Grave Sight Review

Grave Sight 
by Charlaine Harris
From Goodreads:

 Harper Connelly has what you might call a strange job: she finds dead people. She can sense the final location of a person who's passed, and share their very last moment. The way Harper sees it, she's providing a service to the dead while bringing some closure to the living-but she's used to most people treating her like a blood-sucking leech. Traveling with her step-brother Tolliver as manager and sometime-bodyguard, she's become an expert at getting in, getting paid, and getting out fast. Because for the living it's always urgent-even if the dead can wait forever.

My Thoughts:  You know how you can read two different books by an author and be surprised that they came from the same mind?  I've read all the Sookie Stackhouse books, and just assumed Grave Sight would be similar, but it's not.  Harper Connelly is a much different character than Sookie.  She seems wise beyond her years and is, for the most part, very careful.

Harper has an edge that comes from living a rough childhood, and after getting struck by lightning, she can now find the dead.  She has an interesting relationship with her step-brother Tolliver.  I went in thinking that it'd be a Flowers in the Attic kind of relationship, but so far there's no hint of it.  Which was a bit disappointed, but she did have a worthy romantic hook up in this first book. 

I really liked the mystery and the way that Harper and Tolliver were drawn into the lies of a small town.  I figured some of the plot out early on, but it didn't take away from the tension and drama of some of the confrontations. 

I listened to Grave Sight on audio (downloaded from Audible) and it was a fairly good listen.  The narrator lends a maturity to Harper's story, although she sounds older than Harper is described as being.  She had a nice, soothing voice.  I will definitely be continuing this series! I'm looking forward to continuing the story, and seeing what's up with her brother Tolliver and the rest of her family (hopefully we learn Cameron's fate as some point).


Grave Sight gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

The cover gets a Midnight Book Cover Rating of:

Not really my favorite cover, but you can't always have both a good story and a good cover.

Dead Reckoning Review

Dead Reckoning 
by Charlaine Harris
From Goodreads:

With her knack for being in trouble's way, Sookie witnesses the firebombing of Merlotte's, the bar where she works. Since Sam Merlotte is now known to be two-natured, suspicion falls immediately on the anti-shifters in the area. Sookie suspects otherwise, but her attention is divided when she realizes that her lover Eric Northman and his "child" Pam are plotting to kill the vampire who is now their master. Gradually, Sookie is drawn into the plot-which is much more complicated than she knows...

My Thoughts: Is it weird that I slightly dread the newest Sookie books because I'm afraid that Harris is going to reunite Bill and Sookie?  Because I am an Eric fan, in both the books and the tv show (unlike Mr. Alan Ball who has a serious crush on Bill (Stephen Moyer) and can't understand why most women prefer Eric *rollingmyeyes*).  There's a lot going on in this novel, Sookie's fairy family are living with her, someone's fire bombing Sam's bar, Pam and Eric are fighting, a naked Alcide and of course, Bill the vampire.  Although I will continue reading this series, I'm just not having as much fun as I used to.  And while I was happy to see Amelia back, I was pissed about why she was back and what Sookie did behind Eric's back.  I just don't get her at times.  And that's true for book Sookie and doubly true for tv show Sookie.  Sometimes I just want to slap her, just a little, hard enough to leave a red mark but no real, lasting bruise.  And seriously, the whole nakedness with Bill was très annoying and completely ridiculous, and this is the opinion of someone that actually enjoyed Grease 2 so obviously my standards are pretty low.  Oh, and Hunter and a Pelt sibling were thrown in the mix too.  Like I said, a lot going on, with all the characters being a bit annoying (Eric in the beginning, Sookie towards the end, and Bill just because of his continued existence in the books.  My kingdom for a wooden stake!).  Even Sam was a jerk (yes, he's kind of one on the show, but in the books he's pretty lovable, except obviously to Sookie which is ridiculous because he'd actually be able to give her all the crap that she's always whining about).  So, I'll read the next book, and any after that.  But when it comes to re-reading I have a feeling that only book number 4 is going to get well-worn. 

Dead Reckoning gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

The extra half is for Pam.  Love her, wouldn't mind if she got her own series spin off- book or show!

Tempest Rising Review

Tempest Rising (Jane True #1)
by Nicole Peeler
From Goodreads:

Living in small town Rockabill, Maine, Jane True always knew she didn't quite fit in with so-called normal society. During her nightly, clandestine swim in the freezing winter ocean, a grisly find leads Jane to startling revelations about her heritage: she is only half-human.

Now, Jane must enter a world filled with supernatural creatures alternatively terrifying, beautiful, and deadly- all of which perfectly describe her new "friend," Ryu, a gorgeous and powerful vampire.

It is a world where nothing can be taken for granted: a dog can heal with a lick; spirits bag your groceries; and whatever you do, never-ever rub the genie's lamp.

If you love Sookie Stackhouse, then you'll want to dive into Nicole Peeler's enchanting debut novel.

My Thoughts: Fast, fun read! Paranormal/urban fantasy isn't my usual genre (unless you count the Sookie Stackhouse novels, which I love, and my brief relationship with the Anita Blake series, which I ended up disliking). I have always loved the covers of the Nicole Peeler books, but I didn't think that I'd like the story. Then I finally read the sample on my Kindle, and immediately found myself really liking and relating to Jane. If I didn't already have a towering Readathon pile, I'd get the 2nd book in the series, because this is a series to devour. 

Jane was surprisingly easy to identify with (I like swimming a lot too, considering the possibility that I might be half selkie), and Ryu makes for a very sexy male lead.   I love that Jane works in a book store, and there's a hilirious bit in the beginning when Jane's arch enemy comes into the store and is buying her monthly supply of romance novels.  Turns out the woman has very specific taste in romance genre:

“She liked a very particular kind of plot: the sort where the pirate kidnaps some virgin damsel, rapes her into loving him, and then dispatches lots of seamen while she polishes his cutlass. Or where the Highland clan leader kidnaps some virginal English Rose, rapes her into loving him, and then kills entire armies Sassenachs while she stuffs his haggis. Or where the Native American warrior kidnaps a virginal white settler, rapes her into loving him, and then kills a bunch of colonists while she whets his tomahawk. I hated to get Freudian on Linda, but her reading patterns suggested some interesting insight into why she is such a bitch.”

As soon as I read this I knew Tempest Rising was going to be a good read.  I appreciate good snark.

Tempest Rising gets a Midnight Book Rating of: 

Here's the other books in the series:

Aren't those awesome books covers?!