The Awakening, The Struggle, The Fury, and Dark Reunion by: L.J. Smith
As my avid followers know, I’ve been reading a specific series since January. The Song of Ice and Fire, by George R.R. Martin. And don’t get me wrong, it is a great series, probably one of the best I’ve ever read. The only problem I’m having is that it’s super intense and detailed. Usually I’m all over that, but life has thrown me a few curve-balls which makes hard reading a little less fun. So, with that in mind, I picked up The Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith in the middle of A Feast for Crows (book 4 of the series). An older vampire young adult series, the Vampire Diaries were first published in the early 90’s and with the recent “Vampire Mania” have been reprinted.
I’ll start off with my opinion and then end with what each book is about. I will give some spoilers in the explanation, so feel free to read some or all of the blog, but if you plan on reading it, I’ll warn you when there are spoilers ahead. First of all, I have mixed emotions on whether I should tell you to read this book because it’s pretty good, or should I advise you to run away screaming because, daaaaaaang! So, let’s talk about what I didn’t like about it. The writing style. Of course I keep in mind that it’s YA Lit, but still you can write a little more realistically. Mainly I noticed it when the characters interacted, the conversations were very unrealistic and fake. Smith’s writing style was just okay. The second thing that I didn’t like was the story line. When I finished the series I couldn’t look back and say, “Oh, that’s where these books where going.” The author didn’t seem to have a plan when she began and she just went with it as she went. That can spell disaster and chaos. The final and worst part of the books was the witchcraft that was sewn into the framework of the books. I didn’t notice it at the beginning because the Awakening was mainly about the love story, but as the books continued the witchcraft continued to become more of what the book was about instead of a love story between a teenage girl and a vampire. Or is the story about the City of Fell’s Church, or is the story about a love triangle? Or… Well you see my point, I’m not sure what the story was actually about. Oh, one more thing that I forgot was that I would have liked to see a difference in is the amount of details. She sees Stephen and wants him… ok, why does she want him? I do have to say that by the last book the details started coming, but I wish it would have been from the beginning. I know all of this seems a little harsh, but I wanted to be honest.
Now for what I liked, because yes I did like some aspects of the book. I enjoyed Elena. Her strong willed character was fun, empowered, and not perfect. Her friends knew she wasn’t perfect, but loved her regardless. Smith may have not given us details, but she did build the characters and their relationships with each other. She could also create a moment. There were several times while I was reading that the moment got to me and there were definitely some tears. My favorite scene in all of the books is the dream sequence in book 4, when Elena and Stephen have a moment. I think that it was so sweet. So, on a whole, I’ll let you make up your mind on if you like it or not. Let me know what you think and leave me a comment at the end. Thanks for reading!
Sold in pairs, The Awakening and The Struggle are the first book and The Fury and Dark Reunion being the conclusion. The Awakening introduces us to the major characters of the series. There is Elena the queen of Robert E. Lee High. She runs the school and everyone in it loves her for it. Then there’s her faithful companions Meredith and Bonnie, her two best friends in the world. Matt, her ex-boyfriend who was always more of a friend to her than a boyfriend. Then there’s Stephan, the new mysterious boy in town who doesn’t want to have anything to do with her.
SPOILERS AHEAD—I’m just going to recap the 4 books, so please be prepared that I ruin EVERYTHING!!! So, if you are going to read these books, wait and come back after you are finished. If you don’t want to read them, continue and enjoy!
In the first book we meet the characters and the relationship between Elena and Stephan is established. Elena, our heroine decides right away that she not only wants Stephen for herself, she can’t live without him. Actually she states that she will have him even if it kills them both. This statement is a little dramatic to say the least, but you know, whatever works. She knows there is something different about Stephen, but little does she know that he is a 500 year old vampire. Stephen can’t seem to stay away from Elena, the reason; she looks like an old girlfriend. Katherine was the love of Stephen’s life, she was the vampire that made him what he is. Here’s a spoiler for you, but after our couple gets together, here comes Damon, Stephen’s older brother, who is also a vampire. Damon pledges that he will conquer Elena and pluck her from Stephen’s grasp. The first book The Awakening is the fight between Stephen and Damon’s for Elena’s heart.
The Struggle begins where The Awakening left off with Elena searching for Damon to confront him about hurting Stephan. The second book is the love triangle. Who does Elena want? Does she want who her heart is automatically drawn to or to the bad boy? There is a force bigger than all of them and it seems to be Damon. He is taking blood from Elena and giving her his own. Which apparently makes a vampire, who knew? So, at the end of the book when Elena has just drowned, it’s hard to believe that with two books left that she’s dead…
Well, ok, so she’s not dead, but she was dead and now she’s a vampire. The Fury had a huge change in the story that I did not expect. Elena dies… Really?!?! I mean for real this time, you know, as a vampire she dies at the end of the book. Are you kidding me? During The Fury there is a Power that none of them can contain that seems to be moving things in the wrong direction. I won’t ruin it and tell you who the Other Power is, but I knew exactly who it was when the idea was presented that there was an Other Power. Here’s a question for you, as an author, how do you give hints without giving everything away? If you know, you might need to help Miss Smith because every hint she gave I knew exactly what was going to happen. There was not one single surprise in this series. Well, I take that back. When Elena died at the end of this book, I was pretty surprised. Who writes a 4 book series and kills off the heroine in the 3rd book? L.J. Smith, that’s who.
After Elena’s death, Bonnie takes over writing in the diary and so we are pretty much seeing the story through her eyes. Dark Reunion is the conclusion to the series. This was my least favorite book out of all of the books. The witchcraft was overbearing and ridiculous. It was in all four books, but it was just getting stupid at the end. I honestly thought about 5 chapters left that the book could end at any minute and I wouldn’t even care. I mean that it could have ended in the middle of the sentence and I wouldn’t have been disappointed. The ending was actually ridiculous and the fakest thing I’ve ever seen. You just have to read it to let me know what you thought about it.
All of that to say, I am looking forward to the new show this fall on the CW. I think it looks great! Well let me know what you think, have you read the series? Did you like it?
