Finishing up the Sookie Stackhouse Challenge

I've finished the Sookie Stackhouse Challenge by reading From Dead to Worse and Dead and Gone. There's one more book in the series, Dead in the Family, that was released in May. It's not part of the challenge, but I'm already on my library's waiting list for it.

Why Did I Pick Them Up:
Because I'm a challenge addict, finishing this challenge wasn't enough to make me pick up the last two books in the series (at least not as fast as I did). Oh no, I needed another push. I got it from The Seasonal Reading Challenge group at Goodreads. To complete one of the tasks for the challenge, I had to check out what other Goodreads members, who were online at the same time I was, were reading and choose one of those books to read. After checking the list a time or two, I found another member reading From Dead to Worse. 


Dead and Gone was read as part of the swimsuit task. For this task, you have to choose a swimsuit style that fit your reading type. The bathing suit styles included: Tank Suit (read 1 book that has at least 850 pages), Bikini (read 2 books totaling at least 850 pages and first published in 1946 (date of first named bikini) or later), Tankini (read 850 pages of book(s) published in last 5  years) or Victorian (the kind with sleeves, skirt & bloomers - read 850 pages of book(s) published between 1834 and 1901). I chose Tankini and Dead and Gone is one of the books for that task. To complete the task, I've picked two other books from my TBR pile that will help me fulfill the page requirement.

What Are They About?
From Dead to Worse -- From the publisher:

The supernatural community in Bon Temps, Louisiana, is reeling from two hard blows - the natural disaster of Hurricane Katrina and the man-made horror of the explosion at the vampire summit the month before in the up-north city of Rhodes. Sookie Stackhouse is safe but dazed, yearning for things to get back to normal. But that's just not happening. Too many vampires - some friends, some not - were killed or injured, and her weretiger boyfriend, Quinn, is among the missing.


It's clear that things are changing, whether the Weres and vamps of her corner of Louisiana like it or not. And Sookie - friend of the pack and blood-bonded to Eric Northman, the leader of the local vampire community - is caught up in the changes. In the ensuing battles, Sookie faces danger, death... and, once more, betrayal by someone she loves. And when the fur has finished flying and the cold blood flowing, her world will be forever altered.


Dead and Gone -- From the publisher:

Except for Sookie Stackhouse, folks in Bon Temps, Louisiana, know little about vamps-and nothing about weres.

Until now. The weres and shifters have finally decided to reveal their existence to the ordinary world. At first all goes well. Then the mutilated body of a were-panther is found near the bar where Sookie works-and she feels compelled to discover who, human or otherwise, did it.

But there's a far greater danger threatening Bon Temps. A race of unhuman beings-older, more powerful, and more secretive than vampires or werewolves-is preparing for war. And Sookie finds herself an all-too human pawn in their battle.


My Thoughts:
I'm surprised by how much I've enjoyed this series. Generally speaking, the whole vampire thing does absolutely nothing for me. But there is something about the characters, particularly Sookie, that keep me coming back for more. However, the series is pretty uneven for me. Some books didn't inspire me to continue reading the series as much as others. If I'd not been involved in a challenge I'm not sure I would have made it this far into the series.


One of these days, I need to try Charlaine Harris's Aurora Teagarden series. They're cozy mysteries with a librarian as the amateur sleuth. These books sound like they'd be even more to my liking. The first book in the series is Real Murders. I'll have to see if I can fit that one into the next seasonal challenge.