As the danger solidifies around her, her life is further complicated by a rival known as Caroline who steals her diary and attempts to use it to humiliate Elena and drive Stefan out of town. In the second novella of the first volume (The Struggle), what follows is a fight for Elena's affections and indeed her soul as Stefan's older brother is unmasked as the real culprit behind the horrible attacks and tries to win Elena for himself by charm or by force. It is only when Elena tries to protect him and accidentally finds out that he is in fact a vampire, alive since the Renaissance era, that she truly begins to understand the nature of the horror surrounding her. As Stefan gives in and admits his feelings for Elena, a series of vicious attacks rocks the town and the finger of blame points towards Stefan as the source of these crimes.

Stefan tries to resist her advances but is himself drawn to the strange similarities between this young woman and his only other lover, Katherine, who turned him into a vampire. What ensues is a dark romance between the two protagonists as Elena Gilbert discovers that Stefan is in fact a centuries old vampire, who is locked into a terrifying feud with his older brother Damon.ĭuring the first book, The Awakening, Elena first decides to 'catch' Stefan for herself, not knowing the danger in which she is about to place herself. Set in the fictional town of Fells Church, somewhere in modern North America, we find our protagonist Elena Gilbert, a teenage girl just about to attend her last year at Robert E Lee High School when she becomes entranced by the mysterious newcomer Stefan Salvatore. Smith, and form the first part of an ongoing series of vampire romance. The first two books (The Awakening & The Struggle) are collected into the first volume of The Vampire Diaries by L.J.

The struggle by lj smith