The Awakening by L.J. Smith is the first novel in "The Vampire Diaries" series. (I've looked it up, and I'm still not really clear on how many novels there are in the series.) I know that The Vampire Diaries has been a bit hit on TV lately, so I thought I would give the first book in the series a try. (Also note that I haven't really kept up on the TV show since the end of the first season.)
This novel seems to be the introduction to the concept of "The Vampire Diaries." Elena is a young girl who seems to be very popular and in demand among her male classmates. When Stefan moves to town, she chooses him, but for some reason, unlike every other boy in the area, he doesn't show any interest. Eventually, Elena and Stefan become a couple (once we figure out why he was avoiding her) and things seem to be going well, for the most part... Until weird things start happening around town and Stefan becomes the prime suspect.
In terms of plot, there wasn't all that much happening in this novel. I guess because it's part of a longer series, the relationships and characters are being developed to prepare for future novels. By the end of the book (spoiler alert), Elena basically finds out that Stefan is a vampire and that his brother, Damon, is also lurking around town somewhere. (For those who have seen even one episode of the TV show, this is no shocker.) That's all that happens. It's safe to say that I was a bit disappointed with the plot. The novel also leaves you without a real ending, so I can only assume that it must blend right into the second novel.
That all being said, my expectations could be a bit skewed. I've enjoyed what I've seen of the TV show, so maybe I was just expecting a little more from the novel. The show seems to bring weekly excitement, so I was expecting a little more action in the novel.
It was definitely a young adult book and I think that the content and writing style would appeal to a younger audience. (As an educator, I think that having books that appeal to a younger audience are important. And although there are many Young Adult books that I am also interested in, I do know that I'm not the target audience and there will be some, like this one, that don't really appeal to me.)
My recommendations for this book? If you're a pre-teen, or a young teen, you will probably enjoy it. As for everyone else, it's not on the top of recommended reads.
Showing posts with label Vampires. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vampires. Show all posts
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Lover Eternal - The Black Dagger Brotherhood (J.R. Ward)
If you haven't already read my embarrassing post about how I started the series "The Black Dagger Brotherhood," you can read all about it here. If you need a laugh today, that could be it! Checking "Lover Eternal" out of the library was a little bit less embarrassing than my first J.R. Ward library experience, but it still caused a bit of blushing at the check out counter!
The Black Dagger Brotherhood is a series (there are ten books in all) about a brotherhood of vampires. The terminology and concepts are much different than those used in Twilight books - that is, there aren't werewolves, but instead there are lessers, and their rules for eating and whatnot are different. But all in all, they are still vampire books and they are a bit more "grownup" than Twilight.
Lover Eternal by J.R. Ward is the second book in The Black Dagger Brotherhood series. The first book, Dark Lover, focused on the relationship between Beth and Wrath, whereas this book focused on two different characters, Rhage (vampire) and Mary (human). I would go so far as to say that this book, though dealing with the same group of vampires and same concepts, is different enough from the first book that you could read this one without having read the first one. In fact, Beth and Wrath (the stars of the first book), make only a few short appearances in this novel.
The storylines in this book: The first problem with their relationship is that Rhage is a vampire and Mary is a human. He falls in love with her instantly, but it's against the rules for him to be dating a human. Then, enter the fact that Rhage has been cursed - he has a "beast" inside of him, a beast that he's worried will harm Mary someday. Finally, add in the fact that Mary has leukemia and it seems like all the cards are stacked against them.
I found this book was exciting, just like the first novel. There was obviously a romance side to the novel (as the title suggests), but there are many other topics addressed. There was a lot more interaction with the other vampire brothers in this novel, which was nice, there were the cancer issues, and there was still the fighting with the lessers. The end of the novel hints that the third book will focus on yet another vampire, Zsadist.
I liked the book, almost better than I liked the first novel, Dark Lover. If you're into vampires, I would still recommend this series.
The Black Dagger Brotherhood is a series (there are ten books in all) about a brotherhood of vampires. The terminology and concepts are much different than those used in Twilight books - that is, there aren't werewolves, but instead there are lessers, and their rules for eating and whatnot are different. But all in all, they are still vampire books and they are a bit more "grownup" than Twilight.
Lover Eternal by J.R. Ward is the second book in The Black Dagger Brotherhood series. The first book, Dark Lover, focused on the relationship between Beth and Wrath, whereas this book focused on two different characters, Rhage (vampire) and Mary (human). I would go so far as to say that this book, though dealing with the same group of vampires and same concepts, is different enough from the first book that you could read this one without having read the first one. In fact, Beth and Wrath (the stars of the first book), make only a few short appearances in this novel. The storylines in this book: The first problem with their relationship is that Rhage is a vampire and Mary is a human. He falls in love with her instantly, but it's against the rules for him to be dating a human. Then, enter the fact that Rhage has been cursed - he has a "beast" inside of him, a beast that he's worried will harm Mary someday. Finally, add in the fact that Mary has leukemia and it seems like all the cards are stacked against them.
I found this book was exciting, just like the first novel. There was obviously a romance side to the novel (as the title suggests), but there are many other topics addressed. There was a lot more interaction with the other vampire brothers in this novel, which was nice, there were the cancer issues, and there was still the fighting with the lessers. The end of the novel hints that the third book will focus on yet another vampire, Zsadist.
I liked the book, almost better than I liked the first novel, Dark Lover. If you're into vampires, I would still recommend this series.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Dark Lover (J.R. Ward)
Are you a Twilight fan? And if so, do think that maybe you're a bit too old for Twilight? Then I have just the book recommendation for you!
If you haven't already read my embarrassing library story detailing how I ended up with this book in my hands, you should do that now.
Dark Lover by J.R. Ward is a vampire love story with a bit of action and suspense. Wrath is a purebread vampire who was asked by his friend (Darius) to take care of his (Darius') daughter (Beth) as she went through her "changing" from human to half-vampire. (She's the daughter of a human mother and a vampire father, so obviously when she's about 25, she will go through her change and become a vampire.) Although Wrath first declined the opportunity, it does fall upon him... Beth and Wrath have an undeniable chemistry from the beginning and he must do everything he can to help protect her.
This book was like Twilight - but more hardcore in many ways. There was a lot of detail about their "brotherhood" (that is, the vampires who are responsible for the livelihood of the vampire population) and about "lessers" (the humans without souls who are trying to get rid of the vampires). A lot of interesting information was introduced and will no doubt be built upon in future books of The Black Dagger Brotherhood series. The information seems to go into more depth about the vampires in this book than what Twilight ever did. Also, there is more information about their relationships in this book, making it appeal to an older audience.
I liked the book. I found it a bit confusing at the beginning because I was learning a lot of new 'terms,' but once you get into it a bit, it all makes sense. It was easy to read and kept you entertained by moving back and forth between different storylines that are all somehow connected. While you are comfortable with the ending of the book (i.e. it doesn't make you want to immediately go grab the second book in the series off the shelf), there is so much left to happen with the characters that you do feel as if you need to continue in the series to find out more.
If you haven't already read my embarrassing library story detailing how I ended up with this book in my hands, you should do that now.
Dark Lover by J.R. Ward is a vampire love story with a bit of action and suspense. Wrath is a purebread vampire who was asked by his friend (Darius) to take care of his (Darius') daughter (Beth) as she went through her "changing" from human to half-vampire. (She's the daughter of a human mother and a vampire father, so obviously when she's about 25, she will go through her change and become a vampire.) Although Wrath first declined the opportunity, it does fall upon him... Beth and Wrath have an undeniable chemistry from the beginning and he must do everything he can to help protect her. This book was like Twilight - but more hardcore in many ways. There was a lot of detail about their "brotherhood" (that is, the vampires who are responsible for the livelihood of the vampire population) and about "lessers" (the humans without souls who are trying to get rid of the vampires). A lot of interesting information was introduced and will no doubt be built upon in future books of The Black Dagger Brotherhood series. The information seems to go into more depth about the vampires in this book than what Twilight ever did. Also, there is more information about their relationships in this book, making it appeal to an older audience.
I liked the book. I found it a bit confusing at the beginning because I was learning a lot of new 'terms,' but once you get into it a bit, it all makes sense. It was easy to read and kept you entertained by moving back and forth between different storylines that are all somehow connected. While you are comfortable with the ending of the book (i.e. it doesn't make you want to immediately go grab the second book in the series off the shelf), there is so much left to happen with the characters that you do feel as if you need to continue in the series to find out more.
"'Life is full of wonderful surprises, isn't it?'If you're not into the fantasy and vampire thing, then this is not for you. However, as I mentioned, if you are a vampire fan but are looking for something a little more adult, then this would be a good pick.
'It certainly is.'" (Dark Lover, J.R. Ward, p. 329)
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