Club Dead by Charlaine Harris (BOOK REVIEW) 5/5

Back to the series I love, again, and Club Dead doesn’t disappoint. Where some things didn’t hit right for me in book 2, Living Dead in Dallas, they hit excellently in book 3. Right on par again, with the witty humor and sizzling sexual tension. The romance in this book is so relatable, it makes me want to cry. Beware of spoilers.

In Club Dead, the wonderful Sookie Stackhouse is having relationship hiccups! More than hiccups, actually- she goes through the very real situation of her beloved beau Bill going on a work excursion, only to shack up with another woman and plan on leaving her. Only… this is a vampire story, so of course, it’s not so clean cut and simple. He gets kidnapped, tortured, and Sookie becomes his only hope at escape. Teaming up with the steamy hot werewolf, Alcide- a total dream who can’t see any reason not to be with Sookie besides his infatuation with his toxic ex, a situation many of us have probably gone through before- and the not so innocent vampire, Eric- whose passion for Sookie is unraveling fast, Sookie runs to Jackson, Mississippi to save Bill.

This book is filled with wonderful moments, a good mixture of heartfelt (like Sookie bonding with Alcide’s sister while pretending to be his new girlfriend) and shocking (like Sookie being staked AND staking another). The story beats are glorious, and the characters get further and further fleshed out. My favorite quote comes from Eric, as one chapter ends, ‘“I don't like having feelings," Eric said coldly, and he left. That was a tough exit line to top.

Sookie is feeling herself in this book, indulging in being a beautiful, desirable woman who can fight and think for herself. She shows fear, being human of course, but it doesn’t stop her from diving head first into this dark, dangerous world. The universe just gets more and more intriguing, and it makes you want to read on. This is easily one of my favorite books in the series, a true comfort read for all that it shows and represents. It’s nice to see the complex tones of a relationship, the signs of flawed people even if they’re supernatural. To me, this is character writing done right and should be seriously studied by writers like myself. I can’t recommend this book enough.