alinegarcia

*****May contain slight SPOILERS***** Like the first book in Smith's Vampire Diaries: The Return series, I felt like this one was too long. The book changes perspective, following Elena in another dimension as well as what is going on back in Fell's Church. I think it would have been much better served if the Fell's Church stuff had been left out. If Bonnie and Meredith had given Elena a brief explanation about what is going on when they show up at the hotel and then show the freak show when they get back I think it would have been much more dramatic than flipping back and forth. It stalled the plot and was frankly annoying. I was also finding myself a little lost here and there. Sometimes it felt like I had missed a page or something. For example, when Elena and Damon were in the hotel room and then all of a sudden they were doing something else. The transition between the two scenes was sorely lacking. I understand that only Elena is meant to know what happened that night, but it didn't come off as just a secret. It came off as if there were pages of the story missing. Also, when Bonnie mentioned Shadow Souls...it's the title of the book for crying out loud and I'm still not sure what it even means. It was mentioned briefly in one sentence and that's the last we heard of it. And what is up with Alaric? Is he important or not because he keeps getting mentioned, but he really isn't doing anything. He should have either been developed, or dropped completely. While it was better than the first, it was still a far cry from the original Vampire Diaries series. The books seem like their aim is to be long and about vampires and to get them on the shelves as quickly as possible. There doesn't seem to be enough care taken with the story and the characters. This story arc in the Vampire Diaries doesn't really seem to match what we were introduced to in the original arc. Those books were spooky and mysterious, complete with plot twists. What we have so far with The Return are totally different characters that happen to have the same names. It might sound weird, but what is happening in The Return is unbelievable compared to the reality introduced in the first story arc. At least that is how I see it. All that being said, I'm going to continue to read the rest of the books. I want to know what happened in that hotel room!!! :D

2022-12-23 15:04