The Kari AnnAlysis

Posts Tagged ‘vampire’

Living Dead in Dallas is the second book in the Sookie Stackhouse series, which is now TrueBlood on HBO. As I mentioned in my review of the first book, I had heard a lot of great things about this series, and although I liked the first book, I didn’t love it. I did like the second one better.

In this book, Sookie gets a job on the side using her “gift.” She made a deal with a top vampire to help when there were problems and the latest problem is in Dallas. A vampire goes missing and it’s up to Sookie to help find him. She doesn’t quite realize what she’s gotten herself into though until she’s locked in a dungeon of a cult that hates vampires.

I think one of the main reasons I liked this book was because while vampires were involved, it wasn’t focused on vampires. Yes, I love me some vampires, but I’m learning that getting a little taste every now in then has me yearning for more. I love Sookie’s “gift” and how she can turn it on and off and how after years of locking it in, she’s now using it to help.

This book has a lot of action. I got to a point and couldn’t imagine what could happen next and there were still almost 100 pages left. Little did I realize, the BIG action was still to come.

I am seeing a trend in this series, that I love. I love not knowing who the bad guy is until the last few pages. In the last book, I had suspects the whole time. In this book, there were a couple of different plots, so I kind of forgot about a murder until we got to the end.

Speaking of plots, how can you not love one about a religious group doing all they can to get away from the vamps? All I can think about is Jim Jones and The Peoples Temple of Jamestown.

While I liked this book, I still didn’t love it. Yes, I liked it more than the first one, but I still don’t feel like it’s a 4 star book. I give Living Dead in Dallas3 bookmarks. One thing I’m still not kosher with is all the sex. I know that adults have sex, but it’s just not something that was an open topic when I was growing up. Yes, I went to college and saw it all, but the older I get, the more I feel like I am a prude. I know it’s natural, but it still makes me uncomfortable to sit and read it. And this book was packed with it – not just the main characters. When I wrote earlier about ACTION PACKED – you’ll know what I’m talking about when you get back into Louisiana!

I am taking a break from Sookie for the week. I have been saving the last book in my A-Z Challenge for Halloween. I know that the Sookie Stackhouse series is full of Halloweenesque characters, and while I’m sticking with the vamps, I going retro and reading Interview with the Vampire.I am only on page 4 and I’m already intrigued.  Are you reading anything spooky for Halloween?

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

Meet Sookie Stackhouse. She’s a plain ole’ country girl from Louisiana. She’s a bar maid who lives with her grandma and lives a pretty normal life. Except for the fact that she can read minds.

She can read almost every one’s mind, except for vampires. And when she meets Bill Compton, she realizes she loves the fact that every time she’s with him, she gets peace and quiet!

But once she and Bill get close, a number of girls start dying. They are all blue collar workers who like them a little vampire loving every now and then. Hopefully Sookie can use her special talent to keep her brother from behind bars and herself alive.

I had heard A LOT about this book and I’m hoping the series gets better as I continue reading. I got the first in 8 in the series.

I liked it, but didn’t love it. There were some pretty cute sayings, like vampires “coming out of the coffin” and “fang bangers”. I’m just not sure what I expected.

This book was different from any other vampire books I’ve read. When a lot of people, including myself think, of vampires, they think of glitz and glam. This book is very down to earth and simple, and well, country. Even though in Twilight, they didn’t live in a glam place, everything else was dull and the Cullens were magnificent. I know that Bill, in Sookie’s eyes, is a dream boat. I just don’t see the beauty in this as in other vampire novels. Honestly, I kind of like it though. It’s more “normal” than regular books.

But there are some similiarities – the vampires are pale and cold, they drink blood, they can only be out during the night. There’s also a similarity here with Twilight. We have ourselves another shapeshifter! It’s not EXACTLY the same as the werewolves, but I don’t want to spoil anything for you… you’ll have to read to find out!

I love how vampires are mainstream. People know they are around and the bars even stock up with blood for them.

I really liked Harris’ explanation of vampire habits. They use prostitutes to get strong. They suck their blood, not necessarily have sex. At one point, Sookie and Bill talk about Bill’s facial hair. He said he was lucky he shaved right before he turned. I guess I never thought about them not growing hair. Lucky Bill

One thing I REALLY liked about this book was that I didn’t know who the killer was until it was revealed. I know that sounds silly, but I’ve read so many books and watched so many movies, I normally know who the killer was. On the other side of this, the killer isn’t revealed until the last few pages, and I wasn’t even sure if we were going to learn the killer in this book, or if she was going to wait until the next one.

I am optimistic about this book because I am really liking a few of the characters. I will start by giving this series 3 stars, plenty of room to move up!

Sookie Stackhouse Series
1. Dead Until Dark

If you know me at all, you know I love me some vampire tales. My first was Twilight. I got the books for my 22nd birthday and read them all in a week. I borrowed The Historian, from a co-worker and loved it so much I went out and bought it to save for another Halloween!

Yes, I love Halloween. I’m the nerd who watches all the scary movies on AMC’s Monsterfestand the ones I can’t watch, I DVR and stay up super late to watch them. I don’t sleep the whole month of October without a nightmare, but I deal.

I started the A to Z Challenge earlier this month. Since I blog about all the books I read, I knew which ones I’ve read this year. I had all but 7 done. D and I were books I didn’t have. I automatically knew Dracula and Interview with the Vampire were my choices.

You know what you are getting into when you start this book. Obviously it’s about a vampire so that doesn’t surprise you. The layout of the book reminded me a lot of The Historian. A lot of it is in letters too. I really like that because you get to see everyone’s point of view.

When it came to the writing of the book, there were some parts that I flew through, there were others that drug on for weeks. This book took me two weeks to conquer. I read when I get home from work and wind down for bed and read on the weekends whenever I have a moment to sit down. I’d like to say the wedding has my mind out of whack, but I honestly think some of the book just didn’t appeal to me. I loved the first hundred few pages then lost interest. It came and went from there.

The book was very descriptive which always makes for a good read. I love to be able to close my eyes and imagine the characters and the scenes. It always got me major kudos with my Teaser Tuesdays (1 and 2).

The characters in this book remind me of chivalry. Michael (my fiance) is very chivalrous, but it seems to be dwindling away over the years. These 5 men put a lady before all of them and fight to the death for her.

I must admit while all these men won my heart, Mina is my favorite character. She’s a strong, very intelligent woman. And she’s a fighter. She never gives up and she helps the men from start to finish. Without her, the ending of this book would probably have been very different.

At times during the book, I was VERY confused. Like when Dr. Seward kept talking of his patient, when the first ship came when Lucy and Mina were in town and all of the suitors for Lucy. They all made sense in time, but when I first read them, I remember thinking “How can this possibly fit into this book?”

It’s taken me a couple of days to think about this review. I admire the book for its history and for all of the vampire lore that was inspired by this book. I love the creativity and the story, but I didn’t love all of the writing. It was a tough read and there were many parts I had to read and re-read.

I give Dracula  3 bookmarks.