Rabbit Ears Book Blog: [BOOK REVIEW] Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

Thursday, January 25, 2018

[BOOK REVIEW] Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

Title:  Dead Until Dark

Authors:  Charlaine Harris

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Year Published: 2001

Number of Pages: 312 pages

Date Read: 1/31/2011

Series: Sookie Stackhouse #1

Publisher: Ace Books

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 18+ (Strong Language)

Buy on: Amazon // Book Depository

I have read many paranormal romance books where the main character falls for a handsome and awesome vampire that knows how to kick bad guys to the curb! Well, I have just recently stumbled upon Charlaine Harris’s works and let me tell you, this book is unlike any other paranormal romance book I have ever read and this book is called “Dead until Dark.” Not only is “Dead until Dark” the first book in the “Sookie Stackhouse series”, but it is also the first book that I have read from author Charlaine Harris and it is full of action, drama and vampire loving that will have any paranormal romance fan wanting more from this series!

Sookie Stackhouse is a waitress in Bon Temps, Louisiana and even though she is extremely beautiful, she has one disability that keeps the men away from her… she can read other people’s minds! One day, Sookie meets a handsome vampire named Bill Compton and she starts to fall in love with him. Unfortunately, the moment that Bill comes to town, a string of murders start to happen around Bon Temps and Bill is the prime suspect! Can Sookie clear Bill’s name?
We will see!

Words just cannot describe how much I really enjoyed this book since I actually stayed up most of the night trying to finish reading this book because it was so interesting! Charlaine Harris has definitely done an awesome job at writing this larger than life paranormal romance novel that takes place in the South! There are just so many awesome things that I loved about this book, but I will have to narrow it down to a few things and what I loved the most about this book were the two main characters and the awesome action scenes. My favorite characters in this book were Sookie Stackhouse and Bill Compton as they are truly a unique couple that cannot be reckoned with! Sookie Stackhouse is such an interesting character as not only is the story told from her point of view, but she was also the first mind reader character that I have read about in any paranormal romance novel. I loved the way that Charlaine Harris does not focus solely on Sookie’s beautiful looks, but also her caring and strong personality since she is the only character in the book who actually knows about what is really going on with the murders of the women in Bon Temps and I loved the way that Sookie refused to let the town’s prejudice against vampires get to her as she protects Bill with all her might. I also loved the way that Sookie fights her tough opponents as she seems to remind me a bit of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” except that she does not slay vampires! Another character I really loved was Bill Compton since he can be both scary and sensual at the same time, two personalities that I really loved about this character! Sookie and Bill’s relationship is sweet, especially since both characters wanted to protect each other from any harm that befalls them and there are many “sensual” moments between the two that will have you panting with anticipation!

The only issue I had with this book is that they rarely focused on the secondary and minor characters. What I mean by secondary characters in this book are the members who are close to Sookie which were Jason and her grandmother and I felt like these two characters were just too one-dimensional since we do not know much about their background other than the fact that they are related to Sookie and they seemed to have less spotlight time in this book than Sookie and Bill. Also, I felt like they could have focused a bit more on Sookie’s African American friends and Bill’s vampire friends since they have even less spotlight time in the book and it felt like they were really not in the book at all since this book was mainly about Sookie and Bill. Also, this book contains much stronger language than any other paranormal romance novel I have read, so anyone who does not approve of strong language might want to skim over them.

Overall, “Dead until Dark” is seriously one of the best paranormal romance series that everyone who are fans of handsome vampires and strong females will just read over and over again!

Will I read the rest of the “Sookie Stackhouse” series? You bet I am! Sookie Stackhouse series, here I come!