TVG – Slap on your flapper dresses and tailcoat tuxedos. The Vampire Diaries is flashing back to the roaring ’20s.

In Thursday’s episode, Stefan (Paul Wesley) will revisit a piece of his past, one in which he doesn’t actually remember (thank goodness for diaries!), but is filled with blood and a serious disregard for human life and emotions. How horrifying is it? Let’s just say that next to Ripper Stefan, Klaus (Joseph Morgan) actually looks pretty tame.

As Damon (Ian Somerhalder) and Elena (Nina Dobrev) attempt to track him down, they’ll be faced with their own set of problems; namely, what could possibly bring him back from the brink of maniacal bloodlust? Plus, new friends and old foes return. Get the scoop on Vampire Diaries‘ trip to the ’20s below, along with Caroline’s (Candice Accola) fate, the Originals and Jeremy’s (Steven R. McQueen) ghost issues.

1. Ripper’s trip to the ‘20s: Before Stefan discovers why doesn’t remember his experiences in the era by the end of the episode, he’ll revisit his time there as he and Klaus travel to Chicago in an attempt to contact a witch who may hold the key to why Klaus can’t create new hybrids. In doing so, we’ll find out why Stefan really is important in the long run. “One of the big questions that we left last year with was why Klaus took such an interest in Stefan, Stefan specifically of all people,” executive producer Julie Plec says. “What we really wanted to do was show the roots of Klaus’ character as it relates to his family, the people that he’s known for 1,000 years and been with off and on for 1,000 years that we notoriously know that he’s daggered one by one and carted around in coffins.”

2. The Originals, resurrected: The family will be popping in and out this season, but don’t expect to see all of them. “That was our intention until we did the math and realized we’ve said there’s seven children, and that’s a lot of new people to bring into the story,” Plec says. “The mother is going to be someone we meet in the past, as well as other siblings and we’ll see Elijah [Daniel Gillies] again.”

3. Elena’s mission to save Stefan: Stefan and Elena will finally come face-to-face. “This episode is a big deal for the Stefan and Elena relationship,” Plec says. “In her plucky little heart… she’s a compassionate savior of her friends and loved ones. I really do think she believes it is as easy as just getting him out of that environment.” Unfortunately, it’s not that easy. We’ll see Elena “as she struggles with her desire to help rescue this hero in her life… but also the realities of learning the lesson that you can’t necessarily let yourself be consumed in your own life by saving someone else’s.”

4. Old foes return: “We get to learn some old, old secrets and return to play with some old friends-slash-foes,” Plec teases of Thursday’s episode. We’re sworn to secrecy not to reveal exactly who is returning, but he or she will appear in both the past and present.

5. Caroline gets tortured: If you thought Klaus was heartless when it came to his family, that’s nothing in comparison to Caroline’s dad (Jack Coleman), who takes to torturing her in an attempt to break her of her blood lust. “It’s a story about a parent thinking they know best for their child,” Plec says, and in this case, father does not know best.

6. Ghostly appearances: While Jeremy doesn’t appear in Thursday’s episode, his visions of dead girlfriend Vicki (Kayla Ewell) and Anna (Malese Jow), who are seemingly at odds, will come back in full force the following week. “There is an agenda happening with our ghosts that isn’t just, ‘Hey, I want to make amends with my loved ones,’” Plec says. “We’re [also] going to see the emotional consequences of Bonnie [Katerina Graham] bringing Jeremy back to life, which is that it’s put a rift in her romantic relationship with him. Our arc is to see what the ghostly and supernatural consequences are. We go all out in Halloween and have ourselves some fun. It’s not Halloween in the show, but we still do an episode where we get to have a little fun with ghosts and really pay off that chapter.” Plus: Plec notes that Jeremy seeing dead people is not limited to just Anna and Vicki.

7. The Council divided: The discovery that Caroline is a vampire and Tyler (Michael Trevino) is a werewolf will have consequences on the Council, those sworn to protect Mystic Falls from the supernatural. “There’s a couple juicy Council moments coming up,” Plec says. “For those of you that follow the moves of the council and their glorious incompetencies, next week showcases that beautifully. Next week, it’s like, ‘Wait a second, who actually on this council is not somehow carrying a secret for their child that are supposed to be the very people we are fighting against?’”

8. Matt’s struggles: Matt’s (Zach Roerig) issues with the supernatural nature of Mystic Falls will come to a head in the fifth episode. “It’s set the weekend before senior year begins, and it’s an annual tradition of senior prank night and things, of course, goes horribly wrong,” Plec says. “For Matt, specifically, it’s kind of bittersweet because… there was a sense of life he’s had that he’s really lost over the two seasons of our show and it’s really hurting him. We get to explore that in a beautiful and tragic way.” Plus, Plec adds, “Matt’s gotta get laid this year, for sure, because he just needs that. He needs love.”

Wetpaint recently interviewed Zach Roerig who portrays Matt on The Vampire Diaries.

During the interview, Zach spoke about how Vicki will affect Matt’s relationships, nd speculates on a possible future for Matt and Elena.

Matt and Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) have a little bromance going on this season. Will the whole ghost thing put their friendship in jeopardy?
Oh no, no. Not at all. It’s just the opposite. I think it will bring their relationship closer.

Should we trust Vicki?
Well, I’m not sure how the audience feels about Vicki, but regardless of how the audience reacts, Matt, I think, is very excited about it. He never got to be really close with his sister. He was essentially all alone in this town so being able to bond with his sister will make him feel like he’s a little more in the loop, so to speak.

We’ve seen other interviews where you seem pretty happy about the Caroline/Tyler (Michael Trevino) relationship. Do you think Matt’s over Caroline?

Matt and Caroline were a great couple, but I think that now that Tyler is a werewolf and Caroline’s a vampire, they have a bond that Matt’s never going to be able to fully understand. I think Matt will kind of step back from the situation and realize that the two of them are kind of right for each other.

Nina Dobrev has said that she thinks Elena’s main motivation is to be normal and have a family. For this reason, do you think Matt should ultimately end up with Elena?
I think one of the main reasons that Matt Donovan plays such a strong role in Mystic Falls is his relationship with Elena. And whether we see a lot of that now or not, it’s always implied in the past. Ultimately with Matt and Elena, they could, should, possibly end up being together. I just feel like there will eventually come a time in their lives when they realize that they can’t keep living this way.

You told us last year that you wanted Matt to be more involved with the town council. Is there still any hope for that?
No, not that I’m aware of, but I still think it would be very nice to have Matt be part of the council, but now that the Sheriff’s daughter is a vampire and Carol Lockwood’s [Susan Walters] son is a werewolf it’s almost like there needs to be a reestablished council. You know, one that keeps working with the vampires and one that keeps working with the werewolves. And Matt could go back to each group — working with the vampires half the time and working with the werewolves half the time. I think Matt would fit in very well there, establishing order.

Any hints about who the Big Bad is going to be this season, other than Klaus? Is it going to be Caroline’s father?

I don’t think it will be Caroline’s father, because ultimately every parent on our show tries to do right thing in their minds, the right thing being the way they were raised. I feel like they’re moved by their love of their children, so I don’t think he would be that guy at all.

Lighting round! Tell us the first word that comes to mind for these TVD characters:

Damon: Witty

Elena: Headstrong

Stefan: Compassionate

Matt: [Laughs] All American

Caroline: Spunky

Tyler: Insane

Alaric: Drunk

Bonnie: Crafty

Vicki: [Candice Accola shouting from the passenger seat] Hot!

Klaus: [Candice and Zach confer] The bees knees

Envy

A Novel of the Fallen Angels

By:  J. R. Ward

Published by:  Signet

Published: 2011

Reviewed by:  Kelly H.

In Envy, the third novel in J. R. Ward’s Fallen Angels series, Jim Heron and his crew are back in Caldwell, New York awaiting the next round in the battle between good and evil …

And, after the loss last round, there’s no room for error when the next soul is in need of being saved.

The soul in question:  Detective Thomas DelVecchio, son of a convicted serial killer who’s currently on Death Row, whom we first met in Ward’s last Black Dagger Brotherhood novel, Lover Unleashed.

But have no worries if you haven’t read that book.  Ward does a superb job of filling the reader in on any pertinent information.

Envy picks up right where Lover Unleashed left off, as far as Veck’s story is concerned …

He finds himself in the woods, standing over the mangled body of Kroner, a serial killer he’d been investigating, with no memory of what went down. 

That’s where things get a little tricky.

Veck’s spent many years battling a dark side within him and worrying that he’d never be any better than his father.  He’d already had one incident since joining Caldwell’s police force, which landed him under investigation by Internal Affairs, and now that he’s standing over a bleeding man – one he was sure he’d intended to kill, and he knows that can’t be good …

Enter:  Sophia Reilly, the Internal Affairs Officer in charge of investigating him.  She feels he’s a good cop and that the lack of evidence speaks for itself. 

She also thinks he’s super-hot, but she’d never let that cloud her judgment.

Any who, Kroner’s attack is ruled and animal attack (yeah … if you read Lover Unleashed, you already know exactly what sort of “animal” attack it was, but that little nugget of information isn’t revealed till later in Envy, though).

Once cleared, Reilly becomes his new partner, and love interest, while he serves out a probationary period, and they begin investigating the cold case of a missing girl — Sissy Barten.

This leads us into the real story – the one about saving his soul — and links both Veck and Reilly to Jim Heron, who’s not only charged with saving Veck’s soul.  He also swore to save Sissy Barten’s soul from the demon Devina, in the last book in the series, Crave.

It all sounds so cut and dry, but I must digress because nothing’s ever easy when it comes to the final battle between good and evil.

There were a few problems this round …

1. The Creator has been made aware of all the cheating that’s been going on, on both sides.
2.  Jim and his crew – Adrian and Eddie aren’t seeing eye to eye.  Jim’s not relenting on his promise to save Sissy Barten and Eddie and Ad think it’s nothing more than a distraction.
3. A main character dies.  Yes, a main character dies, but the question is in a world filled with Angels, Demons, Vampires, and lord only knows what else, could this character come back?  We’ll apparently have to wait until the next installment to get an answer to that question.

Some questions, however; are answered in this book like …

1.  What are the consequences of all the cheating and will there be punishments doled out?
2.  Will Jim and his crew’s troubles keep them from winning this round?

And …

1.  More importantly, will their partnership even survive the round?

As you can see, there’s a whole lot going on in this book, so much that I haven’t even scratched the surface and you know what?

J. R. Ward has absolutely done it this time.  She managed to write a book that kept me on the edge of my seat and guessing right up until the very end. 

Not only that, but I absolutely love her writing style. 

Her use of slang, in all her writing, is absolutely amazing and really fits with the characters and the story she’s telling, and Envy was no exception. 

She has a way of telling stories that deal with supernatural and fantasy in a way that’s really raw and true.  She doesn’t sugarcoat anything and isn’t afraid to “go there,” even if it’s a place or topic that’s slightly controversial, racy, gory, or socially unacceptable  – which can make her work hard to read, sometimes, but it also makes her stories way more real and endearing, in my opinion. 

Confidently, I can say that this is my favorite book so far in this series, and is firmly locked into my top three of the thirteen books I’ve read by her. 

If you like fantasy, supernatural, mystery, romance, and/or action you absolutely must read this book.

Disclaimer: I bought this book with my own money and everything I have said is of my own honest opinion.  I have not been paid to review this book.

Here is Christie G.’s take on the popular J.R. Ward series:

Jim Heron was a hot-headed soldier for an elite special ops organization, after his death he became an angel and is currently on an epic battle to save the world.

Heron was chosen by the side of both good and evil to save people that are going to be at a cross roads in their life, he either has to prompt them to the good or evil side, they both felt that he would be the perfect candidate for each side in the battle. Although Heron feels that he will only prompt these pre-chosen individuals for the good side, this does not mean that his job is easy especially since he does not know who these individuals are, he must follow his instincts and hope that they are right.

Enter Devina – she give a whole new meaning to the saying “Devil in a Blue Dress”. She is a gorgeous brunette on the outside and knows how to get a man going. Devina is a demon and Heron’s evil counterpart in the battle.

She manipulates, cheats and conives in order to win this battle, which drives Heron down a path which he is unsure if he will able to succeed in his mission.

Heron has help from his trusted sidekicks, Adrian and Eddie who are fallen angels you were assigned to Jim in order to win the battle; but Devina is very familiar with them and knows what makes them tick.

 This is a great series where you can fantazise about the power plays of good versus evil. This is not your regular Angels vs. Demon book; it has heartbreak, battles, sexual attraction and conflicts. It is a real page turner and you will be surprised with the outcome of the story, but in order to know the entire background you have to read the first two books so that you are familiar with the characters and what they represent to the Angels and Demons.

Disclaimer: I solemnly swear… that I purchased this book and have not been paid to review this book and everything I have said is of my own honest opinion.

_______________________________________

Bloodlines

By:  Richelle Mead

Published by:  Razorbill

Published: 2011

Reviewed by:  Kelly H.

Let me preface this by saying that I’ve been waiting for this book since before the final Vampire Academy Novel was released.  From the moment it was announced Richelle Mead would be writing a spin-off series, I was elated, excited, and full of anticipation, being that I was a huge fan of the Vampire Academy series. 

With each snippet of information released — the title, the cover, the excerpt, etc. my anticipation only grew.

That said, if Richelle Mead or any of her people happen to ever read this review — I beg of you — Please contact me and send me an ARC of The Golden Lily when they are available!  I will happily read it and review it for you!  I promise!

Now that, that’s out of the way, I’ll get on with my review.

Bloodlines follows alchemist, Sidney Sage, as she takes on a new assignment in order to protect her younger sister.  Sidney knows what it means to be an alchemist and once you’ve become one, you are theirs forever, and she wants no part of that for her sister.

Now you may be wondering, just what is this assignment? 

Well, it’s to help protect the Moroi Princess, Jill Dragomir, whose life has been threatened in a plot to remove her sister, Lissa, from the Moroi throne.

The plan is to send Jill to sunny Palm Springs, where few Moroi or Strigoi live, due to the sunny climate, hence minimizing the threat level from both other Moroi and Strigoi, alike.

While there, Sidney and Jill are enrolled in a private prep school, along with Dhampir, Eddie Castile where they pose as brother and sisters to keep up their cover, and of course, once they begin to settle in, the mystery ensues in the form of magical tattoos, similar to those of the alchemists, and murders.

Also joining them in Palm Springs is another familiar face from Vampire Academy — Adrian Ivashkov.

Adrian is still suffering over his breakup with Rose, and is in a very bad way — drinking in excess, smoking like a chimney, sleeping with random women, and wallowing in his own self-pity, but he’s found a new friend in Sidney, and with her help and friendship, he seems to find new confidence and be well on his way to recovery.

That is, until the very end of the book, but I won’t say why or what changed.  You’ll have to read it to find out!

Bloodlines was very entertaining and, if anything, only surpassed my expectations.

Sidney is awesome — the polar opposite of Rose — and I must say, she reminds me a lot of myself.  I think it will be very interesting to see her growth over the course of the series.

She’s being faced with the simple truth that her beliefs, as an alchemist, are not necessarily reflective of the reality she’s living and I’m thinking that we’ll begin to see great changes in the alchemist world in this series, as we saw in the Dhampir and Moroi world in Vampire Academy. 

And, on a side note, whether you read Vampire Academy or not — no worries.  Richelle Mead did an excellent job of filling those who didn’t read it in on all pertinent information, and she did it in a way that was not overbearing or repetitive for those who did read the series.

As with any Richelle Mead tome, she managed to tell a story filled with emotion, action, drama, and even a little romance thrown in, here and there, and I believe it was the perfect book to transition us from Rose, in Vampire Academy, to Sydney, in this series, as well as set up the storyline which subsequent books will evolve from.

Now, I already mentioned how excited I was for this book to come out, and now that it has, I’m just as excited for the next installment in the series.  June cannot get here quick enough!

Disclaimer: I bought this book with my own money and everything I have said is of my own honest opinion.  I have not been paid to review this book.

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Lust after Death

By: Daisy Harris

Published: 2011

Published by: Ellora’s Cave Publishing

Reviewed by: Naomi M.

 In the Pacific Northwest, where life hurries to keep pace with technology, a re-animated bride named Josie struggles to escape her creator and to find her identity in the half-erased circuitry of her mind and body.

Assassin Bane Connor just wants to get the girl to the Zombie Underground and receive his payoff-a mental reset that will erase his memories as well as his guilt. But an attack by a rival faction derails his rescue, and the wide-eyed female whose circuitry requires a husband tears at his hardened heart and ignites desire like he’s never known.

Acting as Josie’s spouse-substitute is tougher than Bane expected. The newborn stein needs touch to live, and wanting her is a complication he doesn’t need. To make matters worse, she sees into the darkest recesses of his mind. The last thing a killer wants is for his lover to read his thoughts, but if Josie can love him the way he’s programmed, perhaps Bane can find a way to heal his past.

Lust after Death is a novella written by Daisy Harris and is pumped full of action and sex.

Josie and Bane are electric. Their encounters are full of sexual tension in the first few acquaintances and then it becomes very lusty. Josie is a strong character and is a great match for Bane. She doesn’t let him push her around. Bane’s softer side comes out when he is around Josie. He is a protector first and a terminator second. I like their union and think they make for an undead couple. Now, one character I can’t stand is Anna. She just oozed ‘hate me’ pheromones.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this short and refreshing read. This is the first time where I have read anything that has the main characters being zombies. Quite a different read for me but enjoyable.

Disclaimer: I was sent this e-book as part of a tour by The Bookish Snob Promotions. I have not been paid to review this book and everything I have said is of my own honest opinion.

Taylor Kinney and Lady Gaga were spotted together at a Braves game, and Michael Trevino, his on-screen nephew. Kinney has tweeted a few times about visiting with Gaga in Atlanta.

“The Vampire Diaries” cast is currently at work on a ghost-themed Halloween episode, set to air Oct. 27. The twitterverse is buzzing that Uncle Mason won’t be the only familiar face who haunts Mystic Falls… expect some other dearly departed faves to return, too.

Who do you think will pop up?

Images from: Empire Magazine

Here’s the latest on Fringe from TV Line’s Michael Ausiello:

Question: I totally loved the Fringe premiere. Will the brief flashes of Peter Bishop in the background continue? —Justin
Ausiello: My eyes aren’t so good as I get on in the years, but I don’t recall seeing Peter flickering around in Episode 2. But he does make his presence known in a different, rather maddening way. Also, dare I tease, you might even hear Astrid make reference to him in front of Olivia.

Question: I’m not sure if I’m alone in this, but I think the abundance of Seth Gabel in Friday’s Fringe premiere almost (almost) made up for the lack of Joshua Jackson. I fell in love with badass Lincoln Lee last season and while I do adore his nerdy doppelganger, will we be seeing the alt version sometime soon? —Megan
Ausiello: I forwarded your query to exec producers Jeff Pinkner and J.H. Wyman, and they responded with an unequivocal, “Yes!” Wait, there’s more! “We all love Lincoln, and both versions of him,” the duo added. “They both will be important elements this season.” Beginning with this week’s episode!

Question: May I have some Fringe spoilers, please? —Natali
Ausiello: In this new reality, where Peter doesn’t (quite) exist, someone who was dead no longer is.

And here’s the latest Secret Circle scoop:

Question: Do you have anything juicy on the Secret Circle? —Monica
Ausiello: The Grim Reaper is coming!

THR is reporting that Kristin Bauer van Straten will appear on ABC’s upcoming fantasy series, Once Upon a Time.

She’ll guest as the character Maleficent.

Not much is known about how the character will be portrayed on the fairy tale meets modern day series. Maleficent is best known as the evil witch from the Walt Disney film, Sleeping Beauty. She is adapted from the wicked fairy godmother of the original fairy tale.