My preferred genres to read tend to be contemporary and historical fiction...romance, especially paranormal romance, isn't really up my alley at all (with the exception of the Twilight series). So I was surprised by how much I really enjoy reading Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire Mysteries series, but enjoy it I do. For those who watched the show (True Blood), Sookie Stackhouse in the books is a different (and much more compelling) character than she is on TV, so if you're thinking you might not want to read these because Sookie annoys you, don't let that keep you away. Book Sookie is stronger, sassier, more independent. She does have the same kind of improbable love life (even more suitors in the books than the show, actually), but hey, it's a romance series.

Harris has stated that she ended the series, which was still quite popular, because (to paraphrase) she was just not really feeling it anymore. And to be honest, it's pretty obvious over the course of the last three or four books that her interest was waning. The "mystery" at the center of the story doesn't build a ton of tension, but it serves okay as a framing device. There was a lot of storyline tying up going on here, and token final appearances by Sookie's exes...it very much feels like a "farewell" to the series.

As for the final resolution of Sookie's love life, I know a lot of fans pitched a fit at who she ends up with, and while that wasn't my personal OTP for this series, it's Harris' story to tell and I didn't feel like it came out of left field or anything like that. It's hard to evaluate the final book in a series on its own merits. You can take it on its own to a certain extent, but it's inextricably (to me, at least) tied in with how you feel about the entire series and how the whole story was told. In the end, I feel like my fondness for the series is likely overshadowing the weaknesses of this individual volume. I did really like reading these books, and I'd recommend them even for those who don't usually dabble in this genre. They're quick and entertaining, and I think of them kind of as literary snacks, like maybe a Hostess cupcake or something. Not a lot of nutritional value or lasting fullness there, but every once in a while it's a fun way to indulge a little. ( )

nice ending and not the man i thought it would be ( )

I went into this knowing how it was going to end. I mean, didn't we all, really? We knew it wasn't going to turn out the way we wanted. I had resigned myself to that before the book even came out. What I didn't expect was the total...blah-ness of the whole book. After waiting all this time for the final book, I felt very let -down by the whole thing. I can't even pinpoint a reason. I have read some of Harris's other work outside of the Sookie series, and this book was nowhere near her best work. Despite the action and deaths in this book, I felt as if nothing actually happened. And she's putting out another book in the fall (I think) that actually wraps up the Sookie universe, so I don't even know what the point of this book was.

If you've read the whole series, go borrow this one from the library. You may as well see what everyone is talking about. Just don't spend your money. ( )

I loved the ending. I'm not sure why people wanted it to end differently. ( )

can't believe I was winning for 10 books straight only to experience the biggest L of my entire life with this endgame. I should've quit after book 11