The Kari AnnAlysis

Archive for November, 2009

Released: April 29, 2003

As I read this book, it made me think a lot of the Stephanie Plum series. But before I tell you why, let me tell you what happens in this book.

Trouble is once again brewing for Miss Sookie. And this time her mind reading duties have to save her beloved vamp Bill. Who would’ve thought that she, a crazy mortal, would be able to save the undead? For this, she heads to Mississippi and plays pretend girlfriend to another unhuman. There’s death, there’s destruction, there’s blood and of course, there’s some heat (in more than one way).

When I said this book reminded me a lot of the Stephanie Plum novels, it is for a couple of reasons.
1. Once again Sookie is in trouble. It’s dangerous, but she does what she has to do. No matter the scenario, Stephanie also always finds herself in trouble, and always gets through it.
2. There are so many scrumptious men that Sookie has to choose from. In this series, Bill reminds me of Morelli. Eric reminds me of Ranger and Alcide reminds me Diesel.

And while we’re on the Stephanie Plum page, I have realized how much I really like how authors who write a series keep us informed without repeating too much. I like how in this series, as well as the Plum series, if you miss a book (how dare you) or haven’t read one in a while, you won’t miss out. Everything will be explained as if it was the first in the series, but it’s never repetitive. I really, really like that!

One thing about this book that I really liked was we FINALLY found out who Bubba is. I’m not going to spill it for you if you haven’t read it yet, but I think you’ll be pleasant surprised. I sure was. I know that is a silly reason for me to like a book, but it’s the little things!

I also liked that with the start of each book, we get another “creature” if you must. First we were introduced to the vampires. In the second book,we were introduced to the maenad and in this one, we meet werewolves and even a goblin. The only thing about all the different players is a few times I had to re-read parts to remember who was what.

And when it came to the weres, there was a time or two where it said “were” as in werewolf and I read it as were (We were going). I was sooo confused about the grammar until I realized I was the wrong party

I actually got through this book quicker than the other ones in this series. I liked Sookie from the get-go, but I’m really liking her now. She’s kicking butt and taking names. I was not a big fan of Bill in this book. He did some things that would’ve made me not want to save him. Sookie may be more of a woman than I am. But I like the variety of other characters we get to meet. They make not take a swim in every book, but I like that we get a little splash from them and others I expect to see again later, or at least I hope so.

This has been my favorite Sookie book so far. I give it 4 bookmarks.

Sookie Stackhouse Series
1. Dead Until Dark
2. Living Dead in Dallas

So, it’s time again for Thanksgiving and to share what we are thankful for. This year, I have sooo much!

• *I am thankful for my health. Knock on wood, I hardly ever get sick!
• *I am thankful for my husband. It’s our first holiday season as a married couple. I can’t wait to buy “Just Married” decorations for our tree
• *I am thankful for my family. They are always amazing, but this year stepped it up and gave Michael and I the perfect wedding.
• *I am thankful that this year I have gotten much closer to a number of my family members.
• *I am thankful that I have a job and I love it.
• *I am thankful that I have met so many wonderful friends through blogging and have realized that through reading and writing I can find a release!
• *I am thankful that my grandmother has recovered so well from her stroke last Christmas. We weren’t sure if we would have her last Christmas and this year, she’s cute as ever.

I know that there are many more things I could touch on, but those are the main ones. What are you thankful for this year???

Today’s tease comes from Club Dead, the third installment in the Sookie Stackhouse series. I’m only on page 35, and so far I haven’t found any GREAT teases like I normally look for. It’s hard when you read a series. Obviously, I know more about this series that someone who hasn’t read it and I don’t want to give things away. We all know there are vampires in this book, but the tease I found will give you a sneak peek at what else you can find.

pg28 “I should go to bed. It was late, and cold, and sleeping would be the normal thing to do. But nothing in my future would be normal again. Oh, wait! If Bill were gone, my future would be normal.

No Bill. So, no vampires: no Eric, Pam or Bubba.

No supernatural creatures: no Weres, shape-shifters, or maenads.”

What are you teasing this week?

Released: October 20, 2009

I won this book from Vicki over at Reading at the Beach.I have only read one other Patterson book, and it was one of my favorites this year (The Quickie). After I read that, I saw this was up for grabs and signed up.

This book is about homicide detective Mike Bennett. He’s the single father of 10 adopted kids. The book starts with a standoff that doesn’t end very pretty, but that’s the least of Mike’s worries. Just when he takes a personal day to take care of his gaggle of sick kids, there’s a major crisis. A madman is on the loose, killing two people a day. But these aren’t random murders, not all of them. He has this planned out. The murderer, self proclaimed as The Teacher, has a checklist. Now Mike is in charge of catching this guy before he gets too far down the list.

I really liked this book. One of the things that is a shoo- in for a good review is if I can picture it being a movie. And this one I definitely could. I have become a big fan of Patterson’s books, after only reading two. Even though they are 400+ pages, I always get through them in a couple of days. They’re page turners and always have so many twists.

With 100 pages left in this book, I was SURE that I had figured this book out. I was wrong! I hate when that happens

One thing I liked about this book was that while it was very action packed and dramatic, it also had kids. I am a sucker for kids in movies and books. And these kids were hilarious. They may not be hilarious if I had to babysit them, but to read about them and their sick antics made me laugh.

The only thing I didn’t like about this, and it’s not the book’s fault, but I didn’t realize until after I had started this book and already got sucked in that it was part of a series, and this was the second one. I love reading a series, but this is the second time I have started the second book first and it drives me nuts. But, it was written in a way that I didn’t need to read the first book to know what was going on. Much like the Evanovich books, I didn’t feel like I was missing anything. So, I guess that’s something else in the plus category.

I give Run for Your Life 4 bookmarks and can’t wait to get the first one and for the 3rd one to come out.

What a better way to spread the Thanksgiving cheer than by a turkey? But, this isn’t any turkey. This is a Ty Beanie Baby turkey named Gobbles.

Gobbles was born on November 27, 1996. Her poem reads:
Gobbles the turkey loves to eat
Once a year she has a feast
I have a secret I’d like to divulge
If she eats too much her tummy will bulge!
The attention to detail on Gobbles is great. Her tail is a fan of wide white, red, and brown stripes with red stitching, and she’s got bright yellow fabric under the wings, beak, and feet. The feet are stuffed so they appear oversized. Her head is red and her wattle is red felt. Black button eyes and thread nostrils give her a cute face. Gobbles would make a highly prized addition to any collection. Surface wash only. –Peggy Etra

I got Gobbles back when Beanie Babies were the craze. One year I got over 100 for Christmas. I had a little book with all the originals and would mark them off as I snuck into my parents room to find the new ones. Yes, I did get caught!

It sat in the attic with the rest of the beanies until this past year. My husband is a hunter and I remembered I had Gobbles, so last year I brought him into our home. Now he sits on the TV stand all year, but has special meaning at Thanksgiving and in turkey season, both are times of the year when others of his kind are doomed.

Did you have and Beanie Babies? My favorite was the Princess Diana one. It was a collector’s edition one and was purple with a white flower. I had it in a box on my desk so it didn’t get dirty. What was your favorite?