It was ok. I'm a little disappointed. I love the TV show and thought I might get some insight into the characters from reading the books. However the characters seem undeveloped, and the relationships that exist between the characters in the show are either nonexistent in the books or shallow and petty. I'm undecided if I'll bother with the next in the series. ( )

*** ITA/ENG ***
Probabilmente ispirato all'immaginario del vampiro di Anne Rice (Twilight era ancora di lĂ  da venire), ma senza alcuna della abilitĂ  di quella scrittrice.

Succede tutto quello che ci si aspetta che succeda con una protagonista bellissima e due pretendenti che si contengono i suoi favori. Anche da adolescente probabilmente ne avrei ricavato solo sbadigli.
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As this was antecedent to the infamous Twilight, I think it might be inspired by the vampires from Anne Rice's book, but with none of her talent, sadly.

It's boring and perfectly predictable in the usual way a romance book with a beautiful girl and two brooding aspiring lovers can be. I think I'd have found it terrible even at 16. ( )

Honestly so disappointed. I had high hopes due to TV show but am still reading the series and trying to push the TV version out of my head. ( )

Considering that on the surface this series seems to be just another cheesy vampire romance story (yes, they existed well before the garbage of Twilight), it actually has quite a bit more hiding in the story to unpack. Most vampire stories deal at least somewhat with themes around the prey-hunter dynamic, going back to humanity's primeval fear of predators and darkness, and Smith definitely engages with these tropes, but she does so in a surprising way. In Damon's character we are presented with the predatory vampire in a typical sense, but Stefan is starkly different in his engagement with his vampiric powers. He's not the first "troubled" vampire, but to an extent Smith's treatment of him in a romantic sense is what gives the story its tension and sets up a lot of the coming drama. Yet where Smith really differs is in his presentation of her female characters - especially Elena. She may be the main focus of Stefan's (and therefore Damon's) obsession as the doppelganger of their long lost Katherine, but she is anything but a damsel to be taken advantage of. The story is told from her point of view predominantly, and she makes it clear that when she wants something she goes out and gets it and she refuses to be daunted in the face of adversity. Of course, she's still a dumb teenage girl, and is far different than the more mature and down to earth Elena from the tv series adaptation, but she's a heck of a lot more interesting (and inspiring) than certain other vampire obsessed women. It's also good to know that even in 1991 (what?! I know) that we had better role models for supernatural/paranormal romances (even tough the stories are still slightly problematic) ( )

Interesting how the book and tv show differ. Had a hard time not picturing the actors while reading it. It was also a super fast read. ( )