Sookie Stackhouse, a cute blonde with the ability to read minds, is thrilled when a vampire walks into the bar where she works. He's awful sweet to her, and she can't hear a psychic peep from him. But not everyone shares her fondness for vampires... or her tolerance for those who "go" with them. Someone is killing young women - young women tagged as fangbangers. And Sookie knows she's a target.

I've heard a lot about these books over the years. It seems like they're everywhere lately, what with the HBO show and all, so I figured I'd give 'em a go. See what they're like.

I feel strange saying this, given that the book is chock full of murder and bloodlust and other great stuff like that, but I found it... well, fluffy. It's a cute, fun little thing that reads up right quick.

I think Sookie herself sets the tone here. She's such a sweetie. She's friendly and bright and rather naive. She's not your typical angsty, I'll-kick-your-ass-into-next-Thursday-if-you-look-at-me-the-wrong-way urban fantasy heroine. She hasn't let all the dark thoughts she picks up on corrupt her or make her cynical. She's just a big ol' sweetie pie. I couldn't really consider this a dark, gory murder mystery. Not with a heroine like Sookie. She was my favourite part of the book.

I also liked the atmosphere. This is very much a southern vampire story. It's got a real Louisiana feel to it; the way everyone speaks, the names, the attitudes... I thought Harris evoked the setting very well. I appreciated how she incorporated the supernatural into her alternate world, too. It wasn't quite on a par with any of my favourite alternate worlds, but it still felt fairly realistic.

But the rest of the book... well. It's fluffy. It's good, I don't want you to think it isn't, but it's not really very deep. Sookie and Bill's relationship is sketchy at best. I never felt the chemistry between them. Ditto for her friendships with the rest of the town. They're sweet and all, but I couldn't find the spark. I couldn't find the oomph.

The mystery is much the same. It didn't leap out at me. For the most part, I felt like it was just a vehicle whereby Harris could introduce her characters and their world. Given that the series seems to be a vampire detective kind of a deal, I do think she might have done more to build up the mystery angle and show her characters actually solving the crime. Sookie does do a little bit, but for the most part she seems to just fall into the answers she needs.

I also had some trouble with the tenses. The book is told from Sookie's first person POV. At the very beginning, Harris slips back and forth between the past tense and the present tense in order to show that the book's events are in Sookie's fairly recent past, but it doesn't quite jive with the story. Stuff like that bugs me no end.

My final verdict: a fun book and a decent way to pass the time, but nothing special. It reads like the series opener it is. I'll probably read a couple more of the books, but I'm not really sold yet.

(A slightly different version of this review originally appeared on my blog, Stella Matutina). ( )

My first foray into the Sookie Stackhouse series which has been made into HBO's True Blood (which I probably won't get from Blockbuster for a few more years). This was actually a cute book, not serious or heavy. Something of a beach read.

Sookie is a waitress in a local bar and has the unique ability to read minds. She does her best to stay out of people's heads and even calls her ability a "disability". Vampires have just become legal citizens and the folks in Bon Temps are eager to see their first vampire.

Enter Bill. How that's a name for a vampire, I don't know, but his name is Bill. Bill and Sookie end up as a couple while trying to figure out a series of murders that have suddenly happened in Bon Temps.

Quick read, cute characters. ( )

Best of book of the series as far as I've read. ( )

I think Dead Until Dark had the possibility of being a 5 shot book, but I watch True Blood. I spent the majority of the novel wondering where Tara was, comparing the actors to the characters in the book and wishing they had used Bubba in the show. Had I not watched the show first, I really believe this book would have been amazing. The book is still very good and I picture Sookie more Jessica Simpson than Anna Paquin now. It was fast, easy, fun and has the potential of being very exciting for someone who hasn't seen the show yet. ( )

Introducing Sookie Stackhouse - mild mannered barmaid in Bon Temps, Louisiana - who just happens to be telepathic...and a bit more (that is not fully explained in this book). When she saves the life of a Vampire, Bill Compton, her life begins to change in ways she could never have predicted. Sexy, engaging - this book is difficult to put down. ( )