Dead Until Dark (Sookie Stackhouse , #1)

 
Author: Charlaine Harris
Series: Sookie Stackhouse Series
Pages: 291
Challenge: Goodreads Challenge 2014, 2014 Book Bingo Challenge
Genre: Paranormal
Acquired: Library
Rating: ★★★★

*****

Goodreads Summary:

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 hangs 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...

  *****

 My Thoughts:

First off...why did I not pick up this series sooner! I really enjoyed it from start to finish!
Dead Until Dark follows the young Sookie Stackhouse and her quirky talent of having the ability to read minds as well as her interesting life with the mysterious Bill the vampire now in it.

At first I saw Sookie as a very weak female with many insecurities and an interesting "gift", but as the story went on she grew into herself and became a stronger individual that was more confident and not handicapped by her ability to read minds. I slowly warmed up to her character and connected more with her as the story continued. I really liked that the issues she faced were more "realistic" in a sense and not as otherworldly or huge as in the event of having to save the world and all of humanity by herself. Her issues were believable and suited the story nicely which made me like her character and personality even more.

I also really liked Bill the vampire and his paranomal- vampire-like- nature... meaning that I really liked that he was unlike the newer versions of vampires. He didn't sparkle in the sunlight, nor could he walk in the day time, and he also was not the "all powerful vampire" that had zero weaknesses or vulnerabilities. I liked that he had weaknesses and I felt that made him interesting and all the more mysterious. Another interesting character was a more minor character named Sam, Sookie's boss from work. I have a feeling that he will become more important to the storyline in the later books especially due to the special circumstances that happened later in the book with his own secrets.

The story was told in Sookie's point of view and I think that it suited the book not being aware of every character's exact emotions and feelings. And to the problems faced in the book, again, I liked that they were believable and specific to Sookie and her small town.

Sookie grew into herself throught the book and that helped me connect with her character more as she grew more of a backbone. Also with this being only the first book in the series I look forward to more growth and transformation from her in the rest of the books in the series.

With Dead Until Dark, was the storyline and events different that what I expected? Yes.. and no.. I say yes because the author didn't allow Bill the vampire to be the one calling all the shots and running the story with his capabilities and powerfullness. The story was still about Sookie and not her falling head over hills for a "beautiful" vampire. He gave Bill limitations and made him vulnerable in some aspects. She didn't give him some sort of crazy paranormal ability so that he could control all the minds of humans and that I really liked. And I also say no.. because I was not expecting Sookie to go from weak human to defiant and a more confident individual especially in this book. It was a pleasant surprise that made me like her character even more. She had self control and was in control of her life.

One of my favorite scenes was a scene with Eric, the old vampire, when they were trying to figure out who stole from him. I feel like the events that happened in that scene are important in a way and will make a slight difference in her at least for a little while. But I could also just be reading too much into it. One of the things I liked most was the ending scene with Sam, one that I liked least was the scene with Sookie's Grams.

All in all the ending was pretty good. I think it set up the storyline for the next books pretty well and I am definitely excited to continue with the series. I would rate the cover a ★★½ it is not as eye-catching and beautiful as other books but it describes the setting of the book to me in a way. I would recommend this book to vampire and also just paranormal lovers in general. I really liked it! ★★★★

*****

Top Ten Tuesday (TTT, #3)

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's post is:

Top Ten Covers I'd Frame As Pieces of Art

Top Ten: ( in no particular order)

Rebel Belle:The simplicity and beauty of the necklace adds to the contrast between it and the knife on the cover. I love it because with a quick glance it looks like a contemporary novel but once you look closer you see that there is much more to it.



 The Forsaken: I love the complexity of this cover. The author could have easily just put a simple face on the cover but instead took a different route and I really like it.



 The Winner's Curse: I really like that the title is vertical instead of horizontally towards the top. For me it immediately catches my eye as well as the colors, font type, and of course the girl's dress.


*****
What are your favorite covers? Comment and let me know!!

Allegiant (Divergent #3)

 

 Author: Veronica Roth
Series: Divergent Trilogy
Pages: 526
Challenge: Goodreads Challenge 2014, 2014 Book Bingo Challenge
Genre: Sci-Fi, Dystopian
Acquired: Borrowed from friend
Rating: ★★★½

*****

Goodreads Summary:

The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered—fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories.

But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature—and of herself—while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

Told from a riveting dual perspective, Allegiant, by #1 New York Times best-selling author Veronica Roth, brings the Divergent series to a powerful conclusion while revealing the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.

  *****

 My Thoughts:

Allegiant continues the stories of Tris and Four and their journey to understanding and uncovering more about the world that they live in. As they travel outside the fence and observe the differences from the world they came from they meet people that soon shatter everything that they have known about themselves and where they live. Throughout the book, Tris and Four make alliances, enemies, and friendships as they uncover the truths about their world and slowly try to put the pieces together of their own existence.

In the ending of the trilogy, Allegiant is told from both the point of views of Tris and Four. Although this took some time to get used to, I liked seeing into Four's thoughts and having a better understanding of him as a person aside from what Tris saw on the outside. Though I appreciated the different POVs I did at times get confused and have to continually look back to the beginning of the chapter heading to see who's POV I was actually reading. So the POVs were both loved and hated.

Problems with the book? Well the POVs as I said, as well as Four's character. I really needed him to man up and be the tough badass Four that I remembered. In this book I felt that he was incredibly less intimidating, less tough, and altogether a bit soft. Although seeing into his true nature, personality, and personal thoughts was a nice touch at times, I need the Four from Book 1 to be there and he sadly wasn't there for most of the time.

I also a more favorite scene or part to mention would be the whole trying to get into the weapons room scene. It was the most interesting and exciting part of the book and I liked it well enough despite the outcome which I felt could have been avoided but still made for an interesting scene.

Overall the plot was good, although at times I came to find the book a bit boring . I found myself wishing things would hurry on along and get to the point or the next action scene especially during the first half of the book.

The ending of the book didn't surprise me being that I was spoiled from a completely random Youtube video but overall the book as a whole was okay. Despite some of my issues the book was good ending to the series and I plan to read more of Veronica Roth's work as she publishes them. I give it ★★★½ stars and would recommend this series to anyone looking for a sci-fi/dystopian series with a strong female character and a different and exciting plot line that will keep you guessing throughout the entire series.

*****