A review by jenny_hedberg
The Awakening & The Struggle by L.J. Smith

2.0

This read like your typical YA fantasy novel: nothing too interesting, nothing too ingenius. I read this because of the tv-series's massive success and thought to see if the literary original was any better than the show. Unfortunately, I think the tv-adaption did a better job of creating tension and suspense because the novel fell fairly flat in those areas. This was written in the same vampire craze on the YA market as Twilight, Vampire Academy, and the House of Night series so it definitely caters to those who really appreciate that genre, but there sure is nothing new under the sun, is there? That being said, I did give this and "OK" rating. After all, I finished it. It had a tight plot that took the reader from A to B without too much hassle and it did a better job than Twilight in making vampires seem less trustworthy.