~REVIEW of Charlaine Harris' DEAD TO THE WORLD~

 THIS NEW VERSION OF ERIC IS HARD TO RESIST, SHAME ABOUT ALL THE WITCHES

Dead to the World (Sookie Stackhouse, #4)
.5

Opening Line: "I found the note taped to my door when I got home fom work."

Dead to the World is the 4th instalment from the addictive and entertaining Sookie Stackhouse series, which for the most part I’m really enjoying. This addition had a lot going for it with Harris setting up some intriguing scenarios for our returning cast of characters. And once I got past the pages of repetitive back story I was quite excited about the prospects. Unfortunately though as much as I enjoy and admire her writing I was never able to get fully engaged in this story. It could be because of the addition of even more fantastical creatures, I mean I could have done without the were-panthers theme and the coven of witches, oh and how could I forget the good fairy but hey that’s just me and my aversion to UF speaking.

  

 On the plus side the “new” Eric was delicious on every level though it does make me wonder what Harris has against Bill. Its not that I'm a team Eric, team Bill type girl but why bother to introduce him as Sookie’s love just to keep sending him away every book, its just weird to me and doesn’t even allow for a good love triangle to develop.

The thing is this series is almost awesome, the writing is amazing, the world building, the action and horror aspects, the relatable, fascinating and sexy characters but I just don’t always understand Harris’s choices. A few more love scenes wouldn’t go astray either, although the one that we do get here is extra steamy. In the end I can’t seem to stop myself from continuing on with this series, Sookie feels like an old friend and I need to know where this is all going.

Its New Years eve when we first join Sookie again, she’s driving home from a busy night at Merlottes. Bill has up and left for Peru and the last thing she needs or expects to see right now is a half naked vampire running down the road. Things get even more interesting when the vamp turns out to be Eric who for some reason can’t seem to remember anything. This new kinder, gentler Eric has no clue who he is much less what’s happened to him in fact he even seems a little scared. Sookie being well Sookie takes him home of course. I mean what girl could refuse a half dressed, nervous blond Viking vampire

It soon becomes apparent that whoever took Eric’s memory also wants him dead and through a series of events Sookie gets put in charge of keeping him alive. Meanwhile her brother has gone missing and a battle is brewing (ha) between a coven of witches and the local werewolf/ shifter population. Sam, Alcide, Bubba, Chow and Pam all make appearances along with a whole new cast of interesting characters. Now all Sookie has to do is find her brother, keep Eric alive, avoid the witches, dispose of the bodies, and hold onto her heart because this new version of Eric is very hard to resist. Cheers.

~REVIEW of Charlaine Harris' CLUB DEAD~

~ENTER ERIC AND ALCIDE- this is going to be fun ~

 Club Dead (Sookie Stackhouse, #3)

 

Opening Line: Bill was hunched over the computer when I let myself in his house.

CLUB DEAD is the third instalment from the Sookie Stackhouse series and I really enjoyed this one, having finally come to terms with the fact that this is urban fantasy and not paranormal romance. I was able to focus on the action, horror, humour and mystery aspects here and just let the romance take a back seat. Sookie is also starting to feel like a delightful, adventurous friend who I can’t wait to hear from to learn what adventures she’s been up to lately. And with the broadening of sub characters and reappearances and “sightings” from others this series is beginning to feel like coming home.

Charlaine Harris continues to entertain with a fast paced, easy writing style and original ideas. She also manages to still keep Sookie relatable enough, despite her progression into the supernatural world that we can discover every bizarre occurrence right along with her. Sookie toughens up in this book, makes some new ‘friends’ and sort of comes into her own. And although I was at first disappointed by Harris’s storyline choices for Bill (what an arse he turned out to be) Eric and the arrival of Alcide sure made up for his absence. Leaving things wide open and this reader very curious as to where exactly things are heading in the romance department.

Lately Sookie’s vampire boyfriend Bill has been a little absent, having more of a relationship with his computer and “project” then with her. When he suddenly announces that he’s taking an extended business trip to another state Sookie realizes something other than vampire business is going on. Before long the bodies start piling up at work again, after a werewolf gang member tries to abduct Sookie and ends up face to face with some hard hitting but simple blue suede shoes.

Enter the ever sexy and cheeky Eric, who informs Sookie that Bill’s been kidnapped while spending time with an old flame in Mississippi. (So much for business) Now Eric needs Sookie’s mind reading abilities to help locate Bill before they torture him to a more permanent death. Despite the obvious betrayal Sookie agrees, although she might just kill him herself once she finds him.

Sookie soon finds herself under the care of one fantastic and yummy werewolf named Alcide Herveraux. They have an immediate connection and make a great team although romantically their timing is never quite right (what with all the body dumping, ex fiancé’s and flying vamps coming to call)

Alcide is to act as Sookie’s date and guide while in Jackson, gaining her access into the otherwise off limits, Club Dead. This is where the vampire king of Mississippi hangs out whom they assume is responsible for Bills disappearance. Before long Eric turns up in another of his quirky disguises and general carnage ensues. The action in this book is non-stop with vampires and humans alike getting staked and of course it’s a full moon which brings every beast in town out to play. It’s a ton of unputdownable, bloody fun

~REVIEW of Charlaine Harris' LIVING DEAD IN DALLAS~

                 SOOKIE'S DALLAS ADVENTURES- ANOTHER GREAT INSTALMENT

Living Dead in Dallas (Sookie Stackhouse, #2)

Opening Line: "Andy Bellefleur was drunk as a skunk."

This was another super entertaining read; combining fantasy, action, romance and mystery that you’ll find difficult to put down. With book #2 we return to small town Louisiana and telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse, who's still slinging beers for shapeshifter Sam and spending time with boyfriend Bill the vampire. Their relationship continues to evolve with anger and jealousies surfacing here, and even though for the most part Bill is still sweet to Sookie his undisputed predator tendencies also make an appearance.

It doesn’t take long for Sookie’s adventures start up again when a co-worker with ties to a sex club is murdered. (This sub plot then takes a back seat returning later in the book) Soon after Sookie gets attacked by a mystical female creature which requires the assistance of Eric (and others) to suck the poison from her body. Eric then ‘loans’ Sookie out to the Dallas Vampires to aid in the search for a missing vamp. Sookie feels obligated to comply, taking Bill along as her bodyguard. (He flies as cargo in a coffin) And that’s when things get really crazy. With a new nest of vampires to deal with as well as assorted religious fanatics and several aggressive werewolves Dallas isn’t going to be any vacation. Sexy and cheeky Eric makes a welcome appearance here and I really enjoyed getting to know him better. I’m very curious to see how this immerging love triangle plays out.

Despite the progression of Sookie into the supernatural world, which at times made her feel like a clumsy super hero I still found her relatable enough that I was able to discover everything right along with her. Sookie does get injured a lot in this book however and I kept wondering why she refused to take Vampire blood. I mean if she’s going to continue playing in the vampire world she's going to need all the strength she can get so its a no-brainer really as it speeds up healing and gives humans increased power.

As much as I’m enjoying this series I guess I should have taken a closer look at the spine of this book because with this instalment Charlaine Harris switches from paranormal romance to more urban fantasy, which was a real disappointment to me. I always struggle with UF, preferring my romance front and center, without the now present fade-to-black love scenes (I want in on the steamy action) I also tend to glaze over when too many fantastical creatures are introduced and this worried me early on here with the introduction of the 'maenad' and her razorback pig companion. Luckily Harris keeps it to a minimum. Now this is not to say that I didn’t enjoy LDID, I did and plan to continue on with the series I was just thrown off by the abrupt genre switch from book#1.

It also felt to me like Harris wrote the first and last parts of this book together and then inserted the middle (Dallas) section afterwards. I mention this because as soon as Sookie returns home to Bon Temps from her Dallas adventure we start getting back-story information dumps again, as we’d had in the beginning chapters, rehashing Harris’s vampire world rules and events that took place in DEAD UNTIL DARK. This felt very strange to me especially in the last quarter of the book. The Dallas section also felt removed from the rest of the story and in all honesty except for the scenes with Eric I didn’t enjoy it very much. Anyways I’m ranting here.

~REVIEW of Charlaine Harris's DEAD UNTIL DARK~

~SO THIS IS WHAT ALL THE FUSS HAS BEEN ABOUT~

Dead Until Dark (Sookie Stackhouse, #1)

Opening Line:"I'd been waiting for the Vampire for years when he walked into the bar"

I must be one of the last people on the planet to read Dead After Dark. I also haven’t had a chance (yet) to watch True Blood, although because it’s been all over the media I had a pretty good visual reference for the characters here without actually having to compare the two. I was able to just go along for the ride, and what a ride, I can definitely see now what all the fuss has been about.

Honestly I had a hard time putting this down. Harris has created the perfect mixture of paranormal romance, mystery and action. With intriguing, humorous characters and situations and an absorbing, fast moving plot. Her take on Vampiric society is fresh and fascinating and I appreciated how we were continually reminded that despite “coming out” vampires are still very much predators.

I also found Sookie to be incredibly relatable despite her “disability” and supernatural circumstances. Harris just has a way of making her feel all girl next door so that we discover everything right along with her. I also loved Harris’s portrait of small town America and in this case it’s unique bar patrons whom I felt like I knew. This could be in part because I’m from a small town and I also cocktailed for years so the characters seemed familiar to me. Whatever the case I’m glad I finally got around to reading this series.

Sookie lives in the real world of small town Louisiana. She is a pretty cocktail waitress, lives with her grandmother and because of her telepathic “disability” keeps to herself. The people in Bon Temps tend to think that Sookie’s a little crazy because she knows things she shouldn’t and acts strange while her mental “guard” is up.

Everything changes the day Bill walks into her bar and orders a bottle of synthetic blood. Bill is a vampire and ever since they entered mainstream society she’s wanted to meet one. To make things even more interesting Sookie can’t hear a word he’s thinking, Bill might just be her perfect match, except of course for the fact that he’s dead.

Unfortunately soon after Bill arrives people start turning up dead, in particular waitresses. After an attack at her grandmother’s house Sookie fears she might be next. Then there’s Bill’s creepy group of friends, the recent Elvis sightings, her brothers illicit behaviour and all of a sudden her boss isn‘t quite who he appears to be either.

So like I said I really enjoyed this, the love scenes are steamy and dirty (think outdoors, mud, and covered in blood dirty) and Bill well he is just delicious in a dangerous bad boy wanting to brush your hair kinda way. The romance aspect here was very good. I also really liked Sam’s character and appreciated how his true self wasn’t revealed right away. Bubba was another awesome little addition and the many townsfolk and their idiosyncrasies were fantastic.

There are some surprising moments here and I never really knew where things were going to go next. Although I’ll be honest I had a tough time keeping straight who was who. Getting many of (the many) secondary characters mixed up so that even at the end when the killer was revealed I had to back track to figure out who it was. As a former waitress (which Harris must also have been at one time) I found the bar scenes realistic and fun. Can’t recommend this one enough.