User reviews

Just finished episode 6 and I'll keep watching it til the end. I just honestly can't get over rose and her mums accent; why add an Aussie and kiwi accent? It's so distracting. Rose has been miscast, her Turkish roots play a role in the story. And I'm sorry but she's quite a weak actress. I feel like I'm casting they've gone down a run sheet and ticked a whole heap of boxes. The thing is, this story and the nationality of key characters are part of the story Unfortunately the costumes are worse then the casting....like where do you even start. A complete disaster Don't compare it to the books and it's ok.

If you use the books as a guide rather than a script you get a pretty decent vampire show. Ignore all the 10/10s and 1/10s and read the inbetween reviews and you will get a more honest feel of how good or bad the show is. I for one quite enjoyed it. It wasnt quite as good as the movie but it came pretty darn close. Script is pretty solid and decent performances from most of the characters. Special effects are on point. Given the state of streaming platforms and how fast they seem to cancel shows whether good or bad. I could see this show running for 3 or 4 seasons if it picks up the pace and with legacies finishing its a good way to get your vampire fix.

I did not think this could be worse than the movie... wow, was I mistaken. Who thought this was good to produce?? Why?? Mixed emotions of angry, sad, disappointed... a disgrace to the books and the wonderful world created within. It's not even the acting, it's the plot. If Julie Plec hadn't ruined it now at the beginning, she certainly would have after 2 or 3 seasons, drag it on and on just like with the Vampire Diaries.

5 minutes in and I was already thinking how boring it is. Decided to give it further chance. Another mistake.

Don't waste your time, reread the books, forget this ever exists.

The subject matter is similar and most of the characters have the same names, but that is where the majority of the similarities to the book series disappear. The story in the show bounces all over all of the books picking and twisting the different events. These books were also for young adults and the content of the show is definitely not for young adults. I wish I had not read the books prior to seeing the show, maybe than I wouldn't be as disappointed. I read all of the Vampire Academy series books and then continued on the the Bloodlines series. I genuinely hope they do not attempt to convert those books as well.

I was definitely on the bandwagon that this show was going to suck and I had ALL the reasons why. NOPE ! I was so wrong and I'm really happy about that. It's done SO WELL! Do I love some of the changes? I'm not happy about them but they smooth over them very well. I think the reason why I'm so happy is that the acting is really good, and the chemistry between key romantic characters is spot on. So because of that... I'm loving it. I also can very much see the polished work of Julie Plec.

I'm shocked to see a very low rating considering I was one of the worst, loudest, and angriest protestors on the changes before the show aired... I was sure more people would come around like I did. I'm hoping it doesn't get cancelled - I'm enjoying the hell out of it.

7.2/10

It seems like every single review here is about how this show is very far off from the books it is based on. However as someone who has never even heard of these books I enjoyed the show. With that it is most definitely a teen drama so if that's not your thing then you can skip this one.

Teen dramas are typically very poorly written and acted, this show is just average in both of those departments with some scenes feeling a little bit too corny for me but overall its not nearly as bad as it could've been. None of the romances between characters feel forced or unnecessary and the fight scenes are done very well with high quality choreography.

Its by no means a show that is Emmy worthy but its a fun watch if you're looking for a bit of romance, a bit of action and some vampires.

Maybe that's why I like the show. I find it enjoyable and it leaves me looking forward to the next episode. I really like Rose and Lissa. I certainly hope it is renewed for a 2nd season. Does it have some cheesy parts? Of course. Even some of the best shows suffer from cheesiness once in a while. If you haven't watched it, or read the books, don't go by just the reviews alone. Watch and make up your own mind. I mean, there are some shows out there getting 7 or higher in reviews, and I found them extremely boring. I would get one or 2 episodes in, just to go look for another show, ones I've watched before. All during the past couple of months when there has been nothing on.

First of all - I have not read the books that most reviewers seem to have a problem with the series not being faithful too. It is a rare movie or series that comes close to being faithful to a book - forget the book and enjoy the show or don't but don't criticize an apple for not being an orange - this series suffered from lack of direction - the show runner didn't really know what audience he/she was trying to appeal too - rather than telling a good story it was just full on conflicts, romantic, political and horror - without any depth . There was language that would push this rating to an R and enough nudity to push the limits of PG - 13 and Peacock complained after cancelling the series after on season that it missed the younger CW type audience it was shooting for - it is obvious Peacock need to know what they are buying before signing up - Having said that I would like to see Netflix or Amazon Prime pick this series up and turn this into a adult series - Vampires always work for me.

I was half expecting them to break out in song to go with the dance moves that they were doing. Oh sorry, I mean fighting. 🤣 Action is obviously all wrong, I really don't think you can even call it action as it really is just like they are dancing, and the acting and script are both bad, not sure which is worse, might even be in the running for top spot of bad against the outfits and sets... alone with special effects and music, lighting, accents (they really do change, like these people are meant to be actors? 🤣) and everything else that is wrong with this. You really have to wonder who knows who or who has done what with who when stuff like this is aired.

Just finished episode 5 and I can't go on. The movie is one thousand times better than this (and I didn't even like the movie that much). Please DO NOT take amazing books and turn them into hot trash. I can't imagine how Richelle Mead must feel watching her work be misrepresented.

First of all, Rose and her mothers accent's are really bad, like distractingly bad. And who is casting these things anyway? Is it seriously that hard to get a character that actually represents Rose from the book? Makes no sense... this series has stripped the books of what made them so great to read in the first place. You hear about how much Hollywood vet a show or movie before it's produced, but that can't possibly be true or this show would not have gotten made. It will never make sense to me why you would take a great book and then change or even discard altogether important parts of the character Rose that made us fall in love with her in the first place.

The producers are clearly not fans of the book as they wouldn't of changed so much unnecessarily. So unfortunately anyone who loves the book and wants to watch this to see the book played out, don't bother. Just re read the books and use your imagination. I really hope this show gets cancelled, because this is honestly B. S.

I feel like it's coming full circle and while it started as eating up the entire book series storyline, it now almost seems like a prequel at the same time. I don't like a few things about the relationships and how Rose sometimes acts which is completely out of character for her in the book. While I didn't like the changes, I'm coming to be okay with them. We'll see how this season ends before making any final judgment. I'll watch it regardless because I Love VA! Totally different but similar at the same time. Hated it but now am okay since I kept watching! Give it a shot and don't take any reviews too seriously. I know it's tough for diehard fans but I think we'll get to the stories we love eventually as long as it continues!

There have already been bad reviews on this show. However, it seems to be from not understanding the world in which Vampire Academy is in. Yes they are using umbrellas in the sun. If you pay attention in the show, it explains why. Yes they use sunglasses sometimes even at night; once again, this is explained in the episodes already available if they are watched.

Even with it being told before hand of changes being made from the books, this is a good show. They are adapting the changes from the books is a good way that works for TV.

Honestly, the only reason I got Peacock was for this show. I am glad I did!

I loved the vampire academy books growing up, but this series is basically unwatchable for many reasons and nothing like the books. The creators have used the names and title, but everything else is gone and that really ticks me off because pretty much everyone involved in making this series said that it was an adaptation with minimal changes... but keeping only the names and title means that they've done more than minimal changes and they lied to all of us books fans, which is a seriously disgusting thing to do. Did you all think that we wouldn't notice and would just watch this poor excuse of an adaptation? I can only assume you did, which means you are all severely delusional and need to seek medical help immediately.

As I mentioned above, this series is basically unwatchable even with being nothing like the books, and here is why...

1. Actors with poor to dreadful acting skills 2. Awful script

There is more, but those two things alone make it impossible to watch.

While I don't recommend this show, I do recommend the books to anyone that reads this review. It's an amazing story from start to finish with incredible world building and character development and much more.

As a huge HUGE fan of the books I was a little concerned about this adoptation because of all the changes they announced beforhand. However after watching the first episode I absolutely love it .I just finished episode 4 it was fantastic I love all the changes it makes its own bold statement I can't wait to watch all the characters develop in the series I hope they go far and finish all the books and make a spin off series for Bloodlines .I love what they have done the filming locations are perfect I love the clothes the way the talk its perfect. Everything is amazing I can't wait to see more I highly recommend this show .Sure it's different from the books but that doesn't mean a bad thing give It a chance I did and I absolutely loved it .

I love the book series - it is a fun ride with some good messages about friendship and diversity. I also like the movie. So far the series is a worthy watch though there was a small problems.... I was getting quite confused and though WOW this series is a bit of a muddle - then I realised my program had jumped to Episode 4 instead of the Pilot Episode 1.....

Note to self: It helps a lot for the coherence of the show if you commence at Episode 1 ha ha ha. However it made little different - it is still somewhat disjointed, relatively unconnected and engaging......

I must say, Dimitri Belikov is my favourite character in the books and thus far in the series he is not grabbing me.... and I am not feeling the Chemistry with Rose..... Onwards and upwards....... there is plenty of time for that chemistry to build and become what it will.....

I had my doubts when I saw the trailer, but I kept telling myself "never judge a movie/show by its trailer", but I should have just stuck with judging this one because it really shows how boring and bland it is (trust me, it only gets worse if you watch it). The plot/storyline is boring, rushed and makes no sense whatsoever. When I say rushed, I mean characters are together with no build up and they move from one thing to another way too fast, and it makes no sense because there are things in this that need to be explained but they don't explain them or build up to them. The music doesn't always fit and is sometimes used when not needed, and it's too loud, you can barely hear what people are saying. I don't like to say bad things about people, but these actors are terrible. 😣 Bland, blank, 2-dimensional with no chemistry with each other. And because they have no chemistry, the romances are just awkward. I don't even know if you can call them romances. Maybe lust or just one night stands or something fits better? I don't know. The fighting reminds me too much of ballet and plays in general. It needs to look more real not practiced.

Overall, this was hard to watch and I won't be doing it ever again.

I'm all about people taking creative liberties over stories already told. Once I got over the initial shock value of it being SUUUUUPER different from the books, I actually quite enjoyed it. Of course they're canceling it......as they do with almost every fantasy show :/ I don't think the acting was the strongest, but I still enjoyed it :) had lots of mystery and darkness that was a nice addition:) between this series and the movie that was made based on this book collection, neither really hit the mark which is incredibly sad since the books were absolutely incredible and had a fresh take on vampires in general. On the plus side, it seemed they new they weren't going to have a second season and tied up a lot of loose ends but kept some open for potential :)

This is one of my favorite book series. The characters are beloved! In the books Rose Hathaway is already half middle eastern and half Scottish...there was no need to drastically change the main character so much if they had to stick with the current theme in tv and movies where white people can only play the villain. The main description of Rose in the books is that she has long black silky hair. The Rose in this series is so different it's distracting. She just doesn't make sense for Rose. Also in the books Rose was snarky and immature, but had a heart of gold. So far this Rose just comes across self absorbed and rude. I think Sissy/Rose is beautiful and a decent actress, but she just wasn't right for Rose Hathaway. Lissa is wonderful, and I like the pace changes they made to the story.

I really don't understand why they give popular, lore rich book franchises to peoples who do not have slightest idea about them, this is not Vampire Academy, not at all. Writers, actors, producers everyone involved in making this, including peacock, are trashing these beloved books, bad reviews are justified, do not watch this if you are a real fan of the books, because they have butchered vampire academy beyond recognition and repair. I'm not even sure if I will ever look at the books the same way after watching a few minutes of an episode of this, or ever again at this rate. I guess the cash was too good to turn down for RM. 😡