Rating: 
Summary: My fave so far.
Review: Ever since I picked up Guilty Pleasures at my local bookshop, I've been hooked on the escapades of St. Louis animator, Anita Blake. Killing Dance is probably on of the most enthralling in the series, counting the (three so far) books after it. So much seems to happen all at once; a contract on her head, with several unlucky, would-be assassins causing trouble and suspicion to fall on her from the local cops, more trouble with Richard's position in the 'Pack', and the ongoing 'love triangle' between them and Master Vamp' Jean Claude, to mention but a few. (Is it me, or does every preternatural bloke in these books get to be described as 'drop dead sexy'?) I also love that Anita develops well as a character as each book progresses, even more so with the conclusion of this one. I was almost sad that she finally made her choice, though whether it was the right one? Well, who am I to speculate...
Rating:
Summary: A darn good addition to the series...
Review: Wow! I just finished The Killing Dance and I must say it was good to the last word. In this book, more of Anita's true feelings for Jean Claude and Richard are revealed and you can't help but feel for her as she struggles to cope with her mixed emotions. You also learn more about Jean Claude and Richard, which only helps you to like them more. While both have very different personalities, both are truly in love with Anita and only want the best for her. Anita tries admirably to deal with her feelings for both men which only puts her on an emotional roller coaster ride with no end in sight. While she's dealing with that issue, things start to go down hill as she discovers that someone's out to get her and they're willing to pay top dollars to anyone who'll do it and do it quickly. In pops Edward, her somewhat quiet, but lethally efficient "friend". Luckily, he's still on her side and only wants to help out. From there the pace picks up and gets even more tense as every move Anita makes could turn out to be her last. She doesn't know who to trust, or why anyone would want her killed. At least not right now. Every potential friend could be the killer. As usual, all in a typical day, she has to tangle with police, lycanthropes, vampires, and anyone with a gun. She also learns more about who she really is and about the powers she possesses. This is an action-, emotion-, and thrill-packed read. It's one of the best in the series in my opinion. I'd definitely recommend it. But I strongly suggest you read the first books in the series first. Not because it's necessary to figure out what's going on in this book, but because the progression from the first books to this one is both interesting and action packed. Besides that, you're bound to like them, so you'll wish you'd started at the beginning, and you'll better understand them and the decisions that they each have to make.
Rating:
Summary: In which Anita herself is hunted
Review: Edward calls Anita to tell her someone has offered him a hit contract on her. He refuses it - Edward is strange, but probably Anita is as close to a friend as he gets, and Edward is as close to a human friend as Anita gets apart from her PI pal Ronnie. While hiding out from various hitmen, hitwomen, and hitbeings, Anita stays at Richard's house- that's her werewolf boyfriend - and then in the basement of the Circus of the Damned, daytime resting place of her vampire boyfriend, Jean-Claude, Master of the City. Yes, sleeping in the houses of two different boyfriends, two nights in a row, does lead to excessive complications. Apart from that, we get introduced to more infighting in the werewolf pack, a vampire who tried to give up drinking blood, and a new witch on Dolph Storr's police team. Jean-Claude opens a new nightclub, Danse Macabre. For best effect, while you're reading, listen to Camille Saint-Saens' "Danse Macabre" on the stereo, and when that runs out, listen to Hector Berlioz' "Symphonie Fantastique." The latter features the Deis Irae theme, used in the mass for the dead, very good music to read vampires by. (Danse Macabre: ...ASIN B000001HO7 and Symphonie Fantastique: ...ASIN B00000DFXM I can't tell you too much else about this one without giving away important parts of it. If you have been reading the series, you MUST read this one. If you haven't been reading the series, and this is the first book you've come across by this author, read the information below. For those wondering about the whole series, some background information. Those who already know that they like vampire novels, anything at all that features a vampire, can skip this review, and likewise, those who hate the whole idea of vampires can skip it. But for those trying to decide whether or not to read more of this genre, or whether the one vampire novel you've already read was a fluke, it may help to have some ways to categorize these novels. Thus: BunRab's Standard Vampire Classification Guide. First, most authors of vampire novels approach from one of the main genres of genre fiction; thus their background may be primarily in romance, or in science fiction/fantasy, or in murder mysteries, or in horror. Second, many vampire novels come in series; knowing whether this is one of a series, and where in the series it falls, may be helpful. Then we have some particular characteristics: Are there continuing characters besides the vampire, through the series? - Are there other types of supernatural beings? - Does the vampire have a few other supernatural characteristics, many other supernatural characteristics, or none other than just being a vampire? (E.g., super strength, change into an animal, turn invisible) - Does the vampire have a regular job and place in society, or is being a vampire his or her entire raison d'etre? - Does the vampire literally drink blood, or is there some other (perhaps metaphorical) method of feeding? - Is sex a major plot element, a minor plot element, or nonexistent? - Does the story have elements of humor, or is it strictly serious? - Is the writing style good, or is the writing just there to manage to hold together the plot and characters? This particular book is the sixth in a series, and it's a series best read in order. If you read one out of order first, you'll want to go back and start from the beginning - the first volume is _Guilty Pleasures_. The series comes from the hard-boiled detective/thriller genres. There's a large cast of continuing characters - Anita Blake, who is NOT a vampire, she's a zombie animator and vampire executioner. The setting is St. Louis, but the specific city isn't integral to the plot the way being in Toronto is a very specific plot element in Huff's books, or Chicago in Elrod's. The other characters include the police on the Regional Preternatural Investigation Team, who are reasonably good guys - although the series also finds plenty of incompetent and/or corrupt cops along the way. Most of the vampire characters are involved in the entertainment biz - owning, working in, nightclubs. St. Louis in this universe has a very kinky nightclub district! The vampires have not only super strength and speed, but the power to cloud men's minds, and other powers that pop up unexpectedly and that differ from vampire to vampire. We have plenty of other supernatural characters: werewolves, wereleopards, wererats, and for all I know, werewombats; witches and voodoo priestesses, ghouls and zombies and ghosts. In other words, magic of all kinds. And most of them are Not Very Nice. Anita deals with them through a combination of violence and wisecracks; there is a strong dose of sarcasm and irony that runs through the books, and while the plots are serious, violent, and bloody, there are also funny moments; the characters have senses of humor, even some of the vampires!
Rating:
Summary: The best book in an addicting series!
Review: If there were a higher rating than 5 stars, Killing Dance would earn that rating. This is the first book that I have ever finished...and then turned back to the first page and read again. An exciting book in an incredibly fun to read series!
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous
Review: _Killing Dance_ is the sixth book in the Anita Blake series. Someone has hired a hit on Anita, who's being "wooed" by the two men in her life: Richard, who happens to be a werewolf, and Jean-Claude, who is a vampire(Master Vampire of St. Louis, in fact). Both shapeshifters and vampires play a major part in this exciting, adventurous, thrilling book, and this is one of my favorites in the series. I would recommend that you read the other books first, starting with _Guilty Pleasures_.
Rating:
Summary: My wife is starting to hate these books..
Review: ..because I am so uncommunicative when engrossed in them. I had thought that they were getting repetitive in number 5, Bloody Bones, but this one marks a real return to form. It may very well be the best of the series so far. Normally the plot has built up fairly predictably towards a showdown with some indescribable monster, but this is much more cleverly plotted. It just keeps on twisting and turning in the plotlines that relate to Anita's love life, and her battle with evil monsters. As always, it starts with a bang, as Anita takes a meeting with Jean Claude, and a vampire who is rotting, because he went vegetarian. They think that Anita posesses magic that can save the vampire. She then learns that someone has taken out a very expensive contract to kill her. Not only this, but her boyfriend, the werewolf, has to be persuaded to kill his rival for pack leader. The last book talked less about Anita's lovelife, but here it is up front and centre, and a major plot driver. This book has more sexual content in it than all of the previous ones put together, and is the better for it, in my opinion. Ms Hamilton can write good believable erotica. I especially like the way that she mixed in erotica with magic. You could probably read this book by itself, and not lose anything - she's good at explaining things as she goes along, and typically, the key plot points are newly introduced with each story. This is a really good thriller, and would be a good introduction to the series. I may now have to take a breather from reading the rest of the series, if only to keep my wife happy! However, it is difficult to keep away from the alternative Midwest that Ms Hamilton has created, one where vampires and werewolves and faeries are facts of everyday life, alongside SUVs and yuppies.
Rating:
Summary: The Collection (1-9)
Review: I started in the middle of the seres, however it in no way detracted from the stories. Laurell Hamilton has a way of sucking you into the charcter(s). I'm hooked. Anita Blake is very real and her emotions and conflicts show, she's not afaird to speak her mind and back up what she says. It took me two weeks and I've read all 9 books, (two of which I had to order and wait on). Book 10 is out and will be in my hands on Friday. These books are a great read, alot of edge of your seat action, with no punches pulled.
Rating: 
Summary: A choice..
Review: This book finally brings Anita into a position where she has to make a choice. It isn't an easy one at all and to add on to it, she has a price on her head. That and you never know what to expect from Edward. This is an enjoyable read and, much like all of the other books in this series, something to be read in one sitting.
Rating:
Summary: Hamilton does it again!
Review: I certainly recommend the Anita Blake series to anyone who has a great sense of humor, loves a quick, action-packed read, and admires a woman who isn't afraid of anything. This is a great read for any woman who feels that "chick-flicks" don't appeal to her and loves some good violence!
Rating:
Summary: I say RICHARD all the WAY!
Review: I began reading this book first instead of Guilty Pleasures. I loved it so much I went out and got the rest of the novels to see how it all began. I say Anita should be with Richard because he's just oh so romantic. He's Just what Anita needs. Don't get me wrong Jean-Claude sounds cute but...
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