Review: Club Dead by Charlaine Harris

Thank you to those who stopped by to give me some great advice on conquering my book slump. I did end up setting aside the books that I think were tripping me up, and slowing me down a bit. Thankfully, I have been able to read a couple more since then, and now feel almost back to my old reading self again! In fact, I had been reading Club Dead by Charlaine Harris for a little while, which once the action got going, grabbed me and kept me reading.

Synopsis: ***Some spoilers*** Picking up from where book two left us, with tension between our two main characters, we find Bill has been "kidnapped." As with previous adventures, Sookie is called on to help get inside all the action, to help solve crimes and mysteries. New to this adventure is a Were named Alcide, who is getting over his relationship with his girlfriend. Alcide and Sookie bond as they work towards finding Bill, and so we add yet another character that is smitten with Sookie and her charms. Where has Bill been taken, and what sort of future does Sookie have now that she's become so fully involved in the vampire world?

Review: As I expressed in my book two review for Living Dead in Dallas, I can't say that I was terribly smitten with book two, and now I know why. In book two, you could see that Harris was going to be manipulating her characters into new relationships and adventures, and at the time, I didn't care for it. Book two seemed too rushed to me, pushing and pulling characters in directions I couldn't see for them (mostly on an emotional level). And, to top it off, I couldn't completely understand some of Sookie's passivity, even though she was being a brave cookie. Book three is then the answer to most of my frustrations.

In book three, Sookie works through her feelings for Bill, and how she then relates to the rest of the men she associates with. I'll still admit to rolling my eyes at the "everyone's attracted to me" bits, but I understood where they were supposed to be taking us in evolving Sookie's character from the supposed "freak" she used to feel that she was. What I could readily hang on to in this book was that Sookie expressed her anger and frustration. I know that if I was continually put in danger, I would be ticked off too! Sookie didn't just fold and let others wimper and moon over her, but took matters into her own hands, saved herself, and let everyone know that she was tired of all the drama.

Overall, you can still see where Harris is taking the story in regards to characters; however, in storyline and action, it's anyone's guess. I liked book three much more than book three, and am glad to see characters making more sense to me.

This book also fulfilled book #3 for my e-book Reader Challenge.

For more information see: Club Dead (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 3)