Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris (UK cover)

Title: Dead Ever After (Sookie Stackhouse #13)
Author: Charlaine Harris
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Gollancz (7th May 2013)
Blurb:

Sookie Stackhouse has one last adventure in store.

Life has taken her from waitress in Merlotte’s Bar, Bon Temps, to part owner, from social outcast to the heart of her community; from a vampire’s girlfriend to the wife of one of the most powerful vampires in the state. She has survived explosions, revolutions and attempts on her life.

Sookie has endured betrayal, heartbreak and grief … and she has emerged a little stronger, and little wiser, every time.

But with life comes new trials…

The question is, in the end: who will love, who will live, and who will be dead ever after?

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

Dead Ever After is the final book in Charlaine Harris’s Southern Vampire Mystery/Sookie Stackhouse series. After thirteen books, and lots of adventures we are finally saying goodbye to Sookie. I started reading this series pre-True Blood and I’m somewhat sad that things have been drawn to a conclusion, but also glad that Harris didn’t decide to continue the series perpetually.

When this book first came out there was a LOT of drama. There was a reader of an advanced copy who was upset with some of Charlaine Harris’s choices in this book, and they decided to let the world know this through the internet in (I believe) great detail. Thankfully I managed to avoid the spoilers, and I’m very glad I did.

There was a lot I loved about Dead Ever After, but there was also some parts which I think Harris could have written better. One of the things which I most loved about this book was how secure Sookie was in herself. Throughout the series Harris has made it a big thing that Sookie is an independent woman, but in Dead Ever After Sookie herself seems much more comfortable in this role. I also loved the emphasis Harris placed on the importance of friends and family, and how even when things suck they will be there for you.

The thing that disappointed me with this book, and made me give it four stars instead of five, was the bad guy plot thread. To be honest, for me it felt very cobbled together – as if Harris didn’t want to introduce any new characters, or a new threat in this the final book. However outside of that, I did like the fact that Harris brought back a lot of old characters so I got to say a final goodbye to them.

The ending of the book was Harris at her best. There were a lot of twists and turns through Dead Ever After, and whilst things didn’t end in quite the way I had hoped they would I wasn’t left disappointed. The final pages of the book are really quite sweet.

Harris did a brilliant job in wrapping up her Southern Vampire Mysteries series, and whilst it was not perfect it was a brilliant read. I thoroughly recommend this series to any vampire fan; it isn’t quite what you expect it to be.