Customer Reviews

The Vampire Diaries: Stefan's Diaries #4: The Ripper

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is book 4 in the STEFAN'S DIARIES series. This series is not penned by LJ SMITH but by 2 other authors. 1 of whom works on the tv series (Julie Plec). Many are and are not fans. They feel it is an insult and sell out to the actual VD series by LJ Smith. I actually love this series & prefer it to TVD by LJ. LJ's books are rather good I just did not "connect" to them. I guess it could be because I watched an entire season on tv BEFORE reading them so Stefans Diaries felt more "real" to me.

It is a light series based on the show itself and it supposed to fill in the gaps. The before Elena years gap. That appealed to me. One thing I love on TVD show is the history flashbacks.

So, in book 4 we have followed Stefan & Damon from human to vampire and every place in between. Stefan has moved to England and is working on a farm. He is on the "bunny diet" as Damon affectionately calls it. He travels into London with his boss one day & decides to look up Damon. Stefan has heard via newspaper of a few grisly murders that he thinks may be connected to Damon.

After a dramatic reunion & Stefan saves a human girl & takes her under his wing (again) the brothers try to figure out who is committing these grisly murders. Stefan believes it could be Damon & is going to stop him before he is caught. He wants to save him. Damon is Damon & while he is flagrantly abusing his "vampire powers" he assures Stefan he is NOT "The Ripper".

A bloody message left on a wall leads Stefan to believe Klaus or another "Original" is after them yet once again.

After a bit of bumbling around the inevitable showdown happens back at the farm Stefan has worked on for over a year.

The ACTUAL "Ripper" is a complete surprise to both of the brothers. Yes, he is a vampire. Lives are lost. Tears are shed. Hands are wrung. Damon swears vengeance. Stefan falls in line.

It was a very fast and entertaining read. If you like the show you will enjoy this series. Some may not like "The Ripper" being turned into a vampire & history twisted to make this happen. If you're not super concerned about that you will further enjoy the twists this story takes and the different view on "Jack the Ripper".

The series does give us insight into the tv characters and their hundred some odd year long contentious relationship. We run into characters from the show that we love & hate and learn more about them. Basically the gaps are filled, in an entertaining way.

Each book in this series gets better and better. This book was full of action, making me read it in one sitting. It does a great job putting more depth in the relationship between Stefan and Damon.

My one complaint is that in places it seems to read like "this happened, and then this happened, and then this happened". More time could be taken to add description and really develop the plot.

The ending was wonderful and the identity of the Ripper was a surprise. I'm eagerly waiting for the fifth installment of this series.

This is not the Ripper you think of from the Vampire Diaries show... Nope, this is THEE ripper. And the brothers are wrapped up in the middle of it. Stefan has made a nice little life for himself outside of London. He knows it cannot last for long, but he'll enjoy it while he can. A trip to London threatens to shatter it all when he finds Damon's alias in the society pages and a horrific murder on the front page. Of course he needs to stick around, find his brother, and save London and the girl he's become fond of from the demon that is his brother - who else could do such a thing but a vampire.

But is it Damon? Or is there another vampire behind it all? An ominous message in blood does point to the fact that someone could be after Damon or Stefan, or both.

The good? If you've been reading the Stefan Diaries, you won't be disappointed. And yes, the brothers do find each other and we get the love / hate scenes between them that we've come to love.

The bad? This really is half of a story. Which I hate, hence the 4 stars instead of 5. As in so much of a cliffhanger that the preview for Stefan's Diaries #5 reads like the next chapter. It truly will just pick up right where this book left off. You might be ahead to wait for the next one and read them together. Also if you're a history buff who doesn't appreciate real life stuff being twisted into fictional stories - well keep in mind, yeah they're turning Jack the Ripper into a vampire storyline here.

This was a Christmas gift for my 13 year old daughter who loves this series. She was totally thrilled with this book and all of the others she received.

First, I want to warn readers up front: the "Stephan's Diary" series is based on The Vampire Diaries television series and is NOT written by L.J. Smith. You should adjust your expectations accordingly because these two factors have a major effect on the story.

That said, I had read L.J. Smith's TVD books long before the TV show premiered, and I was excited when the series was announced. When I watched the show, I was surprised by all the details they changed, but I liked the show anyway--you basically just have to watch it for what it is and forget about making comparisons with the original storyline. The same principle applies to these books. It's a series that's based on a TV show, which is based on another series of books (kinda weird).

The Ripper was pretty entertaining, though I was a little confused about why the two vampires were setting Damon up for the murders--there wasn't really much explanation at the end, especially about whether they had any association with Klause. The book basically ends with a set-up for the next book. If you are invested in the series, it's worth reading.

The cover:

If you didn't know this before, then here you go; this cover is created using the promo photo of season two of the hit TV series The Vampire Diaries . Yep, this is why this cover is gorgeous and I had no idea how beautiful Stefan's eyes are until now .

The storyline:

I am a huge fan of L.J. Smith's writing style although I recently knew that Stefan's Diaries aren't entirely written by her, but I still like it.

I have read the previous 3 books in the series and you can find my review of them on Goodreads .

Anyways, the story begins in a slow pace, everything is cool and Stefan finally has a new life in England with a family who trusts and loves him.

Then, along with Mr. Abbott, the man he works for, Stefan goes to the city side of England, London. While not 5 minutes in London, he hears the news of a serial killer named Jack The Ripper who's killing young girls in London with their throats slit. Of course, the first one he suspects is Damon.

And since we all know Stefan by now, if you read the previous one which you should before getting into this one, he decides to find his brother and stop him. Nothing is simple. He finds a nice girl whose working in a bar and saves her from her mean boss then he hunts Damon down.

When he finds him, things start getting ugly and the real action begins.

To sum things up, the ending is not happy but it is satisfying. If there's anything I adore about these books (Stefan's Diaries) is the way they end, it's amazing!

What I loved:

Things started slow and clean and then very fast we were in action! I love this type of writings and I love how clean her writing is, there's totally no cursing!! <333

The story was just awesome and surprisingly not over explaining things which was cool because it left some part for the imagination ^_^ Although there are parts completely well described and explained which is needed in bloody scenes <3

The characters. All of them, even Samuel.

The mentioning of Klaus!! I can't wait to see him as a full character in a book although I think he was present in this one...

There are only 19 chapters which perfect. I don't think the story would have been better it there were more.

The ending and the epilogue.

What I hated:

Nothing!!!

What I missed from the previous books:

I missed Lexi. I'm a huge fan of hers, she's just a good friend.

The characters:

Stefan: He's been thru a lot and still found a way to be strong and caring. I keep hoping he'll think being a vampire is not a curse because you identify who you are or what you are in this case.

Damon: Oh count DeSangue! I was completely blank in the first few chapters until Damon showed up! He adds this amazing scent and taste to the story. And when reading about him or him saying things, I totally picture Ian Somerhalder and think of how perfectly he suits the role ^_^.

Violet: The poor girl who ended up.... well, you'll have to read to find out what happened to her but let me tell you that she loves Stefan as a friend and she really trusted him. I'm hoping to see her in The Asylum.

Samuel: I'm having mixing thoughts about him, but, could he be Klaus?! He seemed too vengeful for a misunderstanding with Damon.

Favorite quotes:

No matter what came, be it murderer, demon, or Damon, I was ready. - Chapter 2.

I followed her gaze, the sliver of the moon providing just enough light that I could see red letters written on the side of the building, each oxidized character standing out against the muted brick as if it were illuminated from behind by candlelight:

SALVATORE--I SHALL HAVE MY REVENGE. --- Chapter 4.

I heard a rustle coming from the far end of the forest. I whirled around, half-expecting to see Klaus, ready for a fight. Nothing. --- Chapter 6.

"See you in hell," I murmured. To anyone else, it would be a curse. But for me, it was a promise. --- Chapter 14.

But what I also felt was regret, anger, sorrow, and relief. It truly was as if a lifetime were passing before my eyes.

Or rather, both my lifetimes. --- Chapter 18.

We didn't trust each other. We didn't like each other. But we were each other, reflecting our shadow, secret selves in the other's identity. --- Epilogue.

And here is a wonderful quote from The Asylum excerpt:

"They could have run a better picture of me, at the very least. That illustration doesn't do me justice at all," he said sulkily as he settled on the bench next to me and crumpled the paper up into a ball. Excerpt from The Asylum, coming January 17, 2012.

Conclusion:

It was a wonderful read and a great peek at the old Stefan who's now back in the TV series .

My niece was very happy with this book. We gave it to her as part of her Christmas gift. Seller was timely on delivery as the book was described on Amazon. Will use again in the future as the need arises.

The Vampire Diaries Books are easy to read and very descriptive. You can picture everything that you read in this book and all the other Vampire Diaries books. Awesome.

I love Stefan and the show so this really helps me love it even more! Great connection to the show! Awesome!

Stefan moves to England and gets a job on a farm surviving on the blood of animals until he takes a train trip to London when the first Jack the Ripper victim appears, he suspects it to be the work of a vampire as he investigates the murder he meets Damon who is posing as an Italian Count living the high life. Another good read, easy to follow, plenty of description.