Nightfall (Vampire Diaries: The Return Series #1)

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Nightfall (The Vampire Diaries: The Return #1)

3.59 of 5 stars 3.59 · rating details · 27,067 ratings · 1,325 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 powers and gifts that...more

ebook, 592 pages

Published April 7th 2009 by HarperCollins Publishers (first published February 10th 2009)

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Dec 24, 2010 Saniya(Will Herondale is mine) rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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!
Well, How about The Vampire Diaries?
Umm...Yeah! That sounds go...more

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Feb 16, 2009 Jessica rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition 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? Mutt? The hell?!

...more

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Feb 13, 2009 Tara added it · review of another edition 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 writing style is very clear and concise,...more

24 likes · like · see review

Feb 23, 2009 Elizabeth rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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. In this new i...more 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. 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 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 of the mo...more

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Oct 10, 2010 Lisa (Bookworm Lisa) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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-cutting. In the se...more

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Feb 25, 2009 Megan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 “Shadow S...more

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Apr 05, 2009 Rebecca rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 picks up righ...more

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Sep 17, 2012 Kelli rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult

This one was only just written in 2010. With that gap between 1991 and 2010, this story picking up right where it leaves off seems stale. I did like that, at least, the focus tries to stay on Damon. However, even with that the story gets weird.

And I mean..weird. Bizarre..Whatever.

I thought maybe this one would try to be like the TV show a little bit, since it was published a year after the first season. But I was very very wrong.
I am still trying to figure out if this is truly L.J. Smith writi...more

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Mar 17, 2011 Steph Sinclair rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009-reads, disappointment, didn-t-care-for-it, could-have-been-better, door-stopper, vamps, hated-it-with-a-firey-passion, why-why-why-did-i-read-it, made-me-angry, did-not-finish, young-adult

I think I got to page 57 when I just couldn't continue. And it takes a lot for me to not finish a book!

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Feb 15, 2009 Heather rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 adult situatio...more 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 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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Feb 07, 2013 PurplyCookie rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: book-series, horror, young-adult, vampire, hated-it, 1st-in-a-series

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 blood irresistible to any vampire.

I'm not going to sugar coat anything. This book w...more

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Oct 18, 2010 Tatiana rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of The Vampire Diaries

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy

“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, a lot of go...more

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Jul 10, 2010 Dayana rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: No one...

Awful, awful book! I was so disappointed!
Where is the cool plot?! Where are the cool characters? Where is everything I loved about the series?!
It's gone!

I can't beleive how stupid this book was. When I FINNALY finished it, I felt so... frustrated. Japanese mithology?! WTF?!

There was another thing that totally surprised me: Internet phones, capable of making video calls in the 90s? How is that possible? L. J. Smith has completely implicated past and present.

I don't think that she should have wri...more Awful, awful book! I was so disappointed!
Where is the cool plot?! Where are the cool characters? Where is everything I loved about the series?!
It's gone!

I can't beleive how stupid this book was. When I FINNALY finished it, I felt so... frustrated. Japanese mithology?! WTF?!

There was another thing that totally surprised me: Internet phones, capable of making video calls in the 90s? How is that possible? L. J. Smith has completely implicated past and present.

I don't think that she should have written this sequel. I didn't like it at all. It was so flat and stupid. Elena and Stefan's relationship was so Twilight-like. "Oh, my love, my angel!" Yeah, right. In the previous books their relationship WAS there. There was some chemisrty between them that couldn't be understood.I can honestly say that their relationship SUCKS!

Damon has gone even worse. Sending investigating Force to search the woods for that thing that... Oh, my God! How stupid is that? New powers and stuff that just weren't there in the first four books. Nooo, it was not good.

I had great expectations for this sequel but all it did was to ruin my idea for vampires. I couldn't beleive that there could be created another Twilight-like bullshit that just mentions vampires but isn't about them!

I never thought I would say this but I liked Twilight (the first two only... third and fourth totally sucked!) better than this one.
There are many books for vampires. The Vampire Diaries (1-4) are my favourites, followed by Vampire Academy. I hate Nightfall. I am gonna read Shadow Souls and Midnight just because I am curious what is going to happen.

In addition I would like the mention that the TV show is waaaay better than the series. The actors are great and the represent the characters in a stunning way. I feel really proud that Nina Dobrev is from my country - Bulgaria. She is a great actress and her Elena is much more better than the blond Barbie-like Elena from the books!

To conclude - this is one of the worst books I have read at all!(less)

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Feb 19, 2009 Heather rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 characters and a...more

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Oct 31, 2011 Katherine rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition 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 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 into t...more

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Nov 19, 2011 Jennifer rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 · review of another edition

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 book l...more

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Feb 17, 2009 Finn rated it 2 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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Chris @True-
one reason you're going to see alot of 'hightech' devices in this one- those hightech devices suddenly exist for the readers. it's hard to pick...more
Nov 09, 2009 06:50am

Finn Chris wrote: "@True-
one reason you're going to see alot of 'hightech' devices in this one- those hightech devices suddenly exist for the readers. it's...more
Nov 09, 2009 08:27am

May 10, 2013 Shirley rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bamf-protagonists, contains-boyfriend, fucking-love-triangles, guilty-pleasures, not-your-typical-heroes, supernatural, that-escalated-quickly, conjured-up-by-the-contrivance-fair

much better than the first two books in action and characterization. reads like a weird horror thriller flick. also contains japanese mythology...yeah. confusing and contradictory (basically forget what you know about vampires and spirits etc that you learned from the previous books) but at least interesting.

you have to read this like a completely different book from the rest of the series though (which it sort of is since it's part of it's own separate trilogy). i mean there's a lot of boundari...more

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Mar 20, 2013 Kira rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: death-first

I actually really liked the first two (well, four, technically) in the series. They were never really anything special, but they were enjoyable and easy reads. Though, I did have a problem with the ending of the fourth, it wasn't that big of a deal and it didn't really ruin he series for me.

This, however, did. Nightfall and it's sequel are abyssmal. They read like fanfiction, and bad fanfiction at that. The only things that I recall from these is a lot of gore (bordering on gorn, I felt) and wee...more I actually really liked the first two (well, four, technically) in the series. They were never really anything special, but they were enjoyable and easy reads. Though, I did have a problem with the ending of the fourth, it wasn't that big of a deal and it didn't really ruin he series for me.

This, however, did. Nightfall and it's sequel are abyssmal. They read like fanfiction, and bad fanfiction at that. The only things that I recall from these is a lot of gore (bordering on gorn, I felt) and weeaboo nonsense that I want to forget. The villains are laughable, at best, and forgettable, at worst.

I didn't enjoy a thing about Nightfall. It took me two tries to get even halfway through it. I eventually pushed myself to the finish line (with a raging headache, I might add) by reading dialogue and skimming the rest of it. Not to mention it took me, literally, two months to finally finish it altogether when the other books in the series took me a day to finish, at the most. Take into consideration that I can be a fast reader.

I can think of only one thing that was enjoyable about this and it wasn't even intentional. Earlier on, Stefan is angsty about how Elena now has the mind of a child, basically, and how he doean't want to kiss her or feed on her because it would be taking advantage of her. Maybe, I'm just sort of morbid, but wouldn't she be infantile compared to his own age, anyways? He's a good hundred years old when he meets her. What are ten mental years?

I never really expected much from L.J. Smith. I never thought of her as bad at writing but I was very disappointed. It isn't nearly as bad as some of the stuff I've read, but it kind of hurts, I guess, because I did expect more than this from her. Her plots have never been really great but they were cetainly better than this and certainly more polished and enjoyable.

I've read a quarter of the sequel. I think I am done with this series as I can't find myself stomaching much more of this series. Next time I read Smith, though, I intend to read the library's copy instead.(less)

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Feb 07, 2013 PurplyCookie rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: e-book, book-series, hated-it, vampire, paranormal-romance, young-adult, horror

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Oct 20, 2012 Georgiana Derwent rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

During my teens, the original Vampire Diaries series (along with LJ Smith's other books) were amongst my absolute favourite reads. I recently re-read the original series and was pleased to discover that, whilst they're probably better suited for teenagers than those in their mid-twenties like I am now, my memory hadn't lied about how good they were. When I found out that there was a new, follow-on trilogy, I was torn between excitement and apprehension - I tend to feel that series that have reac...more During my teens, the original Vampire Diaries series (along with LJ Smith's other books) were amongst my absolute favourite reads. I recently re-read the original series and was pleased to discover that, whilst they're probably better suited for teenagers than those in their mid-twenties like I am now, my memory hadn't lied about how good they were. When I found out that there was a new, follow-on trilogy, I was torn between excitement and apprehension - I tend to feel that series that have reached a natural conclusion should be left alone. As a result, I put off reading this for ages until I finally saw it in a charity shop and cracked.

First things first - this is not as good as the original trilogy and I'd have preferred the author to leave this series alone and write something new. That said, it's still a fun and interesting read and won't ruin your memories of the series. If anything, I'd say it's better than the fourth book which suffered terribly from the absence of the main character, Elena, who's back here. It also has quite a different feel to the earlier books. Anyone expecting a classic vampire tale is likely to be disappointed. Where the originals were very much in the "girl meets vampire" mould (and to my mind the best example of that genre), this is more like a horror story about demons and possession, in which some of the characters who are affected happen to be vampires. It's also at times quite surreal - I for one could have done with less of the main character having a variety of magical wings!

Nonetheless, there are flashes throughout of some of the things that generally make LJ Smith books a cut above most teen paranormal fiction - fantastic romance scenes, touches of humour, attention to detail and strong, realistic supporting characters and depictions of friendships. It's just a shame that at times they're in danger of getting buried under too many weird plot devices and slightly cheesy moments.

Finally, a couple of people have mentioned the fact that the old series was set in the early nineties and these books appear to be set in the present day without any time having passed for the characters. Yes, this is a bit bizarre, but didn't really affect my enjoyment. A nineties setting was never crucial to the plot and if anything, writing a book now that is meant to be set twenty plus years ago would have felt equally artificial, with forced descriptions of clothing etc.

Overall though, I enjoyed this much more than I was expecting and am going to give the next book a go.(less)

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Oct 07, 2012 Eugenie Chung rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the first book in the new series. Coming back as human, Elena is in a childlike state and the gang are trying their best to help Elena. On their journey to the boarding house to see Elena, her friends are attacked by ambulatory trees and they are poisoned. With her new powers and wings, Elena cures Matt and Meredith. Damon on the other hand rescues Bonnie but is mistaken as trying to take advantage of her by the gang.
Later on, Damon meets a Shinichi, an evil kitsune/Japanese fox spirit,...more This is the first book in the new series. Coming back as human, Elena is in a childlike state and the gang are trying their best to help Elena. On their journey to the boarding house to see Elena, her friends are attacked by ambulatory trees and they are poisoned. With her new powers and wings, Elena cures Matt and Meredith. Damon on the other hand rescues Bonnie but is mistaken as trying to take advantage of her by the gang.
Later on, Damon meets a Shinichi, an evil kitsune/Japanese fox spirit, who promises to give him what he wants if Damon helps him with his plan to destroy Fell’s Church. Stefan is lured away from Fell’s Church as under Damon’s lie of a place where he could become human again.
Then strange events start to occur with a few of the teenage girls in town behaving strangely, and also harming themselves. Damon also comes under the influence of the kitsune and losing memory of his actions.
Finally, the gang come to the last battle against Shinichi and his sister and Elena make the kitsunes surrender using her powers. As a condition for them to go away, the kitsunes take away Damon’s memory of the past few days but give him a psychological map of where Stefan, who is being held in a prison in another dimension. The story ends with Elena, Matt and Damon set off to search for Stefan.
It’s quite a long and entertaining read. New characters such as Shinichi and monsters malah are introduced. We also get to know more about existing characters. I always think that Mrs Flower, the landlady of the boarding house Stefan is staying in. She is either very dumb or she is hiding something-how can she not know who or what creature live in her house! Turns out she is a witch herself!!
Elena having her powers is also a surprise. She reminds me of the fairies in stories like Peter Pan with her wings.
All the new stuff adds a lot of spice to the story. The story is no longer about vampires or witchcraft anymore and this makes the story more interesting. I quite like the idea of Shinichi’s key which allows you to open the door of any room and create other dimensions.
There are also some new ideas emerging. We know from previous books that Elena had doubts before about her future with Stefan. But this time round, we get to know that Stefan has the idea of turning himself back to human and that’s why he took the bait that Damon layed out for him.
It’s a good start to the new series and I can’t wait to find out if they manage to rescue Stefan!(less)

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Sep 21, 2012 Amina rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really loved the first three installements of the Vampire Diaries so of course I wanted to read this follow up, and I was not disappointed!!!

It is a little more edger than the last two, with more dark and seductive elements to it which I found fit further into the Gothic theme of the books. For fans there is more adventures with Meredith, Matt, Bonnie, Elena, Damon and Stefan and of course the regulars such as Caroline and a welcome bigger appearence from Mrs.Flowers (Stefan's Landlady).

It is...more

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Aug 29, 2012 Beth rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Vampire Diaries quartet was one of LJ Smith’s most popular projects among fans, presenting a darkness and sensuality reminiscent of (a much cleaner) Anne Rice. The sensuality is mainly due to unreformed vampire Damon Salvatore, who tops the fan charts alongside Ash Redfern (from her Night World series) for favorite LJS male.

The Return: Nightfall, the first novel of her new Vampire Diaries trilogy and her first new book since 1997 (Witchlight), picks up a week or two after the first quartet l...more The Vampire Diaries quartet was one of LJ Smith’s most popular projects among fans, presenting a darkness and sensuality reminiscent of (a much cleaner) Anne Rice. The sensuality is mainly due to unreformed vampire Damon Salvatore, who tops the fan charts alongside Ash Redfern (from her Night World series) for favorite LJS male.

The Return: Nightfall, the first novel of her new Vampire Diaries trilogy and her first new book since 1997 (Witchlight), picks up a week or two after the first quartet left off and is primarily a story for and about Damon. LJ Smith claims on her website that he’s her favorite character and she’s having fun writing about him.

In the fandom, of which I used to be a semi-active part, Damon is popularly paired with Bonnie, and, though I never cared much about Vampire Diaries shipdom (probably because I first read them out of order) I do indeed hold out hope that the cute little redhead can take his mind off of silly perfect Elena, though I don’t know that she can or will. I want this, though, because I like every character to have someone at the end of the story, and Damon was left out in the cold last time. I also have hope because LJS often delivers on pairing everyone happily up. It’s one of my favorite things about her.

My biggest concern when I read the back of this book was that Stefan was going to pull a New Moon Edward (running away for the girl’s own good) but didn’t have the reader affection to pull it off. Stefan is probably one of LJ Smith’s weakest characters, along with Rob from her Dark Visions trilogy — both guys so good they’re boring, with the added detraction of being cast alongside sexy bad-boy counterparts that the fans gobble up.

Stefan seems to be less of a martyr this time around and I actually found myself liking him, when I didn’t before. For that alone, I’m glad for this new trilogy. I also enjoyed what the author did with Damon and think all of the characters seem to have a little more depth.

As usual, she manages to horrify and disturb without going over too many lines (some parts reminded me of “The Exorcist”). Strange mystical powers used out of the blue bug me. Also when those powers have more to do with saving the day than the wit or cleverness of the characters. I think it might have had more punch with a little less magic.

Still, mystical powers are kind of the point in a supernatural story, and I’m not about to look a gift book in the mouth after 12 years of waiting.(less)

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Aug 01, 2012 Charlotte Lewis rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: so-bad-it-s-good

I gave this book five stars for being one of the most entertaining things I've ever read... it's so bad it's good. It gets off to an amazing start with Elena flying around, unable to read or write or talk, which is obviously what happens after you've been brought back to life. To make this better, Stefan is acting as her mother, and has suddenly developed disgusting pet-names for her, including "lovely love".

Elena gets better soon enough, but only after a sequence of very confusing things that...more

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Jul 02, 2012 Wanda Panda Hartzenberg rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The fifth book of The Vampire Diaries: Nightfall
Ok, Gillian was correct, these books get worse. This is possibly the second worse book I have ever read. And I read a lot. So now, I have to say with trepidation and worry, what am I going to do with the last book?
The plot.
Unbelievably unrealistic and the jumps in logic was incredible. I get the impression that the author L.J Smith try to put as many monsters and mythical creatures into this series as she possibly can. In the process she irritates...more

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

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

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“Why do people always assume that volume will succeed when logic won’t? - Damon” — 550 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” — 436 people liked it

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Nightfall (The Vampire Diaries: The Return #1)

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