True Blood: A Field Guide to Vampires (and other creatures of Satan) by Gianna Sobol and Michael McMillian

True Blood: A Field Guide to Vampires (and other creatures of Satan) by Gianna Sobol and Michael McMillian (144 pages)

Fun title co-written by McMillian who plays Reverend Steve Newlin on the hit HBO series True Blood.

Imagine that Reverend Newlin kept a journal full of notes on the vampires, weres, other supers and sympathizers in Bon Temps.  His notes would include secrets about the creatures and updates on the whereabouts of some.

Now, imagine said journal was lost by Newlin and found by Shreveport Vamps Eric Northman and Pam Beaufort de Swynford - who added their own snide comments to the text with the intent of turning it back over to Newlin when finished.

Such is the plot of this book, True Blood fans will enjoy reading about their favorite characters - and will probably find themselves reading it in Newlin's character. A bit lengthy in some sections, but overall a fun read. The language can be a bit raw occasionally.

After Dead by Charlaine Harris

After Dead by Charlaine Harris - 208 pages

For those who have been lost since the release of the last book in the Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire series, this book may help ease your loss. It is compiled as an encyclopedic list of many of the characters from the series with a brief entry of what has happened to them since the series ended.  I have to admit that I did not remember several of the characters as they had such short entries in the story.  But it was fun to catch up with my favorite characters.

Be sure to watch for a spoiler alert! Harris mentions that we may hear more from one of the characters...new series, perhaps???

Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris

Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris - 352 pages

This book is the finale to the Sookie Stackhouse series and it seems like Harris may have checked out of caring about the series a couple of books ago.  This wasn't as bad as the last book but it was by no means stellar.  The characters were flat and the ending seemed to betray a whole lot of previous character development.  I stuck it out through loyalty to the franchise but have been severely disappointed in the last several books.

Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris

Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris - 336 pages

The 12th book in the Sookie Stackhouse / True Blood franchise isn't filled with major revelations.  We spend a lot of time with Sookie while she is running errands and dealing with everyday life in Bon Temps.  Sookie's relationship with Eric is in trouble but Sookie doesn't seem to want to put any real effort towards keeping him so there's not as much tension building as there should be.  There is also a ton of exposition in the book that isn't really necessary by book 12 of a series.  WE ALL KNOW SOOKIE CAN READ MINDS.  I don't know if maybe the book is loaded with backstory so that fans of True Blood won't get confused because the same characters are the in the books and the tv show but they have different plotlines and behaviors.  Regardless, I was entertained but not enthralled.

Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris

Deadlocked: A Sookie Stackhouse Novel by Charlaine Harris --- 327 pages

Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse novels are the basis of the HBO hit series True Blood, a combination of Southern noir mystery and supernatural fantasy that has proved to be immensely popular with readers and viewers alike.

In the twelfth installment in the series, Sookie is trying to support her vampire lover, Eric, through the dangerous politics of the vampire world in the aftermath of the death of his rival Victor. Yet somehow her relationship with Eric is not as solid as Sookie thought it was. There's nothing big she can put her finger on, just a series of small, troubling incidents that don't add up to Sookie's way of reckoning.

But when a dead woman turns up on the lawn in front of Eric's house, in the middle of delicate negotiations with the vampire King of Louisiana, and it looks like someone is trying to frame Eric for murder, Sookie stands by her man and tries to figure out what is going on.  One thing becomes increasingly clear: somebody with a very big grudge is messing up the lives of a lot of people who matter to Sookie. Somebody who seems to know an awful lot about her private business. Somebody who will stop at nothing to get what he or she wants.

Harris has indicated that the next Sookie Stackhouse book will be the last volume in the series. In Deadlocked she has already begun the process of winding up the various plot threads. Sookie daydreams about all the "happily ever afters" she'd like to wish for her friends --- but for herself, she really wonders, whether there will ever be a "happily ever after."