Such an epic disappointment. Not that I expected much after the last couple of books, but I thought CH might bring out the big guns for the final book. Looks like she dragged out a water pistol.



*****SLIGHT SPOILER ALERT ALTHOUGH I'LL TRY NOT TO GIVE TOO MUCH AWAY*****



Yes, I'm an Eric fan and I would have liked to see them somehow have their HEA...But...I am reasonable enough to realise that that probably wasn't going to happen. First, let me say that I've read hundreds of reviews on various sites. I truly wanted to see if the way I was feeling was just me or the general feeling amongst the fan base. Again and again the majority of fans are saying the same thing...the gist of which is that while it's disappointing that Sookie didn't end up with Eric, we could have accepted it if there had been ANY logical build up to who she ended up with. We're saying that the book was sloppily thrown together; that CH had an ending in mind at around book 2 and so-help-her she was ending it that way even if the story and characters had really found a voice of their own and diverged from that ending...she was going to finagle, forget continuity, change lore, anything to get her ending; that the premise/mystery was poorly thought out and that CH threw anyone that had ever been in the books into the mix to act as filler with no real need for them to be there (especially as she's supposedly letting us know all their ever-afters in the coda out in October). I won't go into all the errors in the book (because so have many other reviewers you can find elsewhere) but I have to seriously question her publisher, continuity specialist and editor. How did all the errors get passed them? Did they even read it before sending it to print?



*****ERIC/SOOKIE SPOILERS*****



I'm incredibly disappointed that there was no real, mature and emotional "ending" for Eric and Sookie. OK, so they couldn't be together...so let them have a mature discussion and have them realise that, say their goodbyes, voice their regrets...goddamn it...just a bloody hug would have been nice (no pun intended)....but noooo, we have an emotionally immature reaction from Sookie (and a totally out of character threatening, sulky attitude from Eric) and a slamming door. Real mature *snort*. Oh yes, I can certainly see how Sookie has grown up through the series, NOT! And no, I'm not saying Eric doesn't have his faults, and realistically Sookie probably needed a "man" who could live with her in the sun, father children etc, but I'd rather have seen her alone than settling for ****. Because settle she did. Nice safe, boring ****. (if any of you have heard/read the rumours leaked before the release of the book, you'll know who I mean)



CH has made no bones about the fact that she's never understood the fans love of Eric. What I can't understand is that she created and wrote him as a heroic, but flawed, bad-boy character, with dazzling good looks, a ready smirk and grin, a sense of humour, a real presence, and a habit of taking bullets for Sookie. He never hid his true nature. What you saw, is what you got. Yes, he hid vampire related information from Sookie but at least he always told her the truth when he could. And lets not forget the "gracious plenty" and what he could do with it. What did she expect us to do? What's not to like? Sookie fell in love with him, why wouldn't we?



After the promise of the first 8/9 books, the progress Sookie made in accepting herself, accepting others and making an effort to grow and learn, it was sad to see what many thought of as such a promising heroine close herself off to possibilities. To slide back into her mundane little existence and her mundane little job, with the people who thought of her as "crazy Sookie" all her life; to a relationship with someone who never gave her the credit due her intelligence, treated her like a child and generally took her a bit for granted. But in saying that, I never really liked Sookie all that much anyway. I never saw what ever Eric, Alcide, Sam, Quinn and Bill did. I found her childish, self-centred, whiney, ungrateful, self-righteous, hypocritical and sanctimonious. I could go on...and on. Probably the only redeeming qualities I found in her, were her loyalty and tolerance...but even those qualities became questionable towards the end.



I only continued reading the series (and paying out good money) because of the developing relationship with Eric. He's the one who enticed me to keep reading the series. He's probably the greatest character she'll ever create and she destroyed him (and in my mind Sookie as well). So a big boo to Ms Harris for her treatment of him in the last book and for the sloppy writing effort that so obviously showed to me that she didn't really care after about book 9 or so. I can even understand her wanting to move on/feeling resentment if she felt forced (contractually obligated) to continue writing after a certain point...but she should have done her best to give us, her readers and paying customers, the best she had to offer...not because we expected it, or deserved it, or were "entitled" to it or whatever...but because she's supposed to be a professional. But, alas, it was not to be. I'm never picking up another book of hers again. Wouldn't risk having another series of hers end in the same disappointment. Find your HEA elsewhere in fiction.