Monday, June 29, 2009

Day 205 - The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening


The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening
L.J. Smith


Series or Stand Alone: The Vampire Diaries Series, book one

Release Date: June 26, 2007 (Omnibus Edition)

Publisher: Harperteen (Originally published by Harper in paperback - September, 1991)

Pages: 253 (Omnibus Edition)

My Rating: 3.25/5

Synopsis [from bn.com]:

A Love Triangle of Unspeakable Horror...

Elena: Searching for the ultimate thrill, she vowed to have Stefan.

Stefan:Haunted by his tragic past, he struggled to resist her passion.

Damon:Driven by revenge, he hunted the brother who betrayed him.

The terrifying story of two vampire brothers and the beautiful girl torn between them.

Review:

Elena has just returned home from her European vacation. It's the beginning of her senior year in High School in Fells Church, Virginia and she's looking forward to returning to her rightful place as the "Queen Bee". But it's quickly apparent that things aren't going to be the same this year...

First off, it seems Elena is just plain bored with the boys around her. She can never seem to feel that "extra something" with any of them, including her most recent try, Matt. Although he's sweet and not at all the arrogant jerk that most other boys seem to be, Elena just feels there's no solid connection. Matt is just a friend, she needs something more... And this year there is a new student: Stefan. A mysterious and darkly handsome guy that just transferred in from Italy.

Elena is immediately attracted to Stefan and sets out after him like the tigress she seems to be. But no matter what she does, her mojo magic seems to be falling flat. Stefan remains aloof throughout Elena's many attempts to get his attention. This only makes Elena more determined to have him. She starts plotting a plan with her girlfriends, sweet Bonnie and sensible Meredith (who I really like for some reason). But while Elena's mind is constantly on Stefan and her plans to obtain him, some mysterious attacks start to happen.

Stefan ends up giving in to Elena as the story reveals his reasons for being so standoffish... I'll end my summary there for those who have yet to read it but just be careful for future reviews. I tend to write them assuming the book before was already read.

So I had a tough time liking Elena. Popular, privileged, beautiful, and just totally self-centered, she definitely didn't get any sympathy from me when she was brushed off by Stefan. I couldn't belive the way this girl thinks. She was just flat out appalled that the world didn't revolve around her. I admit that I somehow ended up getting used to Elena and how her brain worked. I don't like it but I guess that doesn't really matter.

I do like Stefan however, his story and his struggle to find a place to call home really sat well with me. From the background information of Stefan's past I was introduced to Damon and how crappy he was as a human. Now a vampire, like his brother, I'm sure he hasn't changed. It seems I'll have no problem loving Stefan and loving to hate Damon.

Although Elena's character really dragged the score down on the book, I gotta say I enjoyed it. Even if I didn't have the omnibus edition, I would still have picked up book two, The Struggle. I'm already well into it and liking it =)

5 comments:

Kristen said...

Hm, I will have to read these books one day.. I'm still certainly intimidated by omnibuses though.

Mishel said...

Aw Kristen lol They aren't that thick so you shouldn't let them intimidate you. However I was looking at bn.com and I think both The Awakening and The Struggle are being released again separately in August... you should check that out =)

Melissa O. said...

Glad you enjoyed it! :-) I, too, could not STAND Elena when I first read these books. I guess eventually I got over that, and for me to re-read them relatively recently, many years after my first read, I found that she didn't bother me as much as she used to. I guess I knew what was coming. Looking forward to your next review! The nice thing about these books is that they're easy reads :-)

BTW, if you decide you like L. J. Smith after reading these, you should check out The Secret Circle. For some reason that was always one of my favorite series of hers...

Donna said...

I agree with you Elena, it took me awhile to warm up to her. You should enjoy this series, it's one that gets better with each book.

Mishel said...

Melissa & Donna - I'm dong quite well with her in book two. I'm starting to tolerate her more and I do admire her strength. She still has her moments though lol

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