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

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

3.66 of 5 stars 3.66 · rating details · 47,173 ratings · 3,179 reviews

Elena: the golden girl, the leader, the one who can have any boy she wants. Stefan: brooding and mysterious, he seems to be the only one who can resist Elena, even as he struggles to protect her from the horrors that haunt his past.

Damon: sexy, dangerous, and driven by an urge for revenge against Stefan, the brother who betrayed him. Determined to have Elena, he'd kill to...more

Hardcover, 492 pages

Published January 1st 2007 by Turtleback Books (first published 1991)

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Sep 08, 2009 Shawna rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Twilight fans; vampire lovers; YA readers

Shelves: young-adult, pnr-vampires, lj-smith, 2009-reads, hero-abused-scarred-tortured-angst, hero-antihero-gamma, i-read-no-longer-own-sold-swapped, hero-beta, hero-cold-cruelbrute-dark-dangerous, blah-meh, love-triangle-vying-courtships, 2stars-or-less, fiction-made-into-movie-tv-series

2 stars – Vampire Romance/Young Adult

Although the Vampire Diaries precedes Meyer’s Twilight Saga, it’s impossible not to compare the two series, and I have to say that I much prefer Twilight.

This felt a little bit too much like a vamped out version of “Mean Girls”, and I didn’t really get into the story or care about any of the characters at all. They’re all so selfish, juvenile, and petty, and okay, I get that it’s a young adult series, but it felt really immature and teen angsty to me, waaay...more

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Mar 10, 2008 Jeanne rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: people who like Twilight

Shelves: vampires, young-adult

It's another teen vampire/romance novel. Yay!

Actually, it's kind of cheesy. When Stefan Salvatore shows up at Elena's high school, it's love at first sight. He's gorgeous and exotic, and she's looking for someone new. She's fair-haired and popular and closely resembles his ex.

Oh, there's one more thing: Stefan's a vampire. From renaissance Italy. And another thing: his older brother, Damon, has also shown up. And they're battling for Elena's affections.

So corny, but so fun to read. The ending w...more

13 likes · like · see review

Mar 15, 2008 April rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After reading the "Twilight" series, I have been hooked on Vampires! The problem is, it is really hard to find vampire stories that are clean, relatively un-evil (if there is such a thing when talking about Vampires) and not too gory! Well I think I found another great series. Again, young adult, (I have decided that I am not interested adult fiction anymore)This series is a little younger, same age group as in Twilight, and another Romeo and Juliet type theme. At first the story seemed super yo...more

52 likes · like · see review

Sep 24, 2009 Shannon (Giraffe Days) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, vampires, 2007, paranormal, romance

Elena is the most popular girl in school, her boyfriend Matt a classic all-American sporty, nice boy. Then she sees the new boy, Stefan, dark, sensual, and totally oblivious to her. She determines to have him, and promptly gets rid of Matt. There are a few complications, though: one, Stefan is a vampire from the Italian renaissance period; two, she looks a lot like Katherine, the girl he was in love with who made him a vampire before killing herself, thinking he and his brother Damon, whom she a...more

30 likes · like · see review

Feb 27, 2011 Lindsay rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own

Elena Gilbert is the golden girl who has fallen head over heels in love with Stefan, the only guy she wants. Stefan Salvatore, the guy with a past, will do anything to protect Elena, even if it means avoiding her. Damen Salvatore, the one who will do anything to possess Elena and take revenge against Stefan.

Well, I know this is bad to say but when reading the back, it sounded more exciting than it actually was. I thought that I would enjoy this book so much because of all the hype the TV show w...more

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Aug 30, 2009 Kia rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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

9 likes · like · see review

Dec 21, 2012 Maddie rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was stuck on a school trip with nothing to read and all my friends had was this book or a seemingly worse magazine. My friend promised me it was better than Twilight (which I read after loads of people told me how great it was). Alas, Twilight was rubbish but annoyingly it was better than these ones.

The characters in this book are petty and full of with teen angst. I'm not against this as I myself am an angsty teenager. Like Elena, I have spent many evenings writing bad diary entries about bo...more I was stuck on a school trip with nothing to read and all my friends had was this book or a seemingly worse magazine. My friend promised me it was better than Twilight (which I read after loads of people told me how great it was). Alas, Twilight was rubbish but annoyingly it was better than these ones.

The characters in this book are petty and full of with teen angst. I'm not against this as I myself am an angsty teenager. Like Elena, I have spent many evenings writing bad diary entries about boys who just wouldn't notice me but they were never turned into books.

The most infuriating thing for me was the love between the main character Elena and the 'mysterious' vampire Stefan. There was barely any dialogue between them even after they decided to spend the rest of their lives together.

I was told these vampire books may be different from the others as the main character is stronger than Bella and more defined. While she is a stronger character and she does think for herself it's hard to like her in anyway. She is meant to be the 'queen bee' of her high school but the author still seems to want us to like her. Maybe it's because I know I can't stand queen bees in real life but I hate the way she judges everyone in the book. She will go from talking about her brilliant best friends only to then being a bitch to the rest of the girls in her class.

But one thing that probably destroyed any chance of me enjoying this book was one of Elena's best friends, Bonnie. She is meant to be short, Scottish, red haired and believes in magic after being taught be her auld aunt in Edinburgh.

I've lived in Scotland all my life and this stereotype is so unbelievable and rare. It doesn't insult me I just thinks its so lazy of the author thinking she could get away with it.

I suppose this review isn't really fair as I doubt I will ever like teenage vampy books. However if you can like vampire fiction this may be a below average story for when you're waiting for the much better TV series. (less)

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Jan 04, 2011 Andrea Caro rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: people who like twilight

Shelves: read-in-2011, annoying-character, young-adult, vampires, series, own-it, love-triangle, romance, southern-fried, now-on-television

I either read an interview or saw one with Stephenie Meyer who remarked that she got her plot to Twilight from a dream that she once had. After having read this, I can say in all certainty that if she got the idea from a dream, it was at some point after reading this series. Look no further for her source material, here it is.

Just a few of the parallels that I noticed: Stefan (Edward) can read minds. Stefan and Elena fall splendidly and exquisitely in love with each other despite the fact that t...more

16 likes · like · see review

Mar 07, 2009 Kati rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009, in-english, het, paranormal-rmnc

This omnibus carries the first two books of Smith's tetralogy - "The Awakening" and "The Struggle". I would give the first one two stars, the second one four. The first one was namely too much of a sugary teenage romance - I'm probably too old to read young adult stuff anymore.

There were some things that really annoyed me in these books: Elena was perfection incarnated, the prototype of a Mary-Sue, she had everybody wrapped around her little finger, she always got what she wanted (be it the titl...more

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May 18, 2011 Aleeeeeza rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

i don't think there's any way of getting around the fact that i really, really didn't like this book AT ALL. which sucks because i spent quite a bit of money on it, thinking it'd be a great read and fun to read before i dove into the first season of the t.v. show.

alas, it irked me so much i didn't even get past the first part. boooo.

love the cover though. paul wesley + ian somerhalder = HELL. YES.

also: i love the tv series. i should probably have stuck to that instead.

9 likes · like · see review

Nov 18, 2011 Kristy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: supernatural

Spoilers throughout this bad boy:

This was so extremely different from the Vampire Diaries Show and not really in a good way. Elena was not very likeable and she was blonde?!?!?! Weird. She is strong and Katherine is weak?!?! Katherine is dead??? (I believe stefan and Damon believed her to be dead for a while in the beginning of the show, but she most certainly did not choose to kill her own self for their sakes) Stefan wasn't as nice as he is in the show. His darker side definitely was more prom...more

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Mar 07, 2010 Anna rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, paranormal-romance

I humbly admit that when I had first picked up this book, it was after all the Twilight/Vampire buzz - though personally Harry Potter trumps vampire - I had it in my mind that it was going to be just like Twilight a sappy romance that I adore. Seeing as how in my life romance is moot reading about other people, fictional or not, is the only substitute I seem to have. Much like everything else in my life, I turn to the books, to get my excitement and I mean the excitement where your body literall...more I humbly admit that when I had first picked up this book, it was after all the Twilight/Vampire buzz - though personally Harry Potter trumps vampire - I had it in my mind that it was going to be just like Twilight a sappy romance that I adore. Seeing as how in my life romance is moot reading about other people, fictional or not, is the only substitute I seem to have. Much like everything else in my life, I turn to the books, to get my excitement and I mean the excitement where your body literally trembles with it and her heart races until you have to physically move around your bedroom or patio or backyard, wherever it is that you fellow good-readers go to enjoy an oh so lovely book. Anyway I had a mental picture in my head about how this book was going to play out, I even thought I would make it to page fifty and then close the book uninterested. That however, is not what happened.

Stephen Salvatoreis the new transfer student at Mystic Falls and with his good looks, reserved attitude, and secretive nature everyone there seems to fall under his spell, that is of course until the sexy steadfast Damon Salvatore comes to steal Stephen's fame. However, though they appear to be the normal fighting brothers underneath the service lies something no one in Mystic Falls is prepared for, will only destruction and chaos from these to dangerously handsome brothers or will it be them who saves the day.

And then filed away in her little bubble you haveElena Gilbert, who writes in a journal because she has no one to talk to. A horrible accident last year took Elena's parents away from her and left her in the hands of her aunt, but somehow Elena miraculously survived the crash leaving her with grief and guilt. The town looks down at her with pity and for the new year Elena is determined to make a change but little does she know that the change Elena is searching for so desperately just might be the death of her. Will she uncover Stephen's secret before it's too late for her to come back from it or will she dive head first into uncharted and dangerous waters to follow her heart?

This book just might have been one of the best books I have read in a long time. I have been debating about the differences and similarities between this and Twilight, if I am being frank I would say there really isn't many similarities. Yes they both are books about vampires and they do have a romance in each of them but other than that they are completely different in many, many ways. I can't quite put my finger on why but I would have to say that I personally liked The Vampire Diaries better than I did Twilight. Though for some reason I have yet to add it to my personal collection. In other news I fully recommend that you read this book, if you have yet to pick it up that is.(less)

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Feb 15, 2010 E DB rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone I dislike immensely.

Usually I can't resist these YA supernatural fiction series but Vampire Diaries is actually too wretched for me to enjoy and, oh man, that's saying something. Laughable prose, characters who are inconsistent at best and numbingly dull at worst, and a nonsensical plot cobbled together from various bits of mediocre films like some wrong Frankenstein. No, no, no!

Okay, but, see, I might still watch the TV series. Just one episode to see whether it's as bad. Um. Right. Well. Onward.

I actually saved t...more

10 likes · like · see review

Jul 11, 2010 Alyssa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-loved, own

This book, was one I had been eagerly awaiting back at Christmas time. I'd been really looking forward to reading it, as the TV show had been fabulously debuting on the CW, and I'd been a massive fan before the hiatus. I asked for the first two books in the series for Christmas, almost guaranteed that I'd like them - I'd also read The Night World by the same author the previous summer, and had fallen in love.
To say the least, I was a tad disappointed.

This was a flat, boring omnibus. Top reviewer...more This book, was one I had been eagerly awaiting back at Christmas time. I'd been really looking forward to reading it, as the TV show had been fabulously debuting on the CW, and I'd been a massive fan before the hiatus. I asked for the first two books in the series for Christmas, almost guaranteed that I'd like them - I'd also read The Night World by the same author the previous summer, and had fallen in love.
To say the least, I was a tad disappointed.

This was a flat, boring omnibus. Top reviewers across the nation spoke about this book as if it were the best teen vamp-fiction out there, when all I have to say is that I would most likely not reread this, unless the upcoming books in the series prove to be better.
I despised Elena. She was so artificial, and her love for Stefan (if that's what she wants to call it instead of weird, stalker-ish behavior) was insulting to read, and her obsession with Damon even more disturbing. She was a colorless girl - one-sided and calculating, with a true mean-girl mind - and I found myself hurling every time she spoke. The friendships in these two novels were totally unrealistic - I'm not sure, even back in the 90s', when this series had begun, if groups of teenagers were so annoying in their "we'll always stick together" ways - and I, for the second reason in the books, wanted to retch at every mention of them "making it through the tough" together. Blah. It's even more pathetic to say that I liked Matt Honeycutt the most, even him being the small secondary character, he had a lot more character than our main protagonists.
The relationship with Stefan and Elena was purely based on looks and appearances, popularity and selfishness. Elena had wanted Stefan for all the wrong reasons - his unavailability, his sexiness, his automatic, unreasonable quick jump into popularity - and Stefan has been searching for Elena because he looked like some dead girlfriend from way back when. Elena, the blond, plastic, bitchy cheerleader had, after only a few encounters with Stefan, found herself "head over heels in love" with our brooding, intelligent, TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE vampire hottie, who was feeling the same, likewise.
Oh yeah, so Elena's parents' death had made us want to feel bad for poor, poor Elena. Ha, I felt no sympathy. With other orphaned characters, I felt sorry and I wanted good for them; in Vampire Diaries, I wanted Elena to fall. And fall hard. She traded some who-knew guy for a lifelong friendships, for the lives of her best friends who would travel to the ends of the earth for her, and she thought nothing but a thin wall of guilt for that - not enough to make me fully understand this blond goddess.
Damon comes in now, the bad, bad vampire (the only real vampire I've realized in the past few series, leaving out my beloved Vampire Academy, though) and he sweeps her off her feet (LITERATELY!) and Elena considers him another fraction in her love equation, in deciding whether or not to embrace the vampire in Stefan's really, truly good soul. God, I must've rolled my eyes three hundred times reading this pair of horribly written books.
In the reviews I'll continue writing for LJ Smith, I'll probably have this part mentioned countless times - I HATE her writing style. Truthfully, I don't like third-person narrations, but for some reason, Miss Smith writes more differently, aggravating me in the worst of ways. Plus, it doesn't help that all the slang is long past, and all the descriptions and products have no meaning to me.

I did like it, for the vampirism. It showed the different complications of being a vampire, and I liked having a peek into more vampire fiction. I also enjoyed the presences of Elena's close friends: Meridith, Bonnie, Caroline, Matt ( ! ). and their characters. They were more advanced than the main characters, and even they had their own problems.(less)

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Sep 24, 2009 ~Tina~ rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: struggled, wanted-to-love-but-couldn-t, bite-me, gave-or-give-away

Since these books are going to be a T.V show in Sept, I thought I'd buy the books...

Some people have read it and compared it to Twilight, but I have to say that these books are NOTHING like Twilight except for the part where she's human and the brothers aren't. But that's about it.

So I've read the first one "The Awakening and The Struggle" and I have to say that I was kind of disappointed.

Elena is an uptight snobby girl who gets what ever she wants and when she doesn't she pouts like a 2 year ol...more

26 likes · like · see review

Jul 15, 2008 Rebecca rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Don't let the 4 out of 5 stars fool you into thinking this is good, inventive writing. I picked these books up for nostalgic purposes. Back in the early '90s, when I was an adolescent (oh how I date myself), I read and reread these books. They were so romantic and exciting. I remember even then being annoyed by the hack writing, but overlooking it because of the fantastic nature of the stories. I mean come on, who wouldn't fall for a tall, dark handsome vampire with an Italian accent. I'm only h...more Don't let the 4 out of 5 stars fool you into thinking this is good, inventive writing. I picked these books up for nostalgic purposes. Back in the early '90s, when I was an adolescent (oh how I date myself), I read and reread these books. They were so romantic and exciting. I remember even then being annoyed by the hack writing, but overlooking it because of the fantastic nature of the stories. I mean come on, who wouldn't fall for a tall, dark handsome vampire with an Italian accent. I'm only human.

Reading them again as an adult was part experiment but mostly fluff fun. For whatever reason, I'm seemingly incapable of getting through "beach reads" or other books with no real substance and sub par writing...with the exception of Young Adult books. There is a soft spot in my heart for those angst-ridden horror-lite, forbidden romance themes that weave their way through the pages and into the minds of pre-teen girls that are waiting to have their braces taken off and dream of such huge life events like homecoming and (take a deep breath) prom. I am not criticizing girls for this. As I've already implied, I was one of them.

My peeve with this particular series is really more of a concern. The greatest attributes of the primary characters are their beauty, elegance and grace. Love is always a reaction to someone's beauty or passion. The protagonist is "queen of the school". In short, each book is like reading a 250 super model photo shoot. There's just no way you'll ever be these fictional characters. Perhaps that is part of the allure for many kids who read these, but I distinctly remember talking with my friends about which character in the book we'd want to be...and frankly, all are either shallow or wracked with glamorized self-loathing.

The remaining question is why on earth after all this criticism did I give the books 4 stars. Well, they were a welcome regression back to days of summer reading, of staying up too late to find out if the heroine would get the guy and save the town against forces of evil. As simple, mindless entertainment goes, they work just fine. I don't know how a reader first approaching them now would feel about them, but with my childhood link to them, I was rather forgiving of the many glaring problems.

Apparently a new book will be coming out in this series early next year. I must confess, I will most certainly be reading it.(less)

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Aug 11, 2008 Lynny rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone who loves a good love triangle including vampires :)

Recommended to Lynny by: Good Reads reveiws

I have to say, that the only bad thing that i found in this books was the undeveloped relationship between Stefan and Elena. Otherwise i loved the book and it definitely deserves 5 stars. i am getting the second soon and i am freaking! i finished this book within hours of starting it, the plot twists and the endearing characters kept me reading. it had just enough conflict in the romance that it actually made me doubt a happily ever after. Although i still am not sure where the series will go. I...more

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Feb 25, 2009 Bry rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009, young-adult, urban-fantasy, paranormal-romance, rubbish

All in all this book was semi entertaining but the writing to me was a bit lacking, which was surprising given the fact that the author has written something like 2 dozen books.

The main characters were in desperate need of additional characterization and interaction. I felt the relationship between Elena and Stefan to be too accelerated and fast pace without enough substance to back it up. My favorite character was a side character Bonnie who finds out she is semi psychic and supposedly descend...more

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Sep 10, 2008 E.B. rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Potential Twilight readers. READ THIS INSTEAD!

A pre-Harry Potter young adult series that was a guilty pleasure for me at age 26 to be reading in public. But I couldn't put it down. L.J. Smiths characters were a little flat, yes. Her settings felt 2 dimensional to me and I often couldn't get a grasp of what exactly the characters were really like as people, sure. But that doesn't mean the story wasn't spot on! Once I ignored the flaws in Smiths construction of her Sunnydale-esq town with it's Vampire drama lurking in the shadows of a popular...more

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Oct 25, 2012 Brenda added it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2012

I got the books from work for free and decided to read the first one because I needed a quick read while an Amazon order arrived. I didn't really care for it. I like the tv show, but I found this Elena to be self-centered, selfish and highly unlikeable, which makes her hard to like and even harder to root for her. I thought the rest of the characters were kind of flat. Overall, just "meh", and a quick read.

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Nov 29, 2008 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-fiction, 2008-read

I loves me a vampire story! This one is good for younger YA as it is not soaked in vampire sex. Good for readers who handled Twilight. Surprise ending: I have to get the next book!

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Nov 05, 2008 Megan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone who likes suspenseful love stories

Recommended to Megan by: me.

This book was a really good book. I enjoyed the way it kept me on the edge and the way it made me want to keep reading more. The book was like a love story/suspenseful tragedy about a vampire falling in love with a human. But, like every story, there is something holding them back from being happy together, one is an evil enemy, and the other is the lack of acceptance from people in the community for the vampires immortality. I am not usually a big fan of the magical type books, but this one was...more

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Oct 30, 2011 Jamie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

One of the very few times that the book is not as good as the show. Two books in and I still feel like Elena is a flat character. Blah.

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Nov 11, 2011 L.danielle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I enjoyed the book but don't know that I want to read the rest of the series. I'll just enjoy the CW show, even though I know it's different. =)
I honestly wanted to read this because of the Twilight phenomenon. Not because I'm just craving more vampire romance, but because I was honestly curious as to what it was about Twilight that triggered so much adoration when teen vampire novels were honestly nothing new. L.J.'s Vampire Diaries came around long before Twilight, so I wondered, "What's the...more

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Aug 10, 2011 Bmw2jkc2cwc added it · review of another edition

I just finished "The Awakening," and I already can't wait to begin "The Struggle!" I can't wait to see what happens. I guess I really enjoy vampire novels. I loved this novel. It's a teen novel. I'm 23 years old, but I still really enjoyed it. I love a good love story plus some excitement. Stefan seems so irresistible in my mind. I just began watching the new Vampire Diaries TV series on the CW, and it's good as well. Many of the characters and relationships (family) as well as names have change...more

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Aug 05, 2011 T. M. added it · review of another edition

Spoiled Elena sets her sights on new boy in town--Stefan. Determined to have her way, she discovers his secret.

As she comes to terms with Stefan's vampirism, she learns about the woman he once loved--Katherine. At the same time, his brother, Damon, comes to town, charming everyone he meets.

Elena is torn between both, drinking a bit of each of the brother's blood. Then an accident changes everything.

Smith's vampires are slightly different than the others. In order to become a vampire, they must h...more

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May 04, 2013 Sophie Errington rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I don't think my opinion really matters... oh well

i'm sorry to say i was one of the few who did learn about vampire diaries from the t.v series.
the t.v series was so amazing i thought 'Wow the book must be even better' after all there's always that saying, the book is better than the movie. So i asked for this book for christmas, i was so happy the first two vampire diaries books crammed into one.

However i'm sad to say i didn't like the outcome.
The book was terrible!
i probably have that opinion...more

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Apr 12, 2013 Jessica rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm not even going to compare this book to the tv series, because it is one of those rare cases where the actor's portrayal of the character is a million times better than the author described them in the book.

I want to say the book was boring, but I continued to read through the whole thing, so it must have held my interest at least a little. I just think that the story didn't have enough depth to it. Even though the main character, Elena, was made out to be extremely selfish and self-centered...more

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Apr 06, 2013 Hannah rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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

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Mar 21, 2013 Yvenande rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Wow, I had such high hopes for these books and I can't remember ever being this disappointed by a book before. This story could have been good except for the fact that the heroine is completely unlikable. I was amazed at how much I hated Elena and most everyone in this book. The only characters that are halfway decent in this book are Matt and Meredith. Matt is the only character in the book that I liked because he was so good and decent. I would actually have liked and respected Meredith more i...more Wow, I had such high hopes for these books and I can't remember ever being this disappointed by a book before. This story could have been good except for the fact that the heroine is completely unlikable. I was amazed at how much I hated Elena and most everyone in this book. The only characters that are halfway decent in this book are Matt and Meredith. Matt is the only character in the book that I liked because he was so good and decent. I would actually have liked and respected Meredith more if she wasn't friends with Elena. The only time I have read a character this self-centered, manipulative, vain, shallow, and quite frankly a bitch queen, is when I'm reading about the bad guy/girl. What's worse is that she's not even aware of how bad she is, she just sees it as her due. Apart from the premise, the Vampire Diaries is nothing like the TV show. The TV version of Elena is kind and selfless, she brings people up instead of dragging them down, and that's what Elena book version does to the people around her, drag their personalities down because they care for her.
The other thing the show and book have written the same, is the fact that Elena's friends will do anything for her because they love her so much. In the TV show, you understand why they are so devoted to her; she has earned that devotion in the show. In the show she is someone who is worthy of that devotion and is devoted to her friends right back In the book, the characters, even the strong ones, are more like sycophants than true friends, and even though they are always there for her despite her personality, Elena takes them for granted anyway and sees any devoted act on their part as what she deserves (She so does not deserve it).
Anyone who has seen the show will understand when I say that Book Elena is even more shallow, immature, and unlikable than first season Vampire Diaries Caroline. Ironically enough the only sentence I feel describes Elena perfectly is a Damon line from the show, something he said to Caroline that I thought was mean and unjustified but is totally justified in the case of book version Elena. The line is : "you are the only stupid thing here .And shallow. And useless." I know it's mean but the book version of Elena brings out the inner bitch in a person. The only reason I keep on reading this book is because I am hoping it's going to get better. Not happening so far!(less)

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Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Blood Warriors - ...: Vampire Diaries or anything L.J smith	4	13	May 20, 2013 05:46pm
Fantasy and Vampi...: Damon or Stefan?	59	136	May 18, 2013 06:47pm
Hello Everyone: Vampire Diaries Elimination-Book	65	27	May 10, 2013 10:08pm
TV Series VS. Original Book Series	32	90	May 08, 2013 10:17am
Do you like who plays the characters in the TV show?	11	32	Apr 27, 2013 06:23am
VAMPIRES DON'T SP...: The Vampire Diaries vs. Twilight	23	34	Apr 24, 2013 07:17pm
TVD (the show) has anyone else noticed this?	7	46	Apr 20, 2013 01:35am

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About L.J. Smith

L.J. SMITH has written over two dozen books for young adults, including The Vampire Diaries, now a hit TV show. She has also written the bestselling Night World series and The Forbidden Game, as well as the #1 New York Times bestselling Dark Visions. She loves to walk the trails and beaches in Point Reyes, California, daydreaming about her latest book. She also loves to hear from readers (info@lja...more

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Books by L.J. Smith

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

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

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Quotes from The Awakening and The ...

“The name is Salvatore. As in savior.” — 381 people liked it

“You always were selfish. Your one fault. Not willing to share anything, are you?" Suddenly, Damon's lips curved up in a singularly beautiful smile. But fortunately the lovely Elena is more generous. Didn't she tell you about our little liaisons? Why? The first time we met she almost gave herself to me on the spot."
"That's a lie!"
"Oh, no, dear brother, I never lie about anything important. Or do I mean unimportant? Anyway, your beauteous damsel nearly swooned into my arms. I think she likes men in black." As Stefan stared at him, trying to control his breathing, Damon added, almost gently, "You're wrong about her, you know, You think she's sweet and docile like Katherine. She isn't. She's not your type at all, my saintly brother. She has a spirit and a fire in her that you wouldn't know what to do with."
"And you would, I suppose."
Damon uncrossed his arms and slowly smiled again. "Oh, yes.” — 273 people liked it

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

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