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Blood Promise (Vampire Academy, #4)
by Richelle Mead (Goodreads Author)
by Richelle Mead (Goodreads Author)
So 1st I have to say that I love Mead. But this book was only OK to Good for me which I guess was a disappointment. I think she could have & has done much better. To summarize, I didn't feel as emotionally connected to the characters & I expected to be, esp after the last book. But also - I think structurally, the book was too condensed & didn't have to be.
OK so here I go, SPOILERS for VA #4 - BLOOD PROMISE BELOW:
I felt there was far too much recap of the previous 3 books. Literally - it was the entire first 25% of the book. Actually a bit more. I felt she wasted words, describing scenes & scenarios that didn't need to take up that much space & there could've have been far more time spent on the meat of the story & character development - to me (Rose esp) stayed very.....level. There weren't major emotional ups or downs & when the "epiphanies came" I didn't feel that were as startling & profound as they could've been.
The ending, I felt was all very rushed & wrapped up. The make-up with Lissa, Adrian, the school, Christian, her mom & even Abe, in order to get to the 'Surprise!' ending that Dimitri is pulling an Angel & coming after Rose. How predictable.
Like we didn't know he was still alive? Esp. after that anti-climatic bridge scene? And then the whole, "it's a fairy tale" bit about the ring.....?
But the fact that Rose didn't have really have an emotional aftermath after doing something like killing D. - especially after leaving everyone, hunting him for 5 months & being held captive by him for weeks while he's Strigoi- was not only a bit shocking for me, bit tipped me off that he wasn't really dead. That & also, knowing Rose is getting 6 books, I figured Mead wouldn't have him die so soon (although, I think she should have done it - it would've wiped out the major Buffy storyline comparisons that are coming).
And I get it.... Why Rose wasn't allowed the emotional aftermath & the reason is b'c Mead spent too much wasted time the 1st quarter of the book, so by the end, she had to hurry & cram in all action (Avery/Lissa), in order to get Rose home pronto so everyone could forgive her quickly.
So here's the thing - did Rose have a lobotomy? Where was she? Throughout the whole book I felt she lacked energy & no, not b'c she was in a blood induced haze. She just wasn't believable. When she was recounting her time with Dimitri at his funeral - it was funny b'c Rose asks Sydney how everyone seemed to know about her & Dimka & Syd tells her that it was written all over her face & I thought, I assume so. I guess you had to be there b'c I'm with Rose, how the hell could they even tell, b'c her words in her grief was so underwhelming.
Even when she encounters Dimitri for the 1st time - it lacked the full emotional impact for me. And her dream sequences with Adrian?? She was acting liked a spoiled child. Had she learned nothing over the past 4 weeks (& that's the other thing - I figured she was gone for like, 3 months - 5 weeks??! That's it!)?
Dimitri as Strigoi? There were parts that were genuinely chilling but I felt it really could've had been much more intense. Much scarier. Much more confusing for Rose. Sorry Mead - but if you're gonna pull an Bad Angel before he gets his soul back again, you should've taken better notes. But...obviously, The hunt is for the next book but I'll get to this in a bit.
I'm annoyed by her use of Adrian, I feel like he is more of a prop than anything else. Which is a shame. To me, he shouldn't be relegated to Scooby Gang/Xander status.
I thought Christian not really cottoning on & giving up on Lissa so quickly was yet another fault of early plot timing being wasted.
He tells Lissa it had been rough b'c the time before the incident at the Royal Court, she got so mad b'c he wasn't going. Umm.....that was only one other time. It didn't get bad until Avery was there so presumably, that was the only major fight (& it wasn't even) that we saw. Christian is smarter that that & knows Lissa better than that & all she has been dealing with in battling the darkness of spirit. Another quickly dealt with scenario I didn't buy.
And really, how stupid could Rose be? She was in Lissa's head for god's sake! Not to realize that there was something very wrong was Mead having a major brain fart to allow that. It bothered me that she didn't smarten up until it was almost too late. These people are supposed to be BEST FRIENDS. Not only that but BONDED by something hugely mystical. Are you kidding?
Personally, I think if Mead spent less time recapping the 1st 3 books, she could have had a narrative prologue about what happened & left it at that. Then, started off the book w/ Rose grappling with her grief more genuinely & had Dimitri enter quicker. I think it would have been more successful suspense wise, to have had both his capture of her & her kill of him happen much earlier.
The reason being, I think it would've been much, MUCH more of an emotional impact if Mead showed the poignant in the aftermath of Rose killing Dimitri by her returning to school & trying to adjust & make amends & just get on.
Mead could've shown all the new adjustments & more personal growth which came as a result. Then, once she starts putting her life back together, things are starting to look brighter, she starts dating Adrian.. the reader gets comfortable by having had time to believe/ adjust that Dimitri is actually dead...THEN pull out the big surprise guns. That's when Dimitri's hunt of her & her loved ones begin. Even better, have it start anonymously for the last few chapters (at least) & then the big cliffhanger would've been the package & note.
That would've been seriously cool & chilling. But instead, the book left me feeling it lacked heart. It just emotionally plateaued the whole time. Yeah, I was disappointed.
There was also continuity issues. When Rose is held captive, she was clearly there for a few days & yet when she enters Lissa's head, Lissa was feeling guilty for the kiss incident from the night before.
I seriously hope Mead loses the need to do such heavy recapping 5 books in. I have no idea why the publishers make author's do that.
I mean, I do but it's a HUGE waste of talent & smacks of money grubbing & I hope Mead doesn't buy into it as much with the next book. Anyone that is going to pick up a series which is NOT stand alone, should have the smarts enough to read from the beginning. It's the reader's own fault if they're too lazy not to.
(BIG SIGH) I just love Richelle Mead so much as an author. I just wish this was up to her usual standard.
OK so here I go, SPOILERS for VA #4 - BLOOD PROMISE BELOW:
I felt there was far too much recap of the previous 3 books. Literally - it was the entire first 25% of the book. Actually a bit more. I felt she wasted words, describing scenes & scenarios that didn't need to take up that much space & there could've have been far more time spent on the meat of the story & character development - to me (Rose esp) stayed very.....level. There weren't major emotional ups or downs & when the "epiphanies came" I didn't feel that were as startling & profound as they could've been.
The ending, I felt was all very rushed & wrapped up. The make-up with Lissa, Adrian, the school, Christian, her mom & even Abe, in order to get to the 'Surprise!' ending that Dimitri is pulling an Angel & coming after Rose. How predictable.
Like we didn't know he was still alive? Esp. after that anti-climatic bridge scene? And then the whole, "it's a fairy tale" bit about the ring.....?
But the fact that Rose didn't have really have an emotional aftermath after doing something like killing D. - especially after leaving everyone, hunting him for 5 months & being held captive by him for weeks while he's Strigoi- was not only a bit shocking for me, bit tipped me off that he wasn't really dead. That & also, knowing Rose is getting 6 books, I figured Mead wouldn't have him die so soon (although, I think she should have done it - it would've wiped out the major Buffy storyline comparisons that are coming).
And I get it.... Why Rose wasn't allowed the emotional aftermath & the reason is b'c Mead spent too much wasted time the 1st quarter of the book, so by the end, she had to hurry & cram in all action (Avery/Lissa), in order to get Rose home pronto so everyone could forgive her quickly.
So here's the thing - did Rose have a lobotomy? Where was she? Throughout the whole book I felt she lacked energy & no, not b'c she was in a blood induced haze. She just wasn't believable. When she was recounting her time with Dimitri at his funeral - it was funny b'c Rose asks Sydney how everyone seemed to know about her & Dimka & Syd tells her that it was written all over her face & I thought, I assume so. I guess you had to be there b'c I'm with Rose, how the hell could they even tell, b'c her words in her grief was so underwhelming.
Even when she encounters Dimitri for the 1st time - it lacked the full emotional impact for me. And her dream sequences with Adrian?? She was acting liked a spoiled child. Had she learned nothing over the past 4 weeks (& that's the other thing - I figured she was gone for like, 3 months - 5 weeks??! That's it!)?
Dimitri as Strigoi? There were parts that were genuinely chilling but I felt it really could've had been much more intense. Much scarier. Much more confusing for Rose. Sorry Mead - but if you're gonna pull an Bad Angel before he gets his soul back again, you should've taken better notes. But...obviously, The hunt is for the next book but I'll get to this in a bit.
I'm annoyed by her use of Adrian, I feel like he is more of a prop than anything else. Which is a shame. To me, he shouldn't be relegated to Scooby Gang/Xander status.
I thought Christian not really cottoning on & giving up on Lissa so quickly was yet another fault of early plot timing being wasted.
He tells Lissa it had been rough b'c the time before the incident at the Royal Court, she got so mad b'c he wasn't going. Umm.....that was only one other time. It didn't get bad until Avery was there so presumably, that was the only major fight (& it wasn't even) that we saw. Christian is smarter that that & knows Lissa better than that & all she has been dealing with in battling the darkness of spirit. Another quickly dealt with scenario I didn't buy.
And really, how stupid could Rose be? She was in Lissa's head for god's sake! Not to realize that there was something very wrong was Mead having a major brain fart to allow that. It bothered me that she didn't smarten up until it was almost too late. These people are supposed to be BEST FRIENDS. Not only that but BONDED by something hugely mystical. Are you kidding?
Personally, I think if Mead spent less time recapping the 1st 3 books, she could have had a narrative prologue about what happened & left it at that. Then, started off the book w/ Rose grappling with her grief more genuinely & had Dimitri enter quicker. I think it would have been more successful suspense wise, to have had both his capture of her & her kill of him happen much earlier.
The reason being, I think it would've been much, MUCH more of an emotional impact if Mead showed the poignant in the aftermath of Rose killing Dimitri by her returning to school & trying to adjust & make amends & just get on.
Mead could've shown all the new adjustments & more personal growth which came as a result. Then, once she starts putting her life back together, things are starting to look brighter, she starts dating Adrian.. the reader gets comfortable by having had time to believe/ adjust that Dimitri is actually dead...THEN pull out the big surprise guns. That's when Dimitri's hunt of her & her loved ones begin. Even better, have it start anonymously for the last few chapters (at least) & then the big cliffhanger would've been the package & note.
That would've been seriously cool & chilling. But instead, the book left me feeling it lacked heart. It just emotionally plateaued the whole time. Yeah, I was disappointed.
There was also continuity issues. When Rose is held captive, she was clearly there for a few days & yet when she enters Lissa's head, Lissa was feeling guilty for the kiss incident from the night before.
I seriously hope Mead loses the need to do such heavy recapping 5 books in. I have no idea why the publishers make author's do that.
I mean, I do but it's a HUGE waste of talent & smacks of money grubbing & I hope Mead doesn't buy into it as much with the next book. Anyone that is going to pick up a series which is NOT stand alone, should have the smarts enough to read from the beginning. It's the reader's own fault if they're too lazy not to.
(BIG SIGH) I just love Richelle Mead so much as an author. I just wish this was up to her usual standard.
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You are so right - her grief was cheesy!You make me laugh...'ugh not you again' - so funny. I did the same thing. Rolled my eyes thought: 'here we go', it's Buffy/Bad Angel rip-off when if done better - it could have been a class A homage.
Yeah I have to say I can't believe Mead didn't think of an alternate structure. The woman knows how to write - what the hell happened?? So the only thing I could guess was that at the publisher's insistence to win more readers, they had her do heavy recapping.
I can't believe as many people like it as they do. However, I have a paranormal book forum & 4 other woman read it & they were all hugely disappointed as well. My guess is that it appeals to the younger audience but the adult's that follow it will be more particular & discerning.
For the 1st time - I felt Mead pandered to her YA audience. The sad part is, young adults are much more mature overall & this felt like this was a trite example of author's whose lost the plot as they get popular & start to tone down. It was like reading LJ Smith's awful Vampire Diaries - did you read those? I think you have to be 14 to appreciate them & I felt that's the age bracket Mead reverted to & targeted.
Anyway, It lacked Mead's normal heart & emotional complexity. The weird thing is - I read her blog & it seemed like she was really agonizing over this book & thinks it really good. I am stumped. It's sub-par. I really never thought she would slump to this level - at least so quickly.
Tell me about it! It's a complete rip off, but a badly done one. (Which is super annoying cos I love Buffy and Angel)
And now it seems like Spirit Bound is just gonna be the same thing all over again, which is soo annoying. I was so happy when it looked like things might finally be moving forward with Adrian and then she had to go and bring damn Dimitri back and start the whole thing up all over again. Plus where is Christian going to fit into all of this?? =[
God I hope it was the publishers insistence or else she's seriously lost it. It seemed so all over the place at times because you kept having to rewind a couple of years and spend a page reading what you already know. She shouldn't have to recap, that's what the preface was for and if some idiot decides to start reading half way through a series, well then that's their fault - they'll catch up.
I think the constant random flashbacks ruined the flow too! Especially cos they had no sentimentality.
Me either, looking over all the reveiws and everything I was shocked so many people liked it! Especially because I looked at a few ratings before my copy arrived and they were all five stars, and then I was reading it and thinking 'did I get the same book as everyone else?'
Mind you, a lot of people don't seem to be able to let the whole Dimitri thing go, so I think if he got mentioned at least every second pg people were happy.
That's awesome that you know other people that don't like it.. my faith in other people having good taste is very slowly being restored.
I think you're definately right about the younger audience liking it a lot more. I've read a few interviews where Mead has said she never likes to talk down to her audience, which I've always loved, but in this one I think she did.
God I know those books, I couldn't even finish the first one they were that awful. It was like a horribly constructed high school musical with fangs. The writing was terrible. Mind you I didn't get more than a few chapters in before giving up..
I read that too, hence me being completely shocked when it didn't live up to the hype. Shadow Kiss in particular I thought was beautifully written, and I loved all the concepts it explored, so I can't believe it's all gone down hill so quickly.
I'm not looking forward to Spirit Bound as much anymore. I hope it's back to her usual standard. But seriously, the cliffie?? Not a cliffie!
At least I still have Sookie Stackhouse to look forward to..
And now it seems like Spirit Bound is just gonna be the same thing all over again, which is soo annoying. I was so happy when it looked like things might finally be moving forward with Adrian and then she had to go and bring damn Dimitri back and start the whole thing up all over again. Plus where is Christian going to fit into all of this?? =[
God I hope it was the publishers insistence or else she's seriously lost it. It seemed so all over the place at times because you kept having to rewind a couple of years and spend a page reading what you already know. She shouldn't have to recap, that's what the preface was for and if some idiot decides to start reading half way through a series, well then that's their fault - they'll catch up.
I think the constant random flashbacks ruined the flow too! Especially cos they had no sentimentality.
Me either, looking over all the reveiws and everything I was shocked so many people liked it! Especially because I looked at a few ratings before my copy arrived and they were all five stars, and then I was reading it and thinking 'did I get the same book as everyone else?'
Mind you, a lot of people don't seem to be able to let the whole Dimitri thing go, so I think if he got mentioned at least every second pg people were happy.
That's awesome that you know other people that don't like it.. my faith in other people having good taste is very slowly being restored.
I think you're definately right about the younger audience liking it a lot more. I've read a few interviews where Mead has said she never likes to talk down to her audience, which I've always loved, but in this one I think she did.
God I know those books, I couldn't even finish the first one they were that awful. It was like a horribly constructed high school musical with fangs. The writing was terrible. Mind you I didn't get more than a few chapters in before giving up..
I read that too, hence me being completely shocked when it didn't live up to the hype. Shadow Kiss in particular I thought was beautifully written, and I loved all the concepts it explored, so I can't believe it's all gone down hill so quickly.
I'm not looking forward to Spirit Bound as much anymore. I hope it's back to her usual standard. But seriously, the cliffie?? Not a cliffie!
At least I still have Sookie Stackhouse to look forward to..
Oh god - I random flashbacks...I know! The Snow Angel scene?? big f-ing whoop. I can't believe she wasted so many words.I was talking to another friend of mine & I was saying that maaayyyybe - what Mead is doing by having Dimitri hunt Rose, is make room for Adrian.
The website www.bittenbybooks.com - they always do polls & they had a "favorite romantic pairing" - Dimitri & Rose won by a landslide. So in order to come out & hugely disappoint her fans - I wonder if she is going to try & paint him in a more chilling picture in the next book so fans can get over him & accept Adrian..?
Here's to hoping right? I was always a huge Adrian fan.
What did you think of Dead & Gone? I love Sookie - in fact I have a large forum for the series & TV show outside of goodreads (the one I tried on here doesn't get any action). But I was hugely disappointed in Dead & Gone for various reasons. One being the ongoing carrot being dangled to fans on suitor choice. 10 books in & it's getting tedious. I think it's hypocritical b'c she adamantly stated she does not consider herself a romance writer but yet.....in order to keep readers compelled the suitor choice has become the main focus for many people. The whole - preferring Eric, Bill or Quinn thing has become downright devisive with her readers. It's crazy.
I still have hope the next book will be stellar but she is having trouble with it. That's the other thing too - when a series gets extended b'c of popularity, thereby going past the original structure or ideas the author originally intended - the writing is not as tight. For the 1st time - I felt CH wasn't tight with DAG.
I was *hoping* that that was her plan, but then I dunno, it just doesn't seem right. I mean the way she brought him back made it seem like she was bringing him back to actually 'bring him back', rather than just as a way to build tension. If that made any sense..
I dunno, that's just the feel I got.
But I do hope beyond hope your friend is right. I've always loved Adrian too.
People seem to cling to certain characteristics and ignore what they don't want to know though, so I dunno how she's going to manage it, I think everyone would keep loving Dimitri even if he killed one of the other main characters so if she wants to kill him off it's going to be pretty dificult without causing an uproar, especially after giving so many people hope after this last book.
It continues to shock me too how everyone describes Adrian as such an 'unstable and bad influence on Rose'..
People don't seem to seperate what Adrian actually says and does from Rose's harsh interpretation of him.
You didn't like Dead and Gone? Really? I have to say I loved it. There were some things that I thought could have been structured a bit better, and it was a little too crowded with so many different plots at times, but overall I thought it was great. I may be bias considering the amount of Eric in it though.. haha.
I definately agree with the suitor thing though. I don't understand what's with the whole bringing Bill up so randomly?? To me he's been irrelevant since Living Dead in Dallas, so Sookie all of a sudden wondering if she still loved him was kinda like 'uhh what the? Bill's still alive?'
Don't even get me started on Quinn. God do I hate that guy.
So yeah, the whole multiple boy friends is becoming a bit tedious.. fingers crossed she makes up her mind in this next one?
As sad as I was to see all Claudine and Claude go, I'm hoping now that she's wiped out most of the old plot lines everything will start to freshen up again.
She's having trouble with the next book? Where did you hear that?
Yeah I hate that too, the story lines become repetitive and streched. Plus end up contradicting previous books cos they haven't been planned.
I dunno, that's just the feel I got.
But I do hope beyond hope your friend is right. I've always loved Adrian too.
People seem to cling to certain characteristics and ignore what they don't want to know though, so I dunno how she's going to manage it, I think everyone would keep loving Dimitri even if he killed one of the other main characters so if she wants to kill him off it's going to be pretty dificult without causing an uproar, especially after giving so many people hope after this last book.
It continues to shock me too how everyone describes Adrian as such an 'unstable and bad influence on Rose'..
People don't seem to seperate what Adrian actually says and does from Rose's harsh interpretation of him.
You didn't like Dead and Gone? Really? I have to say I loved it. There were some things that I thought could have been structured a bit better, and it was a little too crowded with so many different plots at times, but overall I thought it was great. I may be bias considering the amount of Eric in it though.. haha.
I definately agree with the suitor thing though. I don't understand what's with the whole bringing Bill up so randomly?? To me he's been irrelevant since Living Dead in Dallas, so Sookie all of a sudden wondering if she still loved him was kinda like 'uhh what the? Bill's still alive?'
Don't even get me started on Quinn. God do I hate that guy.
So yeah, the whole multiple boy friends is becoming a bit tedious.. fingers crossed she makes up her mind in this next one?
As sad as I was to see all Claudine and Claude go, I'm hoping now that she's wiped out most of the old plot lines everything will start to freshen up again.
She's having trouble with the next book? Where did you hear that?
Yeah I hate that too, the story lines become repetitive and streched. Plus end up contradicting previous books cos they haven't been planned.
I love Eric too, one of my fave characters ever, but no I didn't love the book, which was hugely disappointing for me. I really, really tried to like it!! Are you kidding? It was my fave series. I re-read & re-read & took copious notes but I went back to my initial instinct which was - lazy writing in which author comes across as tired & having lost her heart & way.
It was waaayy too packed for a year's wait & then we end up with a book which needed to have 1.5 line spacing in order to stretch it to 312 pages long in order to make it passable as a Hardcover to rake in more dollars.
To me - CH left her heart & soul L.A. when she signed her 1st love over to Alan Ball.
Most of the characters were just shades of themselves to me. Sookie sounded & walked around like she had a partial lobotomy, LOL!
When I 1st started reading I actually felt she was channeling Anna Paquin's version of Sookie (which is awful IMO) it sounded so unlike her to me.
Eric sounded odd. The dialog didn't flow & came out wooden & stunted & emotionally disconnected. I realize that he was accessing & behaving in a way like Amnesiac Eric but still....his underlying humor was practically absent.
Sookie reminded me of a child in many of her scenes. It kind of freaked me out actually b'c I wondered if she was close to 'turning' due to the amount of Eric's blood she was ingesting. So I was concerned their relationship was headed more in the direction of a child/parent sort of thing. I was wondering if CH was trying to foreshadow a potentially different dynamic of their relationship.
The fairy drama was wrapped up so quickly I was astounded. I mean - what was that about really? A plot device in order for Sookie to have her watershed/crossroads book in which she can only undergo huge personal character development if she's massively tortured???
Is CH still so unwilling to provide some important emotional & situational concrete answers at this point that the only way for Sookie to experience true growth is undergo yet another traumatic experience & arguably .... the most brutal yet?
Like growing up the town freak b'c of being a telepath, having your parents murdered, subsequently being molested by your uncle for years, never being able to even date so having no real life experience, having your Gran murdered, falling in love with a vamp who was hired to seduce you & b'c of this relationship - being staked, drained, raped in a car trunk, kidnapped etc.. etc.. wasn't enough?? Ch had to add the cherry in DAG by having to have Sook be brutally tortured by cannibalistic fairies who vampires even fear just so she can have some more traumatic life experience under her belt & in order for her to truly evolve to the next stage of her life...?? You know what I mean? LOL!
It's was like ....screw just having a few mental epiphanies b'c Sookie finally "gets it" by having an adult conversation for once & understanding someone else's POV.
What I mean is - have Sookie confront things by asking smart questions, hearing the answers & following through in true understanding instead of typically not dealing & evading). No - CH couldn't do that. Instead we have more vagaries, Sookie trauma & suitor bullcrap to continue to deal with in order to sell more books & milk the cash cow.
Phew! Glad I got that off my chest!!! You caught me at a bad time with ole' CH b'c she PO'd me with her latest web rant, see below (I mean I don't know about you but how can you turn in something you hate??):
Overanalyzing the blood bond has never been necessary, and just so you know, I'm not answering any more questions about it. I'm just burned out on the speculation.
Charlaine Harris
___
I finished DEAD IN THE FAMILY Sunday, the last possible day I could finish it. My friend Toni is reading it now, and then I’ll send it to my editor, Ginjer. The concept of DITF was originally quite different from the book I ended up writing, but that often happens and doesn’t quite scare me like it used to. At first I thought DITF would be very episodic; it turned out to have a unifying theme and to have a crazy night of resolution. Of course, this may change once my editor has a read!
By the time I send a book in to New York, I hate it. Maybe I hate DITF a little less than others. I don’t know if that’s good or bad.
Okay so most of the stuff you've pointed out I agree with, to an extent, though I still loved the book.
I didn't think the characterisation in Dead and Gone was weak though (though I did miss Eric's usual humour now that you mention it)
Aha and I agree with you about Dead and Gone Sookie mirroring Anna Paquin Sookie.. I don't really like her interpretation of Sookie either, though I do think she's improving; if only slightly.
Do you like the show overall?
Ahaha the whole thing with the fairy's being wrapped up wayyy too quickly I completely agree with. It was kind of like she'd edited it down to squish it into a certain number of pages but when doing so left out certain paragraphs, pages even, that it didn't make sense without.
I didn't even realise Claudine had died the first time I read it. It was very rushed.
Ahahaha. Funny.
Yeah I know what you mean! And man, when you write it all down like that, the girls been through A LOT!
I reckon she's done it to bring up the whole 'why wasn't Eric there to save me' stuff and then try and rope Bill back into the romantic picture to cause more drama. Not that we haven't read THAT story line before or anything.
Interesting theory about Sookie being on the verge of turning; I'd never thought about that before.. hmm.
That could actually explain a fair bit.
Aha, yeah that's a little weird. As if that's something that you post on your blog, feel that way or not!
I didn't think the characterisation in Dead and Gone was weak though (though I did miss Eric's usual humour now that you mention it)
Aha and I agree with you about Dead and Gone Sookie mirroring Anna Paquin Sookie.. I don't really like her interpretation of Sookie either, though I do think she's improving; if only slightly.
Do you like the show overall?
Ahaha the whole thing with the fairy's being wrapped up wayyy too quickly I completely agree with. It was kind of like she'd edited it down to squish it into a certain number of pages but when doing so left out certain paragraphs, pages even, that it didn't make sense without.
I didn't even realise Claudine had died the first time I read it. It was very rushed.
Ahahaha. Funny.
Yeah I know what you mean! And man, when you write it all down like that, the girls been through A LOT!
I reckon she's done it to bring up the whole 'why wasn't Eric there to save me' stuff and then try and rope Bill back into the romantic picture to cause more drama. Not that we haven't read THAT story line before or anything.
Interesting theory about Sookie being on the verge of turning; I'd never thought about that before.. hmm.
That could actually explain a fair bit.
Aha, yeah that's a little weird. As if that's something that you post on your blog, feel that way or not!
I think the show is mediocre/overrated with flashes of brilliance & has great potential. It's hard for me b'c I can't stand AP's portrayal. I never liked her as an actress so this makes it worse as well! The best episode of the 2 seasons, for me, has been the one with Godric & Sookie sucking the bullet (it was really, the only true book Sookie moment for me). I love the periphery characters - Pam, Eric, Chow, Hoyt, Jessica, Lafayette. But the main characters - Sookie, Bil, Tara, Sam....they do nothing for me.
Yeah Ch's comments have been weird as late & I feel kinda rude to her fans. She also wrote how she trashed the 1st 30% of the book & started over & then later - how the book wasn't lying down & she was having a lot of trouble. I think that's b'c she didn't have a clear out b'c the story she thought she was going to write - she didn't.
What about you - you like the show?
Really? I adore the show, I think it's fantastic; though it did take a while for it to hit its stride again once season two started.
Yeah Anna Paquin is pretty annoying. I don't like that she doesn't stand up for herself like Sookie does. She seems so overly dependant. I loved it when she stood up to Lorainna though. To me that was finally the real Sookie.
Aha and YES! The bullet sucking moment. I absolotely lovvvved that.
Tara is annoying the hell out of me at the moment, though I do love Sam, and all the characters you mentioned of course.
So glad to finally see Pam back last episode.
=]
That's annoying. I hate it when authors bitch about their work. It seems kinda hypocritical considering they're trying to sell it to us all.
Yeah Anna Paquin is pretty annoying. I don't like that she doesn't stand up for herself like Sookie does. She seems so overly dependant. I loved it when she stood up to Lorainna though. To me that was finally the real Sookie.
Aha and YES! The bullet sucking moment. I absolotely lovvvved that.
Tara is annoying the hell out of me at the moment, though I do love Sam, and all the characters you mentioned of course.
So glad to finally see Pam back last episode.
=]
That's annoying. I hate it when authors bitch about their work. It seems kinda hypocritical considering they're trying to sell it to us all.
You guy's have a near perfect thread going here. I agree with a HUGE portion of what you guy's have to say about both series. I can't imagine that a dialogue about the last CH Harris book did not take off in here though. I know we are not the only people who did not like it. Have either one of you read the Blue Blood series ? I have read mixed reviews and since we seem to fall in line with these other ones I thought you might have some advice.
I haven't read it but yeah - I heard mixed reviews too. I have so many frickin' books in my queue I have to get to. I heard Chicagoland vamps & Morganville was pretty good. Have you read those?
My to read list is getting insane too. I jump around themes a bunch too so that gets confusing. I have not read any of those books, did you like them ?
I've read Night Huntress. It's one of my faves. I just thought it was so much fun & the chemistry is pretty off the charts, IMO. The Fever series by Karen Marie Moning is my absolute fave though. It's tight. Moning has put a TON of effort & love crafting that series & it's obvious.
I feel like I am kind of rec-ing to you blindly though. What do you look for in a book? What don't you like?
I like it to be researched well. Errors in vernacular (not appropriate for the time) turn me off. I like some good steamy will they or won't they. I like a good shower scene ala Eric and Sookie I like the way Rose is tough and can defend herself. I hated the way Bella (Twilight) was such a wimp and the way it was acceptable that Edward stalked her and watched her sleep. I like a bit more Buffy and a bit less Bella, Like Rose.
I am a huge Buffy fan. So I suggest you do Fever. KMM is awesome. I just love her ethos as an author. She knows what's up. She has painstakingly plotted the series out so it's engaging & fun for the reader. She doesn't wing it. There is intent all the way through. She isn't in it to be a "clever" author who is smarter than everyone else. She is in it for being able to share a great story & allow her readers to have fun. It's just as much, if not more so for them than fueling her ego. I love that she is clear about her intents as an author & yet she gives nothing away. Sometimes I find that authors don't realize you can do one without the other, when answering fans. She is always incredibly respectful even when someone is harshing on her. She takes it on board & while she stands her ground she responds respectfully & with dignity. Gotta love that.
Here are direct quotes from her:
"I love a good book that doesn't deliberately try to deceive or mislead you. I will never do that to you. I hate feeling manipulated by the author or tossed red-herrings just to screw me up. A good mystery has to be done delicately, carefully, with integrity. I fully intend for my reader to be able to go back when the series is done and say "oh, OMG, that's why he/she did/said that!" And I hope many of you have an 'aha' moment before the final "aha" because then I've respected you as my reader, trusted your ability to digest and enjoy the journey, and given you fair chance to solve the mystery yourself--and what better fun?"
___
"I have to say that I hope the clues are all there. I've intended for them to be there. I will never mislead, I hate it when a writer does that. Play with me, but don't trick me. I'll feel manipulated, not be impressed. But I do choose to tell the story for maximum tension and enjoyment, so you may not get all the clues until just before things blow.
That being said, I want you to be expecting 90 percent of it. If I've followed the emotion of the plot with integrity, by time you finish, it should seem as natural as breathing that things end up where they do."
IMO, that's how it should be.
As for steamy, will they/won't etc.. & good shower type scene..do the Night Huntress series. I don't want to give anything away but there is a scene in one of the books that hands down, IMO - blows the roof off the shower scene. I could tell you more if you want (get specific about which books etc.. but don't want to ruin it. Plus I am already hyping which is never good!
:-) Thank you so much. Those sound perfect to me. I hate when authors seem to throw it all together at the end or bow or cower to the readers and throw away original intent. (Like Charliane Harris did in the last book.) I also need to get back to reading Vampire stuff for Grown-Folks :-)
Omg! someone who agrees with me on dimitri being evil. i rekon he is way better that way and i really feel sorry for Adrian.. Rose has just hung him out to dry. I wish Dimitri stayed Strigoi
I think the Dimitri story line should have been wrapped up a hell of a lot quicker than it did and Adrian should have had a lot bigger role (and Christian for that matter!)
It seemed rushed and a lot of plot points way to convenient, plus the constant recaping was annoying as hell and I found my self skipping paragraphs.
Rose's lack of devestation throughout the book was also really annoying and her greif at points just seemed, dare I say; cheesy. Those annoying flashbacks we knew nothing about didn't help either!
I hated that so many characters were introduced that then seemed to be there for not apparent reason and served no purpose in the overall story arch (if you can even say it had one, it felt so scattered at times..)
Honestly this book should have started where it finished. It had it's moments, but ultimately there was too much filler and not enough passion, especially after leaving off at such a heart renching point in shadow kiss. I found myself thinking the parcel from Dimitri was more annoying than chilling, which is what it should have been. I just rolled my eyes and was like 'ugh not you again'
Your alternate outline sounded a lot more gripping.
Fingers crossed Spirit Bound is back to Mead's usual standard.
Agh. That rant felt good.