I'd put off reading these books for ages because I'd always found that the tv show was a lot better than the books. Which is odd because normally it's the other way around.

In the end, I was curious enough about Stefan's life before Elena to get them. It wasn't awful and I will read the rest of them (especially since I already oattitudewn them all) but I found Stefan to be pretty whiny and selfish. He came across spoilt, which I suppose makes sense since he's from a wealthy family, but his was a bit annoying. I liked it when Damon was in it and I enjoyed reading about how it all started in more detail.