Rating: 
Summary: Not her best...but closer to her worse
Review: The plot is rehashed with the Vampire Council (in the form of Belle Morte and her entourage) coming to threaten Anita Blake and Company. The serial killer is laughablly close to Anita (as always) and quickly discovered and dealt with by her. The main plot fizzles off as no harm comes to anyone. Hamilton leads into a surprise, but as it goes it isn't that great...maybe it will be in a book or two. Less sex and no romance. The entire book left me wanting and wondering why I continue to read the Anita Blake Series when the Merry Gentry Series is so much better. I am a long time Anita Blake and LKH fan...and I am becoming disillusioned with the plots, characters and writing style...
Rating: 
Summary: A step in the right direction.
Review: ... Cerulean Sins, for all its flaws, is a better book than NiC; a lot better ' because I actually enjoyed it. Yes it's still sexual, but for some reason, it wasn't as unacceptable as it was in Narcissus. Here's the breakdown: The plotline: Ignorable, which is NOT a bad thing. There is a whole truckload of character development throughout this book, and a highly convoluted story would detract from LKH's purpose, I think. The main characters: Well done. They all seem to come into their own, even Anita. She's gotten a lot more comfortable in her own skin and has come to terms with what she is. It's a welcome change. The vamps are great (as usual ' Asher is my secret love), and Jason's grown up a lot. Laurell basically keeps Richard OUT of this book, which is a little sad, but it's understandable. My only fear is that she'll replace him with that stiff Micah, who I don't care for, but we'll see what happens. The supporting players: MORE EDWARD PLEASE. He's a great character. Larry's missing, the werewolves are basically not around, and Cherry and crew seem to have just disappeared ' excluding Nathaniel (And I will admit that I freaking hate Nathaniel). That's sort of a let down, but she does make up for it with a neat little subplot that includes Dolph and Zebrowski. I liked that a lot. It was cool. The overall skinny: Good stuff. Choppy, and too morally twisted, but this is great set up for Queen of the Damned (*COUGH* I mean The Mother of Darkness). Sorry I let that slip. It's just that I'm seeing a few creepy similarities to another vampire writer and it's making me nervous. But anyway ' BESIDES THAT - happy reading, folks. Enjoy the book. Be thankful it's not Narcissus in Chains. My only advice? Don't get your hopes too high for the next one. She didn't completely redeem herself yet, but she's getting closer to it.
Rating: 
Summary: Cerulean Sins
Review: Anita Blake is back on the job, but not back to her old tricks. Long time fans of the AB:Vampire Hunter Series will not find the Executioner in these pages. They will find a new, and perhaps, not improved, Anita Blake, one who engages in a great deal of self-examination and cares more about flashing her "undies" than flashing her Browning. An incredibly long book, CS spans 62 chapters. It's as if a short Anita Blake novel was written, and a second novel was then quickly typed out and stuffed into the middle of the original book. Events become confusing as Anita fights Belle Morte, the Council member, and head of Jean-Claude's line. The mystery and crime briefly mentioned at the beginning of the book takes a back seat to Anita's inner angst and a new "awakening" of her personal relationships. Cerulean Sins reads more like a fantasy/romantic adventure than a noir detective novel with a preternatural twist. Numerous, and glaring mistakes and rule changes, compared to the previous novels, leaves the familiar reader scratching their heads. Characters we've come to know and love seem to have sprouted new personalities between Narcissus In Chains and the new offering. Many beloved characters are almost unrecognizable, including Anita Blake, Executioner. Cerulean Sins is not in the style we've become accustomed to from Ms. Hamilton. If fantasy romance is your style, and you are already familiar with the Anitaverse, you may find Cerulean Sins an interesting read, if you can ignore the glaring and numerous YABBIS (Yet Another Anita Blake Inconsistency). New readers looking for a kick detective novel with a preternatual bent will only be perplexed and quickly bored by the disjointed, dual plots and bloated cast. ~Not Reccomended~
Rating:
Summary: Totally Disapointed
Review: As a huge fan of the Anita Blake series, I was disapointed to find that Cerulean Sins just wasn't that good. The plot was weak and riddled with loose ends. The characters did not move forward as they have done in previous books. Some of the best characters were mentioned very briefly or not at all. ... Although thankfully Richard had a very small role in this book, his chronic depression and unhappiness are getting old. I found myself wishing Anita would just [destroy] him and put him out of his misery. This book reads like a set-up for the next one, which is a shame, since all of the other books have had enough material to stand alone. Here's hoping that Ms. Hamilton gets back on track with the next one.
Rating: 
Summary: The Series Just Gets Better
Review: I found Cerulean Sins the best so far in the Anita Blake books, The plot was well thought-out and also answered many question I had about what had happened to all the characters in previous books. Not only does the writing seem more mature, but Anita herself seems to be more mature. As always, this book has prompted me to get out all the others in the series and re-read them...and I can't wait for the next! Ms. Hamilton has left me wondering what comes next in the weird but wonderful world of Anita Blake and her many monster loves and enemies.
Rating:
Summary: I expected more...
Review: Honestly I thought there was too much sex in this book. I'm used to a solid plot line from Anita, and then everything else added into the book well. This had a very weak plot involving the police investigation. I was highly dissapointed on how that turned out, it was not the whole big climax scenes I'm used to. Do you remember when Anita was all chaste? With JC it was cute. With Richard it was expected. But everyone else? Anita went from pure little innocence (well, almost, pretty close) to being like the town whore. I loved the idea of the arduer but this is a little much. When the whole plotline revolves around who's in who's bed it grows old fast. I did, however, love Jason and Asher's involvment in the story. I do think it went a little far, but the "Adviceish" scene with Anita and Jason was very well written and I loved it. I think there could have been interaction with Stephen and Gregory's father, or that could have been focused on a bit more or something. It barely took up three pages of talk and never really finished. I think the two new baby vampires will be good additions to the cast of Anita Blake and I will continue reading to see where everything will go. But, overall, I expected a lot more from this book.
Rating:
Summary: A Fan's Perspective
Review: On most good days I consider myself a fan of Laurell K. Hamilton. I have read and re-read the Anita Blake Series, along with ear-marking favorite pages and gobbling up copies of the series that I find in used book stores to give as "gifts" to friends. I am also a member of the Fan Club. So, it is with much disappointment that I confess that this is not a good day and that this is not one of Ms. Hamilton's better offerings.
The plot goes every which way it possibly can, from vampire politics, to relationship dilemmas, to Dolph's psychological break-down, to the serial killer murders, to the mysterious FBI guys. Personally, I find the most enjoyable moments to be those that concentrate on the police matters as well as Anita's zombie raising and necromancy. But then, I'm not the writer.
Throughout the book, I found myself increasingly frustrated by all the emotional BAGGAGE that so many of the characters bring with them. From Anita's emotional distance and lack of commitment to Asher's fear of rejection to Richard's loathing of his beast, to Dolph's disgust and devastation over his son's marriage, to Gregory and Stephen's horrific past... I just want to say ENOUGH. I've been dealing with Richard's emotional turmoil for 4 BOOKS! Burnt Offerings, Blue Moon, Narcissus in Chains and now Cerulean Sins. Get over it already!
I would recommend that people wait for these books to come out on paperback, but then if you are at all like I am, you have a hard time waiting that long. Oh, well. I guess it's time to wait for the next one and keep hoping for a tighter plot.
Rating: 
Summary: Redemption and bemusement
Review: I've read all of Hamilton's work, and I have the feeling she's been reading the reviews from readers. Although a lot of the aspects of NiC IS still present, there are some big differences, and they happen to be all the ones we complained about. Really the primary one is, well, the amount of sex. There wasn't a "four guys, one girl" thing (thank GOD), but there still is a lot of it. Hamilton can't seem to keep her hands off the erotica stuff, and, having read the "Gentry" stuff, I think she's trying to find her stride in the "Blake" novels. Frankly, I don't think that it NEEDS all the sex, but OKIE-DOKIE. In the "Gentry" novels, there's a lot of men literally begging to have sex with the solo woman, and she is okay with it, in a whole "sex is okay" kinda way. I suspect Hamilton is trying to do that with Anita Blake, because there was a lot of discussion on what exactly constitutes "sex" and the differences between the "American" and "European" definition. Also, Hamilton seems to be making Anita take "control" of the ardeur, which means it may not show up in the next one! (My personal hope) I'm also glad there were more vampire, and less were- politics. Richard thankfully improves in this one, another saving grace, and Damien finds a new purpose (I guess hanging around looking pitiful wasn't good enough). Anita is ACTUALLY BACK AT WORK for this one, and by that I mean she's raising the dead, but Hamilton also loosened more of the strings that controlled Anita's sphere of influence by making her a "Federal Marshall." Plot device, ahoy! Let's see where she goes with that one. Any way, the head of RPIT, Dolph, loses it in front of EVERYONE, and international terrorists are after Anita for some reason. (You're going to just have to read this one; it's kinda flimsy.) BUT... I don't read these things just for the plot anymore (otherwise, I wouldn't have read NiC, really). I REALLY want to see where Richard, Anita, and Jean-Claude go. Hamilton also seems to be gearing up for a HUGE slugfest with the Vampire Council. There's a therapy session with Jason that was sort of interesting, but Anita does some more "woe is me; no one can love me, just for me, not even me." She's hopefully getting out of this, or she was towards the end of the novel. If I seem to be complaining more than praising, it's because there is a lot to like and a lot to get discouraged about. Hamilton always makes the fight scenes interesting, the relationships of the various characters make it worth reading, the connection of all these individuals is fascinating, and it is, in its own way, a reminder than one person can make a difference to a lot of individuals, who, when counted together, are many thinking as one. She kept the humor and the complicated nature of relationships intact. I also like the introduction of more vampires (Belle Morte and Musette), and Jean-Claude finds a new power. Jason gets more of a spotlight, and there's definite indication that he and Nathaniel are growing up! Ah, but Musette doesn't get enough time, there's a lot of ethereal hocus-pocus that's just not as interesting as the physical trouble (like when two servants of the Mother of all Darkness show up), and Anita doesn't get to really kick anyone's ass. When will she get to be physical, like she used to be, and not rely so much on her magic or her gun? It's this bend on self-reflection that's going to get Hamilton in trouble, because I didn't start reading Anita Blake to get a pseudo-therapy session. Anita's got a lot of hang-ups, and Hamilton is slowing turning her into someone else. Character development, I suppose, but it doesn't FEEL like character development. It feels like betrayal because it's happening so fast, unlike the changes in Nathaniel and Jason. Hamilton is pushing Anita Blake, and it's taking its toll on reader, author, and character. I hope the next one is even better. I hope that CS is the first step towards a better Anita Blake, with less emphasis on sex and the purely magical (when you read the whole "Mommy dearest" stuff, you'll know what I'm talking about), and more focus on the tightly written plot and the physical. I want more of what brought Anita Blake to my attention before, which was a clean plot structure and good character development, and I'm willing to wait for a long while if it means that I can get a better book for it. Still, this one was SO much better than NiC, with more humor and less trauma, it's good to see Hamilton is trying hard to keep Anita alive.
Rating:
Summary: Not what I expected
Review: Having read and re-read all of Hamilton's books in the Anita Blake series, I was kind of disappointed that she didn't stick to the regular style that she uses, she almost completely avoids some of the more interesting subplots that she is notorious for. I enjoyed the book, just not what I expected.
Rating:
Summary: Freakin' Fantabulous
Review: Good Golly Miss Molly, may I just say I loved this book. Be snarky, be a snob, be a prude, be whatever you want, but don't deny that there are some wonderful scenes in this book. I personally happened to love much of the dialoge, and thought there were some great personal developments with the characters. Get off your high horses people. There were touching moments, moments that had you swearing, and moments that were laugh out loud funny. I loved the character interaction, it flowed, and showed new dimensions to character personalities. I think this book excellently sets up future plot turning points and twists, not just for the next book, but in whole scheme of the Anitaverse. It's really hard not to write spoilerish things, so all I can write is: be prepared for the not-so-expected. (what you thought I'd say unexpected? By now I know better than to assume what can or won't happen). Happy readings. rock on.
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