Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris - 292 pages

Sookie Stackhouse -- a waitress in small town Bon Temps, Louisiana -- has a small disability.  She can read minds.  This has caused her problems her entire life as she must guard against the minds of everyone around her.  Until she meets Bill, a vampire.  Turns out she can't hear the minds of vampires.  Things would be perfect except for the vampire-related murders in town . . . .

This is the first book in the Sookie Stackhouse series.  I picked it up while waiting for another book to come in. I thought it was a fun, quick read.  It was the easiest book to get into of the Charlaine Harris series that I've tried so far.  I'll definitely try the next book in the series.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Graceling by Kristin Cashore - 489 pages

Katsa is a Graceling -- someone gifted with an amazing gift that is signaled by her two different colored eyes.  She has what is considered the most dangerous of the graces -- the gift of killing.  Her uncle, King Randa, uses her as his enforcer and bully to keep his subjects in line.  Until the day she refuses to harm someone.  Now she's left everything she knows to work with Po, a neighboring country's prince, who is searching for why his grandfather was killed.

This is the first book in the Graceling Realms series.  It is an amazing fantasy for teens.  Katsa is a very empowered female who needs no one and can survive anything.  The only thing that is slightly annoying is her belief that a relationship with someone will diminish her in some way.  The book is also a tad strange in that the climax occurs two-thirds of the way through the book.  The remaining section deals with the effects of their plot on a single character.

Mind MGMT #2: The Futurist, by Matt Kindt

 Mind MGMT #2: The Futurist, by Matt Kindt, 184 pages

As usual, Matt Kindt makes you think one thing is going on, when it turns out to be the opposite.  Who is Meru- what is her real story, and why doesn't Henry Lyme tell her?  Who else is on the Mind Management team, and what are the Immortals after- who are they working for?  The action continues in this second volume, and more secrets come to light.  Lots of travel and adventure, as usual.

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.