I finally read this. Yay me. :)
I actually liked the Bloodlines series waaay more. Bloodlines has a more likable heroine than Vampire Academy. Don't get me wrong; I liked Rose, she was tough and a smartass. But I also like my heroines to have some brains (like Sydney) and not constantly pick fights.
As for the other characters; Lissa was okay, if a little bland. I really liked Christian and Dimitri, rest of the characters didn't leave much of an impression on me.
The plot was very action-packed and exciting. and I totally did not see the twist coming at the end (no spoilers, don't worry)
Overall, I thought Vampire Academy was decent but not amazing. I will read the sequel though. Three stars.
I put this book on my "books that were made into movies" shelf, but it was actually made into the TV show Longmire, which I LOVE. It's currently in its third season and it's on A&E. So, five stars for the show.
For The Cold Dish? It definitely wasn't a disappointment, but wasn't quite as good as the show, in my opinion. Four stars for the book
The beginning is kind of slow, and the author has an annoying habit of saying "he said" or "she said" when a character is talking, so sometimes it's hard to tell who is talking.
But those are minor things. This book was really good.
The characters are very diverse, complex and developed. Every single character, whether a main character, or a minor one, has a personality. There are some pretty awesome characters in The Cold Dish.
The mystery itself was very interesting (a little slow in the beginning, but nonetheless very awesome) and it was shocking to me who turned out to be the killer.
Overall, a very engaging and just plain awesome (I know I keep using that word, but it is!) mystery.