Rating: 
Summary: Not so hot
Review: Ok, I don't exactly read LKH books for my edification, and I know this isn't exactly world-class literature here, but I think this book has been the worst in the AB series to date.
Anita's personality is completely reversed, and she keeps making remarks like "I should have done this" or "this was my cue for so and so." It makes me wonder where the old Anita has gone all of a sudden. I also thought the situation w/ Micah was unbelievable. Why did she--paranoid Anita who always carries a gun--start trusting him again??
Let's hope the next book salvages things a little more.
Rating: 
Summary: Best Yet
Review: I liked this one better. We are introduced to a new character Micah Callahan. He is the Nimir-Raj for the Maneater Clan. He is in the city searching for a home for his pard, and for help to defeat a "bad man" that has taken them over. I like the fact that there is now someone that thoughout the story is there to support and understand Anita much like the element of Jean Claude. This adds another person that she has to come to terms with being involved in a sexual nature into her life. Of course there is still the issue of Richard not being able to accept who and what he is. Ultimately this leads to him rejecting what Anita has become. The love life of Anita along with the action, magic, and new emotions that she deals with, and the powers that she develops are another part of her character that makes her seem more real and intriguing to read. This story was great and I hope that the next one is even better.
Rating: 
Summary: Metaphysically gangbanging the buyer
Review: The other negative reviewers have already touched on the numerous problems with this book. This is a very poorly written book - one wonders if this was cranked out to meet a mortgage payment.Hamilton's obsession with sex in this piece, albeit "metaphysical sex," leaves no room for plot or character development. Ick. If you are looking for a good story, don't bother with this book. If you are looking for smut, there's better drivel on the internet.
Rating:
Summary: Hey, I liked it.
Review: Sure it was a bit sleazy, and big! But hey! I thought it was a good book! Of course this was the beggining of the sex books but this one had more of a point to it. I enjoyed anticipating what would happen to Anita. (If you read it you know what I mean.hint: Meow) It made me a bit annoyed with Micah in the begging but every book has at least one fault. Big deal.
Rating:
Summary: Narcissus in Chains will make you wanna be in Chains.Gurr!!!
Review: This was one of the sexyist books I've read. Mrs Hamiltons books keep getting better and better.If you like vampires,werewolves and every thing in between,Hamiltons books are for you!!!
Rating:
Summary: Is this supposed to be Anita Blake or Merry Gentry???
Review: Disappointing, sleazy, and boring. I could, maybe, have liked this book more, if it actually contained Anita Blake, Vampire Executioner. The sleazy nymphomanic with all of supergirl's powers, but without the risk of kryptonite, kind of left me wondering "Did LKH just use her left-over sex scene notes from Merry Gentry, or what??" It seems like LKH has forgotten that they are two different series. I certainly did not recognize this Anita as The Executioner. I will say that I liked that the reactions from the people Anita cut off during her 6 month stint away from everyone, and the changes and/or developments that occurred during that time was introduced. Things definitely would have changed in six months, and it was logical to reflect that. Also, the break-down of Dolph was unexpected, and different. I defintely felt sorry for him. Those are about the only 2 things I liked in this book. The Micah thing was COMPLETELY unbelivable-Anita went from basically being a rape victim in their first tete-a-tete (she asked him to stop several times), and afterwards never even questioned her lack of reaction to it. After that, he was a permanent fixation. There was no background to him, he was just a there, flat and two-dimensional. The Anita I had known would have killed him, even afterwards, just because he had basically stolen her willpower, and that would have terrified her. She had always prized her self-control, and now doesn't even raise an eyebrow that she doesn't have any?? Whatever. Sleeping with Nathaniel completely grossed me out. Anita had said all along how he was anyone's meat, and that she would always protect him, but I did not see much of that. Instead, she took advantage of his severely messed-up psyche and never looked back, at least not seriously. Another thing: How many powers is she going to get, anyway?? It's like LKH just runs out of ideas with what she had, and instead of moving on, keeps degrading Anita's personality, and stuffing her full of more superpowers. This last one, the ardeur, just disgusts me. But I never got really worked up, though, because other than Phillip, I haven't seen Anita lose anyone yet. I knew, almost as a given, that once again, she would develop yet another power right at the last minute that would save whoever she was trying to save. No risk element at all. And the excuse: "These are things from legend. We have no idea what power you will develop next." has REALLY worn thin. Boring. Gone are Anita's morals, her hard-as-nails willpower, her determination and individuality. Now, she is just a sexaholic with little qualms, and all her seeming otherworldly "friends" seem happy as clams to indulge her, whatever the mood: murderous, critical, sexual, whatever. (And, is there anyone in this little world who DOESN'T want to sleep with her? Geez!) Which reminds me of Edward. I hope he decides that Anita is now his perfect idea of quarry, and doesn't suddenly feel the need to sleep with her, too. After all, she seems pretty much the pinnacle of the monsters he hunts now. If I was reading this story as my introduction to the story, I would never have known Anita Blake, Vampire Executioner, had ever existed. I would have called this a cheap sex Harlequin book with a supernatural twist, shook my head, and not bothered with any of the other books in this series.
Rating:
Summary: This series is bobsledding downhill....
Review: It's sad to see Yet Another Fatuous Female Author (yes, I'm a woman) going the pathetic way of Patricia Cornwell - so self-absorbed in her own problems and resultant fantasy life that she forgets how to be a storyteller, and mires the reader in her own self-analyzing "therapy." And, let's face it, Mediocre so-called "erotica" is easier to write than first-class supernatural detective thrillers. I had hoped, after reading Obsidian Butterfly, that Hamilton was going to return to the actual THEME of "Anita Blake, Vampire Executioner," as opposed to drowning us in redundant, superfluous sexual drivel and alleged "romance." But, alas, Narcissus in Chains is nothing more than the "same old, same old" that has become SOP in the last few Blake novels...Blake worries about whether she's a monster, Blake makes excuses to have sex, Blake has sex with pretty much everyone - including, mind-blowingly, an abused S&M man-child who has come to her for PROTECTION. ... I had equally hoped that Hamilton would get the annoyingly predictable "erotica" out of her system with the Merry Gentry series, but it is clearly overflowing like a tsunami into the AB series. Of course, there are innumerable vapid females out there who will plunk down their money just so they can read these AB novels, which have degenerated from pretty nifty and creative detective/horror thrillers to insipid "romance" books, just for the purpose of imagining being wanted by supernatural studs. Hamilton has sunk to the lowest common denominator, reader-wise, and appears not to care whatsoever about the early readers that made her popular. "Cerulean Sins" is out, and is already being panned as having yet another overdose of "romance" and sexual content. For this reader, who began LKH with Nightseer (and hopes to see a return of this series), I find LKH's penchant to replace imagination and good writing with her character's love life to be BORING. When the romance titillated around the edges of sweet mystery and creepy monsters, and the sexual tension was thick enough to require Blake's back-holstered long-bladed knife to cut it, this series was GREAT. Now, I won't spend another penny on it.
Rating:
Summary: best series ever!
Review: I loved this book along with all of the other novels in this series. You should also read the newest book in her series Cerulean Sins.
Rating:
Summary: Sadly disappointing...
Review: I truly enjoyed the flavor and the characterization in the earlier books, as well as the story lines. This book, however, quickly evolves into Anita Blake, for any and every reason, having twisted sex with any and everything. Hamilton's charcterization and plot development suffers greatly in this Anita Blake installment. The book is a disappointment and a let down. About three-fourths of the way through, I was hoping for an even more twisted plot where the wereleapords or the werewolves, or weresnakes, or were-whatevers would turn on Blake and end her misery. As a reader, it certainly would've ended my tremendous disappointment and dissatisfaction with the new direction the Hamilton series has taken.
Rating:
Summary: One Of My Favorites
Review: This is one of the best books in the series - and Miss Hamilton is at her best. The writing is fluid, and the pages turn faster than I'd like. The past few books have occasionly lapsed into rampage hormones and repressed sexual urges (excluding of course Obsidian Butterfly which somehow did not captivate me as much). She again creates vivid characters and we get to see Anita kicking shape shifter butt. There is a strong cuddly feeling to some parts of her book, the way all the were leopards sleep in the same bed without noticing the sexual undertones like small children. I find it enchanging. But just as there are light, communal tones to this book there are also a lot of dark, gothic fantasy filled sex (or spiritual "sex").
The message I got in some parts was, "It's ok to be promiscuous, but only as long as it's due to some supernatural force that causes you to lost control and feed sexually off of men". That mixed me up a bit.
But it's a fine read and definitley needs reading if you liked any of the others. If you haven't read any of them, start with the beginning "Guilty Pleasures". Step into a world that holds you captive even after you finish the book.
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