2.85 Stars 
 I read the book before I saw the TV series and is quite diferent than the book. 
 1.Elena is blonde in the book,not brunette. 
 2.Caroline is brunette,not blonde. 
 3.Elena has another friend,Meredith which is not shown in the TV series. 
 4.Caroline is Elena's frenemy. 
 5.Damon is more sinister in the book. 
 But the rest of the story is pretty much the same. Stefan Salvatore has returned to Mystic Falls after a long time. Elena,the beautiful and popular girl in school, is determined to have the enigmatic Stefan,not knowing that she is dealing with a more than 100 year old vampire with more of a past than she could handle.Stefan tries to stay away from Elena,because she painfully reminds him of Katherine,his love.(Elena is the exact doppleganger of Katherine,strangely.). Damon, Stefan's brother,(also a vampire)is back in town to avenge him. 
 Damon is definitely more scarier and evil than in the TV series.In the book, Damon is only determined to go after Elena to destroy her. Elena is way better in the TV series, beacause she has much stronger character. 
 'Vampire Diaries' was a quick and easy read.Both the book and the series are different in its own way, so I personally enjoyed both.