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3.33 AVERAGE
3.33 AVERAGE
SPOILERS AHEAD
The book felt rushed to me, but maybe that's because after reading the Sookie Stackhouse novels for going on 7 years now I rushed through it.
The action and suspense... just weren't there. Sookie was more like the Sookie from the beginning of the series (less bad-ass, not the one doing the butt kicking) so in that way I feel like her character regressed a bit.
I didn't love it. But... At the same time it's the ending that Sookie deserved. And as someone who has been laughing and crying with Sookie for years... I can see this being the ending that makes sense. She ended up with someone that can share the sunshine with her, she ended up with someone that can give her the children she wants and deserves. Through the whole book I wondered if she would maybe end up with Alcide, or Quinn, but really the whole way through Sam was the obvious choice. I was a bit disappointed at how quickly she hopped from Eric to Sam (that rushing thing I felt).
I think whenever we read the final book in a series we go in with such huge expectations, it's almost unfair to the author because whatever they write it can never be enough for the fans who have fallen in love with their worlds and their characters. For now I'll give the book a solid 3 stars.
The book felt rushed to me, but maybe that's because after reading the Sookie Stackhouse novels for going on 7 years now I rushed through it.
The action and suspense... just weren't there. Sookie was more like the Sookie from the beginning of the series (less bad-ass, not the one doing the butt kicking) so in that way I feel like her character regressed a bit.
I didn't love it. But... At the same time it's the ending that Sookie deserved. And as someone who has been laughing and crying with Sookie for years... I can see this being the ending that makes sense. She ended up with someone that can share the sunshine with her, she ended up with someone that can give her the children she wants and deserves. Through the whole book I wondered if she would maybe end up with Alcide, or Quinn, but really the whole way through Sam was the obvious choice. I was a bit disappointed at how quickly she hopped from Eric to Sam (that rushing thing I felt).
I think whenever we read the final book in a series we go in with such huge expectations, it's almost unfair to the author because whatever they write it can never be enough for the fans who have fallen in love with their worlds and their characters. For now I'll give the book a solid 3 stars.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So this series ends not with a bang but with a "meh". Unlike others I wasn't upset by who Sookie ended up with. I thought it had been hinted at throughout the series and Eric's been a total jerk for the past couple of books . In fact for the first 200 pages or so I thought this was a return to the feel of the early books and I was enjoying it. But then the Sookie of the more recent books showed her ugly face. I'm not sure when it happened, when she turned so judgmental, self centered and insufferable but at one point my only hope for a satisfying ending was that someone beat her to death with a shovel.
Of course, all the mens still love her. And if they aren't at her beck and call she spends pages wondering what's wrong with them. Of course, they've been bespelled or under some sort of arrangement where they can't help. Because dear lord, why else would they not drop everything to help Sookie!
But she thinks so unkindly about most of her female friends,even those who drop everything and run to her aid. But of course, the wimmins are jes jellus. At one point Sookie is so amazed that her boobs aren't the center of attention she actually has a conversation with them. As a rather well endowed woman myself, I can tell you, I've never talked to them because I thought they were being upstaged.
By the time other people are critically injured in her defense or in the course of investigating who is threatening her and Sookie is more concerned about the fact that she can't fold her laundry or pour a glass of iced tea (apparently she's too idiotic to figure out how to put a glass on the table and then get the pitcher out so she can do it one handed) I had to keep putting the book down. Yes, she got shot in the arm and I'm quite certain that that hurts. But another person got shot in a more critical place and needed to be transferred to a larger hospital and Sookie is more concerned about her lack of iced tea than his health. After that someone else gets beaten badly trying to find stuff out for her and her first thought is about where she can stash him that he won't bug her. When she tells him where she's putting him his first reaction is that he isn't safe there. She quickly just dismisses that "eh, you'll be fine". Wow, the caring, I can feel it.
I'm normally not this hard on a heroine from a book. I think women have enough pressure on how to behave and I enjoy many a strong heroine. But Sookie isn't strong, at some point she became a whiny, self centered, judgmental ass more concerned about how to clean the blood in her house than her friends. So two stars instead of one because I thought we had the old likable Sookie back in the beginning so would have given that part 3. The end gets one since I had to keep putting it down. By the time I was wishing that the "bad guys" would torture and kill Sookie I knew that I'd probably never read another even if this wasn't the last.
Of course, all the mens still love her. And if they aren't at her beck and call she spends pages wondering what's wrong with them. Of course, they've been bespelled or under some sort of arrangement where they can't help. Because dear lord, why else would they not drop everything to help Sookie!
But she thinks so unkindly about most of her female friends,even those who drop everything and run to her aid. But of course, the wimmins are jes jellus. At one point Sookie is so amazed that her boobs aren't the center of attention she actually has a conversation with them. As a rather well endowed woman myself, I can tell you, I've never talked to them because I thought they were being upstaged.
By the time other people are critically injured in her defense or in the course of investigating who is threatening her and Sookie is more concerned about the fact that she can't fold her laundry or pour a glass of iced tea (apparently she's too idiotic to figure out how to put a glass on the table and then get the pitcher out so she can do it one handed) I had to keep putting the book down. Yes, she got shot in the arm and I'm quite certain that that hurts. But another person got shot in a more critical place and needed to be transferred to a larger hospital and Sookie is more concerned about her lack of iced tea than his health. After that someone else gets beaten badly trying to find stuff out for her and her first thought is about where she can stash him that he won't bug her. When she tells him where she's putting him his first reaction is that he isn't safe there. She quickly just dismisses that "eh, you'll be fine". Wow, the caring, I can feel it.
I'm normally not this hard on a heroine from a book. I think women have enough pressure on how to behave and I enjoy many a strong heroine. But Sookie isn't strong, at some point she became a whiny, self centered, judgmental ass more concerned about how to clean the blood in her house than her friends. So two stars instead of one because I thought we had the old likable Sookie back in the beginning so would have given that part 3. The end gets one since I had to keep putting it down. By the time I was wishing that the "bad guys" would torture and kill Sookie I knew that I'd probably never read another even if this wasn't the last.
I'm torn. The mystery of who Sookie will end up with has been solved and it was exactly the person I was hoping for. Eric, Bill - who cares? Give me Sam any day of the week. When given a choice, I will pick a shifter over a vampire any day of the week. Vampires are just too dang cold.
The book just felt anti-climatic. Eric was a jerk. People tried to kill Sookie. Blah blah blah. In the meantime, Sookie put lotion on her legs and drank a glass of water and sat on the couch and showered and looked out the window and did every other mundane thing regular people do (but don't usually want to read about.)
And I didn't get Sookie's obsession with other characters looks. I was just reading this book to see how the series ended. I really don't care two figs if a mother of baby twins has slightly overgrown eyebrows. And I certainly don't want to read about it.
Boo! This series started out so promising and ended in such a lame way.
The book just felt anti-climatic. Eric was a jerk. People tried to kill Sookie. Blah blah blah. In the meantime, Sookie put lotion on her legs and drank a glass of water and sat on the couch and showered and looked out the window and did every other mundane thing regular people do (but don't usually want to read about.)
And I didn't get Sookie's obsession with other characters looks. I was just reading this book to see how the series ended. I really don't care two figs if a mother of baby twins has slightly overgrown eyebrows. And I certainly don't want to read about it.
Boo! This series started out so promising and ended in such a lame way.
It didn't really feel like a 'wrap up' of the Sookie saga. Another drama, another mystery, someone wants to kill her..again. Big surprise. It was nice that some old characters were brought back and I guess she wrapped up loose ends to some extent. And, we kinda know how Sookie will go on her merry way.... still -- I guess I wanted something bigger. All in all, it was just alright.
adventurous
dark
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Okay, first of all I'll admit that 5 stars is being generous. And I'll admit part of that is to counter the ratings from people giving low scores because they didn't get the ending they wanted. (And no, I am NOT saying that everyone rating this book 1 star is doing so because of that.)
Anyway, things I liked:
-Sookie not becoming a vampire.
-Sookie ending up with Sam. Though I kind of wanted her to end up with Bill, I liked Sam too. I also don't think this was surprising especially if you look back at their relationship over the course of the books.
-Most of the characters, other than the ones who wanted kill Sookie, had happy endings, or at least neutral ones. (I suppose the exception there might be Eric, depending on how voluntary you think his marriage to Freyda was.)
-The reappearance of characters like Barry, Bob and Amelia. While I didn't love any of them in the sense that I needed them in the book, it was still really nice to see them again.
-I liked how a lot of the people of Bon Temps/regulars in the series gathered around and supported Sookie when she was arrested. It was nice how many people loved or at least accepted her.
I'm sure there will be more things that I'll think of later.
And in the interest of fairness, things I didn't like:
-Not enough Pam. Yes, she was around, but not enough. Though I'll admit this is me being biased since she was my favorite character in the series.
-Bubba not making an appearance at all. When he was first introduced way back in Dead Until Dark, I kind of rolled my eyes and was like, really? But after a while I came to like the former King.
-My least trivial complaint, which is more a series complaint than just about this book: Exactly how many people wanted Sookie dead? It almost became a cliche after a while, all the attempts on her life. And it would have been nice if there had been more supes who didn't want to a)have sex with her, b)kill her, or c)both. (I'll just say that yes, I realize there were plenty that didn't fall into that category. But there were quite a few who did, too.)
Again, I'm sure I'll think of more things later.
Overall, I liked this book and this series. None of the things I disliked were things I really cared about, at least not enough to make a huge negative impact. And maybe I have a different perspective since I've read these books over the course of the last couple months instead of the last 13 years, but I really enjoyed getting to know all the characters and I'm actually going to miss most of them.
EDIT: I still really like this book (and the series, and of course I've since thought of a LOT more to say), but I've decided to change my rating to 4 stars because I want it to be my reaction to the book itself, not my reaction to the other reviews.
Anyway, things I liked:
-Sookie not becoming a vampire.
-Sookie ending up with Sam. Though I kind of wanted her to end up with Bill, I liked Sam too. I also don't think this was surprising especially if you look back at their relationship over the course of the books.
-Most of the characters, other than the ones who wanted kill Sookie, had happy endings, or at least neutral ones. (I suppose the exception there might be Eric, depending on how voluntary you think his marriage to Freyda was.)
-The reappearance of characters like Barry, Bob and Amelia. While I didn't love any of them in the sense that I needed them in the book, it was still really nice to see them again.
-I liked how a lot of the people of Bon Temps/regulars in the series gathered around and supported Sookie when she was arrested. It was nice how many people loved or at least accepted her.
I'm sure there will be more things that I'll think of later.
And in the interest of fairness, things I didn't like:
-Not enough Pam. Yes, she was around, but not enough. Though I'll admit this is me being biased since she was my favorite character in the series.
-Bubba not making an appearance at all. When he was first introduced way back in Dead Until Dark, I kind of rolled my eyes and was like, really? But after a while I came to like the former King.
-My least trivial complaint, which is more a series complaint than just about this book: Exactly how many people wanted Sookie dead? It almost became a cliche after a while, all the attempts on her life. And it would have been nice if there had been more supes who didn't want to a)have sex with her, b)kill her, or c)both. (I'll just say that yes, I realize there were plenty that didn't fall into that category. But there were quite a few who did, too.)
Again, I'm sure I'll think of more things later.
Overall, I liked this book and this series. None of the things I disliked were things I really cared about, at least not enough to make a huge negative impact. And maybe I have a different perspective since I've read these books over the course of the last couple months instead of the last 13 years, but I really enjoyed getting to know all the characters and I'm actually going to miss most of them.
EDIT: I still really like this book (and the series, and of course I've since thought of a LOT more to say), but I've decided to change my rating to 4 stars because I want it to be my reaction to the book itself, not my reaction to the other reviews.
The final Sookie book! My expectations for Dead Ever After were so low, that I actually quite enjoyed it. I didn't like how Eric was portrayed, and the mystery was very far-fetched. Overall the last page didn't leave me with bitterness, but rather with sweet melancholy.