Rating: 
Summary: Narcissus in Chains
Review: I think this is one of her best books yet. I am a new Hamilton follower and I can't get enough of her stories. The Anita Blake series is one of the most interesting and "O Wow" that I have ever read. Narcissus in Chains answered alot of left over questions from the last story and has brought up new and mind teasing possiblities for the next book which I patiently wait for. I have also recommended this writer and all her books to all my friends who are now Hamilton fans as well.
Rating: 
Summary: Anita, Where Art Thou?
Review: Narcissus in Chains had to be the most anticipated book in the on-going Anita series. The series had returned to St. Louis after forays in New Mexico and Tenesessee and LKH was back on familiar territory. This book was a chance to become reacquainted with long-lost characters who we had not seen in the last few books. NIC started out on such high hopes. The marks were married and it appeared that the heroine and her two loves would actually work together and stop their bickering. This was the first 6 chapters!!!! The rest of the book was a disappointing foray into the netherworld of weres. By the middle of the book, LKH had introduced so many new weres that you needed a score card in order to keep track of them. I have one question to ask of Laurell- Huh???? What happened to our beloved characters? What happened to character devlopment? What happened to the plot, story line and mystery? Hopefully Book 11 will see a return of the Anita, JC and Richard of previous books. You can count me among the ranks of readers who were disappointed in this ride. If a reader is new to the series, the holes that I mentioned would not be as glaring. While I am sure that LKH has gained some new readers, she is standing at the crossroads for a number of people. Book 11 will be the turning point for this reviewer and countless others.
Rating:
Summary: Love the Direction the Series is Taking
Review: Anita Blake in "Narcissus in Chains" is very, very different from the Anita Blake in the first book of the series, "Guilty Pleasures," and I for one am very happy with the changes! She's finally resolved her inner angst over how her career and personal relationships have affected her outlook on life (and death). There is very little, if any, commentary on her fear level, which was rampant in the first book (that became rather tedious for me). I also am happy that, between Jean-Claude and Richard, she ultimately chooses my personal favorite (with an unexpected surprise to boot)!I recommend the other books in the series be read, in order, for maximum pleasure and understanding of this book, however, for those who haven't done so already. References to items in them are peppered throughout, which would not be understood by those who hadn't read the previous novels. All in all, an excellent read, with non-stop action, interesting new characters, entertaining plot developments and a sense of arrival at the end of the book! Sure to please Anita Blake fans everywhere!
Rating: 
Summary: When a Woman Needs Something to Were
Review: As time has gone on, Laurell Hamilton's works in the Anita Blake series have gotten increasingly hard to review. Hamilton has gradually shifted from vampire adventure story to gothic romance. Now with this new novel and its immediate predecessor "Obsidian Butterfly," Hamilton has shifted from steamy vampire romance to extremely steamy occult romance. For those of us who have been Hamilton fans from the beginning, the change has occasionally been perplexing. Don't get me wrong, Hamilton's work is way better than the books that used to be in the 'adults only' section of the corner book store. Nor are they cheap thrillers. But more and more the plot work of the novels has devolved into two separate threads; one is the occult thriller, and the other is focused on the extreme sexual orientation of Hamilton's monsters and Anita herself. And the more important the sexy part gets, the less room there is for the thriller part. For some, this will be a disappointment. "Narcissus in Chains" starts out when Anita discovers that Nathaniel, one of her wereleopards, has gotten himself tangled up in an extreme bondage/torture party and is in danger of not surviving. The creature throwing the party sets Anita's attendance as the price of Nathaniel's survival. Realizing that her problem may be over her head, she calls on Jean Claude, her one time vampire lover for help. Keep in mind that Anita has been celibate for the past six months to avoid having to deal with Jean Claude and werewolf Richard, her other ex-lover. Anita finally allows Jean Claude to do what he has always wanted to, 'marry' the marks that he, Anita, and Richard the werewolf bear. This will complete their interconnection and allow each to tap tremendous power. Rescuing Nathaniel turns into a near debacle. Anita finds herself confronting a vicious werewolf named Coronus and a whole nest of weresnakes. She succeeds, but is badly injured by the snakes and deeply scratched by a wereleopard who was defending her. Richard freaks out and imprisons the offending leopard, and Anita looks so bad that the police believe she is dead and arrest Jean Claude. Anita awakes to find she must rescue both the leopard and the vampire. She also discovers that the marriage of the marks has given her a few problems. She has acquired an inner beast, courtesy of Richard, she may very well spend the next full moon as a cat, and, from Jean Claude she has acquired an extreme need and ability to feed off of sex, which the vampires call ardeur. Anita spends the rest of the book rescuing one lycanthrope after another, fighting off a group of deeply sadistic were-creatures and trying not to have sex with almost anything that wanders too near her bed. This is a pretty tall order, and a few slips are inevitable. Fortunately for Anita there are a fair number of eligible monsters to take advantage of, including Micah, a very attractive wereleopard king who appears in St. Louis and immediately falls in love with our beautiful necromancer. Pay attention to Micah, he will appear again. Most of the other characters will be familiar from previous novels. The writing is up to Hamilton's consistent high standard. One thing that she clearly understands, it that it takes more than a few juicy sex scenes to make a successful novel. As such, she has brought more and more skill to bear as the plots have become more sexually involved. And in doing so Hamilton has pretty much created her own genre, in which she has no real competitors. The book flows beautifully and is difficult to put down. Each reader will have to decide for themselves if this is what they want to read. But no one who reads "Narcissus in Chains" for what it really is will be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Moving on
Review: As a HUGE fan of the Anita Blake series (and a voracious consumer of vampire literature in all its guises), I had been anxiously awaiting this 10th in the series, especially after "Obsidian Butterfly" took Anita so far afield with only Edward for familiar companionship; unlike Anita's previous trips to Tennessee and Branson, Missouri wherein she travelled within something of a paranormal entourage. And I was SO not disappointed! This, in my opinion, was the best of the Anita Blake books yet. Not just because of the increased sexual content (about time our girl got a bit more on the gratification scale), but because it showed movement - if not growth - among most of the major characters. Anita has learned to embrace her growing powers and the supernatural community of which she has become a part. Richard has grown into his power and as a leader and idealist, while sinking deeper into the self-loathing mire he has been wallowing in ever since he realized he had to kill his old Ulfric to take over the job. Jean Claude has learned to show those he loves his vulnerability and how he depends on their strength. Asher's bitterness over his disfigurement is rapidly coming to a head, made more difficult to deal with because of his genuine love for some of the people in his life. Nathaniel is even showing more strength and a calm sort of grounding. I could go on and on, but you should read it for yourself. I can't say enough good things about this book - like the best sex, it is at the same time satisfying and leaves you wanting more!
Rating: 
Summary: Not my favorite, but worth the read. Lots of pros and cons.
Review: I, like other people, waited a long time for this novel to come out. If you're like me, you couldn't wait to see what developed with "the boys": Jean Claude and Richard. Anita has admitted that her life is a soap opera, so that means anything could happen. In this case we end up with yet another new man: Micah. I honestly can't keep up with who is in love with her. That list is long. It was fun to get to see Jean Claude and Richard again. But apparently I'm not the only one who noticed that their personalities have changed. Looks like Jean Claude, Richard, and Anita have absorbed parts of each others personality and powers. Jean Claude is wimpier like Richard. Richard gets a little of Jean Claude and Anita's ruthlessnes, and Anita has Jean Claude's "ardeur" (lust) and Richard's ability to call the "beast" out of a wereanimal. And there are plenty of wereanimals this time around! Snakes, lions, tigers, and bears oh, my (sorry. I couldn't resist!). If you have been reading this series, then you know there is always more than one story going on at a time, just like a true soap opera. Not only do we get to see what happens with the boys, but we have a problem with kidnapped alpha wereanimals. Anita to the rescue! You go girl! No one does rescue quite like our heroine. Anita's constantly expanding power is another element that continues to be explored. She appears to be the most powerful entity in the region at the moment, but is new to all the power and doesn't know how she can use it. And neither does anybody else. Here are a few things that I didn't like or found confusing. Richard has accepted his beast, but hates himself even more. What? I don't get it. Anita has been squeemish about nudity and sex for too long. Get over it! It's annoying. Especially since she has that "ardeur" thing cruising through her. And because of her NATURAL ability to attract men and the "ardeur" there were way too many sexual scenes. And the bondage and discipline and sado/maso, and torture themes continue in this novel, too. I'm tired of these subjects. Anita hates the thought of Jean Claude and Asher being together. Why? She has Jean Claude's memories. She knows how much he loved/loves Asher. She never appears unnerved when she reviews the memories. Plus, it doesn't seem to bother her that other men have male lovers. Jean Claude has been feeding off someone he has locked up and blames Anita. Excuse me? He couldn't find other people to feed his needs? On the other hand, it's refreshing to see he's not a complete milksop. And what is it with men with hair down to their waists and even feet? The long hair fetish was too evident...just like in the other novels. Anita is an admitted sociopath. She threatens to kill too many people as usual. Girlfriend really needs to get a grip. Which leads me to wonder about one of her new jobs mentioned at the end of the book. It requires diplomacy and tact which Anita doesn't have. Some of the pros of the novel: It's great to be back in St. Louis. I had a wonderful trip down memory lane with Jean Claude, Richard, Dolph, Raphael, the other vamps, werewolves, and wererats. Nathaniel is making decisions for himself and proving to be intelligent and proactive. Stephen and Vivian are still together. One of the wereanimals is expecting a baby. If she can carry the child to term, it will be a miracle. We learn of the various ways to become a "were": infection, curse, heredity. This may have been mentioned in other books, but I have forgotten. The werecommunity has started to come together. I thought it was fun to see the new wereanimals: hyena, dog, bear, etc and I hope to see what new wereanimals get created. Could there be a werechicken living in St. Louis? ha ha
Rating:
Summary: Anita continues to kick butt!
Review: I'm not going to write a synopsis here because A)you can pick that up from the other reviews, and B)if you are an Anita fan, you have already read it. I waited in great anticipation for NiC, and was not disappointed. However, this book is change in direction for Anita, and definitely has a different tone. If it's possible, it's even darker and more complex than any of the previous books. Anita's life gets even more complicated, and when what she fears most actually happens, she learns to accept it better than many of the characters around her. Only two things bothered me about this book. First was the great deal and variety of sex involved. Not that I'm against sex, it just seemed for awhile that it was going to become the central theme of the book. If I wanted to read steamy sex scenes in *every* chapter, I would buy Romance novels, or just simply buy porn. Fortunately, it cooled down a little later in the book, becaoming a theme she had to deal with and not the central idea her life rotated around. The second was the nagging feeling that Anita had gained power from the marks, but had simultaneously lost her edge. I mean, the very beginning of the book concerned some snake men luring then kidnapping two of her leopards to use them to trap *her*. It was not initially that obvious, but if I could puzzle it out just due to the attitude of the snake men, why didn't Anita? And why did she seem to completely and totally forget about them until they attacked her at her home and killed one of her bodyguards? Anita was completely shaped by events around her, and never seemed to rally and shape events to her advantage till the very last few chapters, and that's just *not* Anita. Despite what I consider as two flaws, LKH is better on her worst day than many authors are on thier best. If you like any of her previous books, even the new Merry universe, you will like this one. I am looking forward to book 11.
Rating:
Summary: Too much sex, not enough plot.
Review: I was really disappointed by this book. There was too much sex and not enough plot. The many new characters that are introduced are very one dimensional. What there was of the plot was pretty boring. But the worst thing of all about this book is that Anita's personality changed so much she's practically unrecognizable. This ardeur thing that Anita picks up from Jean-Claude when she mergers the marks with him and Richard is just a cheep plot device that attempts to make it alright for Anita to screw nearly every guy she comes across. Now I'm not one of those people that thinks Anita has to stay as sexually repressed as she was in the first few books. It's important for her character to overcome that aspect of herself but this was just way too much. She does half the make cast........ practically at the same time. I'm also not one of those people who is dead set against Anita dating someone other than Jean-Cladue or Richard (or Edward). Micah (Anita's new love interest) could have been interesting if he had been given some character development but all the sex got in the way of that too. There are some good things about this book though. I think my favorite parts were the scenes between Anita and Dolf (who she didn't screw thank God) I've been looking forward to the tension between them being explored ever since he discovered she was dating JC in The Killing Dance and I haven't been disappointed so far. Another good thing is how Nathaniel was handled. He's finally growing a back bone! I also liked the Damian sub plot and I hope that is developed further in future books. The JC and Asher tidbits were nice as well. Oh and for all you Gretchen fans (are there Gretchen fans?) you finally get to find out what happens to her. Unfortunately, this is the worse book in the Anita Blake series and I hope they don't continue to go down hill. It would be a real shame if this series was twisted till it's unrecognizable like Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. I don't really feel comfortable recommending you buy this book. Anita Blake fans should just borrow it form the library and form their own opinions.
Rating:
Summary: Sizzeling, Erotic and breathtaking action
Review: Anita Blake returns with all of her previous characters and some very fasinating additional ones. The story turns up the heat, with some exciting plot changes, some gore and horror, so if you squeemish, it's not for you. But anyone following the story this long, I feel won't be disappointed. This book is as good as any of the others but with a lot more erotic/sensual scenes, the usual depth of character and look into the minds and feelings of Anita, Richard, Jean-Claude, Asher and the werelepords and vamps. Great writing and imagination, a very enjoyable exciting book.
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Summary: Hamilton with the gloves off!!!
Review: Well, what does one say when you open a book, expecting what had come before; very good mystery(s), exellent characters and a very involved plot line. Well, in this case I need to say, nay shout "OH, MY, GOD!!" You remember all that tension between Anita, Jean-Claude and Richard. Well, the (were) wolf hits the ground, er, panting in this installment of Anita's life! Be ready to be thrown into an exellent couple of weeks of Anita's vacation. (Well, exellent to the reader.) Believe me, She uses up most of her brownie points in this romp through her encounters with the mysterious snake-weres and their leader. (What is it about her left arm??? Danger magnet? ) 'Nuff Said!!
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