MAY FEATURE #1: Deadlocked: A Sookie Stackhouse Novel by Charlaine Harris

[paulgoatallen]

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[paulgoatallen]

This series has been a rollercoaster ride for me ever since the very beginning, way back in 2001 when Dead Until Dark was released. I've really enjoyed some installments and I've been disappointed by some as well. The last release, Dead Reckoning certainly wasn't the strongest novel in the series but I thought that Charlaine got the saga back on track in many ways.

So now I'm very interested to read Deadlocked – the next to last book in the entire series! – to see where Charlaine is ultimately taking this storyline.

The PW review (below) wasn't all that critical – they called it "intriguing" – so I'm going into this with a completely open mind...  

The events of Dead Reckoning—particularly the death of the despicable but powerful vampire Victor—have consequences for Sookie Stackhouse and her supernatural gang in Harris’s intriguing 13th and penultimate series installment. When Sookie’s vampire husband, Eric Northman, summons her to his Shreveport home to welcome the visiting king, Felipe de Castro, and his entourage, she’s shocked to find Eric feeding on another woman while the king and his underlings ravage their own humans downstairs. The woman Eric fed from turns up dead on his front lawn and someone calls the police, putting Eric and Felipe’s entourage under suspicion. With the help of ex-boyfriend Bill Compton, Sookie grudgingly sets out to clear Eric’s name while trying to keep the local fae under control after her kin, Claude and Niall, return to the land of Faery. As loyalties realign and betrayals are unmasked, Harris ably sets the stage for the ensemble’s last hurrah. Agent: Joshua Bilmes, JABberwocky Literary Agency. (May)

[Nallia Distinguished Bibliophile]

I have my copy!  I'm so excited, I can't wait!

[paulgoatallen]

JUST FINISHED! Here are my thoughts (spoiler free):

http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Explorations-The-BN-SciFi-and/So-Long-Bon-Temps-With-Only-One...

[FaeryQueen]

I'm picking up my copy Sunday...Harris is in town for a signing. Knowing how fast I breeze through these I should have it done by the time I hit the bed monday.

[ThirstyFlea]

My copy is in the mail to me right now! I opted for the hard cover version this time- heck, if I'm spending $15 on a book, I'd rather have it in paper than on my nook, where I'd archive it right after I read and never "see" it again!

I'll read it this weekend! Excited and nervous...

[jgmme]

Well I finished this one just the other day, I can't believe that there is only going to be one more book. As far as this book goes, I enjoyed it, but I still enjoyed the earlier books better. I am sad to see this series end, but it might be for the best. This is a series that I will reread though the years when ever I need to visit Sookie and friends. So far it's been a great ride and I am looking forward to the HEA.

[paulgoatallen]

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jgmme wrote:
Well I finished this one just the other day, I can't believe that there is only going to be one more book. As far as this book goes, I enjoyed it, but I still enjoyed the earlier books better. I am sad to see this series end, but it might be for the best. This is a series that I will reread though the years when ever I need to visit Sookie and friends. So far it's been a great ride and I am looking forward to the HEA.

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I've been thinking about this A LOT lately and my official prediction – stated here today May 8, 2012 – is that Sookie will end up marrying Sam and they will live happily ever after running Merlotte's and producing more than a few children!

Paul

[jgmme]

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paulgoatallen wrote:

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jgmme wrote:
Well I finished this one just the other day, I can't believe that there is only going to be one more book. As far as this book goes, I enjoyed it, but I still enjoyed the earlier books better. I am sad to see this series end, but it might be for the best. This is a series that I will reread though the years when ever I need to visit Sookie and friends. So far it's been a great ride and I am looking forward to the HEA.

---

I've been thinking about this A LOT lately and my official prediction – stated here today May 8, 2012 – is that Sookie will end up marrying Sam and they will live happily ever after running Merlotte's and producing more than a few children!

Paul

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I would have to agree with you......that's how I see it working out too.

[paulgoatallen]

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jgmme wrote:

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paulgoatallen wrote:

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jgmme wrote:
Well I finished this one just the other day, I can't believe that there is only going to be one more book. As far as this book goes, I enjoyed it, but I still enjoyed the earlier books better. I am sad to see this series end, but it might be for the best. This is a series that I will reread though the years when ever I need to visit Sookie and friends. So far it's been a great ride and I am looking forward to the HEA.

---

I've been thinking about this A LOT lately and my official prediction – stated here today May 8, 2012 – is that Sookie will end up marrying Sam and they will live happily ever after running Merlotte's and producing more than a few children!

Paul

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I would have to agree with you......that's how I see it working out too.

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And honestly, Jo, I'm fine with that – it seems like a good way to end it. No crazy surprises – just life goes on in Bon Temps...

[jgmme]

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paulgoatallen wrote:

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jgmme wrote:

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paulgoatallen wrote:

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jgmme wrote:
Well I finished this one just the other day, I can't believe that there is only going to be one more book. As far as this book goes, I enjoyed it, but I still enjoyed the earlier books better. I am sad to see this series end, but it might be for the best. This is a series that I will reread though the years when ever I need to visit Sookie and friends. So far it's been a great ride and I am looking forward to the HEA.

---

I've been thinking about this A LOT lately and my official prediction – stated here today May 8, 2012 – is that Sookie will end up marrying Sam and they will live happily ever after running Merlotte's and producing more than a few children!

Paul

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I would have to agree with you......that's how I see it working out too.

---

And honestly, Jo, I'm fine with that – it seems like a good way to end it. No crazy surprises – just life goes on in Bon Temps...

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Same here.....I have been secretly hoping that the 2 of them would get together.

[pen21]

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jgmme wrote:

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paulgoatallen wrote:

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jgmme wrote:

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paulgoatallen wrote:

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jgmme wrote:
Well I finished this one just the other day, I can't believe that there is only going to be one more book. As far as this book goes, I enjoyed it, but I still enjoyed the earlier books better. I am sad to see this series end, but it might be for the best. This is a series that I will reread though the years when ever I need to visit Sookie and friends. So far it's been a great ride and I am looking forward to the HEA.

---

I've been thinking about this A LOT lately and my official prediction – stated here today May 8, 2012 – is that Sookie will end up marrying Sam and they will live happily ever after running Merlotte's and producing more than a few children!

Paul

---

I would have to agree with you......that's how I see it working out too.

---

And honestly, Jo, I'm fine with that – it seems like a good way to end it. No crazy surprises – just life goes on in Bon Temps...

---

Same here.....I have been secretly hoping that the 2 of them would get together.

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I love predictions! That ending would be good for me. My book should be shipped tomorrow. I will put the books down that I am reading and pick this one up.

[ThirstyFlea]

I didn't get to the book this weekend as I had hoped  , but now that I've read a few reviews (that I need to stay away from!), that claimed it was boring... so not really motivating me to want to put down my current book and inhale this one. I will though! It is the next on my list, and I do like to form my own opinions... !

[Fangbanger]

Thirsty, I would disagree with the "boring" assessment of the book.  I have been pretty dissatisfied with the last couple Sookie Stackhouse books, but I have to say that I really enjoyed this one.  It is definitely ramping up to the final book next year, and I think that a sense of urgency really permeates the whole book.  I don't want to spoil anything, so I am waiting for others to start posting so we can really discuss it, but suffice to say I enjoyed it a lot.

[FaeryQueen]

I haven't gotten to this one yet, even through I went and got it signed....

At the signing Harris said that she will have a new 'rural fantasy' series coming out in 2014 after the last Sookie book is released.  Sounds like one of the characters from her Harper Connelly mystery series will be in the new series.

[Katie983]

Yeah, I have to admit, I wasn't a big fan of this one either. It had its thrilling moments but they were over and resolved quickly before the book was even half over. I've been a fan of Harris' books ever since Dead Until Dark, I sure hate to see this series slip away.

[pen21]

I started Deadlocked and have read about 100 pages. I really like it and the book is what I was looking for in the book. It is still hard to believe the series is coming to a close.

[pen21]

I finished Deadlocked last weekend. I really liked it. Sookie is still changing as a character but remains just Sookie doing all her normal activities with all the abnormal activities around her. Sookie is still very rooted in the world she grew up in. I do like all the predictions after reading the book. I could see Sookie and Sam. It will be interesting to see if the last book will be a happy wrapup or a Sookie world that isn't so perfect.

[paulgoatallen]

Sookie + Sam running Merlotte's as the sun sets.....

That's my guess for the ending.

[ThirstyFlea]

I just finished last night. I see where some people are saying the book was boring- I don't quite think that, it was just a different pace than some of the previous books. It wasn't just one constant supernatural debacle after another- there was some of that, but this book seemed like Sookie was trying to stay away from that, and a little like she was just jaded. Kidnapped? Someone trying to set her up for something? Been there, done that. But different- she handled each situation maturely while still remaining herself. She was even making mature relationship, business, and personal decisions, all of which were keeping her grounded. 

I have no idea how the series will end- whether she ends up with Sam, or alone, or with Eric or Bill- whatever her decision will be will be the best decision she can make and I'll be happy with that. This book showed me that she can make good decisions for herself.