Moonsong

The Vampire Diaries: The Hunters #2

by L.J. Smith

Life is better than ever, Elena and her friends can't wait to attend Dalcrest College. But when students start to disappear from campus, suddenly every new acquaintance is a potential enemy. Then Elena uncovers a long-hidden secret, one that shocks her to the core, she realises that darkness has followed her from Fell's Church. But will it be Stefan or Damon who catches her when she falls?

Genres: Vampires, Fantasy, Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance, Supernatural, Fiction

379 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2011

About the author

Smith was born in Villa Park, Orange County, California. In interviews, she has said she realized she wanted to be a writer sometime between kindergarten and first grade, “when a teacher praised a horrible poem I’d written”, and began writing in earnest in elementary school. Smith received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Experimental Psychology from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1987, followed by teaching credentials in Elementary education and Special education from San Francisco State University.

She taught kindergarten and special education for several years before becoming a full-time writer. Her first book, The Night of the Solstice, was published by MacMillan in 1987, followed by, Heart of Valor in 1990, and the 4-volume Vampire Diaries series in 1991-2. Three trilogies followed: The Secret Circle (1992), The Forbidden Game (1994), and Dark Visions (1995). The first installment of her popular Night World series was published in 1996, followed by eight more over the next two years. In 1998, Smith began a decade-long hiatus from writing, returning in 2008 with a new Web site and a series of new short stories. The Vampire Diaries series was reissued in 2007, followed by re-printings of The Secret Circle trilogy and Night World series in 2008/2009. The Night of the Solstice and Heart of Valor was also reissued in 2008. Three new Vampire Diaries installments were published in 2009 and 2010.

Smith lived in the San Francisco Bay area “with one dog, three cats, and about ten thousand books.”

She passed away on March 8th, 2025, after a lengthy illness.

Reviews

[Heatherv · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bottom line Stefan is such a cock-blocker......Gosh I wish Elena would just choose Damon bc the Stefan route just does not make for good reading.

[Gavin Hetherington · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read all 13 Vampire Diaries books for a video project and I'm team burn the entire boxset. Check out my thoughts on the series on YouTube: https://youtu.be/nLU4l-qJX8o

[Majanka]

I give this book zero ratings.

Seriously, ghost writer, you suck. And I don't say this often about books or writers, but you do. Maybe LJ Smith's writing wasn't always up to par but you CAN'T write. Why the publisher ever decided to hire a ghostwriter for The Hunters series is beyond me.

The characters are as lifeless as ever, if not even more. They have no soul, no personality. I've always considered Elena as a vain, ignorant, selfish, spoiled brat, but now she's not even that anymore. Heck, I rather have characters I HATE than characters who make Bella Swan look like the best character since the invention of writing. And what's worse is that, when LJ Smith still wrote these books, I at least got to enjoy the other characters. Damon with his intriguing personality, bad boy persona and seductive looks and Stefan with his brooding, careful personality. Now? Don't make me get started.

Stefan is boring. Even if I still liked him somewhat before, at this point I hate him. He's even more boring than spending three days watching reruns of the same TV shows. He has no more personality, the words to describe him are even more generic than before, and his love for Elena? Oh my god. Seriously? Does anyone still believe love can be like that? He's not in love with Elena, at least not according to this book. It's worse. It's like love is the sole reason for his existence. Elena cheats on him with Damon? Who cares! She's the woman of his life! He LOVES her.

Oh for crying out loud. Oh sure, he's upset at first, but this soon changes, and he forgives both Damon and Elena. And meanwhile, Damon just stands there doing nothing and being totally UNLIKE Damon. Even if he slightly changed in the later books, that doesn't mean that he would just stand there and do nothing if his one chance at being together with Elena was ripped straight from under his nose! Why would ANYONE just stand there and do nothing?

Usually Damon makes these books for me. Cocky, arrogant, but oh so very charming, he's the ultimate bad boy gone good. But in this book? He's just as clueless as the rest of them. Everyone knows that one of Damon's personality traits is that he figures out stuff before all the others do. Well, not in this case. Although the mystery is BLOODY obvious from page one, our main characters only figure it out by the end of the book because they're STUPID, IGNORANT and ANNOYING.

Seriously. Pick up the book. Tell me at exactly what point you figured out who was behind the campus kidnappings and disappearings.

That's right. VERY, VERY SOON. You'd probably have to be high on coke not to notice the villains as soon as they're introduced. The only good news is that Bonnie gets a boyfriend. But something's off about him, go figure. Try to think of what could possible be wrong with Bonnie's boyfriend.

Spoiler alert for those who don't want to know.

Did you guess...werewolf? You're RIGHT. I guessed it right from the start as well. Bonnie's new boyfriend is a werewolf. Wow. I really didn't see that one coming. *eyeroll*

The plot itself is non existent. Elena and her gang of puppies go to university for some reason unbeknown to me. Considering they spend all their time fighting the supernatural, I was thinking they could put that as career path. Or they could just die. In any case, they end up at university. Elena, Meredith and Bonnie share a room because they're BFFs and Elena's boyfriend knows some tricks such as mind control. Unfortunately though, people start disappearing from campus, or getting terribly hurt.

Note that this happens on day one. A person is attacked on the very FIRST day our idiots arrive at campus. How very convenient to get into the action right away.

Matt ends up sharing a room with a guy who...can you guess it? Nope, he's not gay. He...SPOILER ALERT...dies. Yep. That was my second guess as well, but trust me, once you've started on the book, you'll notice this from the first chapter you meet Matt's room mate.

Damon, whose too cool to hang around campus, gets an appartment, where he spends virtually no time whatsoever except one very awkward date with Elena. And if I say awkward, then I mean that these characters have no chemistry whatsoever left, courtesy of our infamous ghostwriter. Way to grab two characters, turn them upside down and beat them until they have the personality of a cardboard figure.

Meredith misses Alaric, Stefan is brooding and moody and does absolutely nothing besides that. Bonnie hangs out with her boyfriend and his awkward and way too touchy friends. Elena contemplates whether she should date Stefan or Damon. So basically, it's the usual business. Except all characters have been stripped of every interesting trait they ever had, and Elena is now the dumbest cow in the entire universe.

Now hear me out. Elena tells Stefan that she's breaking up with him so that she can explore her feelings for both of them, and then decide whether she loves Stefan or Damon. Meanwhile she stops seeing Stefan, but she does occassionally hang out with Damon, which makes Stefan angry. Then she makes out with Damon a couple of times, but ends up choosing Stefan because he's her true love. When she does so, Damon just stands there and Stefan takes her back because hey - true love survives everything, including cheating on you with your own brother.

The plot itself is laughable. The reason why people disappear or end up dead is simple. Some wacko idiot has decided to...SPOILER ALERT...resurrect Klaus.

What! NO :O OH MY GOD.

Yes. Stupidest plot ever. I saw this one coming from miles away.

I could go on. And on. But please; save yourself these two or more precious hours on your life and DON'T read this book. These books weren't high-standing quality material when LJ Smith still wrote them, but now they're being written by a ghost writer, they're terrilbe.

0 stars. You stole 2 hours of my life which I will never get back, you stupid, inspirationless, plotless book.

Seriously, either find a better ghostwriter or just stop wasting time on these books.

[Christina · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is an abomination! Another Vampire Diaries book not written by L. J. Smith. There is no way I would support this book. All Alloy cares about is money, not making good books and not giving the fans what they want. Not only am I not reading this book, I'll never read any book packaged by Alloy.

[PinkyMingo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am not a fan of this ghostwriter. Like the previous book to this, I am not impressed. The way this (and the previous) book is writen is just a little boring, and she/he focuses WAY too much on "dear, sweet, beautiful Stefan. Oh, sweet Stefan, my only love." And EVERY time Damon opens his mouth to Elena it's princess or darling or my love. This writer is not focused enough on the actual storyline. When Elena kissed Damon and was caught by Stefan - Stefan's reaction was WAY out of character! The writer just needed something to push Elena back to Stefan. For me, I could put this book down in mid sentance at any part of this book and not pick it back up. The calibur is NO WHERE NEAR LJ Smith! I'm finishing the book because I want to know what happens and see how everything turns out but I know it will be different than what LJ Smith had planned for the end of the series.

It doesn't matter to me who Elena ends up with. But I just FEEL like she is a better match with Damon. LJ Smith wanted to write the end of the series with Elena and Damon together and I don't know why Harper-Collins is so intent on keeping Stefan and Elena together...??? Do they think people will not continue to read the series if she ends up with Damon? That is a stupid assumption, they obviously don't know their fan base.

Anyway, I am going to finish the series with a bitter taste in my mouth with what this UNTALENTED ghostwriter has done with LJ's beloved characters.

[Pepca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is just like a family. It drives me crazy, it annoys me, I see all its faults, and I still LOVE it. I could write either a mean review of Moonsong, or go all fangirlish. Or I can do both.

Read full review on my blog, Beyond Strange New Words.

Moonsong is a typical middle book of a trilogy, continuing where Phantom left off and laying an intriguing basis for Destiny Rising. Even though this series seems to be getting long, it still interests me. As long as there is Damon in it – and he is relatively happy while staying true to his character – I’m going to keep reading it.

[Shaikha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is crushing my Delena hopes.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moonsong #9 TVD
3 stars

[Daylighter · Rating 1 out of 5]

I won't read any of the ghostwritten books for The Secret Circle series or The Hunters series. By giving a 1 star to these books, I'm showing my dislike for Alloy Entertainment & HarperCollins for firing L.J. Smith. They are not allowing her to write her books the way she wanted, because they only care about what sells and don't have any respect for story telling at all. I personally am a Stelena fan, but just cause I want a story to be one way doesn't mean it should be. They're not mine or anyone other than L.J. Smith's stories to tell anyways.

For those who don't know what I'm talking about, here's the letter L.J. Smith wrote herself to her fans regarding the issue.

"Hi —

Thank you so very much for your kind words about Midnight. I’m so glad
you’re enjoying it, and if you already know that Damon says those three
little words to Elena, then I expect you know what she does for him
afterwards. I can’t say how much I appreciate your understanding of the
book, but at the same time my heart is so heavy that I just can’t keep
pretending about what’s in the future for Delena fans.

You see, I’ve been fired from The Vampire Diaries—mainly because instead of giving my publishers the strict Stelana they demanded, I went ahead and wrote what my heart told me to do. They wanted Elena to “realize that she was fond of or physically attracted to Damon, but that her one true love was Stefan.” But I didn’t see the series that way. And so Midnight is the last Vampire Diaries book you’ll see by L. J. Smith.

You’re probably wondering how this can happen, since I write the series and have done so since 1990. But the truth is simple. When I got a call asking me to write a vampire trilogy for Harper, it wasn’t Harper who was calling me. It was a book packager, now called Alloy Entertainment, calling on Harper’s behalf. Their job was to take authors’ work, put blurbs and covers on it, and sell it to a publisher. When I wrote the first Vampire Diaries trilogy it was called “work for hire.” By the time I found out what that meant it was too late.

What it means is that the book packager, Alloy Entertainment, owns the
books, not me. Even though they are copyrighted to me, I still can’t write them without Alloy’s permission. And they really hated any Delena
content—as well as the many scenes I had given to Bonnie, which they wanted to cut. They demanded only Stelena. And now they’ve gotten an anonymous ghostwriter to do the books, the way a ghostwriter does Stefan’s Diaries.

The first book out after Midnight will probably sound something like my
writing, since I wrote Phantom for them. But instead of edits, what I got back after I wrote it was a letter addressed to the ghostwriter by name, telling her to completely rewrite the book.

I have been fighting, coaxing, and pleading with the people at both Alloy and Harper, as I already had the next two books after Phantom mapped out. But there is nothing to be done. They simply didn’t like the way the series was going, and unlike most writers who work with book packagers, I was not submissive, meek, and eager to please them. Instead, I had my own vision of the books. But you can kiss any more truly meaningful Delena moments goodbye, because I’m afraid it just isn’t the view of Harper or Alloy.

Meanwhile, I am devastated. Of course I have other series done directly
with a publisher: The Forbidden Game, Dark Visions, and the Night World
books. But I put so much of myself into the Vampire Diaries books that
right now I’m devastated. I never imagined anything like this could happen. But still, I can’t say that I regret having written Shadow Souls or Midnight the way I did. I wrote what I did because that was the vision I saw of the characters.

I’m just sorry that from now on Delena readers will have no hope of anything other than a Stelena endgame, and that written by someone who will do exactly what she is told.

Lisa
L. J. Smith"

[Zemira Warner]

This cover is SO crappy,oh pardon me,creepy.

[Luke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Life is better than ever, Elena and her friends can't wait to attend Dalcrest College. But when students start to disappear from campus, suddenly every new acquaintance is a potential enemy. Then Elena uncovers a long-hidden secret, one that shocks her to the core, she realizes that darkness has followed her from Fell's Church. But will it be Stefan or Damon who catches her when she falls?

Moonsong is my least favourite Vampire Diaries novel. For some reason, I didn't enjoy it as much as the first eight books. The ghostwriter did great in Phantom. But this one, she didn't do great. I didn't hate it. Plus, I must say that the person on the cover is ugly.

[Lila · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Zander, after all, even if he came off a bit weird in the beginning. He's actually the biggest reason this book gets a higher rating. But the rest, honestly, it's so tiring and depressing and morose. I'm genuinely wondering who loves this series.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was much better than the previous one. I loved how the supporting characters were given their own interesting storylines which were not only intense but also crucial to the overall plot and resolution. ***Spoilers Alert*** Matt and Chloe was awesome. I loved how Matt was able to move on from Elena. All along Matt has loved Elena, she is a part of him, a part of his past and she was all he really knew about love. Then comes along Chloe and love opens its doors again in Matt’s heart. The anxiety, fear, and awkwardness he felt for Chloe was fresh and new. I was cheering for them all along. Hopefully she will make it as a vampire. Bonnie and Zander my favorite couple this whole book. Bonnie is one is is well overdue for love. She wants a HEA so badly and I think she is finally on her own path with Zander. Then to top it all off, is a werewolf. How sexy! I can’t wait till the next book maybe they will go all the way. Saving the best for last, I must say that the trio (Stefan, Damon and Elena) didn’t disappoint too badly. Elena made some very good decisions; I just wish Damon would have upheld his part of the plan. I just don’t get why it is so hard to make a choice. It is so obvious that she will ultimately be without neither of them in some way or the other. Also I am glad that Elena found out she was suppose to be a Guardian. Maybe now she can give up trying to be a normal teenage girl. As a group, I think it is when they pretend to normal that everything abnormal happens. I am really looking forward to the final book in this series .It has truly been a long road and I am anxious to see how it ends. If she doesn’t make a choice, I will just die!

[tiberius · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yet another book not written by L.J Smith and I am definitely NOT a fan of the ghostwriter. He/she's writing style is horrible. I felt the story could have been so much better because the plot was amazing!

I loved that *spoiler alert* Bonnie had gotten herself a boyfriend, who also happens to be a werewolf.
And that Meredith had become such a kickass awesome fighter.
But Elena I disliked. She was a whiny drama queen, who couldn't make her mind up about the two brothers. It felt as if Elena was a different person than who she was in the Vampire Diaries that L.J Smith wrote.
Overall I thought the story could've been MUCH better if Elena wasn't so annoying. And the ending just ruined it. I had lots of problems with the ending *spoiler alert* Elena was meant to end up with Damon. Damon was meant to be happy! It was meant to end with Damon and Elena NOT Stefan and Elena.

[Aurora · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘Maanlied’ is een hele verbetering ten opzichte van de voorgaande delen in deze serie. Het is een opluchting dat de hele ‘Elena is het meest fantastische meisje op aarde’ shitzooi eindelijk tot een halt is geroepen. Natuurlijk zal dit onderhuids nog spelen, maar we hoeven ons tenminste niet meer door lange passages over haar uitzonderlijke geweldigheid heen te worstelen. F-i-n-a-l-l-y. Elena is het minst interessante karakter in deze hele reeks! Daarom ook heel fijn dat we in ‘Maanlied’ veel meer mee krijgen van de andere personages, dit maakt het verhaal een stuk boeiender om te volgen. Het boek leest lekker weg, het mysterie houdt je geprikkeld en zit goed in elkaar, en het maakt dat je zin hebt om lekker door te lezen.

[TwinsLoveBooks · Rating 1 out of 5]

Man hätte die Reihe nach dem 6. Band einfach beenden sollen. Wenn Elenas Perspektive kam habe gerade mal ein paar Stichwörter überflogen... Ich kann mir diese Dreiecksbeziehung einfach nicht mehr geben so wie in der Serie. Bin ich frohe, dass es noch andere Leute gibt wie Caroline, Matt, Alaric etc.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fast paced easy read; The Vampire Diaries sequel continues quite successfully. The mystery unfolds gradually and the plot twists keep the reader immersed till the end of the novel. Very vivid, feels like watching rather than reading at times. Even though it is a gothic teen novel, it is very satisfactory for its genre .

[Γιώτα Παπαδημακοπούλου · Rating 3 out of 5]

Πριν από λίγες ημέρες σας είχαμε παρουσιάσει το 8ο βιβλίο της σειράς "Vampire Diaries" το οποίο, όπως σας είχαμε ενημερώσει, είναι το πρώτο του franchise που φέρει την υπογραφή Ghostwriter, αφού η Smith χώρισε τα τσανάκια της με τον εκδοτικό, στον οποίο παρέμειναν ωστόσο τα δικαιώματα της σειράς εφόσον η ιδέα του όλου concept ήταν δική του και γράφτηκε κατά παραγγελία. Αυτό, λοιπόν, που θα έπρεπε να κάνει ένας συγγραφέας σε ανάλογη περίπτωση -άσχετα από το αν το όνομά του θα δημοσιοποιούνταν ή όχι- θα ήταν, σε πρώτη φάση, το να φροντίσει να φέρει την υπάρχουσα ιστορία στα δικά του μέτρα έτσι ώστε να αρχίσει να την χτίζει από την αρχή, όχι αλλοιώνοντας τα όσα έχουμε ήδη δει, αλλά μεταμορφώντάς τα έτσι ώστε αυτά να οδηγηθούν σε μια νέα εποχή. Και στην προκειμένη περίπτωση, η προσπάθεια, είναι κάτι παραπάνω από πετυχημένη.

Η Έλενα και το παρεάκι της, αφού επέστρεψαν στην πόλη τους μετά τα όσα έζησαν στην Σκοτεινή Διάσταση, χρειάστηκε να αντιμετωπίσουν έναν ακόμα παράξενο εχθρό, πριν να επιστρέψουν και πάλι στην καθημερινότητά τους. Ή τουλάχιστον, αυτό προσπαθούν να κάνουν, εφόσον πιστεύουν πως όλα έχουν τελειώσει και η φοιτητική τους ζωή απλώνεται μπροστά τους γεμάτη υποσχέσεις και όνειρα που λαχταρούν να κυνηγήσουν. Όμως, φυσικά, στη δική τους περίπτωση τίποτα δεν μπορεί να είναι φυσιολογικό και τα προβλήματα αρχίζουν γι' αυτούς και πάλι, με μια σειρά εξαφανισμένων φοιτητών ν΄αναστατώνει το πανεπιστήμιο αλλά και τις ζωές τους, για ακόμα μία φορά. Και μέσα σ' όλα αυτά, η Έλενα έχει να αντιμετωπίσει την ίδια της τη μοίρα που αν δεν καταφέρει να της επιβληθεί μπορεί να οδηγήσει σε μια τραγωδία μεγαλύτερη απ' όλες όσες έχουν ζήσει.

Για να μην παρεξηγηθώ, σε σχέση με όσα ανέφεραν στο πρόσφατο παρελθόν και με όσα θα πω στην συνέχεια, ας ξεκαθαρίσω κάτι. Η Smith, για την εποχή που έγραψε τα συγκεκριμένα βιβλία, έκανε πολύ καλή δουλειά. Μας αρέσει ή όχι, πρέπει πάντα να λαμβάνουμε όλους τους παράγοντες, ακόμα και τους χρονολογικούς, υπόψιν μας, ειδικά όταν μιλάμε για βιβλία που η λογοτεχνική τους αξία είναι εύκολο να αμφισβητηθεί εξαιτίας του είδους στο οποίο υπάγονται. Σαφέστατα και δεν μιλάμε για λογοτεχνία υψηλής κλάσης, αλλά δεν γράφτηκε για να ικανοποιήσει τους ανθρώπους της "υψηλής διανόησης", παρά εφήβους της δεκαετίας του '90. Τέλος πάντων, όπως και να 'χει, ήταν κάτι που θεώρησα πως έπρεπε να αναφερθεί, καθότι έχει συζητηθεί πολλές φορές σε πολλές σχετικές αναρτήσεις. Αν αναλογιστούμε, λοιπόν, όλα τα παραπάνω, είναι φυσικό τα κείμενα της Smith να είναι λιγότερο προτιμητέα σε σχέση με αυτά του Ghostwriter.

Αυτό που οφείλω να αναγνωρίσω για ακόμα μία φορά είναι το ότι οι συγκεκριμένες συνέχειες είναι πιο καλογραμμένες, σε σχέση πάντα με τα βιβλία της Smith. Αυτό υποθέτω πως οφείλεται στην διαφορά εποχής όπου γράφτηκαν, κάτι που ανέφερα και παραπάνω. Τα βιβλία της σειράς των "Κυνηγών" είναι πιο μεστά, πιο ώριμα, λιγότερα φλύαρα, στοχεύοντας στην ουσία των πραγμάτων χωρίς να αναλώνονται, ούτε η ιστορία ούτε οι ήρωες, σε ανώφελες καταστάσεις που δεν βγάζουν κανένα νόημα ή που απλά βοηθάνε το κείμενο στο να ξεχειλώσει και να "κλέψει" σελίδες. Δεν υπάρχει ανάγκη για κάτι τέτοιο αφού, τελικά, το αποτέλεσμα καταφέρνει να σε ικαν��ποιήσει, μοιράζοντας ισορροπημένα την αφήγηση ανάμεσα στην δράση και την περιπέτεια, με το χτίσιμο της αρχής του φινάλε της ιστορίας αυτής, αλλά και την ψυχογραφική προσέγγιση, ανάλυση και αποτύπωση των χαρακτήρων.

Ξέρω πως αρκετοί φίλοι, όταν έμαθαν πως η σειρά φέρει την υπογραφή Ghostwriter και όχι της Smith, δίστασαν σχετικά με το αν έπρεπε να την συνεχίσουν ή όχι. Δεν ξέρω αν η δικιά μου γνώμη μετράει, αλλά αν την θέλετε, μόνο να σας παροτρύνω να την συνεχίσετε, μπορώ. Προσωπικά, βρήκα τα βιβλία αυτά πιο ενήλικα, πιο μεστά, πιο ώριμα, λιγότερο κουραστικά και κατ' επέκτασιν, περισσότερο απολαυστικά ως προς την ανάγνωσή τους. Παράλληλα, θεωρώ πως το concept τους είναι πολύ πιο ενδιαφέρον και ουσιώδες, θέλοντας πραγματικά να καταλήξει κάπου, θέτοντας σοβαρά ��ητήματα και προβλήματα στο δρόμο των πρωταγωνιστών, κι όχι μπερδεμένες καταστάσεις απλά και μόνο για να μπορέσουμε να βγάλουμε ακόμα μία συνέχεια.

[Rianne]

wtf? another one?!?! it's way past the point of;this series sucks, they destroyed it by making books past 4, now it's more like this is just sad, is it just about the income now or does the ghost writer actually think She made such an amazing series that she has an excuse to write like 20 of them? it's really pathetic :P and, might i just say, the cover looks like shit. kay thats all.

[keikii Eats Books · Rating 1 out of 5]

To read more reviews in this series and others, check out keikii eats books!

14 points/100 (¾ stars/5)
Warning: Cliffhanger (Status: Jesus wept, seriously?)

Elena, Stefan, and the rest of the crew are off to the local college to start new lives. When they get there, they find it isn't all they were expecting. There is death and disappearance everywhere.

Yes, you read that right. Not even a full star.

This is the second book that is released by a ghostwriter for L.J. Smith and the first full book written by one, and it really shows. This is a completely generic "going to college" story set in a world with supernatural beings. The personalities already established for every single character was ripped out and replaced with something useless. There are actually times when I wasn't certain I hadn't seen this book as a Buffy episode.

In fact, this book is exactly like the book embodiment of the "Beer Bad" episode of Buffy the Vampire slayer. I don't mean the story, exactly, though there are definitely elements of that episode in this book. No, what I'm talking about is that Beer Bad and Moonsong are both stories about a girl who is just going away to college, a girl who is seeped in the supernatural world, and just wants to be normal. She wants to be normal, but every time she turns around, there is a new supernatural bad thing to deal with and she just wants to go crazy from it all. They are also both the worst in the lot. Beer Bad is infamously bad, and in the 5 or so times I've watched Buffy through, I've only seen it once. If I were to ever reread this series (and I probably never will), I would skip this book without any problems.



To start with: the story. It is truly an incredibly generic story where someone goes off to college. We have the fear and the excitement, and the not really fitting in. We have the old and new friends, and the distancing between friends. We have it all. Only, because this is a supernatural world, apparently the college is also ground zero for the worst mass murdering spree in the history of this world. I lost track of how many students went missing and were killed during the course of this book. Probably at least two dozen. In a month. This story doesn't work at all on that simple fact, because if that many people disappear or are killed on the college campus, things would be shut the fuck down quickly in the real world.

It doesn't make any sense. Even worse, it is utterly predictable even from the very beginning. I was impressed by the last book because of how subtle it was, even though I could see what it was doing. This book has all the subtlety of a jackhammer.

More to the point, though, the people: Every single person in this book has had their personalities from the previous books completely removed and replaced with air. Not a single character acts the way they used to. Hell, most of them don't even do the same things they used to. For example, Bonnie doesn't even really use her psychic powers at all in Moonsong. Damon is only a shadow of himself: the complete opposite of everything that made him Damon, made him good. It is disgusting how he has changed between the last series and this one. You might as well have just called him something else and introduced him as a new character for Elena to love. Not this horrifying mess.

Which brings me to Elena, Stefan, and Damon's relationship. This is the worst thing about this book. The one thing about the Vampire Diaries, the ONE THING about it that people could all agree on that would never change would be Stefan and Elena's relationship. And whoever ghostwrote this shit all over that relationship. It was the worst 180 I've ever seen. Nothing was written like it would have been before. I've been actually really happy with the way their relationship was going before this book. I hate love triangles that pit the three people against one another. The way this has been going, I've actually been really excited for what looked like a true love trio. Then the ghostwriter decided things were going too well, and in the middle of the book, after the slightest provocation (after everything they have gone through together, that little disappointment on behalf of the boys for her liking both of them would not have done this), she broke up with them both and ran away. What??? Every single absolute thing I know about every single one of these characters tells me that this would never happen in a million years. So why did this happen? It is the worst.

That isn't even to talk about the rest of the characters. Randomly, even though everyone has different plans, they decide to make it so that everyone stays in the area and goes to the same college, even though it means really limiting their futures. From Kent State on a football scholarship, from Harvard to no-name local school? Gimme a break. If you are a teenager and reading this review, and anyone tries to talk you out of going to the college of your dreams, to not do the things you want to do just so you can stay together as a friend group or boyfriend/girlfriend: don't listen to them. If there are other important circumstances, sure. But not to stick together as a group. Especially if it means turning down Harvard. This is so irresponsible of the ghostwriter.

Also, everyone who doesn't already have someone to love gets someone to love. Only that isn't the whole case. Those new people are all weird and have weird things going on with them. Everyone has to be special. And also all their personalities are changed so this can all happen. "Oh no, this poor person, without someone to love, better give them the weirdest options that they never would choose for themselves. That'll make them happy". Yuck.

This was just a dreadful book to read. Everything that made The Vampire Diaries the Vampire Diaries was stripped out and replaced with nothing special. I'm really upset. This wasn't my favourite series. I was only moderately enjoying myself reading these. Yet, I'm still upset. I had hoped for more.

[Vanessa Kiara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well I certainly like the books by the ghostwriter better.
I still hate Elena, even more after her cheating on Stefan, this time while claiming to distance herself from both Salvatores and then being like "ah, he will forgive me, when I said sorry, because we belong together", like excuse you? I know it won't happen but I do wish that Stefan would just break up and do better.
Also how are Meredith's parents all cold and enmotionless all of a sudden? Seeing her being a hunter as her biggest responsibilty, while they chose to not raise her as that? Or the fact that Damon isn't of Klaus' bloodline anymore but it being a part of bringing Klaus back and maybe Ethan didn't know but Stefan definitely was concerned and he does/should know.

Well this was still one of the better books, I love that Bonnie finally found someone, although I wish she hadn’t forgiven Elena and Meredith so soon, she could have talked to them and all and still hold her ground. Meredith's storyline is pretty weird now and confusing, because of the fact that she wasn't raised a hunter and all but the story sometimes behaves like she was. The Vitale Society thing was interesting but I kinda knew that they had something to do with the murders, I just didn't think they would be vampires.
But the first bit of the book wasn't that intriguing.
Anyways, I guess I am asking myself how the Klaus thing will turn out? I still can't say I am excited for anything because it's the 9th book, it's four more to go and I am just tired, for me to be excited this should have been interesting from the start and should just make sense.


Unrelated to this specific book:
Why does the internet keep saying that Bonnie and Damon were together at some point?
Why does the appearance of the characters sometimes just change?
What's up with Tyler and Caroline? I don't really care for them but this is still a plot hole.

[Isabella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alright so I liked them all being together in college and I loved that Bonnie finally found someone. I like how they all went to the same college but I was disappointed in Matt but I feel like he is back with them now. Also, the whole Damon Stefan thing is so confusing but I am glad that Elena has finally made up her mind. Go Stefan!! But I am so sad that Damon is so depressed. What is in store now?

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was okay, although Elena was still a bit daft at times. Breaking up with both Stefan and Damon, and then getting caught snogging Damon? How does she expect Stefan to react? I know she loves both of them, but really, she should make a choice and stick with it.
Also, how was Stefan able to overpower the other vampires so easily? Okay, he's old, but he lives on tiny amounts of blood from pigeons and squirrels, that doesn't sound like much compared to vampires who are drinking human blood.

[the_booksdreamer · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️

Non posso crederci, finalmente un libro fatto bene!
Porca miseria!

Allora c'è sta continua indecisione di Elena che ha decisamente stancato, ma per il resto! Finalmente si approfondiscono i personaggi, tutti come si deve, anche i secondare. Finalmente la trama non è banale, finalmente abbiamo dei colpi di scena!

Che goduriaaaaaaa!

Adesso sono curiosissima di leggere i successivi👀

[MaHfEr · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 TEA: so apparently L. J Smith was fired and did not write the last 6 books of the series. That’s why the last one seem worse :/
And omg Elena is sooooo egoistic ugh. I take it back what I said about Bonnie being the most annoying now

[Kaylee Carey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just when you think the characters are safe, they aren’t. And it just keeps going. It is kind of redundant as this point. It is still a book with a plot and character connections, but not a 5 star read.

[Krisi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Always with the touchy, feely endings... yuck! Oh! But wait!! A twist....muwah hahaha!!!

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ghost writer ily 😁❤️

[Tiffany Spencer]

Moonsong
Elena is going away to college. Bonnie and Meredith will be her roommates. S Stephane, Matt, and Damion will be there too. Once there, Bonnie shops for supplies and thinks about how it’s her chance to step out from Meredith’s and Elena’s shadow. She’s bumped into by XSander (a gorgeous guy) who’s fooling around with his friends. He tells her he hopes he’ll see her again. Bonnie thinks she may have fallen in love. Mat is introduced to his roommate Christopher. Matt then notices an envelope on his bed. He opens it outside and sees it’s an invitation to join the “Vitale Society”. It instructs him where to come the next night. The society opens you up to a exclusive network that he only thought before was a myth.

Meredith, Bonnie, and Elena are talking about relationships when they hear sirens and see police cars flooding the campus. They find out from a security officer “a girl got into some trouble walking alone”. Then he tells them to make sure they walk in groups and stick together when walking around the campus at night. The next day, Bonnie passes the spot where the police were and sees what she thinks is blood across the path. Again, in the bookstore. Taking Elena’s boldness to make Stephan hers she approaches Xander and he asks for her number (and suggest they do something that weekend). Meanwhile, Meredith tightens up her tae kwn do skills and meets Samantha (who offers to be her sparring partner). She’s impressive but cocky. Meredith puts her on her ass but Samatha takes it in stride.

Matt goes to the instructed spot and is grabbed, blindfolded, put into a van, and taken to an elaborate baseman with 15 other men and women. The masked figures welcome them to the Vidale Society, The president Ehan Crane introduces the inductees. They each take their vows and are pinned and told they’ll be contacted. Meeanwhile, Elena meets a professor (Campbell) that says he was friends of her parents and offers to tell her about them. Damion looks on (in crow form) wanting to give this man a serious interrogation. He’s checked him out and there’s no darkness but he’s not sure. After she leaves, he sees a flier for a missing girl named Taylor Harris. He’s been feeling something off since he got to the campus and he vows to find out what it is. In the cafeteria some girls are talking about how a guy named Daniel Greenwater has gone missing. Stephan remembers him from being in their dorm. Not likely he’d leave. Then Stephane and Elena both see the flier Damon saw.

The pledges get their first tasks He gives them a fifteen-mile run to complete in three hours. Matt’s fellow pledge Chloe says the only running she does is to catch the bus; Matt offers to help her. Damion stops by and invites Elena out. When Stephane says his study date is running late, she accepts. Stephane (whose been trying to text Elena) finds them together and he and Damion start to argue. Elena tells them she needs a break from both of them. Stephane tells her to take whatever time she needs. Xander shows Bonnie his favorite place on top of one of the buildings and introduces her to the feeling of flying.

Elena learns that her professor and her father were frat brothers who both had a thing for her mother, but something came between them. There’s a picture of them all together on the third floor. Before leaving he tells her he’s meet Dr. Celia Conner. When Elena goes to look at the pictures, she notices both her parents have V pins. The pins ring a bell but Elena isn’t sure why. Coming from football practice, Matt hears a scream. He sees someone in a hoodie and then finds Christopher has been attacked. Before the ambulance gets there he dies. When Matt talks to his friends he tells them he’s been at the police station all night answering questions. The police seem to think it was an animal (So a vampire or werewolf). They say they should tell Damion and Stephane to check out the threat to see if it’s supernatural. They promise to watch out for each other. After sparring, Meredith tells Samantha what happened. Samantha promises she won’t won’t let it happen again and then confesses to Meredith she’s a hunter. She asks for Meredith to help her train. Meredith makes the secret sign to let her know she’s a hunter too.

After a Vitale meeting, Ethan tells Matt that he stands out among the others and he wants him to be his right-hand man. Together they’ll do big things for vitale. Xander and his friends join Meredith, Elena, Bonnie, and Samantha. Elena notices how possessive he is with Bonnie Xander and his friends are way too wild for Bonnie, Elena thinks. But Elena decides for Bonie’s sake to give them the benefit of the doubt. Meanwhile, The Salvatore brothers find themselves at a bar hustling some pool hustlers and reforming their bond. After the party, Xander and Bonnie talk about their friends meeting. Zander says Elena seems like a snob but he’ll get to know her better, er because he wants to know her better. Bonnie waits for their first kiss but Xander takes off and says there’s something he has to do (when he hears something). Then she hears footsteps but it’s just Meredith and Samantha and they walk back to the dorm.

In Elena’s class Professor Campbell announces that another student (Courtney Brooks) is missing. Then he tells them the history of Dalcrest. Simon Dalcrest (the founder0’s son William was found in the tunnels dead with three others (a suicide pack). There were symbols connected with dark magic. Two years later his wife was murdered in the administration building. Julia, a 17 year old girl who drowned, and a 21 year old boy who vanished and years later was found in the basement are a few of the ghosts that are said to haunt the school. There was also a student who disappeared and reappeared and claimed he was kidnapped by elves. There have been mysterious deaths, talk of secret societies, and unexplained things. He then dismisses class. Rlrns asks about the V pins but he says he can’t remember.

Meredith and Samantha are out looking for clues after sunset. Meredith hears a scream and finds someone in a hoodie attacking a girl. Meredith tries to catch the figure but it gets away. Meredith realizes the attacker has the same pale blond hair as Xander. Elena and Daion go to the library and Damion notices recognizes the pin. He then notices the notebook Eleana’s mom is holding that says Vitale Society. The librarianappears and tells them to leave the Vitale Society alone. Things happen around them. Days go by and Xander is ghosting Bonnie. He tells her “some family stuff came up” when she does reach him and he apologizes. He says he wouldn’t have left her in danger and he’ll tell her how he knows later. They make plans to go to a party. Later, Stephane and Damion go to snoop on the librarian but they can’t detect anything out of the ordinary from her. While cleaning the Vitale House, Matt and Chloe find a book in Latin. He ees the word “Morte’ (death) in the pages. Ethan says he’ll tell them about it when he gets a translation.

Damion pulls Elena away from her friends as they’re about to go to a party. He tells her he saw a girl with the V pin go into the library. Then she disappeared. She came out an hour later. They run into Matt and Elena notices it looks as if he’s been cleaning. Elena tries to look at his chest but he pulls his jacket closer. After he leaves Damion finds the trap door that leads to the Vitale’s meeting space. They decide to wait to go down the trap door. At the party, Xander tells Bonnie, his family is in a position where they’ve made promises that don’t always line up with that he wants. He pulls her to a private spot and then gives her their first kiss. Matt is about to ask Chloe out but Ethan comes up and they kiss in front of him. On their way to the party, Elena senses someone watching them. Then a car comes straight at then. Damion quickly gets her out of the way. Then a dark shape comes after them. In moments the car is gone. Filed with emotions, Elena kisses Damion. Stephane goes to look for Elena and catches them kissing. He then says he can’t do this and cancels his relationship with Damion. Damion tells him very well and to get lost. Elena cries out after him as he does. Xander gets distant and says he left something at the party (leaving Bonnie alone again). When Stephane answers Elena’s calls he tells her he loves her but he can’t trust her and hangs up on her.

Elena and Meredith confront Bonnie about Xander and his where abouts after the party and she packs her things, calls them hypocrites, and goes to stay with Xander. As plans are made for the initiation, Ethan tells Matt he wants him to invite Stephne to become a member. Xander tells Bonnie she can stay in his room and then tells her it’s not worth it to lose her friendsShe tells them they think he’s the killer and tells him about what Meredith saw. Xander tells her he’d never hut her and asks if she thinks he’s a killer and she says she doesn’t. Damion meets with Meredith and Elena and tells them there are other vampires on campus (newborns). They’ve been sloppy. But the corpses he dug up aren’t the ones who disappeared He says it might be a pack of vampires (messy ones) or were’s. He promises he’ll look into Bonnie’s boyfriend.

While making out with Xander, Bonnie notices bruises all over his body (fresh ones). Xander says they’re nothing and blames it on his friends rough housing Damion watches. Xander and Bonnie separate and follows him, but they disappear. Stephane meets with Ethan. When asking what the real purpose is Ehtan tells him he can’t tell him that but says there are benefits. Stephane tuns him down, even after he offers him the book. He vows to keep his eye out for the society. Matt gets the brunt of Ethan’s anger over the rejection. Meredith, Damion, and Elena break into the school’s office and find the coroner’s reports say Sam died of blood loss. Damion says there were more than one killer. There’s a V on Sam and Chris’s (in their) records.

On a re-creation of their first date for their six week Anni very Xander tells Bonnie he’s falling in love with her and that he loves her. He tells her she has a right to know that... he’s a werewolf. Bonnie freaks out and starts to back away. Xander tells her he’s a good wolf, but she runs away. At their ceremony, Matt realizes they’re about to be offered up as sacrifices and turned into vampires. James tells Elena a Guardian came to a Vital meeting and choose her as a new guardian. They agreed at 12 the Guardians could take her away. So, he cut ties with her parents and the Vidale Society. But they changed their mind and they asked for his help protecting her but he was too late. He says she’ll be given a task and when completed she’ll have powers. He says he’ll help in whatever way he can. Stephane rushes in and a fight takes place. Stephane is older but there are more of them. They grab and restrain him. He says if they take him, they’ll have to let Matt go. He tells Matt to go and get Damion. Bonnie, Elena, and Meredith determine that since none of the murders were during the full moon Xander and his friends are probably innocent. Matt then shows up and tells them they need to save Stephane, about the VS, and they need to find Damion.

Ethan lets loose the new vampires. They plan to resurrect Klaus. He met a vampire who changed him and taught him to put lapis luzuli in the pins. He’s going to offer him an army. And he needs the blood of his descendants. Ethan is able to grab Elena and is about to kill he. Stephane tries to bargain but it’s Meredith who is able to free Elena when she stabs him through the heart. Matt tells Stephane to save any other the others if he can and reason with them. Stephane says he’ll try. Bonnie puts a spell on the basement to keep it off the radar. Xander tells Bonnie they were sent to Dalcreast as “watch dogs” and that he’s an Originals. Bonnie tells them a lot of things about her and her friends. At the end of the book, we find that Ethan isn’t dead and he has both Salvatore brother’s blood.

My Thoughts:
This was a lot easier to read than some of the previous ones. It gave some decent prospects. It could have been the professor, or Xander, or the Society, or even Samantha. I was thinking that it would have been an interesting twist if Matt (the good guy) would have suddenly had a change of heart. He’d think about how Elena chooses Stephane and Damion over him. He’d think about how Damion use to constantly give him a hard time and the time he provoked him in the woods while he was under Sinachi’s spell. And even though he’s ok with Stephane he’d think about how he stole Elena out from underneath him. With all this going on in his head he’d think of how powerful Damion and Stephane are and just be like screw it. Then he’d just go for it. Matt as a newborn would have been very interesting to see.

Rating: 7

[Ella VdA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing