the paris wife

I'm not sure this would have been one of my first choices for a book to read, but in the end I did enjoy it. I love historical fiction, and it was well written, but, I had a hard time getting into the story. About half way through is when I really startred to enjoy the read. Ironically, this is about the same time that Hemingway started to turn into a real jerk and I wished I could reach through the words to knock some sense into him.

In the end, Hadley is my hero. She stuck by what she believed, and stood up for herself. But at the same time knew when she was getting in to deep and decided it was best to just cut the cord and try not to worry. It was amazing how much Hadley did for Hemingway, yet it was always so easy for him to forget and overlook her. Leaving her behind, but always wanting to come back to her strong and steady support.

I know this book is based on the truth, and even when you know the ending you are still surprised. Hadley was better for loosing Hemingway, or Hemingway was a fool for leaving Hadley. I guess they outgrew each other, and where Hadley was willing to fight, Hemingway was willing to give up. She was far too good for him, she keept her morals and hated loosing the friends that he so willingly abandoned. In the end it really was all his loss.

... On another Ironic note. After reading this book, I have zero desire to read Hemingway ever again, but had a very strong urge to read The Great Gatsby...

the lunar chronicles

Honestly, I wasn't quite sure what to expect when starting these books this morning. Yes, I said this morning. As soon as I started the pre-quill Glitch, I was hooked. I knew from the title that it was going to be a Cinderella type story, but what I got was so much more.

Marissa Meyer creates a world in the future that is so simple, yet so perfect. Glitch, is just an introduction to this world. You get to meet the "evil step mom" and learn about Cinders special talents that make her so valuable and unique.

From the beginning, I knew there would be something very special in store for this amazing character. I couldn't wait to find out what adventures Cinder would have with her new friend, Iko, a house robot she repaired, by her side. And so, as soon as I turned the last page of Glitches, and met family that Cinder was left with I couldn't wait to start in on Cinder, and was so glad I was just a few clicks away from page one.

---

Cinder, has not had it easy since her adoptive father was taken away after catching Letumosis, a plague that has been ravaging the earth with no cure. The story opens just as you might expect any Cinderella Story to open, with our wonderful pure young woman totaling away for the family that never wanted her to begin with.

Along with Iko, Cinders one true friend and ally, Cinder runs a small stand at the market where she is known as the best mechanic in the area, but the real mystery is that she has her tallent because she is a cyborg. One day, when the prince shows up at her stand needing repairs done her world takes a drastic change from the status quo.

Through a series of unlikely events, Cinder ends up as a test subject agains the deadly desase. However, this takes her to the exact place she should be. A place that she learns more about herself and how special she really is.

And don't forget about falling in love with the hansom prince and saving the kingdom from great evil. But honestly, what Cinderella Story would be complete without that?

---

The Lunar Chronicles will continue in 2013. Ug. I know, I hate having to wait as well. The next story will carry on with Cinders adventure, but also introduce the character of Red Riding Hood. Hum. I wonder where all of this will take our little Cinderella character. All I know, is I can't wait to find out! 

the lucky one

This was a spectacular book! With the movie coming out I wanted to read the book before I learned any more about the story. How Nicholas Sparks comes up with his stories I'll never know. Each one is spectacular and each one I can't help but cry.

U.S. Marine Logan Thibault has not had it easy, but is very lucky. His friend attribute his luck to a photograph. After getting out of the Marines and an very unlucky accident Thibault along with Zeus, his German shepherd, goes on a long walk that leads him to Elizabeth and a world he never could have imagined.

Somehow, slowly but surly everything in Thibault and Elizabeth's life starts to come together. Thibault slowly realizes that he has found a home. No matter what Keith, Elizabeth's ex-husband, does to get in the way nothing can tear him apart from this place, his home.

Like all Nicholas Sparks books, the end is always full of twists and turns and for a second you think maybe he really did throw in something so very unexpected. But then there is a happy ending, one that everything is as it should be.

the help

I wasn't quite sure how I would feel about this book when I started. I tried to go in with as open of a mind as I could. After the frist few chapters I didn't want to put it down.

The book is written from three different points of view. What was strange about it was the change of perspective rarely overlapped, it just changed and started at approximately the same place. Every once and a while I had to take a second to remind myself from who's perspective I was reading, but over all I had no issue with the switch. The perspective switched between two African American women and one white one. Without the change in perspective I'm not sure this book would have had the same effect. Seeing the storyline from different angles made the story more full.

If it had just been told from one of the three sides there would have been a lot of lost information. It is interesting, that all three sides had a African American rights point of view. Minny and Aibileen were the help, and Miss. Skeeter was a young white women with an enlightened perspective. By far Aibileen was my favorite point of view. There was something in the purity of her voice that I loved. She had unending faith and it showed.

There were a few characters that I felt I wanted more from, or had wished further interaction with others, but over all I felt that each cliche southern woman and gentleman was portrayed quite nicely. I think this is defiantly a book that in the future I will want to pick up and read again.

Now that I've read the book, and enjoyed it, I am more excited to watch the movie then I was before.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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. 

southern vampire series - dead to the world

Poor Sookie. I don't think any more can be said beyond that.

It's a New Year and Sookie is going to stay out of trouble this year. At least that is what she thinks, but of course it comes walking down the road. Literally, Eric has been cursed and has no clue who he is.

So, once again Sookie finds herself right in the middle of vampire business, again.Once she gets Eric to her house she calls Pam. Before Pam shows up Jason, Sookie's brother shows up. Sookie sends him for some True Blood and cloths for Eric. Not long after Pam shows up and explains what has happened. Durring the explanation Jason shows up. The consensus is that Eric is safer at Sookies house then anywhere the vampires could keep him. Jason brings up the idea that Sookie should be paid for her "babysitting" of Eric. A number is settled on and everyone goes their separate ways leaving Eric with Sookie.

As if having a vampire hidden under her roof Jason disappears the next day without a trace. Worried about her brother and the cursed vampire sleeping in her house Sookie heads to Shrieveport. She is off to do some research on the witches.

Fangtasia is a mess when she gets there. The witches were there in an attempt to find Eric. They left one human worker seriously injured and another dead. After calling the police and slipping out before they got there, Sookie went to find Alcide and together they go to inform the packmaster of the problems. This turns out to be a lucky alliance in the end.

Sookie is concerned about Eric being left for too long at her house. She is also concerned about her missing brother, hoping there is no connection between the witches and his disappearance. In all of this worry Sookie is drawn to Eric.Without his memories Eric is a much different person and Sookie gives into her desires and the desires that Eric has had since they meet are fulfilled. However, in the end he remembers nothing that happens durring his time of amnesia.

The Shrieveport Were Pack join with a good Wiccan group and the Fangtasia vampires to take down the evil witches. Bubba and Bill show up just in time to lend a hand. The unlikely group come out successful and relatively unscathed. The witch who cast the spell on Eric is kept alive in order to reverse the spell.

Through all of this Jason has remained missing, adding to the pain and frustration of Sookie. With the help of Sam, Sookie puts the pieces together and the two of them go off to save Jason. Jason had been captured out of jealousy and tortured by a were panther. Once Sam and Sookie got Jason back to Sookies' they find a check had been left for Sookie in payment for keeping Eric safe.

After Jason sleeps they come up with a plan of explaining his disappearance. But Jason has bigger worries, his torture at that hands of the were panther might have left him a supernatural.

What more can happen to this unlikely group of vampires, weres of various kinds and Sookie?
Six more books in-counting to find out!

southern vampire series - club dead

I couldn't believe how short this book was. By far the shortest of the first three Southern Vampire Series. But I think it was also my favorite so far.

Once again, trouble finds Sookie. Honestly, at this point, what would you expect. This time Bill got involved in a secret project that took him deeper into trouble then he could have ever expected, and, of course it it up to Sookie to get him out of trouble. 

With the help of Alcede, a werewolf that is in debt to Eric, Sookie goes to Mississippi to find Bill. As usual nothing goes as planed and everything falls apart leaving Sookie in trouble. Luckily Eric, who is obsessed with Sookie, is there to lend a hand. 

On Alcede and Sookies second outing to the local "supernatural" bar things go from bad to worse. Since it is a full moon Alcede transforms when the stress gets too much. Once again Sookie saves vampires from Steve Newlin and the Anti-vampire Church, but not before Sookie is injured. Eric and Sookie find themselves in the King of Missisippi's mansion after Sookie was injured. While there Sookie is healed, but things get a little seamy with Eric. 

From information that Sookie had been able to gather before she was injured she knew that Bill was being tortured and held captive at the mansion. Bubba, a vampire with interesting origans that has been sent by either Bill or Eric to protect Sookie from time to time, helped to find where Bill was being held. Eric left a car for her as close to the garage he was being held as he was able to, but the rest was left up to her. Sookie has also been healed by Erics ancient blood, which gave her extra strength and abilities. 

After a bit of a struggle, Sookie saves Bill, but her troubles are long from over. Although everyone is saved, no one is really safe, or the same after the experiences. Alcede is in trouble with the local pack along with falling for Sookie. Bill is in more trouble then he could realize with Sookie. Eric knows that he is falling for Sookie more and more. Sookie is angry at Bill, confused about Eric and falling for Alcede. Everything is one big tangled mess. 

Eric ends up taking Sookie home leaving Bill to fend for himself. On the way they run into some trouble with guys sent from the pack, but nothing that they can't handle. Sookie finally breaks down and spills a lot of her frustrations about Bill and her relationship to Eric. 

In the end Sookie resends the invitation to her house from both Eric and Bill. The ironic part of this is that the secret project that got Bill into all this trouble was still in her house. A project that both Bill and Eric want and neither can get. 

What more can happen to Sookie? The poor girl.

On to the next to find out!

southern vampire series - living dead in dallas

Of course Sookie couldn't stay out of trouble for too long. Then again, it seems like trouble finds her. Within the first chapter Sookie already finds a dead body. Then is seriously injured by a maenade, but is saved by the Fangtasia vampires and a dawf doctor that Eric calls.

Eric loans Sookie to the Dallas vampires, but what she walked into was deeper then she could have imagined. Bill accompanied her as a body guard, but not even he could save her from everything.

The Dallas coven owned a bar and one of the vampires disappeared without a trace. Sookie uses her ability to help find the culprit behind the disappearance. But it could never be as simple as reading a few minds and giving them a simple answer. There was a trader in the mist of the coven.

Sookie and one of the covens' humans went undercover to a anti-vampire Church in Dallas to find the missing vampire. Bill,  of course wasn't overly fond of this idea, but there was nothing else they could do. After a series of unfortunate events at the Church Sookie discovers herself being saved some unlikely sources.  First Godrick a very ancient vampire, then a group of shape shifters come to her rescue.

Everyone ends up safe, maybe a little battered and brused, but safe. The lost vampire is returned home, and durring a celebration of his return the Church goes on the offensive and shoots into the house. Sookie shouts a warning saving the vampires at the party. Eric who had been there to observe the situation ends up protecting and saving Sookie. He also tricks Sookie into drinking a few drops of his blood, little did she know the repercussions that this will later have.

Once back in Bon Tons Sookie is determined to solve the murder of her friend that happend before she left. In order to do this she enlists the help of Eric, much to Bills distress when he finds out. The murder is solved but Sookie is learning that there are more supernatural beings in her world then she would have liked.

southern vampire series - dead until dark

Dead Until Dark is the first of Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire Series. The first of eleven and counting. I'm not sure what I got myself into when I started this series. Eleven books and the twelfth coming out in May.

I read a good portion of this book in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I spent all of Saturday afternoon wondering from room to room and sitting down and reading when I found a nice quiet room with a bench. It was a wonderful day.

This book is full of a little bit of everything. Vampires, love, loss, friendship, jealousy, and everything in between. Bonton is a small town in Renard Perish, but it has it's fair share of drama and death. A murderer has come to Bonton. Not just any murderer, this person is killing vampire supporters. But who could it be?

Sookie Stackhouse is, well, not normal, but throughout the book she finds out that neither are most of her friends. She falls in love with Vampire Bill and her life takes a path she could have never imagined. Sookie has lost more then most. Her parents were killed when she was a child and her Grandmother, who raised her, was murdered. She is left with her brother, Jason, as her only living relative.

Jason is not always the most supportive of brothers, But somehow he always manages to come through in the end. By definition Jason is a womanizer, sleeping with most of Bonton and the surrounding perishes. He is one of the main suspects when it comes to the series of murders, but Sookie never gave up.

There are many vampires in the book. Ranging from Bill, the first vampire in Renard Perish, to Eric and Pam who owned the vampire bar called Fangtasia. At times, the vampires were a little harsh, but since Bill claimed Sookie as his, some unfortunate situations were avoided. But only some, Eric learned of Sookie's particular gift and makes use of it, much to Sookie and Bills dismay.

With many ups and downs the story weaves a tanged web, but, in the end, the murder is caught, and it is someone no one could have guessed.

I look forward to seeing what more joys and pearls lie in Sookie's future as the series continues.

pride and prejudice and zombies

As I've said in my Death Comes to Pemberley review, I love Jane Austen. I've heard so many great things about Seth Grahame-Smiths reinterpretation of the classic Pride and Prejudice that I was excited to read it. 

I'm going to be honest and say that excitement only lasted a handful of chapters. I'm not sure what keept me from loving this book. It was well written, captivatingly adapted, but there was something about it that didn't keep me wanting to turn the page. 

I read it in spouts. Like I said before, the first few chapters I had high hopes for the book. I was enjoying the witty additions of zombie slays. As the book went on I just got lost. 

Part of the problem may be that I have read Pride and Prejudice a few times, so I know it maybe a little too well. Another part of my dislike is that it I think the book was written for guys. Which does not always mean that I wouldn't enjoy it, but this time it did. 

I think one of my draws to Austen is the way she writes. The flow of her words are so beautiful. In Pride and Prejudice and Zombies this beautiful flow of words was mixed in with a different style sometimes the book felt disjointed. 

It was a good book, and if someone were to ask me about it I would tell them to give it a try, but man did I have trouble getting through it. 

Maybe when it comes to Austen, I'm a bit purist. But I'm ok with that.