Book Release: Dead Ever After (Sookie Stackhouse #13) by Charlaine Harris

Dead Ever After
Final Sookie Stackhouse Book (#13)

Author: Charlaine Harris
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Ace Books 
Release Date: May 7, 2013 

Synopsis:

There are secrets in the town of Bon Temps, ones that threaten those closest to Sookie—and could destroy her heart....

Sookie Stackhouse  finds it easy to turn down the request of former barmaid Arlene when she wants her job back at Merlotte’s. After all, Arlene tried to have Sookie killed. But her relationship with Eric Northman is not so clearcut. He and his vampires are keeping their distance…and a cold silence. And when Sookie learns the reason why, she is devastated.

Then a shocking murder rocks Bon Temps, and Sookie is arrested for the crime.

But the evidence against Sookie is weak, and she makes bail. Investigating the killing, she’ll learn that what passes for truth in Bon Temps is only a convenient lie. What passes for justice is more spilled blood. And what passes for love is never enough…

True Blood Season 5

True Blood 
Season 5


Season Start June 10, 2012
Season Finale August 26, 2012
Episodes: 12


Links:
HBO
TRUEBLOOD Website
Amazon Link


Ratings: ★ ★ ★ ★ 




My thoughts:

True Blood Seasons 1-4 are loosely based on Charlaine Harris'  The Southern Vampire Mysteries a.k.a. Sookie Stackhouse Novels. Season 4 is based on the 4th book, Dead To The World - witches.

"When telepathic cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse sees a naked man on the side of the road, she doesn't just drive on by. Turns out the poor thing hasn't a clue who-or what-he is, but Sookie knows. It's the vampire Eric Northman-but now he's a kinder, gentler Eric. And a very frightened Eric, because it soon becomes obvious that whoever took his memory now wants his life." - Amazon

When HBO aired Season 5, I've read somewhere that TB would still be following the 5th book which is Dead As A Doornail.

"Small-town cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse has had more than her share of experience with the supernatural—but now it’s really hitting close to home. When Sookie sees her brother Jason’s eyes start to change, she knows he’s about to turn into a were-panther for the first time—a transformation he embraces more readily than most shapeshifters she knows. But her concern becomes cold fear when a sniper sets his deadly sights on the local changeling population, and Jason’s new panther brethren suspect he may be the shooter. Now, Sookie has until the next full moon to find out who’s behind the attacks—unless the killer decides to find her first…" - Goodreads

I don't think so.... Jason didn't turn into a were-panther, no Calvin, leader of the were-panthers, much to my disappointment, no Quinn, the were-tiger! I was really looking forward to seeing Quinn, Sookie's new boyfriend and was even telling my brother every week to wait as he should be in this season. But no - they didn't have Quinn and all the were's story, also didn't have Selah Pumphrey, Bill's new girlfriend. Therefore season 5 is definitely not based on Dead As A Doornail, especially after watching the last episode!  What was that!??!

Season 5 is all about human - vampire politics, there's so much things going on that are not in the books at all. Like Bill being the current head of the vamps. . . . . in the book, Bill is portrayed as a very softy caring vamp while in the TV series, he is a strong big BAD vamp, became the king of some area while Eric is mostly behind Bill. Weird, huh? Bill stronger than Eric? Hmmm...

Hoyt - Jessica - Jason. Oh Hoyt's leaving Bon Temps to start a new life. . . . far from Jessica and his best friend, Jason. I wanna say something more about that episode but I don't want to give out too much info/spoilers. Let's just say that episode made me cry and still thinking about it days after watching it. Awww. I love you Hoyt! 

Honestly, I'm not really sure how I feel about the whole True Blood thing-y. I love True Blood, I am very much addicted to watching it but somehow there's too much disappointment about where the story is heading. Well I guess maybe I have to accept now that Alan Ball is not Charlaine Harris. He also added a story about a certain M. Warlow - an unknown vampire who killed Sookie's parents. Apparently, M. Warlow owns Sookie. Who is he and why Sookie's parents (or grand daddy - oh I forgot) made an agreement to give him  Sookie - that's gonna be in season 6, definitely no longer part of the Sookie books.

So you guys buying True Blood DVD - accept now that this season is no longer based on Sookie books or else prepare to be disappointed.

Thursday Trailer: True Blood - Who Is Your Maker???

True Blood Season 5 premieres Sunday, June 10th.

Loved this trailer! Who is your maker? Who made you watch all True Blood episodes from seasons 1 - 5? I was thinking Bill is my maker. Maybe in the books, loved Bill better than Eric but in the TV series, definitely, Eric is MY maker!

Book Release: Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris

DEADLOCKED


Release date: May 1, 2012
Sookie Stackhouse Book #12
Amazon Buy Link


With Felipe de Castro, the Vampire King of Louisiana (and Arkansas and Nevada), in town, it’s the worst possible time for a body to show up in Eric Northman’s front yard—especially the body of a woman whose blood he just drank.


Now, it’s up to Sookie and Bill, the official Area Five investigator, to solve the murder. Sookie thinks that, at least this time, the dead girl’s fate has nothing to do with her. But she is wrong. She has an enemy, one far more devious than she would ever suspect, who’s out to make Sookie’s world come crashing down.

Deadlocked is Sookie book #12. The author is now working on book #13, no title yet. Book #13 will be the last Sookie book. The END is near!! And I'm glad to hear about that!


I loved Sookie books until book 9 Dead and Gone. As for book #10, Dead in the Family, all I did was scan the book and didn't like it. Never even bothered to write a book review about it. Book #11 Dead Reckoning came, borrowed it from a friend and again took a quick look at it. Nah, nothing to like. Now I'm excited about Deadlocked. Why?? Look up! It's Bill and Sookie again!! I really hope Sookie ends up with Bill. 


Book covers: Initially I didn't like Sookie covers, all looked corny but if I were to choose between that cover above (UK) and this cover, I'd prefer the original Sookie book covers. This looks like Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake covers. Not good! So I hope the book available in our local bookstore would have the original cover, please not this one.


Oh by the way, chapters 1 and 2 were posted earlier this year, I've just read it. For those who haven't read them, linky linky below....


Chapter 1
Chapter 2

Book Review: Bite (Anthology)

Bite

Authors:
Laurell K. Hamilton
Charlaine arris
MaryJanice Davidson
Angela Knight
Vickie Taylor

Paperback: 297 pages
Publisher: Jove Books; First Printing edition (December 28, 2004)

Ratings:

 ★ ★ ★ ★




My thoughts:

Bite is a collection of 5 short stories, (1) The Girl Who Was infatuated With Death by Laurell K. Hamilton, (2) One Word Answer by Charlaine Harris, (3) Biting In Plain Sight by Mary Janice Davidson, (4) Galahad by Angela Knight and (5) Blood Lust by Vickie Taylor.

The first one is an Anita Blake short story by Ms. Hamilton, this happened in between Blue Moon (read my review here) and Obsidian Butterfly. The story is about a girI who is suffering from bone cancer. Her mother found out that she had asked a vampire to turn her and  now her mother  hired  Anita to find her daughter and execute that vamp. Blue Moon was a Richard-Anita book so this one is focused on Jean-Claude and Anita relationship. I haven't read Obsidian Butterfly so I couldnt tell if this story is connected with that book. Book 1 was just an OK story, and I dont think readers who have not read the Anita series would be interested to start with this book.

The second story from Charlaine Harris is about Sookie Stackhouse's cousin Hadley. Her vampire cousin  was a lover of the vampire queen of Louisiana (Eric and Bill's boss) and was recently staked so the queen sent her lawyer to Sookie to deliver Hadley's legacy. I think the story happened after the Witch war (?). I'm not sure - it's been a year or two since I read the series. It must be after Book 3 or 4 because Bill here was just "a friend and a neighbor" to Sookie. Sookie fans doesn't need to read this, as this story added nothing to the series.

I didn't like the third story by MaryJanice Davidson. The plot wasn't interesting to read, too predictable and the characters confused me. The last two short stories surprised me. I was almost ready to give up when the story became a page turner. I haven't heard of Angela Knight and Vickie Taylor but I was impressed with their writing. I liked the fourth one, Galahad story by Angela Knight.  I read that this is also part of the Round Table series (which I would like to start one day). The story is about Caroline who was recently turned into a witch and was getting visions of the future. She saw someone murdering people to create an army of bad vampires. She also saw a vision that  a vampire swordsman would be the perfect man to do the job. The guy in her vision turned out to be Galahad, one of the  best knights of the Round Table. Together they set out on a mission of stopping the bad guys in creating an army of vamps.

Blood Lust, the final story is about a microbiologist, Daniel Hart who invented synthetic blood. After having the synthetic blood perfected, his employer - a vampire, stole his work, his house, everything he has including his fiancee (which was turned into a vamp). He wanted to kill his vampire employer but he realized, he couldn't kill him if he's human. So he finds Deidre, a woman vampire to turn her. So the story goes from there.

I bought this book because I love Anita and Sookie series. I was disappointed because those two stories don't add anything to the series. However, I am considering this a great book for Galahad and Blood Lust.


About the book:

A never-before-published Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter story from New York Times bestselling author Laurell K. Hamilton. A brand-new story from New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris, featuring the much-loved Sookie Stackhouse.

A hot new novella from USA Today bestselling author MaryJanice Davidson, set in the world of Undead and Unwed's Betsy Taylor, the newly, and reluctantly,crowned Vampire Queen.

Introduced in the collection Hot Blooded, and on the heels of the wildly successful Master of the Night, Angela Knight has created a fascinating universe of Arthurian Lore and erotic vampirsim. And a sexy original story from Vickie Taylor, a new addition to Berkley Sensation.

HOT HOT HOT! True Blood and Dead Reckoning First Chapter

Yay! Just saw this while checking True Blood news and I want to share this with you guys just in case you haven't seen this. Aw, look at that magazine cover (September 2010 issue)! These guys are sooo hot hot hot and that girl's lucky!

As for the Sookie Stackhouse books, I borrowed the last book, Dead in the Family from a friend. Honestly, I couldn't read the entire book, I almost skipped everything until I found the Bill part. And no, if you're thinking there's more to Sookie and Bill relationship here - oh no. You will be greatly  disappointed.  I expected they would try to fix things between them after the Fae war (Dead and Gone) but *sigh* nothing happened. It's really about Sookie and Eric in Dead in the Family. I like Eric okay - there were times I thought I was also inlove with him but I guess *singing* first love never dies. . . .  lol
 
Last night, I finally decided to read the first chapter of Dead Reckoning. I didn't read it all, *scratching head* don't feel excited about it. I only checked for Bill - Bill - Bill. Ms. Harris, you have to understand. I love Bill more! If he won't be in that book, I guess Sookie's definitely dead to me.

Sookie's 11th book will be released on May 11. Here's the synopsis from Goodreads:

"With her knack for being in trouble's way, Sookie witnesses the firebombing of Merlotte's, the bar where she works. Since Sam Merlotte is now known to be two-natured, suspicion falls immediately on the anti-shifters in the area. But Sookie suspects otherwise and she and Sam work together to uncover the culprit - and the twisted motive for the attack. But her attention is divided. Though she can't 'read' vampires, Sookie knows her lover Eric Northman and his 'child' Pam well - and she realises that they are plotting to kill the vampire who is now their master. Gradually, she is drawn into the plot -which is much more complicated than she knows. Caught up in the politics of the vampire world, Sookie will learn that she is as much of a pawn as any ordinary human - and that there is a new Queen on the board . . . "

Chapter 1 of Dead Reckoning read here

The End is Near!

The other day (or month) I received this another wonderful great great award from The Crazy Bookworm, it's called the Blog of the Week award. Thanks to you!! Love this!

It was actually awarded to me last September 19. Yikeees! What's wrong with me? It seems that it's really hard to find "free time" nowadays. Working + kids = no "ME" time. I just realized that it's been straight three weeks since the last time I got "ME" time. Where to find this, you tell me pleeazZze! I just hope before this year ends or early December, things at work would be back to normal again.


Oh speaking of December. I read in Richelle Mead's blog that she had an interview with Charlaine Harris. They talked about the upcoming release of Last Sacrifice (CH asked RM if she would resolve the issues of love triangle in VA - aw! The usual, she didn't give any spoiler) and Ms. Harris' plans on doing two more Sookie's. Two more? Right now, I don't have any desire to read Sookie 10 (Dead in the Family). After reading a lot of negative comments/reviews, I guess I'm gonna skip reading it. To watch the interview, click here.


Richelle  Mead's Last Sacrifice is the end of the Vampire Academy series. The release date is 7 December,  THE END IS NEAR! Richelle posted this:

This is the UK cover for VA's last book. What do you think? That's cool but I still like the original cover below.

As for the movie, Pregger Entertainment has not released any more news on this. If VA is really being turned into movies, then I think I can wait, even if it takes years to finish one movie, that's okay with me. I'm just hoping they'd get perfect ones to fit the VA characters, especially Rose and Dimitri.

And speaking of Dimitri, found this wallpaper somewhere - forgot where I got this but I'm sure it's an Australian website. Nice huh?

So, 52 more days before Last Sacrifice! Can't wait!

True Blood season 3: Lorena Burns!

I hate her . . . . ughhh

Dead in the Family UK and US book covers

I am still trying to buy a copy of the UK version of Dead in the Family. This is much coooler than the US version. BUT according to our National Bookstore,

nope, they won't be selling the UK version in PH. . . sad. . sad . . sad . .

left - UK version with True Blood characters

right - US version

True Blood Season 3 Official Trailer

Based on Club Dead, book 3 of Sookie Stackhouse Series. My favorite book in the series.

"Do not try to find me, I do not wish to be found" <--- I love and I hate you Bill!

True Blood Season 2 TV Series

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Based on Living Dead in Dallas

I like season 2 better than season 1 - giving it 4.5 stars. Alan Ball added the story of Bill and Lorena - Bill's maker. I heard in Season 3, there will be a story of Bill's life before he became vampire which was not in the book. That would be cool!

Cocktail waitree Sookie Stackhouse is on a streak of bad luck. First, her coworker is murdered and no one seems to care. Then she’s face-to-face with a beastly creature that gives her a painful and poisonous lashing. Enter the vampires, who graciously suck the poison from her veins (like they didn’t enjoy it).

Point is, they saved her life. So when one of the blood-suckers asks for a favor, she complies. And soon, Sookie’s in Dallas using her telepathic skills to search for a missing vampire. She’s supposed to interview certain humans involved. There’s just one condition: The vampires must promise to behave – and let the humans go unharmed. Easier said than done. All it takes is one delicious blonde and one small mistake for things to turn deadly….

www.hbo.com/true-blood
http://sookiestackhouse.com

True Blood Season 1 TV Series

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Based on Dead Until Dark

Sookie Stackhouse is a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. She’s quiet, keeps to herself, and doesn’t get out much. Not because she’s not pretty. She is. It’s just that, well, Sookie has this sort of “disability”. She can read minds. And that doesn’t make her too dateable. And then along comes Bill. He’s tall, dark, handsome–and Sookie can’t hear a word he’s thinking. He’s exactly the type of guy she’s been waiting for all her life . . . But Bill has a disability of his own: He’s a vampire with a bad reputation. He hands with a seriously creepy crowd, all suspected of–big surprise–murder. And when one of Sookie’s coworkers is killed, she fears she’s next . . .

www.hbo.com/true-blood
http://sookiestackhouse.com

Dead in the Family

If you guys remember in the the last book, Dead and Gone, there was this question:

Niall told Sookie "the vampire loves you."

Sookie's question was "who's that vampire: Bill or Eric?"
I think the answer is now obvious (see book cover) : Book 10 is about Eric and Sookie. I love Eric okay, but i love Bill more! Urrghhh!!

Can't wait for May!!

Next books to buy :

Spirit Bound VA Book 5 and Succubus Shadows G. Kincaid Book 4... yipeeeeeee!

Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Book 9 of the Sookie Stackhouse Series

For Sookie Stackhouse, the day to day activities of the vampire and were communities in and around Bon Temps, Louisiana, are of vital interest, She’s blood-bound to the leader of the vamps, a friend to the local were pack, works for a man who is shifter, and has a brother who is a were-panther…

But for most of the humans in Bon Temps, the vamps are mysterious seductive creatures-and they don’t even know about the weres.

Until now. The weres and shifters have finally decided to follow the lead of the undead and reveal their existence to the ordinary world.

At first it seems to go well. Then the mutilated body of a were-panther is found in the parking lot of the bar where Sookie works. The victim is someone she knows, so she feels compelled to discover who-human or otherwise-did the deed.

But what she doesn’t realize is that there is a far greater danger than the killer threatening Bon Temps. A race of unhuman beings–older, more powerful and far more secretive than vampires or werewolves– is preparing for war. And Sookie will find herself an all-too human pawn in their battle…

http://sookiestackhouse.com

From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Book 8 of the Sookie Stackhouse Series

After the natural disaster of Hurricane Katrina and the manmade explosion at the vampire summit, everyone—human and otherwise—is stressed, including Louisiana cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse, who is trying to cope with the fact that her boyfriend Quinn has gone missing.

It’s clear that things are changing—whether the weres and vamps of her corner of Louisiana like it or not. And Sookie—Friend to the Pack and blood-bonded to Eric Northman, leader of the local vampire community—is caught up in the changes.

In the ensuing battles, Sookie faces danger, death, and once more, betrayal by someone she loves. And when the fur has finished flying and the cold blood finished flowing, her world will be forever altered.

http://sookiestackhouse.com

All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Book 7 of the Sookie Stackhouse Series

Sookie is trying to put past failed relationships behind her and has a new man in her life: the handsome and mysterious shapeshifter Quinn. But in the wake of the devastation from Hurricane Katrina, and with the entire Louisiana supernatural community still reeling, Sookie is summoned by Sophie-Anne Leclerq (the Queen of Louisiana) to accompany her to a historic regional vampire summit.

The summit is a tense situation. The vampire queen of Louisiana is in a precarious position, her power base weakened by hurricane damage to New Orleans. Entire power bases could be gained or lost — the summit is filled with friction and ill will; and when delegates are found brutally murdered, Sookie finds herself in the middle of a conspiracy-ridden power play where the unlikeliest of suspects could be a cold-blooded killer? And there are some vamps who would like to finish what nature started.

Soon, Sookie must decide what side she’ll stand with. And her choice may mean the difference between survival and all-out catastrophe.


http://sookiestackhouse.com

Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Book 6 of the Sookie Stackhouse Series

Telepathic Louisiana barmaid Sookie Stackhouse finds out jaw-dropping information about her first love, 130-something vampire Bill Compton, as well as equally astonishing insights into her own ancestry.

After her only cousin, Hadley, is murdered by one of the undead, Sookie travels to New Orleans to close out the young woman’s apartment and collect her things. The unsavory job gets complicated quickly; Hadley was the “honeybun” of the bisexual vampire Queen of Louisiana, the seemingly ageless bloodsucker Sophie-Anne Leclerq. The queen has recently married another powerful sovereign in an attempt to forge a formidable alliance, and tensions in the supernatural community are running high. But when Sookie and her new love interest, a were-tiger named Quinn, are inexplicably kidnapped, the mind-reading waitress must unravel the mysterious circumstances of her cousin’s murder before she ends up dead as well.

http://sookiestackhouse.com

Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Book 5 of the Sookie Stackhouse Series

The Witch War may be over, but there’s still danger aplenty for the supernatural citizens of Louisiana’s Renard Parish. Vampires and werewolves owe a debt to waitress Sookie Stackhouse, whose telepathic powers helped them triumph over the witches.

Jason’s eyes start to change, she knows he’s about to turn into a were-panther for the first time. But her concern becomes cold fear when a sniper sets his deadly sights on the local changeling population-and Jason’s new panther brethren suspect he may be the shooter. Now, Sookie has until the next full moon to find out who’s behind the attacks, unless the killer decides to find her first.So when bar owner Sam Merlotte is sidelined during a rash of attacks that leaves werefox Heather Kinman dead and werewolf Calvin Norris hospitalized, he sends Sookie to Fangtasia to ask vampire Eric to lend him a bartender. Sam, who’d love for Sookie to be more than just his messenger, doesn’t know that she’s been equally in Eric’s debt since he took the bullet Debbie Pelt aimed at her for ruining her relationship with werewolf Alcide Herveux. Eric doesn’t know either: the shotgun blast erased all memories of his brief but torrid affair with Sookie. But Eric obligingly sends ex-pirate Charles Twining to help Sam and short-order cook Sweetie Des Arts. Since Sookie still has the lightproof room Eric used during his convalescence, Charles stays with her, annoying both Alcide, who wants Sookie as his consort, and Bill Compton, Sookie’s first love.

Luckily for Sookie’s admirers, Charles is on the scene when her house is set afire by Jeff Marriott, whose grudge against Sookie is as mysterious as his origins. Sorting out her suitors leaves Sookie scant time to worry about why she’s become a target.

Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Book 4 of the Sookie Stackhouse Series

Sookie Stackhouse, makes a New Year’s resolution: to not get beaten up by supernatural beings. Yeah, right!Sookie’s life is at a crossroads. Her former boyfriend Bill, a strikingly handsome 137-year old vampire who has arguably been the source of most of her problems, has left for the country on a fact-finding mission for the vampire Queen of Louisiana. For the first time in a long time, Sookie has control of her own life. She duly resolves to stay out of trouble with supernatural beings, but on the way home from work, she sees a naked blond man running down the road. Being the kind-hearted soul that she is, Sookie stops to help. The man turns out to be Eric, a powerful vampire who not only owns Fangtasia, a popular tourist bar in Shreveport, but is also one of the most influential vampires in the region.After taking him home, Sookie quickly realizes that the blond vampire has amnesia. She calls Eric’s trusted subordinates and is stunned by what she hears — the area has been invaded by a coven of shape-shifting witches bent on controlling all supernatural groups! To complicate matters, Sookie’s only brother, Jason, is missing. Can Sookie keep Eric safe and find her brother without breaking her New Year’s resolution? Of course not!

http://sookiestackhouse.com

Club Dead by Charlaine Harris

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Book 3 of the Sookie Stackhouse Series

There’s only one vampire Sookie Stackhouse is involved with (at least voluntarily) and that’s Bill.But recently he has been a little distant.Bill informs Sookie that he has to go somewhere on a top-secret mission for the queen of Louisiana (vampires have a strict territorial hierarchy) and promptly disappears. Later, Sookie is informed by Eric, the charismatic head of the local vampire territory, that someone has kidnapped Bill in Mississippi and that his life may be in grave danger. Sookie also learns that her undead boyfriend was actually summoned by one of his ex-girlfriends, a vicious vampire named Lorena, who was hired to seduce, abduct, and torture Bill to obtain his top-secret information. Eric believes that Russell Edgington, the powerful king of Mississippi, has Bill somewhere on his sprawling compound. Sookie decides to do anything to rescue him.

http://sookiestackhouse.com