Twilight vs The Vampire Diaries

For anyone who's been following along, you know I've been on a long quest to find a series that's similar to Twilight. (You can read that HERE.) Having recently read the first four and half books of the Vampire Diaries series, I thought I'd take a moment and compare the two.

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So, does The Vampire Diaries compare to Twilight? Not even close.

I love TVD the show, but I'm not super impressed by the books. The books skip character development in favor of action and conflict. They move at a lightning fast pace, which makes it hard to build up much anticipation because I often had to go back and re-read sections to make sure I understood what was happening, and I was still confused most of the time.

Twilight, however, builds very slowly. There's a lot of time to get to know the characters and become invested in all the different relationships before the action and danger started.

I'm not saying TVD is worse than Twilight--it's just different. I will always have a soft spot for TVD because it has Damon. But all the things I love about Twilight--the slow burn, the focus on the characters and relationships versus the plot, the innocence and simplicity--just isn't present in TVD.

So, what do you think? Have you read either series? How do you think they compare? Which is your favorite? Sound off in the comments!

The Vampire Diaries (Book 5): This is a joke, right?

*Deep breaths* 

Before I dive into the insanity of this book, take a moment to catch up on my personal vampire reading challenge:

• Post 1
• Post 2 
• Post 3

All caught up? Good. Let's get started then.

Book 5: The Return: Nightfall

I can sum up my thoughts about this book quite easily...

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Okay, so, a bit of context. The fourth book was supposed to be the final book, and it was released in 1992. The TV show first aired in 2009. This fifth book, The Return: Nightfall, was published in 2009-- SEVENTEEN YEARS after the series ended. See what happened here? The TV show was starting and so the publisher probably decided to cash in on that and publish new books in the series, and let me tell you, this book reeks of a money grab. It is so far beyond ridiculous that I actually stopped reading and DNF-ed it. (Which is something I almost never do!)

As you'll recall, at the end of book 4, Elena had come back to life--again--but now she's an angel. I think. Or she's something like an angel. She has some sort of energy / power in her veins that makes her irresistible to vampires (or any supernatural creature, really) and everyone wants to steal her power and kill her in the process. Stefan is protecting her. Damon is still trying to claim her and wants to share her power so they can reign together. Her friends are, as always, super supportive. And there is, once again, a dark, evil force in town that they need to fight as soon as they figure out what it is.

But here's where I have a major issue.... In the book, Elena is in a child-like state. She can't read. She can barely speak, yet she can still write in her diary (???) She needs help getting dressed. Even her thoughts are very innocent / confused / child-like. She floats and needs someone to keep her grounded (literally). In fact, at one point, Stefan ties a rope to her waist and takes her for a walk!

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Yeah, I wish I was kidding. But oh! It get's worse! Knowing she's extremely child-like, you'd think Stefan would morph into a guardian / protector / parent role. And he does. But he does more than that, too! This is from page 95 of the hardcover version. Pay special attention to the sections in the yellow box.

HE ACKNOWLEDGES SHE CAN'T GIVE COMPETENT CONSENT AND YET HE DOESN'T STOP!!!!

But this is where I stopped.

Yes, I know what you're thinking. But Kara, in Twilight Jacob imprints on Renesmee and that's just as gross / creepy. Why is that okay and this isn't? Well, for starters, I never said it was okay in Twilight, despite how much I love that series. Secondly, in Twilight, we don't see Jacob kissing or hugging or otherwise having physical / sexual thoughts and/or contact with her. For me, that's the difference, and yes, it is a fine line. But it's still a line I feel was crossed in The Return: Nightfall.

I honestly have no idea what happens in the rest of the book, and I don't plan to keep reading to find out. I'm officially done with this series and plan to move on to the next series.

Up next is My Blood Approves by Amanda Hocking. Stay tuned!