Name: The Awakening
Rating: 2.6 (25 reviews)
ISBN: 9781444900712

L. J. Smith

Elena's discovers her exciting new boyfriend is actually a vampire.

And, The Struggle

The Awakening

Beautiful high school senior, Elena Gilbert, has everything in life. Except excitement. Searching for the ultimate thrill, she homes in on mysterious new boy, Stefan. But Stefan is hiding a deadly secret - a secret that will change Elena's life forever.

This book is very different from the TV series — but in a good way. In fact, I’d say it’s better. The plot feels more coherent and less chaotic, and the setting is more intriguing, with its Renaissance-era backdrop rather than the usual American Civil War angle.

The vampires have more powers, and Damon's “crow thing” actually gets a proper explanation, which was a nice surprise. The characters are also quite different from their CW counterparts. Since I watched the show before reading the book, it was interesting to see how much they diverge. I'm not sure if I prefer one version over the other, but I definitely enjoyed the book on its own terms.

Tali ⋆.˚🦋༘⋆

This book is very different from the TV series — but in a good way. In fact, I’d say it’s better. The plot feels more coherent and less chaotic, and the setting is more intriguing, with its Renaissance-era backdrop rather than the usual American Civil War angle.

The vampires have more powers, and Damon's “crow thing” actually gets a proper explanation, which was a nice surprise. The characters are also quite different from their CW counterparts. Since I watched the show before reading the book, it was interesting to see how much they diverge. I'm not sure if I prefer one version over the other, but I definitely enjoyed the book on its own terms.

I got 30 minutes in and it seems different from the show. Elaina isn’t a sympathetic protagonist but rather a self-absorbed boy-crazy girl. It’s giving a mix of Twilight and Mean Girls. I prefer the show, where Elaina is a good person and easier to root for.

Jeweliet Coffee

Marloes

This was just very bad. It has bad cheesy prose, a snotty annoying (and kind of bimbo) main character and the clichéd, brooding vampire hero. I was shocked to realize just how bad the book is: atrocious dialogue and the plot... what a mess. The TV series is a dramatically revised and very loose adaptation of the book, and a HUGE IMPROVEMENT. Won't recommend this book/series to anyone. Skip it and just enjoy the TV show!

Danna Wright

I am a big fan of The Vampire Diaries TV series, this is the reason I decided to begin this book series. There is a big difference between the two, which I am glad about as it wasn't all too predictable. However, I am still favouring the TV series over the books so far - I think this may have been very different if I had read the books before watching the TV series. 

The Awakening And, The Struggle

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