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Jul 27, 2010

Hailee rated it:

Oh my God. I completely loved this book! It was all about Damon and Elena, and that's what I loved about it. It shows a softer, more vulnerable side to Damon he only shows around her, and she begins to realize that maybe Stefan isn't her only world. The Dark Dimension story plot with the kitsune keys was fascinating.

What I do have to complain about is everything that's happening in Fell's Church. The book is mainly about Damon and Elena getting Stefan back from Shi no Shi, right More...

6 comments like (22 people liked it)

May 20, 2010

Chad rated it:

loved it

0 comments like (11 people liked it)

Apr 26, 2010

Mell rated it:

Hated Nightfall. (Seriously- have read fan fiction that was better.) But I'm curious to see if the author redeems herself.

And the answer is . . . NO. This book is bad, so very bad.

I'm kicking myself for buying this book and putting the emotional investment into reading it. Shadow Souls is truly awful, and I thought nothing could be worse than Nightfall. I am embarrassed for LJ Smith and all of the readers (including myself) who held out hope that the story of the More...

20 comments like (24 people liked it)

May 10, 2010

Heather rated it:

WTF L.J.? Were you high when you wrote this, or do you have so little respect for your devoted fans that you felt you could produce this sack of horse shit and be praised for it? This book read like its inspiration originated from a tree huggers’ acid trip. I have loved you for more than a decade Ms. Smith, but I’m done with you. This book was a travesty.

The first pages set the scene like harbingers of doom, beginning with a cell phone recording/diary entry to bring us up-to-date. T More...

37 comments like (32 people liked it)

Dec 13, 2010

Savannah rated it:

If it weren't for the fact that this book was much much better than 'Nightfall', then I would've given it only one star. However, there were parts of this book which were mildly interesting and I did not feel the need to slit my wrists just to have something to occupy myself with as much as I felt the need to in the last one.

What has happened to you, L.J? I used to love your books with the unsociable, unfathomable Stefan and the totally badass sexy Damon, but all that has happened no More...

2 comments like (5 people liked it)

Sep 10, 2010

Marija rated it:

In the months preceding the release of Shadow Souls, I read the teasers that were available online and was excited by the tension and angst in the interplay between Damon and Elena. In my anticipation, I started creating scenarios in my head of what could possibly happen, so you could say that I had high expectations prior to reading this novel. When I finally got the book and read it, I must admit that I was a bit underwhelmed.

I think the book was better than its predecessor, Night More...

4 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 01, 2011

Hannah rated it:

If you have read the previous Vampire Diaries and have for some unknown reason not completly been swoon by the charming rogue that is Damon Salvatore, then by the end of Shadow Souls, i grantee you will be. As I turned the last page, i was left completely shocked and laughing in a goofy way. Im not going to give a spoiler but the expected twist in L.J's books, is one that you would of never imagined.

From this book, I have learnt that a good book, is cunning but has sublte clues towa More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Nov 15, 2010

Nan rated it:

I couldn't make it past page 283. There's nothing significantly bad about page 283, in case you're worried about spoilers, but I realized after reading 17 chapters that I simply couldn't take it anymore.

I'm too old for this series.

I bought the original series--the trilogy--when they were first published. I love them still, even though my tastes have gotten much more demanding as I've grown. Reading the Return series for the first time as an adult, I don't have that rosy af More...

4 comments like (4 people liked it)

Aug 26, 2011

Olivia rated it:

I feel so awful that I didn't finish this book. I love "The Vampire Diaries" TV Show. I love it so much and the other books before this one aren't that bad. So, like I said, I feel awful that I couldn't finish it.

I just got so confused. I couldn't understand what was going on and got lost in so many parts. I loved that Damon was the main focus on this and the beginning is pretty good. It's when they go to that place with Bonnie and Meredith that I get lost. I went ahead an More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 19, 2011

Emily rated it:

I think its REALLY good so far :) I just wonder if they are going to find Stefan in this book because i currently found out that there is another book after this one and im eager to finish it so i can move on to the next one. I think this book is thrilling just like the series and if you are a Twillight fan i think you might enjoy this book also because its like Twillight just not really :) Well i can't really explain it that good so just read it and find out yourself :) Again, this book so far More...

36 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 01, 2011

Josie rated it:

Okay I'll admit I started these books because I'm addicted to the show. The first book was alright a bit different from the show and I almost didn't continue with the series. So glad I did! Over all they're pretty good! Can't wait for the new one to come out.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 26, 2011

Jennifer rated it:

Dear L.J.:

Here's how this should work. Elena and Meredith stay in Fells Church to battle Caroline and the increasingly creepy Exorcist remake going on there. (Meredith so we can get a little more of her and Alaric, Elena because - well - her story's freaking over, and you just need to damn well accept that.) Bonnie and Matt travel with Damon to a hellish underworld, with Bonnie narrating and increasing tension building amongst the three as they try to stay alive long enough to free S More...

0 comments like

Jan 17, 2012

Emma rated it:

This book is part of the Return Trilogy of the Vampire Diaries Series. What I didn't mention before in the last book is that because Fell's Church, Virginia is a site of enormous supernatural, magical power, with ley lines all over it, it has attracted eldritch/supernatural creatures to the town. And among these creatures were two kitsune. Kitsune are Japanese Fox spirits. They are magical foxes that can shapeshift into humans and have tremendous magical power. They are like vampires in the More...

0 comments like

Nov 28, 2011

Brandon rated it:

Hi Guys,
This weeks book review will be a continuation of The Vampire Diaries Book Review... Saga? ... any way I hope you guys like this one. I'm sorry that this week I will not be degrading a book, this book was better than Nightfall, but not by too much. Here is the summary from the front flap of The Vampire Diaries: The Return: Shadow Souls:

Elena Gilbert's love, the vampire Stefan Salvatore, has been captured and imprisoned by demonic spirits who are wreaking havoc in Fell's C More...

0 comments like

Oct 16, 2011

Truly rated it:

Dear Diary,

Betapa cepatnya waktu berlalu.
Kemarin aku hanya seorang Elena Gilbert, gadis biasa. Banyak cewok yang menyatakan aku cewek yang paling mirip bidadari di dunia ini. Aku memanfaatkan mereka-untuk popularitas, untuk kesenangan, untuk apa pun. Aku mau jujur sekarang. AKu menganggap mereka itu mainan atau piala.

Tapi, ada sesuatu yang lain. Seumur hidupku, aku tahu hal itu akan datang-tapi aku tidak tahu apa itu, Aku merasa seakan-akan aku mencari sesuatu yang tid More...

0 comments like

Sep 18, 2011

Bianca added it

I think at this point, it's obvious that the author neither cares about her readers or, perhaps more importantly, her characters. The whole time I was reading this book, I kept waiting for it to get better or at least start to make sense. Elena is laughable in this book, she's nothing like she was in the original four books. She's a whiny, giggling wreck. Her only purpose seems to be to stand around and make men fight over her. She spends most of the book lusting after Damon, but rather than mak More...

0 comments like

Jun 05, 2011

Sara added it

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

0 comments like

Mar 17, 2011

Sarah rated it:

Shadow Souls is the second book in L.J. Smith's ever-popular Vampire Diaries Return series.

Picking up immediately after Vampire Diaries Return: Nightfall ends, Elena Gilbert and gang travel to another dimension -- the Dark Dimension -- in an effort to save Stefan Salvatore from his imprisonment. Elena must find two halves of a magic key that will unlock Stefan's cell but in the process, she must pose as a slave to Damon Salvatore in the Dark Dimension, where supernatural leaders rule. More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 12, 2011

Majanka rated it:

I’m feeling very confused over what I should rate this novel. On the hand, Shadow Souls is all about Damon and Elena, which makes me jump from happiness and be extraordinary pleased as their relationship evolves, on the other hand, this book reads like it was written by a very girly twelve-year-old fanfiction writer. But you know, writing style, plot and page-longth descriptions of dresses put aside, I did enjoy reading about Damon and Elena. And although the author beats Damon down until he’s j More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 10, 2010

Audrey rated it:

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

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 21, 2010

Carrie rated it:

I decided to start reading this series after watching a few episodes of the TV series on the CW. Up until this book I have truly enjoyed reading this series. This book however causes me to lose faith in the series.

There is a lot going on in this book actually I believe more so than in the previous books. There are many new characters that Elena and the crew meet while in the Dark Dimension. Also there is the Dark Dimension that is thrown at us. This Dark Dimension is a whole new wor More...

0 comments like

Aug 09, 2010

Judy rated it:

I hesitate in posting this review because I am, and always will be, a fan of L.J. Smith. She was one of the reasons I started reading Young Adult fantasy / horror in the first place and what inspired me to want to become a YA writer. I still remember going to the public library that day and turning those plastic book shelves that contain paper backs to browse through the spines of the books. I remember this gothic looking text (now looking back, are a little cheesy) and it saying “L.J. Smith, Ni More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 17, 2010

Briar rated it:

Okay, where to start...how bout with the previous book? I DID NOT like Nightfall. I felt like L.J. was trying to hard to make the book different or new or interesting. She added all these crazy things like attacking tree-men, malach, and Caroline's getting pregnant with puppies???? I was extremely bothered by the way the little girls where acting very...innapropriate. L.J. added too many crazy,confusing things that didnt really help introduce Shadow Souls that much.

Personally, I like More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 14, 2010

Gina rated it:

Wow...I started as a huge fan of the show which lead me to the books. Totally loved the first few books until I got to the Shadow Souls. No offense...but hated them sooo much! Shadow Souls #2-- it was stupid, boring, and I felt pitiful taking time from my life to read them. So why did I continue reading? Two reasons!

1. I loveee Damon and Elena together! It's like forbidden love and it is always steamy between them plus they are a match made in heaven. I wanted to see if they would end up

More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Jun 13, 2010

Sherri rated it:

My review... This book made me so sad. It was hard to even get into it. I had to resist throwing it across the room. I forced myself to finish it because I had to know what happened despite my lack of interest in it (if that makes sense).

I absolutely LOVED the first four VD in the series, but these last two, Nightfall and Shadow Souls are completely different. Stefan calls Elena "Lovely love" (LAME), and Matt seems to still be pining after her. Caroline becomes some freaky More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

May 20, 2010

Jessica rated it:

small parts of this may contain spoilers!

i loved this book, because of elena & damons relationship but i couldnt give it full marks because of one thing:
the middle DIDNT make sense !
i mean, i reread pages & CHAPTERS over and over again without any luck of understanding them, SAGE ? wtf, when did he appear (although i owe him a life for saving damon!) and the part with the flower/bird woman ? WTFF that made NO sense whatsoever! did somebody even reread that & were too scar More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

May 08, 2010

Acoustix rated it:

What a disappointment.

The one thing I was thinking when I finished 'Nightfall' was "Well she has finally hit rock-bottom, the only way from here is up." and I have to admit, she has climbed up a little, but only by an inch or two.

The characters are NOT the ones I fell in love with all those years ago back in the original series. In Nightfall, L.J ripped away every single shred of personality that made them what they were, and she had replaced it with alien chara More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 18, 2010

Trier rated it:

So, I just finished the book about 10 minutes ago. My general feeling of the book was... a mixture of disappointment and confusion. The previous book in this series, Nightfall was a confusing mixture of words and was so hard to follow at times that I had to re-read the page I was on several times! Although this book was much more "put together" it was still quite challenging at times and very frustrating! I enjoyed the Elena Damon interaction, and I know at some point she will have to More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 25, 2011

Sophie rated it:

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

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 27, 2011

Kristy rated it:

Why on earth did I started reading this book, since I didn't enjoy the previous book in this series? Once I start something I must finish it. Yet, I was happy to find that it was so much better! Just as good as the first books.

Knowing Stefan is locked up in a prison in the dark dimension, Elena, Damon and Matt, using the clues given by Shinichi, are on a mission to free him. With the help of Bonnie and Meredith who later join them, they work out how the clues lead to 2 keys which will More...

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