Give This One A Miss

I've always liked Charlaine Harris's writing, up until about the last 2-3 Sookie Stackhouse books. Then I felt she descended into a pattern of description of clothing and food, and away from the characters themselves, which made for not very interesting reading. Still, I was willing to give her new series a try because I was hoping it would be fresh and exciting.

I really shouldn't have bothered.

The story is set in Midnight, Texas, and features the strangest group of people as very odd friends. There's young Manfred, new in town, and possibly psychic; there's Fiji, a young witch who is in love with Bobo, who owns the pawn shop. There's Lemuel, a vampire, and his often-missing girlfriend, Olivia; there's the Rev, a man of God who doesn't speak much. I could go on and on, each one more oddly named than the rest, and none of them particularly endearing. The story essentially revolves around getting to know the group and the disappearance of Bobo's girlfriend, Aubrey, whose body turns up almost halfway through. Not that I cared, really; no one is the sort you'd cheer for and the "gang" who is behind many of the attacks seems to be not quite as smart as a gang should be.

I kept reading, hoping I'd finally get interested, and then mostly so I could write this review. What made the characters quirky and fun in the Sookie books is totally lacking in this book; there's just no spark. I may have been engaged a time or two, but overall, I just couldn't have cared less. I won't be looking for the next one.

~taminator40

Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris

I picked up Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris because I'm such a fan of her Southern Vampire Mysteries. And while this one had Harris's trademark engaging writing, it fell a little flat for me. The "mystery" was quite transparent, and honestly, in this day and age, not that big of a deal really (had the problem been stopped early on, however). I found the relationship between Harper Connelly and her stepbrother Tolliver a bit on the weird, too dependent side, and I would've liked more background on just why Harper clings so to him. The best I can say, though, is that there is a preview for the next book in the back and it was interesting enough to make me want to continue in the series. My amazon review can be found at http://www.amazon.com/review/R1T26VOMD8C0LF/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm.

~taminator40