Book Review: Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris

It’s New Years in Bon Temps and Sookie is trying to keep herself busy at work. Not only is she broke from her last adventure but she’s also trying to keep her mind off her cheating ex-boyfriend Vampire Bill.

On her way back home from work, she almost ran over a half naked man on the street only to find out its Eric who seems to have suffered from amnesia. Apparently, Eric has been cursed by a witch who wants to take over his life and has to take refuge with Sookie whilst they try to solve the problem.

There are two separate storylines in Dead to the World:

1. Eric’s memory loss which is connected to other supernatural elements leading to a huge battle with the witches and…
2. Jason who seems to have gone missing or as Sookie suspects, may have been kidnapped.

What I liked about this book?
Well, there were more supernatural elements that were introduced in the book with more insights on the werewolf community as well as the witches. The war that raged amongst the vampires and the witches was a serious problem in the supernatural world and leads to a (normally unlikely) collaborative effort between the vamps and weres to win the battle. Introducing the new supernatural element kept the book interesting.

In terms of romance, Bill is gone and Eric takes lead in this book. I actually like Eric’s character better while he suffers from amnesia; he’s kinder, gentler and oh so sweet. The chemistry added some pizzazz to the romance but Eric is just not Bill. (Can you tell I'm pro Bill?)

What I didn’t like about this book?

Harris seems to have a style of featuring too many plots in one book which can be a bit convoluted but it was still an easy read. I also felt that there were too many possible suitors for Sookie featured in the book with the introduction of Calvin Norris a shapeshifter from a nearby town. Personally, the male attention for Sookie was getting a tad too much for me.

Verdict: I still prefer Dead until Dark and Living Dead in Dallas. Comparatively, Dead to the World to me is a better read than Club Dead because it introduced further understanding of Harris’s supernatural world which kept it exciting.

Note: Book 4 completed for the Sookie Stackhouse challenge. If you'd like to participate, please visit Beth Fish Reads' blog.

Book Review: Club Dead by Charlaine Harris

Club Dead is the third installation of the Sookie Stackhouse southern vampire series. I’ve read the first two books and absolutely loved Dead until Dark and Living Dead in Dallas. I love Sookie’s character, I think she’s fun and resourceful and her supernatural adventures make a great weekend read.

In Club Dead, Bill is kidnapped and Sookie seeks out to find him with the help of Alcide Herveaux who happens to be a werewolf. Like the two previous books, Club Dead is an easy and fun read though I found the plot to be a bit more intricate than the previous books. The introduction of new supernatural elements with insights to the world of werewolves and shape shifter adds a bit more excitement and engagement to the reading.

Bill doesn’t appear much in the book and he wasn’t acting like the best boyfriend in the world, so obviously he’s not so hot in Sookie’s books this time around. Eric’s character comes out stronger and I’m kinda starting to like him a bit more compared to the first two books. Alcide is a nice guy who also seems to have fallen for Sookie whilst in their quest to save Bill; so there was some interesting connection happening between the two of them. The list of possible suitors that seem to have fallen for Sookie can be a tad annoying but nevertheless, Club Dead was definitely a fun read.

Definitely an enjoyable read though the first two books are still my favourite.

Note: Book 3 completed for the Sookie Stackhouse challenge. If you’d like to participate, please visit Beth Fish Reads’ blog.

Friday Finds, 18 September

It’s been a while since I participated in Friday Finds. It’s been a good week this week; the clients behaved, the bosses were away, work load was acceptable and the long holiday for Eid celebrations is just one day away. Yippeeee! So, I’m taking the opportunity to take part in Friday Finds.

This week on Twitter, I noticed Nely and Julie reading The Hunger Games, a YA Science Fiction novel by Suzanne Collins. Sounds like an interesting read cause Nely seems to be losing sleep trying to finish the book! LOL.

For more information on The Hunger Games click here.

Friday Finds is hosted by Should Be Reading.

BBAW: Setting Goals

Today's BBAW asks us to: Write in 50 words or less…what do you like best about your blog right now and where would you like your blog to be a year from now?

What I love…

I get to make new friends & exchange ideas with people regardless of religion, race & nationality.

One year from now…
I’d like to feature more posts on city living. KL has a lot to offer & I’d like to highlight that to the world!

BBAW: Thanks for introducing me to the book!

BBAW Activity for today: Today we encourage you to blog about a book you read only because you discovered it on another book blog. Preferably, this will be a book you loved! You might also write a bit about the blog you discovered it on!

Sometime earlier this year, I read Book Nook Club’s review of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. The minute I read the review, I knew it’ll be a fun book to read. True enough, I enjoyed reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies tremendously. My review of the book is here.

So thank you Book Nook Club for recommending Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. It truly was one of the best books I’ve read this year.

BBAW: My TBR Pile

Ok. My camera is broken and my blackberry is going bonkers so I’m not able to post up the latest picture for my TBR pile (I’ve been trying to load the latest pix for the last two hours to no avail. Am almost pulling my hair out here!) . Anyway, I have a picture from about 2 months ago for my TBR shelf.

I keep all my books in my study/reading room. I have a separate shelf for all the books I’ve read and the shelf below houses my TBR books though not all are unread. Maybe about 20% of the books on the shelf I’ve read through already. Obviously in the past two months I’ve piled on more books but won’t be able to share the latest picture until I figure out why I can’t upload pictures. :)