Abigail Reynolds

                            
I  have been indulging myself by buying up e-books by Abigail Reynolds.  She has a vast collection of Pride and Prejudice variations, each one slightly different, each one having you worry and hope that THE couple will end up together, somehow, someway.  They are all like a box of chocolates…you really can’t just have one!
                                      
A Pemberley Medley.  A cute collection of short stories featuring my favourite romantic couple.    Each one an engrossing variation on the other.  This is the first that I have read by this author, and I found it charming. 
                                       
To Conquer Mr. Darcy.   This variation was shocking.  There was more than enough sexual tension in it to actually bore me.  I don’t wish to be rude or critical, I don’t wish to hurt anyone for any reason, but I disagree with the amount of sexual content, and of the actual alteration of the protagonists’characters to enable such content.  I have become very familiar over the years with each character in Pride and Prejudice, and this did not sit well with me. 
                                     
Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy: The Last Man in the World.   I found this variation to be very interesting.  While still having some sexual tension, this time it felt like the right amount at the right time, and accentuated a perfect moment in the story.  This is the kind of story that engages me because here are the very same two characters encountering and overcoming problems so that they can ultimately be together.  Georgianna Darcy, however, was very out of character, and it was incongruent with previous versions (though I guess it could be valid considering her circumstances).
                                    
Mr Darcy’s Undoing.  Again this is a variation that was interesting, but then became quite uncomfortable for me because yet again we have people behaving out of character, and there is sex in abundance.    I admit that this time I caught myself just skimming the sex scenes (and I was NOT tempted to go back again to see what I had missed). 

Sex can be a very useful storytelling device, especially when you have two such passionate  individuals as Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy.  Jane Austen was not afraid to mention this in a favourable light in her book, but never went into details (which has always been the charm in her stories).  I also understand other peoples needs to indulge in a little sex for these two, as they might have felt a little ripped off  after the two of them taking such a long, hard time to finally get together.  While Reynolds does her sex scenes very well, I have to admit that it is too much, and even knowing how passionate our couple is, it just isn’t possible for them both to have such weakness of character to behave in such an inappropriate way.   
I will still read them all (I have six more of Reynolds’ books to read on my Kindle app), because I just cannot resist a Pride and Prejudice story.  
                                   
What Would Mr Darcy Do?  Was a relief.  All the angst, fear, suspense, and then gratifying satisfaction (sans sex!).    After reading so many of these stories I am going to take a lovely long break and look forward to future indulgences in the new year (which I promise not to write about!).

The Houseguest

For us die-hard Pride and Prejudice fans who just want that little bit more from the story, this book is a delicious little treat.  I have been, and suspect always will be a sucker for new ideas, variations and twists on the universal theme.  I adore this story because one of the minor characters Georgiana Darcy has more of a leading role in this variation, which in itself provides much food for thought about her initial role in the original story, and it's catalitic role.  I wonder if anyone has ever thought about writing a variation that does not include her?  It would certainly be an entirely different story (or in my opinion, no story at all).  I am especially fond of the relationship that Adams developed between Elizabeth Bennet and Georgiana Darcy, it was cute and sweet and had me wishing for a little sister of my own.  Naturally the relationship between Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth is fascinating in this variation too, complete with all of it's inevitabilities (the misunderstandings, the confusion, and that simmering sexual tension).  This version includes all of what I consider to be the vital ingredients for a Pride and Prejudice vagary, and I do recommend it to fans of this kind of story.
I first encountered this book at  Fan.Fiction.Net    I went back and re-read it twice before it was mostly removed from the site inviting us to buy it at Amazon.ca.  It was my first Kindle purchase, and I was extremely excited to buy it.  You can look at the authors othre fan fiction here Elizabeth Adams  it is worth a peek, and you can buy her e-book here The Houseguest.

A Little Bit Janeish...

I have to admit that as far as these novels go, I have been disappointed  with Grange’s diaries because I don’t see much more than what is really already there in Jane Austen’s books. The biggest allure of reading such novels is getting something more, something ’tasty’ from the other side, some tidbits that make us love our romantic heroes even more than we already do, something...that we don't know already.  That doesn’t happen in these books (I have read two other diaries).  What did happen out of the ordinary in this book is a prelude, which is a nice change from what I have already read by Amanda Grange.  This prelude really was written very well, and for that alone I would recommend this book to fans of Jane Austen's Persuasion. 

Dead Ever After (possible spoilers!)

It has been more than a week since I finished Dead Ever After and I took some time to mull it over before I decided what to write about it.  After four months of the excitement and build up to the end of this series, I don't know what I was expecting.  I was a little deflated and even a little bit disappointed after finishing it and I think that was because I had built myself up into such a froth that I was full of too much anticipation for the end.   After a few days I could see that there was no other way this could possibly have ended, it all makes sense (and we don't need to have a whole bunch of bells and whistles to show that). 
To be really clear, I loved this ending.  All of my wishes came true.  I don't think there could possibly be a book out there by Charlaine Harris that I couldn't like and I wasn't disappointed by how she polished off the Southern Vampire series.  Polished (until it sparkled) is what she did indeed do.  Everything that you can imagine as a loose end was tied off (in neat little bows), and this story is definitely over.  I do hope that from time to time when one of Harris's anthologies comes out, we will hear about how Sookie is doing, but I'm pretty happy with how it all ended, and don't feel the need to know what happens next with any kind of urgency.
I know I have remarked on it before but I think that Charlaine Harris's ability to write a series which did not flag in any way throughout all thirteen books, proves her to have a special talent for planning, perception and execution of a well made story, and when it was all over, I realised that she really knows how to wrap it up beautifully too.
I was saving the fan fiction for the very end for after I had read all of the books because I didn't want it to bias what was canon, but today when I looked at the website I just couldn't do it.  I saw just from the summaries that there was a few that had decided to rewrite their own versions of book thirteen because they were unhappy with the ending.  I don't wish to be insulting (and hopefully I won't be!), but I don't understand their disappointment.  Well...actually I do.  I think that those people are perhaps what I would lable the True Bloods.  The ones that care more about the vampires and probably the television show rather than what I think is the whole point of the books.  This is Sookie's story, it always has been, and everything else has just been a means to an end for that story.  It's too bad that they couldn't see that, and I have absolutely no interest in reading their fan fiction.
Thanks Charlaine...and I look forward to seeing what you do next.

Deadlocked

       After the last puzzling and depressing instalment, Deadlocked was a breath of fresh air.  We swung back again to what I know and love about the Sookie Stackhouse universe.  I laughed quite a bit, and it was such a relief to have good old Sookie back to her spunky, sarcastic old self.  I had really missed her, and was worried she wouldn’t spring back.  There was so much emotional turmoil involved in everything that happened ( I am amazed at how much was stuffed into one book) so at the very end of Deadlocked I was very close to tears.  Naturally, Sookie can never really go back to what she used to be, and I am really very impressed with how over the years Charlaine Harris has developed this wonderful, intricate character.  I have always enjoyed reading about the journey that a character struggles through until they reach their true self, and I really love how Sookie has grown.
While it seemed like some storylines were being tied off, there is still just a little bit more to be told, and I am aquiver in anticipation for the grand finale.  I still have absolutely no idea how it will end even after what Sookie did in the final chapter.  We all know by now what I hope for and I will find out in just a few short days...can't wait!

Dead Reckoning

The other shoe still hasn't dropped.  There was an underlying tension or suspense throughout Dead Reckoning that something really awful hasn't happened yet.  Lots of bad stuff did happen of course, but since reading the last book Dead in the Family I have had this feeling that there is more incredibly awful stuff yet to come.
I expect to be surpised!  I haven't yet predicted what might happen in any Sookie book and I have tried, with this re-read of the Southern Vampire Series not to make any predictions about how it might end (and the arsehat in Germany who published today the ending of this series by illegal means... you are a jerk! and I will not let you spoil it for me!)
We have a little of the Sookie that I love back.  She is still healing from her wounds, and she has done some amazing things (like she usually does).  She is one strong woman who has come back tougher and the most aggressive I have ever seen her.  There is this feeling of finishing up some stories, tidying up those loose ends, and it just has me more excited for the finish.  I am still rooting for Sam to be the one that Sookie will end up with but that's by no means a sure thing...yet.
I am a little more comfortable about how the story ended, there were some things that have been bugging me but they have been resolved or averted maybe (vague much?).  The finish line is in my sights, just two more to go until this wonderful story ends!

Dead in the Family

Okay, this was a hard one to read the first time through.  It was off, in a way I still have not entirely understood, and it was different from any other Sookie Stackhouse book.  I admire Harris for her ability to do this and I think she is an amazing writer.
Everything is different in the Sookieverse, after her survival of another supernatural war that happened at the end of Dead and Gone.  The atmosphere is so raw and just barely mended, everything that happened in the story was either awful or just plain ugly (though there were some very interesting bits too but I won't tell you about them...spoilers!).   They were overshadowed by this overall feeling that the other shoe hasn't dropped yet, so it was a hard book to read, and I missed Sookie as she usually is.  It was said in the last book  Dead and Gone that she would never be the same, and after reading this I agree... this is a different kind of world (or I just see it differently through Sookie's eyes).  There are just three more books to go now!

The Secret Adversary

For a second novel, it is really quite good!  But then, it seems that whatever Agatha Christie put her hand to came off rather beautifully.   I have really enjoyed reading her autobiography, and I can appreciate what she wrote even more now after reading about her life and what she thought important to write about.   A little spy/mystery/romance goes quite a long way, and Christie wrote it in such an easy way, that it is just effortlessly and satisfactorily gobbled up in one afternoon (to be consumed with cups of Earl Grey tea naturally).

Dead and Gone

For a few books now Sookie has managed not to get too physically damaged, mostly the harm has been to her heart.  This time, this book seems to have caught up on all the pain she has missed previously.  There have been a lot of pivotal changes, some disappointments, new developments, and indications of what is to come (ambiguous enough for you?).  I was shaken after reading Dead and Gone, and I'm not too sure what to make of it.  This is my second reading (I haven't been tempted to re-read this one because of it's element of horror), but this was the last one to be read this month (I have been rationing them out so that by the time number thirteen has been published I would be ready to go!).  It has been a bit of a struggle to stop at just the three for each month, especially now that Tor books is promoting their own re-read of the books building up to the end...

From Dead to Worse

Things are getting dark in the Sookieverse.  Lots of action (almost non-stop), loads of awful things happening, and of course Alcide Herveaux has gotten himself well and truly written off and out of the running (in my humble opinion... I just can't concieve of Sookie taking him on now or ever).  It's unfortunate because at the beginning he seemed really promising, but the more I get to know him the more repugnant he is.  Eric has gained some points and is actually being quite sweet, I feel really sorry for Quinn who just doesn't seem to get a break,  Bill still impresses me with his constancy but he really doesn't have a chance,  and last but not least my favorite Sam has consistently proven his worth (though I really shouldn't get my hopes up). 
This book in a way was a Spring Cleaning kind of book. A whole bunch of loose ends were taken care of (quite satisfactorily), with the promise of some good things to come.  Naturally, it won't stay that way. 

Indulging the Romantic

 Huge fan of Jane Austen?  Can’t get enough of Pride and Prejudice?  Well look no further (well maybe that isn’t the right thing to say as I will always be on the lookout for more fan fiction about Pride and Prejudice!).  This trilogy goes a long way to fulfilling the need for more.  The Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman trilogy is very thorough.  Three books about one book, all about  Darcy’s delicious side of the tale, it is very satisfying, doling out not just Darcy’s oh-so-wrong outlook and his struggles to become the man that would be eligible for marriage with Elizabeth Bennet, but sharing other lovely tidbits of Regency Era history, and some nods to the other books that Austen wrote (but I’m not going to tell you much about that…it’s just too much fun to find them on your own).  This is a must-have for a Janeites collection, and be sure to have plenty of Earl Grey tea, harp music, and  of course, an empty weekend in which to indulge yourself completely with this lovely collection of novels.

With this first installment we get to see just how snotty, selfish, ignorant and arrogant our romantic hero is.  But never fear, we do get to see the goodness in him too when we see how loving he is with his sister. I also simply adored Aidan's extras (people not featured in Pride and Prejudice).

I loved how much character development was done here, and the Gothic goodies were so very deliciously macabre.

The wonderful conclusion.  We all know how the story ends... but with this the struggle was so engaging, Darcy's angstful efforts to become our romantic hero (with all its warts etc.,) was epic.  I will be re-reading this in the not too distant furture.

Definitely Dead

Ya know what really 'get's my goat, turns my crank, bee's my bonnet'?  A story that has something missing.  Or rather makes you feel like you have missed something really important, and what makes this even worse, is there are quite a few referrences in the book to the 'thing' you have missed.  If you aren't in the know you are missing something important, so the first time I read this book, I was actually getting agitated thinking that I had missed something, that somehow Amazon.ca had messed up my order ( I had initially bought an eight-pack)...something was wrong because I had never heard anything before about the plot.   WHAT where they talking about!  It was driving me nuts!  So, just in case this is your first time, I can reassure you now, the problem is not with you!  The problem is with the fact that when Charlaine Harris is not writing her novels she is editing and contributing to collections of short stories, many of which are from the Sookieverse which are not one-offs, but little tidbits that advance the story along.  So if you haven't read the short story you could be missing out on something important.  So while it's not essential to read the short fiction for the integrity of the novels, this one, this particular little story featured quite a bit in Definitely Dead, and it was frustrating.  Which is not fair when there is already so much pivotal stuff happening in this book.  Six books in we could be in danger of it all being just filler keeping the space warm for when it gets interesting again, but not in this case.  Quite a few important things happen that further the general plot and develop the characters.  I can't wait to see what happens next!

Dead As A Doornail

With this fifth book the Sookieverse has become more complicated.  Harris has introduced some more background to her fictional world and it has just made things more exciting than before (though I like some of her characters even less).  But that's natural.  Some of them are just the biggest arsehats imaginable, though there is some new blood mixed in to make things more interesting. 
There were so many threads to this particular book it was kind of like a soap opera which is okay because it changes things up, we don't get the same old routine (this is what probably has kept Harris' story so fresh for so long).  Sookie gets hurt again, but not as bad as before.  I can't really go into it because I hate to drop spoilers.  I am particularly fond of the new character introduced, and, since I have already read everything up to date I am looking differently at the others (especially the one that was just stuck in oh so sneakily...I 'll be watching him carefully).  Ooops....well that was just a vague allusion, there are so many guys in the plot now.  A great rollicking read which was a pleasure from start to finish.
To date Sookie has been hurt five times in various horrible ways, I don't know how she continues to plug along as she does, it 's not like she earns this treatment! 

Dead to the World

Beginning this book I had a sense of visiting with a girlfriend.  I know Sookie pretty well by now and she really feels like my friend.  I once wrote to another author that whenever one of her books was due to come in the mail it felt like a visit from an old friend who was anxiously waited for,  excited over and very welcome.  Its' the same thing with Sookie.  We're all friends here now, it's just us girls, we love to hang out, have some coffee and stick together through thick and thin.
Sookie's had her fair share of both in this book (thick and thin), but for once, she did not get beaten up (yay).  Some serious life changing things have happened, and she handled them with the usual courage and strength.  Eric Northman was the focus in this book and it was actually kind of sweet.  I liked Sookie's attitude of enjoying the affair while she could, she's being kind to herself as well as just plain sensible.  Her life is just so different to everyone elses so I'm glad she found some happiness while she could (and it helped put Bill into the background).  Of course, her life is still hard, and I dont' see when it will get better, I think she will probably have to struggle the rest of her life, but it would be so much better if she had someone (Sam...please make it Sam!).

Club Dead

I just love the cover art of this book!  The eight-pack I bought featured stills of the actors from True Blood on the covers of the first two, so I missed out.
In Club Dead Sookie has come up against the worse possible scenario yet in her relationship with Bill, and as a consequence she has suffered more than she thought possible, but yet again perservered through all of it to do what she believes is right, despite how she feels.  I really admire her for what she did, how she behaved,  and the good part is that in the end she did come out on top.  Somehow Sookie manages to survive again.
In this book we are provided with two new contenders in the Who-Will-Sookie-Happy-Ever-After-With?  Sweepstakes.  I don't like either of them very much, though I prefer Alcide to Eric (though I thought it cute when Eric couldn't bear Sookie's tears in Living Dead in Dallas).  Alcide can at least give Sookie more, like a good home, children etc.,  Eric is just another selfish vampire, though perhaps not as selfish  as others.
To tally up, Sookie got hurt badly twice, though one was not technically getting beaten up but I'll count it anyway.  So that's four in total.  Ten more books to go!

Living Dead in Dallas

 This is book two of the Southern Vampires series, and the continuing adventures of Sookie Stackhouse.  Things get a little more complicated for Sookie this time, but she handles it with her usual intelligence, spunk and aplomb (I loved the part where she just stuck it to Portia Bellefleur and never gave her a single inch).  
There are two plots (story a and story b) and I just love how Harris has woven them together to make a really good story.    After reading the first book (which I had taken out of the library after  DS#1's brilliant, lovely and  beautiful girlfriend recommended it to me), I promptly went and bought the first eight books (sold in a convenient eight pack on Amazon.ca), and rapidly ripped through them. I am really fond of Sookie and her world so I am most anxious to see what will ultimately happen. This time around I am keeping an eye out for the little things and trying not to miss something because I was too eager to find out what happened the first time.  I am savoring all the moments.
The over-all story doesn't progress too far, but lots of things happen to keep it lively and Harris has a real talent for telling a story and keeping you interested which I think is rare (there are many series I have attempted which have just become so incredibly boring or far-fetched after a few books and you can just see that the author has over-extended themselves and lost the plot).
As usual the television show True Blood blew this book all out of proportion in an extremely stupid and pointless way.  It reminds me of the (ahem) 'storyline' to a porn movie, where the writers just sit down together and brainstorm on how they can optimize the sex or depravity to the utmost, and the more boobs and butts the better!  I hate what they have done to Sam's character, and to make something bad even worse, they destroyed Sookie's house which is such an anchor in the books.  I know that people really enjoy the show, and even Charlaine Harris has nothing but good things to say about it, but I'm just really glad that I read the books initially because I would not have given them a second thought if it had been the show I had encountered first.

*Spoiler Alert*  I am going to keep a tally of how many times the girl gets beaten up.  It was twice in the first book, once in this book...  I am amazed at how often she gets hurt by people, and so far it has been because of her involvement with vampires.

Soulless

 I love a good romance based in the 1800's.  Even better, a romance/mystery based in the 1800's plus werewolves, vampires, and a steampunk theme!!  Soulless by Gail Carriger has all this and more.  It was a pleasant vacation from some of the stuff I have been reading lately which has been really heavy.  I blame it on Jane Austen, who has for a large chunk of my life influenced me to love the strong, intelligent female protagonist, who never compromises herself for anything or anyone.  And funny!  I had a few laughs which was really needed, so all in all a good romp in an alternate universe full of my favorite things.  What's not to love?

On The Home Stretch

2013 signals the end of a fascinating story.  The Southern Vampire Series by Charlaine Harris  is coming to an end at book thirteen.  I have followed this story with interest and the characters are my absolute favorites, I love the main protagonist Sookie Stackhouse.    Usually I don't hold much truck with series (lets face it there are so many out there now and some of them are so long winded that they have lost my interest before completion...Wheel of Time anyone?), and  there are the series that will just not ever end! (I shrink in horror from those).

Sookie Stackhouse's story is a hard one, and I have been impressed (for the most part) with how she has dealt with adversity.  Harris wrote her characters very well, I have a strong sense of what it's like to be a well brought up southern woman, complete with good manners, a strong backbone, and a determination to present a certain front to the rest of the world which has it's own 'old world' kind of charm.  I have always liked a story that has presented a strong southern woman as I admire them immensely (Steel Magnolias and Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe).  I imagine that  Harris has inserted her own personal strength into her female characters, that makes them strong even after suffering as they have (and with a sense of humor too).  After reading all of her other books, and her blog, Harris impresses me with her  strength and intelligence. 

This next year I will be re-reading the whole series as part of my reading challenge for 2013 completeing them all in time for May 5th when the last Sookie Stackhouse story will be published.  I am a little sad to see her go, but at the same time it's a good thing that the story is ending (that line from the movie Fried Green Tomatoes "A lady always knows when to leave..." comes to mind).
I don't know how it will end, every book has been a surprise for me.  Sookie has had a few relationships which have caused her some pain (though she has always become stronger because of it), There's Bill who was her first lover, Sam who is her boss (he's on the list though they have never been together), Eric the Viking Vamp and the weretiger Quinn.   I know what I hope for, and it has actually been biasing what I have read so far this week.  I hope that Sookie will live happily ever after with Sam who can protect her, give her children, and grow old with her.  Not that these are his only good qualities, he has been in love with her for years, has supported her through all of her troubles, and consistently treated her with the greatest respect (and has always spoken his mind if he hasn't liked something she's done), which to me are the ingredients of a good marriage, and with the way that the last book Deadlocked ended, I am optimistic that Sam just might be Sookie's Happily Ever After.  Of course, Harris might have other ideas which is why this series has been so very good from start to almost finished.

I have just finished Dead Until Dark, my introduction to Sookie and her life in Bon Temps.  I have been thoroughly scrutinising every word because I don't plan on reading this series for a good long while and I want to savor every page.   There's interesting little tidbits everywhere which I have forgotten (or perhaps not noticed first time through because I am usually in a rush to find out what's happened), which incidentally support my Sam theories (it has been flavoring my opinions, but don't worry though... I know that Harris could easily go a whole 'nother way).

One influence that I do find rather annoying is the tv show.  I will state right now that I really don't like what they have done in True Blood.  This is not my picture of Sookie's life.   It is overdone, overblown and makes Sookie out to be a bit stupid and crass (which she certainly isn't), and the town of Bon Temps and the characters in it are over the top (waaaay over that top!).  I stopped watching it after the second season, realizing that the focus was on all of the bad stuff and the small stuff (like the sex etc.,).  And some of the characters from the book have had awful treatments and alterations which add an ugly bias of their own and take away from what has always been prevalent in Harris' books which is Sookie's tolerance and acceptance of everybody, no matter what type of person they are, whatever supernatural leaning or level of intelligence. Sadly, I have lost the picture in my mind of what I thought the characters used to look like  and the True Blood actors have imposed themselves in their place.  While I realize that certain story lines are impossible to put to screen, most of these embellishments are not necessary and frankly take away from what is, in my mind, the most important thing in the story, Sookie Stackhouse.

I'm really looking forward to reading the rest of the series and will try to contain my excitement until May.  No matter what Harris decides to do in the end, whichever way she decides to go, I know that I am just going to love it!