Originals: The Rise

by Julie Plec

[Leah]

The Originals has quickly become one of my favourite TV shows, and the Mikaelson's one of those families you love to hate, especially since their debut on The Vampire Diaries many seasons ago. The way the two shows blend so nicely is amazing and I adore the New Orleans setting of The Originals. I was quite excited when it was announced there were going to be three book releases tied to The Originals world, I'm always eager to learn more about these vampires with such long lives and such a varied history and I couldn't wait to dive in to The Rise.



It took me a while to really get a feel for Rebekah, Klaus and Elijah - their written form is harder to understand than their TV form - after all, we have actors portraying the three. Especially since these aren't the Originals as we know them - these are the Originals centuries ago in the 1700s. And so for Klaus to fall in love seemed like the most bizarre thing ever. Klaus only seems to cause chaos on The Vampire Diaries and The Originals, and we've rarely seen an emotional side to him. So it was strange to see him entranced by someone - a witch, no less.

But the novel showed flashes of the three characters we've come to love. Klaus the evil madman who likes to call people "love", Rebekah who loves to fall in love, and Elijah who tries to keep the peace but isn't afraid to get his hands dirty if it means his family are safe and protected. So I really loved getting this early glimpse in to their lives. Once it finally got down to war - which is what the Originals do best, let's be clear, I really got in to the novel and was flipping the pages as fast as I could because I couldn't get enough. I'm excited to see more of their earlier world in the next two novels, that's for sure, because the little glimpse here was fantastic and once the novel got in to its stride, it really got in to its stride.



Like I said, it took me a while to get in to the novel and it was so bizarre to see Klaus being cordial and delightful and positively in love. So it was hard to get in to, but perhaps this is what caused Klaus to be the way he is? So like I said, it's interesting to see how it's going to play out in the next couple of novels.



The Originals: The Rise is a fantastic addition to The Originals TV series. It took me a little while to get in to the novel, but once the battles begun, I was hooked because the Originals do battle like no one else, ever, and it's always massively captivating. The Originals: The Rise is a very nice companion to the TV series and I look forward to books two & three!{Leah Loves} http://leah-loves.com http://leah-loves.com/books-originals-rise-julie-plec/