I never thought I'd end up giving a Sookie book a three 1/2 star rating. Because of my love for the series, it's close to a four. This book felt a bit forced to me. I don't know if Harris is just so tired of the series, or if she's so inclined to undo the relationships of Sookie and some main characters. I know she regrets some of the plot points she's written and I suppose since the series is coming to an end, she's trying to undo the damage and lead Sookie on the path she thinks she should take. 
 I find this sad. Sad because, to do this, she has to actually change Eric to something he's not. The last few books she's taken away playfulness that made readers fall for him, she's taken away the excitement of the relationship to just make it wearisome, and she's even now making the vamps stand at the inevitable backdoor to Sookies life. While it could be seen as a natural progression of how things work, it feels forced to me instead, like reading about a completely different Eric than the one in the past books. 
 I will always read and likely enjoy Sookie books, but this one had other flaws as well. Sookie books aren't always action packed, which is fine as I'm more character than plot orientated anyway, but here there was a lack of substance. It's still interesting, I didn't grow bored (It's Sookie world!!), but it almost seems like the book was just going through the motions to get written and to make a point of the Eric relationship. Sookie goes and gets food at fast food restaurants, as an example, a ridiculous amount of time. She spends much idle time thinking, doing mundane things, and not much happens. This is very much a filler book, but it even seems more than that, as if it's there because it had to be. 
 Since I'm a fan of the series and it has been important in my life for years, I don't want it to end. It just seems like in this book, all the fun playfulness has left. Even in books where much darker things have taken place, there was fun in there, or else passion and genuine adventure. I hold my breath with baited breath for the next and last book, although I think it's pretty clear how it's going to turn out. No matter what happens, long live Sookie Stackhouse, she has meant much to me for years and always will.