Shadow Kiss: The Graphic Novel

I ended up finishing this before the rest of the ACOBAF group because with the Reading Rush happening this week, I didn't want to have to juggle being in the middle of too many books. This one has probably been my favorite of the series so far. All the characters really grew in this book and the story has gotten really intense in terms of the fight against the Strigoi and how Rose and Lissa are dealing with it.

CAWPILE Breakdown:
Characters: 7
Atmosphere: 5
Writing: 7
Plot: 8
Intrigue: 9
Logic: 7
Enjoyment: 8

May contain spoilers for the next books in the series.

I've had some time to collect my thoughts, and I believe my review can be summed up in one question and one answer.

The Question: Why didn't I read this sooner?

The Answer: Because I'm a fucking idiot, that's why.

Every time I take a break from this series I forget how good it is. I read Frostbite over one year after my second read of Vampire Academy, and now I've done the same thing with Shadow Kiss. I always regret the distance in time between books but now I can hopefully read them all without the long Vampire Academy-drought period.

Rose is still an amazing protagonist. I love her attitude and sass. The only problem I seem to have with her in these books is that sometimes she can be really childish and immature, and it really gets on my nerves. And while I love Rose, Dimitri is still my favorite character in the series. He was my second book boyfriend ever (the first being Four from the Divergent series) and Dimitri being turned Strigoi at the end broke my heart even though I know they end up together in the end somehow.

Adrian was a lot more likeable in this book than in Frostbite, while I found Lissa to be more annoying this time around. Adrian's flirtiness grew on me and I began to really enjoy his presence in most scenes. Lissa, on the other hand, began to really piss me off. Believe me, I still love her but after the scenes at the Moroi Royal Court she began to get really annoying. Overall, Lissa is a good character and I think she needs to grow a bit in the next books.

Christian is still... interesting. I haven't figured out what it is with him, but I'm still borderline on whether I like him or trust him.

I loved Rose's new ghost whispering abilities. The St. Vladmir and Shadow-Kissed Anna/Lissa and Shadow-Kissed Rose plot is so intruiging to me and I hope it plays a bigger part in the next books.

All in all, this is my favorite Vampire Academy novel so far and I can't wait to get into Blood Promise soon!