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Review: Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris
Filed in Charlaine Harris , Review , The Quirky Lover Posted on May 20, 2010 @ 12:27 pm
7 comments
Format: Hardback
Number of pages: 320
Release date: 04 May 2010
Publisher: Ace trade paper (Penguin imprint)
Formats available: Hardcover, Kindle edition
Purchasing info: Penguin, Amazon, Goodreads
Synopsis:
After enduring torture and the loss of loved ones during the brief but deadly Faery War, Sookie Stackhouse is hurt and she’s angry. Just about the only bright spot in her life is the love she thinks she feels for vampire Eric Northman. But he’s under scrutiny by the new Vampire King because of their relationship. And as the political implications of the Shifters coming out are beginning to be felt, Sookie’s connection to the Shreveport pack draws her into the debate. Worst of all, though the door to Faery has been closed, there are still some Fae on the human side-and one of them is angry at Sookie. Very, very angry…
My Thoughts:
So, I was trying to figure out ways to do this review without having spoilers, but as you can see from the publisher’s synopsis above…well, the biggest one for me is already in it.
I read Dead Until Dark last year but was trying to pace my reading with my viewing of the HBO series TrueBlood (though I haven’t gotten to Living Dead in Dallas yet.) There seems to be a fairly close correlation between the two yet enough differences that I, personally, wouldn’t give up on either one.
My first impression of Dead in the Family was that it seemed to be a much larger book than any of the previous ones. As I started reading it, I found after about 30+ pages, a page entitled “Chapter 1”, so I scratched my head, thinking “What?” and flipped back through to see if I’d missed something. Nope, didn’t say “Prologue” or anything like that, it just mentioned a general date time frame. Once I caught on to this I realized it was just a bridge of sorts between the last book to this one. Sookie was needing some recovery time, but this format also served as a way for the reader who hadn’t read the previous book (like myself) to catch up to speed.
What I love about this series is that there is a languid quality to Harris’ writing that you feel totally invested in the Bon Temps/Louisiana laid back lifestyle. But it has such a sensual feel also, that you are completely engrossed and really don’t want to put the book down, even when Sookie’s performing mundane tasks.The chemistry between Sookie and Eric is fantastic (I’m totally team Eric, lol) and their moments together are definitely enough to leave a girl weak in the knees!
Harris maintains such an intricate world of vampires, weres and other “two-natured” types, including their hierarchies and politics, that I’m in awe she keeps it all straight and can clearly bring her ideas across to the reader fluidly. She also builds in other previous storylines without making them tedious in the process. I very much enjoy when she brings a figure from history as someone that’s been turned (ie. “Bubba” from previous books). This time, the new name involved had me thinking…”geez, that sounds so familiar?!” As the story of this person was explained, I was impressed with how the author handled it while tossing in a little history lesson (this has always been a story that I found beautiful yet sad and ultimately tragic.)
I really can’t say enough about Charlaine Harris’ wonderful characters, settings, writing style, etc. They are light reads, really, but at the same time offer some depth in emotion, history, and Southern waitressing. Dead in the Family is another winning offering in the Sookie Stackhouse series and if you haven’t started reading these books, summer is the perfect time to work on it. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did!
I give this book 5 out of 5 bookies!
***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.
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| 5 Stars: Perfect! I Love It! | |||||||||
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| 3 Stars: I Liked It! | |||||||||
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I'm looking forward to this even though the reviews have been all over the place as to liking it or not. I like emotional reads and this definitely sounds like it will tug at the heartstrings.
I've read so many mixed reviews of teh Sookie Stackhouse novels I'm not sure whether to jump in and dread them or not. I guess I'll try reading one eventually. Thanks for sharing your opinion.
i really cant wait to read this book!!!!!! i love the sookie stackhouse series.
joder – It's not over the top emotionally, but well balanced with humor and a little steam, too 🙂
cassandrajade – I'm a firm believer in at least giving something new a try. I hope you do and let me know what you think.
bianca_riot – I've seriously got to get into all the others too. I love the Sookie series too (especially Eric…did I mention that already? lol)
This is one of those series I am sorry to say I have not started yet. EVERYONE who reads this series has nothing but great things to say about it. So why have I not read it yet… I don't know. 🙂 I am going to have to get these and enjoy them just as much as everyone else. 🙂 Thanks!
Hi Melissa! These are mostly light, quick reads, so maybe you'll have a chance to read them soon. If not, maybe we'll start a challenge for the beginning of next year? (I want to read them all in order 🙂
Hmmm, a challenge next year for these books…. Sounds like a great thought! I may have to join you in that. 🙂