Rating: 
Summary: Best book in the Anita Blake series....
Review: After Guilty PLeasures, this is my favorite Anita Blake novel. It grabs you from the very beggining, and it when the true romatic feelings from the series flares to life. Richard seems more real (at least as real as a werewolf, let alone an alpha, can be). Jean-Claude seems more friendly... though this started from Bloody Bones. I cant wait to read Burnt Offerings!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Lots of improvement necessary
Review: Anita has a contract on her head. Makes sense, she's upset a lot of people. So she has to go underground with all of her friends to stay alive while hunting for the killer. A much, much stronger plot from Hamilton with a nice villain twist that literally comes out of nowhere. Nice touch. But Grabriel and Raina, villains who are realy whacked and interesting had more than one book in their madness. Unfortunately Hamilton kills her best villans off far too quickly and unbelievably by Anita. She shoots them or stabs them. Don't get me wrong, Anita routinely gets beaten like no one's business and injured beyond reason but again we have the rape threat. Don't these people with all of these powers have anything better in mind to torture someone?The contract killer thing breaks down as it turns out to be a plot involving her boyfriend Richard and his wolf pack. So Anita is actually able to go on the offensive far too easily. I often wonder if Anita is really all that without her guns and knives. We never see her outwit anyone. Everyone just bumbles around until they get shot or stabbed. Anita uses a warped psychology on Gabriel the insane leopard that wants to rape her and she still rescues Richard and Jean-Claude in time. I like Anita, I really do. I think the series has strength but there are flaws in execution of the writing. Hamilton can write a book and even convey characters well but the plot and motivation tend to be thin. Most villains want to kill Anita because well.....they want to kill her. Anita has no Moriarty mainly because Anita lacks the intellectual capacity to attarct SMART villains. Anita has gotten more powerful with the shared vampire/werewolf marks linking her to Richard and Jean-Claude, she's gotten more violent and vicious because wel, her life demands it. But she hasn't gotten smarter. Therefore her challenges haven't either. Maybe Hamilton needs to construct a plot before layering all of the soap opera drama. I would love to read a 700 page novel if it took her that long to explore what each book could explore. Anita often suffers from a TV, get to the next act, show the villain, rush, rush, rush because the viewer will get bored mentality. I've often noticed that it takes about 100-125 pages for Anita to get to the point of the plot of the book---the crime scene, a clue, whatever because there is so much other "stuff" going on. Success often makes writers harder to edit because they've proven that they have the formula down, right? No, a real writer is challenging the work, the content in new ways each time out the pen. Perhaps Hamilton and Anita need to get a little smarter in plotting and unravelling a mystery rather than just catering to what ultimately makes the book an order of fast food rather than a delicious meal.
Rating:
Summary: Someone is out to get Anita
Review: Anita Blake is notified by Edward that someone has contacted him to take out Anita. Edward, being (I guess) Anita's friend calls her up to tell her that someone wants her dead within 24 hours, for a not inconsequential sum of money. Naturally, Anita, Jean-Claud and Richard are not too pleased with the situation, especially after the first attempt comes from a man with a shotgun waiting for Anita in her appartment. In addition to trying to survive assasination attempts, Anita and co. must also try and figure out who is behind the money offer. (And why would be nice as well.) A lot happens in this book in not too much time. All four major characters, and some of the lesser ones undergo a lot of development in this story, and some rather unexpected twists occur. This is a fine example of Why Anita Blake is such an interesting character, and the series is so successful. Even when she messes up, we still root for her, hoping that she will eventually get it right.
Rating:
Summary: can I have some more please
Review: Anita Blake is another tough as nails heroine. She taps into an alter ego that you never knew that you had. Laurell is an awsome author she expertly mixes violence, sex, strength and stubborness into an amazing work of art. I also love that the books are full of sarcasm and toung in cheek humor. I own the entire set and read them constantly. The only thing I dont get is that Steven is a wherewolf but his twin brother is a werelepord (how did that happen?). I recomend teses books very highly definatly a 6-star read.
Rating:
Summary: The best in the series!
Review: Thick with mystery, sex, and plot twists. A recommended read!
Rating:
Summary: Only $500K?! Try $1M!
Review: Anita shows her quick and deadly skills to perfection in this 6th book in the series. Anita is alerted by Edward that she is being hunted by some of the best hired killers dumb enough to hunt her. But everyone can use the $500,000! Everyone except Edward, Anitas pychotic male version of herself. I mean, of course he can use it but what are friends for? :) She enlists her vamp and were friends to help her solve the mystery of who is behind this. On the other hand of things....
Richard is having a problem where he is finally going to have to [tough] it up and take on Marcus, the head alpha of the local wolf pack, so that he can be Ulfric and Anita is trying to convice him that someone is going to get killed and she would rather it not be Richard. Things happen and Anita sees things as they truely are and she reacts as only a human would and runs back to who she views as the lesser evil, Jean-Claude. We see her become increasingly confused about who is a monster and who isnt and we, along with Anita, realize that she is distancing herself from her human friends. Will this lead to more problems? We shall see...
Rating:
Summary: A Dark & Delightful Tale!
Review: "The Killing Dance" by Laurell K. Hamilton is another thrilling instalment in the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series. The action and suspense are brilliantly rendered in a storyline that will keep you captivated.
The book begins when Anita Blake, the hard-boiled zombie raiser, vampire executioner and necromancer, receives a call from her "friend" Edward the hit-man, warning her that someone has offered him a huge amount of money to kill her. Edward refuses the offer and comes to St. Louis to help Anita, but it doesn't take long for the attempts on Anita's life to begin.
In addition to Edward, Anita seeks the help of her two boyfriends, Jean-Claude, the ultra sexy Master Vampire, and Richard, the Alpha Werewolf. While Anita is fighting off assassins left right and centre, she is also helping Richard in his bid to become Ulfric - leader of the werewolf pack. In order to do this, however, Richard must kill the current Ulfric, Marcus, which raises a huge moral dilemma for him. Now, Anita must fight to stay alive, because it's up to her to convince Richard to back up his threats and kill Marcus before he ends up dead himself!
"The Killing Dance" is an action-packed, non-stop adventure filled with nail-biting suspense and all kinds of sensual delights. Anita, Jean-Claude and Richard are three of the most intriguing and compelling characters I have ever come across. The world they live in is utterly fascinating, and Hamilton does a superb job of immersing the reader in that world. This is a hugely entertaining tale and I highly recommend it!
Rating:
Summary: On the Road to a Great Story
Review: This was the only book of Laurell Hamilton's Anita Blake series that I've read, which was recommended by a friend. It is also the only book I'll read of Hamilton's for reasons I'll state in this review. Being an avid vampire lover, and a writer, I had very mixed feelings while reading this book. I'll touch on all the things I loved about it first. The world and characters that have been created are truly phenominal. Hamilton did a wonderful job at bringing the vamipres and lycanthropes alive with her use of words and descriptions. They are well developed and thought out, everything is detailed and has underlying stories waiting to be told. I was sucked into this elaborate world of vampires and other worldly "monsters." I was intrigued by the world Hamilton created because I'd never read a story where the vamipres were known to the world. It reminds me a great deal of the X Men world. Anita Blake is a strong character that you can't help but want to learn more about. Her life is filled with excitement and mystery. I wanted to know what was going to happen to her next. It's always great to see strong women characters--even if they are a bit bitchy like Anita. Now for the downfalls of this story. What kept it from being a great book in my mind would have to start with the details of the story. They were too much. Details are great, but I was bogged down by them. As a reader I don't need to know EXACTLY what every person is wearing unless it has something to do with the story or furthering character development. I don't NEED to know every detail of a room, unless the position of the antique clock on the stone fireplace has something important to do with developing the personality of the character who owns it or some plot device for the story. Otherwise it becomes too much information. The dialogue of the characters is too straight forward and awkward. Instead of letting the reader find the subtext in the dialogue, Hamilton lays out the meaning for the world to see. And her characters sound unnatural--awkward--while speaking at times, as if they are reading lines like an actor instead of feeling the words naturally. On that same note, I felt that some of the characters' actions were out of character. There are scenes between Anita and her Vamipre and Werewolf boyfriends that made me lose connection with the characters because I no longer felt they were being true to their personalities. Lastly, there was way too much going on at once. Too many stories interwoven around the main one, though all were part of the main plot, they served to confuse. Switching from the detailed world of the lycanthropes to the equally detailed world of the vamipres and Anita's intricate ties to each of them were whole books in there own right. I love a great story, with great characters, but "Killing Dance" is merely an okay book. With maybe another editor or Hamitlon's own open-mindedness to maybe do a few more rewrites to the story, "Killing Dance" could have been a great book. Though it's low points are strong enough to get me to not read another of Hamilton's stories, I did honestly like the book.
Rating:
Summary: loved it alot
Review: One of my fave books by LKH, I re-read it often. The plot was interesting and the charector devolpment is both entertaining and emotionaly gripping. Not to mention a great scene with the ever so wonderfull Jean-Claude!
Rating:
Summary: Vividly entertaining!
Review: Hamilton's more recent books mainly reflect on this one, so if you're thinking of buying a newer one, at least start with this. By far the best out of them, and I am most definately awaiting the next in the series. (After Narcissus in Chains) She vividly paints mental pictures with words that are colorful and somewhat shocking. There were times when I laughed out loud in public libaries and the looks I received were less than friendly. Even if you don't like it keep reading to the semi-end. (You'll thank me)
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