The Vampire Diaries: As I Lay Dying Review

'As I Lay Dying'

Where the writer's make us eat our words about last week making an epic finale

Previously on the Vampire Diaries: Everybody’s brains exploded from the stress of it all.

What? Elena becomes the adult of the house and suddenly sleep overs with Bonnie are banned? Jeremy will never heal if he’s deprived of shirtless hugs.

Oh now I may just start crying after looking in Jenna’s room. I was upset by her death, but somehow the absence of her being made so obvious like this makes it even harder.

“And I need some time – maybe a lot of time.” Yeah Damon, now might be a good moment to point out that we don’t have a lot of time before your werewolf bite supposedly makes you go crazy… Although seriously, he needs a hug right now. And why is Damon tanned???

“Take all the time you need.” SOB.

Oh there’s something very upsetting about non eyebrowy, trying to come to term with his death, trying to get forgiveness, quiet Damon.

Eeee – that bite looks more disgusting every time. I don’t think there’s enough alcohol in the world to make that one go away.

No no no, he’s being a moron! Someone quick, leap from the shadows and save him!

Yay Stefan! Seriously who directed this episode? Because there have been a lot of very beautiful moments with Damon over the last two episodes.

I suppose locking him up does prevent him from doing anything poetically beautiful with his death, but it seems a bit mean that his last few days be spent locked up in that musty cellar.
Oh goody, so the blood hacking begins.

YES! Is anyone else insanely glad that the baddies are still around? I was worried that would be the last we saw of Elijah and Klaus until next season.

Yummy and evil what more could one want?

Jeez, almost two days? Klaus is going to be one bad MF.

I love these two interacting. I love the difference – how coarse Klaus is next to refined and delicate Elijah.

Elijah does not look particularly fussed with how this is going. Klaus is so not going to make it easy on him. Although why is he suddenly back to bending and scraping and helping him on with his coat?... Elijah, we want your badass self back again!

Also, double yes for Ric having a massive chip on his shoulder for being shut up in the house. I really hope he takes it out on Bonnie later. That was not cool what she did.

Although I love that all it takes is for Stefan to mention that Damon is dying, and Ric is all helpful again. That bromance is truly epic.

I want to live in Mystic Falls. Not for the hot vampires and werewolves running around. No, I want to be there because of the sheer amount of awesome town events. Dress up ‘Gone with the Wind’ movie in the square? *sigh*

Caroline is so insanely bubbly I love it. Although Jeremy seems more grumpy than grieving.

Love that little mini speech, but Jeremy seems way unimpressed. Someone get that guy his girlfriend. He needs shirtless hugs.

Seriously Stefan? Let’s contact the witches that tried to burn Damon alive and then locked him out of the house? They might be able to help save him? Who hit Stefan over the head with something heavy? Because this plan makes no sense whatsoever.

Haha, yes, Klaus is the answer… Well, possibly. But I love where this could be heading.

See Stefan, there could be a silver lining to being double crossed and the evil vampwolf hybrid still being alive…

Mrs Lockwood, you’re being awfully snappy today… Who’s compelled you this time?

Urgh, Stefan can never keep his mouth shut can he? Although I am kind of glad, just because Elena now feels really bad for being mean. Yeah that’s right, you go apologize. Because they so need an epic moment together to get all their feelings out in the open. Even though I doubt Damon is going to be dead by the end of this, I’m still impressed that Stefan has the guts to man up and accept that they may need that epic moment because they do both have feelings for each other.

FLASHBACK!

Wow that was weird. Elena is creeping into his subconscious.
I love those moments where we get to see human Damon. He was so innocent, and gentle before he was turned. I love the different facets to his character, and the journey he’s come on to reach this point. His story is the one that fascinates me the most – hence why I don’t think the writers are done with his character yet.

Haha, I love it. Of course Katherine is still stuck in Ric’s flat. That poor girl has no luck when it comes to getting stuck in weird places. Do we think Klaus has forgotten about her, or will she be coming with him on their epic quest to find some siblings?

O. M. G.

So unfair Klaus. So unfair. I don’t want a dead Elijah again – he’s no fun when he’s dead… BRING HIM BACK NOW.

Stefan, you did not think this through.

Is it possible for Klaus to get scarier as time goes on?

I love that Ric remembers the little things that Damon needs. A glass of something and his ring. Stefan is such a lame brother, Ric is where his true love lies…

And he feels his pain and gives him a double shot. I love it.

“He’s just doing what he always does – trying to right the wrongs of the past.”

“Give me a glass, neither one of us is drunk enough for this conversation.” Oh god, this is so awful and so good at the same time. Drunken/dying reminiscing over the women in Ric’s life that Damon has destroyed. Because after all that bromancing you knew that they’d have to tackle it eventually.

Is Damon trying to make Ric hate him? Or is he just desperate?
“Kill me, please.”
“Screw you.” *stab”

And yet even after that he stays… Ric has the patience of a saint. I suppose you’d have to to have any relationship with Damon. That guy is like a hyperactive, cranky/bitey puppy.

Why does Elena wait until it’s dark to do things? WHY? Dark is bad. Bad things 

can hide in it. Does this girl just never learn?

Oh you have got to be kidding… Sherriff Forbes decides that NOW is the BEST TIME to do a raid?! Urgh. This woman should just go curl up in a corner of her office and feel useless.

Oh Ric, you are not having a good time of being shut in places you don’t want to be. I feel your pain.

Seriously Mommy Forbes, you had that coming. I would have had sympathy for the Mommy Forbes who got compelled to forget about Caroline. But this version has been pissing me off for the last few episodes.

“All this waiting around for news is ruining Scarlett for me.” Have I mentioned recently how much I love Caroline?...

YAY! Bonnie’s stopping people thing was really irritating. So glad Jeremy put her back in her place for a minute.

I love that Klaus has kept tabs on Stefan all along. And I love that Stefan’s past is a lot darker than we’ve been lead to believe. I mean we heard he was a bad boy, but if you tie in the appalling Stefan’s Diaries, then whilst he had minor rampages, the guy was a bit of a pussy. This sounds more like someone that Klaus would actually respect. And I want to know everything about this ripper…

Wow, Katherine was actually scared. I am impressed.
Is she know a werevamp hybrid?... Cos that makes Katherine even cooler than before…

Good ok, so we’ve got ourselves a potential cure. Props to all of the fans out there who called that it would be something to do with Klaus’ blood. And possible a hybrid Katherine. What is going to be the price for Stefan to pay though?

I love how this has been shot. Love his delusions spilling into the dressed up reality. It works beautifully.

Urgh Mommy Forbes. Why did that fall not hurt more…

What.

What the hell.

You have got to be kidding me.

Jeremy has to survive this right? I mean Jenna survived a stab wound. Please don’t kill Jeremy too.

PUT PRESSURE ON THE WOUND YOU IDIOT POLICE WOMAN.

How’s about you open his mouth before you ram your blood into it? That might help him drink it…

Tell me how no one heard that smash as she broke the window?...

This episode is terrifying. Way more than I anticipated. If Jeremy dies I may go into full blown mourning.

I literally hate Sherriff Forbes right now. And I don’t think I’ve ever full out hated a character on here before.

“You want to save your brother, how about a decade long bender?” I love Klaus. I’m also curious because of course Stefan will do it, it’s to save Damon. But will Stefan tell anyone about the deal? Or will he even get a chance to?

Hasn’t Stefan been drinking blood precisely so he doesn’t fall off the wagon? Or did he just forget about that plan?

“Finish it. All of it.”

Jeez, Klaus takes drinking and peer pressure to a whole new level here.

“You do everything I say, and you save your brother, that’s the deal.” This can never ever end well.

All your people worrying about Poor Damon? You should so have been worrying about poor Stefan. Misdirection – the writers are brilliant at it.

Does Klaus just want to see if Stefan explodes after one to many blood bags?
Now now Klaus, he is not a toy. “Again.”

Maybe it’s just me, but Bonnie doesn’t seem as upset as she should be. Or maybe it’s just that I’m used to Elena’s incredible tears, and Damon’s single tear sadness.

Wow, we came into this episode expecting Damon high terror and upset, and instead we get Jeremy. I am crying throughout this scene. This is so unfair if Jeremy dies. I refuse to believe he’s already dead.

HE’S ALIVE! I am doing a little happy dance.

I love how this is shot with the flashbacks intermingling reality. I loved when they did that when Stefan was out of it in season one, but it seems even better this time.
But if Damon accidentally kills Elena because he’s hallucinating I will not be impressed.

He’s so heart breaking. And finally she’s being nice to him. Mini yay.

“I thought I killed him.”
“You did.” I love Caroline for saying this. For pointing out that just because he’s alive and we’re all very happy about this, the Sherriff did actually kill him in the first place. And she should be hung drawn and quartered as punishment.

This does not redeem Mommy Forbes in any way, but it helps a bit if she’s not actively trying to kill Caroline.

Does Jeremy have some sort of contract that involves him dying/trying to die in every finale?...

Also, I think Bonnie wants lots of shirtless hugs too. These kids are made for each other.

Why has no one suggested that Ric move in with the Gilberts? Since Klaus has taken over his flat. Where is he sleeping? In his car? This is crazy. ADOPT SOME CHILDREN RIC!

Oh Jeremy can’t you be a little more enthusiastic about Ric ‘crashing here’ the poor guy has no house and no girlfriend. And is possibly suffering from a really bad hangover. He needs a hug.

Oh I love them. That was a moment of much needed laughter in this episode. Seriously Ric should move in and adopt them, and then they can play happy families FOR EVER. And then Damon and Ric can get married and look after them, and it’ll be this weird incestuous family.

I can picture season three now… AND IT’S EPIC.

Wow there are some echoes with Rose right now.

“It’s not alright. It’s not alright. All those years I blamed Stefan, he never forced me to love her. It was my choice. I made the wrong choice.” Oh Damon, you really are growing aren’t you. I would be more upset, but really, he’s not going to die.

“Tell Stefan I’m sorry.” But you know that he’s going to milk the going to die thing for ages before he gets saved in the last two minutes… I’m just going to get some tissues in preparation.

This is such a weird scene. Klaus, Elijah dead on the floor, Stefan and his trail of blood bags.

Aw pants. Stefan looks like he might cry at any moment, and I really don’t trust Katherine. Although since she finally got what she wanted which was out of the flat, and she did seem a little bit concerned about Damon, maybe there’s a chance he might still get the cure. It’s a lot slimmer than it was a moment ago.

“I’ve made a lot of choices that have gotten me here. I deserve this. I deserve to die.” Aw Damon, you do dying redemption so well. It’s almost worth all the pain and the torment of would he survive just so we get to see this.

“It’s ok. If I’d have chosen differently I wouldn’t have met you.” Collective swoon.

“I’m so sorry. I’ve done so many things to hurt you.”
“It’s ok. I forgive you.” Collective sob and swoon.

“I know you love Stefan – and it will always be Stefan – but I love you. You should know that.”
“I do.”
“You should have met me in 1864, you would have liked me.”
“I like you now. Just the way you are.” Is anyone else crying over how gorgeous this is? And how long we’ve been waiting for it?

Whilst I’m devastated he’s too ill to even really kiss her back, I love that they just kissed. Oh it was perfect. And it wasn’t forced, and she wanted to. Because she loves him, just as he is. Even if it isn’t the same kind of love as she has for Stefan, she does still love Damon. And it was chaste and sweet, and not at all like the kiss he shared with Katherine at the end of series one.

I love how guilty and childlike Elena is next to Katherine. And I also love the difference between Elena’s careful nursing of Damon, and Katherine’s pat on the cheek. Yeah, Damon picked the right girl to obsess about eventually.
Also impressed that Katherine did come with the cure.

“Where’s Stefan?”
“Are you sure you care?” Ouch – Katherine must have seen and heard a lot more than Elena would have liked.

“He just sacrificed everything to save his brother – including you. It’s a good thing you have Damon to keep you company.” Oh series three is going to get twisted…

So glad they finally got that line in. “It’s ok to love them both – I did.” And it also works so much better coming from Katherine rather than Rose. Katherine knows what she’s talking about. Rose just liked getting in Damon’s pants.

Oh good lord. So Klaus has a crypt with all the family members in? That’s way less fun than having to search the world for original corpses. Although having them all in one handy place makes it easier when someone decides to come wake them all up.
(Please let that be soon.)

I love that Klaus knew all along that Katherine was on Vervain. Seriously, this guy just doesn’t let anything get past him. He’s truly terrifying.

Oh Stefan baby you are so screwed.

What the hell?
Jeremy is being haunted by his dead ex girlfriends??... This is going to take some explaining guys. And I am also completely terrified by that whole chasing him round the house. 

Although I for one, am happy to see Anna back again. Although Vicki was never my cup of tea. Looks like Bonnie’s got more competition on her hands.
Jeremy took that way too calmly in my opinion. Two of your dead gf’s show up and you look mildly confused?

(Ric gets points for sleeping on the sofa by the way.)

Ok, so as finales go, season one was more of an edge of the seat oh good god what are you doing kind of one. But this one did live up to the hype. It felt like more of a slow build simmer which is going to explode come the next season.

We still had plenty of action to keep us going. Jeremy looks like he’s going to play a bigger role next season which is good.
Stefan has by the looks of things, gone diabolically evil, which is always fab.
Damon is no longer dying which is always a bonus.
Elena is horribly confused by her love for both brothers – took her long enough.
Ric might get some more responsibility with the kids.
Caroline and her Mom might bond.
And Bonnie might get her head out of her ass one of these days…
Probably at the same time Elijah catches a break and doesn’t get killed for more than three episodes at a time.

Thoughts? Opinions? Moments that had you screaming at the screen? Theories for next season? Share and dish in the comments below.

Review: The Rest Falls Away by Colleen Gleason

Beneath the glitter of dazzling 19th-century London Society lurks a bloodthirsty evil... 
In every generation, a Gardella is called to accept the family legacy of hunting vampires, and this time, Victoria Gardella Grantworth is chosen, on the eve of her debut, to carry the stake.
But as she moves between the crush of ballrooms and dangerous, moonlit streets, Victoria's heart is torn between London's most eligible bachelor, the Marquess of Rockley, and her enigmatic ally, Sebastian Vioget. And when she comes face to face with the most powerful vampire in history, Victoria must ultimately make the choice between duty and love.

Wow – this book combines two of my favourite things. Vampires and the dazzling glitter of regency England (plus lots and lots of romance.)

I found Colleen Gleason with one of her newer novels “The Vampire Voss” and was extremely excited to start reading it – but within the first few pages I was horribly confused and completely put off. Instead of just giving up I decided to try her first series to find out whether it was her writing or just the book I’d tried first that I didn’t like.

It was most definitely not her writing, which is extremely good. It’s vivid, it draws you in, it’s gory and jeez the research is mind boggling.
Most of the historical romances I read are pretty good at the style and language of the time, but there are usually slip ups where modernisms creep in. Gleason has no such slip ups. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that had so completely captured the style and voice. I felt like I was there.

The plot is really good, it takes the vampire myth and plonks it straight down in a time period where you don’t tend to get kick ass women – and then it gives you one. I love Victoria, she’s sassy, she’s funny, and she goes weak at the knees after a good kiss. Men continue to underestimate her (even when they shouldn’t) and she continues to prove them wrong. Which just makes me insanely happy, because I love strong females in fiction – particularly when there’s supernatural creatures involved. It reminded me a lot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. There are reasons and explanations, and nothing feels too far fetched or out of reach. Gleason creates her world, her rules and parameters and she sticks with them.

And it wasn’t all fluff. There was enough romance and balls and waltzes in there to keep the girly side of me happy, but Gleason also knows how to do gore. And sex, but we’ll get to that in a minute.

The vampires are not pretty – well they are, but they’re also horrendously vicious. None of these neat incisions – they maim to make a point.
They’re also terrifying, and they stick to traditional guidelines for vampires which also makes me happy. None of this sparkling crap – we have crucifixes, burn in sunlight, garlic, holy water and stakes – the whole shebang. And we also have kick ass slayers who have a neat trick/reason for their super strength and healing powers.

But that doesn’t make them invincible. And that’s something I really liked about this. Whilst they’re strong characters who can go out and defend the ton from the evil bloodsuckers, they also screw up and get bitten a fair bit too.

And the men – boy are they dreamy. We have three bachelors on the cards, and all three of them make me and Victoria swoon. I have to say that Phillip was starting to worry me part way through the book, and I was thoroughly peeved with him by the end. But maybe that’s because I have a thing for bad boys, and Max and Sebastian are most definitely bad boys…

This isn’t a book for those who want vampire romance though. There are vampires, there is also romance, but at no point is there romance with a vampire. In fact that’s strictly frowned upon. So if you’re looking for a vampire diaries/true blood/twilight fix, this isn’t it. It’s more Buffy, although even she falls off the wagon and romances the vampires…

So to sum up. I love this book. I want the next one. If the post man doesn’t bring it to me in the morning I may cry. (why do they always bring book three before book two?...)
It’s brilliantly written, it has gore, it has kick ass women, it has vampires, and sex and romance, and balls – and what more could you want from a book?

Review: 10 Reasons Not To Fall In Love by Linda Green

Jo Gilroy, an award-winning TV news reporter, has returned to work part-time at Spotlight North West after a lengthy maternity leave. But, to her dismay, she has been demoted to covering the 'And finally' stories at the end of the news. Even worse, her new boss is her ex-boyfriend Richard, who walked out on her and their son Alfie on his first birthday. Now Richard's going out with the station's celebrity weather girl. As the humiliation piles on, Jo wonders how she can ever trust a man again. But then she meets Dan, an enigmatic balloon sculptor who lives on a canal boat. Her son Alfie is enchanted by him, as is Jo. But Dan is hiding a dark secret about his childhood. And can Jo really risk another unhappy ending? Find out in Linda Green's hilarious and moving new novel...

I’m a big fan of chick lit – I fight the corner incessantly, trying to prove that it isn’t all fluff and bad metaphors for sex. There are some truly brilliant books that fall into the chick lit category – unfortunately this isn’t one of them.

Everything about this book screams light fluffy romance, from the cover to the highly amusing blurb. This is the only reason I picked it up, expecting the same well worn, but good plots that involve romance, humour, twists and a happily ever after. And I suppose you do get that, but there’s also a lot of bad stuff in between that really isn’t necessary.

The first part of the book made me so depressed I debated just putting it down and never looking at it again. It was miserable, the situation was pants, and you wonder how Jo is even getting up in the morning with her attitude and the bad things that have been going on.

Then we meet Dan! Yay love interest! Witty banter! Excellent, finally this book is picking up! And then we get a chapter from Dan’s childhood which made me morbidly depressed again.

Whilst we get Jo’s intermittently light story, it’s interspersed with Dan’s background told from child Dan’s perspective, about his abusive father. As the tale of abuse unfolds and we see how bad family life is, I began to wonder why on earth the author had chosen to do this. By all means make the hero tortured and brooding with a past – it keeps them interesting. But this was too much. It was heavy, it was horrible, and it was not what I wanted in my ‘light reading’. If I want miserable stories I will go to the ‘painful stories’ section in Waterstones. As it is, I’ve never been big on wallowing in other people’s misery, I want to be cheered up or amazed by a book. Shocking I know.

It seemed like two different books that had been smushed together. The light fluff and the hard hitting abusive childhood, and she couldn’t pick which one so she just rammed them together and hoped it stuck. It really didn’t.

Once Dan and Jo get flirting the book picks up, the humour is there, the pace is better, and everything runs a lot more smoothly. Of course then there’s the typical tragic twist that results in everything going tits up. But by that point I just didn’t care.

I finished this book out of a morbid desire to see whether it would be redeemable. It wasn’t, and it’s put me off wanting to read any more of Linda Green’s books.

The actual chick lit romance at the core was very good, and if she’d stuck to that then this could have been a really good book – the characters were believable and well rounded, and I could actually sympathise with them.
Unfortunately it felt that the further in we got, the more the author wished she was writing the hard hitting abuse story, and the more depressing it got.

If you want a combination of depressive real life and fluff then this is the book for you. However if you, like me, are looking for the next chick lit to make the world seem a fuzzier place, I advise you to steer well clear.

The Vampire Diaries: The Sun Also Rises Review

'The Sun Also Rises'

Where the writer's rip out all of our hearts and squish them on the floor.

Previously on the Vampire Diaries: Doppelganger hijinks continues to throw everybody for a loop, Klaus is a terrifying half breed, that sacrifice we’ve spent all season stressing about? Yeah that happens tonight – thanks to Alaric’s trusty messenger service, and Elijah the font of all knowledge. Damon force fed Elena his blood, and the went on a suicide mission and got bit by a werewolf. Jenna is transitioning, and when we left Mystic Falls last week pretty much everyone we know and loved is IN VAST AMOUNTS OF DANGER.

Whoa! We’re like two seconds in and already Matt has SHOT WolfTyler?! How can this be? We can’t lose the sexy wolf boy!
And Caroline is just going to leave him to pant heavily on the floor? I think Matt just won this round of the Caroline Forbes love triangle contest.

Damon is being remarkably ok about this whole, been bitten, gonna die thing. I suppose at that stage there’s not much you can do other than say ‘gee shucks, let’s go save Elena so it’s all worth it!’
Although I’m surprised that in all her years of globe-trotting Katherine has never seen a werewolf bite.

“You don’t get a goodbye.” Wow, I am impressed both by Damon’s will power, and also how freaked Katherine seems that this is her final goodbye with Damon when she’s been so easy to toss him aside before in favour of Stefan.
Props to Damon for this whole scene – it really does show a bit how much he has grown and how far he’s come over the last two seasons.

Also impressive is Jenna’s handling capabilities. See? And these people kept her out the loop because they thought she wouldn’t cope! Panicked, but a hell of a lot more logical and rational than you would have thought.

How the hell is Greta proving more impressive in five minutes than Bonnie ever has in two seasons?
And she scares me.

Crap. So I guess that’s Jenna officially a Vampire then. Sad she’s no longer human, relieved she’s still walking and talking.

Although Jenna is making the scary vampire face even scarier – not sure how that’s possible, but that look through the flames is terrifying…

Hey look who it is! The oblivious duo hiding out in the haunted shack of make out sessions until all the bad stuff has gone away.

Tragic yet amusing if Jeremy goes home tonight an only child and a complete orphan…

Whoop for Elijah – he knows everything.

Damon sounds so feeble – I want to hug him. Also, Stefan may need a hug too momentarily.

Dumdum duhhh… So Alaric is gonna go all kick ass now? Yes? I want vengeful (only, you know, more so than for his wife) Ric.

Is this some sort of ring of trust/counselling exercise?! We figured she probably would feel the same, just a little more bloodthirsty. Which could be pretty awesome on Jenna. Please survive this – I am on Team Jenna Lives right now. Actually I have been for a while, it’s just she’s doing more to wave the team flag out now.

Seriously, Greta is winning the creepiest person on the show by a long shot. Step it up Klaus, your witch is outshining you.

Elena is actually going to try the peaceful hippy duty approach? This girl is wearing biker boots and has the creepiest smile I’ve seen, does this really look like it’ll work?

Ok I take it back, Greta and Klaus are kind of on an even pegging at the moment. Creep fest.

Caroline ran to the werewolf’s house?... Where does this sound like a good plan? Also, is she just planning on ignoring the rest of the sacrifice and all of her friends dying?

Matt with the gun, scarier by the minute. Does or not realize or just not care at this stage that that ‘Thing’ is Tyler?
Also, scary tough Matt is not handling telling Caroline all that well. She needs a hug.

I think Damon lost a couple of filter system’s in his brain when he got bitten. Either that or he just doesn’t give a crap anymore now he knows he won’t have to do any apologies later. Although why did they not tell John ANYTHING? That seems a little silly when it gives them another person on the failed ‘keep Elena safe’ bandwagon.

“How could it possibly get any worse?” Oh just you wait John, I don’t know where you’ve been, but it has got to have been better than the mess that’s been going down here…

Is the fire necessary for all the cursing? Or does this chick just have a really big thing for it?

So is the pulling out of hearts thing some sort of family tradition?

On a side note, that’s the werewolf down. I repeat, we have a not particularly likeable werewolf down. Yay!
What’s he going to do now? Eat it?

Bonnie the ever perceptive witch… Flash light plus thumping – “someone’s here.”

I feel sorry for Ric at this point – he doesn’t even have kids and he’s going to have to do the ‘your Aunt’s a vamp and your sister is about to be too’ speech.

Woah – slow down there a minute mister… Stefan’s gonna offer up himself instead? Oh this just gets more and more messed up by the minute…

Oooo feeling kinda queasy here… Was not expecting a heart squishing session. Well I was, but more the metaphorical kind.

Ah and now we have the ‘who has failed who the most’ competition. I’m gonna have to side with Elena on this one, she’s failed Jenna a hell of a lot more.

Oh my god. I may cry. Caroline you sneak – I never thought it would be you who’d make me want to cry first. “Do you think my Mum wants to kill me?”

Tyler! Surprised the wolfpage didn’t last all that long, but glad he’s in one piece/naked.

“Over the centuries Klaus hunted them down one by one and he took them from me.” Nooooo! I was so looking forward to meeting the mighty original clan. I am going to sulk if there are none but these two left. I want a girl original! Would she be normal? Or like Dru from Buffy?.... Cos that could be fuuuun. Or you know, we could have an epic quest to find the body parts!

Also, can I just take this moment to point out a rather almighty flaw in the witches plan of giving the original’s a weakness… They only made one dagger? Surely that’s just a recipe for trouble. Hey, we killed an original! *six angry siblings come after the hapless idiot that put the dagger in*

Yeah Damon was never going to be happy about Stefan’s new decision to go off and be sacrificed. Although aside from the wall punching, he seems to be taking it well. (it’s a week for bad boys punching walls isn’t it…) Normally he would have run off to tackle Stefan into the nearest tree by now.

Ha! I was wondering if Klaus had chosen three women deliberately, I like his style…

Moral dilemma for the win! Does Elena sacrifice her aunt or her soul mate?... Oooo decisions decisions. Although it’s not really up to her, since she’s being particularly useless telling Jenna to calm down and ‘relax’ yeah sure, that’s possible right now…

I love Matt to pieces, and his life really does suck, but it does get a bit wearing that he drags out the ‘poor me’ speech everytime he says he can’t cope. Has he stopped to think about poor Caroline? She was in an accident, had major surgery, was then killed and came back as this creature that couldn’t bear sunlight and had to drink blood. She’s been tortured, hunted, betrayed, shot, had her mother and her friend turn their backs on her, and what’s she done? She’s grown, she’s become a better person, a more rounded person, and she’s done it pretty much alone.

Although I do totally get where Matt is coming from, and respect him for that mini speech.

I think Damon lost what remaining patience he had – can he not see she’s doing complex things without the aid of candles or leaves?

Of all the things Bonnie has done throughout two seasons, am strangely most impressed by the kiss of falling over.

Ha! She turned bad ass in her keeping people safe rampage.

Yay! Klaus gets points for making Elena choose who to kill – I was hoping he’d do that.

Jeez, Klaus just got scarier…

Also, what the what?! Jenna! Why not just run completely?!?!?! Although she gets major plus points for trying to kill the witch…

I will admit, I am crying a bit. I loved Jenna, I wanted to see her as Vampy Jenna for longer. Excuse me, I need to go find some more tissues.

Elena gets a few points for the brush past – Klaus is getting altogether too cocky with all this wanton killing and heart ripping.

I can’t decide if Klaus looks confused, or slightly worried about Elena’s silent treatment – I think he was hoping for screams. I personally hope she kicks him in his privates.

It’s a beautiful and horrifying moment with Klaus drinking her blood, but I’m finding it hard to be truly worried about Elena – there seem to be too many things in place to make sure she comes back in some form for there to be any real danger of her full death.

Whilst Tyler’s transformation was heart breaking, Klaus’s is just omg, because it’s so grotesque all the breaking and reforming – particularly because you know just how much he’s enjoying it…

Bonnie gets some cool points for the awesome entrance.

Whoop, and the scary witch is gone! Go Damon! Not that I’m condoning neck snapping or anything, but she had it coming…

Am I the only one that swooned a little as Damon scooped up Elena with all that lightening going on in the background. Chills – just a little.

Bonnie seems to be doing a lot better job of causing him pain this time. Either she’s been practising or she’s just less worried now she’s not hurting Ric at all.

I love the Salvatores brothers. I love their relationship. I want more! Don’t Die Damon!

Eeeee! Elijah! Oh my gosh this is so cooool!

Moral dilemma! Oh please keep ripping that heart out! I mean Klaus is an awesomely cool character, but he scares the pants off me, and you know that if he doesn’t die now, Elena is gonna go on a spree that Jenna died for nothing.

PANTS. Urgh Elijah, I am so peeved with you right now it’s unreal.
Also, is it just me or does Klaus look like Gollum when he's trying to persuade Elijah to not squish his heart?

John just got major plus points for trying to save Elena with that cost to himself. I’m almost sad about his character now.

“If you come back as a vampire I’ll stake you myself.” Ah Damon, you sure know how to woo a girl.

Ironically of all these deaths, John’s is the one that’s made me cry like a small child.

“You’re kidding right? This is the second time I’ve tried to kill you.”
“Well, no friendship is perfect.” I love Caroline and Tyler, and I want him to stick around! We need more of them! Even if they are just friends… Who see each other naked once a month…Well, Tyler at least…

“You could just say ‘thank you Caroline for taking care of me, and I’m sorry I tried to chow down on you again…’”

Isn’t he naked underneath that blanket… Otherwise OMG THEY ARE SO CUTE. I loves him.

And I’m crying again. Elena and Jeremy are so heart breaking together right now.

“It's no easy task being an ordinary parent to an extraordinary child. I failed in that task. And because of my prejudices, I failed you. I'm haunted by how things might have played out differently if I'd been more willing to hear your side of things. For me, it's the end. For you, the chance to grow old, and someday do better with your own child than I did with mine. It's for that child that I give you my ring. I don't ask for your forgiveness, or for you to forget. I ask only that you believe this. Whether you are now reading this as a human or as a vampire, I love you all the same, as I've always loved you and always will.”

I’m not going to say anything much about John’s letter and the scene in the graveyard, partly because I’m crying so much, and partly because it’s perfect. It’s beautiful and it’s just right, and it’s making me cry insane amounts – particularly for a character I used to hate.

Also, that ending? 

“Keep this from Elena, that last thing she needs is another grave to mourn.” Followed by him walking through the gravestones? I don’t quite know how I’m going to survive next week.

So your thoughts? How many tissues did you get through? Is there anyone you didn’t want to die that did, and anyone that didn’t that you thought would? Who’s death got to you the most? And how on earth are we going to make it through Damon’s final hour?...

Review: Once A Witch by Carolyn MacCullough

Tamsin Greene comes from a long line of witches, and she was supposed to be one of the most Talented among them. But Tamsin's magic never showed up. Now seventeen, Tamsin attends boarding school in Manhattan, far from her family. But when a handsome young professor mistakes her for her very Talented sister, Tamsin agrees to find a lost family heirloom for him. The search—and the stranger—will prove to be more sinister than they first appeared, ultimately sending Tamsin on a treasure hunt through time that will unlock the secret of her true identity, unearth the sins of her family, and unleash a power so vengeful that it could destroy them all.

I love this book. If this book were a boy, I would be writing our names together in little hearts. It was like chicken soup for my mind. It was the most comforting and good book I’ve read in a while. It wasn’t laugh out loud all the way through funny, it wasn’t exquisite prose that made me cry – it was just pitch perfect, someone took what I wanted to read most straight out of my head and turned it into a book JUST FOR ME. And, you know, everyone else who’s read it.

First off, when I opened the parcel it came in, the cover is pearlescent – pearlescent guys! I am such a cover whore, I am totally happy to admit this. I don’t let the cover rule my choices; but it is an added bonus if the cover makes me want to sit and stroke it for a while.

Also, the blurb. Go back and re-read that baby. Witches! Handsome Professors! Dark things! And, once you get reading, very handsome yummy boy!
This has everything I want in a book – it’s urban fantasy, with enough fantasy to give me an escape. It’s got sexy boys and a sassy heroine, and time travel! Yeah that’s right TIME TRAVEL.

I didn’t mean to read all night, I truly didn’t, but I read the first few pages, and Tamsin is just such a likeable, clear cut character and voice that I didn’t want to stop.  She’s completely relatable, has a great sense of humour, and has that family that’s so extraordinary compared to her that she just wants to escape. Unlucky for her, I really wanted to get to know the rest of her family.

It reminded me of Holly Black’s Curse Worker’s Series, with the whole big family almost mob style way of thinking (although less scary) the only difference was that we got to see a lot more of the powers in ‘Once A Witch’ which I love. I think I’m addicted to seeing all the different things people can do in magic books – I get way too excited and just want to keep meeting more members of the family.

It’s a fast paced plot that really draws you in, and the stakes and tension remain high throughout. You get a sense of ‘something’s not right’ fairly quickly after the initial set up, and it just keeps building and building until the stakes are so high I wasn’t sure how anybody was going to get out of this alive – it just all seemed so impossible.

I cannot wait for the next book “Always a Witch” which will be released in August 2011 (no exact date announced yet.)
The cliff hanger was just enough so that you felt there had been a good resolution for this book, with enough built up to get the next book off to an awesome start – the stakes are high, and I have a feeling they’re just going to keep raising.

In the meantime, ‘Once A Witch’ is going next to Saundra Mitchells ‘The Vespertine’ on my bedside table, for frequent re-reads and hugs when no one is watching.