Dead Until Dark (Sookie Stackhouse, #1) in The Complete Idiots Guide to the Ultimate Reading List

Nov 09, 2009 Gaijinmama rated it it was amazing

Shelves: paranormal, favorites, fiction

Wow. I adore the TV show True Blood but somehow, never got around to reading this.
What was I waiting for?!

Devoured it in three days. Housework? Kids? what are those and who cares?! I just could not put this one down. It is different enough from the TV show that I didn't feel as though anything was spoiled. Sookie, as a character, is much funnier in print than on the small screen. I just love her internal dialogue, and her relationship with Bill is sweet and scary and breathtakingly hot without b ...more

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Oct 14, 2009 Amy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I really enjoyed this book. Sookie Stackhouse is a well-developed, very likable character, much more so on the HBO television show, True Blood, based on this series. I'm not yet sure how I feel about Bill Compton, the vampire. He hasn't quite won me over the way he has Sookie. I knew he wasn't guilty of all the murders from the get go. However, something about him rubbed me the wrong way. I also knew Sookie's brother, vile as he is, was innocent. I guessed whodunit as soon as Sookie found "Bubba ...more

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Feb 03, 2009 Amber rated it did not like it

Shelves: audiobook

It's not a good sign when you're reading a murder mystery and about 1/2 way through you don't even care who the murderer is or who is going to get murdered next.

Dead Until Dark is set in Louisiana at a time that vampires are attempting to integrate into society. The story centers on Sookie Stackhouse, telepathic waitress who is not exactly sophisticated but is in love with Bill. Bill is a vampire who is not exactly interesting. Author Charlaine Harris then adds in a few murders, some sex, some b ...more

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Dec 07, 2008 Kathy Jo rated it really liked it

So why have I given this book and its partner in the series a 4 star rating? Well, it certainly isn't because it is high quality literature or for educational value. It is simply because of the "enjoyment and entertainment" factor. I am hooked on the "True Blood" series on HBO. While awaiting season 2, I started looking into Charlaine Harris' series to help tide me over.

I've had trouble focussing as I might like on general reading of late, especially since my husband passed away. These books ar ...more

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Sep 02, 2009 Sarah rated it it was amazing

I absolutely loved this book!!! I was originally going to give it four stars due to the fact that a few sections weren't written very well, but when a book manages to make a person feel like thay've come back home each time they open it, one can't really complain about petty things like that. So I'm leaving it at four stars, simply because it was an enjoyable and engaging read and has left me enthusiastic to read the rest. It also, surprisingly, had me putting aside a Twilight novel just so that ...more

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Nov 17, 2008 Julianne rated it liked it

Maybe it's just b/c I heard so many great reviews of this book, but I really thought it would be better written than this. It was more one-dimensional than I expected. The quality of the writing isn't superb, and the characters seemed shallow.

I enjoyed the idea: vampires by "virus", guests on Oprah, mainstreaming vampirism, synthetic bottled blood. All the foundations of a cool story.

Maybe it was the narration (audiobook) with the sing-song twang. I plan on reading the next installment, to see i ...more

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Sep 04, 2008 Natalie rated it really liked it

Loved it! More action than Twilight- more adult too. But there is something about a vampire that turns a capable girl/woman into a dependant, swooning, cliche of a female. I think thats the point of vampire books. I don't mind that in moderation and this book did it WAY better than Twilight. ...more

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Oct 12, 2009 Sunflower rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction-read-2009, series-books

Finally read a Sookie Stackhouse book. And I can see why the series is so popular-but which came first, these ones or the Twilight series? Too many coincidences in the details.

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