Sookie is back for another round of fun in Harris' newest novel in the Sookie Stackhouse series. It doesn't take long for the excitement to kick off when Merlotte's is firebombed. At first glance it seems like the bar has been targeted by anti-shifters. Now that the weres and shifters have come out like their vampire "cousins," the hope was they would be accepted like the blood-drinkers. Unfortunately, things have not turned out that smoothly.

Sookie was able to get a feel for the person who led the attack, which makes her think it might actually be a shifter or a were. It doesn't take long for her suspicions to be confirmed when an old nemesis returns to take revenge.

Sookie is also struggling with getting used to her new roommates, her fairie kin who were trapped in this realm when her grandfather closed off the barrier with the other side.

If only that was all she was dealing with. Eric and Pam and the rest of the Louisiana kingdom vampires are dealing with the fallout of the death of the queen and the state being taken over by another kingdom. That would be bad enough, but that King has placed a regent in change. Unfortunately, that vampire bears a grudge against Eric and his followers.

The regent takes things to such an extreme that he won't even allow Pam to bring over her lover, who is dying from cancer. As usual, Sookie is drawn right into the center of vampire politics. It is going to take everything in their power to deal with the regent, even getting some help from Sookie's former lover Bill Compton.

I was thrilled to find this book up to the usual par of fun and excitement from Sookie's world. There is lots of action and quick pacing. Harris even throws in an amazing surprise when Lily Bard, the protagonist from her Shakespeare series, and her husband show up in a cameo on a job dealing with Sookie. They even get a chance to fight some supernatural beings before heading back home.

This was such a fun read and a must read for fans of the series. This book reminded me how much better the books are than True Blood, the HBO television presentation of it, is. While I like the show, the books are really awesome!