The Fury (The Vampire Diaries #3) by L. J. Smith

SUMMARY (from Goodreads): Faced with an ancient evil, Stefan and Damon must stop their feuding and join forces with Elena to confront it. But in so doing, they are unwittingly sealing her fate...

MY OPINION:

Now, this is it. The third book in The Vampire Diaries series finally reaches up to my expectations.

As Elena’s life utterly changes, she becomes a much more multi-dimensional character than before. She is less self-absorbed, more compassionate, and she starts cherishing her friends. She gives helping other people priority, while she is still adapting to new circumstances in her life.

Smith portrays the reaction of Elena’s friends to her new situation well. Their response is very natural, and in the end Elena finds out who her true friends are. We learn more details about certain people and some are rather surprising.

Stefan and Damon show some new layers of their personalities, though diametrically opposite, too. While the readers get to know the caring and sensitive side of Damon, Stefan’s dark and resentful side reveals itself. 

The Fury is a thoroughly suspenseful book and the readers are left guessing about the new big bad evil power almost to the last page. There is plenty of excitement, and several twists ensure continuous entertainment.

RECOMMENDATION: Even if you, like me, did not like the first two books in the series so much, sticking to reading the series totally pays off with The Fury.