Leslie Q. (keepsbooks) - reviewed on 6/1/2011 + 3 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

*No Spoilers*

While some other readers of this series appear to have tired of Sookie and her world, I'm just as entertained by Charlaine Harris's story-telling as I ever was. I find her writing style comforting to read and sitting down with her latest book was like meeting up with a dear old friend who I hadn't seen in a while.

Others have summarized the plot, so I'll just talk about what stood out for me with this addition to the series.

Sookie seems to be re-defining her relationships with her friends and family, mostly in ways that I agree with...

* No appearances by her annoying brother Jason.
* She drew some much-needed boundaries with her new Fae relatives.
* Bill seems to be back in her good graces (& I was reminded about why I liked him in the beginning).
* Amelia helped Sookie with *a problem* but then overstepped the bounds of friendship in an amazing (& out-of-character way) that led Sookie to give her an earful & send her & her boy/cat toy home.
* Sookie established herself as a presence in her telepathic cousin's life in a moving scene.
* There were some nice reminiscences & insights about her Gran.
* She helped Sam in an unexpected way which equalized their relationship in my eyes.
* A sweet conversation with Andy Bellfleur about his wife, sister & late grandmother stuck out for its cordiality, as well as for what was revealed.
* Finally, her relationship with Eric changed in a big way. Huge. Shocking even, lol! 'nuf said about that.

Some of the humor was back that has been missing from the last several, darker books, including a Laugh Out Loud scene between Eric & Pam in Sookie's kitchen. Harris's dry humor has always been a big draw for me -- she uses it sparingly, but meaningfully.

One big negative: Eric was not himself. At all. I felt like there was an Eric impersonator in the book & I severely *missed* him. He did have other *things* on his mind (gigantic, elephant-in-the-room things, we find out later), but I still felt his actions seemed...off. Until the end, when all was revealed & it seemed a little more explainable, in light of what the big secret was. [avoid spoilers! Must stay vague!] Also, I wasn't Feelin' the Love between Sook & Eric.

Several long-time threads were resolved in this book, mostly in satisfying ways, but I hope this doesn't indicate that Harris is done with the series 'cause I'll keep buying them (they're Keepers for me), even with the flaws.

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