Y'all have probably wondered why I've been focusing on fanfiction in a book review blog--I should be reviewing books, right? Well, there are 3 reasons that I haven't:

1. There are fanfictions worthy of publication & I want them recognized as such
2. It's very hard for me to write a bad review
3. Sometimes I have to backtrack & that's hard (yeah, I know--whiney whiney me, but it is hard to review a story you read a year ago)

I hate cause-y books. Dean Koontz's Relentless has a very interesting plot, but it's hard to remember that because the narrator blathers on so much about hating the modern era & nihilism. Cross Country by James Patterson would be a fine addition to the author's Alex Cross series if not for the "Save Africa" PSA screaming at you from the pages--the same goes for the Protectors part of his Maximum Ride series. I haven't read the latest, Fang, but The Final Warning & Max have both been so, "LIVE GREEN!" that it's been hard to read them. I know writers write their own beliefs into a book, but that's no excuse for Dean Koontz, who was once able to do this with messages of love and hope seamlessly, to interrupt the story to whine about other people's beliefs; saving Africa & living greener lives are both important, but trying to force them on me while I read is distracting and frustrating.
Sometimes though, I just start a series & either hadn't started the blog yet when I started reading them or they're so good that I forget to review them while I'm reading, especially if there's been a few books published before I start reading. Like House of Night: I'm in the process of reviewing it up to the last book I read as a grouped review, then with the next one, I'll start reviewing them individually. Same with the Blue Bloods series--they're totally review-able, but I started them before I started the blog & so I'd have to backtrack,which would either be 1 big review or a few individual reviews. I'm going to review a book by P. C. Cast, Divine by Mistake, as soon as I get it read & my exams are over.

In summary: I'm going to continue to review fanfictions that deserve recognition and, though I haven't as of recently for various reasons, I'm going to start reviewing published fiction again soon.

Living Dead in Dallas

In Living Dead in Dallas, the second novel in the Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire Mysteries series by Charlaine Harris, the heroine (as in female hero, not the drug--that's heroin) Sookie Stackhouse is still struggling to be normal and not get super-involved in vampire affairs, but her "disability" (she's telepathic) makes her desireable to powerful vampires and she has promised to help the leader of her region, Eric Northman, as long as the humans involved are sent to the police instead of killed. Eric has "loaned" Sookie to a leader in Dallas, Texas, where a vampire has gone missing and an anti-vampire group that operates under the guise of a religious organization, Fellowship of the Sun, is suspected of the kidnapping. Sookie, along with her vampire boyfriend Bill Compton, go to Dallas to uncover the mystery. Was it the Fellowship of the Sun, another vampire looking for some kind of revenge, Drainers, or some other group or person? You have to read to find out.
This book is like the book version of comfort food. Sookie can be a bit naive and sometimes takes the "I am an independent woman" thing too far, but it's a fun, light read full of action, romance, and a bit of humor. Definitely a good book

Dead Until Dark

Dead Until Dark, the first book Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse series, is a vampire romance book; however do not go into this book thinking it will be like Twilight. There are similarities, but not many. A vampire and a human fall in love, there's some mind-reading (but from the human, not the vampire) and she can't hear her lover's thoughts (she can't hear ANY vampires' thoughts). That's as far as the similarities go, though; not everyone in Twilight's audience should read these books. There is no abstinence message to speak of and there's language some readers might find offensive. Sookie can be a little annoying at times because she is 50% bratty teenager and 50% old-fashioned grandma, so her views of things can seem a tad bizarre.
Here's a little bit of what Dead Until Dark is about: Sookie Stackhouse is a barmaid at Merlotte's in Bon Temps, LA. She's single because of a problematic "disability" she's had since she was young: she can read minds. Ever since they "came out of the coffin", she has wanted to meet a vampire. Enter Bill Compton, vampire. She knows there's something different about Bill from the moment he walks in; for one thing, she can't read his mind. They fall in love after she saves him from nearly being killed permanently. But then a co-worker is killed and several other women after that; could it be Bill? You'll have to read to find out.
These books are more realistic than Twilight in my opinion, but I wouldn't call them better. They're just different--okay, maybe they're a little better. If you don't mind tastefully-written sex (it's not very descriptive of the act itself, mostly how she feels during it) and a little foul language and you like vampire books, you should read these.

Twilight

Not the movie, the book. I've scoured the 'Net for opinions on this book and found many and varied opinions, ranging from utter disgust to irrevocably in love.
Twilight is about a 17-year-old girl named Isabella "Bella" Swan who moves to rainy Forks, WA, to live with her father so that her mother can move around with her new husband. She meets alot of new people, but one sticks out in her mind: Edward Cullen. He's absolutely gorgeous, like no one else she's ever seen. He seems to to have a strange aversion to her. And then she finds out why: Edward Cullen is a vampire and her the scent of her blood is like a drug to him. Despite his insistence he is dangerous to her and she should stay away from him, they fall in love. *Cue the evil villians bent on tearing their love apart.* Well, really only 2 out of 3 of the villians want to tear their love apart. The cat-and-mouse game begins and our herione narrowly escapes with her life.
This book is great. There are few problems in it, one being the conflict is not present until near the end of the book. It's like, "Oops, there's no conflict. Let me write these bloodthirsty vampires into the mix." And since the book is written from the point of view of a seventeen-year-old girl and not a wise, old English professor, it's not brilliantly-written, filled with words that require a dictionary to pronounce and comprehend and plot points that boggle the mind. But it's incredibly descriptive and you can't help but fall in love with the characters. I would definitely read this book again if I was in posession of my copy.