Monday, May 21, 2012

Dead To The World by Charlaine Harris

(Sookie Stackhouse series, book 4)
It’s not every day that you come across a naked man on the side of the road. That’s why cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse doesn’t just drive on by. Turns out the poor thing hasn’t a clue who he is, but Sookie does. It’s Eric the vampire – but now he’s a kinder, gentler Eric. And a scared Eric, because whoever took his memory now wants his life. Sookie’s investigation into who and why leads straight into a dangerous battle among witches, vampires, and werewolves. But a greater danger could be to Sookie’s heart – because this version of Eric is very difficult to resist…

WOW! There is so much going on in the fourth book of the series that I’m not even sure where to start! Okay, here it goes. At the very beginning of the book Bill informs Sookie that he will be going to Peru to collect information for the vampire Queen of Louisiana. I have to admit, I was kind of glad that he would be out of the picture for a while. I know, I know…I was such an advocate for Team Bill during the first two books, but I have to say I’m almost positive I’ve been swayed to a different team. You’ll find out what team I’ve parked myself on for now very soon.

I knew there would be a new or reignited love interest for Sookie since Bill wasn’t going to be around at all, and I couldn’t have been happier with the storyline. As Sookie is driving home from work one night, she sees a naked man running alongside the road. She can’t just drive by, so she stops and attempts to help the man. He has no idea who he is, where he is, nothing. Luckily, Sookie knows exactly who he is. It’s Eric, the vampire Sheriff of Area 5. A coven of witches have completely erased his memory; he doesn’t remember anything about himself and his domineering, controlling personality has been washed away as well. He is a scared, helpless, dependent Eric. He reveals his feelings for Sookie and I have to admit…Eric with amnesia is HOT! I liked his old personality, but there’s just something about him being so vulnerable and raw that makes him so damn delicious. With Eric staying at her house and Bill out of the country, Sookie begins to think about exploring her feelings for Eric, mentally and physically. Y-E-S! It’s about damn time! Sookie finds herself falling hard for Eric, but in the back of her mind she keeps wondering just how long it will be before he starts to piece back together his memories and turn back into the old Eric. Can you guess what team I’m on now? :)

The witches who erased Eric’s memory and now want him dead are no ordinary witches. This is a coven of witches who also happen to be shapeshifters and vampire blood addicts. Needless to say, they’re crazy powerful and extremely scary for the vampires, werewolves, and humans in the Louisiana area. As Sookie delves deeper into finding out why the witches want Eric’s life, a fatal battle occurs between Sookie, the witches, vampires, and werewolves that results in lives lost from all sides of the war. After the battle, Sookie is confronted by Alcide’s ex, Debbie, who is also a Were and they have a blood-filled, faceoff in Sookie’s kitchen. I have hated Debbie from the very beginning, and I just can’t imagine sweet Alcide ever being with such an awful person like her. Yuck.

In one final twist, Sookie’s brother Jason has come up missing. Oh boy…whatever is going to come of Jason?? As I stated in my review of Dead Until Dark, I watched the first season of True Blood before reading this series and I fell in love with Jason. He is just gorgeous and I think that’s why I’ve rooted so hard for Jason throughout the series, even though his role is minimized in the books as opposed to the show. As I was reading the book for the first time, I had an idea of what would happen to him and it’s not exactly what I had in mind. FYI: If you watch True Blood, this particular storyline with Jason in the show DOES NOT follow the storyline exactly as in the books. I don’t want to give away the spoiler for his situation, because it’s a big one! I just felt so bad for him, and the mental picture I got in my mind of what he looked like during this time period just made me so sad. Poor Jason.

Whew. I told you there was a lot going on in this book, and not only that, but you’ll be introduced to a whole slew of new characters. (I told you in my review of the third book to brace yourself for a crazy amount of new characters.) Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining but at times it can get slightly confusing with this many characters and storylines to keep up with. That being said, I loved this book! The relationship between Eric and Sookie was so adorable and yet so sexy. Is Bill out of the picture now? Will Sookie still want Eric if he regains his memory…or better yet, will he still want Sookie? What happened to Jason? There are a ton of questions to be answered, so go out and sink your teeth into the fifth book, Dead As A Doornail!  



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