Dead Until Dark

I've been hearing a lot about the HBO series True Blood and the novels it's based on, the Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris. I read the first book, Dead Until Dark, and while I liked it, I don't think it's "Twilight for adults" as I've heard it called. Don't get me wrong, it's definitely not PG like Twilight (there's a reason it's an HBO show and not a network show). But it didn't grab me like Twilight did.

Sookie Stackhouse is a waitress in a small bar in a small town in Louisiana, and she has the rare ability to read minds. This makes her a bit of an outcast and dating is almost impossible. But then suddenly she meets Bill, and she can't read a single thing he's thinking. The catch: Bill is a vampire.

Two years ago the Japanese invented synthetic blood that provided vampires (who were now legally allowed to exist and therefore were somewhat socially acceptable) the nutrients they needed, but it doesn't entirely quench their thirst. The only problem is that not all humans accept the vampires, and vice versa. There are still plenty of "Unfortunate Incidents" and when murders start to happen in the town of Bon Temps, fingers start pointing. But who's behind the murders? Is it Bill, Sookie's handsome vampire? Or her brother? Or is there a different type of menace lurking around the town?

This was definitely a good book; it kept me interested and turning the pages. It just didn't pull me into the characters as much as Twilight did, but that's more to do with writing style than the story (I mean, really, this book would be much longer if there was much more character development). So, I'd be interested in reading this again, and I will be checking out the next book in the series (which I hear is much faster-paced and intense) so I give this one 3 out of 5 stars.