Book Review - Complete Sookie Stackhouse Stories

Not sure how I heard of this (chatting to Stevie at Gollancz or seeing the US edition on NetGalley), but as soon as I did, I knew I wanted to read it. A complete collection of all Sookie Stackhouse short stories - yes please! Plus, I have read a tiny handful of Charlaine Harris (3 novels and a collection of five short stories of Sookie Stackhouse and audiobook of the first Midnight, Texas trilogy) so I know her writing style and get on with it.

So, when Stevie emailed a month or so ago about this and another title (The Seventh Decimate by Stephen Donaldson), I jumped at them both! I have said that this year I want to read more adult fantasy but I knew that I could devour the stories set in Bon Temps.

Within this collection, we have ten short stories (ok, nine and one novella) that follow Sookie as she tackles the paranormal world, from investigating the murder of a fairy, discovering her cousin was a vampire to going to a wedding with her shapeshifter boss and remodelling her best friend's house. All have a supernatural twist in the tale.

To me, this is a better fitting farewell to the Sookie Stackhouse series then After Dead, which most fans really disliked. But seeing as I haven't read the complete series or After Dead, I can't comment but this felt like a fun collection.

There is a snag before I talk about each story quickly in turn. Five of the short stories - the first five, truth be told - have already been published in the a collection a good several years back called A Touch Of Dead (my review for that is here), so I you have already read or bought the book and going towards this, you have already ready five and are paying for the five you haven't read... Although all these stories have been published in other collections.

So... thoughts on the stories. I do want to go into each in turn but that would make this blog post boringly long so I won't. I am going to mention some of the stories I really liked and the ones that surprised me. That to me sounds more like fun.

Out of the ten, the novella Small-Town Wedding surprised me the most. I saw it was the only novella in the collection and groaned. I want fast, fun stories, I remember thinking to self when I read the introduction, not this! But once I started reading this, I didn't want it to end. I forgot how much I like Sookie and Sam's relationship (I don't know if they get together at the end of the book series. I kinda ship them but I'm not sure I want to read Dead Ever After as I feel I need to read the other books before can attempt that) and  I had fun with the story. But, there was a bit of a punch to this as with the political climate at the moment with race, same sex marriage and rallies/marches, this came close to home. But showing the important message that love is always more powerful than hate.

I also enjoyed reading If I Had A Hammer and Playing Possum, both of which featured characters I haven't met in my readings of Sookie so might have to backtrack a little on that front.

However, like with most collections of short stories, there are going to be some that don't grab you. And I have problems clicking with some. I liked the first half of Two Blondes, a short stories that explored Sookie's friendship with Pam but then, the story took a turn and I was doing a "Huh? WTF? Am I reading this right?". Though I liked Gift Wrap when I read A Touch of Dead, I reread this and I kept putting the book down. It was fun, but there was something about this story that didn't sit right with me. And, though I didn't warm to the last short story in the collection, In The Blue Hereafter, I get why. This story was written in third person (Sookie's stories are usually written in first) and it followed a character, Manfred Bernado (who we first met in another of Harris's series, Harper Connelly, and becomes one of the main characters in Harris's latter series, Midnight, Texas), who meets Sookie...

A mixed bag of Sookie Stackhouse stories, but it reminded me how much I enjoy reading this character and Charlaine's writing. I sense I might have to read a Sookie Stackhouse novel sometime this year (I keep leaning towards Dead Ever After, maybe another story... All Together Dead? Dead as a Doornail? Deadlocked? Club Dead?). Or maybe I should try the second book in the Midnight, Texas trilogy? Decisions, decisions...

Murder Month #re3 - Dead to the World

Yes, this is still a Murder Month post. I never said anywhere that I would't go back and reread/relisten to a story if the mood takes me. And you can blame Megan from Reading the Days Away for me going back to Dead to the World.

Now, if you haven't read my first review of Dead to the World, you can click on here and have a snoop. This is a relisten (aka a #re3) so I won't go too far in depth with the story.

Instead, let's talk about my experience with this.

I forgot how addictive Charlaine Harris can be. With Fool Me Once audiobook, it took me nearly 2 weeks to listen to just under 4 hours. With Dead to the World, it barely took me 3 days. I just got hooked into this world and the way Johanna Parker read Sookie. For me, the reader is quite important for an audiobook and Johanna just got the story.

However, the story itself might not come under Murder Month. There is a mystery with Sookie's brother, Jason, vanishing and while the mystery does take place over the course of the book, it's really Sookie's reaction and struggle to cope.

But with a memory-loss vampire, Eric, needing her protection and help, it doesn't take much of Sookie's mind as she believes the witches who hexed Eric are the same people who kidnapped Jason so the stories do run parallel until the end.

This is a fun read, and I do want to read more Sookie Stackhouse, but after trying (and failing) Fool Me Once audiobook, I just wanted something fun. And I did. It was good. Now I feel the itch to read/audiobook another Charlaine Harris *eyes the Midnight series (actually, I reviewed the first audiobook in the series, Midnight Crossroad, a few years ago...)

GoodRead - Midnight Crossroad

Before I can go any further with this review, I must thank Midas PR for allowing me the credits to review the lovely audiobooks from Audible.co.uk over the past few months. I feel like I haven't thanked them and I have got a few more audiobooks to go before I am free of audiobooks that are either on my iPhone or in my Audible library so thanks again.

Anyway, now all that's out of the way, let's get into the review of Midnight Crossroad (or, as I always called it, Midnight Crossing. No idea why, though...).

In Texas, there is a small town called Midnight. A town that, on the surface, looks like any other small town. But if you stay a while, you noticed that something doesn't feel right. No one asks questions - well, the right questions. Then two things happen to Midnight in very short space of time. A new resident moves into town and the body of a young woman who went missing three months prior is discovered on the town's first (and last) annual picnic...

And it looked like this woman had her own secrets to hide. But in a town where not asking the right questions is the norm, will the right questions be asked and will her killer come to light?

Before I go further, I do want to say this is a new series - a trilogy, I believe - and it's an odd trilogy at that. There are elements/characters/themes that come from Charlaine Harris's other series. So, we have vampires, witches, physics, etc that come from other series such as the Sookie Stackhouse and Harper Connelly (I believe from other people's reviews that Midnight does touch or hint at the Lily Bard and Aurora Teagarden series as well, but don't confirm me on that). So, if you have read any of her other series, you will see little Easter Eggs.

Ok, my reactions to the audiobook. I oddly liked it. I didn't love it, but once I found my footing with the story, I did enjoy listening to it. I like that this story was about the town of Midnight and its residents, rather than focusing on a group of people who live in this one town (if that makes any sense). For some odd reason, it reminded me of two things: Welcome To Night Vale and The Night Circus - and I'm not 100% certain why it did. I think both focus of a place rather than the people of that place. Again, am not sure if that makes sense but, in my head, it does.

And with the reader - Susan Bennett - once I got use to her voice, I fell into the story. She never felt annoying to me, and she fitted the style of the story with her Southern American accent (perfect for a book set in Texas).

However, I have two problems. One is linked the audiobook and the other is linked to the story.

My audiobook problem is that there was never any gapping between the end of a chapter and the start of the next chapter. Usually in audiobooks, there is a gap between them (abound 3 or 4 seconds). This is because most people would end their reading at the end of a chapter so, naturally, you would do the same with an audiobook. And yet, not here. It was as if the reader would read it in one breath (she wasn't), and yet there would be a pause after the chapter title and the start of the chapter. Why do leave a gap - a breather, if you will - at the start of a chapter but not the end?

My story issue is the killer. While it came as a shock of who it was, it was a "Wait, what?" moment as there was no clue to hint to that person. There was nothing, really. And that didn't satisfy me as someone who, every now and then, does read crime books and watch crime shows and usually gets who the killer is either very early on or just before the detectives get it. But this had nothing. And because of this, you wonder "Well, if I couldn't figure it out and the Police couldn't, how on EARTH did our main characters figure it out?!"

While it might not be the best Charlaine Harris novel out there, it's nice to read something new from here. I think I might try the next Midnight book when it comes out... maybe... But I won't be rushing to the shops to get it on its release date... 

GoodRead - Definitely Dead

I know April is meant to be my NetGalley month. I know this, but I thought I was doing quite well to improve my "Feedback to Approval Ratio" (I increased it by over 10% - Yes, I know I need to increase it a bit more before I get it to a level I am much more happy with but over 10% is better than a poke in the eye!). So, I thought I would treat myself with a read that I bought. And for some reason, this called to me.

Sookie Stackhouse has gone through the mill in the past few months. And the last thing she wants to deal with is the death of her cousin. Her cousin who was a vampire and a favourite to the Queen of Mississippi. With Hadley now "definitely dead", Sookie has to deal with Hadlet's apartment in New Orleans'.

But Sookie's life is spiraling. Her life is on the line and it could be anyone close to her who's behind it. And when a few truths are revealed, can Sookie be brave enough to keep going to save herself...?

Ok, as you probably know, I am not a real fan of this series. I dip in and out, and with this book, it covers and makes a few story lines that were started in both books 4 and 5 (Dead To The World [which I audiobooked - review here] and Dead As A Doornail [which I haven't read]) and ties them up while getting things ready for future books (mainly All Together Dead and From Dead To Worse). This is a series you have to read to get and understand. But as I have a vague idea of some of the series (I still don't know what happened within the series's finale, Dead Ever After [is it wrong I REALLY want to read it and find out...?]

And this is a good book. I did enjoy it - don't get me wrong, I did like it. Maybe not as much as Dead To The World, but I liked the fact that this wrapped up the whole Debbie Pelt storyline, which Dead To The World kicked started. And I liked the fact that this book took Sookie out of Bon Temps. It's good to see how the supernatural world is effecting the rest of the world. It's building on the world's mythology as well, which is something I liked. In Dead To The World, we were introduced to the idea of weres - werewolves, werefoxes, werepanthers. And here, we have a character which was a weretiger.

Speaking of the weretiger, Quinn, I don't like him. I'm sorry, I know he;s in the series for a good few books and he does become Sookie's boyfriend (well, he was in this book), but I just disliked him. I think it's because of two reasons: the fact he called Sookie "babe" from the first date onwards - SHUDDERS! Sorry, but every time Quinn said that word to Sookie, it really grated on me!

The second was his attitude. There's something about his attitude that really annoyed me. Was it because he was a weretiger and that carried over or the fact there were times I felt that he only wanted Sookie to be a sex-toy rather than be a girlfriend.

My only other thing is pacing. From what I was expecting, I thought we were going to be in New Orleans quite quickly, but we didn't get there till half way through the book. I forgot that this series likes taking it's time (you know I like my thrillers fast. I blame Kathy Reichs) and it suits Sookie, but I need to remember this next time...

Oh yeah, this is an adult read as there is swearing and one sexy scene (though I skimmed that part because I honestly thought it was something else but nope!).

I did like it, but not as much as I hoped. Maybe I should really read the series and stop jumping here/there/everywhere. But I am curious over Dead Ever After, even though I have been warned against it... (go to book 10 then stop, is there advice for me!). But I do want to read another book in this series... but I want the next book to be quick in pace...

Oh, PS. If you can get your hands on the short Sookie Stackhouse story, One Word Answer (you should find this in A Touch of Dead [review here], you might want to read that first before reading this book as this kinda helps with some of the details...

GoodRead - A Touch Of Dead

As some of you guys know, I just got a Kindle (I've gone over to the dark side!) and a voucher to buy up to £10 worth of eBooks to get me started (which was nice. Shame I have LOADS of books to read before I can attack the Kindle). Was snooping something to add that would make a huge impact on me. I was going to add Kathy Reich's Virals, but saw that in ASDA for the STUPID price of £3.95 (basically 5p per chapter!!! BARGAIN OR WHAT?!), so bought on random impulse two Sookie Stackhouse eBooks - Definitely Dead and A Touch Of Dead.

Out of the two, I chose A Touch of Dead because of three reasons. First, I wanted a fast read and a collection of short stories seems the best way to go. Second, I haven't read the whole series. I jump in and out of it. I mean, read the first book in the series, watched the first and second series of True Blood, know vaguely the plotline for the third book in the series, listened to the audiobook of book 4 and then downloaded book 6 or 7 within the series and a collection of short stories. And third, I like the sound of the title. Lame but true. So… Not exactly a solid fan, am I? But I wanted to enter this world and understand it before I dive into it with Definitely Dead. So…

A Touch of Dead is a collection of five short stories, each with its our tale and each having a place in the series. The stories are Fairy Dust, Dracula Night, One Word Answer, Lucky and Gift Wrap. Each of these short story take place within the series and explains small things within the series that happened, but "off screen". The reason for that is because of the author wrote them and had to cut them out due to plot.

So in twitter form (140 characters or so), explain each story. Right?

Fairy Dust has Sookie investigating the mysterious death of Claudine & Claude's triplet, Claudette. Three humans are suspects… but who's the killer?

Dracula Night has Sookie been invited to Eric's bar to celebrate Dracula Night. But is all what it seems?

One Word Answer has Sookie discover that her cousin was a vampire. And is now murdered. But who killed the favourite of the Queen of Louisiana?

Lucky has Sookie investigate a break-in of a Insurance Salesman's office, who happens to be a small-time witch. Does his good luck charms have anything to do with it?

And Gift Wrap has Sookie alone at Christmas. Keeping busy, she goes into the woods and discovers a naked man who needs her help. But is all as it seems?

Now, if you're a fan of the Sookie Stackhouse series, you want to know where these stories fit within the series. Well, researched on Wikipedia for you and got the following: both Fairy Dust and Dracula Night happen after Dead to the World (bewteen book 4 and 5), One Word Answer happens just before Definitely Dead (book 6), and both Lucky and Gift Wrap happen after From Dead to Worse (between book 8 & 9). So, the short stories are set out in order of where they come in the series, but you need to research where…

Now, reactions of each story. Fairy Dust was good story to start with. If you haven't really read the series, like myself, you enter this story and a lot of details is given to you. The existance of vampires, weres, shapeshifters and fairies is said and briefly touched upon and then you get into the story. It was an good story. Not my fave out of the five, but a nice story to get my teeth into.

Dracula Night. Right, ok. Honestly? This story is random. It was a fun little story about Dracula and showing Eric, a character which is dark and will do things for himself, acting like a little kid on Christmas Morning. And it was nice to have Pam talk more. I don't exactly like Pam in the TV's True Blood, but while listening to Dead to the World audiobook, I quite liked her. She was an interesting and complex character so hearing her talk and react to Sookie (and over-excitable Eric) was interesting. But this story was pretty random.

One Word Answer is probably my fave story out of the five. It felt the strongest out of the five and the story that felt like it added something more to my knowledge of Sookie's world. How the story and the mystery were explain and concluded felt right within this world. Plus, it's leads very nicely into Definitely Dead (which I have on my kindle).

Lucky was a fun read. There's not much I can say about this one. I think this was because there was a two characters in here that been in the series that I've never met. But, I like this story due to it touchs on Witchcraft and Sookie's telepathic powers.

Gift Wrap is for those of you Sookie fans that read the book for the sexy-ness. Yes, we have sex in this story. This is just a fun story which kinda adds nothing to the series, but it's fun to read because it adds nothing to the series. It's a silly fun read. And it's the first time within the series that it isn't written competely in Sookie's point of view - this is because Sookie couldn't possibly know about it. But this helped the story for me as it was like "We know something Sookie doesn't!". But like I said, this story adds nothing to the series. It's basically fluff!

The stories were fun, fast reads. It took 40-odd minutes to read each of them, but I strenched it out over the course of several days. But if you sit down and read them back to back, you would be done within a hour or two...

My main problem with A Touch of Dead was that before every story, you had a drawing from the US cover designer. Which is fine, expect each of them just felt wrong. Each of them felt childish and never sat well with me. For the US audience, then this would be perfect as this is the style of the series's covers, but we (in the UK) only got 3 or 4 covers from the US before the cover design changed to the scarily white model with red lips and then, a few years later, the True Blood actors. Maybe if the UK has different illustrations from a different illustrator or five different drawings from five different illustrators, then I would be more happy with them. But to me, they didn't add anything. But for a true fan, maybe they do.

I know. It's a tiny thing that got me. That and no info on where the short stories fit in the series. But ha-ho!

Overall, this was a fun additional titbits to the series. If you're a fan of the series, then this is a must. Might not add anything, but it'll make you smile. If you're not a fan, then this is ok too. Just do some background research before you start because a lot of info will go over your heads.

GoodRead - Dead To The World (Audiobook)

(Aka The Sex Scene That Shouldn't Be Listened To At Work… *blushes*)

I know of the True Blood series (or the Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampires series, as the book series calls itself). I read the first book, Dead Until Dusk and watched the first 2 seasons on FX (I didn't watch the third season because it didn't grab me. Plus, I had my fill of vampires. Sometimes, you just need a break!). And yet, out of all the books within the series, I have always found the fourth book in the series - Dead to the World - the most interesting… No idea why, but it is.

So, after the terrible events of Club Dead, Sookie is heartbroken. Her now-ex, Bill, has been ordered to go to Peru by the Queen of Mississipi and all she wants is not to get involved in any more supernatural business. In fact, all she wants is not to get beaten up, which seem to happen to her a lot since vampires "came out of the coffin". Not going to happen, Sook, as on her way from working New Year's Eve, she comes across of shirtless and scared Eric, Bill's boss. Eric has no memory. And it seems to be a witch's doing…

Sookie has to keep Eric safe till the curse or hex is lifted off him. But that's going to be hard as the witch and her coven are looking for him. Not only that, Sookie's brother, Jason, vanishes without a trace. Have the witches kidnapped him or has something more terrible happened?

And just when she thinks nothing weirder can happen, she finds that she is slowly falling for the memory-lossed Eric. And it will only be a matter of time before his memory returns and Sookie knows the Eric she has fallen for will be gone forever.

So, reactions. I love the reader of this book - Johanna Parker. I know to some people, Anne Paquin is your Sookie. And she is. But the reader made Sookie her character also. It felt interesting to see how these two actors made Sookie their own. It just worked. Plus, I loved the reader's accent. Lame, I know, but when I watched True Blood, I sometimes feel that Anna Paqulin's accent is a tad false.

The story was interesting. Not as gripping as I thought, but it was interesting to listen to. It was basically Sookie without Bill, which makes it interesting as we have, since the beginning of the series, seen Sookie with Bill.

Another thing I like about this is the layers of mythology. From what I know about the first four books of this series, we are slowly been introduced to the "Sups". In the first book, Dead Until Dark, we're introduce to vampires and shifters. In the third book, Club Dead, we meet werewolves. In this book, we meet witches, other were-creatures (note that, peeps!) and we have a breif introduction to faries (which I suspect will play a bigger part in the future...).

Another huge factor that made the book an enjoyable read/listen was the humour. I seem to like books & audiobooks that have humour. It's nice that with vampires and werewolves and goodness knows what-else, that there is a sense of humour that you can smile at.

I really like Dead To The World and I hope I can find time to read or listen to another book in this series (my eye is on A Touch Of Dead, even though this is a collection of short stories so, technially, doesn't count... Maybe Definitely Dead).

Quick word of warning: there is swearing and there was one sex scene. Which is fine if you're an adult (if you're a child, DON'T READ THIS BOOK OR LISTEN TO THE AUDIOBOOK!). And when your listening to the audiobook at work, it's hard to listen to the sex scene without getting uncomfortable. I had to stop listening to it halfway through the chapter because I would have burst into nervous laughter...