The Vampire Diaries: The Struggle

L.J. Smith

253 pages

A deadly love triangle.

Elena: the golden girl, the leader, the one who can have any boy she wants.

Stefan: brooding and mysterious, he seems to be the only one who can resist Elena, even as he struggles to protect her from the horrors that haunt his past.

Damon: sexy, dangerous, and driven by an urge for revenge against Stefan, the brother who betrayed him.  Determined to have Elena, he’d kill to possess her.

The Vampire Diaries, a tale of two vampire brothers and the beautiful girl torn between them.

Girls cannot resist from egomaniac, wild, sexy bad boy’s charm. I’ll be melting inside out under his lazy smile and hypnotizing black eyes. Forget Edward Cullen, erase Jack Force. Meet Damon Salvatore. He makes me drooling like an idiot. He’s the perfect vampire guy from all the book I’ve read about that blood lover.  It’s just too bad he doesn’t show up a lot.

Elena’s character changes slowly. From bitchy popular girl to sympathetic ordinary high school girl. Suddenly she didn’t give attentions to everything happened in her surroundings. She only thinks of Stefan, and Damon (she doesn’t want to say it out loud, of course).

The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening

L. J. Smith

253 pages

 

A deadly love triangle.
 

Elena: the golden girl, the leader, the one who can have any boy she wants.

Stefan: brooding and mysterious, he seems to be the only one who can resist Elena, even as he struggles to protect her from the horrors that haunt his past.

Damon: sexy, dangerous, and driven by an urge for revenge against Stefan, the brother who betrayed him.  Determined to have Elena, he’d kill to possess her.

The Vampire Diaries, a tale of two vampire brothers and the beautiful girl torn between them.

This is the only book that have popular girl at school as main character. Beautiful, blond, has “cheerleader” group, being a little bitch sometimes.

Usually books in a series are the same with a single stand-alone book. They have beginning part, problems (I forget what the exact word), climax, anticlimax and conclusion. But, it’s different with this series. The first book is exactly the beginning part of the story. It doesn’t have climax like one by one battle or war between two families or competition of two girls to get a guy.

Curious. That’s a simple word from me after I know a tv series is made based on this. I never watch it so the story is happening in my imagination purely. And I can’t wait to read about Damon. I can’t stand of character like him.

Fallen

By Lauren Kate

Publisher Delacorte Press

Published Date December 8th 2009

There’s something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price’s attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He’s the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce–and goes out of his way to make that very clear–she can’t let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her.

REVIEW

I can’t get the story yet, though I’ve finished reading it. What’s the meaning of fallen angels’ battle? How about the dark shadow Luce always see? How can Luce die after knowing the truth in her past lives? I have to wait for the second book to understand it. Very frustrating.

The book is thick enough and boring at the first. Then, the story become interesting from page 250’s. Daniel and Cam fought each other. Not the kind of highschool student fighting over girls, but of creatures beyond human. Hard, cruel and killing.

Lauren Kate’s style reminds me of Stephenie Meyer. I mean in adoring someone we love. Bella in describing Edward and Luce in Daniel. But I prefer this book. Though it’s a little cheesy (feeling safe when Luce’s around Daniel, knowing where to look at and find Daniel watching her, rejecting and yearning of being together from Daniel, etc.), I still feel the maturity from this book. Not too embarassing – no offense but sorry for Twilighters.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Last Olympian

By                        : Rick Riordan

Publisher            : Hyperion

Publishing Date : May 5, 2009

All year the half-bloods have been preparing for battle against the Titans, knowing the odds of victory are grim. Kronos’s army is stronger than ever, and with every god and half-blood he recruits, the evil Titan’s power only grows.

While the Olympians struggle to contain the rampaging monster Typhon, Kronos begins his advance on New York City, where Mount Olympus stands virtually unguarded. Now it’s up to Percy Jackson and an army of young demigods to stop the Lord of Time. In this momentous final book in the New York Times best-selling Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, the long-awaited prophecy surrounding Percy’s sixteenth birthday unfolds. And as the battle for Western civilization rages on the streets of Manhattan, Percy faces a terrifying suspicion that he may be fighting against his own fate.

REVIEW

This is the best ending, beside Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows. Too bad, Percy’s adventures end here. Full action and battle sequences from the beginning to the end of the book. I really can’t put the book down. Sleepy or crammed neck and tired eyes, I don’t care. Percy Jackson, I follow you til the end.

Demigods that have minor role in previous books or new characters in this one, show up to defend Olympus and the world from Kronos. They die and many of them died in honor. Gods, as usual don’t too fond with human. They do as they like and I find it a little annoying. They are gods but they can’t see what they face – it’s kind of silly, isn’t it? A few surprises and twists were there although they were not as shocked as in previous books.

I’ve said character bearing the name of Luke is always a good character. But I – and you – know that’s an exception for Luke Castellan. I hate him for make Percy and Annabeth suffer. All I can think is “how could he?” – this is the effect of me too absorbed to the story and Riordan’s writing style affetcs mine, too. But believe me. After reading this book, everyone will change their mind to “oh, poor Luke”. And indeed, I am right: Luke is a good character in every book I know. Now, the number in hatred-o-meter decrease a little bit to “sympathy”.

Read all the series OR read it in turn with others?

Confused. That is the very first thing happen everytime I read one sequel after reading other books from other series. Much more difficult to regain all the story if i don’t read it at once.

I prefer read one book from one series then continue with other series. So as not to feel bored. Now I think that’s silly enough. I will have to remember all the story from the beginning before I read the next one. Sometimes, in some part of the book, I stop and collect the important things and connect the dots. That’s just wasting time.

What do you think of that? Is it much easier to finish the series before continue to other series? I’ve done that when I read Twilight saga. But that’s because I have only that series in my hand. Now I have plenty choices.

Let me know what you’re thinking, guys.