Rating: 
Summary: Awesome - give me Jean Claude
Review: Wow, what more can you say? Violence, romance, vampires, and Anita Blake made for many hours of enjoyment. I found it hard to lay the book down but decided to pace myself so I could enjoy it longer. I am currently reading the Laughing Corpse and am eagerly anticipating the ever sensual Jean Claude's appearance in the book. Thank you Laurell, my mind is enjoying it.
Rating:
Summary: Magnificent
Review: An absolutely wonderful start to a fantastic series. I am usually more of a fantasy fan than a horror fan, but I loved Caress of Twilight and Kiss of Shadows, so I thought that I would give the Anita Blake series a shot. What do you know, they were great. Laurell K. Hamilton is a superb writer who is not afraid to just write what is real and not be bogged down by the conformists. Kudos LKH!
Rating: 
Summary: Buffy of the Literary World
Review: The paralells between Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Anita Blake series are virtually infinite. Both are tough, slim, short hot girls whose main goal in life is to free the world from the baddies. Both seem to have more than their fair share of relationships with some of these supernatural "baddies". Both of them love weapons. And both of them kick major .... while cracking tongue in cheek jokes.
I love Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And I love these books.
I read several reviews pertaining to the lack of sex in this first book. Well if you want sex, read on....the series soon becomes permeated with it. Ms. Hamilton seems to either give us too much or too little. Personally I prefer too little. I'm more on the ride for the action and plots, not the sex. If I want sexual satisfaction from a book I'll read a romance novel. This is not a romance novel.
In the same way Buffy the Vampire Slayer has become more and more "sexual", so do Hamilton's books. Since it is a series, some of the books are more for setting the scene and creating sexual tension than supplying a release for it. I would say on the whole though this series (taken as a whole) has something for everyone. Humour, Horror, and lust.
An easy writing style and a killer character make this book a must read for anyone who likes things along the line of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Rating: 
Summary: Guilty Pleasures did not please this romance reader
Review: I just got through reading Guilty Pleasures and I am still puzzled as to why this novel was recommended to me when everyone that knows me knew that I liked to read romances or books with a hero and heroine where they fall in love (or at least some "acknowledged" attachment) whether there were vampires, dukes, princes, pirates, or detectives and rulers set in the future.I feel so mislead! I was told this book was sexy, sensual and a little erotic. I got none of that from this book. I got the same impression as when I read Ms. Hamilton's other book, A Kiss of Shadows: A bunch of scenery that takes pages of descriptions to set up but after that, NOTHING. (But at least the main character in A Kiss of Shadows got laid, poor Anita didn't even get to first base in this book) Yes, she can draw a great fantasy picture of people and places. Freaky people, freaky places. Lots of blood and pain. But there is no emotional draw. No passion. So what that Phillip lost alot of blood and Anita went to a party that had a few weirdos wearing bondage gear. Why should I cares? The only time I cared was when the goat got slaughtered and that was for the goat. Not Anita, the main character. I sit here shaking my head. I just don't get it.
Ms. Hamilton's books are like those draw by numbers pictures, you spend your whole time connecting the dots and you see the picture at the end but there is no warmth, no emotional attachment and definitely not a keeper.
Rating:
Summary: Hard to catorgize author
Review: I don't normally read books that are in the horror section, but I have gotten totally hooked on Laurell K. Hamilton's books. I am a mystery fan, and the mysteries in her books work. The characters and plots are interesting, and she is consistent with the rules of her universe. The only thing that kept me from giving the book five stars is they tend to be a little bloody for my taste.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining dark fantasy
Review: The Anita Blake series, which began with this novel, is an entertaining light read about an "animator" (someone who raises zombies from the dead for a living, for eg. to check the details of their will) who also is a legal vampire slayer - she's sent out with a court order to slay vampires who break the law. As you can guess, this series is set in an alternate reality where fantasy creatures exist and vampires have recently gained legal "human" status. Anita herself has some interesting personal conflicts - she is a committed Christian who works with dark forces and kills a little too easily, and a very dainty and pretty-looking person who considers herself to be "tough as nails" (it makes it hard for the bad guys to take her seriously). Each of the books is loosely based around a supernatural mystery and the ongoing story of Anita's life (she's 20-something at the start of this book). The writing is a little sloppy, but quite compelling, and the series steadily improves for the first few novels (the later ones get a little bogged down with Anita's issues).
Rating:
Summary: Start here right away
Review: This book is the first of the Anita Blake series. It is not quite as strong as the next few (which I'd give five stars to) but of course you'll want to start here. Hamilton's last couple of Anita Blakes, especially Narcissus in Chains, are not so good as the first several, but if you start here you'll have a real treat in store for several volumes. Then you can decide on your own if the later books are as good as these.
Rating:
Summary: Guilty Pleasures
Review: This was the first Anita Blake book I picked up and I have picked up every single one since. Anita is one of the toughest women I have ever read about but she does not give up her ideals, values and feminine softness. I recommend Laurell Hamilton books to all my friends and will continue to do so. Please Laurell don't ever stop.
Rating:
Summary: The start of a wonderful series and a bit more in the hardba
Review: This is the first Anita Blake Book. It is where we meet Anita and get our first taste of her life. It is also the start of one of the best series ever written. You immediately like Anita. She grabs you from the opening paragraph and never lets go. As a special treat, the hardback edition includes an essay from Laurell about writing and publishing Anita. So if you ever wondered where she got the idea and how it came about, this is the book for you!
Rating:
Summary: Like Grafton but with vampires
Review: The book reminds me of the Sue Grafton series except in this case, Kinsey (Anita) hunts vampires. Anita shares Kinsey's one main weakness too, namely, she's much too ignorant to have been doing her line of work for so long. Hamilton subjects Anita to moments of abject stupidity to force expository dialogue. I know that it's good to "show" rather than "tell" but there are times when a simple interior comment between narrator (Anita) and audience (reader) would suffice and strengthen the character and keep the plot moving. As it is, I sometimes had to wonder how the "Executioner" had stayed alive for as long as she apparently has. It's not like she has Buffy's slayer enhanced skills to keep her afloat while she learns.
| 
