Gwen’s review of Flirt (Anita Blake Vampire Hunter, Book 18) by Laurell K. Hamilton
Urban fantasy hardcover released by Berkley 2 Feb 10

Fans of Hamilton’s Anita Blake novels will love this short side entry.  This is a novel-length short story in the very sexy, very violent world of Anita Blake.  If you’re following this series and are getting (have gotten) tired of the crazily complicated storyline, you’ll enjoy this story.  It has almost none of the “bigger” picture and just tells us a good yarn.

The action in Flirt is almost solely centered on Anita’s necromancer ability. There is quite a bit of overlap in the plot to her newly developed shifter abilities.  This adds quite a bit of spice and is not complicated to follow if you just roll with it.  A new character or two is introduced who may become players in a later novel.

I liked Flirt because it had a beginning, middle, and end.  It’s a short novel, or a novel-length short story that deals with loss and love.  There is some redemption in the story, though it’s a darker redemption as is appropriate for the setting.

In Flirt Anita is kidnapped by a grieving spouse and forced to use her necromancer abilities.  This all has Anita in a decided snit and has separated mentally and physically her from her “sweeties”.  However, in true Anita fashion, she gets herself out of her pickle with the help of a lion shifter that Anita has bound to herself.

I love it when Hamilton focuses on a story and the storytelling is excellent in Flirt. I sucked it down in a day.  I highly recommend this book to anyone following the series and to anyone new to it who wants to see if they’d like it.  This entry stands alone well enough and would actually serve to tell a new reader if they like the author or story.

Grade: A

Read more reviews and information on this series here.

Summary:

When Anita Blake meets with prospective client Tony Bennington, who is desperate to have her reanimate his recently deceased wife, she is full of sympathy for his loss. Anita knows something about love, and she knows everything there is to know about loss. But what she also knows, though Tony Bennington seems unwilling to be convinced, is that the thing she can do as a necromancer isn’t the miracle he thinks he needs. The creature that Anita could coerce to step out of the late Mrs. Bennington’s grave would not be the lovely Mrs. Bennington. Not really. And not for long.

Read an excerpt here.

Other books in the series:

Gwen’s review of Skin Trade (Anita Blake Vampire Hunter, Book 17) by Laurell K. Hamilton
Urban fantasy hardcover released by Berkley 2 Jun 09

Laurell K. Hamilton is one of those “love her” or “hate her” authors.  It’s seldom that someone sits on a fence with her writing.  Her storytelling has changed enough over the last ten years or so for people’s opinions to also change – those that once loved her may now hate her and vice versa.  I’m a little more middle of the road with her – sometimes I love her and sometimes I wanna throw the book at the wall… usually more than once. PLEASE NOTE! THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS! 

This time around, contrary to recent reviews, I found myself loving her.  Skin Trade is a very fun story to read.  Sure there are things I’d have different or story elements that skeeved me out (the series is part horror novel), but there’s no doubt that Skin Trade is a very good book.  At least, for those of us on that side of that love/hate coin.

AGAIN! PLEASE NOTE! THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!

Skin Trade opens with Anita contemplating the head of a fellow marshal/vampire executioner sent to her as a gift from a sociopathic vampire in Las Vegas.  Anita also spends a good amount of time in Skin Trade contemplating her life – she’s sick of killing, sick of having to feed the ardeur to no seeming purpose, sick of her life in general.  She’s sick of being feared by beings she respects (vampires) and sick of being pursued by beings she attracts (tigers).  She’s sick of it all and you get the impression she’s a whisper away from saying “fuck it all” and just walking away from everything.

Haven’t we all been there?  Makes you wonder what’s going to happen in the next book to pull her out of her ennui and depression.  ‘Cause you know something will.

By the end of the book, many of the past books’ loose ends are resolved.  For example, I understand now why Anita attracts weretigers.  I understand more about the ardeur and why it is what it is, how it works.  I also have a better understanding of the whole Marmee Noir and Belle Morte dynamic.  I agree that the “power of the mighty orgasm” is a bit over the top, but, hey, VAMPIRES, WERES, MAGIC – we’re not exactly talking normal, human story elements here. The Mighty O (sorry Oprah) is just another one of them.

There is not a lot of sex in Skin Trade.  In fact, the first sex scene is roughly 3/4th’s of the way into the book and is almost the only explicit scene.  Anita has one other “possessed” orgy, that isn’t described explicitly, where she boffs the teenager weretiger.  Is it oogie? Yes. Is it important to the storyline?  Who knows yet.  I have a feeling that the next book in the series will explain this.  I probably could have preferred Hamilton made him a little bit older, but perhaps the age of this character will come into play later – we have to trust Hamilton to make it make sense.  The rest of the minimal sex in the book is in the climactic (heh) scene and is creepy, but fits the story.

The story elements that I had less patience for are the endless speculating and criticism of Anita’s personal life by her fellow law enforcement officials.  It is like the only people who had any understanding of her and her life were the non-human characters.  And that may actually be Hamilton’s point – Anita is no longer human enough to fit in with her fellows. But I did get heartily sick of the continual doubt and suspicion leveled at Anita.  Her professional reputation deserves better than that.  I, for one, hope she walks away from the marshal’s service and focuses on what she needs to do to get her life under control and emotionally support herself and her family.

If you’re an Anita Blake series fan, you must read this book – so many things are explained and so much is set up for a bang-up next book.  If you have never read an Anita Blake book before, you don’t want to start with this one.  While it’s very good story telling, it is a very complicated story that doesn’t lend itself to a newbie.

Grade: B+

Read reviews of, and information about, this and other Anita Blake Vampire Hunter novels by following the series’ tag.

Summary:
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When a vampire serial killer sends Anita Blake a grisly souvenir from Las Vegas, she has to warn Sin City’s local authorities what they’re dealing with. Only it’s worse than she thought. Ten officers and one executioner have been slain—paranormal style. Anita heads to Vegas, where’s she’s joined by three other federal marshals, including the ruthless Edward. It’s a good thing he always has her back, because when she gets close to the bodies, Anita senses “tiger” too strongly to ignore it. The weretigers are very powerful in Las Vegas, which means the odds of her rubbing someone important the wrong way just got a lot higher.
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Read an excerpt.

Other books in the series:

Liviania’s review of Skin Trade (Anita Blake Vampire Hunter, Book 17) by Laurell K. Hamilton
Urban fantasy released by Berkley 2 Jun 09

I started Skin Trade with high hopes.  The last Merry Gentry book, Swallowing Darkness, was high on plot and low on sex scenes that didn’t advance character development or plot.  Skin Trade also started like a redux of Obsidian Butterfly, sending Anita away from her harem to hunt monsters with Edward.  While everyone did seem unnaturally preoccupied with Anita’s love life, the first two-thirds or so were surprisingly devoid of any actual sex.  – DO NOT READ REVIEW UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE SPOILED -This wasn’t a great book, but far more solid than the rest of the Anita Blake books have been lately.   And then it all went downhill. For those who want to read the book, I’m going to give away the entire ending.  Why?  Because I want to explain why I think it makes the book not worth reading.  If you want to read the book no matter what, feel free to skip this review.  If you have already read the book or want to know why I was pissed off when I was finished, feel free to continue. (you were warned about the spoilers yes?)

Let’s start with the plot problems.  Laurell K. Hamilton has been building up to a confrontation between Anita and Marmee Noir for books.  I don’t remember how many, but for several the plot has stopped dead for the Mother of All Darkness to try to take over Anita/get her to sex someone up/etc. and have everyone talk about what a badass she is.  So how does their final confrontation go?  They chat on the astral plane, unnamed assassins destroy her physical body, Marmee Noir disappears.  Anita does fuck all to get rid of her.

But now we need a bad guy!  Why not turn serial killer Vittorio into her counterpart, who has been bound by her and forgotten?  There’s nothing like an all-powerful foe no one’s ever heard of!  But how will Anita get rid of him?  What will be really badass since the confrontation with Marmee Noir didn’t happen?  What if she uses . . . the power of ORGASM?  You see, the ardeur is an important plot point, not an excuse for pr0n!  LKH is a great author.

And you know, that’s not even why I hated the book.  I could’ve dealt with that – it tied off several plot points and provided Skin Trade with a self-contained story.  Not the world’s best, but somewhat entertaining.  And a disappointing climax would be better than the absolute lack of climax (well, plot climax) some of the Anita Blake books have had.

ANITA MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY RAPES A SIXTEEN YEAR OLD.  Don’t say it wasn’t rape; the kid had no way to give informed, rational consent.  That’s rape.  And so what if Anita is skeeved out that the kid is sixteen, which shows how much better she is than the characters who aren’t?  (Although I’m not sure she even angsts about him for half a page before moving on in a series that devotes chapters to angst.) It’s the fact that LKH felt it necessary to put it in the book.  It wouldn’t have affected the book if the character hadn’t existed, much less been aged up.  And it’s doubly creepy since LKH is proven to have drawn on her own life for some of Anita’s sweeties and what happens to them.  Yes, I do find it more disturbing since Anita is a self-insert Mary-Sue rather than a well-rounded character.

But I kind of want to thank LKH for having Anita rape a sixteen year old.  I can finally give this series up.  (Let’s just hope she doesn’t do something similarly awful to the Merry Gentry books.)

Grade: D-

Summary:
.
When a vampire serial killer sends Anita Blake a grisly souvenir from Las Vegas, she has to warn Sin City’s local authorities what they’re dealing with. Only it’s worse than she thought. Ten officers and one executioner have been slain—paranormal style. Anita heads to Vegas, where’s she’s joined by three other federal marshals, including the ruthless Edward. It’s a good thing he always has her back, because when she gets close to the bodies, Anita senses “tiger” too strongly to ignore it. The weretigers are very powerful in Las Vegas, which means the odds of her rubbing someone important the wrong way just got a lot higher.
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Read an excerpt here.

Other books in the series:

This just in…

We’ve just learned that Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake Vampire Hunter is going to be coming your way on TV next year!

~ The Independent Film Channel (IFC) will be airing the series sometime during the summer of 2010. Lionsgate and After Dark Films have signed on as producers of the project.

~ “I’m thrilled to be bringing my characters and world to television for the first time,” stated Hamilton. “After Dark Films, Lionsgate and IFC all push the boundaries on film. I push the boundaries on paper. I can’t wait to see what we can create together.”

~ “This unique partnership with Lionsgate, After Dark, Laurell and Glen continues IFC tv’s commitment to provide groundbreaking content that you cannot find anywhere else” said Evan Shapiro, president of IFC tv and Sundance Channel. “Anita Blake on IFC will offer a fresh and unique take on the genre; the type of approach that defines our brand.”

~ IFC is appealing to its core base of men ages 18-34 who are looking for vampire content. The popularity of the network in this demographic indicates that there is a clear demand for films that delve into provocative topics and nothing is more classically provocative than vampire lore.

~ More info here.

Consider yourself flashed.

Gwen’s review of Blood Noir (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 16) by Laurell K. Hamilton
Urban fantasy hardcover released by Berkley 27 May 08

I’ve heard people describe this book as “florid” and reviews using phrases like “growing sense of ennui”. I agree and I disagree. Read on to find out where I depart ways with other reviewers and where I think they may have a point… At the end of this post, there’s also a little bonus review of Hamilton’s 5 June 2007 release, Strange Candy – a single author anthology.

I’ve been reading Anita Blake novels for a long while. I wouldn’t say they’re an auto-buy, though I do always end up reading them and normally sooner than later. There’s a lot of things that I find compelling about Hamilton’s AB books – the paranormal elements, the kick-ass heroine who always seems to get more powerful, and interesting plot lines.

There’s a lot I don’t find so compelling about the Blake novels, too. Anita’s emotional dithering is, as always, painful to drag thru even if now she seems more at peace with herself than ever before. And can I say I hate Richard? I have always hated Richard. Sometimes he is sweet, but always he is annoying. I don’t understand Hamilton’s purpose behind leaving the Loser around and I hope she kills him off soon. I just don’t have patience for annoying men, whether in novels or real life.

In my opinion, the start of the last few AB novels have been almost lethargic and Noir is no exception. We spend the first half of the book examining Jason’s familial navel lint. For those of you who are unaware of who Jason is, he’s Jean-Claude’s pomme de sang (blood donor) and one of Anita’s good friends. Jason’s dad is dying and he talks Anita into going home with him to prove to his SOB of a dad that he’s not gay. There’s an awful lot alluded to and left totally unexplained about this part of North Carolina and Jason’s family – one of things that can really bug me about a book. I like nicely tied off loose ends, and, while the ends don’t have to end happy or even neatly, it’s nice to have just some identification of what that point meant or that it might mean something in the future.

After a sleepy first half, the book picks up considerable speed and ends with a full-out bang. I really love it when Anita’s bad side comes out. She’s so much more in control and so much more interesting. We’re still left hovering at the end of the book – not quite knowing what Belle Morte has in mind for our happy troupe, but I don’t imagine that will be left in question in the next book,

I recommend this book to any fan of the Anita Blake novels and to fans of LKH. While it could be read as a standalone, some some small amount of confusion, I don’t think it should. You need some of the background from the earlier novels to understand Marmee Noir and others.

Grade: B-

Summary:

A favor for Jason, vampire hunter Anita Blake’s werewolf lover, puts her in the center of a fullblown scandal that threatens master-vampire Jean- Claude’s reign-and makes her a pawn in an ancient vampire queen’s new rise to power.

Read excerpts here – links at the bottom of the page.

Gwen’s review of Strange Candy by Laurell K. Hamilton
Paranormal anthology released by Berkley 5 Jun 07 (hardcover 5 Oct 06)

This is a single author anthology released last year, containing 14 little tidbits from LKH. Among them are a couple of Anita Blake stories, a cute cupid story, a grimly funny story about a super hero turned villain, various other paranormal oddities, and many others – some short, some not. It’s an interesting little book that is worth picking up from a UBS or used from Amazon.com. I enjoyed it, though was underwhelmed a couple of times.

Overall Grade: C+

Summary:

The #1 New York Times bestselling author’s short story collection-including an all-new Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter story-now in paperback.

From a woman who marries into a family of volatile wizards to a couple fleeing a gang of love-hungry cupids, from a girl who seeks sanctuary in the form of a graceful goose to the disgruntled superhero Captain Housework, readers will revel in the many twists and turns of fortune in these fantastical fairy tales and lush parables. Even hardened vampire hunter and zombie animator Anita Blake gets blindsided by the disturbing motives of her clients in the new “Those Who Seek Forgiveness” and in “The Girl Who Was Infatuated with Death.”

No excerpt available.

Click on the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series tag or on Laurell K. Hamilton tag to read more about this series or this author.

We here in Romancelandia are complete series addicts. Once an author writes a well received book, her fans immediately start clamoring for more stories set in the same world. I think it would be correct to state that no two Romancelandians will ever have the exact same entries on their own Favorite Series list. 

Eclectic and fodder for debate, these are the series that leap to mind when I’m asked what my favorite reads are. The order I’ve listed them in is approximate as my preferences change based on my mood and what feels right at the time.

Bev(QB)’s All Time Favorite Book Series

1. Merry Gentry series by Laurell K. Hamilton. (Ballantine Books) This complex fantasy/urban fantasy showcases Hamilton’s unparalleled world building expertise. (see Review: A Lick of Frost)

2. Fever series by Karen Marie Moning. (Delacorte Press) I consider this fantasy/urban fantasy to be a master’s class in the use of first person POV. Brilliant.

3. Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton. (Berkley) Hamilton is one of the godmothers of what is now referred to as urban fantasy. Unlike most long-running series, I’ve known people to jump in this one – at any point with no problems. I started at book 9, Obsidian Butterfly, then went back and read them all – several times.

4. The Cynsters, particularly the Bar Cynsters (books 1-6) by Stephanie Laurens. (Avon) The crème de la crème of Regency era historical romances. In fact, I consider book 1, Devil’s Bride, to be closer to perfection than any other romance I’ve ever read. Its only glaring flaw is that unfortunate back cover pic (roll over the original cover in the link to see it). What were they thinking?!

5. Skye O’Malley saga by Bertrice Small. (Ballantine Books) The life and loves of an extraordinary woman and her family during the reign of Elizabeth Tudor. To read a Bertrice Small book is to instantly and completely be absorbed into the rich tapestry of the tastes, sounds, sights and lives she weaves together.

6. Breeds series by Lora Leigh(Ellora’s Cave and Berkley). When someone says they are new to ebooks, I recommend they start with this series. No one writes sexual tension and characters consumed by unquenchable need better than Lora Leigh. The intense erotic scenes are woven into the story of a not-quite-human species as they overcome the horrors of their past, and begin a journey to understand themselves as a species and as individuals, while also striving to find love and acceptance.

7. The Highlanders series by Karen Marie Moning. (Jove and Dell) Although they were always a highly enjoyable auto-buy for me, it is the audio books (with Phil Gigante’s swoon-worthy narration) that earn this series a permanent place on my list. (see Aural Pleasures 103)

8. The World of Hetar by Bertrice Small. (HQN Books) In this epic fantasy, Ms Small has created a world that is in some ways recognizable, yet vastly different from our own. Without the constraint of historical fact, she allowed her muse free rein to create this lusty, sweeping saga.

9. Jarheads by Sean Michael. (Torquere and Fictionwise) Sean Michael has a unique voice. He doesn’t give us much physical description of his characters, but somehow paints an emotional picture. We get to know them through their words and actions and I get completely caught up in the lives of these lovable and loving men. Rigger, whom I adore, is the heart and soul of the series and someone I’d like to count as a good friend in real life. One caveat though – there were times when even I said, “Enough with the sex, already! Get on with the story!”

10. The Donovan series by Elizabeth Lowell. (Avon) Still tapping my foot waiting for the rest of this contemporary romantic suspense series – including a look back at the elder Donovan’s love story. You know, I do believe I’m overdue for a re-read!

11. Brothers in Arms by Samantha Kane(Ellora’s Cave). The newest addition to my list. The erotic scenes in these Regency period bisexual manage stories are written in exquisite, excruciatingly drawn out detail. And Kane manages to make each scene feel completely unique to each triad.

12. What series will someday claim this last spot on my list? Is it a series I’ve already started? Maybe Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series or Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels series. A Gentleman’s Wager by Madelynne Ellis is already on my single title favorites list, but with its upcoming sequels and spin-off, will it land on my series list, too? Or maybe my next favorite series is waiting out there for me to discover it. Maybe it’s not even been written yet and is being nurtured by a muse waiting to bestow it on some worthy author.

Read more from Bev at Cubie’s Confections.

Okay I am easy… I will cry if this sucks. ETS: Was it ever confirmed that someone is dying in this one? Cuz I will just stop sqqquueee now if so. Anyone? Hell anyone still reading Anita?

Anita Blake is about to face the challenge of her life. Into her world – a world already overflowing with power – have come creatures so feared that powerful, centuries-old vampires refuse to mention their names. It is forbidden to speak of THE HARLEQUIN unless you’ve been contacted. And to be contacted by The Harlequin is to be under sentence of death.

Long-time rivals for Anita’s affections, Jean-Claude, Master Vampire of the City and Richard, alpha-werewolf, will need to become allies. Shapeshifters Nathaniel and Micah will have to step up their support. And then there’s EDWARD. In this situation, Anita knows that she needs to call the one man who has always been there for her…

and you know the one man left she hasn’t screwed…. Do you guys have any idea how hard it was to not add commentary to that? You know like after alpha-werewolf (pussy) and their support (aka fucking her)… although the CAPS are mine… well and any typos

geeze but really really really it makes me squeeee… but oh-my-fucking-gawd if she brings him back just to off him