The Vampire Diaries: 7: Midnight: Book 7

Chapter 38 of this book completely captivated me, blew me away and left me with tears streaming down my face. It was then that I realised just how immersed I've become in the Vampire Diaries especially as I've read the series back to back over the last few months. For that alone I have given this a 5 star rating, however, anyone reading Midnight without having read the previous 6, would probably disagree. I refuse to give spoilers, but for me this was a shocking ending that I hadn't been expecting, but in true L J Smith style the final chapter has an unbelievable twist that lets you know that this is not the end, as far as she was concerned anyway. L J Smith continued on from this book and wrote another Vampire Diaries installment called 'The Hunters: Phantom' but Alloy Entertainment didn't like it, gave it to a ghostwriter to completely rewrite and then fired her from writing any more Vampire Diaries books under the 'work for hire' clause in her contract. This is also the reason why her books are totally different to the TV Series; it was completely rewritten by someone else. As far as I am concerned, due to the above reasoning, Midnight will for me, be the last Vampire Diaries book in the series. What happens to the characters I will leave to my own imagination. I would prefer to keep it that way than read something that was written by a ghostwriter as I feel it would be nothing more than reading fan fiction. I will not support Alloy Entertainment's decision, will not purchase or even read any further installments of Vampire Diaries, and wish there was some way L J Smith could publish the 'real' continuation to the story on her own.

Since I knew that this was the last book of the series to be written by L.J. Smith and not a ghost writer I was determined to take my time reading it, to make it last longer. That turned out to be impossible and I read it in less than a day, with the ending having me begging for more. The highlight of the book has to is the brilliantly written scenes between Damon and Elena showing the obvious chemistry between the two characters. Although I have to say if you yourself are rooting for Stefan and Elena to be the end game, then you'll probably not share my excitement for this book. For all Damon and Elena fans out there; this book will probably have you jumping up and down excitedly and sobbing emotionally in equal.

We begin with the aftermath of Damon's decision to stupidly open the black rose given to Stefan which was to restore his humanity and while this was Stefan's dream, we all know how much it was not what Damon had planned. After all, what is Damon, if not a mischievous vampire? Which is what Damon comes to the conclusion of, being a vampire is the very heart of who he is, or rather who he tries to pretend he is, and of course Damon wants this little 'inconvenience' of being human sorted asap. This leads to another journey back to the Dark Dimension with someone he didn't exactly plan to take. While there, he comes up with a solution to sort the problem of being human in true cunning, mischievous Damon fashion but not without some serious consequences and a hello from the Kitsune foxes Miso and Shinchi. Meanwhile, in true Vampire Diaries fashion, we switch between the goings on in the Dark Dimension and those in Fell's Church. And of course, from what we seen in the last book, the children of the town are still under the influence of evil Shinchi who seems more than ever set to destroy Fell's church after most of Miso's starball is used up. But while the once beautiful town of Fell's Church is slowly becoming a sight from a horror film, the crew start to uncover that Miso and Shinchi may not be the only ones set to destroy the town and its inhabitants and a shocking discovery shows that its not the first time this has happened in the world... Cutting back constantly to the Dark Dimension where Damon is joined by Elena and Stefan, they set out on the search for treasure and a possible solution to the happenings back in Fell's Church but things are not what they seem and just when everything seems all right, tragedy strikes and things will never be the same again... Emotions run high and the consequences could be dire... With an ending which is abrupt and isn't the full conclusion we might expect, we are left wondering if this really is the 7th and final book. The ending is not quite what seems to be an end. This maybe in part to having found out that Smith was going to continue the series, I had my hopes up, only for them to be dashed by her publishers who are not happy by the way she planned to take it. Sad really, but if your a fan of the series, like me, let it be known and we might get what we want... Fingers crossed this isn't the last time we visit Fell's Church otherwise the ending is a little unfair to us fans. Cassandra220689

I loved the series all the way through, and this did not disappoint me. Throught the book, there are many twists and unexpected moments that I loved. I could not fault the book, although I nearly cried. I loved it and I must say this series is one of the best I have ever read. Elena, Stefan, Damon and friends are close to defeating Shinichi and Misao during this volume and the plot was stunning. Another compelling read for all ages and I have to say, again, this series must be applauded.

this is the best of the vampire diaries books. it you can suspend reality for a while it a good story if you like reality then it not for you, you do need to read the books in order as some of the story would be confusing if you read this first I haven't seen the tv series i've been told they are not like the tv series at all

I had been looking forward to reading this book for ages and my wait was not dispappointing. The book is fantastic as the rest are and i couldn't put it down when i started reading it. For anyone that has read the rest of the books i would defo recommeend this book.

i love vampire diaries. 100% better than twilight. i only started reading these books after the series aired on ITV2. love damon! the book is soooo different from the programme. But beeing honest the series is better! mainly due to the variety in storylines, but its a good read.

Okay firstly I have to admit that I could not put the book down. Just because I needed to know how it all ended. And there were some very good twists. But and there is a big but. It did leave me disappointed and unsatisfied. On a logical and emotional level. The problem I had, was that the story felt at quite a few points incoherent. For instance: One minute they were in towels the next in dresses and then in bathrobes again. Did I miss something in between? It just kept happening. The next thing that bugged me was that the relationship between Elena and Stefan was getting a wee bit stagnant and repetitive. The endless cuddle scenes where somewhat irrelevant to the stories end result and I feel she could have cut at least ten of them. As for what was going on between her and Damon I had trouble believing it. It was obvious what they felt for one another yet a simple angry or cold word could offset everything. Even though Elena knew him inside. It was like following a ping-pong match. Totally unbelievable even if I try to remember my teenage years. As for the fantastic idea that Stefan would be her love and not a lover, loving her chastely until the end of her days, with all the emotions that came before, well it is just outlandish. I know its a children's book but please!

Love this series more then i can describe, honestly it feels like im reading an anime. Love it love it love it

Nun ist er erschienen: Der letzte Teil der "Return"-Trilogie und damit das Finale des im Vergleich zur Original-Trilogie etwas schwächeren Zykluses. Es stellt auch das letzte Buch, das Autorin L.J. Smith zur Reihe beisteuert, dar, da sie vom Verlag gefeuert wurde. So bildet dieses Buch in zweierlei Hinsicht ein Ende, das alle Handlunsstränge zusammen führt. Direkt anknüpfend an das spannende Finale aus Band 6, beginnt Band 7 sehr gut und führt die Geschichte der Reihe konsequent fort. Hierbei wird dieses Mal mehr Zeit auf Handlung als auf schwülstige Romance gesetzt. Doch auch hier, wie auch in den Vorgängerteilen, wird die Haupthandlung um die beiden Vampirbrüder und Elena immer wieder durch eine Nebenhandlung unterbrochen, was sich dieses Mal jedoch flüssiger und passender in das Gesamtbild einfügt. So entwickelt sich eine stringente Erzählstruktur, die zielführend auf das Finale hinarbeitet. Durchweg ist die Dynamik in diesem Buch gegeben und es tritt definitiv eine Verbesserung zum Vorgänger auf, was diesen Teil zum besten der "Return"-Reihe macht. Der Charakter Damon erhält viel Zeit, wird sehr gut weitergeführt und vertieft, was wie immer dem Buch sehr gut tut. Auch die anderen Akteure bekommen durchweg genügend Zeit sich zu entfalten und zu entwickeln, während die Handlung immer adäquat vorangetrieben wird. Letzten Endes führt das Ganze zu einem dramatischen Ausgang, der wirklich gut geschrieben ist und ans Buch fesselt und wie beim Vorgänger die größte Stärke des Buchs ausmacht. Hier ist das Ende sogar so gut geraten, dass ich fünf Sterne vergeben kann, trotz den ein oder anderen Schwächen in der Inszenierung der Nebenhandlung. Alles in allem der beste Teil der "Return"-Trilogie, der an die alten Teile heranreichen kann, wenngleich er eine andere Atmosphäre und eine veränderte Dynamik aufweist. Aber auf seine eigene Weise weiß "Midnight" zu überzeugen und den Leser an sich zu binden. Vor allem das Ende kann wieder überzeugen und macht die Klasse des Buches aus.

Loved it

I just finished the book and I have to say I thought that it was amazing. There were parts that I thought she could've just left out, but I still was impressed with the whole story. Some parts made me want to laugh and others made me want to cry. We all know that Elena is in a love triangle with Stefan and Damon. Most readers have already picked sides. I never know who I like more and this book had lots of good moments with both Stefan and Damon. I already had the book pre-ordered and I read some reviews before it got here. They were all bad!! I couldn't believe it! I read it anyways, because there was no way I could leave it at that amazing cliff hanger in Shadow Souls. I love this book and can't wait for the next one! It has to be one of my favorites of the series and of all the books I've read. I would definetely reccomend it to everyone!!

SPEECHLESS! OH MY GOD! I can't wait for the next book to come out! I still want Elena to be with Damon and now they have more of a chance! I will SHOOT someone if Bonnie gets Damon, she is SO NOT WORTH HIM! She is such a 'oh i'm helpless and always sweet and forgiving..LOVE ME!' Blech! I bawled at the end and kept saying 'Damon Damon Damon' Over and over. He should get Elena, he NEEDS her. Bonnie, well, she just needs to die. She never will be good enough for Damon. EVER! The whole book I was either really pissed at L.J. because Damon was being sweet to Bonnie or really excited and happy because he was showing his interest and love for Elena. It was always up and down, up and down. Elena bonnie, Elena Bonnie. I can tell you right now I will be thinking about this book non stop for about a week. I really don't think I can wait for the next one to be published. How could she do this to me!!!