The Vampire Diaries: The Return: Midnight [Hardcover]

L. J. Smith (Author)

Book Description

Release date: March 15, 2011 | Series: The Vampire Diaries: The Return (Book 3)

With the help of charming and devious Damon, Elena rescued her vampire love, Stefan, from the depths of the Dark Dimension. But neither brother returned unscathed. Stefan is weak from his long imprisonment and needs more blood than Elena alone can give him, while a strange magic has turned Damon into a human. Savage and desperate, Damon will do anything to become a vampire again—even travel back to hell. But what will happen when he accidentally takes Bonnie with him?

Stefan and Elena hurry to rescue their innocent friend from the Dark Dimension, leaving Matt and Meredith to save their hometown from the dangerous spirits that have taken hold of Fell's Church. One by one, children are succumbing to demonic designs. But Matt and Meredith soon discover that the source of the evil is darker—and closer—than they ever could have imagined. . . .

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

L. J. Smith has written a number of bestselling books and series for young adults, including The Vampire Diaries (now a hit TV show), The Secret Circle, The Forbidden Game, Night World, and the #1 New York Times bestselling Dark Visions. She is happiest sitting by a crackling fire in a cabin in Point Reyes, California, or walking the beaches that surround that area.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 576 pages
• Publisher: HarperTeen; First Edition edition (March 15, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061720852
• ISBN-13: 978-0061720857
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.9 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (127 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #298,795 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Let's see, I've known that I wanted to be a writer since I was about six, when a teacher praised a horrible poem I'd written. I wrote my first book in high school, finishing it in my first year of college. Then I became a special ed teacher before I was able to become a writer full-time. That's about it!

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#39 in Books > Teens

#39 in Books > Teens

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Could have been better March 15, 2011

By ldimock

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Having just finished The Vampire Diaries: The Return: Midnight. I found that it was lackluster in comparison to the previous "The Return" books, especially Shadows Souls. Without creating too much of a spoiler, the plot twists did not seem developed enough and resolved the issues in way too simple and easy a way. The whole side storyline with Meredith seemed ill-constructed and nonsensical, and was not fleshed out nearly enough to seem like more than a poorly constructed anime. As far as the plot line with Damon becoming human from the prior book, L.J. Smith could have done a LOT more with it, instead of resolving it quickly and progressing what seemed like "business as usual" a quarter of the way into the book. The whole ordeal with him speaking to the "Princess" was cheesy at best.

As a whole, I was disappointed with this book, having such high expectations from Shadow Souls. Will I be reading the next one when it comes out? Yes, but only because it seems like a shame to leave it on a cliffhanger after so much of a time investment reading all the other books.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed and I have yet to finish it! March 16, 2011

By Chickmunk51

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I received it through my kindle and I have yet to finish it. It seems like it's not even the same writer from the first original books. None of the characters are the same, and no one can say "they matured". I am going to finish it just beacause I purchased it anwant to see how OFF the chart she is going to take this story. I have loved L.J. Smith since I was a kid and its disappointing the way the story of Elena & the crew are going. Sorry! L.J.!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Some good, some bad.... March 23, 2011

By Henslb24

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I have read all of the Vampire Diaries books and was anxiously awaiting this one as well. I am a huge Damon fan. I feel that he has a lot more charisma than Stephan. To me, Stephan is boring. That being said, I obviously want Damon and Elena together. Unfortunately, I do not understand why the author finds it ok to make Elena find it acceptable to have both Damon and Stephan. She needs to choose. The fact that she doesn't and seems to think she can have them both makes her seem so selfish and unlikeable to me. Many good stories involve heartbreak, and I know many of you are Stephan fans, but sometimes the good guy doesn't get the girl. I feel like this book was just "ok." It held my attention enough to get me to the end, where I must admit, I cried like a little girl. I won't reveal what happens to those who haven't read it. However, I will say I am very unhappy with the ending. It gives this HUGE cliffhanger. I know LJ Smith will no longer be writing any Vampire Diaries books, but I do hope that someone continues to tie up the loose ends. The ending of this book gave no clarification as to what is going to happen next and it leaves all of the characters in limbo. If you think there will be a solid ending, guess again.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Why would you do that? March 16, 2011

By R. L. Oliver

Format:Hardcover

I have read and loved LJ's books for years, long before the television series was conceived, and I have to say, she's lost touch with her characters. Elena has become even more flighty and fickle and, sadly, stupid. At times, Bonnie and Elena are written exactly the same way. I don't know if it's the amount of time that passes between the writings of each book, but you'd swear she forgot where she was going with the last one when she picked up writing this one. She had finally made Elena and Damon seem as if they were going to reach that point of deciding whether to become a real couple and then leaving him a human with all of a human's vulnerabilities, but she picks this one up, drops off Damon, a suddenly one-dimensional Damon, though he has always been by far the most interesting character in the series, and makes Elena and Stefan all lovey-dovey and boring again. I knew with enough certainty and dread what was going to happen to poor Damon as they made their journey to the Nether World. She brought in just similar enough descriptions from her past series with tragic love triangles to make me want to weep for Damon.
The action throughout the story is jumpy, for lack of a better word to describe it. You read it because a plotline is necessary but the kitsune seem just silly in this book and the things with Meredith are almost like pleas to the readers, "C'mon, guys, I have to have something to include in the next book, though I obviously hadn't intended to drag things out this far." Hopefully in the next one she will have come to the conclusion that Damon wins the brother competition by simply being interesting.... Stefan has always been good, gentle Stefan, and maybe ideally good guys win in the end, but I'm going to place my bets on the one the writer took the time getting to know and giving a personality to. Hopefully she will too and give Elena and Damon the fit ending they've been waiting for so she can pick up her next project that, god-willing, won't include angels or their wings. Read more ›

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Worth a read, so long as you don't expect much... March 26, 2011

By Dainz

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I recently started reading the Vampire Diaries series a few years ago, and was immediately hooked after the first few books. It appears, since then, the series has been following a slow nosedive, inevitably crash landing with the release of this last book.

I am not sure what the situation is with the author (whether or not she was pressured by her publisher to continue), but she appears to have lost all creativity and care for the continuance of her characters, which seemed so real and likable when the story first started. I am finding Elena to be insufferable, Bonnie to be useless, and Meredith's entire storyline to be pointless; three characters I used to enjoy reading about. I will not even get into the sloppy transitions throughout the story, the pointless sub-plots (i.e. Caroline's pregnancy, Damon's stint as a human), or the horrible grammar and spelling, especially during one of the last crucial lines in the book!

Read the book if you would like a little bit of amusement and have followed the others in the series, but I would no longer recommend this to anyone looking to start a new vampire series from the beginning. I wish I would have stopped reading the series after the originals came out; the memories of the characters would have been more pleasant.