Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful alternate reality stuff
Review: This is the first book of a very unusual and gripping horror/thriller/romance series, with a strong twenty-something female lead character. In this reality, all of the mythology of our world is real - trolls are an endangered species, werewolves fight discrimination because of their disease, and vampires have recently earned the status of human - they can legally vote. Don't let this fool you, though; even if the monsters are legally "human," they are still dangerous and frightening. Anita Blake, our hero, is a very short woman (with an extremely large attitude) who raises Zombies from the dead for a living and helps out the police with "preternatural crimes" on the side. She is also very biased against the monsters, but finds herself drawn further and further into their dark world. While I love this series dearly (I read the first 4 books within a week and then had to wait for the next to be published), LKH's writing style is sometimes a little sloppy. The interesting characterisations and energetic plot makes up for this, however. I don't usually read horror, but found this story extremely compelling.
Rating:
Summary: excellent start to series
Review: This excellent novel kicks off the "Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter" series with a fine mix of horror, action and humor. (though the humor is of the decidedly hard-edged variety) Anita Blake is certainly not a "Buffy" clone. She inhabits her own dangerous universe filled with vampires, zombies and voodoo. Well drawn out characters, great action sequences, and a touch of film noir's dark wit. Highly recommended. Kudos to Ms. Hamilton for an entertaining, chilling, fun read.
Rating: 
Summary: Guilty Pleasures
Review: For all those who are going "Three stars? Only three stars!" yes I know slightly harsh. But the first two books in the series don't live up to my expectations. They're good books don't get me wrong! I'm a die-hard fan and love all the books. But if my three favorite in the series rate 5 then the two I like the least can't rate the same right? Now for all of you who are shopping for Anita books. My suggest is READ THE FIRST ONE FIRST. This may be why I don't like this book. I started with #3 and read to #6 then went back and read 1 and 2. Tsh I barely made it through. My mind get wandering and I was going Jean-Claude and Richard crazy. So...while I liked it this book doesn't have the riveting quality of the later books. So just make sure you read it to begin with and it's all good.
Rating: 
Summary: A "Harlequin Romance" by Stephen King
Review: I bought Guilty Pleasures at the recommendation of a co-worker. He is a fan of the Anita Blake series and thought I'd get into it too. The background is well written and defined, but the characters are shallow and sexual thought/desire/memories/plans simply take up too much dialogue and the plot drags along. I'll avoid the rest of the series.
Rating:
Summary: Guilty Pleasures Is Aptly Named
Review: Although I only gave Guilty Pleasures 3 stars, I want to make clear that this is top quality brain candy. It's enjoyable, exciting, and a quick read. Vampire books seem to fall somewhere just above romance novels and novels based on videogames in the "unlikely to be any good and embarrassing to read on the subway" genre. While not quite as interesting as Kim Newman's trio (go read them now), Laurell Hamilton's are a welcome exception. Although they're still embarrassing to read, especially with their romance novel-style covers, they are actually quite enjoyable. Anita Blake is a vampire hunter and zombie re-animator working in Saint Louis, in a world where magic is relatively common, vampires and werewolves have legal rights, and everyone has a darned good reason to be afraid of the dark. She's in the Phillip Marlowe school of tough guys - a loner with style and attitude, who gets beaten up for a while, then turns the table on the bad guys in the last few chapters. Like the later novels in the series, Guilty Pleasures involves a supernatural mystery. In this case, a serial killer is murdering the most powerful vampires in the city, and Anita is forced to investigate. The mystery becomes kind of obvious about halfway through the book, but Anita, her friends and their world are all interesting, and her attempts to solve the mystery and avoid ending up as roadkill are exciting enough to make most people read the book straight through.
Rating: 
Summary: I didn't notice time passing as I read this fantastic story
Review: I've read books and liked them before, but this one - I tore through and couldn't wait to read the next in the series. I found myself thinking about the story when I wasn't reading it. I was emotionally effected by the charicters and plot. When Anita would be angry, I would find myself angry. What a fabulous writer Laurell Hamilton is! This book, along with the other 8 of this series, I believe I will read at *least* one more time each before anticipating the next novell to be released in October of 01. These are not one time reads. These are incredible works of story telling! Thank you Laurell!
Rating:
Summary: Anita Blake doesn't date vampires--she kills them.
Review: "Guilty Pleasures" is the first Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter novel by Laurell K. Hamilton, but when you read it you will wish that it was not. What I mean by that convoluted sentence is that Anita is well into her career as an Animator when this book opens and the more you find out about her backstory the more you want to learn. One of the most important things in this story is when the master vampire Jean-Claude puts the first two marks upon Anita, which links them psychically and makes her somewhat immune to the mental powers of the vampires. Obviously this will have long term repercussions in the series, but it is not as momentous a change since this is the first novel in the series; when it happens Anita has talked about killing vampires, but we have yet to see her ply her trade. If there had been a prequel to this story, in which Anita earned her reputation as "The Executioner" and we learned the rules of the game in terms of vampires and this brave new world they inhabit, then her transformation in "Guilty Pleasures" would have the weight it deserves. Similarly, the idea that the thousand-year-old Master Vampire of St. Louis wants to hire Anita to solve the sudden rash of vampire murders also has less impact than it would if this story was told further down the line. Hamilton comes up with some excellent ideas in this novel, but you can imagine how much more of an impact they would have if this was the third or fourth Anita Blake novel instead of the first. However, Hamilton gets high marks for giving us the feel that we have stepped into an ongoing story, always a laudable goal. You have to be quite optimistic about her ability to up the ante as the series continues. The world of Anita Blake is one in which the Supreme Court has granted the undead equal rights, so that you cannot kill a vampire without a warrant and you can just imagine the legal morass involving zombies, ghouls and were-beasts. Hamilton has created a world in which the undead are still creatures of the night but have become a part of society, which runs the spectrum from vampire strip clubs such as the Guilty Pleasures of the title to the Church of Eternal Life where becoming a vampire can help you achieve that particular goal. This is a thoughtful look at the "realities" of such a world and although you will recognize elements from Stoker and Rice in this world, Hamilton has constructed one that stands on its own. As for our heroine, she is also extremely realistic: Anita Blake has horrible scars on her body from her battles against the undead, her dreams are tormented by what she has seen and done, she is terrified by her current situation and does not know who she can trust or turn to for help. The fact that she feels fear, cries, gets sick to her stomach, add to her heroism because despite all these obstacles, she gets the job done. There is a much harder edge here than what you find with other vampire slayers. Anita Blake is not a two-dimension character, which is why once you read "Guilty Pleasures" you have to move on to the next novel in the series. All in all, this is an excellent start.
Rating:
Summary: Like a Kid in candy store
Review: This series is a MUST READ. from the moment i picked up the first novel in this series i craved more and more. I gobble up every word and am filled with such emotional attachment to the charactures she creates. Everytime i new book in the series comes out i race to the stores to buy it because i cant wait to be obsorbed into Anitas world. Her new series about the Feys is EXCELLENT as well and i have never been into books on fairies, but this is a must read as well.
Rating:
Summary: A fabulous book
Review: _Guilty Pleasures_ is the first book in the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series(which happens to be my favorite), and it is one of the most original and fascinating books I've ever read. Anita is probably my favorite heroine-she's funny and clever, courageous and resourceful. She is a layered and interesting character, and her interactions with the supporting characters in this book(and all the books after this) are wonderful. Jean-Claude is a fabulously dark and charismatic vampire, with an appealing, enigmatic wickedness. Very highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Ann Rice but wittier!
Review: This is the coolest book. The scenes are so well described, you actually can imagine yourself there. It is wonderful. The books are similar to Ann Rice's Vampire series but a little wittier and less long winded. (Thank you Hamilton!) By the way, this is the first in the series and the next is Laughing Corpse. I recommend that you read them in order. You will porbably not understand the relationships between the characters if you don't.
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