The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening and The Struggle by L.J. Smith
Being a fan of vampire literature I picked up a copy of The Vampire Diaries. The series has four books. Originally the books were published separately in the early nineties. Harper just recently revamped (ha! revamped!) them into a two book series with the first book containing The Awakening and The Struggle and the second book contains The Fury and Dark Reunion.
The Awakening
Elena is miss popular with a capital P. She is the queen of her school, she knows it, she revels in it. She has a cute boyfriend and the envy of every girl in school, yet she isn’t exactly happy or satisfied. Cue Stefan.
Stefan is hot with a capital H. He is mysterious, considerate and withdrawn. He doesn’t draw attention to himself, yet he can’t escape it. He is overcome with more than one lifetime of guilt and regret. Stefan is a vampire.
Of course Elena is attracted to Stefan. She will do anything to have him including losing her cutie boyfriend Matt. Unfortunately for Elena, she reminds Stefan of the one thing he wishes he could forget. Their attraction can’t be denied and finally Stefan lets go of his past and in turn gains Elena’s complete devotion.
But there have been some strange things happening in the small town of Fell’s Church and Stefan gets blamed for a murder, even though he is innocent. When Stefan disappears, Elena knows the one person to blame, the one person that has been causing all the trouble. Cue Damon.
End of The Awakening
The Struggle
Damon is Stefan’s older brother. They don’t get along too well. They had a falling out over a girl. The girl actually. The girl that made them the way they are. The girl that resembles Elena. Damon is the opposite of Stefan sure he has the good looks, he might even be hotter, but he is dangerous. And he will do anything to make Stefan miserable. Including stealing Elena.
After Elena finds Stefan in the aftermath of Damon’s wrath he is almost to the point of death. Damon has warned Elena that she will be his or else. So begins the tangled web of deception. Damon deceiving Elena in anyway he can, and Elena deceiving Stefan, the only way she feels she can protect him.
Elena is being tormented with fragments of her stolen diary. Her diary that talks of a secret Stefan is hiding. Which can be interpreted that he may be the murderer the Fell’s Church police department are looking for, even though it isn’t true. Elena finds out who stole her diary and what they plan to do, but she is powerless against it, unless she asks Damon for help and takes his deal in return. But something happens to Elena that will change her relationship with Stefan forever.
End of The Struggle
I was so glad that those two books were together! Talk about a cliffhanger ending! I really liked this book, I might even love it! I was totally hooked from the beginning and the whole love triangle! How suspenseful! I almost can’t handle it! It you are a vamp lover, you will totally dig this book! The ending of The Struggle was mind blowing, I’m glad I had a copy of The Fury hanging around! I loved the characters, there were so multi-dimensional. Yes, Elena may seem like she has it all going fo her, but the girl is only strong because of her struggles. Stefan may be a vampire but he is more full of humanity than the homo sapiens themselves. If you haven’t read this series yet, I suggest you do.