REVIEW: Dead Until Dark

Dead Until Dark
Author: Charlaine Harris

Dead Until Dark is the first book in the Southern Vampire series. The books and main characters -- especially sweet southern waitress Sookie Stackhouse -- were made famous by the HBO series True Blood that was (at times pretty thinly) based on the books.

I started reading this series years ago before the HBO show started. I even got my husband to read the series with me. He liked it just as much as I did. We waited for each new book to arrive and played games, drew straws or had other little competitions to determine who got to read it first. :) And once the HBO show started, we watched it together every week. :) Now that the book series and all the short stories are all published....I wanted to read it all again. I was always a bit disappointed that the HBO show deviated so far from the books. Some very huge plot points never happened in the show, and others were added. Plus the show veered way far off course with its fixation on the sale and use of V as a drug. One change I loved though -- the character Lafayette (as portrayed by actor Nelsan Ellis) on the show was my absolutely favorite character, even though he was much different and much longer lived than in the books.

Dead Until Dark started it all. Sookie Stackhouse finally gets to meet her first vampire. Vampire Bill. She doesn't judge him for being undead. And he doesn't judge her for her....peculiarity. Sookie can read minds...and it's been a huge disability for her. It's hard to shut off others thoughts and most people end up thinking she is crazy, weird or scary. She's drawn to Bill because she can't hear his thoughts. Just blessed silence. Falling in love with a vampire....and getting drawn into vampire drama....can be dangerous.  Soon Sookie finds her life taking strange and new paths she never dreamed of. First love.....Dangerous love.

I still love this series. For my re-read, I'm listening to the audio version of the books from my library. I do have all the books on my keeper shelf, however. And there they shall stay. I'm sure this isn't going to be my last re-read of this series. I like the characters, the setting and the plots. When I need a splash of fangs and foes....this will probably be my go-to series for a vampire fix. It's a nice mix of humor, horror and hotness. :)

The audio version of Dead Until Dark I listened to from Recorded Books is about 9.5 hours long. Narrated by Johanna Parker, it's an enjoyable listen. Parker reads at a nice even pace and does a good job providing the voices for all the characters.

The Southern Vampire series has 13 books and several short stories. I can't wait to re-read each one! :) I need to find another series to read with my husband. The contests to see who got to open the packages and read the new books first was just too much fun....I miss it!