she wanted a change from writing from Rose's point of view. 

More questions then signing time! I am glad we were at the front because that meant we were first in the signing line, too. When I got up to Richelle I basically just gushed about how much I loved the Succubus series and how happy I was with the ending. She was super nice and didn't look at me like I was crazy at all.

signing my friend's va books

We finally left so that everyone else could get their books signed. Even though we had to drive to Santa Monica twice and then stand in a long, hot line, it was so worth it. We had a great time and Richelle was awesome. We also accosted Melissa de la Cruz and Margie Stohl after the signing. They had stopped by to say hi and we caught them wandering around afterwards. Hope we didn't scare you, ladies.

I had a fantastic time. Thank you, Richelle, for writing awesome books and being a cool person to boot. I definitely recommend going to one of her signings if you get a chance to. That's it for me. Signing off now!

---

View more of Thuy's YA reviews at Read Now Sleep Later