RIP LJ Smith, thank you for showing young adult readers how to handle condescending jackassery, even when it comes from a hot vampire who makes you reach unprecendented levels of ScaryHorny.
If you've never read LJ Smith, who passed away on March 8th, I highly recommend trying out one of her books in her honor. My favorites are the Night World series and The Forbidden Game trilogy (oof, Julian, my beloved himbo). I loved The Vampire Diaries, but I never read past the fourth book, so I can't knowledgeably rec the whole series. Dark Visions was more fun for me in a technical way, as in I was more invested in the psychic stuff and How to Road Trip than the actual characters or their fates.
I always found it amazing how much of an impact her stories packed considering how short some of the books were. The first time I ever wrote fanfic, it was for Vampire Diaries and Daughters of Darkness in my diaries (and this was before I even knew what fanfic was.) Essentially, she was the first author who inspired me to write. Thank you for everything, LJ.
