Rating: 
Summary: ZERO STARS
Review: I'm disappointed that I couldn't put in ZERO because this book doesn't even deserve 1 star. I am so disappointed in this series. She should really stop and I am so sick and tired of this "ardeur" in these books. It's amazing that she continues to use it as much as she has. I say enough is enough. Put Anita out of her misery. I say give Edward his own series. He is a killing machine with his own rules. Anita has become a ridiculous character and I am moving on. Poor Jean-Claude and Richard. I can't continue to support a series that continues to destroy what was once a very exciting premise. What are the problems? Several but mostly, the mystery is missing and the days of waiting for a new book are gone. Good luck to you Ms. Hamilton.
Rating: 
Summary: Anita Blake puts herself dead in the path of Belle Morte
Review: "Cerulean Sins," the 11th novel in Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series, takes its name from the silk sheets covering the bed of our heroine's love the Master Vampire of St. Louis. By choosing something associated with Jean-Claude's bed the title reinforces the controversial direction of the series towards the erotic. For several volumes now the climax of each novel usually involves Anita discover some new aspect of her power, which helps save the day and propels her further into the ranks of being a monster, to the amazement of her circle of friends and the strong disapproval of Dolph the cop. This also further complicates the vampire politics in which she is embroiled. However, that transformation seems rather insignificant compared to Anita's sexuality. The change wrought by the "ardeur" in the formerly prime and proper Anita is the most radical of all, and one that is not embraced by many fans of the series. In "Cerulean Sins" the "ardeur" plays a key elements, so that Hamilton can at least claim she is not just writing soft porn.As is usually the case, the novel begins with Anita juggling the responsibilities of the human and the magical world. A mysterious guy shows up wanting a dead ancestor raised and she has to bring back another corpse to settle whether or not the death was a suicide. Then there are the series of gruesome murders apparently committed by a shape-shifter. But all of this becomes back burner concerns because Musette, the emissary of Belle Morte, has shown up three months early and it is clear that the "sourdre de sang" of Jean-Claude's bloodline is making a power play in which Asher is a pawn. Once again, Anita is caught between what she thinks herself capable of and her absolute commitment to protecting her people. It is probably about time that somebody puts out a companion guide to the Anita Blake series that will help readers understand the increasingly complex rules of the game when it comes to vampire politics. Anita can cross-examine Jean-Claude, Asher and the others as much as she wants as to what is expected and allowed in terms of all these intrigues, but when everything explodes in the final scenes it gets a bit difficult to follow all the pieces coming together in terms of which vampires can call which were-animals, what constitutes an insult, and how to translate ancient vampire traditions expressed in French into the down and dirty vernacular of the America of Anita Blake. Looking back over the series from this point we can get a sense of how the original current through the early novels, which started with the stormy relationship between Anita and Jean-Claude, and which evolved into the most dysfunctional love triangle in horror literature when Richard, Ulfirc of the local werewolf clan entered the picture, has now given way to Anita ongoing evolution and an ultimate confrontation with Bella Morte (or something worse) down the road. For the first time in "Cerulean Sins" we have the notion of prophecy entering the picture, which would indicate that Anita Blake is more than just good at what she does, and while Richard is still in the picture doing the wrong things for (usually) the wrong reasons you have to think he is old news at this point. Fortunately, Anita Blake remains an engaging character and her sense of humor remains intact. I have to admit that I am glossing over the sex scenes much the same way I did years ago reading John Norman's Gor novels, because as much as Hamilton is trying to make them integral to the novel the problem is not that I am bothered by the sexuality but rather than it pales in comparison to the gut wrenching horror that filled the earlier novels. Any Anita Blake movie would have to be rated NC-17, not because of the sex, but because the horror and violence was on a level that exceeded "The Exorcist." At her best, Hamilton makes Stephen King, Clive Barker and the rest look amateurs, and it is because of the heights that she has scaled in the past with her heroine that we will continue to wade our way through the sex to get to the good stuff.
Rating: 
Summary: Go back to basics LKH
Review: Cerulean Sins has the same flaw as Narcissus in Chains: They both lack balance. Part of what I liked about the previous novels was the interweaving of the mystery/action/romance and paranormal. These last two books focus way too much on the last two of that list. Also, how did Richard become the guy to be
DIS-ed? I WILL buy the next one, but I'll be wary.
Rating: 
Summary: Dreams in Blood
Review: Standing ovation for Laurell K. Hamilton!!! Once again you've treated us to a tantalizing fantasy of love, blood, danger, and mystery! Fantastic! The descriptions and details leave the reader breathless and panting for more. The scenery and setting provides details for the imagination to run rampant with thoughts of tantalizing vampires, werewolves, and other lacanthropes. Setting the stage with hints of the Mother of Darkness and more sinister visits of the Council makes it hard to wait for the next book. LOVE the Anita Blake series!
Rating:
Summary: Cerulean Sins of Anita Blake
Review: I love this book in the series. It was amazing and really interesting. The previous book let me down because of the fact that the men in anita's life didn't make such a big turn out. The tangle that is anita's love life gets straighten out some and the men are much more involved in this book, most notable is jean-claude and asher.
Those that love the series mainly for the police work that anita does in the series, this will disappoint. Although she does get a case, she doesn't spend major amounts of time in the presence of the police and she does not spend that much time beating up her brain about the case either.
Many things are taken out of the closet in this book and looked into more closely, even if nothing is really solved. Asher challenges Anita as well with questions about her commitment issues.
Mostly I love this because she doesn't end as confused about her life as she started off with and that is progress in my book and I have been waiting for her to make progress.....expecially in the direction of one seductively handsome vamp by the name of jean-claude.
Rating:
Summary: Please come back Anita
Review: I must agree with many of the other reviewers that this book is not worth your time. In the beginning of the series we got a good supernatural murder mystery, some great character building and interaction, great fight scenes, witty dialogue,and some good supernatural politics. Anita was much more "real" than she has become and thus this series has lost my interest. I own the first 8 books in the series, but have used the library for the last two books and I am so glad. I used to recommend this series to friends, but would no longer do so.
Rating:
Summary: Missing the old
Review: I started reading the Anita Blake series sometime ago and instantly loved it. It got to the point where I ordered three books at once because I knew I'd be reading them in a day. Well once I got to Obsidian Butterfly I couldn't get past the third chapter. I also skipped Narcissus in Chains, but thought to give cerulean sins a try. Needless to say I was disappointed. If I wanted an eratic adventure I'd rent a movie from the little back room at the video store. I find myself missing the old Anita. The new one kicks less...and has more sex. Where's the raw action? The other thing that put me off was all the details. It took almost two pages just to tell me what two characters were wearing. I don't care much about the clothes! I want to see guns slingin' and mouths shooting! But Anita doesn't do any of these things anymore. She just has sex, with several men at that! Give me the old books, get ride of this new [stuff].
Rating: 
Summary: Oh Anita, what happened to you?
Review: I remember reading Guilty Pleasures, the first Anita Blake novel, when it was first published, and revelling in the way Laurell K Hamilton had invented a character who was funny, bright, and tough, but still had a deep moral streak, which prevented her from becoming a simple killing machine.
As the books progressed, we saw a natural change in Anita, which was quite understandable. We understood as she struggled with her attraction to the 'monsters' she fought, and cheered when she finally succumbed to the charms of the delicious Jean Claude.
I'm not sure what happened along the way, but by the time Narcissus in Chains arrived, these wonderful novels had become nothing but cheap porn, without care for plot or characterisation. Cerulean Sin in slightly better than NiC, but only very slightly. It seems that any effort to include a plot has been spared, and we're subjected to an endless tirade of sex scenes, which quickly become dreadfully dull, and repetative. Someone really should explain to Ms Hamilton, the meaning of 'overkill' and that often, less is more. Also, that there is a fine line between 'erotica' and 'bad porn', one she unfortunately crossed two novels back. I hoped that after NiC, this series would get back on track, but I fear that it won't.
I personally won't be buying any more Anita Blake novels, and that saddens me immensely. I'll just reread the old novels, and remember what once was, with fondness and regret.
Rating:
Summary: I'll read the next book solely out of morbid curiosity. :-(
Review: Sheer disappointment. I keep seeing that word, "disappointment," all throughout these reviews, and I don't think that's simply coincidence. These are my personal, major complaints in no particular order: 1) *Shift of plot type*
I got hooked on these books because they were a cool, supernatural combination of the whodunit, detective, and action genres. Don't get me wrong, Anita's love/sex-life has always been part of the stories, but it wasn't ever really the primary plotline. Now it is, and since I don't dig soft-core erotica nor romance novels, I don't care for it. 2) *Apparent metamorphosis of major characters*
When I was reading passages involving Dolph or Richard, I couldn't imagine why they're now such different characters. People go through difficult, sometimes traumatizing times in life, but for pete's sake, these guys are so different from the way they were in the previous books that their names ought to be changed! 3) *The ardeur*
I'm sick of it, sick of it, sick of it. That's about as concisely as I can put it. 4) *Long hair on men*
Okay, Hamilton, so you like long hair on guys. So do I -- on the right guy, of course. But get over it! I'm weary of reading endless descriptions of some man's long, flowing, beautiful, cascading, lustrous, rippling, flaxen, luxurious, blah blah blah hair. Oh, and lets not forget how traumatizing it is for his friends when a man cuts off his long hair!! 5) * "So much meat" *
Might there possibly be any other phrase to describe a human being who's been ripped to shreds? Seriously, I should've kept track of how many times that particular phrase was abused... er, used.6) *Lack of editing*
Way too many typos, grammatical errors, blatant overuse of some phrases and words (e.g. #5 on my list). Need I say more? Although, like another reviewer said, this is less the fault of Hamilton than of her editor/agent/publishing house/whatever. There's more, but I think I'll leave it at that. Back when my friend first got me hooked on this series, I practically salivated with anticipation during the weeks before each new book was released. Since _ Narcissus in Chains_ was a letdown to me, I was eager to see if the next book would be an improvement. How sad that it wasn't. I would say I won't bother to read the next book in the series, but I know my lack of willpower won't let that happen. I'm sure I'll read it anyway, if only out of pure, morbid curiosity.
Rating:
Summary: Must have for LKH fans...heck for anyone!
Review: Anyone that is a fan of LKH will no doubt enjoy this read. We finally get background...or more background...on those vampires we love so much. Not to mention those who needed a little loving finally get it. As much as I loved this book though, I have to say Laurel could have made the Counsels presence there a little more ruthless...a little more obvious. I think with Belle's right hand there should have been more fighting...more blood shed...or if nothing else more politics. Not just Anita loosing control, which she REALLY does a lot of in this book. Don't miss the read for that though. It was definitely good. I read it in one day. : ) But that is just me.
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