A Review of Bullet by Laurell K Hamilton

Finally Anita is back home with all her main men. After a couple books with Anita being out of town or focused on other things it was so wonderful to have Jean-Claude, Nathaniel, Micah and even Richard back in the story.

Bullet puts Anita back in St Louis, back in the Circus of the Damned and back in Jena-Claude's bed. And to every one's surprise Richard joins them along with Asher. It's almost too good to be true but never looking a gift horse in the mouth they accept Richard back without much hassle and take what they can get while he's offering because as fickle at the wolf king can be they know he can change his mind in the blink of an eye.

The bad news is they don't get to languish in the afterglow because all hell breaks loose when Marme Noir comes knocking using Belle Morte's body and the Lover of Death's body. They thought they were done with Marme Noir after blowing her body up over a year ago but her essence spread out and is now taking over the Vampire Council members as she uses them to do her evil bidding. Her ultimate goal seems to be to either control or destroy Anita and Jean-Claude. If she can't have one she'll take the other.

Jean-Claude, Anita and the rest of the men and those in their circle of power have to cooperate so they can gain enough power to battle the Mother of all Darkness and defeat her- or at least push her back long enough for them to gain enough power so they can finally defeat her for once and for all.

It's a non stop power struggle and as always for Anita and Jean-Claude sex is power and they use it well.

So yes the sex is back though not as descriptive as before it's still hot enough to steam up your reading glasses but at least now the sex has more of a purpose than some of the books where the sex seemed to take over the story.

I love that Hamilton brought everyone back together and even a couple new and unique players. I am really interested in the new lion they bring to their bed. He seems "interesting".

The bad thing about Bullet is that I did not feel this was one of Hamilton's finest Blake books. Some of the writing was very repetitive. She explains a couple of things repeatedly which was annoying because I was like "uhm got it the first time okay"

Some things were also confusing. I don't know if I just got confused or if the writing was that confusing- for instance on one page she mentions Damian doing something before he had to "die for the day' and on the very next page she's talking to someone about Damian being a daywalker since he is her servant. Hello? Am I the only one that found that to be confusing? If he's a daywalker why does he have to die fir the day? He wouldn't not if he's a daywalker.

And the repeated description of Anita's cleavage being referred to as "creamy goodness" made me very annoyed. I don't know why but once it rankled, twice made me twitch, the repetitive use of it was grrrrr.

So all in all Bullet brought the main storyline of Anita's life back into focus with all her men and the power struggles- thank god for that because while I enjoyed the sideline story lines and secondary plots of her out of town adventures and whatnot- I like to see the main story go forward. And yes I realize that some of the secondary stories tie into the whole and serve their purpose but sometimes it is such a small purpose and it occurs in a big long book. But I guess that's ok because it gives me something hard edged to read.

Win It Wednesday: Ardeur edited by Laurell K Hamilton

This week I have something extra special- a mid week giveaway.

I don't usually do Win It Wednesdays but this is a special giveaway. Laurell K Hamilton is one of my favorite authors and this collection of essays about her and her Anita Blake series is just awesome.

I love intellectual discussions on the books I read. I have a literary background (having suffered through several honors English and literature classes back in college and high school) and I sometimes miss looking at books and dissecting them, when I normally now read purely for entertainment purposes.

Laurell K Hamilton and Anita Blake brought me back to reading- fiction anyway. For many years I was an avid reader then my life changed and reading wasn't something I had time for. Not unless it involved research, work, or was just your basic magaizne reading. I didn't read mucg fiction anymore. I had gotten bored with what was available I guess.

But I just kept hearing about Anita Blake.

So finally I went to the library and found LKH's books on the shelves. The only Anita Blake book they had was Cerulean Sins. I was shocked, entranced and completely hooked. Finally a book that got me excited about reading again. I finished that book then ordered the entire series and read them in order from then on. And now I read every book that comes out- faithfully.

Laurell K Hamilton brought me back to reading and introduced me to the world that is now known as urban fantasy (ya'll can pretty much thank her for creating this sub genre and giving us the first true kick ass supernatural heroine). You can also thank her for leading me back to the world of paranormal fiction books which eventually led me to create this site. Funny how things work isn't it?

Anyway this book rocks and to showcase that I am offering this wonderful Win it Wednesday giveaway.




Ardeur

14 Writers on the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Series

Edited by Laurell K. Hamilton

Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series is a literary sensation, thanks to its strong female hero, well-fleshed (both literally and literarily) characters and unabashed attitude toward sex. The world Hamilton has created is powerfully compelling and stunningly complex—and it gets deeper and richer, and more perilous, with every book.

Straddling the series’ dominant themes of sex and power, Ardeur gives Anita fans a deeper look into the dynamics, both personal political, that have kept readers fascinated throughout the run of the series. Why is the ardeur the very best thing that could have happened to Anita, personally (aside from all the sex it requires her to have with hot men)? How is Anita’s alternate United States a logical legal extension of our own? And as the series continues, what other bargains might Anita have to make with herself and others in order to keep the people she loves safe from harm?

The book contains these essays:

Giving the Devil Her Due by Nick Mamatas
Girls Gone Wild by Heather Swain
Ambiguous Anita by Lilith Saintcrow
Dating the Monsters by L.Jagi Lamplighter
Bon Rapports by Marella Sands
Mom! Something's Sucking on My Neck! by Cathy Clamp
The Other Side of the Street by Alasdair Stuart
The Domestication of a Vampire Executioner by Natasha Fondren
Ardeur's Purpose by Devon Ellington
Trying the System by Melissa Tatum
Are the Fangs Real? by Mikhail Lyubansky, Ph.D.
Death Becomes Her by Sharon Ashwood
Death's Got Your Back by Vera Nazarian
Showing the Scars by Jacob Clifton

Open to US Shipping

Contest Closes Tuesday April 27 Midnight EST

Winners Announced on Wednesday April 28

+5 entries for being a Fang-tastic Books Follower

+5 entries for blogging about this contest

+5 entries for including a link to this contest on your blog, twitter,
or Facebook

+5 entries for adding my link back button to your blog

+5 for being a @RoxanneRhoads twitter follower

A Review of Flirt by Laurell K Hamilton

.5


Flirt was probably one of LKH's shortest books, a super fast read and I do mean fast. I read it cover to cover in 3 hours. It was a surprise book in the series that came to LKH after dining out with some flirtatious friends. The whole story of the inspiration appears at the end of the book.

I liked it, it was a nice side step from Anita's normal everyday dealings with master vampires and power struggles- not saying that this book lacked the violence or sex that she is known for though it was a little soft on the sex compared to many books that have been sex scene after sex scene. This one was actually filled with drama and sexual tension, not just sex. And it all had nothing really to do with Anita's regular menagerie of men.

So don't go into this book expecting any character development from the other men in her life. Anita does come to an emotional breakthrough point (maybe several) which are long overdue.

Flirt is more like the books when Anita goes off with Edward and leaves her men behind, in this one even Edward was missing and an entire cast of new characters-which will probably never be seen again save for one- were introduced.

I must admit I am really beginning to miss Jean-Claude and Asher and would love to see more of Nathanial and Micah.

All in all it was a great book, true Anita at her finest.

A Review of Divine Misdemeanors by Laurell K Hamilton

In the 8th Merry Gentry Book by Laurell K Hamilton Merry has turned down the thrown of the Unseelie court and exiled herself to LA along with anyone who wanted to be away from the craziness and danger of the sidhe courts.

The exile is so far quiet with no one threatening Merry or her men but she has had to return to working for the Gray Detective Agency to earn money to support everyone who is now in their clan. The book opens with Merry being called in to consult on a homicide case where several small demi-fey have been killed and posed like a storybook illustration- exactly like one.

Working on the case puts Merry and her people in the spotlight and the paparazzi are becoming more hazardous than the enemies. at every tun they have to be careful of human paparazzi and inhuman threats- this keeps them on alert.

Merry is pregnant though not showing yet and this also throws a bit of a wrench into everything because the effects of the pregnancy are starting to catch up with Merry including tiredness and morning sickness.

Throughout the book Merry is working trying to solve the fey serial killer case while keeping herself and her people safe while those amongst her want to squabble over power. The Goddess makes herself know through Merry several times and the sex is really back in this book- though lacking some of the intensity it has had in previous books.

I feel the book focused more on sex and violence then the actual plot and storyline and several parts were very repetitive. I found myself thinking "yeah, you've said that already-several times" I also felt this book was much more "telling me instead of showing me" than previous books in the series. Sure Merry's voice has always been dominant but in this book it was distracting... so much repetition.

The ever growing cast of characters has reached a confusing level as well. Other than her closest men, her inner circle of lovers, the rest of the cast needs to be tamed. Too many are becoming filler and detracting from the story not to mention have you racking your brain trying to remember exactly who everyone is and where they fit into everything.

So while I still enjoyed the book and did not want to put it down until it was finished I was left feeling a little less than satisfied with what this book contained. It opened more doors, more questions and while it completed the main story of this book, the murder, it left me wanting something else, something more...something that wasn't fulfilled.

Review of Skin Trade by Laurell K Hamilton

Skin Trade, Book 17 of the Anita Blake series, again takes Anita away from home and away from the men in her life, at least her main men.

After receiving a head in a box that was shipped to her at Animators, Inc from a Las Vegas address, Anita calls the Las Vegas police and finds that the head belonged to their vampire executioner and the killer left a note in blood on the wall at the crime scene for Anita. The killer isn't subtle at all, he clearly wants Anita and Anita has a pretty good idea that the killer is Vittorio, a really powerful vamp she's tangled with before.

Without much thought Anita leaves St Louis without telling any of her sweeties, except Jason, goodbye. She knows Jean-Claude will be super angry when he awakes to find her gone but hey it's her job, right?

Soon Anita is in Vegas and reunited with Edward, AKA Ted Forrester US Marshal, along with his crew-Olaf and Bernardo.

I love when Edward is in the picture, there's something about him that really makes me want to know more. He and Anita have such an intense and complex relationship which is odd because he's the only guy she never thinks about sleeping with. In this book their relationship is scrutinized and becomes even more odd and questionable but they always have each other's back. The creepy part is Olaf, he is so weird and gives me the heebie jeebies, much like he does Anita only worse. And to make matters worse, Olaf like likes Anita. Not like as in wants to kill her but likes as in wants to date/be with her. That makes him even creepier. Edward has to run interference between them and try to keep Olaf from getting too close to Anita.

The police are very leery of Anita in Vegas and question the heck out of her before she can do a thing. After getting through 20 million questions and tests she is trying to figure out what killed the members of the SWAT team and their vampire executioner while being pulled by the tigers in the city and deciding how to handle going into the Max, the Master of the City's home with his tiger wife, Chang Bibiana. Anita now has several types of tiger inside her that all want the tigers she feels in the city. Top all that off with the psychics in the area that keep trying to get Anita to let down her shields so she can be tested and that when that happens Marme Noir comes crashing through. Which is never, ever, good.

So as always Anita is being pulled in a hundred different directions and being set up for danger from numerous enemies all while trying to figure out the crime and catch the bad guy.

I liked that LKH seems to be taking Anita back to her roots, kicking ass and taking names without the overload of sex, sex, sex. Which don't get me wrong, I love the sex scenes but when you read one of the books and it's nothing but a non stop orgy and almost nothing else...well it can grate on your nerves when you were hoping for some good plots and story lines to twist around in your head. In Skin Trade you get about 3/4 through the book before hitting a sex scene, woo hoo! Instead you get a lot of action and character development along with a lot that will just add to the overall wonder of what is next and what is up with the characters.

Edward is such a complex character I can't wait to see where LKH goes with him. Olaf, I can do without but he so adds to the creep factor.

I have to admit though after two books in a row with Anita out of town I am missing her main squeezes. I really like Micah and Nathaniel and miss them. I also miss Jean-Claude and even miss the interaction with Richard, though I hate Richard's character flaws... and they are many.

***Possible mini spoiler ahead***

It was interesting to see Anita interact with the tigers and with a few vamps she never really has before. And I can't wait to see what happens back in St Louis since Anita goes home with more baggage than she left with...aka more men. Just what she needs. Especially when throughout the book she laments on the fact that she is never alone and can not be alone since she needs to feed the ardeur.

Anita also seems to be losing steam, she grows tired of the death and chaos and being the bad guy, the monster that kills the other monsters but she also realizes she is what she is and can't run from herself. Anita's character has grown and changed so much since the first book and I am glad LKH has no plans on ending the series anytime soon. I just hope the books stay more like this, lots of action, plots, and subplots with some sex tossed in. Yes the sex scenes are hotter than freaking hot but I crave a storyline, I want more interaction than who's doing who.

The one thing I did not like about this book was that a few things were very anti-climactic for me...like the end and the whole deal with the Mother of Darkness, though that can't be the last we'll hear from her...could it? I just expected...more I guess.

Anyway, Skin Trade proves why LKH books debut on the NYT bestseller list. This was old school, hardcore Anita Blake at her best.

River Front Times Piece About Laurell K Hamilton

St Louis' River Front Times posted an amazing piece about New York Times Bestselling author, Laurell K Hamilton today, read it here.

This was the best, most detailed piece about LKH that I've seen. Of course it being her home area publishing the piece they really had the chance to focus on her.

If I wasn't totally enamored with her and her work already this article would have made me fall for her (literally speaking of course, as in literature, hers). I really admire LKH's work, her drive, and her determination. She is a brave soul, a true survivor.

I also love that she is very open about being a Wiccan. I think it is so cool she married her husband in a Wiccan ceremony.

I also like the detail they give to Anita Blake though they only mention the Merry series briefly, of course the Anita series is the most popular.

Anyway, you must go read the article, it is long, detailed and a wonderful profile of LKH.