Scan barcode
lostinfrance's review against another edition
3.0
Eh. Great way to escape reality.....Sookie, still dating a vampire...and yes, we get it, he is amazing...in bed, in life....drop dead gorgeous. Got it. Check. Move on. She goes to Dallas to help another nest...and gets caught in local politics. She is cute, she is blonde. Not sure if she is smart....Author tends to repeat herself. Yawn.
adnaram's review against another edition
medium-paced
3.5
Writing still isn’t great and yet I am invested
idratherbereading542's review against another edition
3.0
I know this is another paranormal series that I'm probably one of the last of five people to read. But I actually read Dead Until Dark a little over a year ago and I really didn't like it all that much. Mostly it was a problem with the relationship between Sookie and Bill. I wasn't buying it. It was very unrealistic and cold and I just didn't really want to sit through book after book of their boring relationship and Bill's extremely dull personality. So I set it aside, not really sure whether I would continue or not. Here I am, a little over a year later and I've decided to try and pick up the series again. It's just that it's such a popular series that I would really like to be apart of as far as the talk about the new books and such. Plus I really want to watch the TV show and although I know that you don't really have to read the books first (or at all), I sort of want to.
I liked this one a lot better than I liked Dead Until Dark, but I still didn't love it. I didn't have all that much reading time this past week because of family being in town for the holidays, so the fact that I couldn't really sit down with it in a quiet and undisturbed place could be playing a role in that. However, I don't think that's the whole deal.
I think where I do have problems still revolves mostly around still the relationship between Sookie and Bill seeming very cardboard, and also just the dialog in general. The story and plot wasn't bad, but the dialog just seems so awkward and doesn't really flow very well.
One thing I did really like about this book though was getting some more Eric page time. Although he's not a huge character at this point, I of course know that he plays a bigger role in the future books. I liked his character in this one and he made me laugh a few times so that was good. I'm definitely looking forward to more of him in the future books.
Also I liked Sookie better in this one than I remember liking her in the first one. Of course, I read that over a year ago so I can't very clearly remember ALL of my opinions on the book. But I do remember I found her a bit annoying and I wasn't really getting any annoying vibes from her in this one.
So overall, it wasn't bad, but still not really anything to brag about in the Urban Fantasy genre (in my opinion). This book definitely gave me the push to want to continue on with the series at least for a few more books to see how that goes. I have a feeling they'll get a bit better as they go on. So I'm glad I picked this one up and I'm looking forward more to the rest of the series.
I liked this one a lot better than I liked Dead Until Dark, but I still didn't love it. I didn't have all that much reading time this past week because of family being in town for the holidays, so the fact that I couldn't really sit down with it in a quiet and undisturbed place could be playing a role in that. However, I don't think that's the whole deal.
I think where I do have problems still revolves mostly around still the relationship between Sookie and Bill seeming very cardboard, and also just the dialog in general. The story and plot wasn't bad, but the dialog just seems so awkward and doesn't really flow very well.
One thing I did really like about this book though was getting some more Eric page time. Although he's not a huge character at this point, I of course know that he plays a bigger role in the future books. I liked his character in this one and he made me laugh a few times so that was good. I'm definitely looking forward to more of him in the future books.
Also I liked Sookie better in this one than I remember liking her in the first one. Of course, I read that over a year ago so I can't very clearly remember ALL of my opinions on the book. But I do remember I found her a bit annoying and I wasn't really getting any annoying vibes from her in this one.
So overall, it wasn't bad, but still not really anything to brag about in the Urban Fantasy genre (in my opinion). This book definitely gave me the push to want to continue on with the series at least for a few more books to see how that goes. I have a feeling they'll get a bit better as they go on. So I'm glad I picked this one up and I'm looking forward more to the rest of the series.
gnomeanne's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
laurenstafford94's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
lauraeydmann82's review against another edition
4.0
I read the first of this series last summer. These are easy to read, fun books, grown-up Twilight which doesnt take itself as seriously and is much better!
Sookie is a waitress in Bon Temps, USA, with telepathic powers who lives in a world where Vampires are now out in the open and drink a synthetic blood called True Blood. She has fallen for a vampire called Bill and due to some events in the previous book, she is occasionally called upon to help out the vampires in her area (namely a vampire called Eric – the leader of the local vampires), using her telepathy. This book sees them going off to Dallas (hence the title), battling with fundamentalist Christian vampire haters and trying to find the murderer of a friend. Most of the characters from the previous book are here, and we are introduced to more – shapeshifters, telepaths, vampires and a maenad.
There is a fair bit of violence in these books (although not the worst or graphic that I have read) and a fair amount of sex too (ditto). It’s fast paced, funny, the plots are interesting and not too easy too predict, and the characters are likeable.
So far, so good, I’m really enjoying these books and if I didn’t read so bloody late at night I’d have finished this in one or two sittings.
I love the fantasy genre, so this was always going to be a good one for me. I was dreading another Twilight-esque series, and although there are similarities: one of the couple are telepathic but can’t read the other, which helps form part of their attraction; other love interests, one of which being a shapeshifter/werewolf etc. I find the characters much more interesting in the True Blood series. The added element of Vampires being a known entity in the world, and the problems caused by this, add something else to the books too. The issues we see like the ‘fangbangers’ – humans who sleep with vampires, the ‘Fellowship of the Sun’ and other prejudice we see against vampires and humans who deal with them, and little things like added services created for vampires (like an airport service that will load vampires in coffins safely on and off the plane) are great little touches.
Sookie is a waitress in Bon Temps, USA, with telepathic powers who lives in a world where Vampires are now out in the open and drink a synthetic blood called True Blood. She has fallen for a vampire called Bill and due to some events in the previous book, she is occasionally called upon to help out the vampires in her area (namely a vampire called Eric – the leader of the local vampires), using her telepathy. This book sees them going off to Dallas (hence the title), battling with fundamentalist Christian vampire haters and trying to find the murderer of a friend. Most of the characters from the previous book are here, and we are introduced to more – shapeshifters, telepaths, vampires and a maenad.
There is a fair bit of violence in these books (although not the worst or graphic that I have read) and a fair amount of sex too (ditto). It’s fast paced, funny, the plots are interesting and not too easy too predict, and the characters are likeable.
So far, so good, I’m really enjoying these books and if I didn’t read so bloody late at night I’d have finished this in one or two sittings.
I love the fantasy genre, so this was always going to be a good one for me. I was dreading another Twilight-esque series, and although there are similarities: one of the couple are telepathic but can’t read the other, which helps form part of their attraction; other love interests, one of which being a shapeshifter/werewolf etc. I find the characters much more interesting in the True Blood series. The added element of Vampires being a known entity in the world, and the problems caused by this, add something else to the books too. The issues we see like the ‘fangbangers’ – humans who sleep with vampires, the ‘Fellowship of the Sun’ and other prejudice we see against vampires and humans who deal with them, and little things like added services created for vampires (like an airport service that will load vampires in coffins safely on and off the plane) are great little touches.
sacredgriefsociety's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
3.75
acwoodvt's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Again, the themes of racism and homophobia expressed openly by so many characters is treated as an expectation of living in this reality. It’s just unclear whether this was done to help drive home the inherent distrust and distaste associated with vampirism in a racist and bigoted society, or if it’s just an easy parallel to draw from an author who already harbors those dispositions internally. I’m struggling to understand the devotion to this series by so many. The FMC has no redeeming qualities that I’ve managed to trip over in two books beyond a childish naivety, being blonde, and being uneducated. I guess her devotion to the somewhat-kind-of protection of the other humans in the vampire community is… supposed to be commendable? Meanwhile the MMC is completely flat. The relationship is toxic as hell and they keep using the word love in the lackluster way that people who’ve never been in love use it, as a stand-in for commitment where emotions are supposed to be involved but the participants mostly just enjoy the sex/perks of being coupled and tolerate each other. Overall it’s just… vapid.
Content Warnings
Minor: Homophobia, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, and Self harm
funsized327's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0