Nightfall (The Vampire Diaries: The Return Series, #1)

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Nightfall (The Vampire Diaries: The Return #1)

by L.J. Smith

3.59 · rating details · 14,618 ratings · 1,037 reviews

The first book in a new trilogy from L. J. Smith

Elena Gilbert is alive--again.

When Elena sacrificed herself to save the two vampire brothers who love her--the handsome, brooding Stefan and the sleek and dangerous Damon--she was consigned to a fate beyond death. Until a powerful supernatural force pulled her back.

Now Elena is not "just" human. She has powe

...more

Hardcover, 586 pages

Published February 10th 2009 by HarperCollins Publishers (first published January 1st 2009)

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Dec 24, 2010

Saniya rated it

Shelves: lj-smith-world, borrowed, vampires

ATTENTION READERS!
If you REALLY liked this book, please don't read my review below.

Well...I thought the book was...BORING! This book was, like, so lame and I think the previous book (Dark Reunion) should have been the best ending for the Vampire diaries, but no...How could that be? -_-

L.J Smith- *yawning and thinking* I am bored. Which book should I ruin?
Night World? Nah!
Dark Visions? Nah!
The Secret Circle? Nah!
Forbidden Games? Nah!
Wel...more

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Feb 16, 2009

Jessica rated it

Recommends it for: my worst enemy? probably not them either.

Recommended to Jessica by: ljs fan for ever, it rec'd itself.

Shelves: 2009, ya-fiction, lj-smith, own

I am so saddened by this novel. I have been an avid LJS fan since 1995 and my favorite series is The Vampire Diaries. I loved the characters and the story. This ... was a jumble of words that literally made NO sense.

There were concepts that did not hold true to the original series (such as the vampire powers) and characters were doing things they would never do. Perhaps this should not have been written in Damon's POV, whatsoever. It RUINED him. Ghosty Elena? Lovely love love? Mu

...more

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Jul 31, 2011

Leanne rated it

Shelves: fangy-bloodsuckers, ugh, own-or-gaveaway, disappointing, why-the-hype

If this had been written by a less than decent author who I wouldn't have been expecting much from, I would have just shrugged L.J Smith off as another one of those typical paranormal romance authors who seem to be amplifying by each passing day. But no. This is not a typical YA paranormal romance author, BUT THIS IS "THE" L.J SMITH. I adored and devoured her books as a 10 and 11 year old, and was just so completely saddened by this book. By far, this is the lowest point of Lisa's ca...more If this had been written by a less than decent author who I wouldn't have been expecting much from, I would have just shrugged L.J Smith off as another one of those typical paranormal romance authors who seem to be amplifying by each passing day. But no. This is not a typical YA paranormal romance author, BUT THIS IS "THE" L.J SMITH. I adored and devoured her books as a 10 and 11 year old, and was just so completely saddened by this book. By far, this is the lowest point of Lisa's career, and her worst book yet. She is really so much better than this. And I wanted to like it, I really did. I even forced myself to finish it, and after 8 months was finally able to complete this 550 plus pages mess of a novel.

Firstly, I'll start with the main characters. Elena, Damon, Stephan. None were left unscathed. Throughout the whole book, Elena was this strange angel/fairy, who for some very odd reason was unable to speak, and pretty much remembered nothing about how humans lived and interacted because her brief expedition to heaven. Not to mention, she had purple eyes, she flew around, naked because she couldn't wear clothes BECAUSE she saw people working in sweatshops whenever she touched clothes. She even had wings, and she yelled out these bizarre proclamations that didn't make much sense. Wings of Purification!!!

As well, L.J Smith created the ultimate villain in Caroline, who was devoid of any human personality and was basically femme de Dracula. Oh, let's not forget about Damon and Stephan! Damon ended up being the ultimate bad boy, who couldn't seem to be able to remember Matt's name ( Mutt??) and, he smiled at nothing in particular ( quoted from the book, you'll find it exactly every 10 pages). And while Damon was brooding over Bonnie's unfortunately small breasts, poor Stephan was simpering and crying like a fool, begging for Elena's forgiveness, calling her his sweet and his love.

The book also suffered from many plot holes, an odd range of folklore creatures, such as these annoying, stereotypical kitsune characters, a biased view of Japanese culture, these random, angry trees, who suddenly appeared to exist in Fell's Church and developed these sucking leeches that murdered people. Obviously, they've always been in Fell's Church. Obviously.

There are so many other things I can complain about this book, so many other problems, but I'll just wrap it up and leave it where I am, and say that I'm hoping L.J Smith can start writing like she used to. L.J Smith is such a good writer. I'm contemplating wheather I should pick up the sequel- will L.J Smith's writing start to write magic like it used to? I really, really hope so. (less)

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Feb 13, 2009

Tara added it

Recommends it for: All LJS fans who enjoy being frustrated and confused

Recommended to Tara by: Me.

I shall consider this book "inspired by The Vampire Diaires". You can't write fanfiction when they're your own characters, can you? Because I don't know what else to call this.

There were a few bits of new information and a scene here and there that I really, really enjoyed. There were also old questions which were answered...only, I realized I didn't really want it all spelled out for me after all.

The writing style was just...wtf. WTF. Normally, Smith's writin...more

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Feb 23, 2009

Elizabeth rated it

Shelves: recently-read, scifi-fantasy, ya

It's difficult for me to review this book, because I've been waiting for more books in this series since high school, and there's an odd emotional attachment to books that were such a prominent part of my teen years.

That said- I think that L.J. Smith did a remarkable job picking up the series again. Throughout the Vampire Diaries, Smith has woven in various supernatural mythologies; not limiting herself to vampires, she has incorporated werewolves, witches, ghosts, and even angels. I...moreIt's difficult for me to review this book, because I've been waiting for more books in this series since high school, and there's an odd emotional attachment to books that were such a prominent part of my teen years.

That said- I think that L.J. Smith did a remarkable job picking up the series again. Throughout the Vampire Diaries, Smith has woven in various supernatural mythologies; not limiting herself to vampires, she has incorporated werewolves, witches, ghosts, and even angels. In this new installment, she takes on demons- specifically the Japanese fox spirit, kitsune. Two kitsune are the main antagonists, infecting our anti-hero Damon, and wreaking chaos in the small town of Fell's Church.

Smith provides a two-fold explanation for why yet another supernatural creature has shown up in Fell's Church. One reason is that the town has many ley lines, which attract the supes. The second is, of course, Elena, whose miraculous story draws paranormal curiosity.

Interestingly enough, Stefan, the hero of the previous four books, is taken offscreen for the majority of this novel. Instead, we get a deeper glimpse into Damon, seeing how the kitsune are twisting his natural chaotic tendencies and his jealousy into something truly horrifying. The reader also gets to see more from Matt Honeycutt's perspective, and poor, previously cardboard Matt, who is so dull that Damon requires an acronym to remember his name, becomes much more interesting as a result. There is also the requisite amount of Elena, and quite a bit from Bonnie, which carries over from the fourth book.

Smith doesn't shy away from gore and disturbing images in this book. The female kitsune creates chaos by infecting young girls with overly sexualized behavior, trying to build a case against Matt as a rapist; one of these girls acts out by piercing herself repeatedly, and the reader is subjected to graphic descriptions of this. Another character chews his own fingers off. Damon nearly forces Matt and Elena to act out a rape, Meredith is nearly made to fork her own tongue, and Bonnie is attacked by returning antagonist Caroline Forbes doing her best impersonation of Regan from The Exorcist.

But there is also a lot of beauty in this book, particularly in a scene with Damon and Elena in Honoria Fell's tomb, in Stefan's pure love for Elena, and in the strong friendship between Elena, Bonnie, and Meredith. The book is not perfect- I, for one, would like to see Damon redeemed without it being a result of something Elena did, and for him to remember it, and I'd like Elena to be a little more flawed, although since she is practically an angel at this point, I doubt that will happen. I did see glimpses of potential between Bonnie and Damon also, which intrigues me, but there were equal hints of Bonnie/Matt. So we'll see, I suppose.

Overall, this book is kicking off a new arc in the story of these characters. I'm very glad to have Damon, Bonnie, and the rest back in my life.(less)

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Feb 16, 2009

Corina rated it

Such a disappointment. What a garbled, incoherent mess. Maybe I don't remember the writing accurately - I fell in love with these books when I was a kid - or maybe it's gotten worse. Either way, this was awful. Makes me embarrassed I've been trying to get my kids to read this series instead of Twilight. If I had to read Stefan call Elena "love" one more time...or witness, yet again, what awesome friends Matt and Meredith and Bonnie are to Elena despite the fact that she's seriously one...more

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Oct 10, 2010

Lisa (Bookworm Lisa) rated it

Shelves: adult

This is a difficult book to review. I must say that I did enjoy this book, but there were many distrubing elements to it. This new series is much darker and edgier than the previous series. This series is geared to a young adult audience, but I would not want my teen to read this book.

Stefan is lured from Elena as the town is falling apart. Very strange things are happening. This book has two "malach" who are trying to destroy the town. There is possession, seduction, and self-cu...more

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Feb 25, 2009

Megan rated it

Shelves: vampire-romance, young-adult

This is L.J. Smith's next (Book number 5) in her Vampire Diaries series. The original four were written in 1991. So, this book comes 18 years later. The Vampire Dairies is one of my all time favorite vampire series because the story and characters seem so timeless. Now, after 18 years, L.J. Smith has written a fifth book in the series. This book, “The Return: Nightfall “is going to be followed by two more books (which publication dates have not been assigned as of yet, the next will be “Sha...more

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Apr 05, 2009

Rebecca rated it

Shelves: did-not-finish

Like many other readers here, I first read The Vampire Diaries series as a teenager, and really enjoyed it. Although I am in my 20s now, I was excited to see a continuation of the story, and see what happened next to the characters I had loved so much. However, I ended up completely disappointed by this book.

The biggest problem I had was the characters and setting in this book just didn't seem like they fit with how they were portrayed in the first four books. This book supposedly p...more

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Feb 15, 2009

Heather rated it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I loved The Vampire Diaries and have read them often since junior high in the early 90s. L. J. Smith was a favorite author for a significant part of my life and is still an author I enjoy going back to. Because of this, I was so excited, and yet a little nervous, about a new installment in The Vampire Diaries series.

I'm not quite sure how I feel about this book. I noticed several things right away. The book was definitely more adult than the previous 4. More mentions were made of ad...moreI loved The Vampire Diaries and have read them often since junior high in the early 90s. L. J. Smith was a favorite author for a significant part of my life and is still an author I enjoy going back to. Because of this, I was so excited, and yet a little nervous, about a new installment in The Vampire Diaries series.

I'm not quite sure how I feel about this book. I noticed several things right away. The book was definitely more adult than the previous 4. More mentions were made of adult situations, more nakedness happened and Caroline ended up pregnant for an encounter with Tyler that supposedly took place during Dark Reunion. Still, in some ways it was like the others. Edgy seemed to be the kitsune having red tipped hair.

This book took place a week or so after the end of Dark Reunion. This was hard for me to accept because it's been over 10 years since Dark Reunion. Some places that were left blank in Dark Reunion, like what went on while Caroline was kidnapped by Klaus and Tyler, were filled with explanations of the kitsune giving Caroline Dark Magic. At least that's what I got from it. Caroline has since been conversing with one of the kitsune through her mirror and I suppose that she was promised Elena's head on a platter. I had honestly thought Caroline had grown at the end of the 4th book, but apparently not.

Elena starts as a mostly spirit, unable to function as a teen girl but with full use of White Magic. She can see the malach that are possessing Damon and Caroline as well as many of the girls in town. As time goes by, she becomes more like herself. She still has her White Magic, but she no longer has the innate knowledge to use it. She has to learn as she goes. Elena became a little Mary Sue in this, able to pull different wings to heal, help someone remember, purify and fly. But, in the end, she used her strength and will to do what she needed to do.

Stefan was barely in this book. He was captured in the early part of the book and only reappeared briefly once in the end. The book ended with Elena, Damon and Matt going to search for him. Honestly, I felt a little let down that the romance between Elena and Stefan was not really present in this book. That was what I loved so much about the others.

I liked the expansion of Mrs. Flowers. I wasn't sure what to make of her supposedly being over 100 years old, though. But her character had more depth than she had in the others. Bonnie and Meredith were much the same as they were before and their parts dwindled as the book went on. Matt was given a bigger role, but only a little more than Bonnie and Meredith.

I did not really feel that this was a vampire book. It was a book that happened to have characters that were vampires. The focus seemed to be on the kitsune and what they were doing to the trees and the people they possessed. It got a little confusing with pages of description of walking through trees. The characters would be one place and it would appear that I missed something because suddenly something else was happening. I'm not sure I like the kitsune and I'm not sure why she chose them to be the bad guys in this book. I gather they will be a large part of the future books as well. They have the key to finding Stefan.

I give this 4 stars because of how much I love the characters in The Vampire Diaries and L. J. Smith in general. I don't know that it would get so high a rating if it were from anyone else. I'm holding out for the next one to be better.(less)

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Oct 18, 2010

Tatiana rated it

Recommends it for: fans of The Vampire Diaries

Shelves: young-adult, 2010, paranormal

“I’m Elena Gilbert and I’ve been to the Other Side. And right now I’m ready to do whatever needs to be done, which seems to include kicking some ass!” –Best line of the whole series.

The beginning of The Return: Nightfall was a bit confusing and slow with Elena’s ‘rebirth’ and whatnot. It took me time to get invested in the story, and then later, I felt it was going on too long. It seemed breathy at the end, like it just had to be wrapped up somehow. There were a lot of threads going,...more

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Feb 19, 2009

Heather rated it

Shelves: ya-vampire-werewolves

Fell's Church is the Hellmouth of Virginia, like Sunnydale was to California. Elena is no Buffy, but she does like to foil the best laid plans of the evil doers that come to wreck havoc on her little country town.

Though Stefan and Angel share a lot in common. Spike and Damon; however, are nothing a like in my opinion. I liked Spike, but I love Damon. I might have been the only person who was happy when Buffy and Spike ended up together (or maybe not), anyway I'm hoping if these char...more

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Oct 31, 2011

Katherine rated it

Shelves: fantasy, vampires, awful

oh god i cant tell you how bad this book was, it was SO BAD!!i had to keep forcing myself to read it, it was that bad - i dont know what smith was thinking - she should have stopped writing these books and left it as it was, Elena sacrifced herself for a good cause, there was no point to bringing her back. Egh just egh - the story line was really really shit - watch out everyone for *contain spoiler* EVIL PARACITES that will get into your head and mess you up! oh andf evil foxes/people/things th...more

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Feb 12, 2009

Jessica rated it

Recommends it for: LJ Smith fanatics

Shelves: vampire-reads

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 13, 2009

Mell rated it

Shelves: fiction, vampires

I've waited more than 10 years for this book, having started the series my freshman year in college. I wasn't expecting great literature- but this was very bad. It's like LJ Smith took a page from the Stephenie Meyer guide on how-to-screw-up-a-good-series. The characters seem nothing like the original books, and the chemistry between them has disappeared. Awakening:Nightfall reads like bad fanfiction (it must be contagious.) It feels like Smith tries to cram every fairy-tale/folklore myth i...more

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Nov 19, 2011

Jennifer rated it

Lucas. Spielberg. Bay. All these folk have shit upon my childhood, and now LJ Smith joins their ranks with a painfully underedited follow-up to her Vampire Diaries. What's heartbreaking here is the wasted potential, and the sense that Smith doesn't even realize what is was that made her previous novels work. Instead she scrambles to Meyer-up her love triangle in what can only be read as a huge disservice to her characters. To add insult to injury, Smith also shoehorns in as much technology as s...more

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Aug 06, 2011

Quintin Merwe added it

If you have read more than ten books in your lifetime and you are an adult, then this book might not be all that you expected. The story writing itself is very immature and predictable. There is no sense that the writer considers the audience as intelligent, as everything is over explained. During these scenes, I kept on getting the notion that the writer believes in fairies and alien abductions - we all know this is a story, but at least try to make it realistic.
Some of the parts of the b...more

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Feb 23, 2009

Thanh rated it

Shelves: books-owned-by-me

I hate to say that this latest installment in the series was a flop. I really really liked the original four and was apprehensive to learn that additional volumes were being written after all this time, and while the book was alright, it seems most of my interest which compelled to finish the book only stems from my previous attachment to the characters.

Otherwise, there's a lot of things wrong with this book: Elena loves Stefan more than anything in the world, Stefan loves Elena more...more

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Feb 17, 2009

Finn rated it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 08, 2012

Emma rated it

This was a wonderful book. It's composed of suspense, action, and the supernatural. Fell's Church, Virginia, is a hot spot for supernatural power. Many powerful ley lines are found in that town, thus attracting many supernatural beings. In this installment the town attracts supernatural creatures that wreak havoc on the town, trying to destroy the area and the people in it. The main characters as usual are caught up in a whirlwind, action-packed, suspenseful chase trying to stop the perpetr...more

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Jan 03, 2012

Candice rated it

This was a perfect example of the old saying, "if it's not broke, don't fix it." As a teen, The Vampire Diaries was my favorite series. I survived on books 1 and 4 for ages, reading and re-reading each one as I tried and pieced together what happened to Elena, Bonnie, Damon and Stephan in the two missing volumes. Once I was finally able to track books 2 &3, I was not disappointed. They fit the story perfectly. So when I heard there was not only going to be a TV show but also a newly cr...more

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Nov 28, 2011

Brandon Scott rated it

Hi Guys,
This is the second Book Review for this week, and I believe you are pretty caught up on my life from the previous post... (again I'm sorry about that I have a tendency to ramble) So for this Book Review I intend on focusing ONLY on the book. Here is the blog where I "rag" on a book. My first time actually "hatin' on" a book publicly. I hope you enjoy it from here on out. Here is the summary from the front flap of the book:

Elena Gilbert is alive—again. ...moreHi Guys,
This is the second Book Review for this week, and I believe you are pretty caught up on my life from the previous post... (again I'm sorry about that I have a tendency to ramble) So for this Book Review I intend on focusing ONLY on the book. Here is the blog where I "rag" on a book. My first time actually "hatin' on" a book publicly. I hope you enjoy it from here on out. Here is the summary from the front flap of the book:

Elena Gilbert is alive—again.

When Elena sacrificed herself to save the two vampire brothers who love her—the handsome, brooding Stefan and the sleek and dangerous Damon—she was consigned to a fate beyond death. Until a powerful supernatural force pulled her back.

Now Elena is not just human. She has powers and gifts that were bestowed on her in the afterlife. What's more, her blood pulses with an overwhelming and unique force that makes her irresistible to any vampire.

Stefan wants to find a way to keep Elena safe so that they can make a life together. Damon, however, is driven by an insatiable desire for power, and wants Elena to rule as his princess. When Stefan is lured away from Fell's Church, Damon seizes his chance to convince her that he is the brother she is meant to be with…

But a darkness is infiltrating the town, and Damon, always the hunter, is now the hunted; he becomes the prey of a malevolent creature that can possess him at will, and who desires not just Elena's blood but her death.

My first impression of this book, was actually a good one. It has a flawless looking Elena on the cover, symbolizing that she is alive again. Too bad that my first impression of this book didn't match what I thought after reading it. With the addition of fox spirits, Elena being a baby (literally), the possesion of Damon, the kidnapping of Stefan, and the CONFUSING forest scene with Elena and Damon, I didn't like this book very much. The one part I did like was seeing the previous characters like Bonnie, Meredith, Ms. Flowers, and Matt. If they wouldn't have been in this book, I would have completely hated this book. I give this book 1/5 stars, because of it's lack of satisfaction, and interest. I hope you guys enjoy it, but I definately didn't. The next Book Review will be a little better, it is going to be on The Vampire Diaries: The Return: Shadow Souls. This book was somewhat better, so check it out next week. (less)

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Nov 20, 2011

Rofi rated it

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akhirnya saya bisa membaca buku ini :) hhe.... sebenarnya penasaran saja dengan kelanjutan seri TVD ini, yang menurut aku di buku ketiga "the fury" aja udah klop banget endingnya (walaupun sedih) nah.. di buku kelima ini diceritakan kalo elena bangkit lagi dan... mempunyai kekuatan besar yang membuat makhluk2 di dimensi lain tertarik akan kekuatan elena ini. stefan yang berusaha melindungi elena dari marabahaya ini malah terjebak dan terkurung di dimensi lain yang tidak ada jalan kelua...more

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Sep 18, 2011

Bianca rated it

I know LJ Smith can do better than this, because she has done better before, and this is probably the lowest point in her writing career, by far. If she were a poorer author, I would expect it of her and excuse it all away, but she's not, and so I can't find any excuses in me. She's better than this. She really, truly is.

The book takes place a mere week after the original four. This was big mistake #1, because the original books DO have the dates in them, dating book 5 instantly to th...moreI know LJ Smith can do better than this, because she has done better before, and this is probably the lowest point in her writing career, by far. If she were a poorer author, I would expect it of her and excuse it all away, but she's not, and so I can't find any excuses in me. She's better than this. She really, truly is.

The book takes place a mere week after the original four. This was big mistake #1, because the original books DO have the dates in them, dating book 5 instantly to the summer of 1992, and yet everyone suddenly has a smart phone with video call capabilities, digital cameras, and personal computers. This is just one of the many gaping plot holes and inconsistencies in this book that shows just how much love and care the publishers gave it before throwing it out into the world. Did they even remember they'd just re-released 4 other books and should probably check for continuity when editing this one? I'm thinking no.

The remaining big problems with this book? The plot and the characterization. NOBODY escapes this book unscathed. It would seem that Damon the enigmatic bad boy, once you're actually in his head, is just a vain and simpering frat boy who smiles at nothing in particular and thinks Bonnie's breasts are disappointingly small. Furthermore, it would seem that all he really wants is to weep at Elena's feet and beg for forgiveness. Sure, redeeming the bad boy is the fantasy of many a teenage girl (and adult woman!), but I don't think that's quite what we had in mind, Ms. Smith. As for the others? Well, Matt's all right (although Damon can't seem to remember his name, leading me to believe he suffered some severe brain damage in the fight with Klaus). Everyone else, not so much. They're like tragic caricatures of themselves, especially poor Caroline. In an effort to find a segueway villain, LJ Smith destroys any and all character development from Caroline to crowbar the new villains in through her. I'll get to Elena in a moment. Let's talk about these new villains.

As others have mentioned, it seems like LJ Smith has been cooped up in the house with every season of Sailor Moon for the past 10 years. The villains are kitsune twins, who look like Pokemon and act like Team Rocket, spout stereotypical Japanese words, and seem to generally fail at being anything other than vaguely annoying and really attractive, in that Hot Topic color-scheme sort of way. There are suddenly random Japanese families in Fell's Church who, of course, randomly provide clues. If I didn't know LJ Smith better, I'd suspect her of some cultural racism because these characters border on parodies of Japanese people and folklore, but I know her better than that, and suspect that this is completely accidental on her part. Lastly, Elena's healing and flying powers (oh yeah, did I mention she has wings?) all have thematic names, which she yells out as she's executing them. Wings of Purification!

Did I forget to mention the angry sentient trees from the angry Old Wood that has suddenly appeared in Fell's Church as though it's been there all along? And giant invisible insects made of jell-o that seem to be causing a rash of possessions in Fell's Church? Because that's all I'm going to say about those.

This brings me back to Elena. The poor girl has taken a real character beating here. Firstly, she wakes up the next morning after the end of book 4 acting like a mute child. She can't talk (or apparently think), her eyes are purple, and she floats around naked like a firefly. She makes out with everybody to recognize them because prairie dogs do it (don't ask me, I don't understand either), but there's nothing sexual in it, except that everyone freaks out and distracts Stefan when she does it to Matt, which... doesn't that make it sexual? Anyway, let's not dwell too long on that. Elena can't wear any of her clothing because she sees the tragic sweat shop laborers who worked on it if she does, so they have to find her sweat shop-free clothing. This isn't the first time LJS has had a message for us, but it is the least subtle time, and it was very grating. Yes, sweat shops are bad, but can we get back to the vampires now? Elena has a similar Tinkerbell moment near the end where she hears magical spirits giving her moral advice on the nature of just combat, and everyone believes in her so that she can gain the power to fly. It's really bizarre, and all of these preachy Elena moments come off like an uncomfortable talk your parents might give you about Bad Things In The World Today.

Speaking of vampires, the vampires really take a back seat here. If you've come for the vampires, don't bother unless you'd like to stay for the kitsune, angels, and angry trees. And weeping Damon begging for forgiveness. There's maybe one vampire scene, two or three if you count vaguely vampiric displays of bloodletting.

I could keep going about the bad - no, REALLY - but I'll end on the good. There are a few scenes, and tiny little moments, in this book that made me smile, little hints of the LJ Smith I know and love. I think there were other scenes that COULD have been good, had they been placed into a different context. LJ Smith has also since released two stories on her website, one bad (Damon/Bonnie, which started out promising and then headed back into Nightfall territory) and one incredible (Matt/Elena, a prequel of sorts), which gives me hope. Maybe this is just one really bad book, one really ridiculous blip on the radar, and this too shall pass. Maybe the LJ Smith I love really is still in there, working hard to make Shadow Souls a success.(less)

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Aug 08, 2011

Laura Hartley rated it

The reviews for this book are extremely mixed, there was even a controversy on Amazon over it. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to say that I was extremely disappointed with this book. Having read the previous four books in 'The Vampire Diaries' series I assumed that this book was going to be excellent, sadly I was wrong. It appears to me that over the seventeen year break between 'Dark Reunion' and 'Nightfall', LJ Smith lost her touch, which is understandable giving that seventeen years is a he...moreThe reviews for this book are extremely mixed, there was even a controversy on Amazon over it. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to say that I was extremely disappointed with this book. Having read the previous four books in 'The Vampire Diaries' series I assumed that this book was going to be excellent, sadly I was wrong. It appears to me that over the seventeen year break between 'Dark Reunion' and 'Nightfall', LJ Smith lost her touch, which is understandable giving that seventeen years is a heck of a long time. Nightfall did not live up to the expectations and is way below the bar that the previous four books have set.

By 'Nightfall', I believe that the plot had just become rather ridiculous. Elena had undergone so many changes (human to vampire to dead to spirit to human) that the plot had become even more unrealistic. No one character can possibly go through that many life changes in such a short space of time.

'Nightfall' got off to a very slow start and I found it difficult to get back into the series. For a lot of the first part of the book Elena is just trying to get back to human self and has to essentially relearn everything from how to walk to talk to act and it's all rather boring and sappy as Stefan mollycoddles Elena and Elena overstretches herself. The plot doesn't kick off until around half way through and even then it's all very repetitive. I didn't think that the characters were very well developed in this book and there wasn't a lot of substance. This book was considerably longer than any of it's predecessors, it's probably about twice the length, and consequently, twice the rambling and irrelevant information. Stefan, a main character, was AWOL, inexplicably for the majority of this book and even by the end of it the reader is left confused as to what has happened to him. Stefan is not the only mystery. If I'm perfectly honest, I haven't got a clue what was going on at the end of this book despite the fact that I finished reading it only a couple of short hours ago. The story did not finish, but it was not the sort of cliffhanger that the reader likes, it was just loose ends that needed to be tied up.

The imagery in the story reminds me a lot of 'The Exorcist' or 'Splice' as many of the town's people become possessed by 'malachs'. They then proceed to do weird and disgusting things, but again there is little explanation. There are two new characters, the two troublemakers, but I didn't understand their motives at all. It is quite a long book and it's taken me quite a long time to read it because frankly I just kept getting bored and drifting away from it. Thinking back, I really don't remember all that much happening throughout. The climax is very near to the end but the problem with this is that a. most people are so bored by then, they really don't care and b. it wasn't worth the wait. I know that a lot of people will disagree with me as many think that this is an excellent book, but I am sorely disappointed and I don't feel like I want to read the two subsequent novels.

All in all, this book does not live up to the expectations that were set by the previous four books and I wouldn't recommend you read it. Don't let this book spoil your memories of the first four (excellent) books.(less)

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Aug 03, 2011

Amandalynn rated it

I read these because they were acquired from a friend who was moving and didn't really enjoy them(first clue). My second clue should have been that the WB has made a TV series that has been running the past couple years. The third clue was when I got to looking at the publishing dates(which also explains the inconsistency). It got 2 stars probably out of "no other option to put books down for something else to read options" I decided to take all 3 books that said friend gave me on v...more

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Jul 30, 2011

Under da sea rated it

blahhhh

like 1 like

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Jul 28, 2011

Lauren added it

PROBABLY CONTAINS SPOLIERS;

Despite all the bad reviews, I actually enjoyed this book. I look forward to the other two books in the series, and i cannot wait to read them. It saddens and dissapoints me that it will be a trilogy based around Damon, becauise I do like Stefan more. I think it will be interesting to see how their plan( Damon, Elena and Matt's) works out in the next book.

The beginning was a little slow, perhaps because Elena couldn't speak and that was annoying to a degree, but once...more

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Jul 25, 2011

Lauren rated it

Wings of Redemption? Really? This isn't Sailor Moon! I really liked the first original books, but this book was just such a disappointment. I hated the whole perfect-angel-Elana thing. That was pretty lame. It took me way too long to finish this book, mostly because I got bored around the middle and stopped reading for a while. I'm not sure if I'm going to read the second Vampire Diaries Return book. Shinichi and Misao were cool for all of ten pages. The other 550 pages were such a drag.

...more

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Jul 22, 2011

Jordan rated it

I can't even begin to express how awful this book was. There are no words. Worst book I have ever read. The writing was all over the place. The characters were pathetic...especially Elena as the ghost girl, and Stefan all mushy and lovey dovey and lame. I don't think the editor (if there even was an editor) could even make it through this book. At one point, the character Dr. Alpert turned into Dr. Albert for about 5 pages and then switched back. I had to make myself finish it because I just hav...more

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About L.J. Smith

L.J. Smith recently changed her name because she got tired of being one of a googolplex of Lisa J. Smiths. Her attempts to get people to call her by her new name have not, so far, been successful. Despite initial disappointments, she will not give up the fight! She also wonders if many people out there realize that “smiths” were revered in ancient times for their ability to take bits of rock and m...more

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Books by L.J. Smith

The Awakening and The Struggle (The Vampire Diaries, #1-2)

The Fury and Dark Reunion (The Vampire Diaries, #3-4)

Night World, No. 1: Secret Vampire; Daughters of Darkness; Spellbinder (Night World,#1-3)

Night World, No. 2: Dark Angel; The Chosen; Soulmate (Night World, #4-6)

Night World, No. 3: Huntress, Black Dawn, Witchlight (Night World, #7-9)

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Quotes from Nightfall

“Why do people always assume that volume will succeed when logic won’t?' Damon murmured.” — 375 people liked it

“You're talking!"
"I know I am."
"And making sense!"
"Thank you kindly."
"And in sentences!"
"I've noticed." - Stefan and Elena” — 355 people liked it

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Nightfall (The Vampire Diaries: The Return #1)

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