Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Crimson Death by Laurell k Hamilton Review and Giveaway

Crimson Death  (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #25)Crimson Death by Laurell K. Hamilton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love books featuring Edward that means there is going to be some kickass action...outside the bedroom.

25 books and I'm still hoping for more...LKH never disappoints. This is one of my all time favorite series and I'll continue reading every new book that comes out.

I ignore all the drama with readers complaining about too much sex and not enough story. While I do agree that a few of the books had so much sex that the overall arc of the series and characters didn't seem to advance any, the books are always entertaining, even if I have a hard time keeping all her lovers straight. Good grief it's hard finding time for one significant other let alone a whole houseful of them.

But this one was light on the sex and heavy on the drama, action and character advancement.

We see a whole new side to Edward/Ted in Ireland as he is reunited with an old frenemy in the business of being a badass. I always love learning more about Edward. He is such a mysterious character.

The triumvirate of Anita, Damien and Nathaniel starts experiencing great changes in metaphysics and magic. New powers are appearing, and Nathaniel and Damien really grow in this book as stronger characters and more powerful entities. Nathaniel demonstrates that he's not the soft little kitten everyone always thought he was. Turns out this kitty has claws no one expected. And Damien has more layers than we've ever seen before.

Damien's maker in Ireland, She-Who-Made-Me, AKA M'Lady, has either lost her power or her mind as a steady string of vampires are rising in Ireland and killing innocents leaving bodies for the local law enforcement to find.

Edward is on the scene and wants Anita by his side but the Irish are worried about bringing in Anita's brand of help since she is an executioner, a necromancer and in bed with the vampires.

As Edward fights to get Anita access to Ireland, Anita has to fight to convince Damien to go with her to Ireland. He's terrified of falling back into the clutches of his sadistic maker. To add more drama to the mix, Nathaniel insists on being part of the crew.

Anita has always tried to keep Nathaniel out of harms way, one because he is one of her main loves and also because she feels he is the weakest of her men, the one who needs protecting the most. But he insists on being there as part of their triumvirate and to keep Damien calm and protected.

Just getting to the point where everyone agrees on the trip to Ireland and who is going to Ireland with Anita takes up half the book. And boy is this book long. I do feel some of the Anita inner dialogue and ongoing poly relationship drama could take a sideburner so the main story has more focus.

The drama that ensues once they reach Ireland brings up a few new plot bunnies and character threads that I hope are revisited in future books while also furthering the overall story of Anita's own character growth as well as the changes and growth of powers for her and her men.

But once the story gets to Ireland it really picks up and moves at a quicker pace, with more action, more drama, and more must read pages that you won't want to put down until you find out what the hell happens.

This was a great addition to the series.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.


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2 comments:

Anne said...

I've read all the full length books except for this latest release. I think I'd like to go back to the beginning. I really liked the first 4 or 5 books the most (before it got all sex crazy then bogged down with too much relationship blather). So, I'd like Guilty Pleasure. I actually remember wishing Anita got some action, those were the days.

Stormy Vixen said...

I would love to have Dead Ice!

 
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