Dead Until Dark

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

Published

Mystery; Contemporary

1st in Series

Source: eAudiobook borrowed from library

Summary: Sookie Stackhouse can read minds. But then she meets Vampire Bill, whose mind she cannot read-a refreshing change of pace. They become romantically involved. Soon afterward though, a streak of murders is committed on women who have been with vampires. Can Sookie protect herself and find out the murderer?

Thoughts: I started watching True Blood shortly before the third season debuted. I watched the first season in three days and then started the second and I will watch the third as soon as I finish the second. I was intrigued although I am still not a lover of vampires nor did I care for the language of the show although the sex and violence also seem a bit gratuitous. I wanted to give the books a chance and I was excited to find out that they were a bit lighter than the series. Of course they are very popular so I was excited to see that I could listen to an audiobook instead of waiting for months until my library had a copy come in. I don't usually listen to audiobooks but I thought I would give this one a chance.

I don't think that this is a form I like. I get distracted easily and while I want to read the whole series I think I will have to reread this one because while I caught the major plot points, I missed the little details that make a book. I also stubbornly kept trying to read blogs and even sometimes write posts while listening which meant that I missed what was going on. If you are planning on listening to any audiobooks, do not also plan on reading!

Differences from show: There are many. I prefer the show's backstory for the murderer to the books. I also prefer Jason in the show-he is funnier and Ryan Kwanten is very good-looking. I preferred the book's lighter tone and its lack of swearing, violence, and explicit sex scenes (although there is still some of all of those). I definitely prefer Lafayette in the show but I'm glad they added Tara to help expand the show even though she's not my favorite character (For the record, my favorite character is currently Sarah Newlin although I'm pretty sure she's going to die by the end of season 2).

Voice: While I appreciated the different voices used, which helped me distinguish between characters, I'm not a fan of the speaker. I guess I would prefer Anna Paquin to read it because she is forever my Sookie.

Overall: 3.5/5. Largely for the format; I will try to read this as an actual book and I bet it will get a better rating then.

Shakespeare's Landlord

Shakespeare's Landlord by Charlaine Harris

218 pages

1st in Lily Bard Series

Genre: Mystery; Contemporary; Southern

Summary: Lily Bard cleans in the small town of Shakespeare, content to be a nonentity after a brutal experience in the past. But then she finds a corpse and sets out to discover who the murderer.

Why I Read: I was intrigued by the title and I know Harris's vampire series is popular but I don't really like vampires so I wanted to try a different work by her.

Thoughts: I mostly liked this. Lily was very enjoyable; she works, keeps her head down, and mostly wants to be left alone. But then she finds the body and begins to step out and try to solve it. Unlike other amateur detectives I've seen, she didn't seem to bother the police that much which I liked. I also liked the police officer Claude Friedrich, who was quite sexy although alas she does not seem to notice (I've read summaries of the next books so I know what happens between them.)

Overall: 4 out of 5. Pretty good start. I plan to finish the series at some point.

For people who have read Charlaine Harris, which series do you like best? Lily Bard, Sookie Stackhouse, Aurora Teagarden, or Harper Connelly?