Rating: 
Summary: Oh Anita, what happened to you?
Review: I remember reading Guilty Pleasures, the first Anita Blake novel, when it was first published, and revelling in the way Laurell K Hamilton had invented a character who was funny, bright, and tough, but still had a deep moral streak, which prevented her from becoming a simple killing machine.
As the books progressed, we saw a natural change in Anita, which was quite understandable. We understood as she struggled with her attraction to the 'monsters' she fought, and cheered when she finally succumbed to the charms of the delicious Jean Claude.
I'm not sure what happened along the way, but by the time Narcissus in Chains arrived, these wonderful novels had become nothing but cheap porn, without care for plot or characterisation.Cerulean Sin in slightly better than NiC, but only very slightly. It seems that any effort to include a plot has been spared, and we're subjected to an endless tirade of sex scenes, which quickly become dreadfully dull, and repetative. Someone really should explain to Ms Hamilton, the meaning of 'overkill' and that often, less is more. Also, that there is a fine line between 'erotica' and 'bad porn', one she unfortunately crossed two novels back. I hoped that after NiC, this series would get back on track, but I fear that it won't.
I personally won't be buying any more Anita Blake novels, and that saddens me immensely. I'll just reread the old novels, and remember what once was, with fondness and regret.
Rating: 
Summary: I'll read the next book solely out of morbid curiosity. :-(
Review: Sheer disappointment. I keep seeing that word, "disappointment," all throughout these reviews, and I don't think that's simply coincidence. These are my personal, major complaints in no particular order: 1) *Shift of plot type*
I got hooked on these books because they were a cool, supernatural combination of the whodunit, detective, and action genres. Don't get me wrong, Anita's love/sex-life has always been part of the stories, but it wasn't ever really the primary plotline. Now it is, and since I don't dig soft-core erotica nor romance novels, I don't care for it. 2) *Apparent metamorphosis of major characters*
When I was reading passages involving Dolph or Richard, I couldn't imagine why they're now such different characters. People go through difficult, sometimes traumatizing times in life, but for pete's sake, these guys are so different from the way they were in the previous books that their names ought to be changed! 3) *The ardeur*
I'm sick of it, sick of it, sick of it. That's about as concisely as I can put it. 4) *Long hair on men*
Okay, Hamilton, so you like long hair on guys. So do I -- on the right guy, of course. But get over it! I'm weary of reading endless descriptions of some man's long, flowing, beautiful, cascading, lustrous, rippling, flaxen, luxurious, blah blah blah hair. Oh, and lets not forget how traumatizing it is for his friends when a man cuts off his long hair!! 5) * "So much meat" *
Might there possibly be any other phrase to describe a human being who's been ripped to shreds? Seriously, I should've kept track of how many times that particular phrase was abused... er, used.6) *Lack of editing*
Way too many typos, grammatical errors, blatant overuse of some phrases and words (e.g. #5 on my list). Need I say more? Although, like another reviewer said, this is less the fault of Hamilton than of her editor/agent/publishing house/whatever. There's more, but I think I'll leave it at that. Back when my friend first got me hooked on this series, I practically salivated with anticipation during the weeks before each new book was released. Since _ Narcissus in Chains_ was a letdown to me, I was eager to see if the next book would be an improvement. How sad that it wasn't. I would say I won't bother to read the next book in the series, but I know my lack of willpower won't let that happen. I'm sure I'll read it anyway, if only out of pure, morbid curiosity.
Rating: 
Summary: Must have for LKH fans...heck for anyone!
Review: Anyone that is a fan of LKH will no doubt enjoy this read. We finally get background...or more background...on those vampires we love so much. Not to mention those who needed a little loving finally get it. As much as I loved this book though, I have to say Laurel could have made the Counsels presence there a little more ruthless...a little more obvious. I think with Belle's right hand there should have been more fighting...more blood shed...or if nothing else more politics. Not just Anita loosing control, which she REALLY does a lot of in this book. Don't miss the read for that though. It was definitely good. I read it in one day. : ) But that is just me.
Rating: 
Summary: A train wreck
Review: A friend and I race each other to see who can read the new book the fastest. This time he won and described the book as a train wreck. I did not understand until I had read it for myself.
How much shi* can be packed into one weekend? Between raising the dead, fighting the adour (way too many times), stiring up the first vampire (can you say hi Buffy), vampire/police/pack/pard poltics, mental breakdowns and no sleep, no-one could survive this. Will I buy this one to add to my library, yes. But I prefer some of the earlier books where I could feel for the main charactures more.
Rating:
Summary: Rated X
Review: Hamilton is at the top of her form in terms of what she does best -- staged sex on command. Poor, poor Anita Blake is forced by the demands of her magic to sate her appetite frequently and in all sorts of combinations. I'm not against that particularly, but it really gets to be repetitive and predictable.
Rating:
Summary: Magic is fading
Review: I was so starved for this next book by LKH, I pre-ordered in anticipation. After getting half way through, I wish I had waited for paperback, or better yet, checked it out of the Library. I love the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series, and I especially love the characters she interacts with. In this latest, it's still full of sex, much more than any of the first five or six, but suffers from non-engaging plots and page turning danger and intrigue--not to mention grammatical mistakes. The Lunatic Cafe, Burnt Offerings, even The Killing Dance had more suspence--and more importantly, more Richard. There are pages of mystical dreams that Anita goes through--because of Belle Morte--as the Ardeur can't make up its mind whether it wants sex or to feed, and I ended up skipping pages in boredom. There's also a sketchy dream sequence that seems to start in a car and ends up in Jean-Claude's bedroom. What? Anyway, a fantastic sex scene between Anita and a certain wereleopard, and before that a threesome with two favorite vampires, was mindblowing--LKH knows how to write them! but they don't make up for a preternatural murder plot that is tertiary, (even it's not supposed to be). In earlier novels we could identify with Anita because she was afraid of the monsters even if she associated--and loved them, she was scared of losing her humanity and it made her cautious and a lot more real. She has given up that fight, and is edging toward being more like Edward every day. I hated that there were about six pages combined with Richard, who still hasn't learned to accept himself or be able to channel his anger into postive things. Reality eludes him and his suicidal tendencies and low self-esteem are both sad and disturbing. I adore Jason and was satisfied to find an ample amount of him in the book, as well as Jean-Claude. In fact, the threesome of Jean-Claude, Asher and Anita was very interesting, as well as deep thoughts with Jason, who is a very interesting and perceptive character. By the time I finished, however, I was happy. The murder plot was wrapped up with a bow, and we're still left hanging with the Anita/Richard thing. One good quote that I can think of, and incredibly gruesome murder scenes are still the standard with LKH. Still, I don't know how many more books are in the series, but I hope to focus more on Anita's personal developments and her relationship with Richard, who seems bent on self-destructing without Anita. An okay book, but not one of her best. I can't believe I was bored! Get it at the Library first.
Rating:
Summary: Further Deterioration of the Series
Review: Although I love to read, I don't have much time for it, so I go through a lot of audiobooks instead. Therefore, I was thrilled when I saw that this book was available in audio format (and unabridged, no less!). To my knowledge, this is the first Anita Blake novel that has been available as an audiocassette. I must preface my review by disclosing that I have not yet completed the book (I'm just beginning Tape 7). As many others here mentioned, I initially thought that there was a plot revolving around a client that would be fleshed out but I have not yet seen that happen. A few tapes into the book, I thought that perhaps the problem was that Anita did not translate well to audio; however, given that many other reviewers have picked up on the same problems with the book that I have, I no longer thing this is the case. First, I realize that a series that is so strongly built around a single character requires that the character evolve over time. Anita began as a strong heroine with a wry sense of humor and a highly developed sense of right and wrong. An essential part of the series, over time, has been to challenge that sense of right and wrong and force her to make hard choices. Now, it seems, there are no choices. Everything she does is driven by psychic links to others, the arduer, etc. Far from being the strong executioner of the previous novels, this Anita cannot even drive a car by herself, she is so weakened or overtaken by these outside forces. As to the rest of the characters, some are getting fleshed out, but the ones that truly matter, such as Richard and Jean Claude, have become shadows of their former selves, with Jean Claude (and many of the other characters) coming across as overly obsequious to "ma petite" and Richard (again) coming across as nothing but a whiner, rather than the strong but conflicted lycanthrope we've seen in past novels. In addition, as the series has progressed, it seems that more and more of the other characters' world revolves around Anita. In the beginning, characters had their own lives and interests in addition to their interaction with Anita; now it seems as if every character's overriding interest in life (or death, depending on the character) is to bed, feed on, kill or psychoanalyze Anita. In addition, although I don't have a problem with gratuitous sex, I do have a problem with the entire book being nothing but a series of sexual encounters. If I wanted that, I would buy a Nancy Friday book. And again, as alluded to above and as mentioned by another reviewer, why does it seem that EVERY available male is in love/lust with Anita to the point that each of them would do anything to have her? In addition to the moral dilemmas Anita has faced, the characteristics that make an Anita Blake novel enjoyable to me are as follows: - The superimposing of the supernatural world upon the real world. This has been lost in the more recent novels, as Anita has slipped deeper and deeper into the supernatural world. - Consistency within the supernatural world. While I understand that there are exceptions to rules, it seems that something that has never happened in the history of the world is always happening to Anita, or she is able to do something that she should not be able to because of her "marks", etc. - Some mystery/suspense. So far, the most suspenseful thing in this novel was whether the threesome with Jean Claude and Asher was going to happen. I haven't noticed a plot in this novel. It's more like "a day in the life of Anita Blake when she's having sex every five minutes." - This kind of goes along with the previous point, but I loved seeing Anita work, especially with the police. There is some of that in this novel, but it has yet to be fully developed. - A strong, sassy Anita. She seems to have become nothing but a weak sex toy. - Multi-dimensional characters. The series has gone far afield from the original substantive characters that there are just a host of one-dimensional characters. In addition, there are now so many characters that it is difficult to keep up with them and there are way too many that are overly dependent on her. Finally, it seems to me that the many of the characters are interchangeable. Edward might have been kind of one-dimensional (I say "kind of" because there was always a bit of mystery behind his character), but at least he was different than the other characters. Ms. Hamilton, I'm glad that your strong past sales have convinced your publisher to provide your novels with the same level of visibility as more "mainstream" novels, but I am sorry that it has to be when the series is in such decline. Please go back to basics. Somehow get rid of the arduer and pare down the cast of characters so that there is time to more fully develop the ones that are left. Bring us a true mystery and let us see Anita at work more than having sex with various supernatural beings. I know - the last couple of novels were nothing but a long nightmare that Anita wakes from in the next one! ;)
Rating:
Summary: Is Anita Blake losing her thunder?
Review: I was so excited to receive my copy of Cerulean Sins. Except for a hot sex scene with Jean Claude and Asher, this book was too tame and kind of boring. No exciting fight scenes, no other worldly [tail] whippings. Anita lost her thunder. I am so disappointed I could cry. That explains the 2 stars. I really should get a life.
Rating:
Summary: Better than the last
Review: While I usually believe in judging a book more on its own merit than as part of a series, this is impossible to do with Laurell K. Hamilton's books, as each book depends on your knowing the characters and subplots from previous books and anticipating how the plot of the current book will affect future stories. Cerulean Sins is a vast improvement over Narcissus in Chains, which used a few lines of plot here and there to break up the monotony of endless sex scenes and gang bangs. Cerulean Sins still has plenty of sex, but the sex is more caring and has emotional context: it deepens or tests bonds and changes friendships. But Hamilton's plot suffers from a bit of split personality: unlike the early books, where the murders force Anita to make devil's bargains with the monsters, weaving the various elements together, in Cerulean Sins there's the murder mystery and the sexual/supernatural politics, and the two don't interact for the majority of the novel. As for characters, Jean-Claude, Asher, Damien and Jason are all very well-drawn, as are the various villains. Anita has reached a new milestone in her development: in the early books she had a slightly panicked quality that worked well because she knew the monsters were stronger and faster and they outnumbered her. It ratcheted up the tension and made us empathize with her. Later she became more confident, but in the most recent books that confidence -- along with her invulnerability -- made her repellantly casual about receiving and dispensing violence. Now Anita has looked into the abyss and decided she didn't like what she was turning into. Violence is a last resort, and is never casual. Anita has also regained her sense of humor. Richard, unfortunately, hasn't changed from the childish, hypocritical and self-destructive persona he seems to have adopted in the last couple of books. He's not grounded in reality at all, but at least the other characters find this as odd as the reader does. All in all, though, Hamilton is back in my good graces, and I'm quite curious to see where the next chapter of this saga will lead.
Rating:
Summary: confused feelings
Review: I have read every book LKH has written and loved them until CS.
This had a great start which captured your interest but sadly fell into a mish mash of stories. Gregory and Stephen should develop into their own story and so should Jason who finally has come into his own. I am glad Richard has given me a reason to really dislike him. I was never interested in a man who could not accept both his good and bad sides with out sounding like a big whiner. I also would like to see Asher with his own storyline as he and Jean Claude are both such powerful figures. I have never been able to put down a LKH book until it was finished but with this one I could. Please LKH give us another Guilty Pleasures.
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