Book Review: Dead Ever After

Around the House
I'M BACK!  I can't believe how quiet I have been for 8 months.  Yes I am working very hard on the last section of For the Love of Brimstone finally.  I am also creating expanded scenes for the complete volume.  So get excited tell your friends that you are dying to read more of the dirty sexy time.  Until this final volume hits the shelves this month enjoy my new book Pandora's Last Breath.

My Thoughts
Sadness fell on my house when I closed the book on the Sookie Stackhouse Series.  It took me a month to write this review because I couldn't believe that it was finally over; that Sookie and I would not be spending any more summer days laying in the sun enjoying a glass of iced tea.  Then I found that another was coming for this fall ... What Happened Next in the World of Sookie Stackhouse!  I got excited that I would get to see where all of my favorite characters ended up.  How there lives would turn out, and what would happen next.  While the last couple books have been okay this book was stellar, amazing, and an unsung ending to everything that is Sookie.  If you are reading from this point on beware of the spoilers that are coming.  Just go get the book NOW!

I have read a lot about the harsh critics that Charlaine Harris has received for bringing Sam and Sookie together as part of the ending of the Sookie Stackhouse Series.  Of course that is how it had to end up.  She had to have a long life of happiness with a man she would grow old with.  I can understand why you might have pulled for Alcide, but the vampires were never an option for our sun loving part fairy hero.  Now just shut up and enjoy the way the story was told.  Open the past books and reread their first date.  Find the love for Sam again and enjoy that this is how it had to happen.  If it didn't I think I would have been mad.

Rating: 5/5

Deeper Wells

Around the House
Sitting at home watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Thank god for Logo to remind me of an inspiration that I missed.  I have always loved everything that Joss Whedon has created.  He has always been an inspiration to me.  The way he writes a story that is quirky, heart felt, and fun while adding tons of dramatic movements.  I think my favorite part of his series is that you can watch just one episode and have a good time or watch the entire season and get a fuller richer story.  It is a hope that I will one day be able to craft stories in just the same way.  I know have added all of the comic paper backs to my order list.  I just need to start buying them to get all caught up on the world of Buffy.  Can you tell I am being all nostalgic for a more fun time of TV shows before the writers strike.

My Thoughts
I am a fan of Charlaine Harris works.  So I read her blogs often.  She has a fun way of pointing out what is wrong with the world in a safe way that makes the reader feel embraced.  She was talking a lot recently about what was going on with people commenting on her Facebook, Amazon, and just general emails.  She made a very good point that I just can't seem to grasp.  She commented that she does not read reviews on websites and dislikes hearing individuals telling her how they wanted her characters to be.  I know the feeling, only I am sitting here craving responses from people.  I want to know what they think of my work and how it makes them feel.  I get how reading reviews can make you crazy just like waiting for reviews can do the same.  I can only hope I have the ability to reach her level of separation from the comments of the individuals and focus on her work of crafting a story she loves.

Book Review: Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris

Around the House
You know they say in Chicago you can have all the seasons in one day.  Well that is how yesterday and today felt.  It started out blissfully warm and has turned into cold and rainy.  The upside is that their is no snow in the forecast.  And yes it has rained out here in May before.  Last week sucked so I didn't most of my work outs in.  I let life get in the way.  That is not happening this week.  Actually after this I am going to head out for cardio.

My Thoughts
I have been worried about how the tales of Miss Sookie Stackhouse were going to find their way to an end.  The last two books have lost some of the fun and mystery, like Charlaine Harris was just trying to tie things up, so when the second to last Sookie Stackhouse book was published, Deadlocked, I was not excited to read it.  Now I could just kick myself.

Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris brought back the joy and the mystery to the Sookie Stackhouse series.  While you can feel the wind down to the final conclusion of this fantastic series you get that old joy of twists and turns that you can and can't expect to happen.  Every reader has been dying to know how the Eric and Queen of Oklahoma situation was going to turn out, what the aftermath of victors death was going to be, and why the hell are their so many fae in Bon Temps.  You will get all those answers and few more to the body count that you didn't expect.  Now where is that next book?  It is supposed to be called Dead Ever After.

Rating: 5 out of 5

A Series of Serious

Around the House
I have had a rough week in my world.  I strongly dislike my day job most of the time.  I do not feel that I am well suited for it, so I look to find a place in the world until I am able to join the choir of full time writers that I love.  This past week my car died.  I really did love that car.  It was the first new car I had ever bought, and I had hoped that it would be with me for a few more years.  Alas it will be moving on to greener pastures.  I am not in love with my new car, but I am getting to know it slowly.  Also, I have health issues running around in the family.  My mom might be sick, my niece has an ear infection, and I am have been feeling so run down.  I am hoping that every gets better real soon.

My Thoughts
This last few weeks I have gone back to rereading books that I love.  Books and series that give me great inspirations.  I have been through Harry Potter, Sookie Stackhouse, and I am almost done with Twilight.  Next I will be falling back into the Anne Bishop Black Jewels Series since the new book just came out.  Yes, I will be posting a review when I am finished with it.  Enjoying each of these series has gotten me to thinking about an authors success with a series.  As an author we fall in love and dedicate our lives to a group of characters and when the Series is a success many authors fail to ever produce a piece of work that meets the expectations of the first run.  As the Harry Potter movie series is coming to a close I wonder where J.K. Rowling's next book is.  Is she a one series wonder?  Why is Stephenie Meyer holding on so tightly to the Twilight Saga when Host was a bestselling novel?  Are we only as good as the one series?  I hope not.  So I wonder if being a best selling author of multiple series means not falling so far in love with a series that we can't move on after.  Does James Patterson have the right idea?  I don't know.  I just know that I want to be an author that continues to tell great stories.

Book Review: Dead in the Family

Around the House
I am an avid reader, so most nights I find myself curled up with a book before bed.  While I am absolutely in love with the digital age and Ereaders now that I have a Nook, there is just something about a hard cover book that I can't let go of for a favorite read.  They are always my go to books when I want something to curl up with.  I find reading to be a great escape, a writing inspiration, and a constant in an every changing world.

My Thoughts
No this isn't my first time reading the Sookie Stackhouse Series or even Dead in the Family.  This is one of those series that I run to every time that I feel the need to curl up with something familiar.  On a whole I give the series a nine out of ten.  It is fun, pleasurable, and interesting every time you read it.  Charliane Harris is a master craftsman for her world including the short stories that support the books which can be found in a variety of Anthologies and a companion book.  Having said that, I am sad to know that she is in the process of winding down the series.

When reading Dead in the Family the first time and then again now I can tell that many of the choices Charliane Harris made in this novel where to begin the wrap up of the series.  This novel seems a bit disjointed when compared to the rest of the series, almost like an extended short story.  While seeing all of our favorite characters is great, it feels like it could have been added to the last book and broken into a short story.  Even reading her new short story "Two Blondes," we get the feeling that this book is missing some of the magic the series has held.  While I understand story lines have to eventually be wrapped up; I wish Dead in the Family had the meandering yet cohesive plot lines that you feel in her other novels.  Placing all of that aside it is still an excellent novel and a great addition to the the series.  I just wish it had been three short stories.

The parts I love of this novel are they she continues to deal with the past and how it affects Sookie's future.  Nothing is just swept under the rug and forgot; it still affects this young telepath every day.  With the abrupt feeling ending of this tale I am curious where the next tale is going to take us.  I am actually itching to get my hands on it.  What I wouldn't give to get a review copy especially after reading the chapter excerpt on her website, http://www.charlianeharris.com/.   I know we are going to continue to see the fun, and have a blast as the series comes to an end.  I just hope she keeps the magic going and leaves us an opening for more short stories and novels for the future.  I always like having hope.

Rating: 6 out of 10 as a novel but 9 out of 10 if they were short stories

The End is Near

Around the HouseWell I have to blame Katrina Rue, my best friend and fellow author for putting me into cat frenzy again.  We had one of our car conversations last week and now all I can think about is getting a kitten of my own.  I lost Buffy, the White Avenger, back in May, so it has been lonely not having a baby to cuddle with.  I miss having a cat running around the house doing interesting things.  I especially miss having company at bed time.  Buffy only really liked to play when I was ready to pass out.  I miss it.  It is amazing that things you get used to.

Now I am looking at Toygers and Bengals.  I have always wanted a Bengal, but I know they are so active they would have to have a playmate.  Last thing I need is a bored cat ripping the house apart especially while I sleep.  Additionally, my niece is starting to get to the age where she needs to be exposed to animals.  I want her to understand what is appropriate and what isn't.  Since she is an only child she doesn't get much kid exposure outside of day care, so I think a pet would help.

My Thoughts
I really hate when things come to an end.  While I knew it was coming it is hard to see it in print.  We are reaching the end of the Sookie Stackhouse Series, the book series that inspired the hit TV show True Blood.  L.A. Times reported today that Charliane is getting ready to wrap up the series with two more books.  That will leave a big hole in my reading world.  I have fallen in love with the average southern girl who ends up tangled in all sorts of supernatural messes because her cousin couldn't keep her mouth shut.  I hope it all ends well with a bit of Sookie Happiness, but I don't know if that is possible.  Also, I really hope she manages to find a life away from the vamps.  Additionally, I hope that Charliane keeps doing the occasional Sookie short story so she can keep living on in all of our hearts.