Rating: 
Summary: not as advertised : not a romance
Review: I was sold this book as a racey romance. It was really a fairly stupid vmpire hunting detective story. Don't be fooled, unless you like light detective stuff. There is NO relationship in this book, even though the back of the book claims that the heroine will "find a man capable of arousing in her a hunger strong enough to match his own".
Rating: 
Summary: DO NOT START UNLESS YOU WANT TO READ ALL 10 BOOKS!
Review: This reader read the first book in the series - Guilty Pleasures - and immediately came back to Amazon.com to purchase all the rest. I was advised to read them in order, and STRONGLY agree with that recommendation. Anita, Jean Claude, Richard, and all of the rest of the gang are fully developed, great and flawed, heroic and petty characters. I have NEVER read an entire series as fast and as enjoyably as I did this one.PLEASE KEEP BRINGING ANITA BACK!
Rating:
Summary: Move over Buffy-Here comes Anita, the Vampire Slayer
Review: Guilty Pleasures.....hmmmm A dark, urban sci-fantasy with a good dose of snide humor and great attitude from who other than a strong kickass female lead? Can Vampires be sexy? You betcha. And down right funny, too. Thus, enter the world of Anita Blake-a.k.a. The Executioner, a.k.a. Vampire Slayer. A young dark haired petite beauty with an odd love for penguins. Trust me, she ain't no Buffy: she's better. You meet some cool sexy characters like Jean-Claude, a Master Vampire, who also happens to run a strip club, Guilty Pleasures. She fights in a world of vampires, ghouls, werewolves-wererats too, and zombies...and it's a normal occurrence. She has a dry sense of humor that comes out constantly throughout the book. In a world where Vampires have legal rights, you got to. It's a completely different book from all those other boring stories. It has mystery, sex, love, hate, humor, violence, etc.; it's got everything. You can't lose. The first part in a open ended series, Guilty Pleasures is about Anita trying to help the vampires of St. Louis: someone, thing is viciously killing vampires--if you can call killing something already, technically, dead. She's far from perfect with scars on her body and a realistic aspect to her. Her wit, mater of fact statements and sassy attitude is really makes this character unique and different and the story line is interesting. I've never read anything like it. The first book of the series is good, but just a little disconjointed. I'm not used to so many characters in a short book. Hamilton is still getting a feel for it, but she sure is getting it fast. You discover things about vampires, zombies, the undead, etc. along with Anita and learn other interesting things. It caught my attention for me to buy the second part in the series...it'll be interesting to see how Anita develops. You've got to try this book-if only just for kicks-it's a great book and series. It's very addictive.
Rating:
Summary: Guilty Pleasures has me hooked...
Review: This is my first Laurell K. Hamilton book and I am very much looking forward to reading this whole series. I never thought I would like the whole vampire/were creature culture, but I am throughly hooked. This story is sexy, creative, chilling and I would have to say, fun. It can be gruesome which is not a problem for me, but others who may be squeamish should be warned.
Rating:
Summary: What a ride!
Review: My two cents....I loved it. I bought the next two books before finishing this one. I've never done that. Ever.
Rating:
Summary: Anita Blake Vampire Series
Review: So far i've read the first four of these books and have enjoyed them immensely. they're in the category of what I call fluff reads. Very fast paced, very easy to read. I intend to make it through the whole series and wait impatiently for the next installment of Anita's life. I find these books well enough written to allow me to suspend belief long enough to enjoy them without sitting up all night in a panic worrying about something lurking in the closet.
Rating: 
Summary: Good but not as good as expected
Review: I suppose, after reading the reviews, that perhaps I had my expectations awfully high. I think too, that I'd just finished the BEST vampire/horror book I've read in a long time..that book being Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris. That book was amazing. This book...well, let's see: I couldn't find myself really *caring* about Anita Blake. I'm not sure why but I think part of it had to do with not really believing the physicality of her. She is described as being very petite, less than 130 lbs, and basically small. The only "gift" we're told she has is that of being an animator. As far as we are told, she has no superhuman strength. Soooooo...how can she do it all? The fighting, the defeating were creatures, ghouls, vamps...How? Enquiring minds want to know... The novel never does give us much background on Anita....nothing that really makes me care if she makes it out of vampire lairs alive or not. I mean, I know I am supposed to care, because she is the heroine and star of the 8 or nine other books, but I guess I just needed more. What I found totally UNBELIEVABLE was the final chapter. I don't understand how that could happen so EASILY? I mean, given all the time spent discussing the immense power of this creature, it was defeated rather quickly. And easily. I felt the pace was rather breathless. You don't get much chance to recover or absorb what happens. Poor Anita is thrown into one scrape after another. Yet another reason I don't see how she physically survived. The book never mentioned what the vampires drink. I mean, if they're protected, then, surely murder isn't condoned. But, do they buy blood? Charlaine harris explains this OH so well in her book. And if there are truly clubs like the one Anita goes to in the first chapter, then, I honestly do NOT understand how the vampires are protected by the government. The place was a bloodbath. If the vampires can get out of control, as did Aubrey with Anita, then, again, why are they protected? And if vamps have this big power to "glam" humans, put them in trances, etc., then, shouldn't they have even MORE power than they do, afterall, couldn't they just charm them? Ok, those are just some of my "issues" with the book. I DID like the scariness of the book. I felt this was sort of rushing thru alot of issues that I'd like to have read more about...were creatures, etc. I also like Jean Claude. I can't wait to hear more about him. I am getting ready to read The Laughing Corpse, her second book. I hope that Anita will grow on me. :)
Rating:
Summary: My Very Favorite Series, Bar None! 10 Stars!!
Review: Anita Blake aka the executioner aka animator. In every day terms, that means vampire killer and zombie raiser. Anita lives in a world where vampires have rights and you don't mess with them unless they had your friend or loved one for lunch. That's when a court order is issued and Anita the Vampire Killer goes after her vamp. When Anita gets dressed for the day, it includes knives at her wrists and hidden gun-filled holsters. A vampire attacked her once before and she has the scars to prove it. They won't catch her unarmed again. In Guilty Pleasures the tables are turned. Vampires are being murdered and the fanged world wants the best person for the job of finding the killer--Anita. She refuses the job but they play dirty and threaten a friend of hers. Along the way, Anita gets involved with a male stripper who works for hunky vampire, Jean Claude, at Guilty Pleasures. Though human, Phillip is a junkie of sorts. He craves the bite of the vampire and the euphoria that comes with it. His body is covered with scars from these encounters and Anita is filled with disgust and pity. Anita also encounters the oldest master vampire she has ever come across and the most powerful. Even Jean Claude is afraid of her. Besides dealing with this case, Anita has a regular job of raising zombies. If a person dies without a will or is the victim of a murder, Anita raises the person, now a zombie, and the police can question him about his murderer or a lawyer can make out a will. She also works on supernatural cases with the police, nicknamed The Spook Squad. Anita is the expert in everything supernatural and her talents are called on with regularity. Though Anita is petite, she is a kick-behind ball of fire and even the vampires have a problem overpowering her. She doesn't take any grief from anybody and will shoot you as soon as look at you. Smart mouthed and sassy, Anita is a handful that nobody can tame. This series is my very favorite, bar none! I own it in paperback and hardback. Very addictive. If you buy Guilty Pleasures, be prepared to order the rest of the series because you will not want to stop reading. If you aren't hooked by the end of this first book, you will be by the second one.
Rating:
Summary: Good but not as good as expected
Review: After reading the reviews, I expected more from this book. Maybe I'm jaded, because I just read Charlaine Harris' Dead Until Dark and THAT was a GREAT vampire story. It was soooo funny, sooooo sexy....and more believable, at least, as believeable as this thing could be. The book is HEAVY on action, on fighting scenes, and while we get glimpses of characters' real dynamic, there isn't enough time to develop it because poor Anita NEVER gets to rest. I was a little confused by this...if she is only like 110 lbs, has no special powers, other than being an animator, how is she physically able to do the things she does? It wasn't believable. In the show, Buffy, she has superhuman strength as a part of her gifts. Here, she's just your average gal and considering all the pyhysical trauma she undergoes, I can't see how she could then face off with the 1000 year old vamp and the 600 yr old human at the end. I just didn't buy it. If you're looking for any romance of any kind, this isn't the book for you. There was eroticism, but just here and there and the heroine doesn't seem too open to any sort of relationships, platonic or otherwise. If you've seen the Witchblade series on TV, she's alot like that character. VERY abrasive, lacking in emotion, etc. However, I did enjoy the book. It began with great promise but I felt by the end, that the author felt "OH gee, guess I better wrap this up." The ending should have been the most amazing scene in the world...and it fell very very flat. P>I do plan on buying the next one. Hopefully, as the characters in this series grow, so will their author. The other point which bugged me is Anita's obsession with her gun not being seen in public. It just strikes me as so strange that she is so hung up on that, when there are *VAMPIRES* running around all over the place. I mean, it seems to me that if Vampires, were creatures, etc. are all accepted now, I honestly doubt that anyone is going to have a cow if they see someone carrying a gun.
Rating:
Summary: OH-MY-GOD!
Review: I work at a library and about a little over one year ago I kept hearing from all sorts of people about this Anita Blake series. I finally placed a hold on the book (since none were to be found on the shelf) and decided I was going to give it a try. Well, after finishing this first in the series in one sitting I couldn't wait to place the others on hold at the library and just "had to" run out and buy the others immediately. Now, the latest in the series just doesn't come fast enough to wet my appetite. The story line is very well written. Hamilton takes farout ideas and people and twist them perfectly in everyday life and occurances so neatly that the reader cannot help but fall into the story and become one with her world. After I finish each novel I can't help but sit for a few minutes imagining what may or may not come next. I hope this series never ends.
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