From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris

Title: From Dead to Worse (Sookie Stackhouse #8)
Author: Charlaine Harris
Publisher: Ace
Pages: 321
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars

By book 8 of The Southern Vampire series, I enjoyed the world of Bon Temps so much that I really didn't care about the plot. I just liked being at Merlotte's, hanging out with Sam, matching wits with Eric, turning up my nose at Bill, snickering along with Pam, wishing death on Arlene and the FotS freaks, and wondering what kind of trouble Amelia, Jason, Holly and all the rest are going to drag me into next.

And by me, of course, I mean Sookie.

When I started the series, I wasn't a huge fan of Sookie, but now that she's been immersed in the supernatural world long enough to feel old hat about it, I really enjoy her. From Dead to Worse actually addresses the question of whether or not Sookie would change things if she could and go back to the time where she didn't know vamps existed - let alone shifters, fairies, demons and the like. Much to my relief and without quivocating, Sookie said she would not. Despite the nearly constant threats to her life, Sookie no longer feels like a freak because of her telepathy and that is more important to her than anything else.

I appreciate that because I really didn't want to read book after book of a heroine bemoaning her lot in life.

In terms of story, From Dead to Worse felt like filler. Entertaining, enjoyable filler, but filler nonetheless. We learned about the interspecies politics of the Vamps, Weres and Hotshot Werepanthers. A new packmaster takes over in Shreveport, a new vampire becomes king of Louisiana and Sookie, of course, was right in the middle of it. Sam was also pretty heavily involved which I like because I've always liked Sam.

Sookie also meets more of her family - her great great grandfather as well as her...second cousin? Her cousin Hadley's son Hunter, who is a very cool little kid.

Ms. Harris ties up a significant number of loose ends in this book and I'm hoping puts them to bed permanently. I like that details spill over from one book to the other, but Bob the Cat eventually needed to go back to being Bob the Man.

On the Sookie Romance Front, Bill continued to annoy and Eric continued to be awesome. I LOVE the bond between Sookie and Eric, not just because I enjoy them together best, but because it's amusing to read how much it annoys Sookie at times. She doesn't have a problem being bonded to Eric, she just hates that the bond manipulates her emotions. So amusing.

I will say I was surprised by how abruptly Sookie ended things with Quinn. I don't blame her for deciding to do so, she just arrived at her conclusion SO much faster than I expected her to. I would have thought, considering the circumstances, she would have given him more of a chance. I suppose being so immersed in the world of the supes has toughened her up a bit.

This review is a bit all over the place and that's because the book is a bit all over the place. I'm not trying to hold back on spoilers, but if I were to be more detailed I'd have to basically recount the entire story and that's not my usual method of review. Suffice it to say, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the next one. In fact, I almost picked it up and started it right away. There is something infectious about Sookie's world and no matter how hard I tried to avoid being charmed by them, I have been.