Summary:
The next installment in the life of Sookie Stackhouse finds her dealing with the aftermath of the explosion at the vampire summit. Many of the vamps she'd known got killed in the blast, or burned by the sun. Quinn, her hunky weretiger (think werewolf, but with stripes.) boyfriend got seriously hurt, and after seeing him in the hospital, Sookie hasn't heard from him again. The vampires of Louisiana are really hurting, particularly the Queen, who lost both her legs in the fire. Their already weakened state was made even worse by the explosion, and now they've got an impending war to deal with. Sookie's werewolf friends aren't fairing much better, and although they had nothing to do with the summit, they've got their own serious war issues to worry about. People are turning up dead or missing, and the two factions of the pack are butting heads worse than ever. Sookie's brother and his new wife are being idiots, which is no surprise to Sookie, though she worries about what might happen if either of them steps too far out of line. And of course, there's the little matter of Sookie's extended family, which didn't much exist until now, but she's just learned that there are people out there that are her blood, and now she's trying to learn more about them.
Thoughts:
So good. (Shut up, I know I said I'd take a rest with the Sookie, and I will. I've got a few more books in line that are not related at all!) This one was easily as good as the last, if not better. I always love when people that have very little or no family find a little more for themselves. (Prisoner of Azkaban was always my favorite Harry Potter book primarily because he finds his godfather.) There's a lot more going between Eric and Sookie, which I'm totally down for. (Hunky vamp that he is!) I appreciate the stuff with the Were community, though it feels like a much bigger invasion into Sookie's life than it had previously. I wouldn't mind if that plot line were mostly finished after this book. I wouldn't be too upset if we didn't see Alcide much more, as sad as that is. This particular book made me lose a little of my endearment toward him.
The most interesting thing about this book, as well as the last book, though to a smaller extent, is that Sookie has become harder and harder. In the beginning of the series, when she knew little of the vampire world, and nothing of the Weres, let alone anything else. She was much more lighthearted and sunny than she is now. I would equate it to how Buffy changed in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series. Buffy started out a perky teenager who managed to utter the line "If the apocalypse comes, beep me!" in all seriousness before scampering off to a school dance. By the end of the series, she takes the death of some of her close friends as casualties in battle. Sookie is turning out very much the same. When thinking about the casualties from the battles that arise within this book, Sookie doesn't get weepy and upset, she's shaken, but she moves on. It's a very interesting shift in Sookie's mindset, and I'll be looking forward to reading more from Harris. (Though not so soon, I promise!)
Book 18 of 50
Pages: 303
Genre: Mystery, vampires, romance
Grade: A
Would I Recommend?: Here comes the broken record. This series really needs to be read from the beginning, and if you don't, you'll really feel as though you're missing something big. Promise. But hell yeah, read it!
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