Thankfully, you don’t have to sneak into the Salvatore’s house and ransack Stefan’s room to find his diaries. Five of his private journals are already available as part of the Stefan’s Diaries book series—and the latest edition, Stefan’s Diaries 5: The Asylum, is available everywhere—and can also be downloaded as an ebook edition starting Tuesday, January 17^th.

The Asylum begins in the fall of 1888 in London, where Stefan and Damon are at odds with a wealthy and cunning vampire named Samuel. Check out a sneak peek from one of Stefan’s entries in the book below:

 Before someone dies, their blood races, pounding through their veins, filled with everything that makes them human—adrenaline, fear, the desire to live. It’s a sound like no other, a sound I used to listen for eagerly, in anticipation of the kill. But the pounding that echoed in my ears now wasn’t caused by a human heart. It lacked that frantic sensation that made blood so irresistible. It was mine . . . and my brother’s.
We had both been at the very edge of death, again, and were now fleeing back to London.
The London I’d seen was a city of deceit and destruction, where innocent lives were lost, and blood ran through the streets like water. And now, Damon and I were headed there to stop it. I only hoped the price wouldn’t be too high.
Mere hours earlier, I had been attacked and left for dead by Samuel, a truly cunning and vindictive vampire. Damon had saved me. It had seemed like a miracle when my brother burst into cottage and dragged me to safety just before the entire structure burst into flames.
But I stopped believing in miracles a long time ago. What it had been was luck. And now I needed luck on my side more than ever. Relying on instinct wasn’t enough. My instincts had failed me countless times, always leading to someone’s death. And if they failed me again, I knew that the ensuing death would be my own. All I could do was throw myself into the battle against evil and hope that my luck hadn’t run out.

Samuel is framing Damon for the most gruesome murders London has ever seen, and the Salvatore brothers are untied against him . . . united, that is, until Katherine, in her typical fashion, manages to drive a fresh wedge between them. As the book cover featuring a stunning shot of Nina Dobrev implies, Katherine reemerges in a way that rekindles the competition that’s made the Salvatore boys frenemies for centuries—at a time when they need each other more than ever.

Feel like eavesdropping on Stefan’s private thoughts? Check out the first four chapters of Stefan’s Diaries 5: The Asylum for free here, order your own copy, or download the ebook edition to get started.

Do you prefer Damon and Stefan as friends or foes? Tell us in the comments.