Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter 30: Slay

Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter 30: Slay by Laurell K. Hamilton

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Not sure who the larger threat is here in some respects, the dragon, her Anita's own family. They're all more than a little lucky with that turn of events at the end, or her grandmother just may have gotten her wish, and killed more than a few people along the way given everyone was linked up psychically again, even if the marks weren't entirely fixed yet. Olaf seems to be the good guy for once, even if he still wants to hunt with Anita. Seems he may at least partially get his wish, though Edward would likely be along for the ride as well if they join the Harlequin hunting down the last of the known traitors. Both surprised and not with the outcome of the triplets, though really Ru seems to be the only one with any redeeming qualities at this point. Of course now we have to wonder what the next big bad enemy will be or if it will be a continuation of this arc as there can't ever be anything easy. Perhaps there will be some positive turns though with Asher now free and Richard seeming to hold to this new positive turn in his own therapy.

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Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter 29: Smolder

Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter 29: Smolder by Laurell K. Hamilton

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Of any of the characters, Richard is the biggest surprise this time around. He seems to have done nearly a complete 180 in his therapy and is making phenomenal strides in his understanding and attempting to be there for the people he cares about and his triumvirate. Perhaps most shockingly of all is his beginning to come out to some people as a werewolf, where that was something that was strictly not allowed at all and a large blocker to his participation in many of the situations where they needed wolf and Jason or someone else would have to act as a stand-in to pull from the pack ties. Ru shows promise as well, but Rodina seems to be becoming a larger problem. Still don't love the direction this has taken overall in the story arc, but it is good to see the main characters at least attempting to be more understanding and accepting, especially as it seems they will need all the power they can gather against this new threat.

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Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter 28: Rafael

Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter 28: Rafael by Laurell K. Hamilton

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Rafael is not like Anita's other beaus. For one, they started out as good friends and stayed that way for a long time before any of the "benefits" came into play. Rafael is also a lot more intentional about his choices and what he wants. It was a surprising change to see Narcissus also being rational when it came to the newest threat. Not so great to see Padma back, but suppose he had to show up at some point. Somewhat still curious to see if everyone was right and Rafael was just being gaslit going into the challenge regarding his relationship with Hector or if there had been some truth to the claims. Suppose it wouldn't have really mattered though as Hector did not turn out to be a character you wanted to survive the conflict. Anita may have found another similar power though with the bruja, and now we have more doors opened to explore for both the wolves (if Richard allows) and the leopards.... maybe the lions as well, though they seem to have a much different structure than the other predators Anita's works with and is tied to so far.

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Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter 27: Sucker Punch

Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter 27: Sucker Punch by Laurell K. Hamilton

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This one was a bit easier to get into if just because I went straight into it after finishing Serpentine. While in a completely different location, this one still brings the focus in on Anita and Olaf, with Olaf throwing some surprising curveballs that make Anita and Edward both reevaluate just what it may come down to in their interactions with Olaf.... kill or be killed.... or is he actually the new weretiger for Anita's group and everyone it's a case of everyone still protesting too much? Honestly, it would be a bit disappointing at this point given how big and bad Olaf is supposed to be for him to end up as another one of Anita's Brides or a common part of her poly group learning to share everything.

When it comes to the case that brings in 3 of the 4 horsemen after all 4 were just together on the last hunt, this one doesn't really rank well on the normal scale. Still ends up rather bloody and very disappointing, especially given all of the work and effort put into saving Bobby in the first place. It would have been interesting to see what may have played out with his character had the ending been different.

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Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter 26: Serpentine

Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter 26: Serpentine by Laurell K. Hamilton

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


This was a hard one to get into, in part because this series has largely lost the magic for me so I dragged to even pick it up out of my to-read pile. While there was a decent amount of Edward in here, given they're supposed to be at his wedding, the story seems to be more about Anita and Olaf and the men in Anita's life, and when we do see Edward, it's as much if not more as Ted than as Edward at least until the towards the very end where the hunt really gets going. Otherwise Ted is mostly off with someone else taking care of a different issue while Anita is trying to hold together fraying edges of her relationships with two of her main beaus and try to avoid being back on Olaf's menu. 

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Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter 24.5: Wounded

Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter 24.5: Wounded by Laurell K. Hamilton

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


On the plus side, this is one of the more tame stories. On the other side, it still has a lot of issues. Anita comes off as both happy and condescending to those not a part of her group, which seems in bad taste at a wedding. It's been well established that she never goes anywhere without her personal arsenal, but it still seems in poor taste to be flashing it at a wedding. I guess you could liken it to a cop carrying his sidearm, which I have seen, but it doesn't have the same ring to it. There's also the obvious lack of follow through. Mrs. Conroy states very clearly she's going to send her husband over and talk to Manny and Rosita about Anita carrying concealed at the wedding..... but we never see any of this. In fact, Anita and her two leopards decide not to disturb Manny and Rosita's dancing about Tomas and instead talk to the sister. Okay....

I guess the whole side conversation with Tomas helps him, or it seems to, but really it seems like an excuse to hash out everyone's bad histories again. Granted, the purpose is supposedly to highlight the benefit and possibilities of actually following doctor's orders and working to improve yourself, but that seems to be the icing on the proverbial cake.

Then of course Jean-Claude has to show up. Of course it's this big deal because he's the American king now and Anita's public fiance out of the whole group, but does he really belong in this scene otherwise? His past is tied in neatly to the whole bad past/having to survive bit with reference to his scars, but again, it's add on. Not to mention the whole hash about the gossip/media circuit and how careful they all have to be.... as they take over the center spotlight at someone else's wedding. Classy. Of course everything has to revolve around Anita and her men or it wouldn't be an ABVH story, right?

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Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter 25: Crimson Death

Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter 25: Crimson Death by Laurell K. Hamilton

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I used to love this series, but it has been waning for me. Several times I've considered dropping it, but I hate not knowing how something ends... except it doesn't appear to be anywhere near ending. There are so many extra characters now that just seem to take up time and space without moving things along or serving a purpose beyond filler, cannon fodder, and/or sex that it's aggravating. Eventually the story does get back into more work scenes, but Anita essentially has her hands tied from the start before even getting to Ireland, which does no one any favors when it comes to the final showdown. We even get a very brief glimpse of Asher which shows he might be coming back into the picture (hopefully in a more positive light). I originally loved Asher when he was introduced, so his character turns have been a big letdown. If anything in this book, the real highlight is the wedding talk and the improvement between Anita, Nathaniel and Damian in too many ways to count. Edward usually helps move things along in his own way, but he seemed to mostly be peripheral filler to keep place of the actual "investigation" in Ireland. At the end, I enjoyed it, but it definitely won't be hitting my re-read or favorite list.

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Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter 24: Dead Ice

Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter 24: Dead Ice by Laurell K. Hamilton

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

There are parts of this series that make me both love and hate it. Still not overly impressed with the emphasis on poly relationships. That isn't what the series started out about, and it rather annoys me that it's turned into slamming that into our faces over and over and over again.

On the plus side, more zombie work and seeing Anita work with the FBI and SWAT again. Okay, so she's facing yet another internal review at the end of the book, but that should turn out in her favor since she was green lighted for the shot by the operator of the rescue mission.

Max being Manny's unknown son with Dominga feels forced however. It might have been more believable if Manny hadn't talked about how he was glad he'd never allowed that to happen with her before he married his wife and how she had two nephews. After that it just seems a little too convenient. The link to Dominga is obvious in the power structure and how it's used however, so son or nephew, that much is believable. It's also a little hard to believe Manny would willing go brake the gris-gris against the law knowing that Max was his son, especially after he caved to requests not hunt vampires any more with Anita. Seems a conflict from his "newer" mild mannered personality. Maybe more in line with who he was as a wild child practicing with Dominga in the first place, though I couldn't say for sure since we didn't know his character back then.

Asher... where to even go with him. I loved him originally when he was introduced in the series. Now he just seems to be a hot button for so many issues that it's a wonder they haven't either shipped him off somewhere else permanently or killed him outright. Anita came probably the closest she ever has to that eventuality when she held her gun on Kane, but that's it. A little surprising that it was Nicky who talked her down from the trigger point, but I guess being a sociopath, he'd understand where she was in her head at that point the best of her group.

So I really can't say if I did or didn't like this book at the end of the day. There were pros and cons. A lot of it is still very muddled. I like the return to the actual work scenes since that was what the series was about in the first place. All the relationship stuff just seems to be so much drama added on top.

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Anita Blake Vampire Hunter 7: Burnt Offerings

Anita Blake Vampire Hunter 7: Burnt Offerings by Laurell K. Hamilton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is as far as I'm allowing myself to go in the re-reading adventure for now so I can get back to my to-read pile. 

This is the first book where we really get to interact with Asher, who admittedly is one of my favorites. Perhaps because he has all these flaws and emotions from the start, he begins as being one of the more humanized monsters instead of being wholly on one side or the other.

Anita also starts learning what it means to be queen of both the wolves and leopards on top of vampire human servant and necromancer - the titles just keep racking up. Manages to solidify her standing as a friend of the rats in the deal as well. If there is one thing going for Anita, it's that she is loyal. Sometimes stupid when it comes to personal choices, but loyal. Once you are on her protection list, you'd have to do some pretty heavy betrayal to get off of it.

The Traveler was interesting as far as the council members went. He also seemed the most sane and reasonable of the bunch. Warrick might have been interesting if he'd stuck around. Yvette and Padma are just pure anger, terror and fear. Given the situation, Anita was right to take Fernando instead of Padma, but I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't mind seeing him on a kill list if it wouldn't put their triumvirate and those dependent on them in even more danger.

Anita and Richard also start pulling some interesting rabbits out of their collective hats. This is the first time that we see Raina as a munin, and the first time the ex-couple really starts melding their powers for a purpose. Of course it was a dying situation that got Anita to join the triumvirate officially anyways and Jean-Claude had been shielding them from each other since then. These two obviously still have a lot to learn, including how to both live with the wolf inside Richard before it eats them both alive.

So much that went wrong and so much that went right. I'm glad Asher stayed and that he's talking to doctors about his scars since they are such an obvious source of insecurity and pain for him. Jason is starting to grow into a likable character at this point instead of the easy going pervert. Nathaniel is an interesting twist in to mix with his obvious need for a "keeper" beyond just an alpha. The dynamics just keep shifting and the group keeps growing... now would have been a good place to stop and keep the main characters that are already on deck.

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Anita Blake Vampire Hunter 6: The Killing Dance

Anita Blake Vampire Hunter 6: The Killing Dance by Laurell K. Hamilton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Pros: This book is very action packed, more fast paced and keeps you jumping from one scene to the next.

Cons: Anita is as wish-washy as ever while now being irrevocably tied to two "loves" of her life - one whom now hates her.

It seems as if Anita has finally chosen Richard. All that's left is for her to see him shift and the pack in action. Que a complete 180. Now not only is Jean-Claude not the resistible dead boyfriend she's been worried about dumping, but he's the actual lover and shield against angry now ex-boyfriend werewolf. Anita willing takes on the vampire marks again, despite often repeating that she would rather die first in previous books. Now she, Jean-Claude, and Richard make a rather useless and unhappy triumvirate. Just in time for them to take out the only other triumvirate seen to date that they might have learned something from. While I did not like either Dominic or Sabin, I did like Cassandra, so it's too bad she had to side with the loonies. Edward also shows more of his actual friendship with Anita this time around as he turns down a job to kill her in favor of protecting her instead. He's still scary and more than a little unstable (given his obvious love for hunting things that could kill him easier than he can pull his gun's trigger), but he does make an oddly fitting friend for Anita.

We also meet Damien and a few more of the wereleopards in this book. Something to take note of given their larger roles later on the series.

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Anita Blake Vampire Hunter 5: Bloody Bones

Anita Blake Vampire Hunter 5: Bloody Bones by Laurell K. Hamilton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Re-reading this for the first time in years, it doesn't hold me as much as it did the first couple of times through. Then again, I loved the series a lot more in general back then, where now I'm bordering on dropping it altogether because of the way the writing and characters have gone.

This is the first time that we see Anita go out of town for any reason. Her job this time around is supposed to be a simple zombie raising with her trainee, Larry, along for the ride. Of course it just wouldn't be a normal early book without Anita getting pulled into a police investigation and/or vampire hunt - in this case, both. Serephina has to be the scariest vampire seen so far. Between the number of master vampires she controls that she shouldn't have been able to, Magnus, and then Rawhead and Bloody Bones, not to mention the ghosts.... she is one scary lady. The first vampire in awhile that Anita hasn't been able to meet eyes with, let alone that's been able to roll her so easily. Even Oliver, who had Jean-Claude spread on a sacrificial alter, didn't actually manage to get him so close to true death. This is also the first big hunt that Edward does not show up for. Instead, Jean-Claude and Jason are the lonely duo out to ride to the human's rescue. This scene also is the first real introduction into the world of the faeries.

Jean-Claude and Jason are both portrayed as more human than monster this time around, along with showing a myriad of weaknesses that seemed non-existent previously. In the end, it's the humans that save the day. An interesting change of pace from the usual secret monster showdowns.

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Anita Blake Vampire Hunter 4: The Lunatic Cafe

Anita Blake Vampire Hunter 4: The Lunatic Cafe by Laurell K. Hamilton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The first book where Anita is really in a committed relationship on both sides. Too bad Jean-Claude is determined to ruin it for her... if her own insecurities about the true nature of lycanthropes doesn't do the job first. Despite all her knowledge and being long-term friends with werewolf/reporter Irving, Anita has never really seen what the were-world looks like from the inside or how they truly behave until now. Turns out Richard can try to be "human" all he wants; he still fits in with the monsters too (outside of being the only one who refuses to kill and seems to have a problem with others doing it as well). In this one regard, Anita actually fits in with the supernatural rules and blood lust better than her would-be sweetie. Unfortunately for her, a jealous vampire (Gretchen) and her engagement to to our favorite werewolf (Richard), put her at Jean-Claude's mercy to keep them all alive when he demands an equal opportunity to date her. As the saying goes: out of the frying pan and into the fire.

While all this personal upheaval is going on, Edward is back in town for another hunt (he's a regular at this point despite not being local) and Anita has bitten off more than she can chew between a police investigation and a personal job for the were community. Lucky for her they dovetail nicely into a resolution keeping most people happy... though maybe not so lucky if the damage to her personal life and the number of hospital visits made is any indication.

Not so much on her personal power front other than the power flare between Jean-Claude, Richard and Anita in her apartment - a precursor to the triumvirate days. There are references to her being "on the job" for Animators, Inc. More often though, it's complaining that the cases she's given are out of her experience/requirement level. Guess you can't be raising the dead all the time, even if it is the mains means of your living.

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Anita Blake Vampire Hunter 3: Circus of the Damned

Anita Blake Vampire Hunter 3: Circus of the Damned by Laurell K. Hamilton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is where the series really started picking up in the action and fleshing out the relationships more and more. Enter Richard, the "perfect" human match for Anita... only he's not human. We get a little taste of the friendship Edward and Anita share aside from their work personas. Jean-Claude comes across as just a little bit desperate in his bid to consolidate his power (especially bringing Anita to heel), but that's not overly surprising considering he's getting challenges from all fronts and is just starting to get some backing from the local werewolves (conveniently also his animal to call). While all this is going on, there's Alejandro and Mr. Oliver. Oliver seems too perfect to be true, but his "ideals" match up to Anita's perfectly.... at first. Turns out there are worse monsters out there than the ones our favorite Executioner is currently allied with. As usual, Anita puts her life on the line rather literally to fix her own mistake and save the city once again from monsters. Her views towards the end of the book don't seem as black and white (aka human vs. monster) as they originally were. The upside of all this drama? Anita is finally free from Jean-Claude's vampire marks - something they didn't think was possible short of full death.

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Anita Blake Vampire Hunter 2: The Laughing Corpse

Anita Blake Vampire Hunter 2: The Laughing Corpse by Laurell K. Hamilton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The re-reading kick continues. Despite Anita's obvious tie, and attraction, to Jean-Claude, this book is largely her avoiding him while he tries to bring her to heel (stupid decision) and she deals with a bunch of zombie mayhem. It is curious that her being near Jean-Claude amps up his own power now that she's his human servant, no matter how much she protests. Can't help but wonder if the reverse is true or if she really has just been in that much denial and delusion about her own abilities. There are slight hints of a softer side to Anita, event though she is still very much in the "survive first, ask questions later" mentality. With the way the series progresses, it's easy to forget how much I enjoyed the main duos little game of cat and mouse as they really learned about each other.

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Anita Blake Vampire Hunter 1: Guilty Pleasures

Anita Blake Vampire Hunter 1: Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Every now and then, something sets me off on a re-reading kick. This time, it was the nostalgia for the earlier books with less sex and more story/character development. The hammering at the poly-amorous views makes a little more sense now that I've found LKH is poly-amorous herself, though that doesn't make me enjoy the later books any more.

Despite Anita and Jean-Claude being such a large focus of this first book, it surprised me to recall just how small of a role Jean-Claude plays (given he's locked away the majority of the book). Edward's role, especially with his interaction with Anita, is much more business only and lacks a lot of the real friends input that you get later in the series.

Really, this books only true focus is Anita. Her powers, her job, how she views the few relationships she does have. I wonder if her line at the end of this book, "I am The Executioner, and I don't date vampires. I kill them" has come back to haunt her considering the position she ends up in. Her stubborn streak shows a bit more in this early part of the series, though there is also a certain amount of naivete that seems to have melted away the more she lives in the world of the dead. She also has realized the difference between being an animator or a necromancer at this point, which made a big difference in her own perception of her limitations and own abilities outside of her mystical ties.

One has to wonder if the only reason Jean-Claude marked Anita so early truly was her title as The Executioner. It certainly doesn't seem like they would have had enough interaction between a few rare police cases and Catherine's bachelorette party to warrant his apparent obsession with her otherwise. Anita hasn't pulled enough unique "rabbits" out of her own power hat yet to really make her stand out from other animators or seem worth the trouble otherwise.

It's interesting the things you pick up or focus on when you go back over an old favorite years later.

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Anita Blake Vampire Hunter 8: Blue Moon

Anita Blake Vampire Hunter 8: Blue Moon by Laurell K. Hamilton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This was easily one of my favorites of the early series, despite it's focus on Richard (who is very often not one of my favorite characters). I think part of the reason I love this book so much is Anita's interaction with the wereleopards and her interaction with Asher (who often is on my favorites list). Anita does a lot of learning and discovery in this book, despite her obvious conflict of interests with the triumvirate and her control over Damien. That doesn't even factor in the munin and the dangerous disasters that adds into the mix. Nice to see her owning up to some things and learning to control her own power instead of always saying it's because of the other "monster" in the room. Despite the constant conflict and obstacles to scale, there is something easy going about this book and the way the characters interact with each other that just feels more right to their roles and personalities than in some of the later books. I miss this mission-focused learning and advancement stage of the series.

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Anita Blake Vampire Hunter 23: Jason

Anita Blake Vampire Hunter 23: Jason by Laurell K. Hamilton

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


I've always found Jason amusing, so I hoped a book focusing on him would be fun. Instead all we got was sex, sex, sex, and more sex. The only plus was that because the book was so short, there wasn't room for them to wander all over the place, so it's very focused. I just really miss when Anita focused on her core relationship and job as an animator/vampire hunter. It seems like all the books are about now is how much sex and how many partners she can fit into her life instead of actually progressing the story line or developing the main cast. We see so many of the outskirt characters, that the main ones who made us fall in love with the series seem to fall by the wayside. There have been a few moments recently that made me hope that was changing. This one fell way off the mark though.

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Merry Gentry 9: A Shiver of Light

Merry Gentry 9: A Shiver of Light by Laurell K. Hamilton

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


Well, talk about disappointing while also somewhat expected given what has happened in the Anita Blake series. This book is lots of gratuitous sex scenes that "aren't actually sex" because Merry is still banned from that by her doctors postpartum. The twins are in fact triplets, yet Merry is not constantly sleep deprived from breastfeeding the three that apparently are super powered faerie babies on top of having multiple father each (don't even try to figure that one out; it will just make you're head hurt). Instead, she takes walks around the estate, talks to her aunt, gets trapped in dreams with Taranis, and takes breaks with her lovers while unknown other people take care of her special children, one of which supposedly must have only her milk because she can't handle anything man made. Yeah... that makes sense... not.

On top of this, a large portion of the book is spent on physical descriptions and re-hashing the reasons behind the babies names, how to pronounce them, and what they mean. Seriously, that information is only needed once, if that. Over and over each chapter throughout the entire book? No thanks. This book could easily be cut down to half or less of it's actual length.

Of all the interludes with her many lovers, the most touching is of course the last one with Sholto. It must be that way since of course he has to be killed just after the encounter. Of all the men to choose to kill, Sholto would not have been my first choice. On top of this, we learn Frost is apparently now mortal and Doyle is having a breakdown because it appears both Merry and Frost will now die before him.

So in a nutshell, lots of emotions, very unrealistic situations and character death. If anything, I'm rather relieved that I never really loved this series as much as my other favorites, so while the 5 year hiatus was annoying, overall I felt rather indifferent about it. Otherwise this book would have been an even bigger disappointment then it already is.

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Anita Blake Vampire Hunter 22.6: Shutdown

Anita Blake Vampire Hunter 22.6: Shutdown by Laurell K. Hamilton

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


All 21 pages of this are debating relationship details (especially about the intricacies of what does or does not define their various sex lives and ideals) between Richard, his human fiance, Anita, and Micah. Micah largely plays emotional support for Anita and keeps her from loosing her cool, though she does an admirable job on her own. Richard is finally back to his good self instead of the arrogant jerk he's been impersonating for awhile. The short does help define where Anita and Richard are in each other's lives, especially considering their connection through the triumvirate. Ellen, Richard's fiance, is a bit on the unbelievable side, especially with what it sounds like Richard has already told her about his preternatural relationships. Too much nitpicking and a play to add someone who obviously does not belong into the mix. Can't say I'm sad to see her go just as quickly as she came.

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Anita Blake Vampire Hunter 22.5: Dancing

Anita Blake Vampire Hunter 22.5: Dancing by Laurell K. Hamilton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is what I was missing in the original series. No overrated ardeur and sex scenes. No overwhelming partner list to manage. Not even Dolph causing problems on the cop scene. Granted, this also was missing the trademark fighting/guns (in favor of a more mild relationship conflict), which I'm a little indifferent to at this point. It's been so ingrained to just be "Blake" that it's sort of refreshing not to have it overused and pushed on us yet again. Our main trio does a wonderful job of interacting with their police counterparts, including Anita's friends and BBQ hosts, the Zerbrowskis. Nathaniel certainly has is hands full this time around, but it's touching how Anita and Micah step up to the plate to both defend and help him and little Matthew. Anita may just be better with kids than she lets on. The story goes from a little tense with the possibility of a couple of disasters, to beautiful in how it ends with the music and everyone mixing so comfortably.

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