Rating: 
Summary: Cerulean Sins is better than Narcissus in Chains
Review: For those fans of Ms. Hamilton, it will be hard to believe but Cerulean Sins is actual better than her last entry in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter Series. Sadly, it's only better by a hair due to a slightly more cogent plot even if that plot is pale rehash of Burnt Offerings. As well, it looks like an editor actually worked on CS because the typos and grammatical mistakes do not leap off the page in this latest offering.Even sadder is that fact that what made NiC so horrid is still laced throughout the book. Numerous sexual encounters that push this book so far past erotic romance that it misses erotica altogether and goes straight to porn. Possibly this is due to the complete lack of romance between the characters or more probably because the sex is more often than not something you'd see in an video tape from the back room of a seedy adult book store. Gratefully none of these encounters are with Micah, the latest of Anita's significant others. In point of fact, there is a pleasing absence of abnormal genitals describe, thank goodness. Ms. Hamilton seems to have gone to great efforts to restrain herself in that respect. In summary, those expecting a miracle in the form of Ms. Hamilton writing returning to it's more creative origins after reading Narcissus Chains will be disappointed. Those readers who loved Ms. Hamilton's last book will be pleased.
Rating: 
Summary: Different Kind of Anita Book
Review: After reading all the negative views I won't rehash the plot. But I will say people fell in love with the prudish Episcopalian Anita Blake who was almost 2 dimensional and flat. And people, remember, always remember how young Anita Blake is. Through the series she's been growing and so to read this one first would be a jumbled shock to the system. Read them in order and you'll see how she grows. Admitedly Dolph's anger and Richard's depression are, well sad and useless to me. I've always hated Richard the gorgeous but wimpy boy scout who can eat your face. I wish he'd just slink off. This one is as good, if not better than NIC, way better than and I mean way than OB. But if you liked the first eight you might find this one disappointing. It's very long and poorly edited but the ideas are gorgeous and it's a good escape. I've been a fan since GP and I'll read to the end. PS
to REALLY understand not only character development, but Laurell's development as a writer, read Guilty Pleasures through Obsidian Butterfly. Notice in OB how Laurell AND Anita have gotten sick of the whole scene. Then read the first two Merry gentry novels, then go back to Narcissus in Chains and read on. It flows seamlessly and you'll get Anita Blake a lot more.
Rating: 
Summary: Unfortunately, the last Anita book I will be reading.
Review: I, like most people, loved the first 10 books. I loved that Anita was a strong female character that could really kick ass when she needed to. She was strong and capable. But the series has turned to a whole new focus--EVERYBODY WANTS ANITA. Her main boyfriends, her extracurricular boyfriends, and all the bad guys--that includes international vampires and international terrorists--want her. Only a few people don't and they seem to have jealousy issues. The whole book seems to be more of a teenage fantasy than a slick vampire story.
Anita is offered up as such a powerful female figure and I like that. But where are the others?? Anita has no real women friends... Ronnie, Cheryl, and Claudia all have bit parts--although no Ronnie in this book--and do nothing that advances the plot. They are all only token. The books are all about Anita and her harem of men. In some ways, Anita is beginning to remind me of the vampires in that she suffers no one that could be any sort of competition. It almost seems to me that Anita, and perhaps LKH, don't care for other women. A few more people not in love with Anita would really air out the storyline.
I wish the series would change with the next book, but from the reviews I have read it seems to be more of the same with more typos. The whole "ardeur" problem needs to go away. I am okay with Anita having sex with whomever she wants, but does LKH have to give her such a silly reason to do it? How about she just wants to? It reminds me too much of the woman that must get drunk in order to give herself permission to have sex.
I am losing hope for Anita.
Rating: 
Summary: Going downhill
Review: Like many others I have to say that the series seems to be going downhill, starting with the previous book, Narcissus in Chains. Cerulean Sins isn't a bad book, mind you, but it doesn't have the engaging plot or characters that the earlier books in the series have.
I find it amusing that the person that seems to really like this book has only read three books in the series, that would leave 7 books from which to compare this one too. I know, I know...this is its own seperate work, that said, it is part of a series and you would think it would follow suit.
Anita's powers are continuing to grow, great...tell us why? All men seem to want her....ok, again, why? Then there is the fiasco LKH made of Dolph...why?
I admit that I will read Incubus Dreams, but at this point it is only because I am anal and want to read the entire series. My interest level is waning.
Rating:
Summary: I really don't like Anita Blake anymore
Review: So I was looking for a light and entertaining book to read over lunch. Unfortunately, pickings were mighty slim at the LuValle bookstore next to the law school. As a last resort, I grabbed a copy of Laurell K. Hamilton's Cerulean Sins. Big mistake.
I used to be quite a fan of Hamilton's Anita Blake series, but I eventually lost interest in it. Fifty pages into Cerulean Sins, I remembered why.
It's not just the gratuitous S&M-tinged sex and violence. It's not just the incredibly formulaic plots (big bad vampire comes to town; Anita's not allowed to kill vampire bad guy due to some contrived rule of vampire politics; after killing and screwing lots of other folks, Anita finally gets to kill the bad guy. Yawn).
It's simply that the main characters have become so unlikeable. Anita Blake is the worst of the lot. She's a insufferably smug psychopathic [...] who is constantly pissed off at something and whose first reaction to somebody new is either to screw them, kill them, or both. She's also one of the most remarkably self-centered major characters I've ever encountered, leaving behind a trail of broken hearts and (dare I say it?) blue balls wherever she goes. (One of the oddities of the series is that, despite the amount of sex in the books, Blake is always leaving somebody high and dry.)
It's a bad thing when you root for the bad guys. It's much worse, however, when you want the bad guys to obliterate the story's only POV character. But that's what I want.
Rating: 
Summary: Cerulean Sins
Review: Despite the fact that this was only the third book I read in this series I had no problem following the plot or characters. Anita Blake, Necromancer and Executioner is a kick butt kind of girl with tough guy attitude. The author manages to deliver a heroine who can compete with the guys, yet she is still all female.
Anita is a gal with lots on her mind. She is called to a murder scene which could better be described as a mobile butcher shop and yet the cops who are requesting her help (as a paranormal expert) aren't that friendly to her. It seems that they have issues with how she aquired her expertise. Namely by hanging out with all the dead guys and shape shifters. Her dialogue and banter with the law enforcement types is very well done. You can almost smell the pepper spray.
Anita is also trying to fend off some very old and powerful vampires with prior claims to Anita's significant vampire, Jean-Claude. These vampires are pushy and have no manners at all. They need a firm-handed approach that Anita is very willing to provide if she can just do so without getting herself killed or enslaved. She doesn't like vampire politics but she has a knack for leadership and manages to attract many useful allies.
Anita is trying to manage these disasters while juggling her very complicated love life (read that sex-life) with two undead lovers and a shape-shifter, not to mention at least three other contenders. If you don't like erotic then you should definitely stay out of the kitchen because it's hot in there. The steam does fuel the plot and the story would not be the same without it.
I did get a little tired of Anita's constant worrying and arguing with vulnerable non-humans about her rules and morality. All her lovers have to follow her rules and she is no good at compromise. Not only is that unfair but emotionally she does not really agree with the rules that she is forcing on herself and her loved ones. She is so slow with her decisions about her love life that sometimes the damage is done before she manages to get it right. If she had that kind of hesitation and confusion with her gun she would be dead and buried instead of getting the drop on her opponents. In other matters she is very practical and level headed.
All in all this was a very entertaining read. Enough to keep you up until four in the morning because the action is just that fast.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable
Review: I just finished Cerulean Sins and found it one of the better Anita Blake books. I was disappointed however that it ended with so much hanging. There were many things I would have liked to have seen more of, particularly I would have liked to have seen more of certain characters such as Damian, Micha and Nathanial, and less of Richard, but when I finished the book last night, I could hardly wait to start on the next one in the series, but after reading the reviews and realizing that the plotlines from this book do not carry over into the next, and that many of the characters have practically have been dropped, I am glad I hadn't spent my money yet.
Rating:
Summary: As Always the Best
Review: I have ready all of the Anita Blake Series so far. I am currently working through Narcissus In Chains and have already purchased the last 2 to read when I am done. Every one of her books are addicting. I just have to get to the next chapter.
I would recommend the series to anyone!
Rating:
Summary: That 'ol Feelin'
Review: Well, this has been overdue...but Wow.
At 27, Anita is not only getting older, but...Gasp, do I dare say, she's getting wiser? Oh hell yes... Now, in OB & NiC, Anita was still stuck in her moral code that she used like a freight train to shield herself. But, she would teeter back and forth and started to question everything-she allowed herself to be afraid. She would be uncomfortable about being a and being with the 'monsters,' she would blush about sex (and she still does) but now she admits she doesn't mind it and in fact, is beginning to enjoy it all, a little bit at a time. She has a stronger sense of who she was way back when and who she is becoming--as a human with emotions of fear, love, hope and, anger (of course). She takes herself less seriously and opens herself up more but without completely compromising everything she believes in or in the Anita we all love. She's still witty, but ahhhh, there are definitely parts where it feels old school.
CS delves into everyone's pain: a lot of Jean-Claude, Asher, more of Nathaniel, Dolph, & Zebrowski and tiny bit of Richard & Micah. SO, it's this explosion of all these high emotions that has built up since at least the middle to last half of the series. It's much more serious and heavier than any of the books before, including NiC, which I thought was pretty emotionally charged. I personally like the emotional element, because it in itself is very intense and fast paced-there is a lot of substance it. Plus, this growth makes sense is a long time coming...maybe a bit to much too soon, but not wholly unbelievable. I think LKH did a good balance with Anita's character growth but everything else...
Unfortunately, the whole book lacks a stable structure because what plot is there seems to only exist to explain and express all these emotions, from everyone. So it spins out of control by about the middle of the book and there isn't always time to process all the things that are happening because things are just left hanging. Which is fine, but on top of the emotions, LKH attempts to make a stronger plot but not really managing it too well--so it's obvious and you might not be paying much attention to it, like I did.
Thus, the Main Theme is all about those emotions and revelations on everyone's part but especially about relationships, mainly one's with Anita and all her men. The 'main plot' encompasses Belle Morte's minions attempting to re-establish her lost line of Jean-Claude & Asher. This is the impetus for all the really powerful emotions among her 'monster' friends and lovers. The 'secondary plot' is an investigation involving gross murders of humans by a werewolf--this is the story line that I had a tendency to glaze over: this plot didn't always fit in with the context of the rest of the book. But it's not entirely superfluous: this too is about Anita's relationships with her human friends: Zebrowski, Dolph and the preternatural gang.
There are definitely some surprises that are introduced and will throw you and make your eyes pop, but they are never fully explained, at least in this one. I can't even explain much without making allusions to the emotional parts of the book. It feels very unfinished, but looking at the next one, I'd say that LKH split up this behemoth of a book into 2 separate books, because ID is so huge and what I've read, feels like a continuous story from CS. And finally, you won't be disappointed, dispite it's flaws (hey, nothing is perfect) I couldn't put it down once I started; but, don't be surprised if the story feels disjointed-but trust me, you'll get some real interesting moments of Anita with-ahem--her harem...wink, wink...Enjoy :D
Rating:
Summary: Not as bad as most people are saying...
Review: I admit that after reading Narcissus in Chains I was ready to give up on the Anita Blake series, but I thought I would give it one more try and read this book. I'm glad I did. Don't get me wrong, I still like the earlier books in the series better, but Cerulean Sins is not as bad as some make it out to be. It actually gave me hope that the series could get back on track. If you are reading this and wondering if you should give up on the series or read CS and give it one more chance, I recommend reading CS before writing off the series.
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