This volume of the series is the last one in my possession and after reading this, I won't bother to seek out any more. It is definitely the weakest so far, with a rambling set of incidents thrown together, starting off with a rather boring and pointless wedding at which Sookie gets to play bridesmaid in great detail. She finally divests herself of at least one more boyfriend, and it seems that in book 7, which I don't have and haven't read, she and Eric were bonded by his having given her blood three times to save her life. It sounds as if book 7 might have been more interesting than this ragbag of ideas.

Some more backstory on the family and Sookie's fairy ancestry is explained, but some of it is pretty distasteful. For someone to hope that her grandmother was raped rather than choosing to have an extramarital affair in order to have children (because her husband was sterile due to having had mumps) is pretty awful. More baggage from the whole Debbie Pelt saga also materialises, something that has been dragged out much longer than it merited. Other distasteful elements are stalkerish behaviour by ex-boyfriend Bill, tolerated by Sookie, and her continuing jealousy towards his ex-girlfriend. She also now seems to be daggers drawn with ex-friend Arlene, which must be due to something that happened in book 7.

In this volume, the decks are cleared for what seems to be a new direction for the series at the very end when Sookie seeks out a family member who seems to have the same gift as herself. All in all, I'm quite content not to bother with any more of these and am rating this rather generously as an OK 2 star read. ( )

eh ( )

Blijft leuk, blijft luchtig tussendoor snackje. ( )

From Dead to Worse
3 Stars

Harris's world building is fascinating and Sookie is a delightful and down-to-earth heroine. Nevertheless, something is missing from this installment perhaps because it is a bridging book with the storyline moving in a new and completely different direction.

Plot threads from previous books are wrapped up quickly with well-established characters disappearing, and new people and elements are introduced. Shaking things up is not necessarily a negative, but not all of the issues are resolved satisfactorily.

Sookie's love life is on hiatus although the men in her life still can't seem to let go. Eric's memories of his time with Sookie return; Bill, the scumbag, is determined to win her back; Sam seems incapable of expressing his true feelings, Alcide has be regulated to "friend of the Sookie status", and Quinn is MIA.

In sum, it will be interesting to see where Harris is going with the new focus, but she definitely needs to liven things up soon.


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I enjoyed this book a lot. Everything seems to be coming together, and I love the way Eric can remember his time with Sookie now. :) Can't wait for the next one. ( )