Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris.

Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris


My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It seemed kind of strange that I was on the side of vampires and werewolves, and that was the good side. That made me laugh a little, all to myself. Oh, yes, we good guys would save the day.

The fourth novel in the Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire series by Charlaine Harris sees us return to Bon Temps, Louisiana, where telepathic waitress Sookie is now single after her nasty breakup with Bill Compton, resident vampire. Determined to move on with her life she makes the resolution not to get beaten up in the new year, which entails keeping out of trouble and staying away from vampires.

That is until she finds Eric Northman, vampire sheriff of Area 5, wandering scarred and scared on the road to her house in the middle of the night. Eric has had his memory taken from him by a group of powerful witches who wish to see him dead (the true death. Obviously) and steal his fortune. Sookie offers her house to Eric as a safe haven, whilst she, Weres and vampires work towards ridding Shreveport of the nasty memory-thieving witches.

At the same time, her brother disappears and she has a crazy were intent on causing her harm.

So much for avoiding vampires and staying out of trouble!

Dead to the World sees monumental changes take place to Sookie and the people/supes around her. Eric is not the Eric she has come to love-hate. He is a far more serious, gentle character when unaware of the importance of himself and what he can do. Rather than the sure and cocky vampire sheriff we have come to know and love (or hate, depending on which side of the fence you're on), the Eric in this novel is far more sincere, finding genuine comfort in Sookie's companionship. It significantly builds on the other side of Eric Northman's nature, the side that we've only seen brief glimpses of in the previous novels.

Most importantly, however, are the changes taking place within Sookie. The confines of her mind have always been an enjoyable place to spend time, yet in Dead to the World those confines are becoming increasingly dark. Sookie is no longer the bright and innocent Bon Temps barmaid of the earlier novels; instead, Sookie proves that you don't need to be a vampire to do drastic and dangerous things. The other side to Sookie's nature is seriously gloomy.

Dead to the World is my favourite of the Sookie Stackhouse novels to date. I love that in this novel the stakes are higher than they've ever been before and the characters more serious. The novel still retains that funny, light edge that makes these books so enjoyable, but getting more of an insight into the character's personalities and true natures is genuinely intriguing.

One questions remains, though: Why was it that when Eric lost his memory, of all the places in the world he could have gone, he chose Bon Temps and the road leading to Sookie's house? I guess I'll have to wait and see if that little ponderment is revealed in the books to follow. Just an excuse to keep reading them, I suppose.

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My 2011 Reading Wrap & Challenge for 2012...

I had a wonderful bookish year in 2011, reading 34 books in total, most of them really good, a few of them not so much. It has been wonderfully rewarding to have the time for so many books over the past twelve months, and I hope that 2012 will hold just as much book-filled fun.

My top 3 favourite reads of 2011, which I share with you now because I highly recommend you read them yourself, are as follows:

1. My ultimate favourite reads this year was the Trystan and Isolde series by Anna Elliott. Although three books (Twilight of Avalon, Dark Moon of Avalon and Sunrise of Avalon), they're the continuation of a single story; you can't just read one without the others, and they must be read in the correct order. Each novel is beautifully written with wonderfully inspiring and endearing characters, so if you've not read these yet then I suggest you add them to Mount TBR for 2012: You will not be disappointed.

2. The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory was my second favourite read of 2012, and my favourite of her Cousin's Wars series. It tells the story of Jacquetta Woodville, mother of Elizabeth Woodville from The White Queen, in an enticing, gripping and wonderfully magical way. I will be posting a review of this book sometime this month with a giveaway, so if you want it on your 2012 reading list then keep an eye out.

3. My third favourite read of 2011 was Smuggled by Christina Shea. An inspiring and heart-warming novel set in post-WWII Hungary and Romania, I was extremely privileged to read and review this as an ARC from Netgalley. It's one of those novels that stays with you long after you've turned the last page.

In 2011 I also took part in two online reading challenges: A Seconds Challenge hosted by A Few More Pages, and an Ireland Reading Challenge hosted by Books & Movies.

I only managed to successfully finish all reads for the Seconds Challenge, but unfortunately ran out of time to get through all the books for the Ireland Challenge because I got distracted by other books (notably the Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris).

For the Seconds Challenge I successfully read all 3 books on my list: Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery, Son of the Shadows by Juliet Marillier, and The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory.

For the Ireland Reading Challenge I'd planned to read 4 books, but only completed 3: Meeting the Other Crowd by Eddie Lenihan, Dracula in Love by Karen Essex, and Dance Lessons by Aine Greaney.

In 2012 I have decided to participate in just the single online reading challenge, although it will entail having to read 12 books to successfully complete it.

The Mount TBR Reading Challenge 2012 is hosted by My Reader's Block and participants have the option of 6 levels, the lowest being 12 books and the highest being Mt Everest, where the aim is to read more than 100 books.

The catch for this challenge is that all books must be on your TBR (to be read) pile as of the 1 January 2012. I am aiming for the lowest level of 12 books (Pike's Peak) as that is all the unread books I currently have sitting on my shelf. They are (in no particular order):

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

To Die For by Sandra Byrd

Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn

Dissolution by C.J. Sansom

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

March by Geraldine Brooks

The Lute Player by Norah Lofts

Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris

Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris

Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris

Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris

I think this challenge will be just the inspiration I need to start reading those books I already have, rather than keep ordering new ones. Wish me luck!

Will you be taking part in any reading challenges this year?

In the Garden in the New Year...

Well, it's 2012 already. I hope that everyone had a wonderful end to 2011, no matter how it was spent. For me, New Years' Eve isn't a big deal, so I spent mine watching a bit of television with the air con on. I didn't crawl into bed until 1am, but that wasn't due to ringing in the new year: I actually had to wait until the bedroom was cool enough to be able to sleep. It was a right scorcher here yesterday (low 40s - degrees Celsius) and today is turning out to be another. It has only just gone midday yet outside it feels as though it is in the 40s already: I tanned picking the tomatoes this morning. Seriously.

The warm weather is germinating seeds at an exceptional rate. I sowed leeks, beets, pak choy, cauliflower, eggplant and basil just a few days ago, and now seedlings are already poking through the soil. I'm hoping these will be ready for planting later this month, or early February, if all goes to plan.

We picked the first cobs of corn this morning, along with some more roma tomatoes. On the really hot days the tomatoes are cooking on the vine, so we've taken to covering them with shade cloth during the warmest part of the day. It's helping. A little. We're having to pick the ripening tomatoes earlier than normal so they don't end up ruined. They're a lot smaller this year than what they have been in the past, and whilst we have plenty of romas, the big reds don't seem to be fruiting much at all.

I had hoped to have enough tomatoes this summer to make sauce, but it doesn't look as though that will happen. C'est la vie!

Our little vegie patch has capsicums ready to pick now too, and later this month I expect the carrots to be ready.

I need to thin the nasturtiums, though. Even with the heat they still grow like weeds, taking up more space in the vegie beds than I think is necessary. They are good at keeping away the bugs, though. I was just saying to SJ last night that we've had no thrip or aphids or grasshoppers attack our vegies this year. Only cabbage moth, but we've been able to control them. Makes gardening a lot easier, that's for sure!

What's growing in your garden these days?