5 comments about Sookie Stackhouse 8-copy Boxed Set (Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood).

1. Bought this set for my wife, at the rate she's going, she is most likely going to finish the whole set within a month, so I have to imagine they are good.



2. I was so happy to be able to get all of the first 8 books together. They are wonderful. Charlaine Harris provides you with a funny, intriguing and ever changing story. Her books not only have vampires, werewolves and shape shifters but also fairies. You never know where she is going to take you next.



3. After I finished Twilight I went through a little withdraw and read a couple of books that just weren't that interesting. I was told about the Sookie Stackhouse series through a friend of mine (and my husband because he was tired of hearing me complain about not having a good book) and I love these books. I have read 1-8 now and they are so interesting. Much more "grown-up" then Twilight which I liked a lot. Overall I would totally recommend this to a friend.



4. I started reading this series after Twilight and I must say, this is the adult version of Twilight. I loved the series, with books 1 and 4 being my favorites. Sookie, the main character is so spunky. Overall, I really love all of the characters, and the series is written so well. I can't wait for the new book's release in May, "Dead in the Family".



5. Once you read the first book, you will want to complete all nine books. The last book to The Sookie Stackhouse saga is DEAD AND GONE. I can't wait for my book to come.. Hurry

No comments about Lover Mine: A Novel of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.

5 comments about The Time Traveler's Wife.

1. I couldn't put it down. The writer's style isn't really my typical style, but the story line is excellent and I couldn't keep from wanting to know what happens next.



2. The time traveling itself that the main character does is a unique concept. Instead of a man building a glorious machine that allows him to go anywhere past or future, Henry travels back and forth in his own life as well as his wifes' through no control of his own.
   
   His time travel vanishes him and spits him out at random; the only predictable things being dizziness and headache signal an impending dissapearing act and he always arrives in the nude. In order to survive Henry must learn to lie, cheat, and steal until he goes back to his present.
   
   He meets his wife when she is a child, generally in a field behind her home. It's sweet how she always leaves a special box for him with clothes and brings him food while he helps her with homework, teaches her chess, and tells her of her future/ his present life together.
   
   Towards the end,no spoilers, the story had me so wrapped up I actually cried a bit which is very rare for me. Niffeneggers' writing was so mezmorizing at one point I stayed up two nights in a row reading until dawn (I am a fast reader but you have to factor in chain smoking, wine drinking, and many potty breaks).
   
   I can't wait to read again.



3. Started reading and on day two I am already at 387 pages. CAN'T put it DOWN... I was a little confused by the time changes at the beginning and who exactly was in what time and place.I would have to go back and look at the chapter header again to see the date and the characters ages and when I thought I finally had it clear, the author threw another curve ball-can you be in two places at once?. She does explain rather quickly the particulars of what I wasn't getting though. I still have some more unanswered questions like if Henry is existing in the present while moving through time in the future will the two ever converge and the trip be over? I guess I will see........



4. While I enjoyed the idea(s) behind this book, I certainly did not appreciate reading the poor and questionable language found on many of it's pages. This book was so offensive that I stopped reading it after the first 5 chapters and threw it away. I can not imagine anyone I respect liking this book. I would NEVER recommend it.



5. I did not like this book. I have read books before where I didn't like the main character, but I found the two main characters unbearable. What kind of person sleeps with her best friend's husband and doesn't give it a second thought? A good writer would've given me something to like about these characters, some way that I could relate to them or understand their decisions. Nothing. I never felt that the characters were fully developed. It was an interesting idea, but the characters were way too flat and one-dimensional. It didn't seem realistic at all (and not even because of the time traveling aspect).

5 comments about Black Magic Sanction (Rachel Morgan, Book 8).

1. I think this series is a lot of fun! However if you just stumbled on this book and haven't read the others you will still enjoy it, but you will also be missing a LOT. Much of the character development not to mention the foundation for the plot was done in other/earlier books. So do yourself a favor and start The Hollows/Rachel Morgan series at the beginning!
   
   If you have read the others you will love this one. As usual Kim Harrison's characters make you laugh, and even cry (not telling you why - that would give it away & I don't want to spoil any part of this book for you!) Loved it!
   
   Just a warning - recommendation: read it on the weekend!!! It is really hard to put it down and I was reading till 2 am before I found a place I felt I could stop for the night!



2. Overall the characters are good. Even Al and Pierce who are both a bit annoying for different reasons are well drawn and hopefully we will see more. Trent continues to be ambivalent about Rachel and visa versa although that may be developing? There are a couple competing plots and Nick develops as an even more obvious villain than before (and gets his comeuppance) although Rachel seems to harbor a soft spot for him. Fun conclusion and final scenes.
   
   Overall an Excellent read!
   
   BTW I don't understand why folks confuse reviews with book reports! And even less why they have to blow the plot!



3. This is another great installment to the Rachel Morgan Hollows series. I loved the book start until well, the finish. I am left with a discomforted (almost empty) deja vu feeling. It feels like DWW except replace Nick with Pierce and well, Trent is still Trent. It is well written, as all Kim Harrison's books are. I laughed, I cried and found myself unable to put the book down. But I think after 8 books, you try not to see where you want the book to go and instead see where the authors leads you. For those of us who would like Rachel happy - this book does not fulfill in that category but it is still a great book.



4. I've loved the series. Each installment up to this point I couldn't put down. Unfortunately this one it took me a week to get through. The reason is that the plot was weak. The coven and Nick weren't much of a compelling storyline. Really the hoof pick and Trent were more interesting than much of the rest of the story. Would have liked to have seen that expanded upon more so than the coven.



5. Let me start out by saying that I am a huge fan of this series so this review might sound a little biased! While I enjoyed Harrison's previous book it was definitely not one of my favorites in the series. Black Magic Sanction, however, was everything I look forward to in these books. For me this installment had the perfect mix of both action and drama, with enough down time that the book didn't feel rushed. Rachel is still a little on the morose side of the spectrum, but this has never bothered me. In point of fact, one of the many aspects of the series that I love is that characters are imperfect and do what they can within their situations. The same can be said of Black Magic Sanction, where Rachel is once again forced into an impossible scenario without much hope of doing things the way she would like to. Al is a bigger player in this book as well which is always enjoyable. His dialogue never fails to make me laugh, and his penchant for chaos always keeps the plot interesting. Some of the scenes are a little predictable, but not enough to where it takes away from the overall enjoyment of the book. On the contrary, Black Magic Sanction has several twists that I had not seen coming at all. The ending is fantastically written and creates a foreboding that left me anxious for the next. Long time fans of the series who were let down by the last book should definitely give this one a chance! You won't be disappointed.

No comments about Changes (Dresden Files, Book 12).

5 comments about Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games).

1. Review in 75 Words or Less: Intense, nail bitting, thought provoking, the list could go on and on. Catching Fire begins shortly after The Hunger Games. Katniss has found herself basically between a rock and a hard place... both politically and romantically. Collins begins the novel slowly, luring the reader in until they are so captivated that there is no escape until the last page. I can only now count down the days till Mockingjay. It is going to be epic!
   
   Final Verdict: Catching Fire lived up to all my expectations and more. This series has quickly become one of my favorites of all time. Everything about this novel and its series is captivating. I can't wait to learn more about this world and its characters.



2. A well-written follow-up to The Hunger Games. Just as exciting, if a little slower to get into. We find that, despite our hope from the ending of The Hunger Games, very little has changed for Katniss. She has new scenery, but the same problems. She no longer has the things she enjoyed, such as hunting in the woods with Gale, who has not quite forgiven her affection for Peeta. And she learns that all she feared is true: the Capital is angry with her and she must do the impossible and make it right.
   
   These books really are very good. They are engaging, exciting, and horrifying. The characters continue to be developed in manner consistent with the first book. I found myself physically reacting to deaths and unexpected funny events. I felt involved and I cannot wait until book 3 in August.



3. *** DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW UNLESS YOU'VE ALREADY READ The Hunger Games. ***
   
   How could things get any worse or any more tense after Katniss and Peeta won the Hunger games? Both of them are alive, and they made it home. But Kat has to deal with Gale, her (male) best friend and hunting partner who is confused about their relationship. The whole nation saw the televised kiss that Kat gave Peeta, and their love (even if it was staged for the cameras) kept Kat alive. If that were the only problem, we'd have a slight Edward Cullen/Jacob Black situation on our hands, and the book would be a disappointment. Good, but not great. (Yet, who would be Edward and who would be Jacob?)
   
   But the bland and menacing President visits Kat and with blood on his breath (yes, actual blood, ugh...) he commands her to quell any possible uprisings in other districts and show allegiance to the Capitol. Apparently, by threatening to eat the berries, Kat was defying the Capitol and giving people hope and defiance for the first time in years. Kat's mockingjay pin, her standard, has become an underground symbol of the resistance. If, by her words and deeds, she cannot manage to crush any uprisings, her family, and Peeta's and Gale's, will be killed.
   
   Fatal ultimatum for both parties. Kat immediately plans to run away, taking everybody with her. But she can't take the whole village, and she owes almost everybody in the village for sending packages to keep her alive during the Hunger Games. She realizes the futility of running away and instead just plans to be a sweet, girlish airhead during the required Victory Tour, as she and Peeta tour all the districts. Only in Rue's district does she see a few minor signs of rebellion and the brutal way the detractors are punished. And then rumors that a demolished District 13 might still be functioning add only more adrenaline and worry to the story.
   
   But then the Capitol plans something more sinister - two winners from each district must compete in the Quarter Quell, with only one ultimate winner, again. Having another Hunger Game, only with more contestants seemed like an author cop-out, but at the same time, Collins wrote about them so well, I knew that I would enjoy them with shock and horror. Kat and Peeta each compete against 2 competitors from 11 other districts, again with only one surviving winner. But this time, Kat has one mission - Keep Peeta Alive.
   
   Kat's so curmudgeonly and so grumpy, with a fierce love that barely shines through her rough and practical ways. As she's about to enter the arena for what she believes is the last time, "My prep team. My foolish, shallow, affectionate pets, with their obsessions with feathers and parties, nearly break my heart with their goodbye. It's certain from Venia's last words that we all know I won't be returning. Does the whole world know it? I wonder. I look at Cinna. He knows, certainly. But as he promised, there's no danger of tears from him."
   
   Satisfying, stomach-turning, surprising, Catching Fire does not disappoint. And I can't wait for Book Three - Mockingjay.



4. I'm not going to argue that this is great literature or even the most original book I've ever read. But its a quick, engaging and fun read even if its pure bubblegum. I also think I enjoyed this book more than The Hunger Games.



5. Once again I am amazed and in awe of the depth and magnitude of Collin's imagination. It's nothing to create a fantasy world that takes us away and makes us wish for a bit of the miraculous in our everyday lives but it's quite another to conjure up a vivid, vibrant world so detailed that it becomes almost tangible and then make sure you never ever want to go there.
   
   In this sequel to The Hunger Games we are once again the spectators- the downtrodden hopeless plebs of the Districts and the spoiled, sadistic privileged people of the Capitol. Only this time, instead of being sold on a victor by means of carefully timed and planned marketing and strategizing, we our watching Katniss and Peeta, our victors- the ones we chose, the ones we wanted to win. When a tribute is victorious in the Hunger Games, and survives the grueling ordeal of a televised, free-for-all murderous battle in which children from each District slaughter each other in an effort to stay alive he or she is sent home to live in comfort and luxury for the rest of his or her life. Until last year, the 74th annual hunger games, there has traditionally been only one victor. But when Katniss and Peeta, the seemingly star-crossed lovers from District 12, in an act of defiance against the very game they're forced to play, threaten a double suicide, the nation of Panem demands a last minute rule change that allows both tributes from a District to win. Now Katniss and Peeta reign as the nations sweethearts, the boy and girl who survived the game due only to their love for each other. To the brats in the Capitol they are the latest fad, and to the withered people of the Districts, their manipulation of the Games is the stuff that can spark rebellion.
   
   The system of government in place in the nation of Panem and the Hunger Games themselves, are all meant to be reminders to the people of the District that they are at the mercy of their government, and at any moment they can crush them. In a place where such a constant show of force and brutality is needed to dim the people's rebellious spark, would Katniss really be left alone to live out her life in the comfort her new title brings? Or will the nation of Panem place new demands on their hero? The government demands that the people's hero help quell the threat of rebellion. The citizens demand that their hero, the girl on fire, set the nation ablaze.
   
   Oh wow. I just loved it. Best cliff hanger in a book, hands down. I love that Collins is letting her character explore various different types of love. I know a lot of people are unhappy with the Peeta/Gale struggle but I think what the author is showing is very valuable. Katniss is a teenage girl who is learning that one love is totally different from another. That she can love Peeta the way she does and yet feel a romantic love for another. I don't feel that she's written a love triangle at all. And oh I love Peeta! All of the big surprises in this story came from him!
   
   You must read this and then join me in pining for the third book.

5 comments about The Hunger Games.

1. Hate the premise but found it captivating. Good character development and descriptions. Looking forward to the rest of the series.



2. THE HUNGER GAMES is a fantastic, breathless and somewhat brutal read that once you start you simply can't put down again. Initially I had no idea what this book was about or what to expect in terms of YA writing, it had just been recommended to me by so many people and had such a buzz surrounding it that I had to find out for myself why. Well let me say I was not disappointed and have now joined the legions of Suzanne Collins fans in awaiting her next instalment. Written along the lines of Stephen King's THE LONG WALK or Orwell's 1984 (I may be aging myself here) this story still feels very original and sucked me in completely with its modern day Survivor-esque retelling. The Hunger Games is the ultimate in reality TV, suspense, romance, scripted realism and survival that you shouldn't miss.
   
   Set in a post apocalyptic future (although we frustratingly never learn the whys, how's or even when of this future.) This new communist-type America known as Panem has been divided into a Capital and its 12 districts. We follow 16 year old Katniss as she struggles to keep her starving family alive, hunting and gathering with her best friend Gale. Unbeknownst to her these are valuable skills as the annual hunger games are about to begin. Each year these games require two children from each district who are chosen based on a lottery system for compulsory participation. These televised games are then broadcast throughout Panem (with mandatory viewing) as the 24 contestants fight each other to the death, leaving just one victor at its violent conclusion. It's kind of like survivor but instead of being voted off you have to kill your competitors. When Katniss's younger sister is chosen as the female contestant from their district Katniss volunteers to take her place. Then together with Peeta the other lottery winner they travel to the capital and begin preparations for the opening ceremonies and ultimately their death in The Hunger Games.
   
   Oddly this has been written without paragraph breaks and I have to admit the first part of it dragged for me, as Katniss is groomed, clothed, and schooled by her entourage within the capital. However as soon as the games begin, lookout! By this point in the story you have become attached to several key characters and its then that you realize things can't end well as there will be only one winner. Over a period of about 2 weeks and against overwhelming odds we watch 24 victims dwindle as they struggle to survive. Simultaneously avoiding and hunting each other they form alliances, face hunger and mind numbing thirst, mutant animal attacks, friendship, love and ultimately a distrust of everyone as Big Brother raises the stakes to keep the audience interested.
   
   This is an exciting book that will keep you up late into the night and resonate with you long after you've finished. Cheers!



3. Got it fast, wrapped great. Appreciate the good deal. And loved loved loved the book. Wow.



4. From the ruins of what was once North America, emerges the nation of Panem, a cruel, domineering nation who's rule reaches from its rich, lush Capitol to the twelve downtrodden, emaciated districts it controls. Once the districts had the vitality and drive to rebel against the nation, and they were defeated. As a reminder of who holds the power, the capitol rations the amount of food that the general population can receive, keeping the people broken and starving. In addition, so that they never forget, it is mandated that once a year each of the twelve districts will conduct a reaping day, in which a lottery chooses the name of one boy and one girl. The chosen pair will journey to the capitol and take part in an event that captures the attention of the entire nation, the Hunger Games. Within an arena, a small world created just for the Games, the players from each district must compete against each other to become the winner of the Hunger Games, an accomplishment that means honor, recognition, fame and most importantly, food and comfort for the rest of their lives. Only one player can win, and to win, all the other players must die. From the moment the games begin they are in danger, everything can be a weapon, and not just the players, but the arena itself, is thirsty for death.
   
   You don't just read this book, you take part in it. I was amazed, once I finished the book, to discover where I fit into the story. All this time she is speaking of the viewers- they are caught up in the production, the way the Gamemasters want them to be. People who would never cheer for a death find themselves hoping for the death of a child who is made to seem like the "bad guy". They are rooting for a child to defeat and murder her opponents. You want Katniss to do more than survive, you want her to best the other players in anyway necessary and you watch with a sick fascination as she does so.
   
   And as I read this book, I wanted these things, just as the Gamemasters meant me to. I feel the emotions that I'm set up to feel and I want the story they are feeding me to go just as it is. I am the viewer. I can try to console myself by saying "Well we all want what's best for Katniss, what will keep her alive" but that's a lie, I want all this to happen to Katniss.
   
   The author has remarkable insight into the darker parts of human nature and how we all respond to the train-wreck phenomenon and can't help but stare at what we're not suppose to. We can all be easily drawn in and subdued with the promise of a story of star-crossed love. As the little guys we feel the hunger and injustice of the districts but we all want the life of excess that exists within the Capitol. I kept looking for holes in this logic, for plot dips and changes that would sway the writer from the focus of her story. A rather pessimistic view to take while reading a book that I COULD NOT GET ENOUGH OF but usually when something is too good to be true someone drops the ball, and the story. Not even a hiccup. It was seamless.
   
   Well played Ms. Collins.



5. I was completely and utterly wrapped up in the world of the hunger games. A fabulous book, not just for teens, but for adults too. Amazingly well written, and intricate plot, I couldn't put it down.

5 comments about Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

1. Predictable and not well written. This appears pretty apparent early on, but the book was an easy read so I finished it anyway.
   
   Everyone knows Lincoln experienced a lot of setbacks in his life (the death of his mother, sister, first love and two children; defeat in the Senate), what Grahame-Smith does is basically attribute all of this to vampires, usually in pretty obvious, out-of-thin-air ways.
   
   "The doctor said Abe's mother died of milk sickness, but Abe knew the truth... it was a vampire."
   
   For this reason the book isn't really like Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code or Angels and Demons; those books were more exciting and not as predictable
   
   The novel is historically accurate (except for the Vampires), but that doesn't do much to endear it. I don't think it'd be that hard to write a similar book, just take the biography of a reasonably interesting person, attribute all their problems and bad luck in life to Vampires, and you're done! It doesn't even have to be that well written. Despite the historical accuracy of major events, Lincoln comes off as a pretty thin character, someone who just hates Vampires because they've caused him a lot of pain.
   
   My advice would be to stick with the truth on this one; Doris Kearns-Goodwin's Team of Rivals is an infinitely better, although more challenging, read.



2. I didn't read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies because it seemed kind of gimmicky (not necessarily a terrible thing, but not an awesome thing in a book, either), but mostly because I loathe Jane Austen. Yes, I admit it: I am a Jane Austen loather. You can go ahead and take away my girl credentials now (I really wasn't using them, anyway). I like my husband's take on Jane Austen, "They're books where a couple of really rich people like each other, play hard to get, finally marry and own a third of Europe." Heh.
   
   Anyway, I like vampires and I like Abraham Lincoln so I figured I'd try this one out. I wish I had liked it, but I really really didn't. Not even a little bit.
   
   Firstly, I think the elements of a mashup should offer a new way to look at each other. For instance, playing The Dark Side of the Moon over the top of The Wizard of Oz is very very cool, but it also makes you look at elements of each in a new way - that's part of the coolness, I think. I'm sorry to say that being a vampire hunter doesn't bring anything useful to my view of Abraham Lincoln nor vice versa. The two things neither complement each other nor utterly destroy each other. Added to that the notion of vampires being behind slavery and the Civil War and I found the whole thing trivializing. The thing that makes slavery horrific is that it's something that people do to each other - we don't need monsters for it.
   
   I'd like to say that the author at least managed a creative play on the Doris Kearns Goodwin style of political biography, but I can't. All told, this wasn't entertaining and wasn't enlightening and mostly just sucked.



3. This just works. Seth Smith found an uncommon thread running through Lincoln's narrative and just went nuts with it. It doesn't seem that out of place. This is like fanfiction for grownups written by a pro with just the right sense of timing. This could have gotten stupid, fast. It doesn't. Instead we get this Tolkenesque epic of the never happened life of our 16th President.
   
   There's always been an element of suspended disbelief around Lincoln. He is a mythic character; Seth builds on that. Lincoln has had so very many biographies that hit on so many obscure notes that it just makes sense that there was this hidden drama going on and no one ever suspected it. Like if you are going to turn a person into a mythic hero, don't sell it short. Lincoln didn't just eliminate slavery, he saved us all from servitude to an undead evil so great no one even knew it existed. Great stuff!



4. I was a bit skeptical at first, but this book, "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," seemed to take two of my favorite subjects to read (history and vampires) on and place them into one book. I was not disappointed. This is the first time that I can truly say that I could not put a book down. It was fun to read and even better than that; it let my imagination run wild. I am now going to have to try some of Seth Grahame-Smith other books, which I admit do not seem to "tickle my fancy" but if written in the same way with the same zeal - I will enjoy them.



5. I had high hopes for this book which turned out to be just awful. If you want to see how to combine the high charged, dynamic elements of Abe Lincoln's life and vampires and produce BORING then read this book. No attachment to the characters or their asperations. No excitement. No humor. Nothing.

5 comments about Breaking Dawn (The Twilight Saga, Book 4).

1. could not put it down. 2nd only to the first book of the series.



2. I just want to say that I love this book. Contrary to some other people's opinions I like the fact the Bella and Edward has a baby together. Some people think that Meyer contradicted the story because vampires are not supposed to be able to have babies; however, Bella is not yet a vampire when she conceives. In the previous books it only talks about two vampires not being able to conceive not a vampire and a human.
   
   I don't want to spoil the story just incase someone is reading this review that has not read this book yet; therefore, all I am going to say is that I love the Happily Ever After of the book. I wouldn't change a thing.
   
   On another note: I hope the Meyer writes another book about the werewolves and the Cullen's bringing down the Volturi.
   
   I can't wait to see the movie!!!!!!!



3. I bought this as a gift and they loved the book and I love how easy it was to get.



4. The entire series is all a big fantasy and every single book in it has enormous flaws but that aside, if you take it as it is meant to be taken, it's fun. This book ties everything up and many of those ties end up feeling forced, especially with Jacob.
   
   Aspects of the story are troubling, particularly the near pedophile werewolves which Stephanie Meyer tries very hard to justify with a term called "Imprinting" which, strangely enough reads a great deal like the justifications NAMBLA gives (i.e. genetic predisposition). As they never actually have sex with children, just "protect" them, I can't be any more critical than I am on this point. It is very disturbing and really wasn't at all needed in the storyline. I find myself wondering why it was included at all.
   
   Besides that, there is an irony at the end with Bella becoming the protector instead of the protectee. The dialog is as corny in this one as the others, some people enjoy that I suppose, I simply found it repetitive and rather dull.
   
   One thing I ended up liking, which I didn't think I would, was how the book has an entire section from Jacobs point of view, which I thought was rather well done. Unfortunately, it makes this book read more like three books instead of two and like most of the books, the plot doesn't really unfold until you're about 70% of the way through it.
   
   When all is said and done, I did read all 4 books in 3 days because they were fun. Flaws and all. All escapist literature is flawed by it's nature. These books are certainly no exception. If you can take them at face value, be forgiving to the author and open up to a fun, romantic and somewhat silly ride at times, then you will enjoy them.



5. Loved the books. Kids had me start them and I could not put them down. Recommend them to anyone

No comments about Dead in the Family: A Sookie Stackhouse Novel (Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood).