All 12 Vampire Academy/Bloodlines Books in Order by Richelle Mead

If you want to read the Vampire Academy books in order, get ready to be immersed in the world of forbidden romance in a school of vampires. 

Vampire Academy is a fictional series that captures the reader’s attention from the beginning to the end. The main series has six novels, with an additional six in a spin-off series. The main books document the life of Rosemarie Hathaway. 

In this series there are two types of vampires: The Moroi are alive and can use elemental magic, while the Strigoi are your stereotypical vampires. They are undead and evil vampires who feed on the innocent to survive.

Rosemarie, or Rose, is a half-vampire training to be a bodyguard for a Moroi princess.

Unfortunately, she is also quite impulsive.

While her lessons at the Academy present difficult challenges, her real danger might be romantic in nature when she falls for one of her instructors.

Who is Richelle Mead?

Richelle Mead is an international bestselling author whose love of literature began at an early age. She credits her love of fantasy and science fiction to her father and brothers who read her Greek mythology and made her watch Flash Gordon respectively.

She also loved reading Anne of Green Gables as a young child. Mead started reading Danielle Steel romances in middle school and then discovered the Dragonlance books in high school.

As a child she would create picture books and as Mead got older she turned to short stories. She stopped writing in high school and attended college before becoming a middle school English teacher. However, she began writing a science fiction novel to pass the time, which prepared her to write her first published novel: Succubus Blues.

Mead grew up in Michigan and currently lives in Seattle, Washington. Throughout her writing career she has won numerous awards including Goodreads Choice Awards, and a Teen Read Award for Best Teen Series.

How to Read Vampire Academy Books in Order

But now let’s dive into our list of Vampire Academy books in order.

The Vampire Academy world can be split into two categories: The Vampire Academy books and the Bloodlines books. The best way to read the Vampire Academy books in order is to follow their publication dates as shown below.

Vampire Academy Books in Order of Publication

  1. Vampire Academy (2007)
  2. Frostbite (2008)
  3. Shadow Kiss (2008)
  4. Blood Promise (2009)
  5. Spirit Bound (2010)
  6. Last Sacrifice (2010)

Bloodlines Books in Order of Publication

  1. Bloodlines (2011)
  2. The Golden Lily (2012)
  3. The Indigo Spell (2013)
  4. The Fiery Heart (2013)
  5. Silver Shadows (2014)
  6. The Ruby Circle (2015)

The Vampire Academy Adaptations

Since the publication of the first Vampire Academy book more than 15 years ago, there have been two attempts at adaptations for the screen. Unfortunately, attempt is the best descriptor since neither adaptation performed particularly well or had longevity.

The first was a movie in 2014 starring Zoey Deutch as Rosemarie Hathaway and Lucy Fry as Lissa Dragomir. It also stars Claire Foy, Sarah Hyland, and Cameron Monaghan. Many book fans were not happy with the direction and marketing of the adaptation, and it did not manage to curry favor with a new audience.

The 2014 movie, Vampire Academy, made just more than $15 million at box offices around the world against a budget of $30 million. However, the director was still eager for a sequel and launched an indiegogo campaign for one month to raise funds from fans.

In order for the studio to greenlight the sequel, $1.5 million was required to be raised from fans. The campaign raised only $254,000 in the one-month timeframe.

But then another adaptation was greenlit in 2021. A straight-to-series order was given to Vampire Academy in May 2021 and the show premiered on Peacock in September 2022. The show stars Sisi Stringer as Rose Hathaway and Daniela Nieves as Lissa Dragomir.

Unfortunately, it was cancelled in January 2023 after only one season. Peacock said the reason was that the first season did not attract enough viewers to justify a second season. However, the creator Julie Plec says that they are actively seeking a new home for the series.

Will there be more Vampire Academy books?

With both series in this universe complete for some time now, you may be asking yourself if Mead will ever write another book set within the VA world. The short answer is yes, Mead has verbally confirmed she would return to this world with a writing project, but the longer answer is that we don’t know when that might be.

Back in 2018 Mead hosted an AMA on Reddit for the promotion of her, at the time, forthcoming novel The Emerald Sea. In multiple responses on that thread Mead confirmed that her next project would be within the Vampire Academy world and described it as the next evolution of the VA world.

Unfortunately, there has been nothing announced since those comments five years ago. However, perhaps optimistically, Mead hasn’t released anything else in that time either, which might indicate that she is still working on a Vampire Academy-related project.

Only time will tell for certain, but Mead seemed quite enthusiastic about returning to the world.

Summary of Vampire Academy Books in Order

Now that we’ve listed out the Vampire Academy books in order, let’s take a closer look at each of the 12 novels.

Vampire Academy Books in Order

1. Vampire Academy

Lissa Dragomir is a Moroi princess: A mortal vampire with a rare gift for harnessing the earth’s magic. She must be protected at all times from Strigoi; the fiercest vampires — the ones who never die.

The powerful blend of human and vampire blood that flows through Rose Hathaway, Lissa’s best friend, makes her a dhampir. Rose is dedicated to a dangerous life of protecting Lissa from the Strigoi, who are hell-bent on making Lissa one of them.

After two years on the run, Rose and Lissa are caught and dragged back to St. Vladimir’s Academy, a school for vampire royalty and their guardians-to-be, hidden in the deep forests of Montana. But inside the iron gates, life is even more fraught with danger…and the Strigoi are always close by.

Rose and Lissa must navigate their dangerous world, confront the temptations of forbidden love, and never once let their guard down, lest the evil undead make Lissa one of them forever.


Frostbite Richelle Mead

2. Frostbite

It’s winter break at St. Vladimir’s, but Rose is feeling anything but festive. A massive Strigoi attack has put the school on high alert, and now the Academy’s crawling with Guardians. Including Rose’s hard-hitting mother: Janine Hathaway.

And if hand-to-hand combat with her mom wasn’t bad enough, Rose’s tutor Dimitri has his eye on someone else, her friend Mason’s got a huge crush on her, and Rose keeps getting stuck in Lissa’s head while she’s making out with her boyfriend, Christian. The Strigoi are closing in, and the Academy’s not taking any risks. This year, St. Vlad’s annual holiday ski trip is mandatory.

But the glittering winter landscape and the posh Idaho resort only create the illusion of safety. When three friends run away in an offensive move against the deadly Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. But heroism rarely comes without a price.


Shadow Kiss Richelle Mead

3. Shadow Kiss

It’s springtime at St. Vladimir’s Academy. Rose Hathaway is very close to graduation, but she hasn’t felt quite right since Mason’s death.

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.


Blood Promise Richelle Mead

4. Blood Promise

The recent attack on St. Vladimir’s Academy devastated the entire Moroi world. Many are dead. And, for the few victims carried off by Strigoi, their fates are even worse.

A rare tattoo now adorns Rose’s neck; a mark that says she’s killed far too many Strigoi to count. But only one victim matters: Dimitri Belikov.

Rose must now choose one of two very different paths: Honoring her life’s vow to protect Lissa or dropping out of the Academy to hunt down the man she loves alone. She’ll have to go to the ends of the earth to find Dimitri and keep the promise he begged her to make. But the question is, when the time comes, will he still want her help?

Now, with everything at stake, can Rose find the strength to destroy Dimitri? Or, will she sacrifice herself for a chance at eternal love?


Spirit Bound Vampire Academy Books in Order

5. Spirit Bound

After a long and heartbreaking journey to Siberia, Dimitri’s birthplace, Rose Hathaway has finally returned to St. Vladimir’s and to her best friend, Lissa Dragomir. It’s graduation, and the girls can’t wait for their real lives outside the academy’s cold iron gates to finally begin.

But even with the intrigue and excitement of court life looming, Rose’s heart still aches for Dimitri. He’s out there, somewhere.

She failed to kill him when she had the chance, and now her worst fears are about to come true. Dimitri has tasted her blood, and she knows in her heart that he is hunting her. And if Rose won’t join him, he won’t rest until he has silenced her forever.

But Rose can’t forget what she learned on her journey. The whispers of a magic too impossible and terrifying to comprehend. A magic inextricably tied to Lissa that could hold the answer to all of Rose’s prayers, but not without devastating consequences.

Now Rose will have to decide what and who matters most to her. And in the end, is true love really worth the price?


Last Sacrifice Richelle Mead

6. Last Sacrifice

Rose Hathaway has always played by her own rules. She broke the law when she ran away from St. Vladimir’s Academy with Lissa. She broke the law when she fell in love with her gorgeous, off-limits instructor, Dimitri. And she dared to defy Queen Tatiana, leader of the Moroi world, risking her life and reputation to protect generations of dhampir guardians to come.

Now the law has finally caught up with Rose — for a crime she didn’t even commit. She’s in prison for the highest offense imaginable: The assassination of a monarch. She’ll need help from both Dimitri and Adrian to find the one living person who can stall her execution and force the Moroi elite to acknowledge a shocking new candidate for the royal throne: Vasilisa Dragomir.

But the clock on Rose’s life is running out. Rose knows in her heart the world of the dead wants her back…and this time she is truly out of second chances. The big question is, when your whole life is about saving others, who will save you?


Summary of Bloodlines Books

The Bloodlines books take place after the events of the Vampire Academy series. The story centers around Sydney the Alchemist, a human teen who is part of a group that keeps the existence of vampires a secret from the world. 

Sydney has spent her entire life learning that vampires and dhampirs are evil. But everything is about to change when she must hide with Adrian, Jill, and Eddie.

Bloodlines Vampire Academy Books in Order

1. Bloodlines

Sydney’s blood is special. That’s because she’s an alchemist — one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets — and human lives.

But the last encounter Sydney had with vampires got her in deep trouble with the other alchemists. And now with her allegiances in question, her future is on the line.

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 must act as Jill’s guardian and protector, posing as her roommate in the unlikeliest of places: A human boarding school in Palm Springs, California. The last thing Sydney wants is to be accused of sympathizing with vampires. And now she has to live with one.

The Moroi court believe Jill and Sydney will be safe at Amberwood Prep, but threats, distractions, and forbidden romance lurk both outside — and within — the school grounds. Now that they’re in hiding, the drama is only just beginning.


The Golden Lily Richelle Mead

2. The Golden Lily

Sydney would love to go to college, but instead, she’s been sent into hiding at a posh boarding school in Palm Springs, California. She must protect the Moroi princess Jill Dragomir from assassins who want to throw the Moroi court into civil war. Formerly in disgrace, Sydney is now praised for her loyalty and obedience, and held up as the model of an exemplary Alchemist.

But the closer she grows to Jill, Eddie, and especially Adrian, the more she finds herself questioning her age-old Alchemist beliefs, her idea of family, and her sense of what it means to truly belong. Her world becomes even more complicated when magical experiments show Sydney may hold the key to preventing Strigoi.

But her fear of being special, magical, and powerful scares her more than anything. Equally daunting is her new romance with Braydon. Yet, as perfect as he seems, Sydney finds herself being drawn to someone else — someone forbidden to her.

When a shocking secret threatens to tear the vampire world apart, Sydney’s loyalties are put to the test more than ever before. Should she trust the Alchemists — or her heart?


The Indigo Spell Richelle Mead

3. The Indigo Spell

In the aftermath of a forbidden moment that rocked Sydney to her core, she finds herself struggling to draw the line between her Alchemist teachings and what her heart is urging her to do.

Then she meets alluring, rebellious Marcus Finch — a former Alchemist who escaped against all odds, and is now on the run. Marcus wants to teach Sydney the secrets he claims the Alchemists are hiding from her. But as he pushes her to rebel against the people who raised her, Sydney finds that breaking free is harder than she thought.

There is an old and mysterious magic rooted deeply within her. And as she searches for an evil magic user targeting powerful young witches, she realizes that her only hope is to embrace her magical blood — or else she might be next.


The Fiery Heart

4. The Fiery Heart

After making a shocking choice, the struggle isn’t over for Sydney. As she navigates the aftermath of her life-changing decision, she still finds herself pulled in too many directions at once.

Her sister Zoe has arrived, and while Sydney longs to grow closer to her, there’s still so much she must keep secret. Working with Marcus has changed the way she views the Alchemists, and Sydney must tread a careful path as she harnesses her profound magical ability to undermine the way of life she was raised to defend.

Consumed by passion and vengeance, Sydney struggles to keep her secret life under wraps as the threat of exposure and re-education looms larger than ever. But no secret is safe.


Silver Shadows Vampire Academy Books in Order

5. Silver Shadows

Sydney risked everything to follow her gut, walking a dangerous line to keep her feelings hidden from the Alchemists.

Now in the aftermath of an event that ripped their world apart, Sydney and Adrian struggle to pick up the pieces and find their way back to each other. But first, they have to survive.

For Sydney, trapped and surrounded by adversaries, life becomes a daily struggle to hold on to her identity and the memories of those she loves. Meanwhile, Adrian clings to hope in the face of those who tell him Sydney is a lost cause. But the battle proves daunting as old demons and new temptations begin to seize hold of him.


The Ruby Circle Richelle Mead

6. The Ruby Circle

Their forbidden romance exposed, Sydney and Adrian find themselves facing the wrath of both the Alchemists and the Moroi.

When the life of someone they both love is put on the line, Sydney risks everything to hunt down a deadly former nemesis. Meanwhile, she and Adrian becomes enmeshed in a puzzle that could hold the key to a shocking secret about spirit magic. A secret that could shake the entire Moroi world and alter their lives forever.


Final thoughts

Reading the Vampire Academy books in order is the best way to understand this relatively short series because the collection has only a few books. 

We hope you enjoyed this article of the books in order. Have you read the Vampire Academy books? Let us know in the comments below.

Looking for more vampire books in order?

Check out my list of the Twilight Books in Order.

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