Most important in terms of fiction I like is style and characterizations. I'm not fond of "low" styles of popular fiction with head-hopping, book-saidisms and other awkward writing gremlins, but neither am I fond of "high" post-modernistic styles such as stream-of-consciousness, refusal to use quotation marks and other artificial literary pretentiousness--yet I'm capable of enjoying a novel written entirely in second person. Go figure. Give me a character to root for, I can get through dark material--after all The Color Purple and The Kite Runner are favorites of mine--but if I basically dislike every character, especially the protagonist, I'm not going to make it through hundreds of pages. So yes, expect me to rate some literary masterpieces low and some cheesy but fun books high.
This is for me not quite a four star book because I don't think it's a standout in the series. The first was magical in the way it set up Harris' loopy world where a vampire can go into a bar and order "True Blood" and the third had an ending that made me Go Sookie! The fourth book with vampire Eric Northman showing a different side of his nature is a highlight for me among the books, and the seventh with its vampire summit was arguably the best and most imaginative book to date.
Not that this book didn't have it's moments. Sookie's voice is always fun to read--down to earth and common sensical even in the midst of the deeply weird, which only enhances the humor. I happen to love Sookie's roommate Amelia and the whole subplot with her and Bob was often funny. Vampire Pam is one of my favorite characters with a sense of humor somewhere between quirky and warped. And in this one between a werewolf war and a vampire coup and betrayals from nearest and dearest what this stands out for is what Sookie gains in family. A powerful fairy great-grandfather for one in Niall Brigant--and more. That more left me closing the book with a smile.