Summer Reading : Vampire Edition

Summer is a great time to induldge in a bit of brain candy. Easy reading that leaves you warm and fuzzy. For me this is vampire stories. Odd I know, but I'm sure I'm not the only one. This summer I've been leaning more towards shorter faster reads....not large weighty novels that vampire books can sometimes tend to be.

Title: Dead Reckoning (Sookie Stackhouse Series)
Author: Charlaine Harris
Genre: Paranormal, Romance
Source: public library

Of course I had to read this! Sookie and her crazy paranormal world are my current go to brain candy. I won't spend a lot of time on this, but I do have to say I was pleasantly surprised by this one. See, there has been a lot of talk that this will be the last True Blood novel.  Honestly, I'm fine with authors moving on. They can't be expected to write in the same universe forever....it has to get boring! But I've read lots of reviews and spoken with people who bagged on this novel because of the way it ended. I won't discuss it in detail....no spoilers...but I liked how it ended. Ms. Harris wrapped up the series very intelligently. All of their current problems are concluded and all that is left is for them to make a decision. See, this time it's really up to the characters. If they make the right choices.....if Ms. Harris is appropriately inspired....they can come back together and move forward into another book. However, if the characters are content to let their lives settle where they are....then an ending is appropriate. I like this. No loose ends. No what-ifs. Perfect!

Title: Vampires: The Recently Undead
Authors included: Kelley Armstrong, Holly Black, Rachel Caine, Charles De Lint, Charlaine Harris, Tanya Huff, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Nancy Kipatrick, J.A. Konrath, Tanith Lee, Kim Newman, Susan Sizemore, Michael Marshall Smith, Jeanne C. Stein, Carrie Vaughn, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro......and many more.
Genre: fantasy, anthology, short stories, paranormal
Source: Public Library

This is a fantastic anthology! Honestly. I enjoy anthologies in general....they allow me to taste test different authors without having to commit to a full novel. But, I will admit that the stories contained in anthologies are often hit or miss. There is no tell how many will be to your liking.  This anthology worked for me. Not only is it chalk full of authors who I already enjoy....they are offering up new stories (most not set in their most famous worlds) to give the reader a glimpse into something new.   As a bit of summary, most of the short stories in this collection have something to do with the age of the vampires....their longevity.....how they acclimate themselves into different eras, etc. My favorite happens to be one that contains a tale about Doc Holiday. That was a part of history that I had never connected to vampires. It was fun!  Nearly every tale offered something new and interesting, however, there were a few that just didn't work for me....but who knows....maybe they are your flavor?

Great Scots!

Title: A Highlander's  Temptation
Author: Sue-Ellen Welfonder
Genre: Historical Romance
Source: I believe I won this from someone's book blog, but I can't for the life of me remember which blog. If it was you, I apologize!


This was the book I needed. It's currently spring break and as a teacher I enjoy this week off as much as the students do. I'm three days in and have already caught up with a boat load of reading I wanted to do. Afraid of falling behind in my reading schedule again (it's hard to get away from the slow, leisurely pace that is February) I wanted a quick, easy, feel good read. I found it in this novel.


What I liked:
1. I have a hard time enjoying historical romances as a whole. There is a weird line where too much detail is given and I'm turned from the stories to looking up the details to see if they are accurate...or what really happened. This novel only had one such moment....and it was very small. The story was strong and catching enough to keep my attention. The historical details were a well-crafted part of the story. Together there was a great balance that equalled happy brain-candy in my world. (I did look up birlinn just to see what one looked like, though I was able to guess what it was through context clues.) (It's a type of boat incase you didn't know.)

2. Alpha males. I'm a big fan of Highlanders. They just seem to make the best alpha males around. But then that could be due to the fact they almost always seem willing to show that sensitive side to the females....and sometimes other males....in their lives. The alpha in this novel, Darroc MacConacher, may sometimes get tripped up by his weaknesses, but they are also what spurs him on when he needs to go after his girl.

3. Linnet MacKenzie was just given a brief scene or two in this novel as mother of the heroine, Arabella. I want to read more of her tale. She's a strong woman, she's not bowled over by her alpha male husband, she has a touch of magic about her, and she trusts her daughter. While I enjoyed the rest of the story, I was always happy to see Linnet show up in a scene.


What I didn't like
1. There is a strange side story of a ghost who lives in a tower room of MacConacher keep. Throughout the story there are mentions of magics, scrying, old and new gods........all play a part in the tale. I've still not figured out the reason behind the ghost being there. Unless her story is covered in another book, there seems to be no purpose here. The ghost doesn't bring them together or apart. She doesn't seem to have any ability to influence them at all. Other than adding some magic history to the room, she doesn't seem to have a reason to be.

Overall:  I highly recommend it to historical romance readers...and to anyone looking for a bit of romance novel brain-candy.  This novel is the perfect flavor !

**This novel qualifies as part of my TBR challenge list.**

Sookie Stackhouse or Southern Vampires or Brain Candy

I mentioned earlier (see last post) that I'd found a new form of brain candy. I had taken an obsessive jump into the Sookie Stackhouse series. I should have posted this right after that, but Thanksgiving and family took over, so book reviews were slid onto the back burner for  a bit.

Title: Living Dead in Dallas ~ Book 1 of the Southern Vampire series

I read this one quite a while ago. Had a great time with it, loved the light and fluffy tone it had, but couldn't get the others from the library....it was too popular and the wait line was so long I forgot for a while that I wanted them. Book one introduces us to Sookie and her world...the small southern town of Bon Temps. This town is chalk full of interesting characters, some of whom are also paranormals - vampires and shapeshifters. Sookie herself is an outcast for her special mind reading abilities.

Title: Dead Until Dark ~ Book 2 of the Southern Vampire series

This one was a bit different. I had read this one previously, but decided to reread as a review and to get my brain back into thinking about the series as books. You see, somewhere between the time I first read books one and two, I watched the first couple seasons of True Blood. Love it! But wow, talk about chopping up story lines and combining them in new and interesting ways. I spent most of my review time making mental comparisons between the books and the tv series. Book two leads into the key set-up for most of these books. Every story line is going to have a twist. There will be some huge thing that needs to be overcome, and in the process it may twist Sookie's world into a knot. Honestly, I don't remember if the Manead is in this one or if this is the book where Sookie faces off against the Fellowship of the Sun. One and two went so fast they have sort of mushed together in my brain to make one continual story. I still had fun reading it and it definitely got me back into the right mind set for the other books.

Title: Club Dead ~ Book 3 of the Southern Vampire series

Book three leads us into a place we haven't been before with Sookie. Willing romance with a shape shifter. Bill and Sookie are on the outs and through a series of events and requirements a la the vamps Sookie teams up with a werewolf Alcide. He's awesome! Romantic, sweet, honorable, and reliable. I love Alcide! Normally, I'm all for the vampires, but in this one it's Alcide all the way! I really hope there is a way for Alcide to play a large part in the tv series too!

Title: Dead to the World ~ Book 4 of the Southern Vampire series

I'm having a love / hate feeling about this novel. On the love side, this one is all about Eric. He is the vampire, in this series, that does it for me. So much more than Bill. Bill is too broody and posessive.  On the hate side, even though this novel is about Eric it isn't the true Eric. He's under a spell which is causing amnesia. This Eric is sweet and caring, but not the playboy that Eric traditionally is. I'm happy to have an Eric novel, but dislike that it has to happen by amnesia.  Amnesia always just feels like a cop-out to me. It leads to all sorts of dilemmas and arguements along the lines of "Is this Eric's true nature?" or "Does he remember anything that has happened?" and "Will he ever let on if he does?" In all it is frustrating and either a really good way to keep them entangled or it's a really bad way to get them together temporarily.


Overall:  Love this series! There is really no way to compare the book series to the tv series. They are two parts of the same whole...the characters you know and love from the books in a new and wonderful way.  These are quick reads full of fun, paranormals, and just a touch of intrigue. Yummy!

*All novels are by Charlaine Harris, of the paranormal romance genre, and were checked out from the library.*

** I read all four as part of the Sookie Stackhouse challenge.**