Anyone who knows me or reads this blog will know I am a huge vampire fan, I have been since I was a little girl and my dad used to buy my vampire books. So, The Vampire Dairies are right up my street. I first read the books in my teens, many moons ago before they became as popular as they are now. They have never dated and I still love reading them even in my early 30's (shhh). The new books are just as good as the originals. Stefan is not my favourite in The Vampire Diaries series, my weakness is for Damon Salvatore. These books fill in the gaps before Elena.
This book carries on with the story of Damon and Stefan Salvatore, two brothers whom are both vampires. It has been a while since the brothers have seen each other, twenty years in fact. But they are never that far away from each other. We follow them from human to vampire.
Stefan is living in England and suspects the work of a brutal killer is his brother. When he travels to London he looks Damon up. He assures Stefan he is not the ripper. So they work together finding out who it is. Then a twist is thrown in and an original may be after them. The showdown is one you don't want to miss. I don't want to spoil it but you won't see it coming.
My only disappointment is that they didn't follow along in a similar story to the tv show, I know it's based on the show, but the time frame differences do make a difference. We meet the characters from the show and get to fill in some gaps along the way. It is a really enjoyable and fun read.
I am a huge fan of L.J Smith books, I always have been. I know these aren't written by her anymore and that is disappointing, but they have tried and it is excellent writing. It is a fast paced and compelling read, one you will not want to put down. I would highly recommend this for all vampire fans, Vampire Diaries fans and urban fantasy fans.