The Vampire Diaries: The Hunters: Phantom

I enjoyed this book. The writing is more fluid, story content interesting with good character development. I liked the tender moments between Damon and Elena also. I'm looking forward to the next book.

I'm really bummed about how this book turned out. I was trying not to get my hopes up after reading "TVD The Hunters: Phantom," but this was a huge disappointment. The plot moves very slowly and there is very little action or exciting moments. It doesn't involve supernatural forces as often or as intensely as the original books by LJ Smith. I feel like the characters have taken a hundred steps back instead of developing even more. I feel like the ghost writer is ruining the series, but I keep reading it in vain, hoping that it will get better. I don't want to put any spoilers in my review so I will just leave it at this: I was very disappointed.

This book was so obviously written by someone different than the original author that it'd be insulting if anyone couldn't tell. It was simple, redundant, and pointless. They completely watered down the characters so that they didn't even feel like the same 'people' and the connections between them became nothing more than shallow words. Pathetic.

Honestly, if you enjoyed this series from the beginning and don't want the whole storyline tainted, don't even bother buying this book. It's only going to ruin it for you like it did for me...I'd be happier with the unresolved ending of the last book (which at least had SOME of LJ Smith's tone, complexity, and depth) than this attempted continuence. Whoever they hired to write this drival is AWFUL.

This book was a huge disappointment. There was a major disconnect between the characters. You didn't feel the love triangle between Elena, Damon, and Stephan. The background details that draws you into the scenes of the book were lackluster in the Phantom. This ghostwriter brought the series down. L.J. Smith is a great writer and I'm sad that she is no longer writing the series. No longer interested in the series if she isn't writing. I do not recommend the book.

Well, what a disappointment indeed. After pre-ordering this item months ago.. to have it finally arrive... and over in a half day! Even a 45 minute tv series episode was more exciting than this : Really, talk about a boring boss battle at the end!

I am a huge Vampire Diaries fan... watched everything and have read everything. But I am SORELY disappointed.

Unlike other reviews on this site, I have actually purchased and read the book. L. J. Smith /did not/ write this book, but she has encouraged her readership not to boycott the book, and I think that was a pretty classy move on her part; and because of that, I did buy it to compare the writing styles.

At first glance, the book maintains the core story, a girl with a passionate love for two boys, and her love for the town, her family and her friends. So, the core story is there. But that's pretty much all it's got going for it.
To summarize the plot: A new big bad comes into town, that plagues the main characters and the town they live in. The big bad started showing itself early in the series, when the group goes to pick up Alaric and Celia from the train station. Bonnie pricks her finger, and the name Celia is written in blood. They don't know what this means until Celia's scarf is caught in the train, and spells out the name of the next victim after they manage to save her. They must work together to find out what's going on, in order to save themselves, and the town.

While the plot is a sound one, the story itself was stilted, and it felt unfinished. It was as if the writer rushed through the book and didn't take the time to sit back and really consider or get to know the characters. The characters shown in this book are two dimensional and largely superficial. I don't relate to them, I couldn't get close to them, and I didn't really care about them ` and this is a big failing in a book where you want readers to care about the characters. This is a character driven story, where the plot revolves around them and what happens to them. The characters lacked strength, and purpose. They existed simply because there was a plot that needed to be written.

In comparison, L. J. Smith's writing is rich with detail, and the motivations between the characters; their inner desires are fully fleshed out and they seem like real people, rather than cardboard cut-outs. However, this book is missing all of this detail, the meat and the heart of the characters, and I strongly feel that the story itself suffers from this lacking. In short, I was hugely disappointed in the book. But, others might find enjoyment in it. I will likely buy the other books in the series, because I hate not finishing series ` but I certainly hope the caliber of writing and character content goes way up, and that the Ghostwriter, or at least Alloy, really considers making the characters three dimensional once more, and truly integrating them into the story again.

The Vampire Diaries: The Hunters; Phantom picks up right where the last book left off. Elena, Stefan, Bonnie, Matt, and Meredith all made it back to Fell's Church and the actions of the kitsune's has been erased. It's as if Elena never died. She's been stripped of her wings and is having a hard time adjusting to be normal. But things aren't normal. Damon didn't make it back to Fell's Church and he's dead. It took him dying for Elena to know how she felt about him which makes it all the worst.

When the gang all heads out to the train station to meet up with Alaric, Meredith's boyfriend, and his research partner Cecily Bonnie's hand is cut by a mysterious rose and the name Cecily forms with her blood. But what does this mean? That she's supposed to die which is what almost happens when she almost is drug by her scarf when it gets closed in the door of the train. Luckily Stefan saves her but her scarf forms another name, Meredith's. It seems that Fell's Church can't catch a break and it's up to Elena and her friends to save it yet again. But without Damon is it even possible? And what are the meanings behind the mysterious death roll? On top of it all Elena's five year old sister Margret seems to know that Elena had been gone. The Vampire Diaries latest installment is full of love, heart break, action, and a super natural presence that is often missing from even the greatest fantasy books.

One of the things I love about these books is that I'm invested. I have read all of them, from the original series to the newest, The Hunter's therefore I truly care about these characters and what happens to them. I love that Elena is so strong no matter what she's been dealt, that Bonnie seems like the weakest link but in reality she's the strongest because of the love for her friends, Matt is the wholesome all American guy, Stefan is a deep Italian Renaissance vampire who's too moral to feed on humans, and Meredith is cool, calm, and collect always except when she's practicing her bounty hunter kills.

*Spoiler Alert* I love that that the book goes back and forth between point of views. I especially love that you, the reader, knows that Damon is in fact alive, and fighting to stay that way all the while everyone is mourning him. My favorite thing about any book that does this is that you get a bigger insight on the story than even the characters have.

Unlike other reviews on this site, I have actually purchased and read the book. L. J. Smith /did not/ write this book, but she has encouraged her readership not to boycott the book, and I think that was a pretty classy move on her part; and because of that, I did buy it to compare the writing styles.

At first glance, the book maintains the core story, a girl with a passionate love for two boys, and her love for the town, her family and her friends. So, the core story is there. But that's pretty much all it's got going for it.
To summarize the plot: A new big bad comes into town, that plagues the main characters and the town they live in. The big bad started showing itself early in the series, when the group goes to pick up Alaric and Celia from the train station. Bonnie pricks her finger, and the name Celia is written in blood. They don't know what this means until Celia's scarf is caught in the train, and spells out the name of the next victim after they manage to save her. They must work together to find out what's going on, in order to save themselves, and the town.

While the plot is a sound one, the story itself was stilted, and it felt unfinished. It was as if the writer rushed through the book and didn't take the time to sit back and really consider or get to know the characters. The characters shown in this book are two dimensional and largely superficial. I don't relate to them, I couldn't get close to them, and I didn't really care about them ` and this is a big failing in a book where you want readers to care about the characters. This is a character driven story, where the plot revolves around them and what happens to them. The characters lacked strength, and purpose. They existed simply because there was a plot that needed to be written.

In comparison, L. J. Smith's writing is rich with detail, and the motivations between the characters; their inner desires are fully fleshed out and they seem like real people, rather than cardboard cut-outs. However, this book is missing all of this detail, the meat and the heart of the characters, and I strongly feel that the story itself suffers from this lacking. In short, I was hugely disappointed in the book. But, others might find enjoyment in it. I will likely buy the other books in the series, because I hate not finishing series ` but I certainly hope the caliber of writing and character content goes way up, and that the Ghostwriter, or at least Alloy, really considers making the characters three dimensional once more, and truly integrating them into the story again.

The Vampire Diaries: The Hunters; Phantom picks up right where the last book left off. Elena, Stefan, Bonnie, Matt, and Meredith all made it back to Fell's Church and the actions of the kitsune's has been erased. It's as if Elena never died. She's been stripped of her wings and is having a hard time adjusting to be normal. But things aren't normal. Damon didn't make it back to Fell's Church and he's dead. It took him dying for Elena to know how she felt about him which makes it all the worst.

When the gang all heads out to the train station to meet up with Alaric, Meredith's boyfriend, and his research partner Cecily Bonnie's hand is cut by a mysterious rose and the name Cecily forms with her blood. But what does this mean? That she's supposed to die which is what almost happens when she almost is drug by her scarf when it gets closed in the door of the train. Luckily Stefan saves her but her scarf forms another name, Meredith's. It seems that Fell's Church can't catch a break and it's up to Elena and her friends to save it yet again. But without Damon is it even possible? And what are the meanings behind the mysterious death roll? On top of it all Elena's five year old sister Margret seems to know that Elena had been gone. The Vampire Diaries latest installment is full of love, heart break, action, and a super natural presence that is often missing from even the greatest fantasy books.

One of the things I love about these books is that I'm invested. I have read all of them, from the original series to the newest, The Hunter's therefore I truly care about these characters and what happens to them. I love that Elena is so strong no matter what she's been dealt, that Bonnie seems like the weakest link but in reality she's the strongest because of the love for her friends, Matt is the wholesome all American guy, Stefan is a deep Italian Renaissance vampire who's too moral to feed on humans, and Meredith is cool, calm, and collect always except when she's practicing her bounty hunter kills.

*Spoiler Alert* I love that that the book goes back and forth between point of views. I especially love that you, the reader, knows that Damon is in fact alive, and fighting to stay that way all the while everyone is mourning him. My favorite thing about any book that does this is that you get a bigger insight on the story than even the characters have.

I waited for the third book in The Hunters series to come out before reading any of them. Between The Vampire Diaries series, the TV show, Stefan's Diaries, and now The Hunters series, it was all a little too much. I needed to stop and try to separate each one in my mind because I was becoming majorly confused.

I enjoyed this book, but not as much as the original series, or even The Return series. I believe it could have been much better had there been slightly less detail, and some of the less important scenes shouldn't have been stretched out. If the book were condensed into a 300+ page book it would have packed more of a punch than the 400+ pages that it is.

With that said, any time I'm reading about Damon is going to be enjoyable. :) He's one of my favorite characters, both fictional and on-screen. I will forever be one of the Team Damon fans, always pulling for him to win Elena over - so you can imagine my delight when he was resurrected in this book. Though I had little doubt that he wouldn't return, I mean what kind of story would it be without a crazy love triangle involving 2 vampires? ;) And with that love triangle comes a lot of jealousy, which in turn creates the interesting storyline for this book. It's a great tale of lasting friendships and growing romances.

***Spoilers***...not to many but some!! Im really pretty disappointed, even a bit depressed about where this is going. Like a majority of you I was and still am very upset about L.J. being fired from her series. The way she was treated was horribly and completely wrong, but I couldnt just leave it at Midnight I still wanted to see where they would take these books, to see if maybe they could do the series a little bit of justice even after what they did to L.J Smith, but I don't think they did. The plot of the book was pretty good overall, a little dull though. The most important thing to me in a book is the characters. And no matter what side of the fence your on (team Bamon, Stelena, or Delena) when L.J. was writing you could tell that she LOVES ALL of her characters with a passion, and that passion really brings them to life & makes them vibrant and wonderful. Most of the characters seemed to be fairly different in this one. Meredith was good, I liked her, she didnt change to much and Alaric too, we get to see more of him! Matt was fine & good ole' Mrs. Flowers was as wonderful as ever. But everyone else seemed to be a bit different in ways that were unnerving at times. That is the plot though a Jealousy Phantom is messing with there emotions and thriving off them. So by the end Stefan was pretty much back to his old self and Damon grew some and changed a little. But Elena and Bonnie's characters seemed to be back tracking rather than growing. If your a Delena fan, well there is some delena moments but it looks as if they are going to turn that into a friendship only. If your a Bamon fan your going to be very disappointed, there was no Bamon what so ever. It almost seemed like they were trying to make Bonnie and Matt a thing, which I disagree with. I don't really understand what the publisher/ghost writers plans are for Damons character if he isnt going to be with Elena or Bonnie or trying to pursue them. Its not like they can just write his character out of the books, that certainly wouldnt be good for book sales. They didnt really try to turn it into the tv series, if anyone was worried about that. There were some disappointments, but I dont regret reading it, the book was alright and I will probably read the next one and see where they go with it, without any help from L.J.'s manuscript.

Something I do think the ghost writer should do, is go back and read all the books again. Did anyone else notice that apparently she thinks Meredith's last name is Suarez? Haha she changed Meredith's name from Sulez to Suarez....yeah major oops there. It would be great if she could manage to get all the characters a little more spot on. I think that L.J. Smith certainly messed up some things in The Return series, with the whole love quadrangle, and the dynamic in the relationship between Elena, Stefan, and Damon...but as far as all the individual characters go, in my opinion L.J. Smith wrote them a little better.

First off, let's start with The Forbidden Game...this is an "older" series,....reissued!! I just came across this series, and this author, L.J. Smith, and her writing seems to be phenominal....BUT.... I, no way, can afford to read these books at ten bux a pop! And that goes the same for The Vampire diaries! The prices are way to high for E-books! Let's add up the total cost if you read (or want to read) the entire series! Not all of us can pay these prices, which is a shame, considering this author is a very good writer. *sigh*

As the title of this review states, this book reads like horrible fanfiction by someone who played telephone with 14 other people to learn about the characters and storyline from The Vampire Diaries. Another big bad entity is going to destroy Fell's Church and Elena (Nothing new). The love triangle reverts 5 steps back from ANY type of conclusion. Characters from previous storylines are mentioned in 8 words (Caroline is gone and we don't know why.)And the ending was FAR from satisfactory (they defeated the Phantom mostly due to Elena's courage and strength. This book has made her a Mary Sue). The list goes on and on and begs the question: Did this ghost writer even READ the other books?!?! I understood before I bought this book that L.J Smith would not be the author due to gross behavior from her publishers. I planned to boycott until, with wisdom and class, she pleaded with readers not to. Despite the bad taste in my mouth regarding a ghost writer, I was more than willing to give this book a shot. What a disappointment. In my mind and heart, The Vampire Diaries has ended with Damon maybe alive and Stefan, Elena, and the rest of the gang back in a peaceful Fell's Church. Those publishers have just DEMOLISHED an absolutley wonderful, intriguing series.

Aside from the first chapter, which is amazing & probably written by LJ Smith, I thought the book has ruined the whole series. This one is nothing like the last ones. Very boring with no passion. LJ was greatly missed. Without all of the romance & excitement, it just bored me. I literally had to force myself to finish this book. Never before would I go days at a time wanting to skip an evening of reading TVD. I never thought it possible!

Another thing that bothered me about this book were the unbelievable moments. For instance, Why would Elena push Damon away when he comes back from the DEAD? She was lost w/o him, but she acts only distant when he returns from death? She pushes him away time after time. Tell me any of that makes sense. She blew up a moon in devastation over his death!

I LOVED every single one of LJ's TVD's series until this garbage written by the ghostwriter. The characters are not the same either. They seems very hollow & some seem shallow too. Would not reccomend.

This book was so boring I struggled to finish it, poorly written by the ghost writer who clearly isn't good at their job or didn't even read the previous books. I noticed inconsistencies and the characters didn't even resemble themselves (except maybe stefan but how hard is it when he is a spitting image if slightly more pathetic version of Edward). To be honest I think the Sookie Stackhouse books are the best written vampire novels, although I had hope in this serious after being so disappointed with Twilight but this book has cured me of that. I loved The Return novels, especially the time in the dark dimension - it was fascinating and fresh. This just feels like it's been done and was poorly written. It didn't have a good flow to the story (much like the last one) and I just couldn't get involved in the storyline. I read a lot and it actually takes a lot for me not to enjoy a book but this was just terrible. Save your money, the show is honestly much better (which is sad to me because that is almost never the case when it comes to shows written after books).

Mystery solved, a bunch of 10-year-olds got together and randomly complied their fan fiction. Who are these ghost writers?

I haven't read any of the previous books. I too hastily selected it off the library shelf because I am a fan of "The Vampire Diaries" on CW. I was disappointed when I realized it was not book one by L.J. Smith or even written by her. That disappointment was trivial compared to the treatment of the characters I have become attached to through the show.

How many times has this comatose horse of a love triangle been beaten? By now, even a supernatural horse would be pummeled all the way to the Dark Dimension. If the horse were mortal, we could make gelatin from it's hooves. Damn it Elena, just pick one! Isn't this book nine of this story line?

*****SPOILERS FOLLOW, COULD NOT FIGURE OUT HOW TO HIDE HALF THE REVIEW*****

Damon is rescued from death and, almost of equal importance, clothed in his bad boy leather style before returning. Wait, he was nude and we were robbed of even a description of his chiseled chest?

Let me get this straight, Elena is nearly insane dreaming of her long-lost love/object of lust. He returns and they passionately reunite. However, the "I love you more" trophy is still in Stefan's hands. From reading this book alone, you would have no idea why she prefers him other than habit.

Oh, I forgot, how fortunate they were to have the brave and noble Stefan to make sure the phantom was finished off by scattering the rose petals. A nearly indestructible, violent vampire surely was needed to accomplish this task.

The cartoon-like gorgeous ice phantom is not going down as the most legendary villain. Although, having the core of a rose reflecting her power by growing or diminishing is probably a first.

Turning this "horror" novel into a moral story on jealousy is an idiotic departure.

Damon's journey through death and the Dark Dimension sapped his Power more profoundly than any of them realized. Clearly, the phantom or Stefan left him with sustained brain damage leading Damon to drop his guard, join the love fest by talking about his feelings, and apologize to the group.

His love for Elena has become so "undemanding" and pure. He freely gives her a "blinding smile" and his dark eyes warm from her smile, even though she is relining against Stefan and squeezing his hand. Who is this guy and what did he do with Damon?

I will not delve into the details on how this novel is Swiss cheesed through with plot holes, trailing story lines and contradictions.

Many reviewers considered this "well written," what do they usually read?

The ghostwriter did exactly what the company men at Alloy asked of her and the series is ruined now. The characters are one dimensional. The storyline lacks real emotion. Basically, you have taken a devoted reader and purchaser of TVD, one who was sobbing at the end of the last book written by LJ, and ensured I won't be purchasing another of these books. In fact, I didn't buy this one either. Thank you, LIBRARY. After trying to read Stephan's Diaries and returning it immediately, I knew better than to trust a ghostwriter.

For the record, no one really wants the books to be more like the show. I like the show because it's different. I have liked the books since I read them when they were originally published. They have stayed interesting all this time. Oh well. Nothing really lasts forever (except a loyal fan to a well-liked artist).

the hunters volumes from this series are NOT written by L.J. Smith and you can deffinatly tell :( they are not nearly as good as the others its taken me months to finish this book b/c the style is so different, i will finish them up just b/c ive read all the others but by no means and i liking them its just and OK story now so i guess im off to start reading other stuff from L.J. smith

OK, so we all know that "Moonsong" was not actually written bu L. J. Smith. And I'm going to say a couple of things which I'm sure are sacrilegious to the true fans. (1) I enjoy these books more than the ones Smith wrote (particularly the middle part of the series, with the overly complex trips to the Dark Dimensions etc) and (2) I still think that the TV series is better written than the books on which they are based. And I don't often say that, being a bit of a lit geek.

This book is somewhat derivative -- there are cute little allusions to the TV series (like Elena being thrilled at the 'normality' of being kissed atop the Ferris wheel) and even to ghosts of TV series past -- to the point where there's a Zander who's in love with a witchy redhead for any "Buffy" fans out there. What this one does and does well is to finally develop the characters of Matt and Bonnie. Matt used to drive me mad, passively mourning devotedly from the sidelines as his ex-girlfriend moved on with the Salvatores. He was one-dimensional and it wasn't a dimension I particularly liked. In this, though, he starts to come to life and it's a definite improvement. Bonnie also develops a little more backbone and a storyline of her own, and the series moves away from the weird Damon/Bonnie thing which really makes even less sense than Elena's alleged love for both brothers.

A twist at the end of the novel seems to suggest that the story will become recursive at least once more before wrapping up the Hunters installment of the books. Not a bad weekend read, and I'll stick with it to see what happens in Volume 3.

The Vampire Diaries: The Hunters: Moonsong I can say was better than Phantom...I was getting tired of all the paranormal nonsense that was happening in previous books. But I miss LJ Smith and her love/knowledge of the characters she created. Elena is becoming more and more unrecognizable to me. And for crying out loud I am tired of her "I love Stefan..wait I love Damon...no wait Stefan wants me back so I will love Stefan again...sorry for your loss Damon." Really??? Really?? Stefan says he wants you back and you go running breaking Damons heart again..At least in the television series she knows what she wants and does not lead Damon on. The fact is that I want her with Damon..both on the show and in the books but untill I read this book I thought I had a good chance of getting Delena in the books. Actually untill I read the last chapter of this book I thought I had a good chance of getting Damon and Elena. I really enjoyed the time that they spent together in this book...the somewhat dating that took place...but as usual it all gets shattered into a dream when she runs back to Stefan..her supposed one and only true love. Even Elena admits that Damon gets her..that they fit together...but then she still always goes back to Stefan. I just dont get it. Why not make everyone happy and have a Delena ending for one series and a Stelena ending for the other. In my opinion it should be Delana in the books and Stelena on the television series. At least right now there is no confusion on the show...She wants Stefan and has always wanted him. So if you happen to read any of these comments...Ghost Writer...take this into consideration. Give Damon a real chance with Elena. In the beginning wasnt Damon supposed to be her husband in the end?? Oh wait LJ Smith wrote that....

I have read all of The Vampire Diaries books, but this was a disapiontment. I love all the books written by L.J Smith herself, but the others don't have that spark. It isn't that much of a page-turner as the others. When I read books I get different feelings. I was familer with the books before this but I had a different feeling with this book. I mean I was really shocked when I found out L.J. Smith wasn't writing The Vampire Diaries anymore; this series made her famous. That's why give it 3 stars

I must say I was sceptical at first about reading this new Vampire Diaries book because LJ Smith did not write it and there were numerous rumors flying around about how the series should be written and how it should end.......With that said.

I thought the first chapter was absolutely beautiful. Sparks were flying between Damon and Elena and I could FEEL the emotion......

As for the rest of the book....It was pretty good. I noticed alot of people talked about how it had the original series feel to it...yeah I would say that sounds about right.......But at the same time I feel like we took a step back with some of the characters......mostly Elena. Her character seems a bit off, and hesistant or at least she was once Damon got back. Which was weird to me consider how she had no world without Damon.....I was expecting more progress between the two lovers.

I'll be honest I DO NOT want a Stefan and Elena ending. There is something very bland about this pairing, I feel NOOOO sparks whats so ever.......Their relationship has been ran itself into the ground and it has no where to go......Besides that I don't want another Twilight ending...Bella and Edward only worked for the Twilight story.......Vampire Diaries is something totally different and I honor LJ for that. It doesn't bother that there is a ghost writer, per se, but I want the story to move forward and achieve something or reach a point.....I'm sorry but Stefan and Elena together for 8 books is just getting worse and worse each book. Their relationship plateau a long time ago and doesn't make for good reading..........Damon and Elena's relationship however is on fire!! in the books and television show.............You can not mistake the difference. I just wish the writers or publishers would see this.......

I hope the writers in the next book take a closer look at Damon and Elena's relationship......Because their is something definitely missing between her and Stefan and I hope that Elena will get it together and figure it out real quick.

Ever since the ghost writer has take over this series, it has gone down hill! I tried to read Phantom, and ended up returning it the same night I bought it. You'd think that giving the writing over to a ghost writer, that said ghost writer would at least keep up the interesting action in the series, and know their knew characters name.... not so w/ this new writer for this series.... he couldn't even get Meredith's last name right in "The Phantom"... instead of Sulez, he gave her a new last name of Suarez. Not to mention, the plot to that book was horrendous!!! I will NOT read any further books, unless writing is given back to L.J. Smith!

If you like TVD series then I would recommend this book. It's a bit different as for the story line goes but I still enjoyed reading it. The characters are somewhat off but still have the same feel. I think the author was going for them to be that way because of everything they've been through together. How would the characters not have changed!

Save your time and money! I LOVED the series until they took L.J. Smith off, now the books just SUCK. Boring, no depth, the characters are not the same... JUST PLAIN BORING. They ruined what was my favorite book series, good job!

When my mom bought me the Vampire Diaries the Hunters Vol. 1: Phantom I was quite excited. But as I got into the book I realized that something was off with the characters, I did not know then that L.J Smith hadn't written it, so I talked to my parents because they were both surprised that I hadn't finished it yet since I love her books so much. It was really bugying me because the charchters had been completley changed for example Stephan was being really rude and wans't trusting Elena. Damon was all of a sudden having strong feelings for Bonnie and when he went on a trip didn't want Elena to come with him also when he came back to life he didn't make a grand entrance like I thought he would he wanted Elena to keep it a secret which doesn't seem very Damonish to me. Also Bonnie was in LOVE with Damon not in the way were she thought he was attractive like she has since the beging of the series. Then when we looked over the book we realized that it said created by L.J Smith not written by L.J Smith. So I went on L.J Smith's website and saw the message: The Vampire Diaries: Phantom was not written by L.J Smith.

Each book keeps getting worse. Bring back L.J Smith. The ghost writers have no idea of the past history of the characters. I fell alseep reading it a couple of times, hoping it would get better but it did not. Will not be buying anymore books again.

Contrary to what the store says this book was NOT written by L. J. Smith.

All of the books after The Vampire Diaries: Midnight are to be written by a ghostwriter.

(That means all of the Hunter series as well as anything after that.)

If you love L. J. Smith and want to support her, PLEASE do NOT buy this book, get it from the library if you really want to read it. Alloy/Harper printing company Fired Ms. Smith from writing the books because she wasn't writing them how they wanted her too. Also know that They have taken The Secert Circle from Ms. Smith as well.

She is not even allowed to tell how she planned for the books to end, for example, if Elena was sopposed to be with Damon or Stefan. I for one hate that this is happening. Ms. Smith should have freedom with her writing, after all how many best sellers does she have out there??

Please spread the word!!! This is not right and should never have happened. Support Ms Smith, speak out and let others know about this. Please!!!