(Taken from the combined edition)
Author: LJ Smith
Published by: HarperTeen (07)
Paperback length: 512 (both books combined)
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 possess her.
I expected this book to be cheesy. It was almost the original vampire romance, written in the early 90's. I expected immature characters, predictable outcomes, tired plot. I was pleasantly surprised.
It was definitely cheesy. I mean, how many juniors do you know who talk to their diary? Besides that, Elena is a modern heroine. She is strong, fiery, and confident. Sometimes she is a little girly and almost naive for my taste, but I can like her easily enough.
Stefan and Damon are the classic vamp old-timey names, and they have stellar good looks. Elena meets Stefan and falls for him, though her appearance is so familiar to him she is painful for Stefan to look at. Gradually, his resolve weakens, and they fall for each other with no hope of going back. (A little prematurely, okay, a LOT prematurely). It was a nice, simple romance though. I enjoyed reading about it.
There was a little too much face touching, name saying, and weird dialogue between Stefan and Elena. Like when they get back from a major tragedy in which he basically saves her life and finally admits his love, before he leaves she says "Call me!" She didn't know his secret, in her defense, but still. It's like she thinks he's gonna go cheat on her or something. She can't go half a day without talking to him? Somewhat petty. That's my only real problem with the book though, it's just kind of naive. (again, 90's teen romance to blame for that)
Things take a rapid turn for the worse, and both Elena and Stefan are in danger of Damon's revenge. Damon is hot too, but clearly you see from the beginning he is going to be the bad guy.
I liked the look into Stefan and Damon's past, and also the classic vampire lore. No garlic or crosses, but old remedies. You have to invite a vampire in. To become a vampire, blood is exchanged. It's the classic, simple view on vampires that is weirdly refreshing after all the modern twists that have been added onto the vamp legend.
And that's that. A good book, quick, to the point, and a good read.
3.8/5
--Shay-la
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