The Vampire Diaries: Stefan’s Diaries: #3 The Craving

Finally I get the book, the final installment in the TVD tie-in series Stefan’s Diaries #3 The Craving. You definitely can’t pass it up.

Here is how the summary goes like:

Blood brothers …After his brother, Damon Salvatore, betrays him in New Orleans, Stefan starts over in Manhattan. Vowing never to harm another human, he roams the streets, trying to disappear into the city’s chaos. But just when he thinks he’s left his past behind, Stefan discovers that he can never escape his brother. Damon has grand plans for the vampire Salvatore brothers—whether Stefan likes it or not. Together, they take New York by storm. When their exploits end up on the society pages, an old enemy resurfaces—one hell-bent on revenge. Based on the popular CW TV show inspired by the bestselling novels, Stefan’s Diaries reveals the truth about what really happened between Stefan, Damon, and Katherine—and how the Vampire Diaries love triangle began.


Again I remind you all that although the book cover mentions L.J. Smith, Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec but their is no concrete authors mention a.k.a a ‘ghost writer’. Enough about the ghost writer lets see what we can discuss about the book without giving out any spoilers.

After the disastrous events of the #2 Bloodlust where Stefan literally “tears-out” through New Orleans and Damon not wanting to have any part of this new life but ultimately the tables turn and viola we get the Stefan and Damon that we see today on the tv series. Stefan has embraced his new life and with renewed hope starts out in the ‘big apple’, more specifically Manhattan, New York. Trying to control that bloodlust by hunting small animals in the central park where he has made his home.

When he stumbled upon a blood-ridden young girl out in Central Park, where after saving her he brings her to her house for safety. What might have been seen as a good deed by a young man turns into something quite differently. Stefan soon finds himself getting involved in this girl’s family whether he likes it or not, and he did because he yearned for some company and a sense of family.

The longer he seems to be around this new family, Stefan soon discovers that not everything it as it seems, and he comes face to face with Damon, whom has been masquerading himself off as an Italian Count and making mischief around the town. Coincidence? Or is one maybe planning on toying with the other? Stalking the other? They do both end up connected to a high society family - surely that is a coincidence? And as always they end up wondering if they are really each others biggest problems or if they need to play nice with each other — if there are things out there so much bigger and badder they are, so maybe they at least to pretend to be friends again if only long enough to figure out what in the heck is happening around them.

It is clear enough the Damon is all too fond of his younger brother(not!) for making him a vampire. Stefan also knows that he should not have forced his brother to finish his transformation but it also shows that Stefan was the insecure one and was throughly not looking forward to an eternity alone. It is human nature to do things like this we can’t really fault Stefan for that.

Damon and his goals aren’t the only thing they need to worry about, as a new enemy comes to town in search of revenge. This enemy is strong maybe even stronger than the two brothers together. Klaus’s minion. Not the big boss himself. Now this is where the book takes a u-turn from the tv series. In the TV series Damon and Stefan have no knowledge of Klaus or his relationship with Katherine. So why in the book does Klaus send someone after them? It just doesn’t make any sense! If you’re going to have these as companion novels to the TV series then at least get them factually correct!

Another problem the Stefan’s Diaries version which has the brothers born and raised in 1864 Mystic Falls, but then the events that happen both in Mystic Falls and after bear almost no relation to those that occur in the TV series.

I have no problem with books and TV series being different, I love the original Vampire Diaries books and I love the TV series, partly because of the differences. But something like this that just keeps getting things wrong – for example the original meeting between Katherine and Stefan, which was shown so early in the TV series, that the author must have seen it, is just infuriating.

Once you get past that the books are alright. The writing standard has definitely improved and this book is the better of the three. The voice still is very modern, but at least the facts are correct. The plot is much better, the events were much more interesting, and it was a portion of Damon and Stefan’s lives that we’ve known nothing about prior to this.

Genre :      Fiction, Young Adult, Paranormal, Tie-in


Publisher: HarperTeen


Rate:              4/5 (really liked it)