Sookie is a waitress in Bon Temps, Louisiana. Sounds pretty normal, right? Well, Sookie is not your average pretty blonde who serves customers for tips. Well, she does do that, but she also has to try really hard not to listen in to their thoughts. You see, Sookie can hear what people are thinking and she has to throw up walls in her head to keep them out of it. When a vampire comes in to her bar and sits at her table Sookie is completely captivated. You see, she doesn’t have to keep his thoughts out. He’s silent, and because of this he’s very attractive to Sookie. She’s not afraid of his vampirism, but once she gets to know him she see’s that there are many things she doesn’t like about the world of vampires. In this first novel in the series that birthed a popular HBO series called True Blood, we get to know the people of Bon Temps, as well as the others that live on the fringes of this town.

I read this series as they originally came out. This novel was published in 2001, 20 years ago. When the series True Blood came out, I was initially excited. However, I’m one of those people who believe that the series didn’t capture the tone of the original novels and although set in Bon Temps and having the same characters, can’t really claim to be the same series. I still have all of these books on my shelf, but truthfully, haven’t picked one up again because the goriness of that series is the image that my mind recalls instead of the original stories and the heart their characters portray. I am a huge fan of listening to some of the series I’ve read and when I saw the first two novels in this series on sale I decided to re-visit Sookie, Bill, and the characters I used to love and I am so happy I did! They were dark, but the humor and heart were exactly as I remembered and I really enjoyed Johanna Parker’s narration. She nailed Sookie’s character and read this novel with the naiveté and resolve that this character deserved. If, like me, the tv series turned you off and tainted your memories of these books, give these audiobooks a try. I truly was pleasantly surprised.

Dead Until Dark as the first novel in the series is an introduction to Bon Temps and the world Charlaine Harris created. We get to know Sookie, Bill the vampire, Sam her werewolf boss, and other fan favorite characters. Sookie stumbles upon some murders and is determined to help solve the mystery when her brother is implicated and is about to be charged. She knows he didn’t do it, because she hears people’s thoughts, but she has to help find proof. Her bright eyed optimism sets the stage for how Sookie lives and the reader can’t help but be charmed by her, but also by how she see’s the world. The secondary story of her relationship with Bill is also intriguing because he is her first boyfriend. These two stories intertwine and I am once again reminded why I loved these books originally and am so happy that fate decided to place them on sale in front of me. 🙂 ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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