Sookie Stackhouse is pretty happy about how her life is looking right now. She has a roommate she likes and a job she loves, she is being included in the town's biggest wedding and she has a boyfriend she thinks she can fall in love with. Just when things are looking perfect, she is summoned by the vampire queen of Louisiana to the vampire summit, because the queen needs Sookie's telepath skills. Sookie isn't thrilled with the job, but she needs the money and has already made the commitment.

One of the main events on the summit agenda is the trial of the queen for the murder of her husband, a murder Sookie is the only witness to. The summit is filled with vampire leaders, supernatural bodyguards and Sookie, ex-lovers Eric and Bill, and current beau Quinn. To say things get tense with the foursome is an understatement. It seems like one issue after another arises at the summit, and Sookie is caught in the middle.

While Quinn and Sookie's relationship is showcased very briefly at the beginning of the book, the heart of the book is really about Sookie's relationship with the supernatural world, vampires in particular. She comes face to face with one difficult situation after another, and for the first time she really questions her place in this surreal world. When all hell breaks loose at the summit, you'll hold your breath turning the pages while Sookie scrambles to save the day.

In this, the seventh book of the Southern Vampire series, author Charlaine Harris gets serious. This book had a different feel to me. It wasn't as "light" as the previous books; however, the content was just as enjoyable. Sookie is growing up and starting to look at her life a little more closely, figuring out what she wants. Thus, this book is a little darker and had a lot more action than the previous books.

I found it to be a fantastic read, one I had trouble putting down. My only complaint is that I long for the day when Sookie and Eric really talk about all that happened between them and the feelings they have for one another. I am most anxiously and impatiently awaiting the next one!