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 - 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...