The Struggle by L.J. Smith

"Damon: Determined to make Elena his queen of darkness, he'd kill his own brother to possess her. Stefan: Desperate for the power to destroy Damon, he succumbs to his thirst for human blood. Elena: Irresistibly drawn to both brothers, her choice will decide their fate. The terrifying story of two vampire brothers and the beautiful girl torn between them." -GoodReads

This book literally picks up right where book one leaves us. In this installment we get to see a lot more of Damon. I know Damon is evil and everything, but there is just something very alluring about him. I’m still rooting for Stefan of course, but Damon started to entice me with his bad-boy self! Maybe his “power” is able to captivate the reader as well as the intended characters? I enjoyed this story a little more than the first book. Elena is a lot more approachable now and her character is really growing on me. I was frustrated that she was keeping so much from Stefan, but I can understand why she was doing it. Stefan wasn’t around as much in this one, but when he and Elena were together I felt better chemistry from them then in the first book. He also seems more in love with Elena now, as opposed to just loving the memory of Katherine, which was good to see.

I was very frustrated with the ending, if you could call it that. It ends right at a total climax with absolutely no closure! I suppose the first book did as well, but I already had the second book on hand so it didn’t bother me as much. The only other thing that is disturbing is all the blood-swapping that goes on in this one, pretty disturbing! I guess since we’re dealing with vampires it’s going to be expected.

Book One: The Awakening

Book Two: The Struggle

Book Three: The Fury

Book Four: Dark Reunion

Book Five: Nightfall

Book Six: Shadow Souls

Book Seven: Midnight