February 22, 2015

Shadow Souls (Vampire Diaries: The Return #2) by LJ Smith 3.5/5 stars

Hey, guys! Sorry about all of the Vampire Diaries books that I've been posting lately.  After this one, we'll get back on the normal schedule of me posting on books as I randomly read them!  If you haven't read my earlier reviews of this roller coaster of a series. This is my original Vampire Diaries series review and my review of Nightfall, the first in this series Go read those first since there may be spoilers ahead for those books.

The Cover:

The Cover: 
The cover just shows Damon's face.  It's really plain.  Though, I cannot tell if his face is the face of a model or if its computer generated.  Anyone know? Comment! Also, I think that the title doesn't make much sense.  There are no shadow souls involved in this book... Maybe its because they go into a shadows world and they are souls? It's a cool title but it doesn't make much sense in the context of the book.

Official Description:
On the run . . .
Elena Gilbert's love, the vampire Stefan Salvatore, has been captured and imprisoned by demonic spirits who are wreaking havoc in Fell's Church. While her friends Bonnie and Meredith explore the evil that has taken over their town, Elena goes in search of Stefan.
In order to find him, she entrusts her life to Stefan's brother, Damon Salvatore, the handsome but deadly vampire who wants Elena, body and soul. Along with her childhood friend Matt, they set out for the slums of the Dark Dimension, where Stefan is being held captive. It is rumored to be a world where vampires and demons roam free, but humans must live enslaved to their supernatural masters. . . .
Elena will stop at nothing to free Stefan. Yet with each passing day the tension between Elena and Damon grows, and she is faced with a terrible decision: Which brother does she really want?
Back in Fell's Church, Bonnie and Meredith have made some dire discoveries. They hastily try to follow Elena and warn her—only to be caught up in Elena's most dangerous adventure yet.

My Review:
I struggled through this book at a start and stop pace for weeks. The first half was agonizing. It was just awful. The summary of the first half: Elena and Damon go on a road trip. It was just long and boring. Roughly 300 pages of driving along and complaining about various things. (Matt and Damon don't get along, Damon likes Elena, etc.)  The first half ranked a 2.5/5 star rating. However, one night I picked it up again and read the last half in almost a single sitting. The last half was probably a 4.5 star rating. It was exciting and the pace picked up considerably. There were cute moments and gut-wrenching moments. I'll definitely read the next book, and I'm glad that I gave Shadow Souls a chance, though I was considering permanently abandoning it. 
That being said, the problems still remained: boring side story in Fell's Church, irritating characters, long descriptions of dresses when your BOYFRIEND IS LITERALLY BEING TORTURED RIGHT NOW!!!, Elena has wings (I'm still not getting over that), and it has a title that makes no sense in the context of the book.
It was decent. If you made it through the trainwreck of Nightfall, go ahead and read it. If not, don't bother.

Phrase: 
That night at the motel...

Happy Reading!

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