Flirt (Anita Blake, Book 18) by Laurell K. Hamilton (2.5/5 stars)

I got this book from the library to read (as I have done with all recent Hamilton books). I am glad I did because this book was mostly so-so. I definitely wouldn't shell out money for a hardcover for this. It is very short (took maybe 2 hours to read) and doesn't advance the story much.

Anita is actually working again in this book, I know that's a shocker. She has two clients in a row that want their spouses raised for different reasons, both of which are wrong. She refuses to do either of the animations. As a result she is kidnapped during lunchtime and the lives of her harem of men are put in danger.

There isn't a ton to say about this book. It is a lot like the rest of the recent books, except short and more wordy in the beginning. The beginning of the book is slow and full of more of Anita angsting about her morals and how she's is, or is not, comfortable with all the men in her life. The last third of the book is actually very engaging and fairly action packed (keep in mind the last third is maybe 50 pages in this case).

It is nice to see Anita working at her job...kind of. It is also nice to have her raising the dead again and using her necromancer powers. Unfortunately Anita manages to add another man to her ever increasing harem and there is the usual poorly written sex scene.

I was disappointed that, as has been the case with the last few books, Jean Claude is again shoved out of the story. Why has he become such a minor character in Anita's life? His place is taken by a fresher crowd...mainly Micah, Jason, and Nathaniel.

This is a very short book, took maybe 2 hours to read. Then there is an Afterword in which Hamilton tries to justify why she wrote this book. It was okay, the writing style itself is solid even if the content and Anita's rambling make for bad pacing and a loose plot. I didn't mind reading it. I think if it had been a longer book or if I had actually shelled out money for it I would have been pissed. But as it was, it only took an 1.5 hours of my time and was free...so I thought it was okay.

So, my suggestion would be to get this one from the library. Or just skip it all together. You won't miss a ton of the story if you do. If you decide to read it, just go in to it expecting what you've gotten from previous book and you shouldn't be too annoyed.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- The 100+ Book Reading Challenge
- Support Your Local Library Reading Challenge

 

Divine Misdemeanors (Meredith Gentry, Book 8) by Laurell K. Hamilton (3/5 stars)

This is book 8 in the Meredith Gentry series by Laurell Hamilton. It was an okay book, about par for the course in this series. It was entertaining, but had some plot problems and some pacing problems.

This book takes up where the last book left off. Merry and crew have chosen to move back to LA. After choosing to save Frost instead of become the King and Queen of the Unseelie court, Merry and Doyle (along with Merry's male harem) are in exile from fairy. They are working on setting up a place for themselves when Merry's contact at the LA police department, Lucy, calls and asks Merry to investigate a crime scene with multiple fey dead. The scene of the crime leads both Merry and Lucy to believe that a serial killer is loose. Can Merry and her guys figure out what is going on before more fey are killed?

Like many of the previous book this book has a loose plot interrupted with numerous mediocre sex scenes, as Merry tries to keep all six fathers of her unborn twins (and a few other new guys) happy. The murder plot goes on pretty well for the first 100 pages and then for the last fifty-or-so pages. In between that is a lot of sex, and a lot of Merry trying to get her overemotional man harem in check. Merry uses her normal combination of sex, pleading, humor, over-the-top proclamation, and prayers to the Goddess to do this.

I liked the murder investigation overall, despite the fact that it took backseat to the management of Merry's household for parts of the book. Reading about how Merry keeps her household running and how she deals with all these emotionally scarred guards from the Queen of Darkness, was somewhat interesting. Although, like previous books, too much time is spent on this and too many new characters are added in. It is like Hamilton has just added so many players to this story that it just takes up way too much time to juggle them all and there is no way she can give each character good page space.

I did like that there was less of Merry praying to the Goddess to solve all her problems, Merry actually had to work some of the issues out herself. I did like that some of her male leads (Frost, Doyle, Rheas) have overcome their insecurities and are actual acting like stable, supportive people.

I wasn't sure if I would keep reading this series of not. I thought "Swallowing Darkness" would have been a great stopping point for this series. This book is very much a transitional one; it deals with all the characters adjusting to their new lifestyles. There really isn't much of an over-arcing storyline that makes you interested in the next book...it makes me wonder what future books hold in store for Merry. I enjoyed the book some, I liked some of the characters. So, I will probably read the next book in the series just because these are a quick read and somewhat entertaining.

News - Edge Book 2 by Ilona Andrews, Cherie Priest's Clockwork Universe, Generation Dead Book 3, Jaz Parks Book 6, and Anita Blake Books 18 and 19

Okay so lots of book series news today. At least for me. Some of this might be old news to other.

Ilona Andrews posted on her website that the 2nd book in "The Edge" series now has a name: "Bayou Moon". You can read more about it here.

Cherie Priest announced (a while back) that there will be two more books in the Clockwork Universe. "Boneshaker" which I reviewed here is the first. It will be followed by two books set in the same universe but with different characters. "Clementine" will be the second book released in Spring of 2010 and "Dreadnought" will be the third book released in Fall of 2010.

The third book in the Generation Dead series by Daniel Waters will be called "Passing Strange" and will be released in May of 2010. I loved the first book in this series and am anxiously awaiting the second book from my library.

The seventh book in the Jaz Parks series by Jennifer Rardin will be titled "Bitten in Two" and will be released in 2010. There are 8 books currently planned for this series.

Lastly there are two Anita Blake books coming out next year. Book 18 will be titled "Flirt" and is due to be released in Jan. 2010 and book 19 will be called "Bullet" and that will be released in June 2010. So lots of fun for Anita Blake fans next year.

News - Next Anita Blake Book, Blue Bloods Book 5, and Sign of the Zodiac Book 5

I was researching the next books in series I am reading and ran across some information that was new to me.

The wikipedia article for Laurell Hamilton has been updated and showed that Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Book 18 will be entitled "Flirt". Amazon.com has the release date as Feb. 2nd 2010.

Melissa de la Cruz shared via Twitter that the 5th Blue Bloods book will be entitled "Misguided Angel" and will be released in the Fall of 2010. I know we are all still waiting for the 4th Blue Bloods book to come out in a few months. But just in case you wanted a head up :-)

Also is anyone is reading the "Signs of the Zodiac" series by Vicki Pettersson you will be happy to know that there is going to be a fifth book in the series. It is on her website that the book will be called "Cheat the Grave" and will be out in the summer of 2010.

Okay well that is all the news I have for now!

Skin Trade (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 17) by Laurell Hamilton (4/5 stars)

This is the 17th book in the Anita Blake series that is still going and going. This is the first book in a long time that reverts back to the older style of Anita that we all knew and loved; at least for some of the book. For once this book is about Anita's job and her skills as a vampire executioner; there are guns, gore, and lots of action. This was my favorite book in this series for a long time.

When Anita gets into work (yes, she does still hold a job, believe it or not) she has a special package on her desk. It is the head of the vampire executioner from the Las Vegas area. It appears that Vittorio is back to his old serial killer ways. He is trying to lure Anita to Las Vegas; of course it works. Luckily for Anita, Edward and Olaf are there to cover her back. Of course given Olaf's own serial killer profile whether or not he is a danger or protection is up for grabs. Of course as the hunt progresses Anita's metaphysical junk comes into play, we find out that Vittorio is more than we originally thought, and Marmee Noir is restless (as Marmee Noir learns of plots to destroy her physical body) and wants a new physical body.

This is, by far, the best Anita Blake book in a long while. There are lots of guns and lots of gore; lots of shooting and lots of killing. It is not, of course, the Anita of the earlier books, as she has changed as a character. In this book Anita struggles a lot with how her preternatural powers interfere with her vampire slaying. You see that Anita is getting tired of killing and you see how she struggles with the fact that she now sees monsters as people with feelings and problems. She is also struggling with how to deal with the fact that she has so many people to take care of that need her (all those guys) and never gets a moment of alone time.

Edward is excellent in this book, as always. Olaf is super creepy and bothers me as a character, but I think that is his purpose. About 2/3rds or maybe even 1/2 way through the book a lot of metaphysics starts happening; then sometimes Anita starts channeling a bit of Meredith Gentry if you know what I mean. You see a lot of the Wicked Truth (Truth and Wicked take center stage for much of the end of the book). There are many different colors of weretigers involved also. This book actually wraps up a lot of major plot points rather nicely and leaves me wondering what the next book will be about.

One of the bad things about this book (because it is by no means flawless) is that Anita spends an inordinate amount of time "proving herself" to the other good guys because she is a woman. This is something I thought we worked out in earlier books but apparently it is still an issue Anita has trouble handling. I am also not sure sometimes what all the creepy scenes with Olaf were about; maybe they were there to prove that if Anita can relate to Olaf than she is definitely a monster and can understand monsters...I am not sure. I also missed Jean Claude; he was present mainly in passing and he mainly spent time whining that Anita should have told him she was leaving. Richard is not mentioned one iota, which I actually count as a positive.

Overall I actually enjoyed reading this book and liked it. The way it ends really made me wonder what is next for Anita though. I also constantly question how long this series is going to continue; last I heard it was contracted for 22 books...if anyone knows let me know.

Swallowing Darkness by Laurell Hamilton (4/5 stars)

This is the seventh book in the Merry Gentry series by Laurell Hamilton. It is the only Laurell Hamilton book for a long time that I really actually liked. This book was on par with some of the earlier novels in the series. The plot really progressed and the book overall could have wrapped up the series for good. Although I know "Divine Misdemeanors" is out later this year; I am not sure what to expect from that book since this book wraps up most of the big issues remaining in the series.

This book starts right where "A Lick of Frost" left off. Merry is in the hospital recovering from being raped by her uncle. Gran comes to visit her but something is wrong with Gran and Gran tries to take out Merry's men. All of this leads to Merry and Sholto summoning the Wild Hunt and going off on the ride of their lives. Miracles abound and great battles are fought; Merry shows her tough side even as she tries to protect the twin babies she carries.

This book spends a lot of time with Sholto and the slaugh; which I loved because the slaugh are probably the most interesting group in faerie. This book covered a lot of ground. Lots of really neat fairy magic happens and great relics of fairy are returned to Merry and her guards. There was a lot more action and fighting in this book than in any of the previous books and a lot less sex. I personally thought it made for a wonderful book.

Merry really toughens up and you start to see her strength. She starts to really exercise her special abilities and use her hands of power. The book proceeds at breakneck speed and you are thrown from battle to battle and from miracle to miracle as the Goddess makes her presence strongly known.

My biggest complaints about the book would be that Merry calls on the Goddess a lot; it almost seems like Merry can't solve anything without the Goddess's help. Also at multiple points in the book, despite her new-found toughness, Merry spends the majority of a fight laying underneath a guard while the guard takes the majority of the physcial battle damage and Merry can't see what is going on. Other than that this book was way better than any of the recent ones.

I also mentioned that this book basically ties up all the loose ends of the series. It would be a great place to end the series. Now that I know another book is coming out I am really confused about what more is going to happen, and a little worried that the series will, yet again, take a turn for the worse.

Blood Noir (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 16) by Laurell Hamilton (2/5 stars)

This is the sixteenth book of the Anita Blake series with no end in sight. Why do I read this series? I ask myself that a lot. I am now getting them from the library because I am not willing to spend money on them. I think I read this series because I like the characters and I am curious as to how the whole mess that is Anita's life will be resolved (will it ever be resolved may be a better question).

In this book Jason's dad is dying and Anita travels with him to visit his dad in order to show support for Jason. Unfortunately upon arrival to Jason's home town it ends up that a man named Keith Summerland (who looks identical to Jason and is a colossal jerk) is in town for his wedding. Most of the book deals with Jason being mistaken form Keith and the ramifications of that. Of course Anita and Jason also have to spend many, many, many long pages confronting their relationship and if it is a friendship or if it's more. Things get dangerous when some vampires gunning for Keith end up targeting Anita and Jason. Then, of course, Marmee Noir has to rear her ugly head and add in a ton of strange paranormal junk (oh yes and more guys for Anita to add to her harem).

For the most part this book was boring. So much page space was given to Anita and Jason hashing and re-hashing their relationship that it was ridiculous. The whole mistaken identity premise that propelled the plot of the book was contrived and unlikely and in general kind of came out of no-where. All of the interesting parts with Marmee Noir happened in the last fourth of the book and were quickly shoved in. There were less sex scenes than in previous book, and the ones that were in here were pretty poorly done. All in all I think this book could have been 20 pages and said all it needed to say. Like previous books this one covers a time span of only a few days.

There were some positive aspects to the book. It was nice to learn some of Jason's back story and to learn about his family. You also learn a bit more about Anita's childhood. The end of the book showed that things are coming to a head with Marmee Noir and this (again) made me curious enough that I will probably read the next book. Truthfully I am just hoping that this series comes to a close in the next couple years. I am not sure there is much good left to read about these characters.

Will I read the next book? Of course. But I will get it from the library. These books are no longer keepers and are to be quickly read and then gotten rid of.

A Lick of Frost by Laurell Hamilton (3/5 stars)

Ah, the next book in the Meredith Gentry series (book #6 if you want to keep track). This is a series that I read because I like reading about the Seelie and Unseelie courts. I am not sure why else I read it. The plot is complex and interwoven and the characters interesting. Meredith herself is an interesting contrast of personality traits. Like most of Laurell Hamilton's books I think I can best review this by breaking it down into the good, the bad, and the ugly.

This series makes no secret about devoting itself to sex. Strangely this book was lacking in the proliferate number of pages devoted to sex scenes. There were a measly two sex scenes; no sex until around 200 pages into the book...I mean wow! That's got to be a record. There is a lot of talking about sex. So onto the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The Good
- The plot moves...seriously the plot actually advances in this book (notice I didn't say quickly). A good portion of the 300+ pages are devoted to plot!
- We get to hear about Frost's past; I love Frost and I loved hearing about his past.
- Amazing fairy things continue to happen and amazing creatures are introduced
- The book focuses on 4-5 of Merry's "men" instead of having her sleep with a plethora of them
- The Red Cap goblins are back; I love them.

The Bad
- Continuous rants about how every kind of sex is acceptable take up loads of page space. We get it, S&M can be a good thing, multiple partners can be fun...now let's move on.
- Merry humoring her thousand year old boyfriends' need for constant emotional support; geez if I had to try and not to hurt the feelings of 20 guys at once I guess it would take time...but does it have to take up soooo much page space???

The Ugly
- Merry's guards seem to never be around to guard her when something extremely bad happens...what it up with that!
- This whole book, like the last two, spans a time frame of maybe a day.
- Rumors are that Swallowing Darkness is not the end, we will continue to be tortured by this incredibly strung out story.
***SPOILER START****
- Much of the book is taken up preparing with you for a sex scene between Merry and the goblins but it doesn't lead much of anywhere.
***SPOILER END*****

Okay so, in general this book had more plot and less sex than I was actually expecting so that is a good thing. It focused more on characters I like and less at throwing in a billion new men for Merry to have at it with. All-in-all I wasn't disappointed. I read a ton of paranormal genre books and these books are still very creative and reasonably well-written compared to most of them. I know it's easy to gripe about the lack of plot, etc. etc. I am guilty of that too; still Hamilton is a good writer. I mean how many other people have made erotica hit the New York Times bestseller list?

I'll read the next book because I am a sucker for the characters. I am hoping the series doesn't drag on for too much longer though. Seems to me the overall story could come to an end soon.

Mistral's Kiss by Laurell Hamilton (3/5 stars)

This book is the fifth book in the Meredith Gentry series by Laurell Hamilton. I am really not sure why I read this series. I think part of the reason why is that I have always been intrigued by the Unseelie and Seelie fairy courts. This series is one of the best ones for delving deep into traditional-type fairy culture. Unfortunately a lot of this series is also devoted to sex. Lots and lots of sex. Which I guess is okay since the whole point of the series is for Merry to have a heir. I don't think people should still be complaining about their being too much sex in these books. These books made no secret about what they were about from the very beginning and if you don't like the sex you probably shouldn't still be reading them!

This book spends a lot of time dealing with three of the fairy members; Mistral, Abeloec, and King Sholto. With Mistral's entrance to the sex scene there is a little tame S&M introduced into the book. The sithen continues to act oddly in response to Merry's prescence. Merry's guard continues to gain godlike powers by sleeping with her. There is some plot development but oddly the book is very, very short. I think it took maybe 3-4 hours to read it. I agree with some other reviews I have read that this should not have been a stand alone book.

I am strangely intrigued by Merry's guards all turning back into gods. I mean in the end what will that make Merry considering she is not fully sidhe? It continues to be an interesting series, but I have learned not to expect a whole lot from these books. They are fun and quick and at least Merry's character has been fairly consistent throughout the series. When I read the Anita Blake books sometimes I feel like Merry has been creeping into Anita's character and it bothers me.

So all in all, the book was okay. I am glad I waited to buy it used. This book was exactly what I expected, which is to say it wasn't awful but it wasn't anything extraodinary either.

The Harlequin by Laurell K. Hamilton (3/5 stars)

Okay so I am sucker. I asked for this hardcover Anita Blake book for Christmas; after swearing never to buy another hardcover book from Hamilton again. Although I guess *I* didn't buy it.

This is the 15th (yes, count them, 15th) book in the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series. In this book both Anita and Jean Claude are contacted by the Harlequin who is some type of elite vampire special force that the vampire council sends out to get people they don't like. Somehow this is mixed up with some vampires from Malcom's Church of Eternal Life getting framed for murder. The book follows Anita, Jean-Claude, and the whole complicated bunch of their associates as they try to figure out how to survive the Harlequin, how to figure out what the Harlequin wants, and how this all ties into the Church of Eternal Life. Also Marmee Noir makes a couple more appearances as her interest in Anita grows.

Good Stuff:
- Anita is actually at her office; yes she does work.
- Edward is in this book...I don't think that needs any more explanation.
- Olaf is in this book. He is here in all his glorious creepiness; still he is a very interesting character.
- There is a plot, kind of.
- There is a lot more action; the guns are out in full force.
- Requiem is developed more as a character
- Nathanial is becoming a force to be reckoned with
****Two spoilers, but the best positives*****
- The nasty ardeur that has forced Hamilton's hand into so many gratuitous sex scenes is finally looking up. What you mean that arduer can be love and not just lust? You mean people can love things and other people without screwing them? Yes, that is what it happening. Maybe she heard the readers cry for some sanity.
- Could Richard actually be out of the loop for good? Oh that would be wonderful!
****End spoilers****

Bad
- Still lots of rambling metaphysical scenes in this book
- Still lots of whining from Anita about how she hates sleeping with so many different guys
- The addition of a couple newbies added to Anita's already long list of bedding partners.
- Where is Anita's friend Ronnie; did they ever make up after their huge fight?
- The intense conversation that Anita and Asher were supposed to have (despite him almost killing her in the last book) is completely absent; in fact Asher is only present in passing.

So in summary this book is better. It is still definitely not up to par with the earlier books; but it is getting there. There is a lot more action, a lot more gore, and a lot more horror in this book. There is also the presence of Edward and Olaf that make things way more interesting. These two items hark back to the early books of the series.

Still there is a lot of metaphysical baloney; all of the stuff about Anita having multiple strands of lycantropy in her bloodstream had best be leading somewhere because a lot of time is spent on this. There is a lot of sex, and it is with different men than in the past books. The minimal presence of Asher and Jason is very noticeable in this book. Although the changes that are brought about to the ardeur at the end of the book lead me to think that there might be an end to this sex-filled escapade; maybe this is a trend toward future books being filled with all the supernatural action-filled-gore that made these book so great in the beginning.

If you are still reading this series, this could be the change of pace you are looking for. I have my fingers crossed that the next book continues on the improvements of this one.

Danse Macabre by Laurell Hamilton (2/5 stars)

This is another book which I finished about 3 weeks ago. Once again I have posted by review from amazon below.

I have to start out with saying what many other reviewers have said. I love the Anita Blake novels. I have devoted a great part of my life into reading and re-reading the series. That being said the latest books have been a disappointment. The sex involved in them doesn't really bother me; it's more the lack of story. Unfortunately I am a bit behind on the series because I have been waiting to buy the latest Anita Blake books until I can get them in paperback...used. That's how valuable these latest books have been to me; that being said there were some positives to this book. I just can't seem to give up the series yet. So I will try to create a quick list of negatives and positives.

Negatives
- What does Anita do for a living? There is no police work and no animating in this book.
- How many more strange relationships can we handle? The number of weird relationships that Anita is involved in is getting so ridiculously complicated that I am going to have to start keeping a character map to keep it all straight.
- Do we care about the sex scenes between her and all the men? Okay the men are tasty sounding and it's nice that they are having fun; but the sex scenes are all the same. If you are going to have that many lengthy sex scenes they should be more imaginative.
- Are we ever going to span more than a few days in these books? The plot (what there is of it) is moving incredibly SSSLLLOOOWWWW.
- Is anyone else sick of Richard? I know I am.

Positives
- I really did enjoy some of the character development for Nathaniel. He has always been one of my favorite characters and I love that he had more of a main role in this book.
- I also enjoyed some of the character development between Anita, Jean-Claude, and Asher. Some of this was really interesting; albeit a bit drawn out.
- I do find Anita's growing powers interesting.
- I liked the inclusion of some additional supernatural races; the mermaids and were-lions.

All that being said. Will I read the next book? Of course I will; I am 14 books into the series it will take more than 3 bad books for me to let go. I have high hopes for Harlequin as I have heard there is *finally* more action in that book.