Day Shift

Day Shift (Midnight, Texas Series #2): Charlaine Harris 
Publication Date: May 5th 

There is no such thing as bad publicity, except in Midnight, Texas, where the residents like to keep to themselves. Even in a town full of secretive people, Olivia Charity is an enigma. She lives with the vampire Lemuel, but no one knows what she does; they only know that she’s beautiful and dangerous.

Psychic Manfred Bernardo finds out just how dangerous when he goes on a working weekend to Dallas and sees Olivia there with a couple who are both found dead the next day. To make matters worse, one of Manfred’s regular—and very wealthy—clients dies during a reading.

Manfred returns from Dallas embroiled in scandal and hounded by the press. He turns to Olivia for help; somehow he knows that the mysterious Olivia can get things back to normal. As normal as things get in Midnight…


I am the biggest fan of Charlaine Harris, EVER. Her Sookie Stackhouse series is still my favorite book series in the world and I would recommend it to any fantasy lover. I haven't posted much about her because I read most of her books before I had a blog. I was ecstatic to find out she was writing a new series last year, especially that it was involving paranormal. 

I said in my review of the first Midnight, Texas book that the changes of the many perspectives caused me not to get attached to any of characters. About 15% into the book, I found myself in the same familiar feeling I found myself in while reading some of my favorite Charlaine Harris books. It's that feeling where I'm so comfortable and I don't ever want the ending to come. She makes it so easy for the people and the places to become family. It's weird because it's not even that I can relate to them - I can't relate to a witch, vampire, fortune teller, and the other oddballs in Midnight. She just has a very great way of making her characters feel like family, and she does that in this book too! 

This book combines characters of some of her other novels. I've only read her Sookie Stackhouse series  so far, so I wasn't familiar with some of the other characters. You definitely don't need to read the other series, but when some characters from the Sookie Stackhouse series made appearances in this book I could barely contain my excitement. First from the Sookie series we see Quinn the weretiger. Quinn was so swoon-worthy in those series working as a Shaman for the paranormal. 

"Do you, by any chance, know a waitress in Louisiana? Works in a bar in a little town called Bon Temps?"

As a continuation of Midnight Crossroad, you definitely get to know the characters more. I think this book is more character oriented than plot oriented. I only say that because I literally get so invested in the characters and that is so important to me as a reader. If I don't care about the characters, I don't care about the book. This installment kind of was leading to a return of Lemuel, the vampire. I was disappointed that it never came. However, Barry's talk of vampires in Texas makes me feel like maybe that will take a major part in the third book.

"Was he wearing something around his neck?"

"Yeah," Manfred said. "A bandanna. Like he was part of an Old West pageant."

"Okay, then. He's a fangbanger."  

The one thing I would have enjoyed more about her new series is if it was as sexy as the Sookie series. I don't want to compare the two, but I'm hoping for some action somewhere - lol. I'm also hoping we still see appearances of new characters from her other books. Right now - this series is only supposed to be a trilogy, but I hope it lasts longer. I think there is so many directions it can go and I'm excited to go on the adventures with the characters! I will always be a fan of Charlaine Harris and I'll read whatever book she writes. I hope she has a billion projects in mind, because I'll never get tired of reading her books.