Book Review ~ Dead Until Dark

I just finished Dead Until Dark, by Charlaine Harris upon the suggestion of a wonderful friend of mine who also fell for Edward Cullen and the Twilight series. Actually it was a bit more of a suggestion... my sweet friend actually mailed me the book, along with the next three. That's right readers I'm into another book series!

So far there are nine books in the Southern Vampire series and while I can already tell that this most certainly will be no Twilight, it is fast paced, exciting, mysterious and most importantly... a heady romance.

If you are a fan of the series TrueBlood on HBO you're already well aware of this book series because it is what the show is based upon. I sat down to watch a summary of season one on HBO OnDemand the other night and was not impressed at all. And I'm pretty sure it had to do with more than just the fact that Anna Paquin, who plays the main character, Sookie Stackhouse bugs me. I wish I had a good reason for my dislike of Ms. Paquin like I once saw her kick a dog or be mean to a little kid but I can't even think of a movie I've seen her in. I am sure she's a completely lovely person and as I read in my US Weekly she's recently engaged to her co-star. That's really sweet! I do love weddings! Somehow even that isn't helping me... I'm just irked by her demeanor. So, I've tried pretty hard not to imagine her as I'm reading. So far so good, although I'm hoping it gets easier as I get further along in the series.

To me the book series (at least so far) seems so much more fascinating and complex than the show does. Of course I can't think of a book I didn't like more than the movie it was eventually made into. Thinking.... thinking... still thinking, okay several minutes of pondering and I still can't come up with one. Any ideas? Would love to know if you came up with one.

So, as you can see I won't be watching the TrueBlood series but by all means check it out yourself. I believe HBO On Demand has season one and two but if not, surely the good people at Netflix offer both.

Do actual physical video stores even exist anymore? Our neighborhood Blockbuster closed earlier this year and the space was taken over to expand the next door Trader Joe's. Oh the wonderfulness of Trader Joe's. That really could be it's own post. I'm so sorry for those of you that don't have this specialty grocery market in your area. This is actually one of the very few things that Texas doesn't have. Although, if it does ever come to Texas, Houston specifically I know that it will be due to the persistence of my mother-in-law. She's been emailing with the company and even suggested a particular location. Until then we'll just have to send them home with wine and gingersnaps and they can bring us red beans and rice. Seems like a good trade to me, although I do wish they could bring up some Bluebell Homemade Vanilla ice cream. mmmmmm.

But I'm way way off topic again... shocker I know.

Dead Until Dark is the story of Sookie Stackhouse, a smart and sassy waitress who lives in small town northern Louisiana. She is blessed (or perhaps cursed) with a special gift that keeps her pretty well removed from most intimate relationships -- friendships included. That is until she meets Bill Compton, a sweet, strong and sexy vampire who is new in town. Yes, in this series vampires are newly accepted into society and although most people are still very suspicious of them (and rightly so in some cases) Bill is trying his best to fit in.

While trying to meander the difficult avenues of their unconventional relationship they encounter a number of problems from other characters along the way -- jealousy, lust, ignorance, distrust, vengeance, and more than a few dead bodies.

As I said before this is no Twilight but it's funny and entertaining-- over all a good read. And as my friend told me, "once you get through the first two books you'll be hooked." I just started the second this morning and if I can keep myself away from my fan fiction stories I should finish the book this week... we'll see!

Happy Reading

Cheers,

Ouiser