This book was a little less horrible than the previous installment but that's not saying much. Once again the death of the villains were laughable. They were way too easy to kill and the manner in which they could be killed was unimaginive and anticlimactic. The ending was okay but I was still left unsatisfied by the rushed conclusion and that fact that despite everything Damon does for everyone he still comes in second to Stefan in their eyes. I liked that Elena had become stronger with her guardian powers and Bonnie's magic had grown into making her a full blown witch; the strong female characters I had loved from the original L.J books felt as if they had returned and became even more amazing. But I can say with absolute certainty that the books written after midnight were all subpar at best and downright horrendous at worst. It's clear to me that this final trilogy is a desperate attempt to correct the mistakes made in The Hunters trilogy but those mistakes cannot be fixed so easily. The series was ruined from then on and it will forever be tainted by the awful plots we've endured since then. I am so glad that I am almost finished with this series. Reading it has been torture and I can guarantee that I will NEVER touch these books again.