bookshelves and late fees

Club Dead (A Sookie Stackhouse novel #3)

Club Dead is the third book in Charlaine Harris’s series The Southern Vampire Mysteries, released in 2003. In Club Dead, Sookie’s boyfriend Bill disappears while working on a secret project, and Sookie heads out to Jackson, Mississippiin hopes of retrieving him alive. In this quest, she enlists the aid of a werewolf, Alcide Herveaux, and of vampire Eric.

(Synopsis from wikipedia)

Rating: ★★★½

Highly recommended! This wasn’t a choppy as the others, found myself really getting into it as it was quite different from the tv series (True Blood). Also, Alcide! His moments with Sookie really make you want them together. Bill is portrayed as a horrible boyfriend (as he should be) but I find Sookie’s undying devotion to him a bit suspicious. He did all these horrible things (while I shall not mention as they may spoil it for some people) to Sookie, and STILL Sookie wants to save him! I don’t think she does it for the right reasons, but what can I say. 

Also, getting to know how the whole vampire government system works was interesting. How they have kingdoms and sheriffs and whatnot, very political of them.

Furthermore, does Sookie even work at Merlotte’s anymore? Every book she is missing or “helping the vampires” for days, weeks at a time! How can she afford anything? But that’s just me being technical.

On to the next one!

The Rise of Nine (A Lorien Legacy novel #3) - Pittacus Lore

The third main book in the Lorien Legacies goes back to Six’s point of view, as she, Marina, Ella and Crayton go to India to find Number Eight. Six wants to go to America to see John ( Number Four) and Sam. Little does she know that Sam has been captured by the Mogadorians and that Number Nine is with Four. As Four tries to connect with Nine, he realizes that they have nothing in common and they dislike each other. On the way to Chicago, Nine and Four’s truck runs out of gas and they are stranded in a lonely desolate house. John had visions of Sam being tortured and plans to go back to the West Virginia cave to save him.

(Synopsis from wikipedia)

Rating: ★★★★★

** As this is the third book in the series, I will try as much as possible not to include any spoilers, but readers beware!

AHH!! FINALLY! Picked his book up a week after its release and devoured it in a matter of hours. What a ride. If you haven’t read the first two in the series (I Am Number Four, The Power of Six), you seriously need to get your hands on a copy. 

The Rise of Nine diverts again into multiple perspectives: Four (John Smith), Six, and Seven (Marina). At the end of book two, Four escapes with Nine from a Mogadorian camp, inevitably leaving behind his best friend, Sam. Four struggles with his guilt for leaving Sam behind and also for his feelings towards Six. (Personally, I never liked him with Six; romance with Sarah > flirting with Six). Meanwhile, Six and Marina also escape from a Mogadorian attack in Spain and meet up with Ten (woah!) and her Cepan, Clayton. The Rise of Nine describes their journey to India in search of yet another member of the Garde. Marina is embarrassed and frustrated throughout the novel for her lack of knowledge. Her Cepan, Adelina, refused to teach her how to fight, how to use her Legacies. However, as they face more and more challenges, Marina becomes more confident and gets her first (and second !!!) kiss, so cute (: Ten, otherwise known as Ella, the tenth member of the Garde sent to Earth on a second ship revels in the company of Six and Seven, while also growing stronger under the guidance of her father/Cepan, Clayton. Meanwhile, we also meet a new member of the Garde, Eight! 

But where is Sam?!?!?!?! Why has he been left behind! He was such a crucial part in book two and to have him just disappear in book three, it’s quite unnerving. Did he die? Did the Mogadorians let him live? WHAT IS GOING ON.

I really enjoyed this novel. I admit, I loved the first two as well, so my expectations were already pretty high up for this one. Once again, I was disappointed at the end because of the fact that I have to another year for the next one. (Supposedly, there are supposed to be six in the series!!) The different perspectives were well integrated and the timing made the writing flow and easy to follow. At times, I would race through a chapter just to find out what happens, but have to re-read it just to experience it all over again. 

As for future novels, I’d really love to have some bits/chapters in the point of view of the other members of the Garde, namely Five (where are you….), Eight, Nine, and Ten.

Cannot wait for the next one!

ALSO, where the heck is Five? 

Living Dead in Dallas (A Sookie Stackhouse novel #2) - Charlaine Harris

Sookie Stackhouse likes living in Bon Temps, Louisiana, and she likes working as a cocktail waitress at Merlotte’s. But she is having a streak of bad luck. First her co-worker is killed, and no one seems to care. Then she comes face-to-face with a beastly creature which gives her a painful and poisonous lashing. Vampires suck the poison from her veins, saving her life.

When one of the vampires asks for a favor, she obliges, and soon Sookie is in Dallas using her telepathic skills to search for a missing vampire. She is supposed to interview certain humans involved, but she makes one condition: the vampires must promise to behave, and let the humans go unharmed. That is easier said than done, and all it takes is one delicious blonde and one small mistake for things to turn deadly.

(Synopsis from wikipedia)

Rating: ★★★

Hmmm…. Not sure I liked this one either. The story is quite choppy, kind of like a story within a story. First Sookie gets attacked. Cut. Goes to Dalles. Cut. Back in Bon Temps. There isn’t a lot of continuity within these parts. Once again, I am being quite biased, having already seen the television interpretation of this novel, so I can’t stop comparing the two.

I highly recommend this though! It’s a a quick, enthralling read. Couldn’t put it down even though I already knew what was happening. Bill and Sookie’s romance also got me a bit nervous at some points when they have their little fight!!! But all is well, in Sookie’s quiet place. 

And I have to admit, the whole conflict with the maenad was a a bit of a letdown. It was very anti-climatic seeing as how this maenad is supposed to be some super being and all they had was one fight. Lame.

AND OOOH, Bill’s connection to the Bellefleur’s, cool cool.

On to the next one!

Dead Until Dark (A Sookie Stackhouse novel) - Charlaine Harris

Dead Until Dark is the first in a supernatural thriller series (the “Sookie Stackhouse” series) by mystery author, Charlaine Harris.

Set in the fictional town of Bon Temps, Louisiana, the main narrator of the series is Sookie Stackhouse, a telepathic waitress. Two years before we first meet Sookie, vampires have “come out of the closet” and have begun mainstreaming (a vampire movement to integrate themselves into human society). This “Great Revelation” due to the Japanese invention of synthetic blood, “Tru Blood”, the vampire race no longer saw reason to hide themselves from humans and expressed their desire for peaceful coexistence with humans.

Dead Until Dark follows Sookie’s encounters with her first vampire, Bill Compton. Not everyone accepts vampires as readily as Sookie and as well as a string of suspicious murders begin to pile up in Bon Temps, Sookie’s brother, Jason, begins to look more and more guilty of committing the murders. Not only that, but Sookie’s “disability” get her and Bill into the thick of vampire politics…

Rating: ★★★

I’ve been wanting to read these for a while because I’m a huge fan of “True Blood”, the show on HBO that is based on the Sookie Stackhouse novels. So I think I’m a bit biased in saying that I really liked it. (However, I will do my best to give you my honest opinion, despite my deep love for the characters already!)

Dead Until Dark was a quick read. And to be quite frank, if it weren’t for the fact that I envision these characters as their actors that play them, I probably would not continue on with the series. It’s not very well-written, the language is very crass and rogue. Sookie is portrayed as a dumb blonde waitress whose only redeeming quality is her telepathy. 

I enjoyed the romance between Sookie and Bill. I liked Sookie’s small-town-girl personality and it felt like Sookie were a real person. I didn’t like how the story was very one-dimensional, how it was only seen through Sookie’s point-of-view, but it is the “Sookie Stackhouse” series, so I guess that makes sense. One of the biggest letdowns though was Tara Thorton, Sookie’s supposed best friend since kindergarten. She did not make one appearance in Dead Until Dark which is so different from True Blood. Don’t think this really qualifies as a book review anymore since I keep comparing it to the show…..

All in all, I liked it! Reminded of all the things about the show that I fell in love with: vampires, a bit of romance, mystery. Can’t wait for the next one!

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Sorry dear followers for the unexplained hiatus!

Spring break came and went for us just last week. And life in general was just happening before it. Which really means, a lot of other ish was happening preventing us from completing our life duties to bookshelvesandlatefees.

But fret not! We are back! And ready to attack! Slowly (but surely!) we will get this blog back up in no time. Thank you for your patience!

ALSO, please pray that we get jobs (: We are both poor and have no money with which to purchase new books ):

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simon de pury’s office. doh.

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