Country vs Country - Harper Connelly

Julie-Anne: The UK cover is very plain and boring but the US cover is a bit messy looking (and very pink). I do prefer the UK one though so it wins.
Danielle: I was never a fan of the US covers for this series. They kind of looked like someone put them together for a middle school art project. And while I do enjoy the colour pink, this is ... a lot of pink. Not a fan. I don't love the UK cover either, as the close up of the skin is a bit much, but I do prefer this over the US.
J: Yes! The art style is very immature looking.
D: It really is. I remember passing this book up several times just because of the cover. Chris actually bought me the first one when it was in a sale bin. He just saw Harris's name, and assumed I'd like it. It took me a while to actually start reading it even after that, because the cover just turned me off so much. When I did finally read it, I was mad at myself for waiting so long.

J: They both have little creepy details of their own. US has the creepy skull-y jack-in-the-box but the art itself looks ... I don't know the word ... rushed? The UK has those cool little skulls in the splash detail. I do prefer the UK one though.
D: I also am picking the UK here. I don't like faces on covers (I feel like a broken record saying that), but as I said, I really don't like the US covers at all. I do find that all of Charlaine Harris's books have a childish aspect to them. (though I enjoyed the Sookie covers). I love the skulls in the snow splash in the UK cover. It's a nice little detail. Though why is there is a pale blonde girl on the cover?
J: Yeah, I don't understand that either. I don't know who she is.
D: Maybe she's the victim in the book? I can't remember well enough. It's been a lot of years since I read these.

J: The snowy cover on the US makes sense as a cover but I'm still not a fan of the art style. I think the little white splotches in the UK cover are supposed to be snow or ice. Because of my dislike of the artstyle, I'm going to choose UK as my favourite.
D: Again with the pale blonde model. Harper was a brunette, wasn't she? I know, it doesn't really matter, but I hate when books misrepresent the characters. I still prefer the UK to the US cover. Not a fan at all.
J: "Harper was a brunette, wasn't she?" As far as I was can remember.

J: Again I like the creepy factor with the US cover but I still prefer the UK one, even if it is on the boring side.
D: I actually really like the UK cover here. At least the model represents Harper better for me. I really dislike the US cover all together. I can't find a single redeeming quality.

Julie-Anne: I really loved this series and I was kind of upset that Harris decided to put all non-Sookie projects aside to focus on that series due to the popularity of True Blood (which I hate, just FYI). I'd love to read more from Harper and Tolliver.
Danielle: I also really enjoyed this series. The characters were engaging and I really liked the story between Harper and Tolliver. I was a big Tolliver fan. This was a series I would have liked to have read more of, but at the time she made the decision, I was glad. Sookie was one of my favourite series, and I was happy she was concentrating on it ... at the time. Now, I wish she'd maybe spent less time on it, and given us more of these two.
J: I am also a huge Tolliver fan. I would love to read more about him and Harper.
D: I wonder if she's ever thought about re-opening their story. I never go on her site anymore. I used to spend time there looking for Sookie updates.

Charlaine Harris' Grave Sight Graphic Novel

At the age of fifteen, Harper Connelly was struck by lightning, an event that gave her the ability to find the dead and see how they died. Since then, Harper's scratched out a living selling her services to anyone with a chequebook. It's not the best life, but it beats the alternative, at least until Harper and her brother Tolliver roll into Sarne, Arkansas and find themselves embroiled in a murder mystery!

Release Date 7th June 2011

I haven't read Grave Sight in a wee while so this was a nice refresher for me. I love Harper and Tolliver and this is a great first book to the series. The artwork is good and I really like how Harper and Tolliver look.

Harper's power is completely unique and because of that not everyone trusts it or believes in it but they still hire her. I always wondered whether it was to try and debunk her or if they were always secretly wishing it to be true.

I've always enjoyed the Harper series and hope to read the rest in comic form as well. Although I am still disappointed that the series has come to an end, seemingly so Ms. Harris can focus more on the Sookie books.

If you're not a big reader of actual books then this is a great way to read the Harper series, it's a great series and well worth a look.


Book Depository: Grave Sight
Amazon UK: Grave Sight

Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris

When she was 15, Harper Connelly was struck by lightning. She's left with headaches and episodes of muscle weakness. Sometimes her right hand shakes.

And she can find dead people.

It's taken a few years, but Harper's made a success of her life. She's making a living, using her talent to help people, and she's got a boyfriend - her stepbrother Tolliver. Then Tolliver's father arrives, seeking forgiveness, and the police get information that Harper's sister Cameron, missing for so many years, has been spotted. So Harper's life is becoming a little complicated, but she doesn't expect these complications to include Tolliver getting shot, or seeing a policeman die taking a bullet for her.

Harper can find dead people - but now it's clear someone wants her dead ...

The fourth Harper Connelly book sees Harper and Tolliver deal with the fallout of An Ice Cold Grave's events and also coming out officially as a couple to friends and family. They're still trying to see more of their sisters and are still hoping to set up a home nearby so they can be more involved in their lives.

Charlaine Harris has a real nice writing style, not all her chapters end on cliff hangers but I can't seem to help myself from page turning (even if I've told myself I'm going to bed after this chapter!). Her characters are normal and relatable which helps to like them and follow their lives.

With Harper and Tolliver being back in Dallas, old friends and family emerge and, of course, thoughts about Cameron. Harper has always been convinced that Cameron is dead and she'd one day find her but an anonymous tip about a sighting in Texarkana still gets her hopes up about the possibility of her being alive.

We get a bit more insight into what happened before, during and after Cameron's disappearance and see some more of what Harper and Tolliver's childhood years were like.

The major letdown with this book, for me, was the ending. It seemed rushed and kind of thrown together. Also it felt very much like the whole story is being wrapped up and I'm wondering if this is, in fact, the last in the series.

Rating
4/5


Book Depository: Grave Secret
Amazon UK: Grave Secret