Important: This post shows our opinion, and our opinion only. We would like to note that people can (and probably will) like these books for the same reasons we didn’t like it. It’s not a flame, we don’t have the intention of bad-mouth the author or their books. It’s a review, but it is not under the Reviews category because we couldn’t finish reading or took a long time to do it. Sometimes a book that one of us liked can be featured here because the other didn’t like it. Again: it is just our opinion.
Just like what happened with True Blood, I decided to read The Vampire Diaries series after watching the TV show based on the books. Although it was Guta who spoke about the Southern Vampires Mysteries series, I also gave up on those books too—but on my case was sooner than with her, I couldn’t finish reading the third book.
With The Vampire Diaries series, though, it’s a shorter story. I did read the first book, The Awakening, and I couldn’t stand reading a second one. In my opinion, this is the situation when the TV show is so much better than the books it came from. On the books, Elena is much more annoying than she’s on the TV—and, well, I couldn’t help myself but compare it with Sookie, who’s also freaking annoying. But it’s not just that. On the books, Elena is so… shallow. She’s the popular girl, the one who has everything she wants, and gets everything she wants.
I believe I have 2 problems with these series. First, it’s about vampires, and I decided to read it when everybody was just talking about vampires—damn you, Twilight series!—, second, it didn’t really catch my attention. When you’re talking about something everyone is also talking about, you have to step out of the box in order to make me really hook in a story, what this series doesn’t. As far as I did read it, you can totally predict what’s coming up next, and I decided to keep watching the TV show to find out how the story goes instead of reading the books.
If that matters someway, I’m still watching The Vampire Diaries TV show—even knowing the plot is different from the books most part of the time!—, and almost giving up on True Blood right now. Maybe if the Damon on the books were as hot as Ian Somerhalder, I’d still reading the series—just kidding 
Murphy's favorite books #18: Romeo Redeemed, Stacey Jay
Murphy's favorite books #9: The Gunslinger, Stephen King
Murphy's favorite books #1: House, Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker
Murphy's favorite books #3: Inkheart, Cornelia Funke
Murphy’s favorite books #4: My experience with Southern Vampires Mysteries series
Mary Preston (1)
Vivien (1)
I didn’t really like the first two books, but the fourth was my favorite.
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I read them all, but didnt think they were anything too special, a bit dated really. I love the TV show, especially Damon…….
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I just got all the books except the first one and am looking forward to sitting down and enjoying them
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A capa desses livros são lindas
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Unfortunately I didn’t like the first Vampire Diaries novel…I read it after I started watching the tv show( which I adore) but couldn’t really connect with the novel Elena…
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I also had the same problem. I started reading the first book after I started watching the first season of the show. Once I discovered Elena was a completely different character, I didn’t immediately give up. About 150 pages in though I just couldn’t take it anymore. I wasn’t drawn to any of the characters. It just didn’t work for me. I haven’t stopped watching the show though!
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iv read all the books and loved them a bit drawen out at times and elean a pain time to but i love the show
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i love all the books i havent read the 3 or 4 yet but i like the books just a little better because they give more details
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I love the books, I haven’t watched it on tv, but the books is the best I ever have read!
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how many books are there written?
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I also love the books, this serie is the beset i have ever read!! -But i have also sean it on the tv or actully my mac(Didn’t came on Danish televison)and it was the greatest serie i have ever sean!!! seriously!! :I)
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I am confussed!
There are 4 old books, and 3 or 4 new ones??
Are the new ones just rewritten but the same story line. Or if i start readin the books i have to start with the old trioligy before i start the new one. Please help!
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I have no idea, Steph. I read the first one and that’s all.
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ha! never read the series, because the tv series for me was enough. didn’t want to ruin my love for it since i already got an idea that the characters and many scenes will be totally different. i’m shipping delena btw. hehehe!thanks for the review
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Sorry that this thread is super old, but when I stumbled across it I can’t not leave a comment. I think this is a case of loving which ever media you first encounter. The characters you are familiar with are the ones you expect to find and therefore like more.
I read the first four books at least 8-10 years ago. I loved them. This was a time before YA fiction was heavily saturated with Vampire and Supernatural stories (before the terribleness of Twilight). As a young teen with undiagnosed dyslexia, I was ecstatic to find an author whose structure and format was enjoyable and accessible. I made my new school friends who despised to read, read them. They loved them too. The books aren’t without their flaws (God, it’s a long list) but they hold a special space in my heart that meant I just couldn’t enjoy the TV series.
It started with the casting. As a young black woman I feel a little more comfortable in saying that of all the casting changes, making Bonnie black, while filling a racial quota, was weird and a little offensive, really. Her original character’s childlike qualities and frivolous preoccupation with her ‘druid’ background were crucial to her character, and to me seemed culturally white. I couldn’t see any way that they could make Bonnie Black without failing into the ‘coloured mystic’ trope or make an insensitive reference to voodoo. Surprise! They couldn’t. They also completely cut character’s I had loved (they changed Bonnie’s race but decided to leave out my favourite character Meredith, who was Latino)…
I tried really hard to enjoy the show but it was just so silly and annoying. I admit I didn’t even manage to get to the end of season 2. I did like some of the shows counter parts better, as people, but it really ended up like watching a group of strangers act out a magic funhouse mirror version of a story I loved. As to the comment about Elena being shallow, yes she was. THAT WAS PART OF THE POINT. I didn’t and still don’t like her as a person, but appreciate the creation of her as a ‘whole’ character. The books chronicled her growing up, still being selfish (you know like a lot of teenagers, especially those with privilege) but realising that her actions could properly affect others and that she wasn’t the most important person. For me TV Elena was too 2D. And let’s not even get started on how much of an unredeemable sociopath Damon is in the TV version. The nice things he does, doesn’t change the fact he does other terrible things without remorse. How is this misogynistic, controlling psychopath meant to be an appealing love interest…
I’m gonna stop there because I realised that this comment is almost as long as the article. I guess the TLDR version is that you are totally allowed to like whatever you like, as long as you spend the time to acknowledge anything problematic about the content. But I also feel like it’s not fair to analyse two different types of media, created nearly 20 years apart, in the same way. Let’s not forget that these books were written by an L.J.Smith over a decade before the Twilight books and have never been out of print.
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Hi Jessie,
I understand your point, and I think you are right: I might had liked the book if I hadn’t watched the TV show first. It’s hard not to compare them since the show is an adaptation of the book, I just couldn’t help but do it. And if it helps in any way, I’ve been really annoyed by the direction the show took over the past 2 seasons or so–and I only keep watching it because of a few reasons.
But let’s not forget that, as stated at the beginning of the post, this was my opinion–and that’s totally understandable that some people will like the story for the same reasons I didn’t like it. I’m glad you had a good time reading them, despite my opinion about them, and I really appreciate you taking your time to comment =)
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