Review on

Shadow souls
By
L. J. Smith

Submitted to:
Ms. Bilkis Fahmida
Faculty
Department of Languages
College of Arts & Science


Submitted by:
Shegufta Shahrin






About Author:
Lisa Jane smith, known professionally as L. J. Smith. Born on 4
th
September in 1965, in Fort Lauderdale,
Florida, is an American author of young adult literature.
Her books, which combine elements of genres of supernatural, horror, science fiction, fantasy and
romance.
She was populated with apparently young human and supernatural characters locked in dark vs. light,
good vs. evil conflicts. A dark antagonist typically attempts to seduce a heroine into the darkness, and in
some cases, is instead reborn into the light.
Her books particularly, The Vampire Diaries and The Night World series have been in the New York
Times Bestselling and have been nominated for Favorite Book Awards.
Smith has said that she wanted to be a writer sometime between kindergarten and first grade, when a
teacher praised a horrible poem Id written, and she began writing in earnest in elementary school.
Her first book, The Night of The Solstice, written during high school and college, was published by
MacMillan in 1987. It sold poorly.
The Vampire Diaries series was commissioned by Elise Donner, editor of Alloy Entertainment in 1990.














About the novel:
Shadow Souls
Elena Gilbert's love, the vampire Stefan Salvatore, has been captured and imprisoned by demonic spirits
who are wreaking havoc in Fell's Church. While her friends Bonnie and Meredith explore the evil that
has taken over their town, Elena goes in search of Stefan.
In order to find him, she entrusts her life to Stefan's brother, Damon Salvatore, the handsome but
deadly vampire who wants Elena, body and soul. Along with her childhood friend Matt, they set out for
the slums of the Dark Dimension, where Stefan is being held captive. It is rumored to be a world where
vampires and demons roam free, but humans must live enslaved to their supernatural masters. . . .
Elena will stop at nothing to free Stefan. Yet with each passing day the tension between Elena and
Damon grows, and she is faced with a terrible decision: Which brother does she really want?
Back in Fell's Church, Bonnie and Meredith have made some dire discoveries. They hastily try to follow
Elena and warn heronly to be caught up in Elena's most dangerous adventure yet.














My Review:
The Vampire Diaries: The Return: Shadow Souls is the book, in my opinion, that started the beginning of
the end. The love triangle had been festering for a whopping five books and eventually, like a nasty boil,
it had to come to a head.
The book begins with Elena, full of other worldly blood, vengeance, and heartbreak. She isnt the same
girl we met in the first book that was so self-absorbed, she couldnt conceive the thought that the most
mysterious boy in school wasnt interested in her. There has been some serious growth in her since she
died twice. Little things still bother her, like the fact her boyfriend has been kidnapped by kitsune
demons and her ex-boyfriend is being hunted by police like an animal. But this Elena has put all those
frustrations aside to find an actual solution. Luckily for the readers, and Damon lovers, this solution is a
road trip with said ex-boyfriend (Matt), and the brother of her current boyfriend. For Stefan lovers
abroad this was a book they would be destined to hate.
Elena is writing in her diary using more modern technology, leaving herself a voice note on her cell
phone to catch everyone up from what happened over the last couple weeks of her life. I have always
liked the diary format for reminding readers of how things went down from the characters point of
view. It always feels as if you are getting a secret peek into their every thought and feeling without
things being laid so cleanly. Unfortunately for her, the spilling session comes to a halt when a loud noise
takes her from her musings. Damon threw Matt on top of her car. Now, there has been a heck of a feud
between the vampire and the all-star football player since they met, but placing them in a vehicle
together with Elena after Damon had just unwittingly tortured them both was bound to cause some
drama. Apparently Matt is so nave to believe he can stake a five hundred year old vampire, and Damon
cant hurt him because Elena is so close to admitting some of her feelings.
There is a big confrontation between Damon and Matt before Damon takes Elena, swoops her in the air,
and shows her he can fly. And this in turn leads to a kiss. Not just a kiss, but more of a revolutionary
mingling that forces her to actually confront almost two years worth of feelings.
Elena has picked up more than the wings abilities from her time as a ghost. After being distraught and
quite annoying about her feelings towards Damon after the kiss, she realizes she can project her spirit
across thousands of miles and a dimension- to see Stefan and tell him they are coming for him. While I
believe this was a hokey way to bring Stefan into the story, it does bring up a good point. Elena is a
virgin. You shocked? I was. Apparently the tears of a maiden can cure illness. So as Stefan is dying in
the Shi No Shi, a prison he is being held captive in, she is able to astral project in a way to find him and
heal him with her tears before she is shoved back into her body.
Back in crazy Fells Church, Bonnie and Meredith are dealing with police who wont stop their search for
Matt and a psychotic half beast- half human/demon possessed Caroline. It isnt the most intriguing part
of the book, so I wont go on and on about it. I will just let everyone know Caroline is something out of a
horror movie.
Back on the road, things are heating up between Elena and Damon. The trio have ditched her red
Porsche that Stefan bought her for something a little less inconspicuous. Matt sees a wonderfully
awkward encounter between Elena and Damon that sends him to the edge of what he can deal with. He
takes one of the silver Prius they traded the Porsche for, and heads back to Fells Church. This allows
Bonnie and Meredith, who have some information about the kitsune, to meet up with Damon and Elena
so they can go to the Dark Dimension as Damons human slaves.
That is a summary of the first twelve of forty four chapters. I left out tons of goodies like a night Damon
and Elena shared in a hotel room. This book is my favorite in the entire series and I could write twenty
pages of a review and explain every reason why this story is so fabulous, but in all honestly it isnt
necessary. It is a well written, creative book that takes the reader into a dimension that L.J. Smith
created from scratch. New characters are introduced. There is action, torture, death, and if that isnt
enough incentive then all of the alone time Damon spends literally licking Elenas wounds should be. The
pair grow so close in the book, she has to admit to her boyfriend, Stefan, that she has inadvertently
fallen in love with his brother.
Because people complain about editorial writers being biased and not giving a negative part of
something they are reviewing, I will leave you with this tidbit. The ending is atrocious. I hate when books
give a cliffhanger and this annoys me to the point of hatred. When I first read the novel, I felt amazing
accomplishment as I reached chapter forty two, even more at forty three, but when I reached forty four
and didnt have the next book, I was so frustrated that I ran to every bookstore within twenty miles
searching for one that was open at four am so I could continue reading. I felt so transported into the
world that I could not bear to go to bed and begin in the morning.

Shadow Souls is everything a fan of the Delena romance could ever want. With that said, it gets five
kisses. I wouldnt be able to live with myself if I gave it any less. It was everything I had ever wanted for
the series.








Pros
1. Tons of Delena romance
2. Stefan is gone through 80% of the book, and when he is around he isnt a love sick puppy
3. The Dark Dimension (it is so descriptive I can still imagine every detail about it months after reading it)
4. New characters! They are awesome!




Cons
1. There is a sense of melancholy as the story line with the kitsune is coming to an end. It is felt through
their struggle to find Stefan and no matter how badly I wish things could stay. Once Stefan is found,
everything goes back to the way it was before he left.