I felt bad for Stefan basically being forced to get with/marry someone he barely knows and doesn't love

Like with Stefan and Katherine's first meeting. It didn't happen the same way as what we got showed in S1 flashback.

Although there was some revealing stuff.
Anna IS Pearl's real daughter. Pearl had been married. They were living in South Carolina after the war of Independance (Not sure how long ago). her husband ran the apothecary and then suddenly there was a wave of consumption hit the town (whatever that means) and it killed her husband, 2 sons and baby daughter. Anna then begun coughing and she knew she could lose her too.. and then Katherine moved to town and Pearl knew she was different.. then one day she asked her if there was anything she knew she could do..
That was when Katherine turned them both.

Stefan only loved Katherine in an unrealistic way. He didn't love her for who and what she is.. he only loved her the way he saw her in his mind. As a simple girl, he thought they would get married.
But when he found out she was a vampire both times (when she bit him and when she got caught) he was disgusted. And when he went to get the sherrif it was because he wanted to.. it wasn't just because of his father.. he didn't even recognize Katherine.. she was just the devil to him..
And thats when his memories started to come back... SHE compelled him to love her..

"You MUST love me. Tell me we'll be together forever. You have my heart" she said while compelling him.

She also killed Stefan's fiance' and then denied it.
She compelled him to forget all about her and that it was all about Katherine now.

Stefan helped Damon rescue her because of DAMON. He helped him because he could see what Damon and Katherine have, what Damon feels for Katherine is true love. He did it for his brother because of how much he loved him.

Katherine and Stefan slept together before the founders ball.

Stefan didn't mean to kill his father. It was an accident, and he even wanted to save him.. to turn him but his father would have none of it.

I enjoyed it, I loved reading Stefan's thoughts. I actually thought the SK moments were sweet and enjoyed them but toward the ends my toughts changed, as Stefan's thoughts changed. I liked the small DK mentions by Stefan :D

I was expecting to read more of the human Stefan/Damon love relationship as humans, but from that perspective I was dissapointed :D

I dont know whether it was written before or after the S1 flashbacks, but really all of the book was all the s1 season flashbacks :shrug:
but then again JP and KW had said that they had used a lot of materials from Stefan's diaries, so I guess it was written before..

I found it funny how Stefan was the one who was a 'monster' and wanted to feed on human blood and Damon was the one who wanted to resist it :D

The book is meant not to be before or after the S1 flashbacks.. but rather they were meant to include them. It was meant to be in the period when Stefan met Katherine to when Stefan and Damon got turned, Katherine got turned etc as you know

:D I meant whether if the book was written before the show or after, those scenes were aired.. like had LJ included them to the book after the show or whether KW JP included them to the show by reading these scenes in the book?