Rating: 
Summary: Absolutly Breathtaking!!!!!
Review: I have never read a book like Narcissus in Chains,EVER!It was capitvating and I could not put it down. I recieved it as a Christmas gift and I finished it in two days. This was the first book that I had even read from the Laurell H. series but it was easy to catch on, I could not bear to stop. Each character had their own special qualities and althoug others may disagree, I'm glad her and Richard are over, he's such a pain. Also, I'm probably not the only one that thinks this, but the relationship she had with Nathaniel was so cute,throughout the whole book I kept thinking he was going to die, but he didn't,:)I don't think I could have handled that. Hopefully in her next novel there is more of Nathanial, Damien, and Gregory, it seems that they were just left hanging. I can't wait for the next instalment. Until then I will definatly go back and read the previous novels, hopefully they are just as good as this one!!!!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: A Little Disappointed
Review: I just finished this book (after a marathon reading session) and while I enjoyed the book, there was something missing. I like Anita Blake, she is a strong woman with a lot of awesome powers and a confusing life. I like that she has had strong moral beliefs (no matter what they are) and that as her powers develop and her personal relationships change the beliefs are moulded to fit her life. However, this book just seemed out of place for her. No one knows her better than Laurell as the creator, but all of what Anita has been about in the past seems betrayed by the number of sex scenes in this book and that seems to weaken the character. I really hope this new 'power' gained from Jean Claude will go away! I miss the Anita of the first five books- the raising-the-dead Anita, who was friends with the cops and had a lot fewer kills to her name. I hope that if there is an 11th book there will be more featured Animator work, or a good explanation for why she isn't doing that anymore.
Rating: 
Summary: Bondage, murder and vampires...what more could we ask?
Review: Haven't read an Anita Blake book yet that wasn't worth a second, third and fourth read and this one is no different. Jean Claude and Richard are BACK!... Jean Claude as sexy as ever and Richard still doing a credible imitation of Reilly from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (no I didn't like Reilly)...Narcissus in Chains is perhaps the most gothic of the series and shows a continuing improvement in wardrobe all round (recall horrid 80s clothes from early books). While I fail to see how anyone could be offended by sex, I do agree with other reviewers that this one isn't for the modestly minded. I will continue to mourn our lady's (Anita) chastity as it gave the early stories a sensuality (mouth watering) hard to match, but the development in the wereleopard pack and particularly Nathaniel shows particular insight on the author's part.... nothing stales a series quicker than characters that don't grow. Having said that, I can see an ending in the making and so encourage you all to enjoy every last word. I read the first book when I was 12 and would not be surprised if I read the last one before I hit 25.
Rating: 
Summary: You Guys Don't Get It
Review: i've read many of the other reviews listed regarding this book and wonder if i'm the only person who saw this book as a set up?i felt like hamilton had plans for her characters but needed to set up some foundation for those plans to be plausible and doable...and so she gave us narcissus now i do agree with the people who say this was not the best of the series...the best of the series was probably obsidian butterfly (or at least it was for me)....but my complaint regarding this book was that it was too short and we waited too long... since i saw this as a plot foundation/transition piece i wonder why she just didn't keep going...i would have preferred a 1000 page book that took me somewhere and took me through some real emotion than one that just kept me thinking "oh that's something she can build on" i would recommend this book only to people who had read all the books in the series...otherwise the reader would walk away wanting... additionally, if you read between the lines and check out her dedication you maybe could draw the same conclusions i did...her namir (if i'm spelling it correctly) is the man she refers to... i hope hamilton can come to grips with whatever her problems with the men in her life are...i hate to see richard punked out so badly b/c it..i really hated to see jean-claude punked out so badly as well...
Rating:
Summary: More please, I can't wait for the next book!
Review: I love the Anita Blake series and I can't wait for the next book. I think that some of the reviews complaining about how different this book was, and wanting to know what happened to the old Anita are totally ridiculous! I mean characters change. That is what happens...character development. If every book were exactly the same and Anita never interacted with any new characters then the same people would be complaning that they wanted a change. This book (Narcissus in Chains) was a great installment to the Anita Blake series and Laurell K. Hamilton is an excellent writer...I can't wait for the next book and am eagerly anticipating the changes and growth that the characters, old AND new, will go through. Keep 'em coming Ms. Hamilton, you rock!
Rating:
Summary: series turned soap opera
Review: I have been a fan of this series since it started.
However as it has progressed the series has become more and more like a soap opera with far too many characters and the plot line far too convoluted.
When it started the plot lines were a mix of horror, dime detective, humor and romance. Not an easy combination to pull off. Yet Hamilton was able to do it so adroitly I couldn't wait for the next book.
Now the humor is long gone, the detective work is glanced over and the horror lacking. The romance has turned to softcore porn on it's way to hardcore.
Hamilton needs to stop endowing Anita with more powers lest she become unbelieveable. Even some of the people in the stories are begining to become skeptical.
The number of charactors needs to be whittled down and originals brought back into play.
Anita needs to get back to being a reanimator rather than saviour of every and any monster she happens across. The subtitle of the series says she is a vampire hunter, not saviour.
Most importantly cut back on the sex. I'm far from a prude but enough is enough.
No one who has not read the earlier books should attempt to dive into this series with this title. You will be lost and unable to understand let alone enjoy the book.
I myself was tempted to stop reading at one point until the storyline took a turn back to the original plot, after a long departure into soap opera territory, and rekindled my interest.
Hopefully the personal life sidebars will not reoccur in the next title.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed doesn't cover it
Review: The teaser I read in Out of this World is the only reason I started reading this series. Between August and October, I read all of the Anita Blake books and became hooked. And then, October comes and NIC hits the shelves. And I was ready to throw it at the wall. Poor sentence structure isn't even the beginning, but her editor needs to seriously brush up on her editing skills. Little plot, little mystery, very little thrills (unless you count pointless meaningless sex). A waste of money. This will probably be the last book of hers I buy.
Rating:
Summary: anita grows up!
Review: I Have to say that before i read this book i went to read the reviews people had written about it at the amazon page. We get the books much later in the UK, so i try to get as much info as possible before i read the book. I personnaly love the Anita Blake series and couldn't understand why people seemed to dislike this book so much. I mean i thought it was really great once i read it. The main complain seems to be the end of the Richard story but come on that has been going on since the begginning of the series and frankly i thought it was getting old. Honestly does he really love her that much if he can't accept what she is, if you need to change your partner you don't really love them!Jean-Claude might be a vampire but he's never lied about who/what he was and he's always liked Anita for who SHE was!!!!!
There also seems to be a lot of complaining about Anita "loosing" her morals or the excess of sex in the book. Ok first of all this is a series of books so it follows that we consider Anita as a person and we like to know what happens in her life. In real life we all grow up and change, that's what she's doing. she doesn't work 9 to 5 in an office typing letters, her lifestyle and her job will definitly have repercussions on how she behaves. Plus we don't want a stuck up prude for our heroine ( BOOORING!)
in the end we know that LKH style is horror with some love and sex mixed into it, if you don't like that don't read it but people stop putting bad reviews on a REALLY GREAT BOOK!!!
Rating:
Summary: The lines between Anita and Merry blur
Review: The problem is this: I remember Anita Blake from Guilty Pleasures , when she wasn't sleeping with every creature that so much as blinked at her. I remember when there was Story and Plot and Interesting Things. Anita Blake has evolved and I'm not entirely sure it's for the better. Narcissus in Chains finds Anita in hot water. No surprise there, because it's been that way from book one. Anita has inherited a heap of problems, as well as a pack of shapeshifters, and she doesn't want any of them. She needs to find them a new keeper, but hasn't been having much luck. Wouldn't you know, it may be the perfect Nimir-Ra is right under her own nose--it could be her. Things remain tense between Anita and her boys, Richard and Jean-Claude. Anita has been away for six months--away and celibate. She's still trying to decide what to do about them. Does she accept the third mark and complete their union? Or does she remain on the outskirts, shunning the power and passion she finds with these men? Anita accepts the mark, and just when you think Hamilton means to explore what this really means, she doesn't. The book goes in another direction entirely, sending Anita into the arms of Micah, a powerful Nimir-Raj, the male counterpart to her own role in the shapeshifter pard. It's because of the ardeur, you understand, the burning hunger, that she finds herself tangled against his body. Anita, once again, has no control over her body or her power. She's helpless. She can't possibly be a slut, because it's the ardeur controlling her. And she surely doesn't enjoy what's happening to her, because she resists and objects at every turn--yet still manages to fall. This mindset reminds me of the Victorian age, when it wasn't believed that women could enjoy sex and that those who did were evil or somehow ill. There is little new in this book. If you thought the sex was hot in Obsidian Butterfly, it gets even hotter here. Narcissus introduces bondage, submission, and discipline to the Anitaverse. Plot, Storytelling, and Interesting Things have fallen by the wayside, while Anita gets her freak on with every beasty within reach, reminiscent to me of Hamilton's newest series of books, those about Merry Gentry. In fact, it's become far too easy to confuse Anita and Merry. Again in her opening notes, Hamilton apologizes to her writing group for not having time to get the manuscript to them before it was sent to New York. Perhaps had they seen it, we readers wouldn't be faced with a final product such as this, wherein the author all too often stops the story to describe the clothes, hair, and eyes of every creature Anita encounters. Then again, I suppose it's important to know such things before you leap into bed with someone. "I don't want to turn into slut-girl," Anita moans. Honey, it's too late.
Rating:
Summary: Never thought that...
Review: ...For curiosity's sake, I did flip through the remainder of the book, and found nothing to make me continue reading. This from a long-time fan of the series, who had heard rumors about this book not being great, but was willing to read and find out for herself - I was so disappointed in this limp, lifeless, excuse for a story and the constant sex that seemed joyless, forced, and written in a highly self-conscious style. I had to go back and Laughing Corpse to get the bad taste of this book out of my mouth.
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