Saturday, July 10, 2010

Dead in the Family (Southern Vampire Mysteries #10) by Charlaine Harris

Book Summery:
*Contains mild spoilers. Do not read the summery if you haven't read the rest of the series!*


Sookie Stackhouse has finally settled into a relationship with the Viking vampire Eric, and her errant brother Jason seems to have his life in order, too. But all the other people in Sookie’s life – Eric himself, her former lover Bill, her friend and boss Sam – are having family problems. Eric’s maker shows up with Eric’s ‘brother’ in tow, the ailing Bill can only be healed by a blood sibling, and Sam’s brother’s marriage is about to take place... or will it? The furor raised by the coming out of the two-natured has yet to settle; some people are just not ready to sit down to dinner with a man who turns into a dog. And Sookie herself is still recovering from her last ordeal. She’s definitely improving, physically and mentally, but she’s always going to have some dark moments now. The werewolves tell her that there have been strange and ominous passers-by in the Stackhouse woods; now Sookie is about to come face-to-face with one of her more distant relatives...-goodreads.com

Book Review:
I am a fan of the series for sure. However, this series can read like a roller coaster at times. There are books that I enjoy more than others. This one was not among my favorites, but definitely fitting with the rest of the series. There was very little action, which compared to the last book, Dead and Gone, was a huge change. This is definitely a more somber book filled with Sookie's thoughts and insights, which made for slower pacing. I also felt that Harris was trying to incorporate the TV series True Blood into the book, which honestly annoyed me a bit. For instance, in previous books, Eric's character is definitely colder and less friendly than Bill, but he definitely had some humerus moments. In this book, Eric was cool and standoffish with zero light moments, much like the series. Now, as I said, I am long standing fan of the series, so there is an excellent chance that I am being way too critical. Either way, I am glad I read the book, and it is fitting with the series, just make sure to take it with a grain of salt (these are essentially fun reads for me). I still look forward to more of Harris' works, she is one of my favorite authors after all. :)

Favorite Quote:
"I went into the house, sank to my knees right inside the door, and cried. My hands were skaing. My wrists ached. The whole time we'd been talking, I'd been waiting for him to make his move. I realized I wanted to live." (p. 9)

Cover Art Commentary:
I am a fan of the cover art of this series. It's one of the components that initially drew me to the series. Though this isn't my favorite cover, I still find it whimsical and fitting with the rest of the series.

Overall Rating:

7 comments:

  1. I have not read in this series, but have heard so many good things about it. I do however watch True Blood -- love that show!

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  2. Honestly, not everyone is as big of a fan of the series as I am. However, I truly enjoy it! If you ever pick some of the books up, let me know!

    The show is soooo good! Looking forward to Season 3! :)

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  3. Thanks Juju! :) You are too kind!

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  4. Honestly I don't like the TV series but love the books. However, I agree that it has it's ups and downs. I haven't read this one yet, so based on your review, it won't be among my favs so appreciate the heads up. And if it is trying to incorporate the TV show, I'll probably like it less. Thanks for the review!

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  5. I haven't read this one yet, but I've read a lot of mixed reviews on it. But I'm enjoying Season 3 of True Blood so far! Except for a few...twisted...moments. Lol. Thanks for the review! :)

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  6. @Alyssa
    Agreed. This is a roller coaster series for sure! Dead in the Family definitely isn't among my favorites, but it's fitting in the series all the same. :)

    @Natalie
    Yeah, I had read several mediocre reviews myself. I am jealous that you are watching season 3! I have to wait for the DVDs to come out! :/

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