Burnt Offerings

The Anita Blake series starts out well, but really begins to turn toward the victim-as-passion pretty soon. If you're into that, then these deliver, but it's really not my thing. By the time we get well into the series, Hamilton's Blake is pathetically power hungry and driven by a sense of acceptance from men that would have any truly independent person retching in the aisle. Eventually it devolves into farcical S&M exploration, delivering light porn, but not truly erotica. If you don't want to admit what your hungers are to yourself, then these are books made for you, as I Blake (and possibly by extension Hamilton herself) suffers from the same plight. My favorite character of all is Edward, and we really never do get to see enough of him.

I really loved this book. I am really enjoying the whole Anita Blake series thus far. I'm a little sad that Anita and Richard didn't work out, but never say never, right!? I really hope they end up together. I think that Jean-Claude is very sweet and romantic, but you can't get a better guy than Richard in my opinion. So, here's hope for Anita and Richard!!! :

Anita is hired by Captain Pete McKinnon of the Fire Department to investigate a series of unusual fires. He had been referred to Anita by Sergeant Rudolph Storr, leader of RPIT (Regional Preternatural Investigation Team). McKinnon thinks these fires have all the signs of a firebug, a pyrokinetic arsonist. He had previously encountered such a psychic talent and does not want to repeat those experiences. This novel is full of action and violence. It does not have as much sex as other books in the series, but it does have plenty of sexual innuendo. It does not disappoint the reader. Highly recommended for Hamilton fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of preternatural creatures, violent activities, and a touch of lust. Enjoy!

Anita has chosen Jean-Claude over Richard, though, of course, she can't just walk away from Richard altogether. It's never easy for her. A visiting council of vampires has come to town to investigate Jean-Claude and his group, including Anita and Jean-Claude.

Sturm und Drang

And another series with huge potential that crashes and burns - and I can't decide if it does it in a ball of flames, or a sputter of wet firecrackers. OMG. Let's talk about the characters I used to love. I had SUCH the high hopes that I was going to go through this whole series as happy with the remainder as I was with the first couple in the series. Sigh.

Let's see. Anita is working with Jean Claude, as usual. Things are going to hell in a handcart, as usual, as the `Vampire Overlords" decide that JC and AB are too strong to leave alive. Anita gives her protection, not only to the submissives of the wolf pack (see "The Killing Dance) but also to the Pard - the Leopard pack. Her growing `psychological confusion' (read `doesn't pay attention, think things through, develop anything even approaching emotional maturity, or consider the depth and importance of the responsibilities that she is accepting - these are people's LIVES she is being so cavalier with) ends with the submissives being brutalized, gutted and gang raped. When she finally gets her head out of her backside, and goes to the hospital to try to help "protect" the submissives, she winds up having a hysterical fear fit in front of the most submissive members of two packs. She might as well have rolled over on her back and peed herself. And she is supposed to be protecting - LEADING these poor people?? I wanted so badly for Anita to be the strong, tough, dependable, and yet human and caring person she started out being developed as. Instead, she is decompressing into a nasty, self centred, whiny, fearful, (insert disappointing descriptor here) waste of ink and paper. I am soooooo disappointed!

Richard - while I understand why and how he is going into psychological meltdown, I no longer either respect him, or pity his plight. He hates himself, what he is, and what it is going to require to do the job he has taken on. But he, like Anita, would rather piss and moan than take the necessary responsibility. And pissing and moaning gets people who depend on them killed. He loves Anita completely - but he hates himself so much, instead of setting the stage to show her his wolf in a safe, controlled environment (Killing Dance) he throws her in the middle of Dante's Inferno, in a manner guaranteed to shock and appall her to her toes - to drive her away. In this installment, he continues to torment her, and himself (and every poor soul around them), while have a total burnout and again letting down the people that depend on him.

Hysterics. Nervous breakdowns. Temper tantrums. It is all just too, too middle school. Do none of these people ever GROW UP??? Richard wants Anita. Anita wants Richard and Jean Claude. Fine. Richard and Anita need to just grow the freak up. They are a triad now, so act like one. Jean Claude is used to menage - Richard and Anita need to grow up and realize that if the pull is so strong, it is for a reason, and they should exploit it. Everyone is happy, everyone draws on everyone else's strength, the sex would be incredible (voice of experience - and besides, with their link? And we KNOW that Hamilton's coming `sex party' setup, it would be perfect, and the Sturm und Drang factor could go away, allowing for MUCH MUCH MUCH better character and non homo-sapiens species development) . . . and I don't get a migraine from listening to the two of them bitch and whine and put everyone else s lives at risk so they can have a pissing contest. I didn't expect this to turn into a cross between the "Eclipse" series and the "Clique" series (yes, I know some teenagers). Again, too, too middle school.

I'm tired. I can't even finish this one. The only person I still respect is Jean Claude. I adore some of the new characters - Stephen, the leopards Anita has failed. But it isn't worth the aggravation of putting up with Hamilton turning this into a literal `Circus of the Damned". Hamilton had the opportunity to develop a marvelous series of depth and breadth. She was introducing new characters, in depth profiles of new types of non homo sapiens species. I was quite pleased and hopeful, even though there were definitely some things I could have lived without. But I am tired. Time is precious, there are a lot of books I want to read, and Hamilton has blown it already, with fourteen or so more volumes in the offing and no hope in sight. A crushing disappointment. LOL. Maybe I will have to join the family of fan fiction writers and rewrite this volume myself the way it should have been written, just for my own enjoyment and to take the bitter taste out of my mouth! I could `wrap the series up' for myself in an enjoyable manner, and pretend that this whole screw-up didn't disappoint me so deeply!

In this books, we meet two members of the vampire council, Padma, Master of Beasts and the Traveler. The Traveler is a scary vampire. He can possess another vampire's body and use it get around. We never actually see his body, I believe it never left Europe. Padma, the Master of Beasts, doesn't appear to be very strong and is mentioned that he is the weakest of all the council members. His son is an ass.

We also meet Nathanial and Asher. I love Nathanial. He is probably one of my favorites of Anita's loves (which doesn't happen in this book). Asher is a little like Richard, but not as bad. He is a pain in the ass and it gets worse throughout the books. I get really tired of his self loathing.

Dolph and Anita are having issues because Dolph doesn't like that Anita is dating Jean-Claude. This is an issue that will grow throughout the books.

Warrick is a very minor character that only appears in this book. I really like him and I wish we could've seen more of him. Without Yvette, I think he would've made a great addition to the Saint Louis vampires.

Sturm und Drang

And another series with huge potential that crashes and burns - and I can't decide if it does it in a ball of flames, or a sputter of wet firecrackers. OMG. Let's talk about the characters I used to love. I had SUCH the high hopes that I was going to go through this whole series as happy with the remainder as I was with the first couple in the series. Sigh.

Let's see. Anita is working with Jean Claude, as usual. Things are going to hell in a handcart, as usual, as the `Vampire Overlords" decide that JC and AB are too strong to leave alive. Anita gives her protection, not only to the submissives of the wolf pack (see "The Killing Dance) but also to the Pard - the Leopard pack. Her growing `psychological confusion' (read `doesn't pay attention, think things through, develop anything even approaching emotional maturity, or consider the depth and importance of the responsibilities that she is accepting - these are people's LIVES she is being so cavalier with) ends with the submissives being brutalized, gutted and gang raped. When she finally gets her head out of her backside, and goes to the hospital to try to help "protect" the submissives, she winds up having a hysterical fear fit in front of the most submissive members of two packs. She might as well have rolled over on her back and peed herself. And she is supposed to be protecting - LEADING these poor people?? I wanted so badly for Anita to be the strong, tough, dependable, and yet human and caring person she started out being developed as. Instead, she is decompressing into a nasty, self centred, whiny, fearful, (insert disappointing descriptor here) waste of ink and paper. I am soooooo disappointed!

Richard - while I understand why and how he is going into psychological meltdown, I no longer either respect him, or pity his plight. He hates himself, what he is, and what it is going to require to do the job he has taken on. But he, like Anita, would rather piss and moan than take the necessary responsibility. And pissing and moaning gets people who depend on them killed. He loves Anita completely - but he hates himself so much, instead of setting the stage to show her his wolf in a safe, controlled environment (Killing Dance) he throws her in the middle of Dante's Inferno, in a manner guaranteed to shock and appall her to her toes - to drive her away. In this installment, he continues to torment her, and himself (and every poor soul around them), while have a total burnout and again letting down the people that depend on him.

Hysterics. Nervous breakdowns. Temper tantrums. It is all just too, too middle school. Do none of these people ever GROW UP??? Richard wants Anita. Anita wants Richard and Jean Claude. Fine. Richard and Anita need to just grow the freak up. They are a triad now, so act like one. Jean Claude is used to menage - Richard and Anita need to grow up and realize that if the pull is so strong, it is for a reason, and they should exploit it. Everyone is happy, everyone draws on everyone else's strength, the sex would be incredible (voice of experience - and besides, with their link? And we KNOW that Hamilton's coming `sex party' setup, it would be perfect, and the Sturm und Drang factor could go away, allowing for MUCH MUCH MUCH better character and non homo-sapiens species development) . . . and I don't get a migraine from listening to the two of them bitch and whine and put everyone else s lives at risk so they can have a pissing contest. I didn't expect this to turn into a cross between the "Eclipse" series and the "Clique" series (yes, I know some teenagers). Again, too, too middle school.

I'm tired. I can't even finish this one. The only person I still respect is Jean Claude. I adore some of the new characters - Stephen, the leopards Anita has failed. But it isn't worth the aggravation of putting up with Hamilton turning this into a literal `Circus of the Damned". Hamilton had the opportunity to develop a marvelous series of depth and breadth. She was introducing new characters, in depth profiles of new types of non homo sapiens species. I was quite pleased and hopeful, even though there were definitely some things I could have lived without. But I am tired. Time is precious, there are a lot of books I want to read, and Hamilton has blown it already, with fourteen or so more volumes in the offing and no hope in sight. A crushing disappointment. LOL. Maybe I will have to join the family of fan fiction writers and rewrite this volume myself the way it should have been written, just for my own enjoyment and to take the bitter taste out of my mouth! I could `wrap the series up' for myself in an enjoyable manner, and pretend that this whole screw-up didn't disappoint me so deeply!

This book is full of fire! Haha, as well as that may be I don't only mean flames, but passion and anger too. Nathaniel enters the series in this book and I can't help but be pleased because he is my favorite character in the series. In this book Anita has problems that she slowly begins to realize she can fix or at least try to; the vampire council has come to town, a pyromaniac is setting fires, and the wereleopards need a leader, not to mention that Richard is still spitting mad. What more could our expert vampire hunter and lupa ask for?

I hate the Council. They're useless. This book was kind of a strange one for me, as things happened, but there really didn't seem to be any kind of solid plot. But Nathaniel is introduced, and that's a huge plus. I adore him.

AB's privatliv undergår en del forandringer i denne bog samtidigt med at hun må stå ansigt til ansigt med vampyrrådet og det går ikke stille af. En god bog med spænding og action fra start til slut.

Fallout from the last book has Anita, Richard and Jean-Claude as a triumvirate, yet they’re having some problems because Richard has cut himself off from them and is out of town working on a degree while looking for a new lupa. The leopards were left leaderless when Anita killed Gabriel and they need her help since Sylvia, 2nd in the Pack, refuses to let anyone help them. Anita is still lupa and forces others to accept the position in order to protect both one of theirs as well as a leopard.Then there are members of the vampire council who came to town and takes over the Circus. Not only do Anita and Jean-Claude have to save their own people and allies, but their presence is causing problems with weaker vampires. And if that wasn’t enough on their plates, Humans First is causing problems.There’s a great deal going on in this book and you get a really good idea of just how seriously Anita takes what she feels is her responsibility for others. She’s not about to back down from anyone or anything and the council learns more about her. This book has been reread a number of times throughout the years and many things that occur here are important to the rest of the series. This is the only book so far in the series where Anita is in the physical presence of the council members other than in the metaphysical. You’ll love to see how she deals with one and how you’ll feel about another; well you’ll have to make up your own mind.A variety of situations are faced and there is plenty of action. Something really interesting occurs between Anita and Richard that you won’t want to miss. I love the world and character building and could easily accept seeing many of these characters walking down the street.

Anita has lost Richard and is now dating Jean-Claude, however the ties that bind the three are still present. Though Richard has left he still remains and his power is still a presence with both Anita and Jean-Claude. They can feel each other’s power, sense their emotions and increase one another’s powers, sometimes without knowing.

“Burnt Offerings” introduces us to the council of vampires and a whole new part of vampire world that has thus far remained hidden behind the curtains of Hamilton’s series. Due to the death of Mr. Oliver on Halloween, Jean-Claude should have taken his position as a member of the council, however knowing that his powers weren’t enough to maintain the position, he didn’t and now must face the music. With the council taking over the Circus of the Damned as well as Jean-Claude’s vampires and the werewolves, now both he and Anita must fight for the city and their people.

Between the council, a rogue firebug and ax ex-boyfriend who hates her current boyfriend, life for Anita Blake is never boring or dull. Whether battling rogue vampires, murders, beasts or arguing with Richard and Jean-Claude life is one big battle.

And just when you think that the monsters can’t get uglier they do and just when you think that Anita has fought the most incredible battle ever, there she is fighting another one.

There's a lot to like about the Anita Blake series, and a lot to hate. I've been reading them back to back, so I'm up to my eyeballs in both right now.

Anita is a pretty great character - partly because she is so annoying. She is tough and graceless, incredibly violent yet incredibly loyal, a wiseass who never, ever lets go of her schtick.

At first I was really into her dilemmas - is she becoming a monster, what is the difference between the monsters and the people? When does she stop being a protector of humanity and start being a sociopath? The thing is, all Anita does - over and over and yet over again - is say something like, "Am I becoming a monster? Oh well, can't worry about that now - time to shoot someone!" - this question is not getting much more nuanced. Just repeated.

I will also admit that the more costumey the series becomes, the less I like it. In the beginning the series did have more of a connection to reality; normal people with abnormal problems. But in Burnt Offerings the characters all have theatrical names like The Traveler and Yvette, and they're always wearing these absurd outfits that are at a very minimum dated - lots of lycra and bicycle shorts, mixed with frilly lace tops, and chaps, and dear lord but it is leather leather leather. Leather capes, leather pants, leather thong underwear, leather coats, leather boots (Hamilton will describe every boot that Jean Claude wears in loving detail, as though she hasn't already described fifty other different black boots, and they are always "riding" his legs).

And while we're on the topic, it drives me nuts that Anita dresses so badly - I literally cringe every time that Hamilton makes sure to specify that Anita is wearing a fannypack. A fannypack, for crying out loud. No. Really. A fannypack.

And I do not - I really, really do not - need to know what color the swoosh on Anita's Nike's is, every time that Anita sticks her feet in a pair of shoes. But Hamilton says it anyway. Every time.

When Hamilton describes somebody's clothing, she'll end up with "and x shoes and y accessory completed the outfit" - I had no idea I could grow to hate the words "completed the outfit" but I really have. Actually, Hamilton has a habit of repeating phrases - "bench press a Toyota" is another one. Vampires are always strong enough to "bench press a Toyota." Wearing a gun strapped to the inner thigh chafes. She says that at least twice every book. The list could go on. At first I really, really liked Hamilton's style - sassy, discursive, hard-boiled. Now I wish that she had a few more tricks up her sleeve.

Another admission. I was chewing my nails waiting for Anita and Jean Claude to finally, finally have sex. Now that they have I don't really know if I need to read any more. I don't like Richard Zeeman. He is whiny, he is a broken record (it is stuck on this line: "I am so hideous! Woe is me!"), and Anita is right when she says that they'd never work out.

Frankly, I think the series might be stagnant by this point. The characters haven't gotten more complex. They've just gotten more powerful, and into bigger messes. More scenery, less content.

I like dirty novels well enough and I might read more of the series just for that. But more sex won't constitute "growth" or "complexity" any more than Anita's ever-increasing list of supernatural powers do.

And, last but not least, a little friendly notice to all the authors in the world, or at least the ones who write in English: If you don't speak French, do not put French in your books! It will be incorrect, and then people who speak French will read your book, and then they will be annoyed and feel superior! I know, because that's what happens to me when Hamilton makes mistakes with her French.

I very much wanted to give this one a fair chance, but I still couldn't bring myself to like it. It makes me a little sad because I remember enjoying the Anita Blake series so much when I was younger, but I do feel the quality of the books have started declining, probably about a book or two back.This one was my least favorite so far. It did have its high points, but on the whole I just couldn't spot a cogent plot no matter how hard I looked. Random sequences seemed like they were thrown together, mixed in with some vampire politics and a healthy dose of drama from Anita's love life. And speaking of which, I too am noticing what a lot of reviewers have observed, which is the series' direction into more sexually charged waters. So much of it was unnecessary in this book. And what has LKH done to Richard?! She has turned him into a petulant, immature and jealous 13-year-old brat.After reading this book, I also realized how wonderful it would be if GoodReads had a separate rating system for audiobooks. By itself, I think the novel would have gotten a 1 or 1.5 star rating from me. But the narrator for the audio version is amazing! She makes even the mediocre story engaging with her voice acting, and she's probably the only reason why I'm going to continue giving this series a chance. My county library has the next two books available in audio format to borrow.

This book marks the first appearance of Nathaniel the were-leopard, with his lavender eyes and vanilla scent. I'm tempted to take two stars off the rating just for that.... Otherwise, this is still classic Anita Blake, before it took a dive off a precipice in Narcisssus in Chains. Anita's life had gotten much more complicated in the last book where she finally broke the books-long sexual tension and became Jean-Claude's lover. Naturally that has all sorts of fall out as does her taking out Gabriel, the leader of the local were-leopards. Yes, back then, actions in the books before did have consequences in the Anitaverse. This book offers a lot of action--a lot of violence really, some of which is disturbing. On the other hand, it's not all blood and guts. One aspect I really liked in this book was the exploration of Jean-Claude's past with Asher and Julianna. This is a book where I still liked Anita for all her flaws--and the world Hamilton was building.

7th book of the Anita Blake series, this book finds Anita helping a were-leopard, in the midst of a vampire power struggle, and learning more about her own power. The Vampire council comes to town and threatens Jean Claude and his vampires as well as the local weres. Anita must help Richard, her ex and alpha werewolf, to tame his beast and help Jean Claude beat the council. A good book with lots of action and violence.

Jean Claude's past comes to (literally?) bite him in the a$$ as the high council of the vampire community comes to St. Louis to wreak havoc while Anita is trying to help find an arsonist and also a way to "cure" a visiting vampire with a wasting disease.

I was really hoping not to be disappointed by this book, especially after I really enjoyed The Killing Dance. It was quite good, but not as good as that particular book. Burnt Offerings was great, though.The Council coming to town added a little flair that the series hadn’t really had before, though the added violence, especially the increase in the number of rapes and rape attempts, was a bit disconcerting. Other than the issue of the number of rapes, the biggest problem that I could find with the book was the overwhelming amount of subplots. I understand that there is a need for some subplot action, but this book was almost too tedious to keep up with because you had to remember so many different twists. It seemed way too busy, like there was something that was missing and Laurell K. Hamilton was trying to make up for it.I know that Richard was hurt in the last book, but his character wasn’t very sympathetic, even when you take into account what he’d been through. (I don’t really get how he thought that Anita was cheating on him, even though he knew that there was always a possibility of her having sex with Jean-Claude because of their dating arrangement.) He seemed to be a bit too angry and too edgy and lost even more of the potential good guy vibe that he’d originally started out with.Learning more about Jean-Claude and his past with Asher and Julianna was really a great aspect of the book. I like that the author has taken the time to explore his past and give more explanations for what has gone on throughout his history.Anita was a lot more of a sympathetic character than she has in books past. She was a lot more human, even with her escalating powers. The fact that it seems that so many of her friends are pulling away from her made her even more of a likable and admirable character. She’s gone from being practically a sociopath and/or bully to having a more vulnerable underdog stance.Even though it wasn’t as great as the previous one, I felt like it was definitely a worthwhile read and like I will definitely be continuing with the series.

I have read many Anita Blake reviews that start, "I loved the series until Book X, and then the books degenerated into soft core porn." After reading the first and second, then skipping to Burnt Offereings, I do not love the early Anita Blake books, whether they are considered detective stories, urban fantasy, or paranormal romance.I am finding Burnt Offerings to be slow going. The action takes place in a compressed time frame-- similar to the Merry Gentry books where the time frame is less than 24 hours. The descriptions are wearisome, what she is wearing, what they ordered for dinner, which gun went into which holster. I am also annoyed at the repetition.EXAMPLEI didn't feel comfortable in the Haz Mat suit. I am claustrophobic because of a diving accident in Florida.Hey, Anita! How do you like your Haz Mat suit?I feel claustrophobic because I once had a diving accident in Florida.END EXAMPLEAnita has attributes that make her worthy of admiration. She is very conscious of firearm safety, chiding a policeman for leaving his holster unsnapped. She is staunchly moral and monogamous [I guess the monogamy changes to polyamory during the series]. And she is fiercely loyal and protective.But I can't work up enough angst for the characters to finish the book!!

The first introduction to the Council. We met a council member in an earlier book, but now we meet members with unique powers, learn a great deal about Jean Claude's past and finally meet the other living member of Jean Claude's menage a trois. Can Anita save St. Louis? Can she get the Council to leave Jean Claude and St. Louis safe? She manages to save Rafael, Slyvie, the wereleopards, and deal with a hugely angry Richard, but she saves Jason from one of his ultimate fears and allow a vampire to finally free his soul. A most amazing introduction to some very interesting, yet revolting characters that have long haunted Jean Claude.And, oh yeah, Anita gains a pard, since she killed Gabriel in Killing Dance. What was his is now hers. However, that doesn't mean what was Raina's is Anita's, though. But Raina isn't done with Anita, yet.

What I love about this book was the fast paced story telling that Hamilton is very good at. With Anita balancing every aspect of her life, she encounters new problems everyday making her life more complicated yet intriguing. With multiple problems that Anita is juggling, she still succeeds in protecting and helping her friends as well as allies in a battle between domination and power both in the shape-shifter's side and the vampires. As always, Anita never seems to fail anybody and still demands more from herself to prove her worth to everybody yet still maintains the vulnerable side of her life exposed to others.Vampire council + conflict between prides and clan + murder scenes + love conflicts = Brunt Offerings. With all that action and drama, you can never have a dull moment reading through 400 pages of Burnt Offerings.

What with Buffy and Twilight and Vampire Diaries, I think I might be forgiven for expecting Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, to be just another supernatural series for teens – mild monster stories with the merest frisson of sexuality. My mistake: these books won’t be found in any school library containing as they do fantastically perverse examples of extreme erotica, not to mention more blood, torture and death than is usually present even in hard core dick fic. When she’s not having sex, Anita Blake solves a series of arson attacks in Burnt Offerings; in Blue Moon she clears one of her lovers, a master werewolf, of rape charges – and has sex - while Obsidian Butterfly finds Anita in New Mexico investigating supernatural attacks and mixing it up with werejaguars, a change from the werewolves, leopards, rats and swans who constitute her usual socio-sexual circle. Look – don’t get me wrong: the Anita Blake books are erotic but not pornographic. She might wear skin tight peek-a-book outfits and engage in four-in-a-bed interspecies romps, but there is never anything too explicit. By book 19 in the on-going saga our heroine is somehow finding the time to reanimate the dead, solve crimes, bring murderers to justice and kill vampires on a professional basis while running a zoo of at least six lovers. Yet Anita is a good Christian girl at heart, kind, brave and generous, a positive role model for any young woman in almost every respect. Perhaps, after all, the Vampire Hunter oeuvre should make its way onto the school library shelves: Anita never does the dirty with any human male and good luck to any girl trying to find herself a gorgeous vampire to bed...

Liked it, Great series, can't wait to read more

The Vampire Council comes to town to force Jean Claude to take the place of Earthmover, the council member that Anita killed. Good series, gets steamier every book. I am glad that Richard is back in this book, even when he and Anita are snarking at each other, they are hot together.

Anita Blake is back having chosen vampire Jean-Claude over alpha werewolf Richard Zeeman. She is Richard's lupa (like werewolf Queen) despite not being his girlfriend or a werewolf herself (she is a necromancer who shares marks of power with both Jean-Claude and Richard). Richard hasn't taken the rejection well, but must live with her choice. They live in a world where vampires, werewolves etc are recognised as legal citizens although there are factions still massively against this.Life is never dull or easy for Anita. First she has to deal with fires being started across the city that are targeted at the monsters (mostly vampires) only. Then she has to contend with the werelepords. She killed their sadistic leader in the previous book without realising it would leave them powerless and at the mercy of all the other supernatural creatures out there. If that wasn't enough the vampire council are in town trying to get answers from Jean-Claude and Anita as to how they killed one of their most powerful members and why Jean-Claude hasn't taken the spare seat for himself.Tonnes of violence and interesting language, not too much explicit sex (I think that comes in later books), but much is hinted at and implied. This series isn't for everyone and I wasn't too taken with it myself at first. Coming back to it after a couple of years break, I am really appreciating it much more. Either this book was a lot better than the first 6, or I am just enjoying it more. I like Anita, she doesn't take any crap (although she does have an obsession of listing her guns and knives repeatedly). I like that it is violent and sexual and there is no holding back on the language. If I was being attacked b supernatural creatures with super strength who wanted to tear my throat out, I don't think I would care who heard me swearing! Definitely a happy homecoming and I am looking forward to the next in the series, Blue Moon.

This is the Seventh in the Anita Blake series, though at this point it has become the "Vampire Porn" series. The plot, such as it is, revolves around a mysterious someone who can start fires (and thus torch vamps) using only the power of their mind, a vampire council member stirring up problem, and and Jean-Claude's former BFF Asher is in town. Of course the real meat of the story (heh) is Anita angsting over breaking up with her werewolf boyfriend, angsting about banging her vampire boyfriend, angsting about if she should bang some of the weres she now is the pack leader of. It's fun, it's trashy, it won't tax your brain too much.

I'm happy to see that she's still sticking with her decision, being that I didn't like that decision, that's hard for me to say. I really liked the book. Some parts of it were really sad, but it's nice when you can really feel for the characters that you're reading about. I'm still enthralled and this was book number 7. You rock Laurell K. Hamilton.

Another great novel in the Anita Blake series. The Vampire Council comes a-knocking in St. Louis, and all manner of bad things begin to happen. In this novel, we see a lot of new stuff as well as repercussions from Anita's actions in the previous book. It also has great police action, and coupled with interesting vampire politics, it's a great read.

"When the vampire Master of St Louis starts an affair with the city's most notorious necromancer and executioner of vampires, it was bound to cause comment. Anita Blake finds out, that there is something even her lover Jean-Claude fears--and that is the Council, the body of old and magically powerful vampires who decide policy and can condemn those who question their authority to a lingering undeath of supernatural torture. Among their servants is Jean-Claude's ex Asher, who blames him for his disfigurement at the hands of the Inquisition and for the death of the woman they both loved--and Asher has a perfect vengeance in mind."Anita's powers grow and grow. Never mind raising the dead. Dating a vampire, being alpha-female to a pack of werewolves, acting queen and protector of wereleopards and friend to some two-legged rats, where can she go from here? She has crossed the line from fighting the monsters to snuggling with them. Very erotic, violent, funny, disgusting, suspenseful... Actually, this is the first Anita Blake novel, where it took me more than a day to get past the first 100 pages. The main character is going through so many severe changes, that it affects the pace of the story. The series is changing from crime novels with a supernatural twist to not-quite-sure-what-yet. I can't wait to see, how the Anita/Richard/Jean-Claude triangle will develop in the next book. And I hope we'll get back to some real sleuthing and mystery solving...

My favorite up to this point. Nice to things coming together and progress being made. I liked the vampire politics, and we finally get an ending where Anita doesn't necessarily just kill everything.