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A review by veronikahvee
Damon. Medianoche by L.J. Smith
5.0
After years since I finished Dark Reunion I finally got my hands on the next three books about a year ago.
The reason why I didn't read this sooner was because I wasn't in the mood.
But after several times when my TO-READ-NEXT can gave me as options book 6 and 7, last week it gave my first 7, then 6 and then, when I said "well, if nr 5 cames out I'll read it", book 5 came as an option. Must have been fate.
I didn't expect, or maybe I did, the book after Dark Reunion to keep up with the pace and intricacy of plot, but it did.
The Return had a slow start and by the middle of the book I thought I'd give it a 4 rating just like the others, it hadn't blown my mind yet. But after that point (lets call it point of no return xD) it changed my mind. And my reading pace.
Smith did a fantastic job with this book. She created an intricate plot that kept all the cool stuff from the past books but was still fresh. At least to me. I hadn't read anything that dealt with kitsune yet, so I found the twins - the antagonists - a fresh and very interesting pair of characters. That I loathed all the way 'till the end.
Unlike previous books, Stefan didn't have much screen time, due to him being kidnapped by the evil twins. We get, however a deeper look at Damon. The kitsune infects him and plays him like a puppet, making him do horrible things, things that even in his darkest times, Damon would never do.
I loved the character development for, well, everyone. We got more of Matt, Elena's ex-boyfriend and an overall good guy. Damon doesn't like him that much though, he doesn't even remember his name correctly. We also get our normal amount of Meredith, always the same reliable Meredith, and more Bonnie.
I loved all the Bonnie scenes, and adored all the Bamon scenes. Bonnie's still the sweet and fragile little red-head, but by the end of the book she becomes someone, well, less scared. The Damon and Bonnie scenes were adorable. Their relationship is so different from Damon and Elena's. I feel like Damon around Elena becomes borderline obsessed with her, while with Bonnie he almost forgets Elena. Don't get me wrong, I really like Damon and Elena's relationship, especially in this book (but not romantically), but his interactions with Bonnie feels less... crazy (for lack of a better word) and more natural. The way he took care of Bonnie was very sweet, he almost took a punch to keep holding her.
Fair warning, there are a few gore-y scenes. Under the spoiler you can see them listed:Misao, the female kitsune, infects the local young girls (under 14 yrs old) with overly sexualized behaviour, and all the scenes involving these young girls felt wrong, with them dressed in prostitute-like homemade outfits. Another girl, older than these girls pierces herself repeatedly and attacks a few characters, acting in a wild manner. The descriptions of her injuries are very graphic. Meredith is almost forced to cut her own tongue. There's another scene (earlier than Meredith's) in which Caroline attacks Bonnie and Meredith in a very horror movie way (think evil things under the bed). Possessed-Damon also nearly forces Matt and Elena to have sex while he records it (but it doesn't happen).
To compensate the bad stuff there's also good stuff. Stefan's love for Elena. The girls' strong friendship. The good in Damon.
Overall I think this book exceeded my expectations and I can't wait to read the rest (I'm already reading the next book)
The reason why I didn't read this sooner was because I wasn't in the mood.
But after several times when my TO-READ-NEXT can gave me as options book 6 and 7, last week it gave my first 7, then 6 and then, when I said "well, if nr 5 cames out I'll read it", book 5 came as an option. Must have been fate.
I didn't expect, or maybe I did, the book after Dark Reunion to keep up with the pace and intricacy of plot, but it did.
The Return had a slow start and by the middle of the book I thought I'd give it a 4 rating just like the others, it hadn't blown my mind yet. But after that point (lets call it point of no return xD) it changed my mind. And my reading pace.
Smith did a fantastic job with this book. She created an intricate plot that kept all the cool stuff from the past books but was still fresh. At least to me. I hadn't read anything that dealt with kitsune yet, so I found the twins - the antagonists - a fresh and very interesting pair of characters. That I loathed all the way 'till the end.
Unlike previous books, Stefan didn't have much screen time, due to him being kidnapped by the evil twins. We get, however a deeper look at Damon. The kitsune infects him and plays him like a puppet, making him do horrible things, things that even in his darkest times, Damon would never do.
I loved the character development for, well, everyone. We got more of Matt, Elena's ex-boyfriend and an overall good guy. Damon doesn't like him that much though, he doesn't even remember his name correctly. We also get our normal amount of Meredith, always the same reliable Meredith, and more Bonnie.
I loved all the Bonnie scenes, and adored all the Bamon scenes. Bonnie's still the sweet and fragile little red-head, but by the end of the book she becomes someone, well, less scared. The Damon and Bonnie scenes were adorable. Their relationship is so different from Damon and Elena's. I feel like Damon around Elena becomes borderline obsessed with her, while with Bonnie he almost forgets Elena. Don't get me wrong, I really like Damon and Elena's relationship, especially in this book (but not romantically), but his interactions with Bonnie feels less... crazy (for lack of a better word) and more natural. The way he took care of Bonnie was very sweet, he almost took a punch to keep holding her.
Fair warning, there are a few gore-y scenes. Under the spoiler you can see them listed:
To compensate the bad stuff there's also good stuff. Stefan's love for Elena. The girls' strong friendship. The good in Damon.
Overall I think this book exceeded my expectations and I can't wait to read the rest (I'm already reading the next book)