Rating:  Summary: Narcissus in Chains Review: I have read all of the Anita Blake books in order through the entire series. I have also bought all the books except for Creaulan Sins which I am waiting for a paper back copy. I love this series and have recomended it to all my friends. I and most of my friends are avid readers and once we started reading this series we could not put it down. I bought Guilty Pleasures (the first Anita Blake book) on a whim, the very next day I had finished it and went back for the rest of the series. I read the entire series in one week, hardly even stopping to eat. And I have reread them more times than I can count. Being a poor college student I could not afford to buy Creaulan Sins in hard back, but as soon as I heard my local library has it I started haunting the place waiting for it to come in. I recomend if you enjoy anything even remotely Sci Fi or just want to try something new Read Guilty Pleasures. But be forwarned the series is very addictive.
Rating:  Summary: Narcissus in Chains Review: Was so thrilled to find Anita Blake series about strong woman, gutsy, independent woman which mixed my two favorite genres: supernatural and vampire. Yeah! Read several of the earlier books than hit this book and only felt disappointment and yes, disgust that the author had to use the "ardeur" to throw the reader into a quagmire of sexual exploits. I can read romance novels if I wanted all that. Why was this necessary? I almost gave up on the book but out of loyalty I finished it...hoping that the "ardeur" would pass. But no...I just started Cerulean Sins...and the smut continues. So that ends my loyalty to Anita. Will no longer be recommending it to friends. How sad! The plots have suffered for the sex. Too bad.
Rating:  Summary: Don't listen to Nay-sayers! Review: This book is absolutely worth the read! A bit darker than the previous books, but wonderfull all the same. I am definatly sticking with this series.
Rating:  Summary: Narcissus in Chains Review: I think this is my second review I have ever written, but I find it really necessary. I must admit that I agree with many of the reviews. This book was a disappointment. I have read all of the books in the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series and I have absolutely loved them. Each book was original, fun, and sexy, with new and exciting monsters for Anita to face. However, each book continued to be filled with way too much sex. Sex with plot is interesting, but the kinky sex and as another review indicated "the emphasis on bodily fluids has become grosser and more prevalent to the point of disgust." I am very disappointed to say that I no longer care about the characters or the relationships and haven't decided whether to buy the next book or not or even to keep my series on my shelf. I hope that Ms. Hamilton continues the series, she will revert back to the things that made her books and writing so special. I gave her new series "A Caress of Twilight and A Kiss of Shadows a chance and this is much interesting read, except book two begins to get way too kinky again.
Rating:  Summary: fabulous read! Review: I loved this book. I think it's my favorite of the series. I happened on it by accident, loved it, then had to go back and read all the rest to fill in the characters.It is not for children, it contains a lot of sex and violence. But there is a lot of the details about her life with the werelepords, how she's trying to correct the damage done by previous dysfunctional leaders, and help them find a feeling of family. Details about the rest of the Were Community, how they live, their rituals, coping mechanisims, ect. I enjoy that part very much. The sex may not be to everyones liking, but I found it very erotic. In short, it appealed on several levels; erotic, the maternal but strong heroine, getting to know the Were Community, action, and happy endings where the bad guys get it. I had to have a copy for my own, and have read it twice in four months.
Rating:  Summary: I actually liked it Review: What a beating this entry into the series is taking here. I've read the entire series and actually I did like this one. Anita was so hard and so uptight in the beginning she was a little annoying. She loosens up a little in the first area and a LOT in the second when she contracts Jean Claude's ardeur (think bionic lust)through those pesky vampire marks. Richard's character doesn't come across well-but she's been hinting that his character would take this direction (he wants Anita because she can do things an ordinary girl can't but he wants an ordinary girl so he doesn't want Anita...typical stuff even if you're not a reluctant alpha werewolf/necromancer couple.) The story begins with Anita saving one of her wereleopards at a sex club and in the process possibly contracts lycanthropy herself. As a result, she meets Micah the wereleopard and Nimir Raj (to her Nimir Ra) who is the new love interest and ends by uniting the lycanthrope community to fight a pan-were bad guy and some kinky werehyenas. Most of the series regulars return after their absence in Obsidian Butterfly-including Jason, Dolph, Jean Claude, Damian, Asher, Nathaniel, and Ronnie, who is finding Anita's life just a little too out there of late so this maybe her last bow. Needless to say, this is not the book to start the series with. But if you are an Anitaverse fan or even if you 've only read a few of Hamilton's books in the series do give this one a try. It's an interesting but not out of left field direction for our slayer/lupa/nimir ra/necromancer extraordinaire heroine.
Rating:  Summary: What the crunk.... Review: Ok...if all that you read for is sex, and if sex is all you think about then go for this book, but if your like me and need some plot to go along with your story stay the heck away from this. Long time Anita fans also beware. This book is of course a tale taking place after OB...but oddly enough when I read it it didn't feel at all like Anita and just had me thinking 'Did I miss a book somewhere?' Lets all hope and pray that LKH gets out of the funk she's in and brings us back some real storytelling and not some dime-smut like this. In two words: Big Disapointment
Rating:  Summary: The worst story line ever............what happen??? Review: I always enjoy reading L.K.H. books since the first one, but this has got to be the worst story line ever... Correction -NO STORY LINE- just sex,sex,sex... poor excuse for menopause (heat flashes,etc) Enjoy the previous books and skip this one.
Rating:  Summary: Evolution of a Heroine Review: I love this book. Having read all of the A Blake series , I found this book particularly entertaining, someones been walking on the wild side(DS anyone ?). The always in control Anita finally losing control. Having to depend on others to keept her grounded, safe, to meet her needs. It' a'int shakespeare but then again what is ? Great escapism, and still one of the strongest women in contemporary print.
Rating:  Summary: She's jumped the shark. Review: I was so sad to plow my way through Narcissus in Chains. I started the Anita Blake books at the beginning of this summer as a respite from school and work. In the beginning, while the books had some issues (won't some editor fix her grammar errors? Please?) the plot stormed along. Every chapter ended in a way that forced me to start the next one. Things started to go downhill a couple of books ago, though, and with this one, LKH really jumps the shark. I get the sense that LKH bases the men in the books on men she's actually been involved with. How else to explain the devolution of Richard? It feels like she stopped dating whoever he was based on in real life and decided to take it out on the character, which is a shame. The plot in this book is Pap smear thin. I say Pap smear thin because Anita's gonna need one after all the sex she has in the book. Since Anita has morals that won't allow her to sleep with just anyone, LKH has put her under a curse that will force her to sleep with just anyone. If she'd just go ahead and do it, the book would probably have been 100 pages shorter, but every sex scene (and there are many) is prefaced with many pages of, "Oh, no, I mustn't, I'm too choosy, I don't do this sort of thing!" Yeah, pull the other one, Anita. Somewhere in the midst of all the sex, Anita suddenly remembers: "hey, wait! There's a *mystery* going on! And people are trying to *kill* me! Maybe I oughta do something about that." Of course, this is just an excuse to give her Yet Another Strange Power. I like sex in my books more than most people, but I like my sex WITH PLOT. LKH should pick up some books by Laura Antoniou to get tips on how to write a good erotic novel. I liked Anita better several books ago. She started to lose her path with Blue Moon, and I can't see myself buying another book in the series.
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