Richelle Mead

While Rose is coping with the darker effects of being shadow-kissed, her relationship with Dimitri is finally taking off, and when he disappears during a Strigoi attack on St. Vladimir's Academy, she must make a terrible choice.

Shadow kiss

arwen

Mel 

** spoiler alert **
           Okay, so I still really liked this one but not as much as the first two. 
Lissa is kind of annoying in this one. I loved getting to know Christian a lot more and I really enjoyed his character. I love love Adrian and I’m so sad for him and I just want him to be happy. 
Rose and Dimitri...well I still don’t really see their relationship in a romantic sense, I don’t really know why. I’m hoping I get on board with their relationship because I think they’re endgame. Even though, I kind of want her with Adrian.
Anyways, I’m still really excited to read the next one.

Loved this book. I hated the fact that Dimitri became Strigoi. Curious how this is going to play out in the next book. I was so happy at the end when Rose told Lissa that she did everything for her, and wanted to do just one thing for herself. She finally said it! 

Salomé Gleusteen 

becky oh

This was so much better than the last two books in this series. And the last sentence . . . damn

RTC

Ultimate fav, favourite book of the series! Mason I wanted to CRY and then Dimitri in this book it was so so good 

Valerie Yvonne Elizabeth Hes 

Shadow Kiss

Nessa Luna

Beware: This review may have spoilers for the previous books in the series, I recommend you not read this review if you haven't read Vampire Academy or Frostbite!

In June last year, I finished 
  Frostbite
 the second book in the Vampire Academy series. It was then that I decided to fully commit myself to this series; the first vampire series that I was actually enjoying. Drinks all around! I bought books three and five the next time I was in Amsterdam, mainly because they were discounted (5-ish euros each, hells yeah).

Shadow Kiss goes further a couple of weeks after the events of Frostbite. After the death of Mason, Rose's first two kills and her first two Molnija marks. In this book, the guardians of St. Vladimir's are preparing for a six-week field experience; they each get assigned a Moroi that they have to follow around and protect for six days a week, twenty-four hours a day. Rose wouldn't be Rose if she didn't mess things up again; so there's a lot of trouble going on on campus. Add to that the fact that Victor Dashkov is about to go on trial (without Rose and Lissa to testify), and now Rose is seeing ghosts?

I have to say, this book wasn't super filled with action; but neither were the previous two books. It was mostly action at the end of the book, which was super intense of course. I really loved the fights at the end of this book, even though there were some sad parts as well. (view spoiler)[It wasn't as sad as Mason's death at the end of Frostbite, even though I liked Dimitri a bit better than him; but I just didn't feel that sad? I guess because there's still a chance that Dimitri is alive/there, and Mason was just dead. I guess. I was more shocked than sad after finishing this book. (hide spoiler)]

I believe we weren't introduced to any new characters (at least not ones that mattered, in my opinion; otherwise I'd have remembered them), but there were enough characters to deal with already. Rose, Lissa, Christian, Eddie, Dimitri, Adrian, etc etc. I don't know how the rest of the 'fandom' thinks, but I honestly disliked Adrian so much. I found him annoying in Frostbite already, but he got even more on my nerves in this book and ugh I just wanted him to stop existing. I don't ship him with Rose at all, and he was just so FRUSTRATING ALL THE TIME. UGH.

I also was a bit annoyed at the fact that Rose was just so confrontal about everything. I mean, I love a character saying what they truly mean, but Rose really needed to tone it down in this book. We did find out the reason why she was so confrontal in this book, but still it was a bit annoying at some points, and I really wanted her to just shut up and sit down. She was a bit less flirty though, probably because Dimitri finally kissed her back at the end of the previous book. That or I've just started ignoring every time she flirts with someone. I don't know.

We also found out more about the meaning behind being 'Shadow Kissed' a bit more, and I really liked hearing about it and I loved the fact that Rose is discovering more about herself and Lissa. It also broke my heart a bit, I think the people who've read the book know what I am talking about. I don't want anything bad to happen to them, because I honestly love them and their friendship so much. I am keeping my fingers crossed when I'm picking up the next book (which will happen soon! I PROMISE!)

As usual, the writing was really good and I got through the chapters very quickly. The reason I didn't finish the book that fast was because I was in a bit of a reading slump for the past couple of weeks (and a review slump as well, which is why it took a bit longer to write this review, sorry), but that didn't make me take away any stars.

In the end, I really enjoyed Shadow Kiss but there were some minor things, including one very annoying character that made me put down the book several times to let out a couple of long sighs. I recommend this book to people who loved Twilight and want to read more vampire books; I also recommend this to people who hated  Twilight but want to read more vampire books!

My opinion on this book in one gif:

Diana Budman

Beatrix Haase

Book: Shadow Kiss

Author: Richelle Mead

Series: Vampire Academy #3

Publisher: RazorBill

Date Published: January 1, 2008

Date Read: May 21 – July 2

Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance

Goodreads Rating: 4.37/5

My Rating: 5/5

Pages: 443

Synopsis:

Join the Vampire Academy and Experience Augmented Reality. Click here and put your face on the cover of a best seller book. Are you tempted? Watch “Vampire Academy” come to life with your likeness! 
Is Rose’s fate to kill the person she loves most? It’s springtime at St. Vladimir’s Academy, and Rose Hathaway is this close to graduation. Since Mason’s death, Rose hasn’t been feeling quite right. She has dark flashbacks in the middle of practice, can’t concentrate in class, and has terrifying dreams about Lissa. But Rose has an even “bigger” secret . . . .She’s in love with Dimitri. And this time, it’s way more than a crush. Then Strigoi target the academy in the deadliest attack in Moroi history, and Dimitri is taken. Rose must protect Lissa at all costs, but keeping her best friend safe could mean losing Dimitri forever…

Review:

“I need to bring justice where it’s needed.”
pg 290

The third installment to the Vampire Academy series. It was such a good book even though I read it in two months because I was in a stupid book slump. Now I am out to happily say and I adored everything about it. I mean the beginning was kind of a drag because I was in a book slump that kept me out of enjoying the beginning but I didn’t count it in my final review because when I was finally out of my book slump that was when I highly highly enjoyed what I was reading.

CHARACTERS:

Rose: She is always such BADASS. And everyone knows how much I absolutely love badasses. She kept me interested and she always says the best things. She is that main character that isn’t too annoying and she actually thinks before she does. One thing I do have to say is that when it comes to Dimitri she get a little weird and it can get all like, UGH stop obsessing but other than that her character is one of my favorites. At the very end though… GAH!

Dimitri: He’s chill, haha. He is like that character where you can’t quite figure out who he is. He is dark and dangerous but you can tell why Rose is all head over heels in love with him. He is just really hard to understand and he likes to keep things to himself. I want to know everything though, I’m always like, OH HE’S GONNA SAY SOMETHING! And then he ends up not saying what you wanted him to say and then I’m disappointed.

Christian: Okay… he is like my #1 favorite character of this whole book. He is such a kind guy, always there for all the characters and his heart is just so pure. I love him so much haha. I do not want anything bad to happen to him because I’m all overprotective of him. He is hilarious and badass and just like the great side character.

Lissa: Okay so I don’t LOVE her. She is not my favorite character and I just feel like she isn’t as strong. This wasn’t really centered on her like the first two books in the series. She was found to be annoying by me. Not as exciting as Rose, Dimitri, or Christian. Still a key part of the series however.

There should be another s, it should be LISSA.
Adrian: He is super cocky and rich. He is that character where you don’t know if you should trust him or not. It’s kind of hard to tell if you should be like, oh he’s so amazing or oh he just failed me. As the book moves on though everything makes sense and he becomes a really great person to Rose and gains her trust. So that being said he is just a pretty cool dude.

The characters and how they acted were much more grown up in this book. I love when characters grow in books. It makes books more interesting when you can grow with the characters. I feel like this is the start of the whole series growing and becoming better than it is now. I love these characters and I love how you can tell which ones you are gonna like and which ones you aren’t.

PLOT:

The plot was super addicting once I got through the part in the beginning. The end though was crazy and I loved how she made it seem like you knew where it was going. It then ended up going through a whole new route. It was interesting and it made you think, way more than I should when reading a book.

The one thing I have to say is that the book kind of lagged in creative writing style. I felt like it was a style that people have read before and I love the writing when it is new and different. I just felt like it is a style that you have read before. It isn’t bad but it did feel kind of bleh in some parts.

But the plot twists and the different characters that you are introduced to in this book was amazing. It was filled with exciting plot and action and it literally left me speechless once I was done. Super happy I got out of my reading slump with this one!

OVERALL: I was kind of concerned about reading this since I read the first and second book back in 2015. I didn’t re-read the book in the series and I just kind of went off on what I remembered and overall I highly highly enjoyed it. I felt like I wasn’t confused at any part because they kind of covered what happened in the other books just a little bit. I then got it and all was good. I love this series, I think that it is a great book to start off with because everyone basically knows of it. 

xoxo,

Bebe

Another great emotional installment in the Vampire Academy series. I love the continued growth of Rose's character. It makes for a very addicting read. Once again, the ending is where most of the action happened and this time it was a lot. I really enjoyed this and was even dumbstruck at how things played out in the end. So good!

Sasha Mann

Anna Ureta

brianna

this was fr the best book in the series so far PHEW i love rose hathaway so much

Midori Kobayashi

god LORD (can we talk about how icky all of rose's relationships are??)

Once I started reading this book, I didn’t want to put it down. I sobbed and laughed reading this book. Has to be my favourite in the series!

Nicole Goldstein

I can't explain how much I liked the craziness of this book. even though I knew the one big thing that happened before I read it, reading it was just gut wrenching. I think there was a nice balance with this book and not an over abundance of words when it can to the action scenes. Everything was clear and to the point. Even though I can't stand Rose most of the time, her journey by the end of this book made sense.

Talia Dominguez 

I loved this book!! the ending is so heartbreaking! 
so in this book, Rose is having to deal with many things. 
one of those things is that she is almost graduating from the academy and she has to pass this field test that lasts 6 weeks. this test consist of taking all their focus and strength to protect their assigned moroi: Christian Ozera. Basically the teachers test the novuces on the skills that were taught in class on how to protect the Moroi. Meanwhile they do that, Rose is having trouble containing herself of being so hot tempered and angry all the time. Not only that, but she is also grieving for the loss of Mason, one of her closest friend. while, All of these things go down, she is feeling overwhelmed, but at the same time, she is loving her life because the guy she loves return those same feelings back. I think this book is so amazing, it describes these moments so great. Although the ending is unexpected, it left me intrigued to read the next book and see what happens next for Rose and her friends.

Perhaps the best book I've read all year. You're missing out on a lot if you haven't read this.

Devansh Patil

The third book in the series of New York Times best-selling adaptations of Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy. It's springtime at St. Vladimir's Academy, and Rose is close to graduation, but since making her first Strigoi kills, things haven't felt quite right. She's having dark thoughts, behaving erratically, and worst of all ...might be seeing ghosts. Consumed by her forbidden love with her tutor Dimitri and protecting her best friend, the Moroi princess Lissa, Rose is in no state to see the deadly threat that will change her entire world - and make her choose between the two people she loves most.

A Vampire Academy Novel

Annabella

Remember my theory about how series with horrible first books get better as the story progresses? Well, Richelle Mead has proven me right once again *cheers*.

The plot got deeper and definitely more challenging for my part, as I was trying to stay as unattached as I could to this series. The group from Spokane have certainly changed, and I cant decide if this is a good thing for Rose. Dimitri & Rose's relationship are at its highest peak (so far). My favorite part here were the Qualifiers, and wow Rose is totally kick-ass. Plus, dun-dun-dun, guest appearance from some unexpected characters. 

The Spokane thing has really alarmed the vampire society and the tension is always there in the background. The threat is tearing Rose between love and duty, and that is not an easy thing. The final chapters were tense and exciting. The huge battle scene, the love scene right before the end, and TE EPIC PLOT TWIST THAT ALMOST KILLED ME GAHHHHH.

Kelsey Joëlle

** spoiler alert **
           Fave book in the series. Just because of the dimitri and rose scene and the fight scene with Christian. Loved it!

Chloe Verhoeve

4,5☆

I love books where I'm sucked into the world and you really connect with the characters. This book gave me that experience, I haven't had that for so long.
The ending almost killed me and I can't wait to start the next one.

A Graphic Novel

Ofelia

** spoiler alert **
           
3.5/4
Alcuni pezzi di questo libro mi hanno fatto mettere le mani tra i capelli, lo ammetto. Un po' peggio dei precedenti, ma quattro stelle gliele do comunque anche se sarebbe più un tre e mezzo, perché in realtà si perde per me solo nel finale ma la maggior parte del libro poteva anche meritare un quattro.

Rose, Rose, Rose! perché sei così stupida? cioè finisci a dover sorvegliare Christian e non ti va bene? preferivi qualcuno di stronzo e che magari neanche conoscevi? ma lo hai un cervello o la testa è sul tuo collo solo per bellezza? Ovviamente te lo deve dire Adrian che Christian e Lissa stanno SEMPRE assieme come se tu non avessi passato tutto il tempo nel libro prima di questo a lamentarti proprio di questa cosa. Mamma mia quanto sei stupida.
Deve dirle Dimitri che come guardiani di Lissa entrambi non si riuscirebbero mai a vedersi perché, tu guarda, si alternerebbero nei turni quindi non starebbero insieme MAI. Rose, ti avevo un po' rivalutata dopo l'ultimo libro ma qui ti sei schiantata al suolo definitivamente.

Ci prova con Adrian sapendo che non lo ama, ma lo usa per avere soldi e non gli importa un bel niente di lui. Infatti lo tratta male tutto il libro, credendo subito alle storie negative che girano su di lui quando lei è la prima che dovrebbe aver capito ormai quanto poco ci vuole a mettere in giro una notizia falsa su qualcuno e rovinargli la reputazione. Invece no! Quando qualcuno parla male di lei la povera Rose è la vittima mentre quando qualcuno parla male degli altri è semplicemente la verità. Mi ha stupito che anche Christian fosse d'accordo con lei in questo, visto che proprio anche Christian è messo in un angolo per via di una reputazione cattiva che non si è fatto da solo. 
L'unica scusa di Rose per essere sempre stata così odiosa era: amo Lissa, è la mia migliore amica farei di tutto per lei. Peccato che ora non ha nemmeno questa. 

Si perché lei direbbe tutto a Lissa solo che non le dice mai niente. Vogliono farla sposare con Adrian? beh non diciamoglielo. Rose vede i fantasmi? no non diciamoglielo. Pensa che sia colpa di Lissa? no decisamente questo non si dice. Si innamora di Dimitri? no nemmeno questo ovviamente. E poi è stupita quando Lissa se la prende con lei (probabilmente l'unica cosa buona fatta da lagna Lissa in tre libri) perché non le ha detto niente. Lissa è una piattola ma almeno con Rose è sempre stata sincera, Rose non può dire la stessa cosa. Ed infatti alla fin fine la abbandona scegliendo Dimitri a lei, quando è tutto il tempo che dice che sarà sempre con Lissa, la aiuterà sempre, non la mollerà mai eccetra. A me sembra che Rose se ne approfitti solo dei Moroi che ha intorno, Lissa per prima ma anche Adrian dopo, ma che lei sia la paladina della bontà mi fa proprio ridere cioè quando lo ha detto morivo dal ridere . Quando mai hai pensato agli altri?! L'aver mollato Lissa dimostra che stavi con lei solo perché non avevi scelta e lei era la tua opzione migliore, quando hai potuto te ne sei andata! Ipocrisia portami via.

Christian mi piace solo quando non è con Lissa, quando è con lei è un'altra persona completamente e proprio no. Adrian mi piace ma non c'è mai e c'è solo quando Rose vuole un nuovo pretendente alla sua incredibile lunga lista (un po' troppo lunga per qualsisi YA ormai direi).
Non mi piace molto la piega che sta prendendo la saga ora, spero e prego che si riprenda nel prossimo.

Gisela Ayala 

What.... I mean what the actual what?!?!?!?!? What did I just read? Can I just go back to a time where everything was better and my heart wasn't broken?

First to books were good, enjoyable. This though... My heart was going to explode the last couple of chapters and I swear my blood pressure went up. I can't say too much because well, I have no coherent thoughts right now. I should probably wait to write this but I need to get it over with so I can start on the next book BECAUSEICANNOTBELIEVEITENDEDTHATWAY!? 

What I can say is I am in love with the development of Rose's character. She is tough and getting smarter in each book. I also really enjoyed how her relationship with Christian evolved from enemies to friends. I had a feeling it would happen sooner or later and it played out really naturally. Also, another enemy turned friend, Mia! I was so happy about that. I really hope she shows up in the other books. 

As for Adrien... sighhhhhh I want her to want him, despite how much I love Demetri. Okay, ranty review is done. I'm going to go cry now.

Sven Test

The Vampire Academy series has been in stores for a couple of years. I must admit that when I would go to Borders, (RIP since there aren’t any where I live anymore) I would look at these books but was never interested in them, until they announced a movie was going to air in February 2014.

I won a giveaway and it resulted in being the first Vampire Academy book. I started reading it and I was hooked. The plot, the characters, the story-line…everything is amazing.

It wasn’t until the third book, Shadow Kiss that I really got attached…very emotionally attached. I stayed up until 4:00 a.m. reading this book and I ended up crying a lot. I don’t cry in books; I usually get tears but full-on crying never happens…that was until Shadow Kiss. It was such a heartbreaking book and it was the book that got me wanting to read more and more of this series.

If you haven’t read the series, you are missing out a lot. So stop what you are doing and start reading VA. You won’t regret it at all.

Review was first published in 2014 in Latte Nights Reviews.

Nadia Serrano

THAT ENDING SIS! honestly wasn't expecting that not happy about that. This series is just getting better and better with each book which not many series do. I would have like more Rose and Lissa like best friend moments but the Dimitri moments were out of this world. GTG read the next book because of that cliffhanger, ya know.