Morbid Romantic

Book Review & Personal Blog

Title: All Together Dead (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 7)
Author(s): Charlaine Harris
Genre: Fiction – Paranormal
Finished: May 22, 2009
Rating: 4 Stars

Time for the Rhodes vampire conference, which Sookie must attend as part of the Queen of Louisiana’s entourage. In All Together Dead, Sookie is a valuable asset what with Louisiana being weakened by Katrina and the Queen, Sophie-Anne, under suspicion for killing her husband, the King of Arkansas. For money, Sookie has agreed to attend the conference and read the minds of any humans present in case someone is thinking something that might be important for Sophie-Anne to know. Her new boyfriend, were tiger Quinn, is also in attendance setting up events. However, unfortunately for them and their budding romance, they don’t get to spend much time together.

But at least Sookie has one friend. Barry the Telepathic bellboy is there with another group, and the two of them find few moments of peace to work out their gifts together. As two of the only humans there, they find themselves at the call of the stronger and more powerful vampires who send them out on missions such as assassin investigation. It’s not easy to be at the bottom of the food chain.

After the last book, this one was a big improvement. Relations will Bill are still rocky, but at least Sookie will acknowledge his name. Sookie isn’t too fond of being a lackey for the Queen and her personal bodyguard Andre, but she realizes her limitations and goes with it as best she can. Her relationship with Eric deepens in All Together Dead. The two of them find that the bond they had formed when they first exchanged blood is now multifaceted and far more complicated than before. I am very happy about that since I think that Sookie and Eric make a far better and complex couple than Sookie and Bill. I also think that Eric appreciates Sookie in a different and more meaningful way. Sookie brings something out in Eric that no one else does and I think that says a lot about the nature of their relationship.

It was just good to get back to some of the older characters. Granted, they were a long way from Bon Temps and Merlotte’s. I don’t feel like the Southern Vampire Mysteries needs any more characters since every new inclusion comes at the expense of interaction with other older, favorite characters.

All Together Dead does not fall short on action and mystery, either. There is sinister intent all around and Sookie can feel it. Between can bombs and dead assassins and shifty waiters/hotel workers, you never know who the enemy is. It is also pretty hard to be one of the only humans in a building full of blood drinkers, as well. Toward the end of the story, when the action picks up full force, it’s well written and done just right to level the suspense and intensity off without overdoing it and making it too dramatic.

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Disclaimer(s):

- More can be found in my Reviews section.
- If you would like me to review your book, send an email to me at morbidromantic@gmail.com. Read my Book Review Policy for more information.

Here are the latest book giveaways I have come across in my travels through the world wide web. Whenever I see a book up for giveaway that I think sounds like a good read, I will post a link to the giveaway so that all of you, my readers, can go to the website and snag a chance to win for yourself. Below you will find cover images (clickable to their Amazon.com page), the name of the author, the name of the book, the link to the giveaway, and the date the contest ends. If you need any help or have any questions, feel free to comment.

If you are hosting a book giveaway and would like me to list it here, leave me a comment with the contest URL or send me an email at morbidromantic@gmail.com.

Win Rosemary Laurey’s Bloody Good at Patricia’s Vampire Notes
Contest ends May 28th

Win Katie Alender’s Bad Girls Don’t Die at Shalonda’s Blog
Contest ends May 28th

Win Carrie Ryan’s The Forest of Hands and Teeth at Addicted to Books
Contest ends May 29th

Win Michelle Moran’s The Heretic Queen at Royal Reviews
Contest ends May 31st

Win J.R. Ward’s Lover Avenged at Royal Reviews
Contest ends May 31st

Win Stephanie Meyer’s The Host or Charlaine Harris’ Dead and Gone at Reading, Writing and Ranting
Contest ends May 31st

Win one of five books at the Your Choice for May Competition at Alaine- Queen of Happy Endings
Contest ends May 31st

Win one of six books at An Eclectic Giveaway at The Eclectic Reader
Contest ends May 31st

Win Karen Rose’s I Can See You at Lori’s Reading Corner
Contest ends June 5th

Win Lili St. Crow’s Strange Angels at Fantastic Book Review
Contest ends June 10th

Win Jacqueline Kolosov’s A Sweet Disorder at Lauren’s Crammed Bookshelf
Contest ends June 16th

Win Tess Callahan’s April & Oliver at Bookin’ With Bingo
Contest ends June 20th

Win Christine Feehan’s Fever and Burning Wild at Alaine- Queen of Happy Endings
Contest ends June 30th

Enter to win books at Reverie Book Reviews massive summer contest. Enter to win before the end of May. More books added all the time.

Do you give gift certificates to book stores as presents? If so, do you give for actual stores or online stores? Do you like to receive them yourself?

I don’t know anyone who is a heavy reader, so I don’t often get to give book gift certificates as gifts. If I did, it would be for an actual store since the person would be someone I would know in person, plus you can use store purchased gift certificates to shop online, too. Maybe one day I will make an online book BFF and we can give each other gift certificates on holidays and birthdays, but for now I don’t have anyone like that. I LOVE to get them for myself, though. If all my family and friends wanted to give me for my birthday and Christmas was gift certificates to book stores, I would be grateful and happy. It wouldn’t matter if it were an actual store bought card or a digital one. There is always something that I want somewhere.

Okay, we have winners for the contest to win one of five copies of Girls in Trucks by Katie Crouch…

The winning numbers are:
12, 30, 42, 49, 83

Winners:
Carol Lawrence
Marlene V.
wendy wallach
Heather M
Jennifer Jozwiak

I am going to email all of you now and request your addresses. Remember, no PO Boxes and no one from any country but the US and Canada. If you do not get my email and you are a winner, leave me a comment here or send me an email at morbidromantic[@]gmail.com. Please send me your address in 3 days or else I will have to choose a new winner in your place.

All thanks to Librarything’s Member Giveaway/Early Reviewer program, I won a copy of Fragment by Warren Fahy.

In this powerhouse of suspense—as brilliantly imagined as Jurassic Park and The Ruins—scientists have made a startling discovery: a fragment of a lost continent, an island with an ecosystem unlike any they’ve seen before . . . an ecosystem that could topple ours like a house of cards.

The time is now. The place is the Trident, a long-range research vessel hired by the reality TV show Sealife. Aboard is a cast of ambitious young scientists. With a director dying for drama, tiny Henders Island might be just what the show needs. Until the first scientist sets foot on Henders—and the ultimate test of survival begins . . .

For when they reach the island’s shores, scientists are utterly unprepared for what they find—creatures unlike any ever recorded in natural history. This is not a lost world frozen in time, an island of mutants, or a lab where science has gone mad: this is the Earth as it might have looked after evolving on a separate path for half a billion years.

Soon the scientists will stumble on something more shocking than anything humanity has ever encountered: because among the terrors of Henders Island, one life form defies any scientific theory—and must be saved at any cost.

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Gauntlet by Richard Aaron
Cutting-edge research, complex plotting and in-depth characterizations lift Aaron’s debut, a terrorist thriller. Afghan Yousseff Said al-Sabbhan, who’s built an enormous drug-smuggling enterprise, has worked out with his co-conspirator, the Emir, a plan to destroy an American city and bring the country to its knees. Opposing the plotters is the Terrorist Threat Integration Center, a secret agency staffed by men and women drawn from every sector of the U.S. intelligence community. Autistic mathematician Hamilton Turbee, a TTIC employee, is a standout in a vast cast of characters, surely one of the most interesting and endearing heroes ever to star in an action adventure novel. Despite the incredible amount of detail and the constant flashbacks, Aaron keeps the action moving swiftly forward. Some readers may be frustrated by the abrupt ending as well as patches of mundane prose, but all will eagerly await the two projected sequels.