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Mar 28, 2010

Vanessa rated it:

After reading a succession of more serious books, I felt the need to read something light and trashy. As I discovered from reading this book, you should be careful what you wish for. Light? Yes. Trashy? Oh yes. Oh yes, yes, yes. But not in a good way - just trash, trash, trash.

It is hard to say what I disliked more about this book - the sophomoric writing, or the annoying, vapid, 2-d, Harlequin-romance-heroine-helpless-twit persona of Sookie Stackhouse. Sookie is a psychic, an More...

24 comments like (154 people liked it)

May 23, 2008

Shannon rated it:

I'd never heard of these books until a few months ago, and as usual, once one person recommends them, everyone seems to be talking about them, you see them everywhere, and you get curious. They're in the fantasy section, though for some bizarre reason I was under the impression, at first, that they were YA and silly. They are fun, but they are definitely for adults. The vampire/mystery style reminds me of the one Anita Blake book I read, the first one, which was horrible (can't say that enough t More...

27 comments like (54 people liked it)

Oct 05, 2009

Ceridwen rated it:

There are two reasons why I thought this book was alright: fanboats and gumbo, or the complete and total lack thereof. I'm going to use my kids as a shield again and try to cover up the real Scooby Doo fan in this scenario, but I've watched probably hundreds of hours of Scooby Doo in my day. (Alright, line up, Mum needs a human shield again!)

Anyway, one of my favorite parts of a Scooby Doo episode is when the Mystery Inc gang lands in whatever foreign/ethnic land, and there's a scen More...

42 comments like (80 people liked it)

Nov 29, 2011

Buggy rated it:

Opening Line:"I'd been waiting for the Vampire for years when he walked into the bar."

I must be one of the last people on the planet to read Dead After Dark. I also haven’t had a chance (yet) to watch True Blood, although because it’s been all over the media I had a pretty good visual reference for the characters here without actually having to compare the two. I was able to just go along for the ride. And what a ride, I can definitely see now what all the fuss has been abo More...

29 comments like (17 people liked it)

Jan 03, 2009

Trin rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

8 comments like (64 people liked it)

Jan 18, 2009

Jennifer rated it:

The first book in the Sookie Stackhouse series.

I confess - I picked this up at the bookstore for a few reasons:
1. The cover was sparkly and I liked the art.
2. Vampires! Having spent a huge chunk of my youth hoping the vampires in Anne Rice's novels would knock on my window late at night (shut-up, like you didn't???) I have been looking for the next Brad Pitt with fangs. (shut-up, like you aren't???)

And yeah. That was all it took. Sparkles and vampires - SOL More...

11 comments like (86 people liked it)

Sep 07, 2011

Keely rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

10 comments like (10 people liked it)

Dec 08, 2007

Vampire Lady rated it:

When I first read the premise for the book, I thought it was slightly intriguing. Nothing I would rush out to get and read right away, but still enough for me to put on my list of to-read. Now that I've read it, I want my brain back. I like the idea that vampires are a known part of the human world. I really do. I liked Sam, about the only character in the entire book I did like, and how Harris explained him. I just think it took to long for her to reveal it all and to get her point across.
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9 comments like (31 people liked it)

Nov 14, 2008

Beth F. rated it:

Even though Bon Temps, Louisiana ain’t urban by any stretch of the imagination, I would still classify this book as urban fantasy. So if you enjoyed popular series such as The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher and/or The Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Series by Laurell K. Hamilton, you might want to give Sookie Stackhouse a try.

I’m a fan of both and Sookie’s series has been on my to-read list for at least a year at the time I write this. I’ll admit the reason I hadn’t picked this series u More...

14 comments like (14 people liked it)

Nov 18, 2010

Sizzlin Miss Kenjii rated it:

Sookie Stackhouse is a waitress in a small Louisiana bar, that can read minds. She lives with her Gran and has a promiscuous brother, Jason.

Vampires are "out" and when one comes into Merlotte's one night, Sookie is thrilled. Bill is a vampire. He is in awe of Sookie. Her gift, her blood. Together they make for good reading.

The story skips back and forth between Sam[Merlotte's bar owner:] and his affections for Sookie. Sookie and Bill, and the brutal murders of More...

5 comments like (6 people liked it)

Jan 15, 2009

Kristianne rated it:

Let's get one thing straight...Sookie Stackhouse is no Bella Swan. You may have read the myriad reviews that list the similarities between Charlaine Harris's novels and the Twilight Saga and I can assure you that most of them are true. Harris refers to her vampires 'glowing', Bill drinks synthetic blood, Sookie can read minds...the list goes on and on.

But after finishing this book, what I can assure you is that in so many ways these books are so completely different that they bear More...

4 comments like (23 people liked it)

Feb 15, 2009

Jess rated it:

Vampires--now recognized by the government as virus ridden people--have come to Bon Temps and that's just fine with Sookie Stackhouse. These murders, however, have got to stop.

How can a book including a vampire, a mind-reading waitress, and at least four murders be so boring? (I was going to use suck but this book doesn't deserve that pun.)

Least sexy vampire ever. He's in love...maybe? I don't know. I can't tell. I'm not sure he has a personality. The girl is annoy More...

11 comments like (23 people liked it)

Apr 25, 2011

Jen rated it:

If you’ve learned everything you know about Sookie Stackhouse from watching True Blood, you are missing out in a big way. Yeah, yeah, there is definitely something to be said about the joys of watching Alexander Skarsgard brood and wear muscle shirts. But the books put the tv series to shame. The biggest difference is that these books are all first-person Sookie. Everything is about her and the world from her perspective. (Most of the more ridiculous subplots of the series don’t even exist i More...

6 comments like (8 people liked it)

Dec 27, 2010

Joyzi rated it:

Look for the CRAB!

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14 comments like (8 people liked it)

Dec 26, 2009

± Colleen of the Crawling Chaos ± rated it:

So, what can I say? I enjoyed the book, but in a guilty pleasures, sort of embarrassed to admit kind of way. Let's admit it - this is hardly well written, but it's quick and light and fun, and there's something to be said for that.

That said, I didn't really like Sookie's voice. I found it rather irritating right from the start. And the dialogue - ugh, who talks like that? And if people really do talk like that, then I'm glad I don't know them.

And there's not much cha More...

9 comments like (10 people liked it)

Feb 15, 2009

Alaine rated it:

This book is one of the most entertaining books I've ever read. It has comedy, suspense, romance and fantasy! What more could you possibly want? Clearly the author has a very twisted sense of humour which I loved! There was one 'incident/character' that had me laughing so hard I nearly fell of my chair!
At this point I should say that I'm not a huge Vampire fan and I've only recently come to the Paranormal Romance sub genre. I've read and loved the Twilight series but when characters of Twi More...

0 comments like (14 people liked it)

Jan 01, 2009

Christy rated it:

Book one of the Southern Vampire Mystery series introduces young, attractive Sookie Stackhouse, cocktail waitress in a small town in Louisiana. Sookie has telepathic abilities which she and others look upon as a disability. She lives with her grandmother and cat and keeps to herself because she desires silence after hearing other people’s thoughts while working. Sookie is intrigued when she meets Bill, her first vampire, not only because he’s a vampire but because she can’t read his thoughts. S More...

2 comments like (6 people liked it)

Oct 02, 2008

Rosa rated it:

I started reading these books because of the show on HBO, which I find somewhat uneven in tone, but mostly enjoyable in execution and very interesting in terms of its premise. Because I was so intrigued by the premise, I figured I'd dig the books. They have not disappointed me. I find them dangerously cheesy at times (not just all the love scenes, which are rendered in a way that always makes me feel like Fabio should be posing on the cover, but also the minute descriptions of Sookie's attire - More...

3 comments like (12 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

lynne rated it:

Firstly, what sort of name is "Sookie" anyway? Especially when it is paired with an alliterative surname like "Stackhouse", it already makes the heroine/main character of this tale hard to take seriously.

I like many of the premises of this tale, the main one being how vampires have fought for and won rights to "live" as other people in the United States, claiming their condition is due to a virus that has made them allergic to silver & sunlight and need More...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Aug 03, 2008

Deborah rated it:

When I first started reading the book I thought that it was going to be juvenille because of its seeming simplicity, but as I got further along (and stopped rolling my eyes) I changed my opinion and did not want to put it down. I enjoyed the aspect of two "unusual" people getting together and falling in love, which was an oddity especially for a vampire who supposedly has no emotions.

I like that Charlaine Harris put a simple spin on this tale and did no drag it out. She More...

1 comment like (6 people liked it)

Jul 10, 2010

Miss Kim rated it:

Why do the covers of this series have to be so dorky?

I went into this with low expectations, and I was pleased! This is different from the show, but I loved it. No need for a play by play review since most know it.

I liked getting to know more of Sookies thoughts.

I loved that Elvis is a dim-witted vampire named Bubba, though he is not named. "It is that man from Memphis..the singer". Too bad that was not in the show!

I missed Tara and Laf More...

31 comments like (8 people liked it)

Sep 23, 2007

Trina rated it:

Let me start off by saying I am not a prude. I may live in Utah. I may have only kissed one man in my life- but I have no problem with a little sex in a book. This went far beyond that. To the point that the story was no longer the story of clairvoyant girl meets vampire and they try to catch serial killer together. The story quickly became girl and vampire have sex together a lot. That bugged me. Rather than being interesting or even exciting- it was boring. Sex does not a plot make. The story More...

9 comments like (15 people liked it)

Apr 26, 2011

Logan rated it:

Cute! Fun and imaginative take on the vampire story. I came to this series due to True Blood and am pleasantly pleased to find that, despite any differences with the show, the book is just as engrossing. I didn't want it to be over when I put it down. Luckily there are seven more books in the series yet to read. Harris has a fun little universe swirling around Bon Temps and I can't wait to see what is in store for Sookie next.

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 31, 2012

Stephen rated it:

I've held off reading this because I saw and loved the HBO series and was afraid that this book wouldn't live up to the "new and improved" version as broadcast. However, the novel was still enjoyable in its original form and was a fast fun read.

The novel was improved in the series and several of the characters were more fully realized than in the original book. Given that the series came years later, involved scores of talented people and devoted almost 12 hours to a singl More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Apr 07, 2009

Csquared rated it:

Wow, these are shocking in how poorly they're written. Yet, I can't put them down. At the very least they're entertaining, quick reads. I'm currently on the fourth in the Sookie Stackhouse series and "Dead Until Dark" has not been my favorite. Perhaps that's because after seeing the HBO show, hence knowing the storyline and ending, all I was left with was the terrible editing, under-developed story and repetitive content. Oh and the sex too. I'm enjoying the other books in this s More...

2 comments like (12 people liked it)

Nov 04, 2009

Meghan rated it:

You know when you buy a pint of ice cream and you think it is a good idea because it is smaller than a big tub of ice cream but as soon as you start eating it, you can't stop and then before you know it you've eaten the entire thing. You feel sick and guilty but you know you will go back and do it again.
That sums up my feelings for this book. I knew when a friend handed me the first three books that I should have said no. We had talked about Twilight, we had talked about being addicted des More...

3 comments like (8 people liked it)

Nov 19, 2008

Lori rated it:

Ok.
This novel has taught me to Never.Ever.Ever. judge a book by its cover Ever.Ever. again!

I would see these books all over Borders and Barnes and Nobles and never give them a second glance.

Not because it was sci-fi (which I like). Not because it was Vampire sci-fi (which I like). But because of the super cheesy covers and the super cheesy titles.

Logan, I am thanking you for picking this book up and for recommending it to me.

One of THE bes More...

3 comments like (11 people liked it)

Oct 27, 2008

Jim rated it:

I wondered if watching the HBO series, "True Blood" first would have an ill effect on reading this book, but it didn't. There were differences; no Tara & a few others, but nothing that ruined it for me. I'm looking forward to reading the next books soon.

It's an interesting take on vampires coming out & getting legalized. Our heroine, Sookie, is able to read human minds, isn't particularly powerful, but she is a tough young lady. No over-powering sex, which I appreciate. More...

0 comments like (8 people liked it)

Sep 28, 2008

Carmen rated it:

A good series but sadly with really ugly covers

A few years ago I tried reading this book. I just couldn't get into it. I've noticed how some people in their reviews wrote about how Harris didn't explain things off the bat. I actually agreed with that before, it was so aggravating. BUT THEN a few weeks ago I started watching True Blood on HBO, and I fell head over heels in love. Which goes against my policy of: Read first, then watch. But I couldn't help myself. So I began reading De More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Sep 26, 2007

Schnaucl rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

1 comment like (3 people liked it)