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 - Better than what others say (4.5 stars)Oddly enough, I had poor expectations when I started reading this book due to the negative reviews here on Amazon, plus the lackluster writing of the previous book. Most of the complains seem to deal with the fact that there was no single event to tie the entire book together. Instead, we are treated to various mini crises interspersed with the tying up of the various plot points that have been remaining in the series. However, I found that to the contrary, these sequence of events actually made the story much more interesting, as the thing that ties all these events together is Sookie herself, giving her a chance to develop her character further through various situations. Basically, this gives more of a 'slice-of-life' feeling to the book which I highly enjoyed. In addition, with alot of the remaining loose ends being tied, this book feels like a major turning point in the series, if not a transition. If there was one quibble though, I guess it had to do with the abruptness with which she broke off her relationship with Quinn. I thought it (and he) deserved a better send off, instead of the 1 to 2 pages devoted to it. Rating:  - From Dead to Worse - My least favoriteI have enjoyed all of the Books 1-7, but I am very disappointed in From Dead to Worse. This book read like a guide book of Sookie-land. It reads as if Ms. Harris could not really think up a good enough plot to carry throughout the story, so she had some rather quick fix situations that only took minutes to resolve, with lots of detail about nothing leading up to them, and too much backstory being told to us rather than shown to us in action and dialogue. There was no build up of mystery or suspense at all, these things practically happened out of the blue. And all these things happened in about a week, very haphazardly. The fact that C.H. seems to want to make the reader dislike all of Sookie's ex's is kind of grating on my nerves. It's fine if Sookie wants to break up with them, but why do I have to be told not to like them? Find a new approach. I have invested enough in these characters that I would read the next in the series, but if it doesn't live up to the original, I'll divest myself of Sookie and her friends. The best part of this book was the thing that happened at the very end (won't spoil it), and the words THE END. Rating: - Death and Destruction, but Life Goes On in Bon Temps!Sookie continues to deal with vampires and their hunters, with weres and her troublesome brother, with deadly supernatural politics that mere humans shouldn't easily survive. But the one thing Sookie is, is a survivor. After the big explosion in the last book that took out many an immortal and powerful vamp, Sookie is back at home in Bon Temps, LA, working at Merlotte's Bar for her friend and boss, Sam, and worrying about nothing more than the double wedding of her friend Halleigh and Portia Bellefleur. Of course, nothing is simple, particularly in tiny Bon Temps. At the wedding Sookie bumps into two strange strangers... one a vamp from out of town and another... she is not sure what, other than that he's older and beautiful and can seem to hide himself from vamps as well as humans. But soon, trouble aplenty intrudes--with a were war brewing (someone is killing Alcide's supporters off, and Sookie finds herself in the middle of it). Then there is upheaval in the vamp world, wherein many vamps go to dust, again with Sookie in the middle. Few enough were left running about after the hotel explosion, but that doesn't keep a vamp war from breaking out. And Sookie finds out why her boyfriend, weretiger Quinn, has been mysteriously absent since she last saw him after the explosion. Lots of crazy, but episodic adventure, lots of ends tied up, and lots more things opening up... Sookie discovers some distant relatives. And her love-life is as unsettled as ever. I continue to be fascinated by Sookie's adventures. They are moving and funny and strange and horrific--and complex as things can get in a small town where the events outside can easily intrude. Sookie's concerns are her friends and family and doing the right thing as well as just having some fun... and looking for a boyfriend who can put her in the prime spot in his life. It's not as easy as it seems! But Sookie continues to try and manage, even as hotels explode and the world tries to cope with supernaturals-gone-public and the dangerous world still kept hidden from the public. This is definitely one of the stronger books in the series, both getting back to Sookie's roots and yet still concerning her ties to the vamps and weres. If you're a fan of the series---and you certainly SHOULD be!--you will enjoy this book. Rating: - One of the best of the seriesLife threatening and life changing events happen in this newest mystery. Sookie finds herself in the middle of two wars. The werewolf war that she mediates and the vampire war with an unpleasant surprise about who is helping the Las Vegas vampires to take over the Louisiana empire. She also finds new relatives to help make up for her disappointment with her brother. Lots of changes happen in a short period of time during this book. Very exciting! Rating:  - Mixed Feelings.This book gave me some hope for the Sookie/Eric eventual happily ever after. These two belong together, and I really hope it happens. I'm glad to see some things about their storyline partially resolved in this book, and I'm thrilled about the guy she dumped. He was hot and all, but something about him was just too white bread for me. He had kind of a "Riley" feel (Buffy reference) that was highly icky for me. One thing that does puzzle me about this book, and I'm not quite sure how to take it. There is no climax. There's just a lot of stuff that happens. At various points in the story new problems are introduced in the various situations Sookie finds herself involved in. And as the story goes on, those situations get resolved one by one. The story hangs together, it's cohesive, and all the threads get resolved, it's just, there is no one scene that is the top scene. There is just a string of mini-climaxes, and then an ending. And the ending, though cool and intriguing, doesn't have much to do with the rest of the book. So I'm not really sure how to deal with that. I'm left with this bizarre feeling that I'm not sure if we've missed something, or if it should have been bigger somewhere. Or if I feel the ending is satisfying or not. I'm not sure because there was no definite point at which I felt like "we won." Or whatever you're supposed to feel when the heroine's journey has come to an end in a particular novel. I am happy about the developments in the Sookie/Eric situation. And I hate Bill slightly less, though I swear if that vampire tries to come between Eric and Sookie I'll stop reading. I'm in it for the Sookie/Eric pairing and that's where my loyalties end. As soon as the books stop delivering at least a hopeful Eric/Sookie relationship, I'm out. Though from reading other reviews on this issue, I know there is a pretty big fan contingent that agrees with me.
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