Rating: 
Summary: I always want better
Review: I always hope that these books will improve. This one is a marked improvement over the others plotwise.
Rating: 
Summary: Best Blake Yet!
Review: Sometimes you keep reading a series out of habit, just because you started it and you might as well keep going. The Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series is definitely NOT one of those kinds of series!!! The 11th book, Cerulean Sins is involving and carries on the tradition of lush storytelling that Laurell K. Hamilton has led readers to expect. Each book has introduced new players and storylines, and Cerulean Sins does a great job of pushing the story forward. In this book, Anita has to make a big decision about Asher, gets more drawn into vampire politics than ever, tries to sort out her ever confusing love/sex life, and still manages to balance a major police case involving a werewolf. Suddenly my life doesn't seem so confusing... I read it all in one sitting, and now I can't wait for the next one!
Rating: 
Summary: Back In The Swing
Review: I really enjoyed "Cerulean Sins" and feel it to be an improvement over the last book "Narcissus In Chains". While I like the werewolf politics that permeated Narcissus it is the vampire politics which is front and center in Cerulean Sins that I really enjoy. Jean-Claude is once again threatened by his figurative "blood" mother Belle Morte. This time Belle feels she has a claim on Anita through her connection to Jean-Claude. As anyone who reads this series knows, Anita does not like feeling owned by anyone. During this challenge Ms. Hamilton seems to be laying the foundation for a much larger future conflict and I look forward to seeing the repercussions of this installment's events. For those who enjoy the werewolf/shape-shifter aspects of this series it is in short supply in this installment. There are some Richard/ Anita scenes but this book is more about Anita beginning to come to terms with her feelings about several of the men in her life. These include Micah, Jason, Nathaniel and most centrally Asher. I think Anita is on the verge of some personal closure by the end of the novel and I am happy to see it finally come to her. Oh yeah, as if there wasn't enough going on there is a grisly serial murderer loose who may be shape shifter. Anita is asked by her police friends Dolph and Zerbrowski to assist. There are some startling revelations about one of the characters during this investigation and while it only takes up a small amount of the book it does have its place in the overall fabric of this novel. It is this sense of so much going on in these novels that makes them so darn fun to read. This is not a place for someone to start if you haven't read the previous books. In fact it is probably impenetrable if you don't know who's who from the previous books. If you've been reading since the first book "Guilty Pleasures" I think you'll be very pleased with "Cerulean Sins"
Rating:
Summary: Okay, but not the best of the series
Review: The main plot centers around the dreaded representative of vamp Council member Belle Morte--the rep, Musette, arrives early and havoc ensues. There is also a murder plot, but it takes back seat to most of the main vamp story line and the relationships, lots and lots of relationships. Normally, I enjoy all the aspects of the Anita books: the mystery, the relationships, the new-found triumvirate powers, the wolfy-vampy-leopardy politics, the animating. In Cerulean Sins, the author seems very uneven: some aspects of the story are raised, then dropped for so many pages it was hard to care what had happened before, some remain mere foreshadowing. Certain problems that linger are suddenly solved in a paragraph, and the eventual big finish to the main plot seemed....weirdly anticlimactic. The mystery was almost nonexistent, and I thought a lot of time was spent yacking about relationship issues to not much point. For all of the pages spent, I found that very little was added to the overall series--no clear additions to either the supernatural elements (new creatures, powers, politics) or resolution about Anita and her life. Still, every Anita fan will probably find something to enjoy here, and your time is far from wasted. There are some interesting bits here, especially in the animating sections and in her relationship with Dolph, but I was sorry to see that more time wasn't given to them. Maybe in the next book.
Rating:
Summary: Anita Gets Better and Better
Review: If you are a fan of Anita Blake already, then you certainly do NOT want to miss this one. I read it straight through in about 5 hours (I'm a fast reader) & was riveted to every page. Each book LKH writes just gets better and better. Cerulean Sins shows Anita finally growing up some and accepting responsibility for her emotional life. I can't wait for the next book!
Rating:
Summary: WOO-HOOOOOO!
Review: If you haven't read an Anita Blake book, go away. Shoo. This is book eleven and you need to start at the beginning with Guilty Pleasures and read them in order like the rest of us. These books are so good because of all the character interactions that have been building and changing over all the books. This book won't make sense to you. This is written for those of you who, like me, have been waiting, and waiting, and waiting for this book. While I was disappointed that one particularly annoying recently added character lives, I have to say it's MUCH better than NiC. The actions of the characters make SENSE in this book. No sudden character turns in implausible directions. And while there are some extremely hot sex scenes (my finger tips are still singed) they too fit in with the plot. No group sex just for the sake of group sex. And unlike NiC, LKH does not spend the entire book in bed; she brings back the gore factor in a big way. So if you are like me, if you were giving up on Anita and friends to focus on Merry & Co., this book will change your mind. P.S. A note to fans of Asher and Jason: you will LOVE this book.
Rating:
Summary: A good book.
Review: Personally, I think that Cerulean Sins was one of the best books in the series. There were two "mysteries", and good character development all round. there was alot of foreshadowing about later plotlines in the book, leading up to a terrifying new "enemy" in later books. Those of you who liked the "origenal" Anita probably wont like this one much, but I like the later ones, and i though this was great.
Rating:
Summary: Not the best.
Review: I'm a long-time fan of the Anita Blake world. I relate to the characters (some) and the books have become a comfort-object for me. Nothing makes me happier than taking a bath with bubbles and a couple of Anita Blake books. But NiC and this last one are just not up to par. Below are several spoilers and if you don't want to read them.. well.. don't! This book is mostly about Anita's personal life, just like NiC was, and it's not even a very dangerous personal life anymore. It's all sex. She has sex within the first fifty pages with someone new. Later on, she has more sex with another person she never wanted to have sex with. The mystery, the blood and guts and suspense that I've come to love, isn't really dealt with until the very end of the book. There wasn't very much character development. As the new 'guy' in her scene, I would have thought Micah (I like him!) would be in the thick, but no. The only time you see him is when Anita sends him off on another errand, or when she wakes up from passing out. Out of the new characters introduced, again, not developed, none of them brings out anything new in Anita. Fear, rage, territoriality, some pity. That's it. In conclusion, read the book, if you're a fan of the series. But don't expect too much. We can always hope for an improvement down the line, though.
Rating:
Summary: My favorite Anita Blake novel yet!
Review: This is my favorite of the series so far. The plot and subplots are nicely formed and somehow manage to leave no loose ends, yet plant the seeds for a very interesting (dangerous) future for Anita and pals. My only complaint is that eventually, it ran out of pages. I got sucked in from the beginning, was completely consumed by the story and could not make myself put it down until I devoured every last word. In addition to the mandatory gory crime scenes and daunting bad guys, the regular characters are getting even more dimension. There's a start on some much-needed healing, some unfortunate downward spiraling, and stirrings of maturity and wisdom. Brace yourself for a couple of hot, steamy, erotic surprises. Lookout for evil, bigger evil and the mother of all evil. Of course there's politics of the vampire, furry and law enforcement variety. All in all, a fantastic addition to the Anitaverse.
Rating:
Summary: A Must-Read for all Anita Blake fans
Review: If you haven't read any of the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter novels, this one is not the place to start. There are too many events and characters that would not make sense unless you know their backstory. However, for devoted fans of Anita, you can't skip this one.
Some threads finally come together in Anita's personal life, and some get unraveled in her professional one. But Anita is finally beginning to grow up and come to terms with herself as an emotional being. All of the characters show consistent development, something that Ms. Hamilton does with such ease and aplomb. We feel as if these are real friends, growing and learning, rather than imaginary characters in a book. It's good to visit with them again and see how they're doing.
Anita Blake doesn't show her muscle much in this book. There were hardly any gunshots at all, and she barely beat a few people up. It was a little disappointing for her to be behaving herself (perhaps just because I'm PMSing), but then that is another sign of Anita's growing maturity. And after the bloodbaths of "Obsidian Butterfly" and "Narcissus In Chains," perhaps we needed a bit of a break from the gore. Although there is still enough violence that it isn't a complete departure.
There are things revealed in "Cerulean Sins" that will be essential to the understanding of any future Anita Blake novels. The only real detraction is the fact that the proofreaders at Berkley Publishing need to pay a little more attention to their job - there are some glaring typos that are like speed bumps in the story. But besides all that, the novel is just a great read. I highly recommend it.
Thank you, Ms. Hamilton, for giving us another installment in a very entertaining series.
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