Listen free for 30 days

  • The Vampire Diaries, Book 1

  • The Awakening
  • Written by: L. J. Smith
  • Narrated by: Rebecca Mozo
  • Length: 6 hrs and 31 mins
  • 3.7 out of 5 stars (34 ratings)

1 credit a month, good for any title to download and keep.
The Plus Catalogue—listen all you want to thousands of Audible Originals, podcasts, and audiobooks.
$14.95 a month plus applicable taxes after 30 day trial. Cancel anytime.
The Vampire Diaries, Book 1 cover art

The Vampire Diaries, Book 1

Written by: L. J. Smith
Narrated by: Rebecca Mozo
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $31.44

Buy Now for $31.44

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

The New York Times best-selling series!

The first book in L.J. Smith's New York Times best-selling Vampire Diaries series, the basis of the hit CW TV show starring Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, and Ian Somerhalder.

Elena Gilbert is a high school golden girl, used to getting what she wants. And who she wants. But when the boy she's set her sights on - the handsome and haunted Stefan - isn't interested, she's confused. She could never know the real reason Stefan is struggling to resist her:

Stefan is a vampire, and Elena's in danger just by being around him. What's more, Stefan's dark, dangerous vampire brother Damon has just arrived in town. And wherever Damon goes, trouble always follows.

Fans of The Vampire Diaries TV show will find this book packed with the same kind of heart-stopping suspense, fierce romances, and jaw-dropping surprises that they know and love, all brought to life by New York Times best-selling author L.J. Smith.

©1991 Daniel Weiss Associate, Inc., and Lisa Smith (P)2009 HarperCollins Publishers

Featured Article: The 15 Best Vampire Audiobook Series to Sink Your Teeth Into

You’ve conquered the classics of the vampire fiction genre, such as Stephen King’s ‘Salem’s Lot and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Now you’re looking to grow your library and hit play on some chilling new books brought to life by talented narrators with stellar voices. Whether you’re looking to sink your teeth into a creepy urban fantasy with bloodthirsty beasts or swoon over a steamy paranormal romance, we’ve compiled a list of the best vampire series audiobooks available here on Audible.

What listeners say about The Vampire Diaries, Book 1

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    14
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    8
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    3
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    14
  • 4 Stars
    5
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    12
  • 4 Stars
    8
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    2

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Annoying accents but good characters

I liked the story line, but the way she spoke as Stephan and Damon is not the way i would imagine their voices sounding like. It was kind of annoying. And i didn’t like how every time Stephan’s name was mentioned his last name followed after. Especially cause its not the name in the show. It got tiring after a while. I wish there was less description and more story to the book. But i did like Elena’s best friends. Their characters were well developed.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Like the show mixed with twilight

The story line and details aren’t what I was hoping for. It’s not bad, just different

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

review

the book was really good. nothing like the show at all but still very good

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Not a Fan

I was not impressed with this book, it’s short, the story wasn’t enthralling, it was just plain boring. The accents were annoying, and it was it’s sadly disappointing.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not a fan

So I learned the books are nothing like the tv show except for a few names. Also the voices and the accents were not for me. It made the story hard to listen to they were pretty bad. I still finished listening to the story but I will read the actual book for myself next time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I love romance.

I've read this series multiple times. Back before all the rewrites. Now there is extra books and I will own them all.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Made my non-reader a convert

My 13 year old daughter hates to read, but she devoured this audible book in one day. Magic!!

Audible 1

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Breezybealle
  • Breezybealle
  • 2017-10-10

The Better Original

I originally read this series in the mid-nineties after it first came out. These, together with The Secret Circle followed with the Night World series made up half of my "must keep" books. Twenty years later I still have copies with the original cover art. So when I first heard they were coming out with a TV show for both, I had major reserves. The Secret Circle failed in many ways. Not only did it not follow the written narrative, but the characters and storyline they chose to go with did nothing to make up for it.

As far as TVD, the show is much different than the books. Really, you almost can't compare the two save for some of the names and the fact that Elena' s caught between the brothers. Other than that, the people and places contrast majorly. For one thing, Elena is blonde, Bonnie is a fair skinned red-headed and Meredith Fell is a forth friend. Jeremy doesn't exist and is a 5 year old sister, instead. So fans of the show may be extremely disappointed.

Please don't go into this expecting them to feel the same. You have to read/listen with an open mind. The actual writing, though, yes it is a YA novel, is very mature. However, if you LISTEN to this, none of that will come through. The narrator is horrible. She comes across as a whiny stuck up tween who over-dramatizes every sentence. And she pronounces their last name, Salvatore, as "Salvatoray". Drove me friggin nuts. Her performance, especially her accent for Stefan sounding much like Luigi from the Mario Bros, ruined the entire book.

I honestly believe given a higher-grade narrator, preferably an adult, this would be so much better and would appeal to all ages. All of L.J. Smith's original stories would. Do not read the ghost-written books. There just is no comparison.

But for this to be experienced as it should, you need to read it for yourself vs. listening unless (or hopefully until) they record another version. Otherwise you might not make it through the entire thing and that would be a shame. It was one of the first of its kind.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

85 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Fee
  • Fee
  • 2011-08-26

Interesting!

I have never watched the TV version before, so I can't compare it with the book. But this audiobook kept me entertained from the beginning to the end. I read so many negative reviews about this audiobook that I'd struggled whether to buy it for a long time. It turned out to be much better than I had expected. I saw (and you will too) so much of this book's shadow in Twilight. I swear some of the scenes are almost exactly the same. You'll have to say it's original because it was written twenty years ago. Anyway, just buy it if you love reading paranormal romance.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

18 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for decembergrit
  • decembergrit
  • 2010-01-06

Much better then the TV series.

It took me a while to get into it, but once I did I was hooked. It's not at all like the TV series. It has the same characters and the same struggle for Elana, but the story is very different. I watched the TV series but so far I like the story in the books MUCH better. On TV, just like they did with TrueBlood, they took the characters and some of the basics and then re-wrote it. Personally in both cases the books have the best stories. Definately worth listening to!!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Marco
  • Marco
  • 2010-02-10

Well read

Well read by the actress. The book is sort of interesting, though it is completely different from the TV show, the reason I got interested in the first place. Much, much better than the Twilight saga, there's really no comparison between the two: The Vampire Diaries is more compelling, better written and overall more agreeable.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Emily Closson
  • Emily Closson
  • 2019-02-22

Great story, some issues with the narrator...

I bought this because I'm a HUGE fan of the TV series. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this series is literally completely different than the TV series. I kind of like that! It's almost like a bonus series because it has most of the same characters that I love, but it's a completely different story line.

I will say that there are a few things I dislike about the narrator's performance. One of them being that she pronounces "Salvatore" with a long "E" at the end. She pronounces it like "sal-va-tor-y" versus "sal-va-tor". The latter is how they actually pronounce it in the show. I'm not sure which one the author meant to be the correct pronunciation, but I much prefer the way they pronounce it in the TV show. So that's one downside... but it wasn't enough to make me dislike her performance altogether. I do feel myself cringing every time she says Stefan's and Damon's last name for any reason though. Second, I HATE the way she does Stefan's voice! It bugs the heck out of me! I'm definitely not a fan of the awful Italian accent she attempts to do and I'm hoping the different narrators in the next few books do a better job because that one thing did almost make me stop listening and return the book.

With that being said... the story itself is great. I have somewhat of a vampire obsession. I love Twilight, True Blood, or any other vampire-related TV show, movie, or book. So this series is just another bonus to add to my collection of favorite vampire-related things. I love this "universe" because the character story lines and the way they all connect somehow are my favorite compared to all other series (such as Twilight). And each vampire-related book, series, etc. always has a different set of skills that vampires possess. For example, in Twilight, they all have a different type of skill (i.e. Edward reads minds, Alice sees the future, etc.). But I just love Damon and Stefan's skills. And the love triangle between them and Elena is an added BONUS!!

If I had to say whether or not I would recommend this audible listen, I'd say go for it. It's definitely worth the $7 it costs if you choose not to use a credit. But I wouldn't recommend wasting a credit on such a short listen (since it's only about 6 and a 1/2 hours long). Save your credits for something that's at least 10 hours long! But if you can get past the way Rebecca Mozo pronounces "Salvatore" as well as the way she does Stefan's terrible accent... then go for it. But you will probably be pretty disappointed if you're like me and you watched the show FIRST. It was hard for me to picture Stefan's face in the show and put it together with the awful accent Rebecca does. And one other small thing... I am sort of missing some of my favorite characters from the TV series that aren't in the books, but I know that's not something I can complain about considering these were written well before the TV show was. :)

Anyway... happy listening!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Natalia
  • Natalia
  • 2010-04-01

Great

Enjoyed it so much i have downloaded the next two books. Highly recommend it for you fellow vampire lovers.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Bradford S.
  • Bradford S.
  • 2012-05-21

dont bother

What disappointed you about The Vampire Diaries, Book 1?

The narrator is the worst narrator that I have ever heard. her itialian accent sounds like Mario and Luigi. her southern accent sounds like Forrest Gump. she made me not finish the book. I can't bear to hear her speak another word.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Rebecca Mozo?

Anyone.

Any additional comments?

This is nothing like the tv show. the show is much better. the characters are much different. I still wanted to hear the story but the narrator caused me to turn it off. as far as the story, thank God for Kevin Williamson for making it better.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Kaysey Beury
  • Kaysey Beury
  • 2018-04-07

if you are a fan of the show, yiu won't be of this

I realize the book inspired the show, and so I can imagine (as I have been before) the disappointment book fans experienced when it first aired on the CW. I am a late-comer to the books, though, and am a little disappointed. Elena's character seems immature. at first I thought she was going to be a great, arrong female character. I quickly found she is as angsty and stupid (sorry, that sounds harsh), as both Romeo and Juliet. You find yourself thinking about how foolish she is acting and can't help but be annoyed. The writing is awkward and seems immatute as well. There were parts where I found myself wondering how developed of a writer L.J. Smith was when she wrote the first book. I dislike that Elena is immediately obsessed in an unhealthy way, and wanted it to feel more natural. There is a part where Elena drinks Stefans's blood (I think?) and I found it to be very weird and ruined the moment. I could have handled insinuating some adult content instead and simply moved on to more plot. I also was a little turned off by the accents the narrator used for the Salvatori brothers. They have been around for a few hundred years and they haven't lost or changed their accent? All of this said, I am going to read the next one to see how the style of writing progresses within the story. I hope the characters become much less obsessed and are more mature moving forward. This was not a terrible book, but not on the same level as some other YA literature that has been popular in recent years. I should also out out that I am well beyond the YA years, so maybe I am finally at the point where I am just too far removed to identify with younger protagonists. Read away, YA-ers! I might be the exception with my slight disappointment!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Kimberly
  • Kimberly
  • 2010-09-19

total teenager story

This story seems to follow the same type story as the twilight. Teenage angst and all.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for C. White
  • C. White
  • 2009-11-24

Not so hot

Being made into a TV series was the best thing for this book, other wise this story is weak and has no characters you care about. The TV show pretty much just uses names and location, other wise the story is very different.

Now, this story does have some similarities with Twilight, which I enjoyed a lot, but only in situation, not in any feeling that you get for these people.

The narration is good, and easy to listen to, but that said I will not be getting the sequels. not worth my credits.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful