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My Favourite Vampire Books/Series

I've been meaning to do this post for ages but hadn't got round to it, lol. I've done vampire films, so I thought it was time for a vampire books one. So here are my fave vampire books and series. This post contains spoilers. :)



1. The Night World series by L.J. Smith (published 1996-1998)

These aren't entirely about vampires but a lot of them are. L.J. Smith is also the author of The Vampire Diaries (the books the TV show is based on). The vampire stories are:

Book No 1: Secret Vampire

Poppy and James are best friends but James has been hiding a secret from Poppy for years- he's a vampire and belongs to the Night World, a secret society of vampires, werewolves, witches and shapeshifters. Although there are no rules against hunting humans, it's forbidden to fall in love with them or tell them about the Night World. When Poppy finds out she's dying, James is tempted to break the law by telling her about the Night World and offering her a chance to become a vampire. Will he do it?


Book No 2: Daughters of Darkness

Sisters Rowan, Kestrel and Jade are vampires who are on the run from the Night World. They've come to stay with their aunt in a human town but she's disappeared. The sisters' odd behaviour and the disappearance of Mrs. Burdock has attracted the attention of her neighbour Mary Lynette, who ropes her brother Mark into helping her investigate. They discover the girls' secret but things become more complicated when they find out Mrs. Burdock is dead, Mark and Jade fall in love and the sisters' ruthless older brother Ash turns up, determined to bring them home!




Book No 5: The Chosen

When she was a little girl, Rashel witnessed the killings of her mother and best friend Timmy. What's more, it was no ordinary killing- they were murdered by a vampire. Rashel vows to stop the same thing from happening again by becoming a vampire hunter. Her ultimate mission is to find the vampire who killed her mum and Timmy. But years later her world is turned upside when she meets vampire Quinn and discovers he is her soulmate.


Book No 6: Soulmate

Strange things are happening to Hannah as she approaches her 17th birthday. She is suffering from nightmares and finding notes written in her own hand, warning her that she will die before she turns 17. After being hypnotised by a psychologist, Hannah finds out she has had many past lives and she has been in love with the same man for centuries- Thierry, a vampire and Lord of the Night World. Now Thierry is looking for Hannah to make amends for the wrong he did in the past but she is also being pursued by an old enemy and her life is in danger.


Book No 7: Huntress

Jez is a ruthless vampire who hunts with her gang. But after discovering that she's not what she thought she was and is actually half human, her world is shattered. In shock, she runs away from her gang and ends up staying with her human relatives. Jez becomes involved with Circle Daybreak, who are the only Night World group with human members and believe in an alliance between humans and the Night World. She is sent on a mission to find the last Wild Power (a human with special powers who will play a big role in the upcoming battle between good and evil), a task which pits her against her old gang and her closest friend Morgead, who she comes to realise is her soulmate.


Book No 8: Black Dawn

When Maggie's brother goes missing while on a trip with his girlfriend Sylvia, Maggie knows something isn't right. She sets out to find him, a journey which leads her into an old Night World kingdom and imprisonment by vampire prince Delos. However, when Delos realises that he and Maggie are soulmates, he wants to make her his princess. Will she give in or keep searching to find her brother?

The other books are:

Book No 3: Spellbinder (Enchantress in the UK)
Book No 4: Dark Angel
Book 9: Witchlight


For the full list in order and info on the non vampire books, visit this site: http://www.goodreads.com/series/41927-night-world

I first read this series when I was about 13. The first book I read was Dark Angel, I think I got it from a bookshop in Lewes (or that's where I first saw it and I bought it somewhere else later) and it's my favourite of the series. It's not vampire related (although Ash does make an appearance), it's about witches. My fave of the vampire books is Daughters of Darkness.

I discovered these books in about 1997 and Strange Fate, the last book in the series, was supposed to be coming out around 1998. But L.J. Smith had some personal problems and then The Vampire Diaries became popular, so she concentrated on that. Strange Fate had a publishing date on Amazon for New Year's Eve (31st Dec 2013) but that didn't happen and it's now listed as coming out in April 2015 (as an audiobook) but I really wouldn't believe that until it happens! Come on, please, it's been 15 years!! lol. I did download the first chapter from her website though!

For L.J. Smith's site click here: http://www.ljanesmith.net/



2. The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer (2005-2008)

Twilight

16 year old Bella Swann moves to the town of Forks, Washington to stay with her dad, sheriff Charlie. When she starts at the local high school, she meets the Cullen family, four mysterious teens who are beautiful and otherwordly looking. Their names are Edward, Rosalie, Jasper and Alice and they keep to themselves. Bella is intrigued by Edward. She finds herself sitting next to him in biology class but is puzzled when he behaves strangely towards her, sometimes going out of his way to avoid her and other times seemingly attempting to be friendly.

When Edward saves her from being hit by a car by moving faster than any human and physically stopping the vehicle with his hand, Bella begins to suspect that he isn't what he appears to be. After hearing a Native American legend about vampires, she puts two and two together and realises that he and his family are the "Cold Ones" the stories talk about.

When she tells Edward her conclusion, he confirms her suspicion and also reveals that her blood is the most desirable he has ever smelt, meaning he is constantly tempted to drink it. Despite this, Bella has fallen in love with Edward and he feels the same about her. They decide to be together and deal with any obstacles they might face. However, when a trio of non "vegetarian" vampires (James, Victoria and Laurent) visit Forks, Bella finds herself in grave danger, particularly from James.


New Moon

Bella and Edward are now a couple but dating a vampire and hanging around his family have some drawbacks. Edward is constantly afraid that he or his family will hurt Bella. His fears are well-founded- when Bella cuts her finger at a party the Cullens have thrown for her 17th birthday, Jasper (the most recent addition to the family) is overcome by bloodlust and all hell breaks loose. Bella falls and cuts her arm, which makes the situation worse.

Although things turn out alright, Edward has now resolved to leave Bella because he believes his presence puts her in danger. He takes her for a walk in the forest to tell her that the Cullens are moving away from Forks and then leaves her in the forest alone. Bella collapses and is found hours later. She falls into a deep depression for months.

After a while, Bella starts to recover but she's not the same. She is helped greatly by her friendship with Jacob Black (the son of Charlie's friend Billy), who lives on the Native American reservation La Push. However, Jacob wants to be more than friends and things get even more complicated when Bella discovers that Jacob and other young members of his tribe are werewolves, whose sole mission in life is to protect their land from vampires. After moving past the shock, Bella starts to wonder if she should forget about Edward and spend her life with Jacob instead. But things don't work out that way...


Eclipse

The Cullens are living in Forks again and Edward and Bella are back together. Things aren't easy though- with Charlie disapproving of Edward and Jacob forbidden to talk to Bella now that she's involved with his tribe's enemies again there are new problems to deal with. Also Bella is being pursued by vampire Victoria, the mate of James, a tracker who Edward killed because he wouldn't stop until he had killed Bella. (See Twilight synopsis).

Eventually Jacob comes round but can Bella persuade both vampires and werewolves to come together to defeat Victoria?



Breaking Dawn

Edward and Bella are now engaged (Bella reluctantly!). Edward has agreed that he will sleep with Bella while she's still human and then turn her into a vampire so she can be safer then she is now and spend forever with him and his family- but only on the condition that she marry him first!

After graduation, the couple get married and go on honeymoon to Brazil where Edward keeps his side of the bargain (at least the first part). But things change when Bella discovers she's pregnant! She and Edward become divided over what to do, Bella wants to have the baby but the pregnancy is killing her and Edward wants her to get rid of the baby. Bella fights him all the way and when she goes into labour, Edward is forced to make a decision to save her life.


I read Twilight before the film came out and really liked it. When I heard about the film, I  wanted to read the other books and really enjoyed them as well. The movies are pretty similar to the novels, apart from leaving out Alice's origins (mentioned in Twilight) and a few minor details. I prefer the books but like the films too. My favourite books are Twilight and New Moon. Eclipse is my least favourite; I do like it but not as much the others because it just doesn't seem as interesting. Breaking Dawn is a nice ending but I thought the battle was a bit anti climatic!

Visit Stephenie Meyer's official website at: www.stepheniemeyer.com


3. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

A 16 year old girl (I don't think you ever find out her name) lives with her American diplomat father in Holland during the 70s. One night, while exploring her dad's library, she finds a strange book and some old letters addressed to "My dear and unfortunate successor". When she asks her father (Paul) about the things she's found, he proceeds to tell her a story about his time at university in America.

While studying in the university library one evening, he found a book left in his carrel which had a woodcut of a dragon in the middle, accompanied by the word "DRAKULA". Mystified, he mentioned it to his advisor, a professor named Rossi, who revealed that he also found a similar book years before. The discovery led Rossi to look into the legend of Vlad the Impaler (also known as Drakula) and he ended up travelling abroad in an attempt to uncover the mystery. But the more he persisted, the weirder things became. Paul found that he also couldn't resist finding out more, even though he soon learnt his life was under threat from a mysterious force, perhaps Dracula himself...This danger has followed him down the years and now his daughter has heard his story, she is also at risk.


This is a really good book. I didn't want to reveal too much because you don't get much information in the synopsis and it's fun to find out slowly. (Whereas with Twilight, I think most people pretty much know the basic story anyway, so it's not going to spoil it much to write about it here, lol). It is a long book and can be a bit hard to keep track of because you've got several characters telling their stories (the girl, her father, Rossi and a couple of others) but it's definitely worth reading. :)

Check out Elizabeth Kostova's site here: www.theswanthieves.com

8/10/17: Her site is now http://www.elizabethkostova.com/


4. The Vampire Diaries series by L.J. Smith (1991-1992)

Book 1: The Awakening

Elena Gilbert is a popular teenager who lives in the town of Fells Church in Virginia with her little sister Margaret and their Aunt Judith, who has a fiance called Robert. Elena and Margaret have lived with Judith since their parents died in a car accident. Elena is used to getting what she wants and when she meets intriguing new student Stefan Salvatore who has moved to Fells Church from Italy, she resolves to do everything in her power to get him. She enlists the help of her best friends Bonnie and Meredith but clashes with former friend Caroline in her pursuit of Stefan. However, Stefan has a secret that could put Elena in danger if she gets close to him. And his evil brother Damon may also be in town...


Book 2: The Struggle

Elena and Stefan are now together and Elena has found out Stefan's secret...he's a vampire (as I'm sure you guessed if you didn't already know!). Both he and Damon were turned into vampires by German baron's daughter Katherine who they met in Florence during the Renaissance. The brothers fell out over Katherine and have been at war ever since. Elena looks remarkably like Katherine and now Stefan and Damon are battling over her too.


Spoilers ahead!


Nearly everyone knows the story of Twilight but with Vampire Diaries the book and TV series are quite different, so if you've seen the series and want to read the books, I'm warning you about spoilers. :)


Book 3: The Fury

Elena is now a vampire but there are more pressing matters, an ancient evil has arrived in Fells Church, someone with great power. Elena not only has to come to terms with being a vampire, she  must also bring the brothers together to fight the evil.




Book 4: The Reunion

Elena has died and her friends are struggling to deal with their loss. Her best friend Bonnie, who is psychic, has been dreaming of Elena and it seems that Elena is trying to warn her of a new evil stalking Fell's Church. Can Bonnie and her friends defeat it with Elena's help?


The Return trilogy (2009-2011)

Book 5: The Return: Nightfall

Elena is alive again and she's no longer a vampire, instead she's something more than human. She now has a life force pulsing through her veins that makes her irresistible to vampires...and other creatures. Once again Fells Church is being affected by strange forces, something is preying on the young girls of the town and making them behave in odd ways. Even vampires are vulnerable to the new enemy!

Book 6: The Return: Shadow Souls

Stefan is trapped in the Dark Dimension, a supernatural world where humans are slaves and vampires and demons rule. Elena is desperate to rescue him, so she and her friends travel there under the guise of slaves with Damon as their master.

Book 7: The Return: Midnight

Elena has saved Stefan and brought him back to the human world but now Damon has become mortal. Not exactly great timing when there are demons to battle back in Fells Church!


The first 4 books were written in the early 90s. L.J. Smith wrote the Return trilogy in the 00s and there is also another trilogy called The Hunters which wasn't written by her, Phantom, Moonsong and Destiny Rising (they were ghost written).

My favourite books are the first 4; I felt that Nightfall lost the plot a bit! (Sorry L.J. Smith!).  I just found it really strange, lol. Shadow Souls was ok. I haven't read Midnight yet or any of The Hunters trilogy. It seems a bit stupid to have someone else write them, I personally would hate it if I'd written so many books in a series and someone else carried them on! I do plan to read them in the future though.

I think I read the first book (or first two) before the TV show started but not the others. The series is very different, the main differences are:

The town is called Mystic Falls instead of Fells Church
Elena is brunette instead of blonde
Stefan and Damon are American instead of Italian
The Katherine origin story is different
There is no Margaret, Aunt Judith or Robert, Elena has a teenage brother called Jeremy and they live with their aunt Jenna
There's no Meredith
Bonnie doesn't have Celtic heritage that's responsible for her powers but African American/mixed heritage and her surname is Bennett instead of McCullough
Caroline is friends with Elena, they aren't former friends turned rivals

I plan to do a vampire TV show post in the future, so I'll write more about it then. :)



5. Vampire Heart by J.B. Calchman (1999)

In 20th century Maine, USA, a teenage boy and his parents are involved in a boating accident. His parents are killed and the boy is also presumed dead.

A little later, mysterious teenager Alex Culler arrives in the town of St Dove's in Cornwall, England. Popular local girl Ella is intrigued by him, despite being the girlfriend of Teddy Stone, the most popular boy in town.  Alex is originally from America and currently staying with clock repairmen Gabriel Culler. Ella feels a connection to Alex and longs to get close to him, even though she risks both her relationship and alienating Teddy's powerful family.

Meanwhile St Doves is being terrorised by a vampire, reminiscent of the attacks on the town during plague times. Alex comes under suspicion but Ella is sure he isn't responsible. But if she's right, then who is?

I got this book when I was about 18. It was originally 3 separate books put together but I got it as Vampire Heart. It has an interesting twist on the vampire legend and is worth reading for something different. The author doesn't appear to have written anything else but the stories were also published under Dark Enchantment and I think J.B. Calchman may have been a pen name for Louise Cooper. Louise published more than 80 fantasy and supernatural novels before her death in 2009.

If you're interested in Louise's books you can visit her page here: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13023.Louise_Cooper


Those are my favourites! I like teen supernatural books in general, so I'll do a post on my Top 10 teen supernatural books in the future. What are your fave vampire books?

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