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Jun 26, 2011

Elle rated it:

If you can only have one star, it may as well be a Death Star.

2 comments like (30 people liked it)

Sep 14, 2011

Petra (Safari Poet) added it

I didn't expect this book to be what it was. I was planning on reading the series, but I kinda forced my self to finish this book, which is obviously not a good sign. Elena's characters wasn't likeable. I don't mind the being popular part, I just couldn't stand it when she was ordering people around to find out information about Stefan. And when she realizes that *gasp*, she might not get the guy, it's like the world will end because she didn't get what she wanted for once. The highs and lows ba More...

3 comments like (11 people liked it)

Jun 16, 2008

Sarah rated it:

These were some of my favorite books as a teenager. They are about a high school student, Elena Gilbert, who is torn between two hot vampire brothers. Melodrama ensues. They are not the most mature books, but they are all about nostalgia for me. Of course, as I get older, I think that a lot of the things Elena does are downright stupid, but I still remember how romantic it all seemed when I was 14.

4 comments like (11 people liked it)

Jan 30, 2012

Stephanie rated it:

Read Awakening legally and for free here courtesy of the publisher. But please keep adequate amounts of brain bleach on hand.
What can I say? I read this on the usually-safe assumption that the book would be better than its adaptation. Differences are usually in the book's favor, but for once this is not the case. The TV series is a dramatically revised and very loose adaptation of the book, and a HUGE IMPROVEMENT. I'd give the TV series 4 stars, but this book is among the most worthless I More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2007

Margot rated it:

After reading the vampire trilogy by Stephenie Meyer, I thought I would continue my bloodthirsty fiction rampage with this older teenage vampire trilogy. Lo and behold, it's almost the same story! Oh, Stephenie Meyer, now I know how you cranked out those three fat (should have been heavily edited) books in such a short span of time! For shame!

11 comments like (20 people liked it)

May 11, 2011

Ronja rated it:

I came to that book by the internet. A lot of people recommended it and I thought it MUST be right. Gosh, did I failed.
It's one of the first book I was eager to give away and I really regret that I bought it. At first the cover of my german version is ugly (yeah I know, don't judge a book by its cover, but it IS ugly)

Second, I am really fed up with all this "ooohw dark handsome mysterious guy" or even better TWO gorgeous brothers. I mean do we normal human girls now More...

1 comment like (11 people liked it)

Feb 06, 2009

Lindsey rated it:

Okay, this was MY Twilight before there was Twilgiht. I read this series when I was about thirteen. I was already into vampires in my preppy goth kind of way, and this one made me say SQUEE! This book is from the early 90's, but with the Twilight phenomenon, it's now been reissued, bound with a new cover featuring some blonde model, and is being considered as the basis of a TV series on CW (not sure how I feel about that). I like the original cover better (featured above). I had to bid on ebay More...

0 comments like (12 people liked it)

Sep 23, 2011

Jamie rated it:

This was a decent enough book. The book is written primarily from Elena's (a popular high school girl) perspective. She meets the new student, Stefan, and immediately likes him and decides she wants him. The first half of the book is her pursuing him, the second half is her meeting another mysterious guy and trying to find out about Stefan's past. We find out her mysterious stalker is Stefan's brother Damon. Damon and Stefan are both vampires who killed each other in a fight over a girl, wh More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Mar 07, 2009

Nightfalltwen rated it:

Written long before Twilight. SMeyer's claim of never having read Vampire fiction is absurd. There are FAR TOO MANY parallel's between LJ Smith's characters and Smeyer's.

And when it comes down to it? SMeyer has nothing on LJ Smith.

The story is refreshing and action packed. The characters are likeable. Stefan and Damon are interesting. And they don't SPARKLE!

All in all? 9 billion times better than Twilight. I can't wait to read the next one

5 comments like (14 people liked it)

Mar 17, 2011

Isamlq rated it:

If the show had not been made, if I had not read a ton of other vampire books, THE AWAKENING might have been OK. Since the show was made and since I have read a ton of YA PNR with vampires as the central figure… I am amazed that I finished it.

First: This book pales in comparison to the show. So from here on out I am not even going to bother with a comparison.

Second: I hate Elena! Flighty, believing herself entitled, and very insensitive to the needs and feelings of those More...

1 comment like (8 people liked it)

Dec 07, 2010

Anthi rated it:

My god!!! What can I say about this book?? IT IS A BAD BOOK!!! It has bad chesy prose, a snotty annoying (and kind of a bimbo)heroine and the cliched, brooding Byronic vampire hero, needless to say that the moment they lay their eyes upon each other they fall hopelessly in love. Oh yes!! I can't believe I almost forgot!!!!! The mother of all originalities... it also has a love triangle!!!! I think it's safe to say that this book is the poster boy for chesy YA pnr books and since it was written i More...

12 comments like (7 people liked it)

Mar 31, 2009

Morgan rated it:

In ninth grade, my friend let me borrow this book (I might have even borrowed the rest of the series too) because she said it was great. I remember reading this book and, more importantly, I remember really enjoying the story. Elena and her Holloween dance Rennaissance style dress is what stands out in my mind, as well as the emphasis on the lapis lazuli stone.

I believe this was a fun read, and plan to go back and revisit this vampire saga. I find it so interesting that I read t More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 27, 2010

Anne rated it:

Well, I didn't like this book. Not at all. I read half of the book and then got really really bored so I scanned the pages til the end. I was both relieved and disappointed. Disappointed because the book wasn't good. I did not like the characters - especially Elena. And relieved because I was saved from another half a day of pure stupidity.

Elena's obsession with the Stefan was just too annoying plus there were a bunch of stupidly infuriating scenes that were so, well.. infuriating an More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Oct 03, 2010

Pernille rated it:

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

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 26, 2009

J.D. rated it:

After reading this book for the fifth or sixth time, I still enjoyed it! It reminds me of Twilight by Stephenie Meyer.

I have about a million positive things to say and only one negative: Elena says "I love you" too quickly. The fact that such a serious statement is made at such an early stage in the book...irritates me. I love you is not something to be taken lightly, and when said too early it makes me think of puppy love, not undying love.

Other than that sing More...

2 comments like (6 people liked it)

Dec 08, 2008

Megan rated it:

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

0 comments like

May 12, 2008

Emily rated it:

For those interested in light "gym" reading and need a substitute for Twilight withdrawl - this may do the trick. It's not as compelling but it's at least entertaining for the light reader.....will write more when I finish....

....Ok - I just finished all four in the series. I almost think that all four could have been written into one huge book and it would be sufficient. You definitely have to read all four to get to the very "conclusion" of the story. I don' More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 03, 2011

S. Bell rated it:

Hahaha I just had to go and make a trashy shelf. :P This reminded me of those terrible Sweet Dreams teen romances I used to positively eat up when I was about 12! An absolute eye-roller and so dreadful, but in that compelling way where you don't want to put it down until you're through - which luckily does not take very long because it's so short and mindless.

I didn't like Elena, she was waaay too up herself. Not to mention she came across as such a stalker at the start! Meredith and More...

10 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 26, 2010

Blodeuedd rated it:

The Awakening (The Vampire Diaries #1)
Genre: YA paranormal romance
Pages: 272
Published: 1991
The Vampire Diaries #1

Ok the vampire diaries. First yes I get why they have this cover, but when she has dark hair and Elena has blonde, it's just weird.

Elana fancies a boy, the boy Stefan is a vampire, she wants him, he is scared for her sake, they get together.

That was the short version.

First, 17 year old girl, 500 More...

2 comments like (6 people liked it)

May 23, 2011

Tatiana rated it:

An oddly enjoyable read. I'm such a huge fan of the TV series that I didn't expect the books to match up, which was why I put off reading them for so long. But for what The Awakening was--a simply written young adult vampire novel--it was engaging; I could scarely put it down! The differences between the book and show canons were fun to note, from differing character traits, personalities, and appearances, to the condensation of the characters themselves. I found the changes, or rather the origi More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 25, 2011

El Templo de las Mil Puertas added it

"En 1991 L. J. Smith publicó en Estados Unidos Despertar, el primer volumen de una saga de vampiros en el instituto. Aunque el libro tuvo sus fans, no fue un fenómeno de ventas, y L. J. Smith siguió publicando romance paranormal con un éxito relativo a lo largo de los noventa. Con Crepúsculo y el boom de los “vampiros con sentimientos”, la tranquila trayectoria de esta autora pegó una sacudida: sus libros se tradujeron a varios idiomas, se revistieron con portadas negras y rojas, y se vendi More...

0 comments like

Jan 20, 2011

_incubus rated it:

Io no lo so perchè mi piace farmi del male da sola, ma lo faccio.. e questo non è bene.<br />Che posso dire di questo romanzo? boh. La storia mi è sembrata abbastanza banale, e basta con questi vampiri che sembrano dei santi 'io mi nutro solo di animali e passo la mia esistenza ad incolparmi della morte di qualcuno perchè si sa, se il vampiro oltre che buono è anche inquieto e angosciato è molto più affascinante'.<br />E Elena?! Non posso nemmeno fare un commento decente su di lei perchè in cert More...

0 comments like

Jan 27, 2009

Debbie rated it:

I was actually a little disappointed re-reading this book. I remember loving the series when I first read them back in middle school. So maybe it is just because I've grown up that the writing style does not really appeal to me as much. Elena starts off as a really superficial character although she vows she wants to become a better person for Stefan. But still it is hard to feel for her right now after watching her break the heart of a perfectly sweet guy by dumping him and then immediately More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 25, 2012

Liz rated it:

Elena, the queen bee of her high school, is confused when the new boy, Stefan, shows no interest in her whatsoever. What she doesn’t know is that although Stefan secretly carries a torch for her, he can’t bear for her to learn his terrible secret: he’s a centuries-old vampire! When Elena eventually finds out the truth herself, the two admit their feelings for each other and try to build up a relationship. Things get dicey when Stefan’s evil brother, Damon, shows up in town, and decides to steal More...

0 comments like

Jan 15, 2012

kamelin rated it:

Infantile Narzisstin trifft lethargischen Loser [german review]

Die Geschichte handelt von Elena, die sich in den Vampir Stefano verliebt hat, der mit einigen Morden in ihrem Heimatort Fell's Church in Zusammenhang gebracht wird. Die Verbrechen hat allerdings sein Bruder Damon begangen, der es so aussehen lässt, als gingen die Toten auf Stefanos Rechnung.
Eigentlich war's das schon an Inhaltszusammenfassung, denn viel mehr gibt die Geschichte nicht her.

Die Heldin de More...

0 comments like

Jan 08, 2012

Emma rated it:

This series is pre-Twilight. I have read all the Twilight books several years ago. I decided to read this series because my nieces had mentioned it to me two years ago. They made a television series of the books which I do not watch, and I enjoyed the Twilight books. Of course this book was a very easy read since this series is for young adults, which I clearly am not. hehe. Like Twilight series, the Vampire Diaries are written for young adults. I read this first book of the series in one More...

0 comments like

Jan 06, 2012

Yis2017 rated it:

A Book Review of the Vampire Diaries
By Aron Aung, Grade 7, Yangon International School

Have you ever found yourself being so different around people that you are unable to control yourself when you are with them? One may experience this feeling while reading The Vampire Diaries written by L.J. Smith, an American author of young adult literature who usually writes in the genres of supernatural, horror, science fiction, fantasy, and romance. This book demonstrates that being wit More...

0 comments like

Dec 17, 2011

Sonnie (Future Mrs.Eric Northman) rated it:

Okay, so here's my deal with this book: I watched the show first. I don't know what it is now days, but TV shows are surpassing their series (ex: True Blood). I went in reading this book knowing it was written in the early 90's, so it wasn't the time period that through me off. I've read L.J. Smith's "Secret Circle" books and absolutely loved them, but I was disappointed with this first book. First of all, the character development was incredibly poor. Elena was simply shallow. I found More...

7 comments like

Nov 19, 2011

Coffeeholic rated it:

One of the very worst books I've ever read. I couldn't bring myself to read past page 100. The rest of the series from what I gathered is even worse. (My mum's read the whole series, so I skimmed through some of the later books- till it got to japanese folklore. I love Japan. But please. She mixed western and eastern folklore and the result was something UTTERLY weird.)

The plot's completely different from the tv show's. So are the characters. But hey! That's not a bad thing. I though More...

0 comments like

Nov 17, 2011

Lily rated it:

Empieza como una historia sencilla. Chicas de instituto y vampiros atormentados. Un triángulo amoroso que está destinado a acabar en desgracia. Parece que esto ya lo hemos oído antes, ¿no? Bueno, vamos a darle una oportunidad. La protagonista es Elena, la típica chica popular, rubia, de ojos espeluznantemente intensamente azules, perfecta y a la que ningún chico se le resiste. Es vanidosa y quiere ser siempre el centro de atención. Así de primeras, con esta descripición, es difícil empatizar co More...

0 comments like

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