Dead As A Doornail by Charlaine Harris - Sookie Stackhouse Book 5 Review

Cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse has only a few close friends, which isn't surprising - not many people can appreciate Sookie's abilities as a mind reader. When she sees her brother Jason's eyes start to change, Sookie knows he's about to turn into a werepanther for the first time. But her concern for her brother becomes cold fear when a sniper targets the local changeling population - and Jason's new panther brethren suspect he may be the shooter. - Goodreads





Naturally, since this is a Sookie stackhouse novel, there is a lot of other stuff going on than you see on the cover blurb.  A rivalry for werewolf packmaster, part of Sookie's house burning down so she takes temporary residence in a duplex, and oh yes, of course.  Sookie's life gets put in danger again and again and again and she avoids death, again and again and again.



I have the biggest love/hate relationship with this series.  I love most of the cast, hate Sookie.  Who happens to be the narrator, so naturally, that makes it a little more difficult for me to jump on the bandwagon of hype this series has gotten.

I seem to be out of the loop with popular books a lot, lately.

Harris is a good writer, I don't think many would argue that.  Her little southern vampire tales are very involved and manage to be more realistic than a lot of stories featuring multiple supernatural creatures.  She has created a lot of wonderful characters who are easy to root for and return to.  Like the charming Sam Merlotte, bar owner and shapeshifter, who is just a genuinely good person, and a good friend.  Jason, Sookie's brother, a total player who gets himself in a lot of avoidable trouble, but still knows the meaning of family.  Acide, a gruff, manly werewolf who, despite some questionable decisions, is still sincere and kind.  And who can forget (or would want to) Eric Northman, blond Viking vampire who oozes sex and danger.  Eric, who has gotten more women readers into a frenzy of lust than almost any vampire of the 21st century.

And then, there's Sookie Stackhouse herself, who...ran into a buring building in this one for a purse and slippers.  No, I am not kidding.  That girl is just that dumb.  If it wasn't for a certain fairy, she would have found herself dead.  Stupid fairy.

Sookie is, of course, perfectly perfect.  Great body, naturally blonde (well, duh), kind and Christian, but not afraid to get down-and-dirty.  She has virtually every supernatural being with a penis wanting to get into her pants, but good girls just don't do that.  Except for with a-hole vampires they just met.  Or amnesiac viking vampires who just a few days ago had her practically calling herself a slut for even admiring his backside.  But don't worry, we'll still get plenty of steamy action, because good girls can apparently kiss whoever they damn well please.  Sam, Alcide, Bill, Eric, Calvin Norris.  And there was an instance of some hot blood-licking action involving a weretiger, too.

She also claims to rarely lose her temper, but in every single book, there have been multiple instances of her doing just that.  And she uses her very own supernatural abilities - mind-reading - to plumb the depths of every mind in Bon Temps with just the teeniest bit of justification to back her intrusions up.

I could go on, but isn't that enough?

Normally, if I don't like the main character of a series, I quit it.  No matter how much I like the secondary characters.  If I'm spending hundreds of pages stuck inside the mind of one person, I'd better like that person.  But something about these Sookie Stackhouse books, keeps calling me back....

Eric.  It's Eric.

I hate that I love him so much, because every time I think I'm finally done with this series, he comes waltzing into a scene and pulls me right back in.  It's like a destructive relationship that you just can't seem to end.

I'm not sure yet if I'll finally be able to break the spell that infuriatingly sexy Viking has over me yet.  I'm going to try, though.  I really will.  Because if I put myself through one more book in Sookie's mind, I'm liable to scream.

Until Eric makes his appearance.

And it all starts over again.

Dead As A Doornail - 2.5 out of 5 stars