There are lots of changes, for example, Meredith Suarez instead of Meredith Sulez, making Mrs Flowers around 60 years younger than the previous books, omitting Cristian except for one mention (where his name is spellt differently), changing it so that Caroline is pregnant with only one baby, not two, like the previous book and making the Originals phantoms and vampires. Those are some of the irregularities that did not make this a good read for me, being an avid 'Vampire Diaries' fan. If i didnt feel obligated, I wouldn't read the rest of the series. Very disappointed with my 'birthday' read!!!