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It's been 9 years since I first started the Sookie Stackhouse series. Today I've finally completed the entire series.

I was so disappointed with whom Sookie ended up with. Remember when the last season of True Blood ended, everyone was curious about the human whom Sookie was pregnant with. Since the face of the human was not shown, it's safe to say that he's someone new (aka a person that never appeared in Sookie's life prior the supe drama). It was kind of an ending albeit a weird one because Sookie said she finds it hard to be with someone (a human) due to her telepathic abilities.

At least Charlaine Harris kept that true so I was glad Sookie didn't just pick a normal human.

BUT STILL.

With Eric leaving her for Oklahoma (damn him! I was so frustrated that I refuse to be reminded of the female vampire.), there were a few possibilities.

1. I certainly wouldn't mind her partner to be Alcide. Too bad he's already attached. Ugh!

2. Back with Bill. I hated that idea because it seems like Sookie would have no backbone, and I think that ship has sailed for the number of books since the time when they broke up. Although this is a terrible idea, I still think it's way better than that person.

Ending: Sookie ended up with Sam Merlotte.

If I hated the idea that it might be Bill, I despised it being Sam.

In a way, I felt cheated. I mean, if something's going to happen between Sookie and Sam, that would have already happened way before book number 13. So I've endured 9 years (13 books) only to have this ending? Damn! I don't understand why Charlaine Harris chose the shapeshifter. I bet it's simply a continuity from when Sookie saved Sam's life using the cluviel dor. And then their union was the aftermath of using the magic.

WTH?

There were other subtle things that just didn't quite add up, and I'd just have to leave them be because I've been through this over and over again throughout the Sookie Stackhouse journey. Towards the end of the series, while most criticised Sookie and her immature and mundane ways, I stood by her even not minding her internal dialogues/random thoughts/going about her housework chores (because I think that's her normalcy in her super crazy supernatural world). I share the exact sentiments of others' in the last few chapters or so (especially after she's together with Sam) -- I just couldn't get, couldn't accept the way things turned out and how she acted. The last paragraph:

"I couldn't imagine a future without him (Sam). But I also knew that if he turned away from me at this moment, somehow I would survive that, and I would find a way to flourish myself like the yard that still bloomed and grew around my family home."

So Sookie, you mean to say that Sam is dispensable? Just how serious are you about relationships? You didn't seem to care that much that Eric left. You only said that you are heartbroken but you don't feel like it. When you try to feel heartbroken, you quickly toss that topic aside because you have other things to worry about.

In that instance, I feel that Eric made the right decision in leaving her to pursue what's best for him in Oklahoma. Thanks to his maker, Appius, who indeed made the right decision for Eric though it seemed a little extreme, like selling him over to the queen.

Because Sookie really didn't deserve him, Eric Northman.

Post-Free Posting

Damn. I've just started on The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang. I went in blind. I thought it would be a fun and light one. Boy, was I wrong. It's going to take me some time to get through it. Time that I don't have.

Post-Review

Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris

Compared to the previous book, I didn't feel like I had wasted near 1/3 of my time waiting for something to happen. In fact, there were so much going on; all kinds of supernatural species were involved. The complicated part? They were all interconnected.

A half-Were girl was found dead on Eric's doorstep whom he drank from. Indignation!
Sookie's first words to Eric: "You asshole"

The part I found funny:


So the Were group was heavily involved, both in the plot against Eric (actually it was against Sookie but Eric was just collateral) and the investigation that followed. The idea didn't originate from the Weres, though. It came from the beautiful fairy Claude, so that Niall would appear, then the two fae can fight.

OMG so twisted.

Then the non-Were two-natured (Sam) got accidentally killed during the witness of Were punishment.

Of course, Eric had to deal with the consequences of killing Victor with Felipe, plus his arranged-marriage with the Queen of Oklahoma.

Yeah, I think I covered all the supes.

Let's begin with the end.

Alcide should have asked all the non-Weres to leave before the battle between the two werewolves start. Then Sam would not have been accidentally killed when the death was meant for Alcide. Things just snowballed from there. Sookie used the cluviel dor to bring back Sam in front of everyone, especially Eric. Fortunately all the fae were gone by then, or else the next to die would be Sookie.

I bet Eric was beyond furious and disappointed that Sookie used the magical powers of cluviel dor on Sam instead of on himself. He was hoping that the cluviel dor would get him out of the arranged-marriage.

I completely agree with Sookie's decision of not helping Eric because whether or not he's going to Oklahoma has to be decided on his own. If he loved political powers more than Sookie, and she used the magic to wish it all away, then would she want to spend her life with such a man who ultimately didn't choose her?

The fight between Eric and Sookie just kept going in circles. Knowing the Viking vampire, Eric's definitely choosing the Queen not just for the powers he would gain, but also escape the punishment from Felipe in killing Victor.

Post-Review

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple.

Bee found her mother Bernadette. No surprise there. Through analyzing pieces of information, she found Bernadette in Antarctica. It is good to know that Bernadette intends to immerse herself into another architecture project after a twenty-year hiatus. She sent Bee a letter detailing her life and plans in Antarctica, but the never was not found until after Bee returned home to Seattle (the letter was in her school locker).

My greatest displeasure is on the infidelity that I already mentioned.

The second displeasure is its ending.

The ending was the letter Bernadette wrote to Bee. It suggested that Bernadette would be returning home soon to Seattle and live their happily ever after.

With regards to Soo-Lin and Elgin, Bernadette wrote that she was willing to forgive Elgin for shacking up his admin because she couldn't imagine her life without Elgin, and that their affair meant nothing (Elgin was not in love with Soo-Lin). Of course, she wrote that in Antarctica, so she didn't know that a) Elgin bought Soo-Lin a house/home and b) the bitch was pregnant.

It would be interesting to witness how Bernadette would react to that last piece of news, and how she would deal with the problem. I was really hoping for a showdown between the two women. To throw in additional fun, we could see where Audrey's allegiance lies.

A short follow-up story would have been nice. This feeling of emptiness is killing me.

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I've been putting off the 12th book (Deadlocked) in the Sookie Stackhouse series. I just refuse to read the last two chapters; I finally managed to convince myself to finish Chapter 15 and ended up getting confused about some of the plot. Anyway, that's discussion saved for another time which I think I'll discuss after I am done with the last chapter. I'm afraid the significant event that's going to happen then will be the final nail in the coffin with regards to Eric and Sookie's relationship. Again, that's discussion for another day.

So I'm currently reading Where'd you go, Bernadette by Maria Semple. I was looking for something light as a respite from the grim Deadlocked. It was brilliantly written and at times funny.

What triggered this post is something that I totally did NOT expect from this light and funny book.

Prepare for it.

The word is...

INFIDELITY.



Bernadette is a "crazy" woman with extreme social anxiety, to the point where she had to hire a virtual assistant from India to help her carry out chores that require human interaction. There were more aspects to Bernadette's "craziness" in which I think all her different experiences in life built up to this "breaking point". Whether she's indeed "crazy" was still not officially diagnosed (from where I stopped reading) and even presented with these multitude facts, I'm still slow/reluctant to say that Bernadette is insane. Of course, this is just based on my opinion; I'm not a psychiatrist or anything.

So Bernadette disappeared after a disastrous intervention that involved her husband Elgin, his admin from work named Soo-Lin, the doctor from a laughing academy, and some cops (not gonna discuss them).

I'm fine with Elgin confiding in his admin Soo-Lin after problems with Bernadette, because he didn't seem to have anyone else to turn to. Although he could talk to his brother, even through e-mails, but yeah, he didn't do that. Which is weird for a man who supposedly loves his family so much. I knew that something horribly wrong will result because of this, but I thought Elgin would be much stronger because (a) he's a married man (okay, that doesn't seem like a strong factor), (b) his "crazy" WIFE was still missing, and (c) he seemed like the man who cherished his family, like, A LOT. You would think he wouldn't commit such a heinous crime of infidelity while he was still being married to an albeit missing woman.

WRONG.

So you could imagine my jaw hitting the floor when I read about how the disgusting, manipulative, Machiavellian shrewd bitch revealed that she's pregnant with Elgin's child. She's darn proud of it.



Why I say manipulative? She's had her eyes on Elgin since day one. He's successful, financially stable, good-natured, etc. Perhaps one thing that appeals most to her was that he's got a much better personality than her ex-husband, whom she said was abusive. She joined something called Victim against Victimhood to cope with the abusive marriage after her divorce to get back on her feet. AND she used whatever she learned from VAV and fed Elgin ideas on how his marriage to Bernadette was abusive.

I tell you, Soo-Lin is full of bullshit. If Bernadette was indeed crazy as they all so eagerly point out, then Bernadette could not control how she was feeling or behaving. She's sick, like a patient. In normal situations, we would like to say things like diminished culpability when referring to wrongdoings by patients, especially the likes of Bernadette. Therefore, it is not her fault and definitely does NOT qualify as an abusive marriage. Second, how do you even project any abusive emotions or whatsoever on a spouse who is NEVER AROUND AT HOME? Elgin's always working, for God's sake!

Maybe Bernadette is not crazy, but Soo-Lin's whispers at Elgin's ears caused him to believe her words. This drives a wedge between the couple, and once Bernadette is locked up in the loony bin then Soo-Lin will have Elgin to herself. OMG.

I'm so darn angry because the last thing I expect is THIS. What a disappointment.

Post-???

Just finished Dead Reckoning, the 11th book in the Sookie Stackhouse series. Boy, that's hard to rate.

I felt as though I read through 335 pages of ... nothing. I don't mind that Sookie kept on having thoughts about housekeeping, her fae background, her grandmother, but it just seems that the story was under-developed. The only climax was executing Victor's death.

Under-development:
Perhaps there was a subplot--the gathering of some faes at Claude's club (Hooligans) in Monroe as if they were planning something (another fight?). It was not known whatever the hell that was since the faes were never quick to share, especially when there is less opportunity to do so when Sookie kicked Claude out of her house. When Dermot and Claude promised to tell Sookie what was going on, they only discussed about her fae heritage, but no mention about any impending war or the likes. Frustrating.

No explanation:
Sookie came home to danger! Yeah, like that was new. Dermot was injured in the house, but she was trying to escape her two human captors in the woods. Wait...there was something about her captors knocking down trees to block her escape...I don't understand, didn't she said HUMAN captors? Huh? Anyway, the two human captors were decapitated by Dermot and an elf. After going through their wallets, Sookie didn't seem to know who hired them and the whole incident was quickly forgotten.

You could only assume they were hired by Sandra Pelt, the crazy supe whom throughout the book, tried multiple times to kill Sookie.

"I've tried to kill you over and over, and you just won't die!"
I almost felt like apologizing.

Besides the Sandra Pelt issue, there was also no explanation of how Victor procured the fairy blood that was wiped all over the inside of the glass which he offered to Eric and Pam along with the bottled synthetic blood. 

Plain-weird:
Alcide made a guest appearance, albeit an awkward one. Which, honestly, is completely unnecessary.

Blood bond:
Amelia just waltzed in and told Sookie she found out a way to break the blood bond she shared with Eric. I hate that Sookie agreed to it without a moment's of hesitation. She clearly knew that it could save her life by alerting Eric of her dangerous predicament. Yeah, I have to agree that Sookie was being ungrateful--the times when Eric rushed to the bar to save her when she was afraid for her life. The immediate call to her when Eric could no longer sense her (believing she was dead) when Amelia broke the bond. It goes to show Sookie was undeserving of the blood bond and its protection. Stupid Sookie!

ERIC!!!:
Seriously, I don't even know where to begin. Apparently, Eric was signed off to Queen of Oklahoma by his maker before his death in the 10th book. Eric was testy in the beginning of the book because of this, but it was not known until almost at the end. Pam tried to give hints:

"There, see!" Pam said to Eric. "She lives with other men. She goes shopping with other men. What kind of husband are you?"
And Eric launched himself across the table, hands extended toward Pam's throat. 

"And you're Eric's wife," Pam observed quietly.
 Eric glared at her in the rearview mirror. 
"Eric got a letter--"Pam began, and before I could register that he'd moved, Eric had whipped around, reached over the seat, and seized her throat. 

All the while I thought Eric was keeping a fae-related secret from Sookie, maybe something related to the bunch of fae in Hooligans. I never would have dreamed of the possibility of Eric marrying another, to one with status and power that comes in the form of Queen of Oklahoma. Mind you, he loved power. No doubt this marriage would bring him higher up in the vampire hierarchy. Sookie was right; Eric loved her, but the question is whether it is enough to make him give up these materialistic stuff. It's evident that their relationship was strained, even before this big revelation. Then I came to an ugly realization that Eric adored Sookie, enough to protect her life, which is not exactly the same as love. You can see more of that in Bill than in Eric. That just crushed me. 

I wonder how the series would end. Is it even remotely possible that Sookie would ultimately end up with a human like in the HBO series? Unless she gets around the telepathic issue, that is. What about a supe? (Please not Alcide!). If she doesn't have a backbone, then she'll go back to Bill. 

 

Post-Free Posting


Seriously! I've tried to sign in MANY times over the past year and failed because Google just won't let me do it. And I've just did it today!

That accounts for the lack of post since 2016.

Anyway, I'm reading two or three books simultaneously again, no surprise there. The first being Killing Sarai by J. A. Redmerski, and when I reached close to the 40% mark, I had to pick up another light-hearted book which turned out to be Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. Reason: from the bottom of my heart, Killing Sarai was really terrific; I'd hate to finish it ASAP. The second book will act as a buffer to keep back my arrhythmia with all the things happening in Killing Sarai. If you have not guessed by now, it's a thriller.

Just a few days ago, I came to realise that the books I've read thus far in 2017 were best told in 3rd person (J. R. Ward and Stephen King). I think the risk of 1st person's is you may not agree or put yourself in the shoes of the protagonist and this makes it easier to quickly shut the book and throw it against the wall. A lot of times I did this because I find the story boring (what's the point of this?!) or the characters childish/immature.


Of course, that revelation was before I even laid my eyes on the first page of Killing Sarai.

Damn, when was the last time I had such a good storyline and strong characters?

I shouldn't say anything more about how I feel about this book as I'm going to do a review on this one. Hopefully I'll manage to find some GIF that could match my feelings.

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At some point during today's lecture, it reminded of Seinfeld. I couldn't forget about the episode when Elaine was saying, "The dingo ate your baby." Today, I finally know what a dingo looks like. And I also know why it is possible that dingo can "eat your baby" because it is carnivorous.

And coincidentally, the lecturer's an Aussie.

Seems like a lot of random connections, but I find it amusing.

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Writing has never been harder. I've just complete one such assignment, and it feels like my brain is dead. The assignment was converting a scientific journal article into a news article. Oh my, I just could not convert passive to active voice. I am so used to using passive voice, I just could not train my mind to change it to the other. I've always have this problem of using passive voice, doesn't seem to have any problem when writing my thesis.

I really don't want to do it again. Unfortunately, another is on the way, by November.

Oh no.

Post-Free Posting

Monday is a holiday, thought I could use a "break". No, not one of those where you get to relax and catch up with things, but to have an extra day to "work". Though I only have one 2-hour lesson on Monday and Thursday each, the amount of preparation for each lesson is tremendous. It's reading a chapter of the textbook, usually forty to fifty pages, which is going to be tested pre-lecture (graded quiz). Complex concepts, mathematical equations, plus the fact that I hate reading textbooks, it might as well have been double than that amount. Other times, I just throw in the towel at the last few pages. The preparation for last Thursday was the worst; I gave up the last 20 pages.

Even making notes is hard; you have no idea what is important and what's not because most of the time the lecture slides deviate from the content in the textbook. So you end up putting everything in the notes, which is plenty as the number of slides always range from 80-100.

Even though it's a holiday, I still could not escape its clutch for a day. I was hit by another one of its boulder--two chapters for Thursday's lesson. Let's see...about 100 pages of textbook. Oh, God.

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Dual POV seems to be the norm these days. I'm surprised by how many I've come across lately; almost every single book I picked up has this. The first time I'd had the dual POV experience was reading Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry. It was refreshing because she wired her characters in such a way that both had serious problems to deal with and how their paths interceded. Needless to say, the writing style was the same for the subsequent books in the series.

Regardless of YA/NA/ adult novels, dual POV has quickly gained popularity, and it makes me wonder what's changed. What happened to the traditional single POV? While it is true that dual POV offers more breadth and depth, it is difficult enough to connect with one protagonist in single POV, let alone two. Not that I am complaining; I prefer this to third person's perspective, unless the author can write like J. R. Ward.

Post-Free Posting

Last week when I launched the Spotify Desktop app, I was quite surprised that the lyrics function was no longer available. I assumed it was some technical glitch which would be resolved within a few days. Unfortunately, the function was terminated because Spotify could not get along with Musixmatch. Ugh. They had to pull out this stunt just when our lives got easier. Nope, I'm not touching Spotify unless they come up with something. *Fingers crossed.*

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Follow up on F*ck Love.

So Helena accidentally confessed her love to Kit. He went back to Florida and ended things with Della and flew to Washington for Helena. Of course, Della had no idea he left her for Helena so Della was desperately reaching her 'fake' best friend asking for her advice.

Just when things were starting out with the new couple, Della was pregnant. AGAIN.

OMG can Della just stop? I don't know what's the point of tying Kit down with children when he wanted to leave her several times. And I hate him for making Helena to be the other woman if he failed time and again to break things off once and for all with Della. Stupid Kit and stupid Della. Stupid Helena.

I have to agree with a review posted on Goodreads in that what is so good about Kit that three girls can fall for him (Helena, Della and his ex-girlfriend, Greer)? Stupid girls fighting for a stupid man. Ha!

Post-Free Posting

Follow up on F*ck Love.

I have never felt so much hatred towards a female character. Yes, Della suspected that the relationship between Helena and Kit was unusual after she lost her baby and she did all sorts of things to stake her claim on Kit in front of Helena. Honestly I want to puke. Right at her.

The reason Kit kept sticking around when things didn't work out between him and Della ages ago? She threatened to commit suicide. *OMG*

Because of whatever Della was doing, I find that I should just take a side. Yes, with Helena, even though her intentions and actions are not justified. Della just deserved to be treated like crap.

Post-Free Posting

I am currently reading F*ck Love by Tarryn Fisher. I am really confused about how I feel; it had my feelings going up and down like a sin curve.

The first chapter was completely about a dream. Helena was sitting with Kit, her best friend Della's boyfriend in a fast food restaurant while Della and Helena's boyfriend Neil were getting their food. Kit said that he and Helena should be a pair and wanted to show her something. Being a dream, the scene quickly shifted to another--which depicted their future together. They were married, living in Washington (instead of Florida where the story takes place), had two kids with one boy whose father was Neil and another baby girl who belonged to Kit. She had become an artist, something to do with coloring books instead of an accountant.

Now here's the deal. Anyone with a right frame of mind would wake up and laugh it off. But Helena didn't. From then on, she was rewiring her life so that she would get the life she dreamed of. Even though she was bad in art, she took up art classes in the hopes that one day she would be the artist. She stalked Kit on Facebook to get to know him better. It is perfectly clear where this is headed--this is just the beginning of the courtship.



She began showing up in the bar where Kit works at, they began texting and emailing each other with Kit sending her manuscripts of the novel he's writing that Della had not even read. Well, she did at the beginning but Kit cut her off after she asked if there were vampires or werewolves in it. When she was drunk, she left a note for Kit: I had a dream. Don't marry Della. In response, there was another note left by Kit in Helena's car: Give me a reason not to. What is he thinking? I can't comprehend what is going on in Kit's mind.

I believe I did catch on some subtle hints from Kit. How he tried coffee for the sake of Helena, the way he was smiling at her and said she was pretty excellent, how he was not offended or taken aback when he caught her smelling his shirts but even gave her a smirk then eyeing her mouth. Let me get this straight: this is definitely NOT how you react to your girlfriend's best friend no matter how attractive she is.

The roller coaster feeling? Here it goes.

When Della revealed she might be pregnant.




But it turned out to be false positive.







She was so sad and when she saw Kit at the front door and rushed up to him.




But she tested it again on five more sticks, and they were all positive.




She miscarriaged.



Sometimes a little creepy too.
1. Dream: Home in Washington.
Reality: Kit was from Washington and had never told anyone about it.

2. Dream: Neil cheated on Helena.
Reality: It happened.

3. Dream: Kit knew Helena was going into arts.
Reality: He bought a book on arts for her.



Again, I really have no clue what Kit is thinking. It's as if he knew. All about that dream. *AHHH!*

I don't approve Helena's actions of stealing her best friend's boyfriend. Yet I felt exactly how she would have reacted in all these situations when I should be revolted and angry at her. This is why it is so confusing.