The Vampire Diaries: The Hunters, Vol 3: Destiny Rising
By L.J. Smith
Release Date: October 23, 2012
Series: The Vampire Diaries (Book 10): The Hunters (Book 3)

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Rating. 9/10

Plot Summary:

Destined for danger . . .

Elena has faced countless challenges—escaping the Dark Dimension, defeating phantoms, discovering she’s a Guardian. But nothing compares to choosing between the two loves of her life: Stefan and Damon Salvatore. Elena has reunited with Stefan, while Damon, hurt by the rejection, has become dark and unpredictable. Now Elena’s torn between saving Damon’s soul and staying true to Stefan.

But before Elena can decide who her heart belongs to, Dalcrest College’s campus is overrun with vampires determined to resurrect Klaus, the wicked Old One who will stop at nothing to destroy Elena—and everyone close to her.

As Elena learns more about her destiny as a Guardian, a protector against evil on earth, she realizes that before she can defeat Klaus, she has to sacrifice someone close to her. Elena must decide how much—and who—she’s willing to give up before it’s too late. . . .

Continue On After The Jump For The Review

I’m sure many stay away from the book series of ‘The Vampire Diaries’ by L.J. Smith simply due to the fact they are young adult novels.  I am in my 30’s and will happily admit i am personally a huge fan of the book series as well as the TV series.  The latest edition in ‘The Vampire Diaries’ book series by L.J. Smith titled ‘The Hunters Vol. 3: Destiny Rising’ (Book 10 overall) surpasses all expectations I had for the novel going in. Already being a fan of the series and immensely enjoying all of the previous books in the series, that is indeed saying a lot.  The amazing twists and abundance of secrets revealed as well as the return of numerous classic characters who we haven’t seen in quite some time really help to make this without a doubt one of the best books in the series to date.

‘Destiny Rising’ is set to be the final chapter in ‘The Hunters’ trilogy and it does a fantastic job of wrapping up all the loose ends in addition to letting us in on secrets so huge i didn’t even believe it possible for secrets of such significance to continue being revealed at such a point in the series.  If you are a fan of these novels already then this will be no exception as it keeps true to the others while bringing more bang than could of possibly been imagined at such a late state in the series.  In addition to accomplishing all of that spectacularly it still manages to leave things open just to the point where we can’t help but be left wanting more.  I haven’t done much digging into information regarding the series’ future at this point though i do sincerely hope that L.J. Smith makes the choice to continue on with the series.  It would be wonderful to have another trilogy in the series as phenomenal as ‘The Hunters’ was.

On an additional note to fans of the TV series who have yet to give the books a chance (or possibly weren’t even aware of their existence) i urge you to give the novels a shot.  While the differences between the novels and the television series are staggering, it’s one of those situations (such as the differences between the ‘Dexter’ TV Series and it’s book series by Jeff Lyndsay) where it works to the fans’ advantage.  It almost feels as if there are two alternate realities of ‘The Vampire Diaries’ and while they are significantly different it is beneficial due to the creators’ talent as well as them not butchering the others work. It accomplishes all of that while at the same time keeping the abundance of fans content with both series’ and additionally always guessing which is indeed a tough task to accomplish as we all know.

Rating. 9/10

‘The Vampire Diaries: The Hunters Vol. 3: Destiny Rising’ by L.J. Smith is currently available now in Hardcover and as an ebook from HarperTeen.
You can purchase the book in Hardback & Kindle formats via amazon or anywhere else HarperTeen books and ebooks are sold.