Night World Volume 1 by L.J. Smith

Night World Volume 1 by L.J. Smith

First, second, and third in the Night World series

5 stars

Night World is a collection of the first three novels into an omnibus. Vampires, werewolves, witches, shapeshifters- live among us without our knowing. Their world is known as the Night World, a secret society with strict rules. The number one rule is falling in love with humans and the consequences for breaking this rule can mean death. Secret Vampire is the first novel and is about Poppy who discovers that she has a very rare form of cancer and that she will die soon. Her best friend, James, is a vampire and he’ll do anything to save her. The second novel is Daughters of Darkness. Mary Lynette meets three very odd girls at her neighbor’s house who turn out to be vampires. Then their brother, Ash, comes to town to bring them back home and she has an attraction that she wish wasn’t there to him. The third novel is Spellbinder, which is about Thea and Blaise two cousins who are very different from each other. When they transfer to a new school Thea is attracted to Eric and Blaise wants to toy with him like every other boy. There’s something about Smith’s writing that captivates me. It sucks me in and I finish this huge collection in a day or two because it’s just so good. Her writing and storytelling just traps me and puts me under a spell that not very many writers can do. If you don’t know who Smith is I’m convinced you live under a rock or just don’t watch TV. Her show and series, The Vampire Diaries, is a big hit in the US. I have to admit I don’t see why the Vampire Diaries is a show when it’s obvious that Night World is a hundred times better. My favorite novel would have to be Daughters of Darkness. I’m going to break down each book and my thoughts on it.

Book One- Secret Vampire

*Read summary above if forgotten what it’s about*

The main female character is Poppy. Poppy was a normal teenager and I immediately found her easy to relate to. I think she was very brave for what she went through. Her actions at the end made me think of her as an idiot, but she’s impulsive. It’s part of her personality, so it made her actions understandable, but I still think it was an idiotic move.

Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 8

The main male character is James. I like James, but I didn’t love him. James is a character that was likeable, but didn’t really elicit very much emotion from. I liked him a lot, but I didn’t love him and he’s not my favorite male character in the collection of stories.

Swoon Worthy Scale: 8

The Villain- Ash… ;) He’s not a “bad” villain, but he’s an entertaining one and it doesn’t hurt that I think he’s awesome.

Villain Scale: 7

Poppy’s twin brother, Phil, is a huge character in this book. I appreciated their relationship and loved how protective he was of her. It’s nice to read about a relationship between brother and sister that seemed real.

Character Scale: 8

Final Thoughts: I liked Secret Vampire a lot, but I wish it would’ve been longer.

Book Two- Daughters of Darkness

*Read summary above if forgotten*

The main female character is Mary Lynette. I liked Mary Lynette. It took me a little bit longer to connect with her than it did with Poppy, but I thought she was a great character.

Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 7.5

The main male character is Ash. Yes the Ash from Secret Vampire. I really like Ash and I think he’s awesome. He can be a jerk, but at least admits to it and doesn’t sugar coat anything. I liked reading Ash’s POVs more than Mary Lynette’s.

Swoon Worthy Scale: 9.5

The Villain- I decided to leave that one a secret… and only the people who’ve read it know.

Villain Scale: 7

There were a lot more characters in this novel than in Secret Vampire. There were Ash’s sisters, Jade, Rowan, and Kestrel. Jade was the most prominent of the sisters and I felt that the other sisters should have gotten more of a chance to shine. Then there was Mary Lynette’s brother, Mark. Mark was a cool little brother, but I didn’t understand why he and Jade were a couple it seemed kind of thrown in.

Character Scale: 8.5

Final Thoughts: That ending! I need more of Ash and Mary Lynette. That ending was totally unfair, but also a really good one. The characters were a little lacking, but everything else was perfect.


Book Three- Spellbinder

*Look above for summary if forgotten*

The main female character is Thea. Thea was a good character, but she wasn’t really anything special. I didn’t connect to her and she didn’t feel real to me.

Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 5

The main male character is Eric. I honestly didn’t see why Thea and Blaise were fighting over Eric. He was honestly nothing special. He was as bland as unbuttered toast. I didn’t feel anything while reading about him and I could care less about his relationship with Thea.

Swoon Worthy Scale: 3

The Villain- Blaise could be considered the villain, but I liked her more than Thea. I feel like the book would’ve been more interesting with alternating POVs between Thea and Blaise.

Villain Scale: 5

Character Scale: 4.5

Final Thoughts: This book lacked and I have a lot of problems with it. The characters weren’t good and didn’t do anything for me. The witchcraft wasn’t really well mentioned and just seemed thrown in because it’s supposed to be paranormal. The romance sucked, but the ending was actually good and the only redeeming quality Spellbinder had to offer.


You’re probably wondering why give this book 5 stars if you didn’t like Spellbinder? I’m giving this book five stars because even though Spellbinder sucked I still enjoyed Secret Vampire and Daughters of Darkness. I also somewhat enjoyed Spellbinder. Mostly I’m giving it five stars instead of 4.5 because of Smith’s writing.


Cover Thoughts: I like the cover it’s simple and I don’t know why but I really like it.