Rating: 
Summary: Let's chain Laurell to her word processor
Review: The biggest problem with Laurell K. Hamilton's books is that she can't write fast enough for my taste. I'd like one book after another after another--very greedy of me.
The latest Anita Blake is just superb!! I read it once..and I'm really getting too old to read for eight straight hours..caught some sleep and then read it again. Loved it.
My only questions are--if Dolph is a black man and blacks don't catch vampirism easily, why is his son now a vampire?
Second isn't really a question, just a comment. I really love Micah as a character--frankly, I think he's an improvement on Richard who is a male chauvinist pig among other things and much too concerned with his own feelings. I do feel that Micah is a bit one dimensional, however. Hope he gets more of a story line in the future.
Keep it up, write lots more and WRITE FASTER!!
Rating: 
Summary: Anita grows up!
Review: While the later Anita Blake novels are not as straightforward as the early ones (after all, there's more and more men and her relationships just get more complicated - it used to be just Jean Claude v. Richard - now it's Jean Claude v. Richard v. Asher v. Jason v. Micah v. Nathaniel), I like the later books more. In the first novels, Anita is just insanely stubborn and idealistic. She used to have all these rules, to help herself feel different from all the monsters, to mark a boundary. In Cerulean Sins, she's finally growing up, and realizing that some of her prohibitions aren't worth the torture/death of someone she cares for. She learns to compromise with herself, to make the people around her about happier. And by doing so, she finds a measure of peace. She can't help being the way she is, and now that she has the ardeur, she has to have multiple partners. It's just part and parcel of being an Anita human servant who's part of Belle's line. So the sex scenes don't bother me at all. Compared to her usual violent/rude/aggressive attitude, it's nice to see her when she's actually emotionally open and intimate with the other characters. It's got the danger of Burnt Offerings, the paranormal sensuality/complexity of Narcissus in Chains, and kick-a** attitude of Circus of the Damned. I really enjoyed Cerulean Sins, and would recommend it to anyone who likes Laurell K. Hamilton's later novels.
Rating:
Summary: Shifting focus
Review: Personally, I loved Cerulean Sins and barely moved in the time it took me to read the whole thing. I really like the way the series is going, but many may not. The focus in the last few books has started shifting away from the crime-oriented aspects that were so prevalent in the first books and more towards elationships, vampire/wereanimal politics, and character development. So while there are still elements of Anita's daytime career stuff, it's no longer as integral to the story - which I figure that'll either put you off or please you. I'm the latter. Great book. Laurell Hamilton is one of very few authors I'll buy in hardcover.
Rating:
Summary: Laurell Hamilton Delivers
Review: I love this series and Cerulean Sins has exceeded my expectations. Laurell's books are always fast paced, page turners. How many times can you say that about such a long series. No book drags they keep you entertained page after page. Not even Stephen King can say that anymore. He just rambles on and on. Thankfully that's not Laurell's way. I only wish she wrote faster and bigger books. Write Laurell, write!
I highly recommend all this author's books. If you've never ready anything by her go purchase the entire series now. Believe me you will be rabid for the next book after you read the first one.
Rating: 
Summary: This series could use some stability
Review: I've read all of the Anita Blake novels several times over, and despite my pretty positive review of NiC, I was really hoping for more this time around. In some ways, I got my wish, and in others I was really disappointed.I'll start off with the good:
a. very little Micah. I was a fan of Micah, but it seems as though he's just another submissive who wants to worship at the altar of Anita. He lets her do anything (or anyone, as the case may be), and fortunately he doesn't show up all that much. b. very little Richard. I hate Richard, plain and simple. His self-denegrating attitude is getting OLD. Fortunately, aside from some psychic stuff, he appears for a short period of time. He declares that the Thronnos Rokke clan will no longer be affiliated with anyone, and you can tell the clan doesn't like it. I suspect that the clan may be on it's way out, prolly forming 2? It was an okay twist, but it means that Richard will have to stick around .c. a better dealing with the ardeur. While I am not a prude, and didn't mind the erotica of NiC, it was also getting a bit tedious to have Anita want to do every guy she meets. At least here we got explanations and attempts to control it better. Overall, I think this book was good if only to establish a story that allows Anita to control the darn thing. d. JASON! He finaly is being written as an adult. He is one of my favorite characters in the book. He is written as an insightful, charming, intelligent young man instead of some pathetic boy-toy worshiping at the altar of Anita. Finally he has some meat. ok, he did get sex (whichs he's been begging for), but for him, he recognizes that it means he has a bigger role in Anita's life than some hanger-on. e. The Dolph storyline was really well-done. I liked it a lot, and I'm interested to see where it goes. f. an interesting new character, the Mother of Darkness. I have hopes for her.... now for the bad and the ugly:
a. the plotline has been used already. Enough with the darn council! It seems that this plotline was contrived just to bring it back to the Anitaverse, an element lacking in NiC. Too bad it was done better in Burnt Offerings. b. Asher. I like Asher, but LKH has now managed to throw yet another man into the fray that is Anita's sex life. We have Richard, and Jean-Claude, and Micah, and now Asher (not counting tension, which would include Jason, and Damian, and Nathaniel and countless others). Complex romantic triangels are a lot of fun. This is just getting tedious. c. No Ronnie, no Larry, no Animators, Inc., and NO EDWARD! I was really disappointed in that. You would think that LKH would at least give these characters more than a mere mention(some didn't even get that!). I'm all for evolution, but don't you think that the human side of Anita needs to be explored as well?!? and why ignore such great characters?!? d. the Thronnos Rokke Clan and Anita's pard were mere mentions for the most part as well. We got a bit of character info on Gregory and Stephen, and a bit of tension when Richard declared independence, but not much else; what little we got wasn't utilized very well. As much as Richard and Micah annoy me, LKH can't just drop em from the plot. e. the assassin subplot was transparent and poorly done. what a waste. i had the bodyguards figured out almost immediately, and the rest of the pieces fit too quickly for my tastes. it seemed like an afterthought to make the book more interesting; it failed miserably. f. another contrived and all too-short epilogue. please don't write them if they're going to be meaningless! overall, not a bad effort, but if the best praise it can get is "better than NiC", that's not saying much. It appears that LKH is trying to get back on track, so we'll see what the next book holds for us!
Rating:
Summary: What is happening to our favorite vamp hunter?
Review: I don't have any problems with Anita's sex life, but where was the story? NIC was kind of lost until the ending which was great. This story doesn't even have that. If you so love the series (and Asher) buy the book, but you might want to wait until the paperback
Rating:
Summary: Ok, but expected it to be better
Review: I got hooked into the series last year and usually burn through all of her books fairly quickly. Cerulean Sins, though, just seems to lack that amazing suspense that all of the earlier books had. It was a good read and you learn a lot more information about Jean Claude and Asher, but there was too much psychoanalysis in the book and not enough hard core action. I guess that I was just too hyped up for this new book and expected more.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, but graphic.
Review: The turmoil and angst that we've come to expect of Anita continues. The book was a good new edition, but not my favorite so far. It was very sexually based with only a small part going to Anita's professional life as an animator/necromancer and detective. We do get to see the executioner in action, which was a nice surprise, but are otherwise caught in a soap opera of personal anxiety and indecision. The good news? Anita learns something about herself from a surprising source. I enjoyed the book, as always, and didn't want it to end, but was looking for a little more than I got out of it.
Rating:
Summary: Page Turner
Review: Loved it. I have read the entire Antia Blake series. I could not wait for the next one. It was very good. It was a real page turner. I could not put it down. I read the thing in 24 hours. I can't wait to see if there will be another book. The only advise I have is that if you want to read the series start with the first book.
Rating:
Summary: Cerulean Sins Review
Review: I really enjoyed this book. Anita's morals are highly challenged throughout this book. With the ardeur, her needs to feed it through sex challenges her morals.
Richard is struggling with his own depression and the triumvirate suffers due to his problems. Anita can't even be in the same room as Richard because she doesn't want to begin to hate him. Musetta, a lietenant of Belle Morte, comes to St. Louis three months ahead of time and chaos is reigned. Negotiations are not complete and Musetta demands Asher as her "treat". In order to protect Asher, Anita will test the bounds of her morals which will bind Jean-Claude, Anita and Asher closer together than ever before. Or drive Asher away for good, and cause a wedge in the relationship between Anita and her beloved Jean-Claude. But underneath all of this someone is beginning to wake, the Mother of all Vampires. She is curious of Anita and her powers, the mother does not love, hate, or feel any emotions, she is darkness itself.
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