Am I the only one who is terribly unhappy about all the deaths in this book??? I'm not gonna lie, if Bill had died in this book, it would have been smart in so many ways. I'm not saying I WANT him to die, but if he did in the circumstances of this book, i.e. defending Sookie, it would have redeemed some, if not most, of his past erroneous behaviors. I wonder why Harris had Claudine become pregnant before she was killed...to me, two pregnant women being murdered in one book is a little much and I really liked the idea of Sookie having a fairy godmother, I'm not gonna lie. Haha. Tray dying was sad too, and I wonder if that's gonna play out in some problems between Sookie and Amelia now, like resentment because Tray died defending Sookie. Could be an interesting storyline there, but I like Amelia too and will be sad if she turns out to be against Sookie. I'm super relieved that Harris didn't kill Sam in her character murdering spree haha! I'm still not 100% throwing in the towel for Sookie ending up with him either, as she has the most chance at a "normal" life (family, kids, etc.) with him and she always runs to him to talk and they clearly care for one another. As for the fairies, I have always thought of them as OTHER from the different types of supernatural creatures, who are or WERE human at one point, and they have always been a little scary to me because they ARE so NOT human. I was not surprised how they became so divided and went to war, because in this series, to me at least, and Claudine especially trying to become an angel, their plotline reminds me a lot of angels separating and fighting over good and evil (SUPERNATURAL is a GREAT example of this storyline -- love that show!) So they have been giving me the creeps a little throughout the series, like Claude being so utterly detached from caring about Sookie, even Niall is explained as loving humans in more of a general way instead of loving them as individual souls. I think that Niall telling Sookie that "the vampire is not a bad man, and he loves you" is a total setup and something that Harris always pulls at the end of her books, but then ends up not making a big deal out of in the next book. I like the possibilities of the storyline that could happen if the gateway between the fae world and the human world is closed, who could choose or get stuck staying on either side. I'm a little sad for Sookie if she doesn't get to see her great-grandad anymore, but in a way relieved, because their interactions so far have only caused heartache and put her in harms way. So far, the only positive thing Niall brought was some answers about Sookie's heritage and her parents death, but it seems as though Claudine would have also known all of that and could have told Sookie too. I am getting used to Harris' writing style and the whole Sookie's introspection and philosophical side trip didn't bother me like it did some other people, because she uses that in a few of the books in the series as a tool to get the reader in on where Sookie is at in her thinking and what she suspects is going on, which I would assume is meant to get readers to identify with her or to lead us into that particular train of thought, to build tension, or steer us into being surprised by the plotline later on. I still like Sookie. I understand where Harris was going with her religious references to being a "bad Christian" and it didn't bother me either. I mean, the books are taking place in the United States and in the South, so of course Christianity is going to be talked about, it has been a recurring theme in this series, along with lots of other social mores and themes like equal rights, personal freedom, tolerance, etc., etc. I am really wondering at this point just how much back and forth there will be before Harris ends the series and pairs Sookie with whomever she will be with. Since she killed off so many of the "good guys" this time AND she finally explained the reason for Sookie's parents' death (which I was happy about, that it had a supernatural slant made it much more interesting to me) I don't see her doing TOO many more books in this series, at least not if she wants to finish strong. I see where other people think that Sookie will want to be with Bill again, and how they say Eric didn't save her and that he's just trying to control her, but I don't feel that way. I think Sookie will end up with Eric. I think that Harris always makes it appear that Eric isn't doing right by Sookie AT FIRST and then we always find out later that whatever he did was in her best interest. Don't get sucked in by the big gestures of Bill people! True love is consistent and more subtle, like Eric's constant care of Sookie, always looking out for her, coming through for her with the little things, not just running in and looking like a hero now and then. I am glad that Jason is trying to grow up a little, but I'm wondering why the whole Mel issue even happened in this book. I mean, he ended up NOT being the one who killed Crystal and if you ask me, didn't do anything wrong enough to her by hitting her to be ripped apart by Calvin and his entourage. I understand the laws of Hotshot are different, but Harris always make it sound like its always very justified and although I don't advocate abuse against women, I can imagine that Crystal could DEFINITELY push Mel into slapping her. Why is that a death sentence by previously explained Hotshot rules??? They preemptively killed him, trying to make it sound like it was because he killed Crystal, but Sookie said he didn't and Calvin usually trusted her before, so...? And as for the whole gay slant, did that really matter??? I just thought it was a dumb storyline, especially since Harris is usually trying to show through this series how small-minded we are, I thought it was stupid of her to kill someone, in a way, simply because he was gay and loved Jason. Cuz he didn't kill Crystal. Maybe I'm getting ruffled by this?? I don't know. As you can see, I am getting WAAAAYY too into this book. I'll turn it over to someone else and see what they think. I am not happy about having to wait so long for the next book to find out what happens next, but I spoiled myself by getting to read the first 7 books back to back. I am glad that the next season of TRUE BLOOD is beginning soon and I disagree with some other reviewers who say the series is meatier. I think the book, even just the ones that tie in with the first season, had a lot more going on in them then the show did, but we'll see what happens in the 2nd season. And I also want to go back and rewatch the first season, because I'm sure I'll notice a lot more now that I've read the books. I guess we're gonna have to learn to live after the tales of Sookie come to an end Kathryn! Haha! Over and out.
