Book Review - Dead Until Dark

Dead Until Dark
Author: Charlaine Harris
Series: Sookie Stackhouse #1
Genres: Paranormal, Fantasy | Adult
Release Date: 1st January 2001
No. Pages: 292
Source: Purchased
Rating:

Sookie Stackhouse is a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. She's quiet, keeps to herself, and doesn't get out much. Not because she's not pretty. She is. It's just that, well, Sookie has this sort of 'disability.' She can read minds. And that doesn't make her too dateable. And then along comes Bill. He's tall, dark, handsome - and Sookie can't hear a word he's thinking. He's exactly the type of guy she's been waiting for all her life..

But Bill has a disability of his own: He's a vampire with a bad reputation. He hangs with a seriously creepy crowd, all suspected of - big surprise - murder. And when one of Sookie's coworkers is killed, she fears she's next..

The book is about a girl called Sookie Stackhouse from Louisiana. She works in a bar called Merlottes as a waitress, lives with her grandma and has a brother called Jason. And she can read minds. One night at work (after waiting forever) Merlottes finally gets its first vampire called Bill, and when Sookie reads a couple of vampire drainers mind, hearing what they planned for poor old bill, she has to save his life. Nearly getting herself killed in the process. After having to save her from death not long after Bill and Sookie start to date. After more than one waitress Sookie works for turns up dead its time to round up suspects. Jason, her brother and also someone who has spent the night with each of them. Sam Merlotte, the owner of the bar, the boss and landlord to one of them or Bill. The murders happened after he came into town and they all had old vampire bites on their body. Or is someone just trying to frame them?

I read this book about 3 years ago because I've always been a big fan of the show. I know I didn't like it first time around but I enjoyed it a bit more the second time around and I know I shouldn't base my view around it but I was even more happy to see that the show was not that much different. Saying that I found Sookie to be nothing but annoying (much like in the show). She's a prude one minuet then the next she wants nothing other than to rip of Bills clothing. Bill is nothing but average for a man yet Sookie finds him to be gods gift but from my understanding her attraction from him is because she clearing stated she had been wanted for a vampire to come to the bar and when he did she fell for him instantly (oh and after saving his life and vice versa). But that was about it.

Not enough time went into developing characters and if it wasn't for the TV show I would be left wondering who they really are and in my opinion not enough time went into describing what was actually happening around them either. It was filled up with useless facts that in all honesty no one really needed to know. Sadly as I knew what was going to happen having watched the show, the book didn't surprise me or wow me. If I hadn't watched the show before hand, it might have liked it a bit more and I think it would be a an ok book for anyone who hasn't seen the show. Although for my personally if I hadn't seen so far into the show at the I don't think I would bother with the second book.