Review: Deadlocked (Sookie Stackhouse #12) by Charlaine Harris (September Sequels Challenge #5)

Well, it looks like I read the book right before this in the series last year during my September Sequel Challenge.  So seems appropriate that this one is now.  Don't know if I'll wait till next year to read the 13th and final book in the Sookie Stackhouse series.  I'll probably pick it up next summer when I'll be wishing there was one more season of True Blood.  

What I love about these books is that I may have forgotten a little about what happened in the last book that I read a year ago, but I am easily pulled back into Sookie's life and the small town of Bon Temps.  Something I realized as I read this is that Sookie is really just like those detective characters in what you'd call a cozy mystery.  And I know the author does write mystery books as well. 

In this next to last story, Sookie and Eric's relationship is a bit strained.  Partly because the King Felipe has come to see them, and is asking about his man Victor.  Yes, Sookie and Eric are responsible for Victor and his men's deaths, and yes Felipe wanted that, but they cannot let there be any proof of it, because the King will have to do something about it.  The story starts out with several problems, first when Sookie goes to visit Eric while he is entertaining the King, she walks in to find him in a room feeding on some random woman.  The woman is part were, and also may have drunk or injected herself with fairy blood to make herself irresistible to Eric.  When she is made to leave, not long after she is found dead on the lawn, something the vampires are unable to hide because the police are called before they can make the problem disappear.  Also, Sam's girlfriend Jannalyn seems to have it out for Sookie.  So she is dealing with that.  Then there are problems with the fairies that have been left behind when her great grandfather Niall closed the door to their homeland.  They want to go home, and some, the elves, need to feed to relieve their stress.  All of it will end up being tied together at the end, very neatly this time, unlike some of the books in the series that I remember. 

There are also good things happening, Sookie's brother Jason proposes to his girlfriend, Tara has her twins, and those are just a few good things.  I have to admit that I do see the actors from the tv show when I read the book, and I hear Sookie talk in Anna Paquin's voice.  So while I am going to miss the show, since it was so different from the books by this season, it is okay.  Another good read.  Now I'm anxious to read the last book, even with all the things I've heard from people who were unhappy about things in it.

A to Z April - V: Vampires

Now, I know that a lot of people don't consider the Twilight stories to be "real" vampires, and since I honestly feel it is more of a love story than a vampire story, I will leave it out of this post, even though it would definitely be one of my favorite vampire stories.  So here are 5 of my favorite vampire books/series.


1.

 

Of course one of my very favorites is the Anne Rice series.   The weird thing is that I actually began the series with the third book, The Body Thief.  And I remember why, I was in the college bookstore at the time, looking at the small selection of fiction they had, because I wanted something to read.  I didn't have a lot of books to read in college, because then it was all about the textbooks unfortunately. But I did always try to have something to read around.  So I read the 3rd book, liked it, and told my mom about it. She and I read a lot of the same thing back then. So she bought the first two and we began reading the series the correct way.

2.

 

First off, I do NOT watch the tv series.  I read the books way before then.  And I admit, I was very excited for the tv show.  Then, I sat down to watch the first episode, and I turned it off and was done within the first 15 minutes.  Too many big things were changed about important characters for me and so I knew I couldn't watch it.  I'm sure it is a good tv show in its own right, I know people who really like it.  I just was turned off in the first episode and have never given it another chance.

3.

 

Now this is the series that got me to notice Julie Kagawa.  It is newer, the final book is just now coming out, but I loved the series, and highly recommend it.

4.

 

This series I didn't start until the tv show True Blood started.  And even then I wanted to wait to read each book until right before the new season.  Of course that's not relevant anymore now that the tv series is so far off the books.  But I actually gave up after the 2nd season and just read through all that were there.  I still have the last 2 to read.  And I do still watch the tv show, just it is a whole separate entity now.  Guess I could give The Vampire Diaries a chance like that.  Just don't think I will.

5.

 

Finally is another YA series that I love.  The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod by Heather Brewer.  The stories are great, and the author is really cool!

So, are you a vampire fan?  What are your favorite books?  I could do a whole other post on vampire movies, but since this is a book blog, I'll restrain myself.

While you're here, you can go enter my Bloglovin 900 follower giveaway HERE.

 

 

Stacking the Shelves - June 23, 2013

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews. So far so good with my goal of keeping up this summer! So, let's see, this week I did okay.  Got a couple books in the mail, approved for one from Netgalley, and two from my sister in NYC.

From Netgalley:

Just love that cover, and it sounds like a great book!

Won in contests:

Now actually, I only got the first book of the two that you see above, but what is so cool. about it, is that it is the UK version of the book you see on the right.  So I thought that was kind of cool.  I won this book from EM Castellan in the Best Book Ever Giveaway Hop.

I also won Envy by Gregg Olsen from Jenn Renee Read in the Shower of Books Giveaway Hop.

Books from my sister in NYC:


I'm always a book behind with the Sookie Stackhouse books because I refused to buy them in hardcoveer when I'd only had them in the small paperback.  But, being kinda poor this summer, I gave in and asked to borrow my sister's hardcover.  Unlike me, she doesn't want to wait, and so usually buys them when they come out.  And then she bought The Great Gatsby, and I asked to borrow it now that I've seen the movie I wanted to compare.

So, I think that's a pretty good haul for the week!  How about you, what new books did you get this week?

Feature and Follow Friday 2013 #1

My first one of the new year!  One of my goals is to try to make sure I post more each month this year than I did each month last year.  So let's see how that goes.  Feature and Follow Friday is sponsored by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read.  The purpose of this event is to learn about the two featured bloggers each week, as well as to increase your own blog following by joining in on the fun!  Here is this week's question:

Q: Who is your favorite villain from a book?

Hmm, this question is hard.  Most of the time I don't really like the villains.  I've always been a good girl.  So,  maybe it is Eric from the Sookie Stackhouse books, at times he kind of is the bad guy.  And I did always love Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, he was such a good villain!  And I say he counts as from a book, because I've read all the Buffy books.  From Harry Potter I'd have to go with Snape, even though he didn't turn out to be the villain really truly.  

So, what do you think?  Do you have a favorite villain?

And hey, while you're here, don't forget to go check out my 1000 Follower Giveaway!

Dead Reckoning (Sookie Stackhouse #11) by Charlaine Harris

This was almost my 8th book in my September is for Sequels Challenge, but due to a horrible headache Sunday night, I just wasn't able to get as much read and get finished like I'd hoped.  So, therefore, it is just a regular old review.  :-)  Although, it is the 11th book in my TBR Pile Reading Challenge.
I bought this book last May when it came out in paperback.  I make myself wait until they come out in paperback because all the ones I own are that way since I started the series late, due to not getting into it until True Blood started.  This way I know that I have a new book to read next year and get to stay in Sookie's world a little longer.  Plus, it's definitely like I don't have tons of books to read anyway.
Well, I actually will have to say that I did like this one.  It had some really heartbreaking moments with Eric, and it was good to learn more about the fairies and Sookie's family.  Or maybe I just enjoyed it because it is what the story is really supposed to be, instead of this craziness of direction that the tv show has veered off to.
I love that Sookie is talking about how she's worried about gaining a little weight, makes her seem so normal.  And I love all the "normal" down to earth things as part of her life that the author puts in the stories.  Painting her nails, getting a tan, etc.  This story starts off with a firebomb being thrown into Merlotte's.  No idea who did it, while it is thought that maybe it is because Sam has come out now as being a Shifter, and people are now protesting them, Sookie seems to think that she saw someone who was two-natured like Sam running away from the scene.  Not only that, Eric is still having to deal with the person who is now in charge, Victor, who doesn't like Eric.  Victor is doing all kinds of things to hurt Eric, opening a bar not far from Fangtasia, and it even seems he's opened another bar not far from Merlotte's as well, hurting Sam as well.  And Pam wants so badly to finally create a child, but Victor will not allow her, and she has limited time to do it, as her lover is dying.
Eric also has found out that his maker made a mate for him, and if this goes through, Eric and Sookie will not be able to keep up their "marriage".  But Sookie is sure she loves Eric, and is very upset about this.  Plus, the fairies, Claude and Dermot are living with Sookie.  So she's learning even more about her fairy kin and how they've really been such a part of her life.  We learn why Sookie can read minds, and we even have a character from the past that we find is a much bigger part of Sookie's past than she knew.  Plus, there is are other creatures we've not seen before.
I really liked the story.  I'm left hanging not knowing what is going to happen with Sookie and Eric, which makes me sad, because I do love Eric.  Or maybe that's just because I love how hot he is on True Blood.

Feature and Follow Friday 8-24-12

Feature and Follow Friday is a weekly event hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read where you get to learn about two featured bloggers each week, and then can gain new followers as well by joining in to the fun. 

This week's question is a kind of hard one for me:  

What is the worst cover of a book you've read and loved?

Wow, I can't think of a "worst" cover. I agree with another blog that I was reading this post on, the Sookie Stackhouse novel original covers are kind of childish.  The way Eric and Bill look, yuck.  Not attractive at all.  But I'm going to pick a book that I loved, but that I felt the cover wasn't "horrible" it just was a bit too immature for the age level of the book these days.  I choose Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan.  I LOVED this book!  So good!!  But the cover makes it seem more like a book for middle grades, as opposed to teen.  I'm comparing based on where we shelve things in the Barnes and Noble where I work.  The cover just doesn't fit in with what else is there, and actually reminds me of certain middle age covers.  I wish I could remember the name of that book so I could post it here for you to compare.  And I feel bad saying it, especially when the author talked about how she was so proud of choosing it or having it chosen. But I just am not a fan.

So, what was your worst cover?

And while you're here, make sure you sign up for the giveaways I've listed below:

• Barnes and Noble Gift Card for 3rd Blogoversary Celebration
• Authors Are Rockstars featuring Gina Damico and a copy of Scorch (Croak #2) closes tonight!
• Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz 

Suck It Up and Die by Brian Meehl

I got this book thanks to Netgalley and Random House Children's Books. It's been a while since I read the first one, Suck it Up. That I read for a possible book on the Gateway or Truman book list a couple years ago. I enjoyed it, but it wasn't one of my top picks that year, I think that was the year of The Hunger Games and Gone by Michael Grant, that really drew my attention. But this wasn't a bad book, in a way, similar to the Vlad Tod series by Heather Brewer in that it was a main character of a boy vampire. In this book it is two years after our main character, Morning McCobb has come out as the "poster boy" for vampires that want to be accepted into society, same rights, etc., and they promise they won't drink human blood. Only a blood substitute. That part of course always reminded me a bit of the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. The book started out kind of slow for me because it seemed everything was going along just as it was supposed to, no problems to overcome. Kind of how I always figured that whenever I'd wished a book went on, how it would have gone on without any big dangers or plot points to fight. But then we got a new villain, well, sort of a new one. He was created in the forest where all the vampires go when they die. And he joins forces with a human who is the head of a group of people that don't want vampires to live along humans.

Well, soon we learn that when a vampire is actually satisfied and realizing the thing they wanted most in their human lives, well, that causes an interesting change. And Morning begins to get framed by the pair of villians in the public eye. I feel this was definitely a good sequel to the first. I know the first one left off in a way that I knew there had to be a sequel, and this did explain a lot, and kept the series going. Not sure if this one leaves off for another in the series, but it's probably a good chance that it will.
I will count this one as my "U" for the A-Z Reading Challenge for the "Up" in the title.

Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris

I'm not going to do a big long blog on this one. As it is number what in the series? Not sure. But I will say that I did really enjoy it. It took only a few pages to get sucked right back into the world of Sookie Stackhouse and company. And yes, I love the show True Blood, it is what finally got me to read the book, but as always, the books are better. It was so nice when I started reading them and there were like 10 out, I got to just read right through them and stay in that world for so long. I'm now waiting every year for a new one. I will wait till next year to read the one that comes out in May because I am going to buy them all in paperback since that is how I started.

Just a quick synopsis of the story: We join Sookie right after the Fae War has ended. Her grandfather and most all of the Fairies have gone back into their world. Eric's maker shows up with Eric's younger brother. There are issues between Eric and the new vampire king, as well as issues within the Were community. And now that the Weres have come out, they are not quite receiving the same welcome as the vampires did.

Good quick read. I've also decided that another possible name whenever I may get another puppy is Sookie. :-)

Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris

The latest in paperback in the Sookie Stackhouse series. I have decided that since I own all of the books so far in paperback I will wait until each new one comes out in paperback to buy it, and wait for it, to read it. That way I know that I have something to look forward to at all times, and with the diminishing number of hours I get at the bookstore, I can barely afford to buy anything anymore. And since they seem to be released about once a year, I shouldn't ever get behind where the tv series is at this rate.

But once I picked it up, I was sucked right back into Sookie's world. I do love her back with Eric, and there was lots of good stuff in this book, although in a way, it did pull back in some things that reminded me of the Church in the beginning books. But all in all, it didn't disappoint, and I'm excited for next year when the one that just came out will be in paperback and I can read it.

I've got two more reviews to do tonight, things have been crazy busy lately. So later tonight I'll be back with some more reviews. I've always got time to read, just not always time to blog.

BTVS: One Thing or Your Mother by Kirsten Beyer

There was a time, probably early last year, when I still had a "reading schedule" set up. Every 10 or so books I'd read a Buffy the Vampire Slayer book (BTVS). Every 20 books I'd read a classic, every 5 books a nonfiction, etc. This was my way of broadening my book reading horizons. But then, things like reading for the Mark Twain list came along, and last spring I was really enjoying all the weight loss memoirs that I was reading and the inspiration they gave me at the time on my own weight loss journey.

Well, I decided to pick up a Buffy book to keep in my locker at the bookstore while I was reading the HUGE Stephen King novel at home. This was a fun book. While it wasn't a story from the show, it was in the season where Angel is Angelus. And the mayor is there, and Spike is getting ready to get back at Angelus. I like how all this was intertwined with things we knew from the show. And while I'd been reading the comics that were supposed to be season 8 of Buffy, I lost interest in those. I know that it's supposed to be so awesome that they can do so much more with comics that is unaffordable for a tv show, but to me it was just way too far out there. And I felt that the human sides of the stories, the things that made me laugh or cry when I watch the show were missing. So I stopped buying them and reading them.

This book was a fun one as I said. It was great to visit that world again. As I now seem to reside in either a Twilight or Sookie Stackhouse neighborhood I was reminded again why I love Buffy and considered putting the DVD's back in my bedroom tv so I could watch them and enjoy it again. And I may still do it. I'll be typing up at least one more book review tomorrow. And I'm getting close to the end of the Stephen King book as well.

Book Review ???: The rest of the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris

So, I've been kind of off my game in blogging this month. Which is kind of unforgivable as I've had many, many days when I had time to write. So I know I've left a few out that I've read, and I promise to make that one of my new year's resolutions for 2010, to actually blog about EVERY book that I read. So to probably finish up my blogging for this year, I have chosen to write one big post about #'s 3-8 of the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. Those include:

• Club Dead


• Dead to the World


• Dead as a Doornail


• Definitely Dead


• Altogether Dead


• From Dead to Worse

Club Dead was good as I believe it is when Alcide was introduced, and for awhile you think he could be a good new guy for Sookie as Bill has betrayed her for his maker. I also enjoyed Dead to the World because we got to see Eric as a good guy who could really love Sookie. However, I missed his "smart-ass" self when he'd lost his memory, and was somewhat glad that he got back to the old Eric.

Dead as a Doornail was actually kind of boring to me, and I didn't enjoy it that much. So I moved through it quickly to get on to the next book. Although it is where we met Quinn, the next guy we though might be good for Sookie.

Definitely Dead was okay, I liked the trip to New Orleans a lot. It was very interesting to read about it, especially as it was pre-hurricane Katrina. I liked the bit of subterfuge Sookie had to use to sneak the bracelet back to the queen at the party at the end. Altogether Dead, now that was a book with lots of twists and turns, and I also liked how the author used Hurricane Katrina as part of the story. There were some parts in this book that seemed to be a little confusing, but it was good anyway. I did feel though that it was a way of bringing another disaster to mind, 9/11, but that's okay.

Now, at this point I can't remember when we first learned Sookie had fairy blood, but in From Dead to Worse we meet Sookie's great grandfather, and learn her family tree is not quite what she'd thought. Again, there are TONS of things going on in this book, while I enjoyed it, at times it got a little busy for me. It seems Bill is trying to get back in with Sookie, and not sure what is up with Eric. As I was reading through all these books over the past couple weeks, I began to wonder if Eric was Sookie's "Edward," thinking of my favorite series, the Twilight books. But I don't know. In this book Sookie decides Quinn has too much baggage with his mom and sister to be good for her. Sam also starts to kind of come up again as a possibility for Sookie. The queen dies, which is sad, but the new king sounds interesting as well. And poor Sookie now has 2 roommates. As I was reading some of the books before these last 2, I was relating quite well to Sookie and how she enjoyed going back to her own house after all her adventures and just having peaceful alone time. I've lived alone so long, that I feel the same. Vacations with family, well, I enjoy them, but often by the end I'm sooooo ready to get home and have no one else around. Although being snowed in, that made me a bit stir crazy this last weekend. Even getting out shopping by myself would have been nice. Hopefully I can do that this week.

I will wait till the 9th book: Dead and Gone, comes out in paperback to buy it and read it. For now I'm on to other books, starting with Stephen King's latest: Under the Dome. Although I'm a bit afraid of the book, it is HUGE! But I started reading it this morning at breakfast.

Book Review 50: Bringing the Boy Home by N.A. Nelson

Finally I am done with the Mark Twain nominees. This was an interesting change from the other books. The main character is Tirio, who is from an unknown tribe in the Amazon called the Takunami tribe. This is pretty much all fiction, the author says she made most of it up, only the fact that there are actually unknown tribes and that there are rituals that could be similar, and of course the actual wildlife is true. When Tirio was 6 years old his mother put him in a coffin in a raft and sent him down the river. He was discovered by a woman named Sara who took him back to America with her and raised him. He was abandoned by his tribe because he had some kind of handicap on one of his legs. The whole book is about him and another boy named Luka, from the same tribe. We learn about Luka's life and family as part of the tribe waiting for the ritual to become a man. It is not until the oldest son of the family passes this ritual that any children in the family can know who their father is. Luka has an older sister and a domineering mother who is doing everything to make sure her son passes. Back in the states, Tirio has been "cured" in a way by an orthotic, and at the age of 12, almost 13 is beginning to feel he needs to go back to the Amazon and pass the ritual. Fortunately Sara is actually taking Tirio back there on a trip at just the right time.

There's kind of a twist about the relationship between Luka and Tirio, a little different than what I was thinking it would be. But a good twist. I really liked this book. I hope this makes the list, I would definitely recommend it to any kids at the store or at school.

So glad to be done with the list, even though the books were all good ones. Now, on to adult books. Currently reading a nonfiction called "How to Build a Dinosaur" by Jack Horner. After that I will jump into the Sookie Stackhouse series again, or possibly read the new Stephen King before that.

Book Review 40: Mary Ingalls On Her Own by Elizabeth Kimmel Willard

Reading Little House on the Prairie books takes me back to younger days. Not as young as you might think though. I didn't read the books when I was a little girl. To me, the tv show is what I think of. In high school, I remember being home during the summer with my brother and watching the show on tv every morning. My brother and I loved Nellie and all the town folk. And we made fun of Pa's idiosyncracies and Laura's brothers that showed up towards the end of the series. It was just a part of my summers with my brother. I think that we probably watched when I was younger, middle school even, because for some reason I remember when we'd play with my Barbies, we'd drive them out in their cars in front of the tv and pretend they were at the drive-in movies, and I seem to remember watching Little House on the Prairie one time. Now, I tried reading the books after I'd discovered the show, but the books are always just so simple. When you were reading at the age of 3, like I was, they were just too babyish for me. I'd like to go back now, now that I can appreciate them for what they are and that I know more of the whole "history" of Laura Ingalls Wilder. But that will wait till when I have some extra time. Whenever that happens.

This book is about Mary when she goes off to the college for the blind in Iowa. It's short, and sweet, and of course different from the tv show. At the end it goes into what they know is real for the book, and other details about Mary's life. I'm guessing I need to read some more historical books on this as what I saw on the tv show I know is not all reality. For instance it doesn't talk about Mary ever getting married, yet on the show she did. I figured they did change a lot of the story on the show, but didn't know that they changed that much. Oh well. Live and learn. It just intrigues me to read more.

Next book I'm starting today is The Bronze Pen by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. Not sure if I've read any books by this author, I'm familiar with them because we have them at the store I work at. Some of the titles sound familiar, but can't remember for sure if I read them.

Oh yeah, only 10 more books to go! Then November, National Novel Writing Month, not to mention re-reading New Moon and the rest of the Twilight series to get ready for the new movie!! After which I intend to go through and read the whole rest of the Sookie Stackhouse series.

Book Review 12: The Otherworldlies by Jennifer Anne Kogler

Now, let me start off by saying that this was a good enough book. Whenever I picked it up, it was hard to put down, but it did have some issues, or at least it did for me.

First, the cover, the main character is supposed to be only 12 years old, but the girl on the cover looks older to me, so that was a bit misleading. But I guess to sell it to teens, the section it is in our bookstore at, you probably have to do that. The main character is Fern, she has a twin brother named Sam, and an older brother named Eddie. They call their mother the Commander. Well, Fern has some special powers. She talks to the dog, and hears him talk back. She can predict the weather, and hear people from far away, when they're talking about her anyway. And she comes to find out that she is a vampire, or as they call themselves now, otherworldlies.

This book brings in Greek mythology in this. It is in a way that makes me wonder if they read the Lightning Thief before writing this. Another similarity is how the vampires/otherworldlies want to come out to "normals" or humans and live side by side. I've now read about this in the Suck it Up by Brian Meehl I read earlier from this list, as well as it is a big part of the True Blood/Sookie Stackhouse series. Not that it's a bad thing, just very familiar to me right now.

There's a big deal about good and bad vampires and not knowing for sure who is good, and the good guys aren't always out for keeping Fern and her family safe, and not knowing who to trust, but in the end Fern does good and everyone is safe. I also see that it is left open for a sequel, so who knows when we might see another in a series. Why not, it's what everyone else is doing.

Tonight I started My Father's Son by Terri Fields. Should be done with it by tomorrow.