Day 217 - The Vampire Diaries: Dark Reunion

The Vampire Diaries: Dark Reunion

L.J. Smith

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

Release Date: January 2008 (Omnibus Edition)

Publisher: Harperteen (Originally published by HarperCollins in paperback - March, 1999)

Pages: 265 (Omnibus Edition)

My Rating: 4/5

Synopsis [from bn.com]:

A Love Triangle of Unspeakable Horror...

Stefan: Tormented after losing Elena, he's determined to end the feud with his brother, Damon--whatever the cost.

Damon: Mocking Stefan and Elena, he laughs in the face of doom.

Elena: Wild with her craving for blood, she confronts the ultimate evil.

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

Review:

**Please keep in mind that I write these reviews assuming you have read the other books in the series. In my summaries I pretty much sum part of the story up, which may contain spoilers to past books.**

It's been about six months after Elena's death and both Stefan and Damon have left Fell's Church. The town is slowly returning to normal. And although both Bonnie and Meredith miss Elena terribly, they have to move on. At a surprise party for Meredith's 18th birthday, the girls decide to try to contact Elena through a Ouija board, along with a few other girls (Caroline, Vickie, and Sue). But the fun and games quickly turn into horror as Elena sends a message of warning to them. Something terrible is in the town and everyone is in danger. And before Elena can finish her message she is interrupted by some...thing. Evil is the only word to describe it. As the girls scramble to get out of the house, something goes terribly wrong and one of them gets thrown from the second story balcony.

One girl dead, another one gone mad, what can be done to save the town?? Bonnie and Meredith, with the help of Matt, do a spell to summon Stefan back to Fell's Church. Maybe with his help and with Elena's guidance, they can find a way to keep everyone safe.

Most of the book is told from Bonnie's point of view, which I very much enjoyed. I've grown to like Elena a lot but I liked the fact that the story wasn't entirely centered on her and her voice this time around. I also really liked the fact that there was a lot more character development Meredith, Bonnie, and even Matt. It's about time we get to know them. And while Damon returns to Fell's Church with Stefan, he doesn't get a lot of time in the limelight. Although he's still wicked as ever...in a naughty sorta way =)

This is definitely my favorite out of the original Vampire Diaries. I thought it was thoroughly exciting and a well put together ending to the series. L.J. Smith has re-opened the series with The Return starting with Nightfall. I'm very interested in reading the next book to see what happens to Elena and Stefan. And I'm very much interested in reading more about Damon. I just hope it doesn't turn out to be a mistake in re-opening the series up because I've heard a lot of people have been disappointed with Nightfall.