Month: May 2012

They will tell you the attacker was on LSD…

They will tell you the strange rashes in Florida are unrelated…

They will tell you that you are safe as long as you lock your doors and don’t make too much noise…

And then you will get eaten.

Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What is the appeal of Sookie?

I think it has a lot to do with how “common” she seems. While she is a telepath, she is also a very straightforward and simple person. It makes her both approachable adn likable. She might hang with shifters and vamps, but she never revels in it.

Compared with other female heroines of the vampire genre, I think Sookie is the most balanced. The Night Huntress (Cat) is a solid character, but the action is a bit thin and it is usually easy to see what is coming in the future. I enjoyed the Night Huntress series, but they are more about vampire/soft erotic reading than anything else. And of course, there is Bella, who is very unidimentional.

So, after a quick review of the genre, how did book five stand up. It was a good solid entry in the Sookie Stackhouse series, but the shooter was a bit out of left field. The cool parts were teh insite into who Claudine is, and the depth you were able to see into the were society.

A good summer read. I hope you enjoy.

Thank you to all the men and women of the armed services.

Your service and sacrifices are not forgotten.

Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have to say this is my favorite of the series so far.

Something about the way Eric is helpless on the road and the tentative way he and Sookie interact just felt so real. Bill is out of the picture, working on his database for the Queen, so he is basically out of the picture until the very end, just before the final battle. So Sookie and Eric have plenty of time to grow together.

It was both very intimate and hot at the same time, without ever being salacious.

The secondary story revolves around Jason, who has gone missing. I won’t spoil the how, but both Sookie and Jason are slowly getting pulled deeper into the supe world.

One Grave at a Time by Jeaniene Frost

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If you’ve made it to the sixth book you clearly like the series.

Book six has just the right amount of sex, violence, and a twist in terms of who the bad guy is that it keeps things interesting.

Cat and Bones have stayed true to who they are, but I do feel like the two might be coming to the end of their natural life as a series – which I think you can also see by the way that Jeaniene Frost is spinning off other stories about Spade and Denise. It’s go to be hard to find someone who can still hurt the two uber vampires, and keep the suspense up.

It’s one of the reasons that I think Sookie has such long legs in terms of the number of books. She has powers, but she is at the heart of the matter very fragile, so it is easy to keep the suspense going.

I guess like all good things, the story of Cat and Bones has to end at some point.

Hopefully JF will surprise us though and keep it going for just a bit longer.

This Side of the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The last book in the series was starting to get a little repetitive. It was still a worthwhile read, but the fighting and sex was starting to get a bit, well, boring.

With the fifth book in the series Jeaniene Frost steps it up and continues to change up the tempo and tone of the Night huntress series.

If you are just coming into the series, I’d start with the first book and work your way up. A lot of the back story won’t have as much meaning if you start with this book.

If you like the Sookie Stackhouse series, you will like the Night Huntress. If your more of a Vampire Lestat person, look elsewhere.

Destined for an Early Grave by Jeaniene Frost

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was clearly the best Night Huntress novel yet.

Jeaniene Frost took a few things that were getting overly used, shoved them overboard, and took a totally new direction in the fourth book.

The story is original and inventive, and you never quite expect what is coming next. It was nice to think I might know what was going to happen next, and then have it be something completely different.

And Cat makes some huge breakthroughs in this book. I can’t wait to read the next one – which is the best compliment you can give an author in my opinion.

***Spoiler Alert***
RIP Rodney – you were awesome. I as sorry to see you go.