southern vampire series - dead reckoning

It's official. Sookie can not catch a break. If it's not a vampire war, it's a fae war. If it's not weres it's were panthers. If its not being kidnapped it's being persecuted. If it's not Bill, it's Eric, or Quinn. The poor girl has had to deal with so much throughout this series, I don't know how she could still be functioning.

Victor, representative of the Vampire King Felipe de Castro, is attempting to take over Louisianna in every way possible. He has opened up both a human and vampire bar in hopes of cutting off business to Sam and Eric. Unfortunately, it's working.

With the help of Amilia and Bob, Sookie breaks the blood bond to Eric. She does this to, in a way, prove to herself and Eric that there is more then just a blood bond between them. That their love is real. And she is right. At first, Eric is angry about the bond being broken it was an extra layer of protection for Sookie agains vampires that may want to take her for her special talents, but I think in his own way he understands why she did what she did.


Fortunately, in this book a lot of lingering questions are finally answered. Like, questions answered about Sookie's Gran, and her relationship with the fae. And why Sookie is a telepath, and what the real result was of Eric's maker visiting Eric. And trust me, Sookie is not happy about it, but there are some things that are just too good to spoil.

I think this is the first book that is chalk full of answers. But even if things are finally starting to fall into place, there is still plenty to figure out. Unfortunately, we will all have to wait until May for "Deadlocked" to come out to find out more. For me, May can't come soon enough!

southern vampire series - dead in the family

This is a book full of CRAZY! From the very beginning everyone's life is turned on end. 

Sookie is recovering from injuries after the fae war. Bill was also injured and is having problems healing. He refuses to contact the one person who might be able to help him, his vampire sister. Eric's maker shows up and turns everything upside down and back again. Sam is having family problems and Jason is dealing with the death of his ex-wife. Sookie aslo has some of her fae family staying with her. They are mourning the loss of Claudine, and also, missing their fae world that was closed off to them. And that's only on the first page. It seems like everyone is in over there heads and on top of it all, Sookie still has to deal with the deceitful vampires that have taken over Louisiana. 

When it comes to Bill, Sookie does her best to keep out of it all, but she hates to see him suffer, knowing it was caused by her. She decides to take matters into her own hands and contact Judith, Bills "sister". They were both made by the same maker, because of this she may be able to help him heal. She comes, helps and Bill does get better, much to Sookie's relief. 

Eric's maker is a problem all unto it's self, and one that Sookie can't do much about. He has brought another one of his "sons" who ends up causing more problems then he is worth. While Eric's maker is there, he stirs up a lot of trouble. It is clear that Eric is uncomfortable with him around, and because of the blood connection, Sookie feels all this discomfort as well. 

Not only does Sookie have her fae uncle and cousin staying in her home, but she is also being hunted by a fae that is enacting revenge for the lose of Claudine. Her fae family save her from him, but it causes the loss of Eric's maker's "son" and his maker himself. This leaves Eric free of a maker, but not free of problems he has caused. 

This is an entire book of "no one can catch a break". Every time I think what more can happen?, something else happens. Poor Sookie.

southern vampire series - dead and gone

Since vampires have been somewhat successfully "out of the coffin", now it's the two natured turn to come out to the public. Of course it is a bumpy transition. But for Sookie, it is the least of her problems.

Eric and Sookie are now bound in every way after he tricks her into preforming a vampire marriage ceremony. This saves Sookie from some of the new regime that has taken over Louisiana. Not everyone likes Eric, so when he is threatened, so is Sookie.

On top of vampires, Sookie is also dealing with problems coming from her fary prince great grandfather. Sookie is kidnaped and gets caught in the middle of the war, she is saved by Bill, Eric, and Claudine. It is a battle that not everyone comes out of alive.

As a result of the battle Sookie finds out that her family has been involved in the war for her whole life. Her parents were killed as a result of a fae attack. And her former sister in law was crucified after being caught in the middle as well.

In the end the fairy world is cut off from the human world, trapping many fae in the human world, and some are not happy about that.

a world full of possibilities.

On Saturday, it rained. I much prefer the rain to snow, so no complaints here. For a bit the storm was a little nasty, Now I love the rain, but hate thunder and lightning. I know it's an irrational fear, but I have never enjoyed a big storm. It makes me feel so uneasy. 

But after a storm I love going outside. To feel the air and smell the freshness of the world. It's like walking out into a world full of possibilities, a world that is new. 

two monsters.

These two are something else. I can't believe how big they have gotten. Trust me, when I call them mosters, that is exactly what they are.

I love getting them to run. Their hair flys backward as they galop along, and galop is the perfect way to describe the way they run. It's too cute. 

heads or tails

As I was watching (well, re-watching) the Road to Avonlea, I heard this quote, and instantly felt for Felicity. Sometimes, I wish that destiny could be figured out with a coin toss. I guess that would cause it's own problems, wouldn't it. 

Well, I can pretend. Hum... heads or tails?

southern vampire series - from dead to worse

Qunn is missing, but this is just the start of the problems to come for Sookie in this book.

Thanks to Erik, Sookie meets the most unexpected of people, her Great Grandfather Niall, he is a Fairy Prince. Finally some light is shed on Sookies unique pedigree. The dinner that she shares with Niall is not all together enlightening, there are many questions left unanswered, but some things do start to make sense.

Once again supernaturals are being attacked and killed. This time were's are being attacked and killed. The Shreveport Weres are split over the issue, one side with Alcide at the lead and the other is Patrick, the winner of the wolfpack leader competition.

Alceide asks Sookie to come supervise the meeting of the fractions of the Shreveport pack. Sam comes along as well as extra protection. At the meeting the pack is attacked by a pack displaced by hurricane Katrina. This pack has been the cause of the weres being attacked. At the end Shreveport comes out on top winning the war. Alceide is named the new pack leader, since Patrick is killed durring the attack.

The weres are not the only ones feeling strain and pressure. Since the Louisiana vampire community has not only been weakened by Katrina but the Vampire Conference also left many vampires injured or dead. The Queen lost both of her legs durring the attack, and while she re-grows her legs the kingdom is left very weak. This weakness is taken advantage of by Felipe de Castro the King of Nevada.

Felipe kills many vampires in Louisiana, however he would like to keep Erik because he is a powerful and rich vampire that always ends up on top. Thanks to Erik's blood bond with Sookie, she is protected from being forced into service of Felipe, but she is still impacted by the takeover.

So he is out of the picture. Erik has his memories back from his time he was under a curse and spent with Sookie. As normal he pursues Sookie relentlessly. Since Quinn is missing, Sookie has not seen him since the Conference. Eventually, Sookie gives in and re-kindles her relationship with Erik. This strengthens her protection under the new vampire regime. In the end Sookie secures her protection under Felipe by saving him from Sigebert, the last of Queen Sophie-Anne's guards.

To no surprise of Sookie, Crystal, her sister-in-law is caught cheating. This is not a good thing. Part of the ceremony included a punishment clause for unfaithfulness. The punishment will be taken by Calvin Norris, the family member who spoke for Crystal while Sookie, who spoke for Jason, must give out the punishment. Because of Crystals there is a lot of stress created between Sookie and Calvin, who were once friends.

On another surprising family front, Sookie has found and visits Hadley's son, Hunter. When she visits she gets learns something she never would have imagined. Hunter is also a telepathy and Sookie will protect him from vampires if it's the last thing she does.

southern vampire series - all together dead

No matter how hard Sookie tries she can't stay out of Vampire business. Even now that she's dating Quinn, a were-tiger, not a Vampire, she is still forced to go to the Vampire Conference as a part of Sophie-Anne's party.

Sookie can never seem to stay out vampire affairs, and that only seems to lead her to trouble. At the conference her job is to hear any trouble that may come to the Louisiana group. Barry the Bell Boy, the only other telepathy that Sookie has ever met is also there. He is a part of the Texas group and is there to serve the same propose.

With so many vampires in one place, trouble is just waiting to happen. Luckily, the Texas and Louisiana kingdoms are on good terms, that allows Sookie and Barry to work together. This ends up being a very good thing in the end and helps to save the lives of many vampires.

Quinn, Sookie's current supernatural boyfriend is in attendance of the conference to oversee cerimonies and parties that will take place durring the conference.

Queen Sophie-Anne has to go on trial for the death of her husband, the former King of Arkansas. This is just the beginning of trouble. With the help of Sookie the Queen wins her case and gains the kingdom of Arkansas. But the troubles are far from over, for the Louisiana vampires or Sookie. Once Andre, one of the Queen's guards realizes the power and benefits of having Sookie on their side he attempts to force a blood bond between them. Luckily, Erik steps in just in time to stop the connection. Instead Erik and Sookie create a stronger blood bond then had already been made. At the time the impact of this could not have been known.

Sookie and Barry catch wind of trouble going down, durring the day. Right when the vampires are the most venerable. Sookie, Barry and Quinn are able to sound the alarm. Sookie alerts Mr. Cataliades, the Louisiana layer, who saves the Queen and many of her guards. Sookie goes off and saves Erik and Pam.

After the initial attack the police come and start taking the vampires to a safe house, Berry and Sookie stay using their talents to help find survivors. Not everyone makes it out alive, but those that Sookie loves come out alright, maybe just a little worse for ware, but not everyone is so fortunate the death toll is high on all sides.

At the end of each book I think what more trouble could Sookie possible get into, This book is no different.

water for elephant

So far I'm in love with the Book Club book choices. Water for Elephants was a great read that keept me wondering what could possibly happen next.

The way Sara Gruen tells her story is very similar to Nicholas Sparks "The Notebook". The story jumps from the present to the memories of the past. Instead of telling the past thought a Notebook, it is told in the dream like memories of Jacob Jankowski.

In the present Jacob Jankowski is a 91 year old (or is it 93 year) old man in a nursing home. The entire story takes place in a matter of a few days in real time. But in the past Jacob is a 23 year old man whose life has fallen apart and his dream like memories are about how he put his life back together.

After the loss of his parents Jacob 'runs away to the circus', even though that wasn't really his intention when he ran out of his final semester of his final year of veterinary school at Cornell. The Circus holds more trouble for Jacob then he could have ever expected.

I would love to say that Jacob's loss and pain is at the end. But in the corse of the story Jacob will loose both Kinko/Walter and Camel. Camel is the man who gets him the job in the circus and becomes a close friend. Camel becomes sick not long after Jacob joins the circus and is keept safe for as long as possible by Walter and Camel. Kinko is Walter's clown name, at first Walter does not like Jacob. One day, Jacob helps Queenie, Walters dog, when he is sick. After that Walter becomes very close to Jacob and helps him through many trials at the circus.

Circus's are going under left and right. Uncle Al, the circus owner loves to go to collect acts and animals from the skeletons. At the beginning of the story the Benzini Brothers Circus takes a three day detour to pick the bones of one disolved circus that has a act he is particularly interested in, however, instead of the act he was hoping for he ends up with a bull, the circus term for an elephant.

In some ways the purchasing of the bull is the beginning of a disaster just waiting to happen. Marlena is expected to preform with the bull, but her husband August the animal handler is unable to get Rosie the bull to do anything. It's not until Greg, a worker, speaks to Rosie in Polish that they figure out how to get her to understand them. There was a language barrier the whole time. It's a little ironic that Polish is the language the elephant understands, since Jacob is the son of Polish immigrants. After this revolution Rosie preforms tricks with no problem.

Rosie's problem may be figured out, but Jacob's is just beginning. He has already kissed Marlena since then the tension between them is spectacular. They both try to ignore it and move on with their jobs, but the tension still grows. After Rosie and Marlena have a wonderful performance, Marlena wants to have a small party between August, Marlena, Jacob and Rosie. When August walks in he miss interprets what he sees and hits Marlena. Jacob attacks August in Marlena's defense, both come out worse for the wear. Marlena decides to leave August, but that is a long road that ends in an animal stamped, the death of August the destruction of the entire circus.

In the end, after so much loss, Jacob and Marlena spend the rest of their lives together. After the fall of the Benzini Brothers Circus and the gaining of an elephant, 11 horses and a baby on the way Jacob and Marlena join the Ringling Brothers Circus and spend seven years traveling with them. At the end of the seven years they settle in Chicago where Jacob, with a Cornell Veterinary Degree, seven years working with exotic animals, and an elephant works for the Chicago Zoo.

Back to the present, Jacobs children forgot him and he wonders over the the circus that had been set up across the street at the beginning of the book, and at age 91 (or is it 93?) Jacob once again runs away with the circus, again.

rockin' out

Sometimes, you have this song. It could already be in your head, or just a personal anthem of some kind. When it comes on you suddenly forget where you are, or who you are around. Now, be honest, this has happend to all of us at one point or another. It's ok to be honest.

southern vampire series - definitely dead

Somehow, Sookie can never stay out of trouble, or is that she gets dragged into it?

Quinn, the mysterious man from the last book turns into a major player in this one, and by the end Sookie's lover.

Sookie is attempting to stay out of danger, but she ends up being forced into none the less. Her cousin, Hadley, has meet the true death and has left everything to Sookie and she must go to New Orleans to clean out her apartment and collect her things. Hadley, had disappeared from all knowledge years before so the fact she had been turned vampire came as a huge surprise. Not only was Hadley a vampire, but she was also the Queen of Louisiana, Sophie-Anne's favorite.

The apartment that Hadley lived in had been magically sealed by Amilia the landlady and a witch. The seal not only stopped intruders, but also halted all life and changes that might take place. What she sealed in there was quite a surprise to everyone.

The night after Sookies arrival, with the help of Amelia they are starting to organize Hadely's belongings and a new vampire attacks them from the closet. Because of the spell he had been in limbo between turning and not for the duration of the apartment being sealed. The man who was in the closet was a werewolf that had been missing since Hadely's death.

Claudine shows up to help Sookie after the new vampire attack. One of the things she does to help is to take Sookie shopping! She buys her a fairy tale dress since Sookie is invited to meet Sophie-Anne, an honor not often bestowed upon humans. The experience of meeting Sophie-Anne is one that is not to be forgotten. She lives in a manion in the middle of the city, with no expenses spared.

Sophie-Anne is recently married to Peter the Vampire King of Arkansas. Peter is not a very nice vampire and it is clear he is not entirely pleased with the union. Durring the meeting with the Vampire Royals, Sookie tells of the plan that the witches have to show what happened at Hadelys apartment the night of her death. Sophie-Anne is very interested in this spell and goes with Sookie to watch the spell be cast, and the outcome is surprising to everyone, but is inconclusive to the identity of the killer. But Sophie-Anne has a secret, one she was hoping the spell would cast a light on, however now her only hope is Sookie.

Quinn is also in New Orleans and while he is spending time with Sookie they are abducted by a pair of were's. Sookie's time in New Orleans is one disaster after another, then another, and another. At first they think this abduction has to do with Hadely's death or the vampire found in the closet, but Sookie manages to put the pieces together in time and figure out that the real people behind the attack are the Pelts Family. The suspect, and rightfully so, that Sookie knows more about the disappearance of Debbie then she is letting on. With the help of Eric and the fact that Quinn is a were-tiger everyone walks away with their lives.

Quinn is in New Orleans for work, he is a party planner for supernatural events. There is a party that is being held in honor of the union of Sophie-Anne and Peter. Like everything in Sookie's life this party ends up being much more then a get together among friends. Sookie found the bracelet that Hadely had stolen from Sophie-Anne. If the bracelet had not been on the Queens wrist a war could have broken out between the King and Queen. As it was the King was going to start a war at any cost, but what he didn't know was the cost would be his life.

The day after the party Sookie along with Amilia, Bob the cat (a man that was transformed by Amelia's spell gone bad) and a man to drive the truck head back up to Bon Temps.

Sookie really can't catch a break. Can she?

save all my lovin'

Yes, it's Valentines day. 

enough said.

southern vampire series - dead as a doornail

Charlaine Harris sure has a creative mind to come up with these story lines.

Once again, there is trouble in Bon Temps, go figure. This time someone is targeting the two natured. Jason is a suspect once again, somehow he always seems to be at the center of everything. But Jason has come to terms and enjoys his new life as a were panther and has no reason to go against other shifters.

Sam, the owner of Merlotte's who is a shifter was a victim of a shooter. Because of this shooting Sam sent Sookie to Eric for some help. (Eric doesn't remember anything about his time with Sookie, and yes, it is driving him crazy!) Eric lends Merrlotte's a bar tender Charles Twining, a pirate vampire, and sends Bubba along as well, just for good measure. Little did any of them know the help they would receive was not the solution.

As per normal, Sookies life is put in peral multiple times. One of these times is when a fire is set in her house at night. Sookie is saved by her fairy godmother, Bubba and Charles Twining. Bill is also there in record time. Sam ends up letting Sookie stay in an empty trailer while her house is being fixed, but even there she's not safe.

Tara, a high school friend has some vampire problems of her own. Sookie, with the help of Eric get her out of the awful situation. But like everything when it comes to Eric there is a cost. Eric wants to know what happened while he was under the spell, and Sookie gives in and tells him. What he finds out is a little more then he expected.

Once again Alcide brings Sookie into pack business, somewhat without her consent. This time to help with the pack master competition between his father and Patrik. Unfortunately, Alcide's suspicions are correct and Sookie ends up causing quite a scene. In all of this mess Sookie meets an interesting man, Quinn, but he is a mystery, one that Sookie is very interested in.

In the end all the bad guys are caught. Charles Twining goes to his true death and the shooter targeting shifters is taken care of. And once again, most of Bon Temps knows nothing of the extent of supernatural beings around them. 

bright idea

Sometimes it feels like everyone around you has a bright idea. Like they have everything right. 

It's so frustrating to feel like you never have that lightbulb go off in your brain. No matter how hard you try to come up with something, nothing comes. It would be so nice if you could just hold up a lightbulb and have the light turn on. Have a sparkel of an idea. But when you hold up a lightbulb all you really do is look silly with a lightbulb above your head.

But hey, it was worth a try.

feeling like a puppet on a string

In a way I feel like I've spent my whole life as a puppet on a string. Never really taking control of anything, only doing what was expected of me. I'm done with it. I'm taking control and moving forward. I'm cutting the strings.

unconditional love

I wish all love could be as simple the unconditional love from a dog. They take you as you are, love you if you love them. Dogs understand when you are in pain and want to take care of you. They revile in your happiness and enjoy life with you. 

Now I'm not saying I want a lap dog when it comes to loving people. I do, however, think it's an important part of love to see faults and to not give up on those you love. Love between people is far too complex to be unconditional. But love can never be perfect, some things have to have an air of unconditionality, otherwise love could never survive.