Rating: 
Summary: Not great, but not bad, and definitely not pornographic!
Review: I read many of the reviews before buying this book, and I wanted to see what all the controversy was about. I was prepared for the best AND worst and guess what? I didn't get either. No, the plot is not real strong and the dialogue drags ( and repeats) in many parts, but this book is suppossed to be more character defining than just another Anita Blake shoot em' up. This is a practical approach in series of books about the same character. Could have been done better, certainly- but it wasn't that bad. I personally enjoyed "Blue Moon" a lot less. In fact, this is the first Anita Blake book I read since "Blue Moon" because I reall couldn't stand that Richard character. As for the sex, I'm totally confused by people saying this was porn. There were only like two real scenes where "true" intercourse was involved. The rest was mostly silly magic abstract vulcan mind melding stuff that hardly qualifies as porn. I didn't even think the sex scenes were that graphic. Yes, there was a little biting here and there but it's a vampire novel. Biting is still allowed :-) As readers we all bring our own background and experiences to a book, and if we "see" pornographic sex on every page it is literally all in our heads.
That's the magic of reading. Final Review: Ok rating for an Ok book. Not worth the hard back price, and too much repetition but if you enjoy the series then it's a worthwile stop over to the next novel. IF you're looking for erotica and romance- DON'T BUY THIS BOOK.
Rating: 
Summary: EXTREAMLY GOOD!!!!
Review: I've read all of the Anita Blake series, and by far - this has to be THE best one yet. I can't wait til the next one!!!! I have to admit, Obsidian Butterfly was the most boring and I had to push myself just to get thru it so I could move on. I wish I had 1/2 the talent Ms. Hamilton has. Those people who complain about it, should try writing and book with this much imigination and have it published and be a best seller. When they do, then I will take into consideration their critiques. The point to reading a book is to escape and enjoy. And this book with all the twists and turns and plots and sexuality/sensuality was enough to keep me smiling, laughing, teary-eyed, and holding my breath waiting til the next page. Hated to have to put it down.
Rating:
Summary: Trose
Review: I think that this is one of the best of the Anita Blake series! Obsidian Butterfly being the most boring. I had to literlly push myself thru it so I could move onto this book. All the people who thought that there were things left off or not thought thru in this book.....let them try writing a book with this much imigination and thought and let it get published, then they can complain. I adore Anita's humor and logial thought process as well as her "I am not putting up with anyone's [stuff]" attitude.
Rating: 
Summary: A thrilling fantasy with a sexual twist
Review: Narcissus in Chains by Laurell K. Hamilton is the best book I've read in years. It's thrilling from the first page to the last, filled with action, lust, love, devotion, and a few crazy twists. This recent Anita Blake novel introduces new characters and a plot that could make anyone like were-animals.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Addition to the Series
Review: I've been a fan of the Anita Blake series since I came across it a few years ago, and I have to say that while I can't call this the best of the series, Narcissus is a very solid addition. I'm looking forward to Anita going back to her "normal" job and hearing more about the people there, but I'm thrilled at the development of Anita's pard, and there just isn't room in one book for both. This book introduces a lot of new characters, and adds depth to the existing ones, and it follows Obsidian Butterfly's pattern of making you wonder how much you really know about any of them. Anita develops a lot of new abilities in this book, but considering they're mostly triggered by marrying the marks w/ Jean Claude and Richard, I'd say that's about right. I can't wait until the next book in the series to see what happens as the triumverate gets used to the marks being merged and Anita being back in town, not to mention what will happen if Anita ever accepts the forth mark from Jean Claude! Bottom line, if you like the Anita Blake series and go into the book with an open mind, you won't be disappointed. Yes there are a few inconsistencies at the end, but nothing that interferes with the overall enjoyment of Narcissus in Chains.
Rating:
Summary: Hamilton OUTDID HERSELF WITH THIS BOOK
Review: I have read everyone of Laurell K. Hamilton's books about Anita Blake. They are wonderful, well-written and have soul!!! Narcissus in Chains is the best! She has taken all the characters and given them more humanity and made them real. Hamilton makes you live what Anita experiences where you sometimes cry, sometimes get angry and, most of all, feel the ups and downs of love. I am really anticipating the publication of her next book with Anita Blake and the wonderful characters in her life.
Rating: 
Summary: It SUCKED!...And in a BAD way!
Review: I have followed the exciting heroine, Anita, through all of her nine thrill rides in the past books. However, when I read this one, I got sick! I didn't think that it could get this bad. It seems that Anita has lost so much of herself. She has gotten all of her marks in this book and a new lover also. Richard, at the end, is thrown out of the picture, having not completley accepted his werewolf nature. Jeane-Claude is not as important as he used to be to Anita, and i'm sorry to say that she has become a slut, nothing like she was in the first books. I'm so sad it has to be this way, but hey, I can make up my own ending where Anita ends up with Jeane-Claude and only Jeane-Claude, Micah is gay, and Richard finds a new lupa. I'm a sucker for good endings!
Rating:
Summary: Where can I find a Vampire who has an orgasmic bite??
Review: This was definatly not my favorite Anita Blake book. Im not sure what it was but it just didnt do much for me or add much to the aura surrounding Anita and the people surrounding her. This book picks up with Anita reinstating herself after a 6 month hiatus. She is planning on choosing between Jean-Claude and Richard but everything, as usual, goes wrong. First some of her pard is kidnapped and she calls in her boyfriends. Before they go in to rescue her "family members", Jean-Claude and Richard marry the vamp marks so that the power is shared between them all. Something goes wrong and a huge fight breaks out where Anita is almost killed and is severly scratched by one of her pard members while he was trying to protect her. Richard, being the type of person he is, finds out about this and jumps to the conclution that the clawing was on purpose so he captures Gregory, the were leopard, to punish/kill him for possibly convreting Anite (which means she can no longer be lupa to him). Anita is now forced to go against her friends and ex-lover to gain back one of her pard. After the marrying of the marks, Anita begins to notice differences in herself that causes her to become very uncomfortable. She gains an inner beast from Richard and Ardeur from Jean-Claude, which is basically the ability to feed off sex and blood. She battles with this throughout the rest of the book along with the moral dilema that craving sex or blood from strangers causes her. Micah, an attractive wereleopard king, is introduced to us in this book. He immediatly falls for Anita and tells her that the need she feels around him is meant to be considering she is his equal in the pard. I, personally, did not care for Micah much. He seemed to roll over for Anita too much. He will get on her nerves soon enough when she realizes that he relies on her judgement in an extream way. Because of the attraction that is seen between Micah and Anita, Richard all but gives up on her and in the end he cant live with the possibility of her being a monster like himself. He cant accept the beast within himself so he knows he cant love Anita when she has the same "affliction". He would be perfect for her if he would just suck it up and be a man. Overall, I would say its a pretty good book. It has its good parts and its weak parts. There isnt TONS of sex like I thought there was going to be after reading some of the reviews. There was a bit more intimate moments as Anita was trying to conquer the Ardeur. Ya know, there are times where I wish she would just go with Asher. Hes strong and ancient and accepts her for who she is. *shrug* If she doesnt want him.. Ill take him! :)
Rating:
Summary: Slow Slide and Several Huge Changes
Review: Ok...because of the backlog of books that I suffer from, I've had this book for awhile, but haven't been able to read it. I've seen the reviews, and, truth be told, was a bit reluctant to read the story because of everyone's less than critical acclaim for it. I've been reading Ms Hamilton's Anita Blake stories since the beginning, and I must admit, that the character is appealing. It's not all that often that a strong female character is seen in the world of fiction.
I will admit that the story line has fallen down somewhat from what it used to be. But that's to be expected in pretty much anything that has lasted as long as this particular heroine has.
But it's not quite as bad as everyone proclaims in their reviews.
Anita's undergone some rather...........drastic changes with this book. So it's no wonder that some of the longtime fans are confused.
I will admit that I like Anita better back in her butt-kicking days...before, apparently, the wealth of female readers (and likely some male as well) began demanding a more soft-core porn approach to Ms Hamilton's writing style. A word of advice, should a miracle occur and the author read this: keep the butt-kicking separate from the soft-core that's so prevalent in the "Kiss of Shadows" book.
I would like to admit to another of my problems, and a long standing one that I've had: a recent watcher of Blade 2 said how amazing it was that, the moment you became a vampire (nee vampyr) that you immediately became a martial arts master. That's somewhat along the lines of my problem. I think it's amazing that only the beautiful people become vampyrs or lycanthropes...or is it a change that happens afterwards? Either way, I'd like to think that, somewhere out there in Ms Hamilton's fictional world, there's a non-handsome beastie...even though I know it's not true. People want to live the fantasy...not the reality. So anyone Anita's attracted to must be gorgeous.
Maybe the series will get back to its roots...and maybe she'll explore more of the background and life of Edward (my favorite character).
Rating: 
Summary: Biggest disappointment ever
Review: To make it short and to the point: -No cohesive plot
-The character development is highly inconsistent
-Many, many, spelling and grammatical errors
-Repetitive and unimaginative descriptive phrases
-Confusing narration
-Repetitive, emotionless, boring sex scenes
-Contemptible behavior on Anita's part
-Many, poorly developed, unnecessary additions to the already leviathan cast of characters
-Completely joyless narration
-Most of the characters from the earlier books under went total character assassination
-etc., etc. The worst part is that I used to really like this series. Narcissus in Chains was a highly anticipated sequel which I ordered months in advance. After reading this book, I can no longer enjoy the earlier novels. The flaws in the series have been made too obvious to be overlooked any longer.
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