Erin S. (nantuckerin) reviewed on 1/3/2010 + 158 more book reviews

As a reader, I really appreciate omnibus editions of books. It's great to get a lot of content in one purchase, especially when working through a meaty, multi-book series like L.J. Smith's Night World.

However, an omnibus can be problematic to review. Because the novels contained with in can vary greatly in content and quality. This is the problem I had with Night World, No. 1.

The Night World series details the lives of supernatural creatures that live in tandem (if not always in harmony) with humans, keeping their secret lives hidden from their human classmates, friends and in some cases, loves. This first edition highlights vampires, werewolves and witches in a series of three novels.

In the first book, Secret Vampire, heroine Poppy finds out she is dying of terminal cancer, and only joining her best friend James in his life as a vampire will save her. The second book, Daughters of Darkness, follows three sheltered vampire sisters as they try to make a new life for themselves in human society, solve the mystery of a relative's death and find love at the same time. And finally, Spellbinder tells the story of two witches -- cousins, but as close as sisters -- and how magic can complicate romance, friendship and family.

The first book was okay, but kind of lackluster when compared to L.J. Smith's Vampire Diaries books. The characters weren't very engaging except for Ash -- the bad-boy vampire that bears a strong similarity to Damon, the bad-boy vampire from Vampire Diaries. Ash makes a reappearance in Daughters of Darkness, where again he is one of the more interesting characters. His three sisters -- Jade, Kestral and Rowan -- take center stage in this book, and while they're all colorful and fun, the humans in the book are shallow and underdeveloped -- so the love stories fell flat for me, too.

I almost didn't finish the last book in the collection -- Spellbinder. I'm glad I did -- it was definitely the best story in the bunch. The main characters -- white witch Thea, and her dark Aphrodite-like cousin, Blaise -- are both well-written and complex. The main love story between Eric and Thea is rich in conflict, but also feels genuine. Unlike the surface romances Smith attempts in the first two books, this love story is compelling and really reeled me in. I loved the details about witchcraft and the history that Smith included in Spellbinder, and would definitely seek out books that continued the story of Thea, Eric and Blaise.

Overall, its important for fans of Smith's Vampire Diaries to understand that these are very different books. The vampire mythology is even different, which struck me as strange. But most importantly, the Night World stories read more like short stories than a continuous series. Characters from previous books make small appearances in other books (i.e., Ash is a minor character in Secret Vampire, but a major one in Daughters of Darkness -- likewise, Thea and Blaise appear briefly in Secret Vampire before their primary roles in Spellbinder) but the stories aren't really interconnected. Overall, though, if you enjoy paranormal romance, Night World is worth a look.

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