Showing posts with label Vampire Academy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vampire Academy. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

[Post] Be My Valentine...Dimitri Belikov!

The wonderful Jackie from The Hardcover Obsession asked some fellow bloggers if we would like to participate on a Book Boyfriends special Valentine's Day post, hosted over at Raz0rbill. How could I say no?

Anyone who knows me well enough knows how much I adored the Vampire Academy series, and one of the main reasons for that is Dimitri Belikov.

I wanted to have a little fun with this post so I imagined Dimitri had created an online dating profile for himself. (Not that he would ever create one, because he would have no time for nuisance like that! His only goal in life is to protect the Moroi!)

Posted on www.plentyofbookhotties.com February 14th, 2012:

Name: Dimitri "Dimka" Belikov
Age: 24
Height: 6'7"
Eyes: Dark Chocolate Brown
Hair: Medium Brown - Chin Length
Skin: Deeply Tanned
Build: Lean, Athletic
Race: Dhampir
Profession: Guardian
Originally From: Russia
Accent: Slight Russian Accent  
Preferred Item of Clothing: Duster

Our Perfect Date

Our perfect (but not our first) date would involve the following: a bottle of nice Merlot, two great novels (a YA dystopian for me and a old western for him), a slightly roaring fire, and a whole pile of fluffy blankets and pillows strewn across the floor. We would snuggle against each other reading our novels together. Sometimes we would read passages to one another...now that would be the best date ever!

Why Dimitri

Well why not? But seriously....I think the main thing that attracts me to Dimitri is his absolute devotion, not just to Rose, but to his job, protecting his charge, and absolutely everything he undertakes, no matter what the costs. He is also completely devoted and protective of his family, which means when the day comes when he has his own family he will treat them with the same love and devotion. Plus...he reads books! That is a winning detail for me every time! (Although I'm not personally a fan of the westerns...)

How I Imagine Dimitri

I have always had this perfect image of Dimitri in my head. To be fair, he closely resembles a good friend of mine whom I adore (and dated off and on a few times in my late teens, early twenties).

When the graphic novel of Vampire Academy was released I was pleasantly surprised. Although not exact, the graphic novel interpretation of Dimitri was pretty bang on (in my eyes). I also kind of picture him of a mix of Taylor Lautner in Twilight (with the long hair) and Taylor Lautner in New Moon (with the killer abs).

Kind of like this...

In my research I discovered that a lot of other people see him like this (which don't get me wrong, I am totally cool with...):


 My Favorite Dimitri Quotes

“No. If I let myself love you, I wont throw myself in front of her. I´ll throw myself in front of you.”
― Dimitri, Vampire Academy

“One of the few downsides to being awakened is that we no longer require sleep; therefore we also no longer dream. It's a shame, because if I could dream, I know I'd dream about you.I'd dream about the way you smell and how your dark hair feels like silk between my fingers. I'd dream about the smoothness of your skin and the fierceness of your lips when we kiss. Without dreams, I have to be content with my own imagination– which is almost as good. I can picture all of those things perfectly, as well as how it'll be when I take your life from this world.”
― Dimitri, Spirit Bound

“Don't worry, Roza, I'm not afraid. I'll take whatever heat they give me over being with you. It's worth it.”
― Dimitri, Last Sacrifice  

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Review of Adrian's Lost Chapter by Richelle Mead


Title: Bloodlines: Adrian's Lost Chapter
Series:  Bloodlines, Book 0.5
Author:  Richelle Mead
Genre:  YA, paranormal, vampires
Format:  Ebook, 8 pages
Publication Date:  August 2011
Published By:  Richelle Mead
Source:  Read on Author's Blog







Synopsis from Goodreads

A glimpse at the original scrapped first chapter, which is told from Adrian's POV. 

Originally, Bloodlines was going to be told from a few different characters' points of view. It was going to be in third person and alternate characters each chapter. A few chapters in, problems were emerging from this (you've got to trust me on that!). 

I ended up starting completely over and simply doing the entire book from just Sydney's point of view in first person (the "I" voice). The all-Sydney version is what you're going to get when the book hits the shelves August 23. 

Hope that clears things up!

My Thoughts

I'm really fond of the new trend where authors write and release short stories to their readers that fall in between other books in their series. I think it helps keep momentum and interest in the series while waiting for new books in the series to be published. It also helps flesh out some character development as well as some of the story that might have been rushed through, or skipped all together in a previous book.

With this specific short story offering, the author is giving us an inside look at how she attempted to start her new novel before scrapping it for a different approach. Richelle Mead originally planned to write Bloodlines with characters alternating between who was actively telling the story. The first chapter was initially meant to be told by Adrian, and this is that chapter.

This short piece (a much too short 8 pages) is incredibly true to Adrian's character that was developed during the Vampire Academy series. The drinking, the smoking, the flirting, all ways to help him deal with the bad things that happen to him. I always felt a little bad about how things ended with him, and this chapter doesn't make me feel any better. Experiencing his reactions and feelings from his true inside self is even more heartbreaking than reading them as they were described in the last book of the Vampire Academy series, shadowed by a third-party perspective. It literally tore my heart to pieces to see just how much he is still suffering from the whole Rose conflict. The "Rose" colored glasses are gone now, and the truth is too painful to bare. It's so real...I know because I have been there...I am sure we all have been...

Let's hope things get much better for poor Adrian in Bloodlines. I'll let you know soon...it's next up in my TBR pile.

My rating?

Friday, August 26, 2011

Review of The Vampire Academy: The Graphic Novel by Richelle Mead


Title: The Vampire Academy: The Graphic Novel
Series:  Vampire Academy: The Graphic Novel Series
Author:  Richelle Mead
Genre:  YA, paranormal, vampires
Format:  Graphic Novel, 144 pages
Publication Date:  August 23, 2011
Published By:  Penguin, Razorbill
Source:  Purchased







Synopsis from Goodreads

After two years on the run, best friends Rose and Lissa are caught and returned to St. Vladimir's Academy, a private high school for vampires and half-bloods. It's filled with intrigue, danger - and even romance. Enter their dark, fascinating world through a new series of 144-page full-color graphic novels. The entire first Vampire Academy novel has been adapted for book one by Leigh Dragoon and overseen by Richelle Mead, while the beautiful art of acclaimed British illustrator Emma Vieceli brings the story to life.

My Thoughts

This is most likely going to be more of a gush than a review, but that's OK right? I read, or should I say I devoured, The Vampire Academy (The first book in The Vampire Academy series) by Richelle Mead last summer. I absolutely adored it. The writing style, the characters, the story, everything was pretty much perfect. It was a great introduction into a great series that I continued to devour until the very final novel.

This graphic novel is a great companion piece to the series. You can read it without reading the series, but I would truly recommend you read the series anyhow because it will just add so much depth and story that can't possibly be displayed in these too few graphic novel pages. But as a companion piece, it is amazing, and stunning, and fabulous, and gush gush gush...

I think I am most happy with the character visualization for Rose Christian and /drool Dimitri. I'm not sure how I feel about Lissa yet...but I'm sure she will grow on me.

I'm happy to see that the graphic novel version of book 2, Frostbite, is set to be released in April of 2012. The cover is already giving me chills! I look forward to reading and experiencing every story once again, but in graphic novel format, especially the final one.

I'm also looking forward to reading Bloodlines by Richelle Mead which is a spin-off of The Vampire Academy series with some of the same characters. I picked it up at the time as this graphic novel. Look for the review soon!

My rating?

Sunday, July 31, 2011

30 Day Book Meme - Day 3



Elleira over at Chimneys & Magic is running the 30 Day Book Meme

Day 03 – Your favourite series:

I have quite a few favourite series, and it would be really hard to narrow it down to one, so I will share my top three with you. (In no specific order.)

1. The Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater. - My first introduction into the new world of YA was this wolf based trilogy. It was amazing well written with strong characters and realistic wolves. Short but sweet, and not dragged on forever. What is not to love about that.

2. The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. - I don't even think I have to justify this with too much rambling. I don't think there are many people left out there who have not read and enjoyed the Harry Potter series.

3. The Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead. - A series I was introduced to by a friend. After reading the back of the first book I thought I was going to hate it and have to murder my friend for forcing me to read it. But I was wrong. Dimitri saved the day. Without him I'm not sure I could have read it, but Dimitri is the type of character who can make me read any book...just like Ash in the Iron Fey series right now...

Thanks for reading and link below if you are doing the 30 Day Book Meme as well. I would love to see your answers!

Day 01 – The best book you read last year
Day 02 – A book that you’ve read more than 3 times
Day 03 – Your favourite series
Day 04 – Favourite book of your favourite series
Day 05 – A book that makes you happy
Day 06 – A book that makes you sad
Day 07 – Most underrated book
Day 08 – Most overrated book
Day 09 – A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving
Day 10 – Favourite classic book
Day 11 – A book you hated
Day 12 – A book you used to love but don’t anymore
Day 13 – Your favourite writer
Day 14 – Favourite book of your favorite writer
Day 15 – Favourite male character
Day 16 – Favourite female character
Day 17 – Favourite quote(s) from your favourite book(s)
Day 18 – A book that disappointed you
Day 19 – Favourite book turned into a movie
Day 20 – Favourite romance book
Day 21 – Favourite book from your childhood
Day 22 – Favourite book you own
Day 23 – A book you wanted to read for a long time but still haven’t
Day 24 – A book that you wish more people would’ve read
Day 25 – A character who you can relate to the most
Day 26 – A book that changed your opinion about something
Day 27 – The most surprising plot twist or ending
Day 28 – Favourite title(s)
Day 29 – A book everyone hated but you liked
Day 30 – Your favourite book of all time