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noellelovesbooks's review
3.0
Content Warnings: Violence, blood/gore, gun violence, murder, torture, body horror, animal death, animal cruelty, emotional-physical-mental abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment, fatphobia, addiction, fire, and grief.
Mention of: child abuse, pedophilia, death, death of a parent, and death of a child.
Mention of: child abuse, pedophilia, death, death of a parent, and death of a child.
I first started reading the Anita Blake series the summer I turned 14 *whispers* in 2001. Not realizing it was part of a series I picked up Narcissus in Chains, which is book 10, and read it. Now if you’ve read the series…you know that that was a lot for my 14-year-old brain to take it but I was instantly intrigued and needed to know more…so realizing it was a series I went back and devoured the first 9 books.
I’ve read, and re-read, most of the books in this series a few times. I made it to the book Serpentine before I kind of forgot about the series so I decided it was time for a re-read.
Having not read this book in years it was interesting diving back in, to a world I know so well, and looking at it as an adult and through a different lens than I had years ago. With that said…in some ways I found this book to be better than I remember and in others, I was left feeling somewhat disappointed.
The story itself was just as great as I remember, our introduction to Anita and quite a few key players [though you don’t realize that until the series progresses] is really interesting. We get to learn some of the lore, and different categories of city residents through Anita…that being said we’re forced to look through the eyes of someone young and deeply prejudiced.
Having not fully read this book in years I forgot how narrow-minded and prejudiced Anita is in the beginning. From fat shaming [literally describing another woman’s thighs as two beached whales…like WTF] to sex shaming, and even the feeling that, though never stated out loud, it’s like Anita subconsciously feels better than pretty much everyone she knows. Maybe other people don’t get that feeling…but for me the way she describes others I just felt like there were a lot of comparisons where Anita always lands on top.
Granted having read a majority of the series I know that her thoughts and ideas change as she grows in age, maturity, and experience. I just worry for people who’ve never read the series and try to jump in at the beginning…that they might get put off by Anita’s close-minded 24-year-old self. So if you’re new to the series just know that she does evolve and mature. I actually plan to re-read the entire series so I can see when her perceptions start to shift and evolve.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
Minor: Child death, Pedophilia, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
jashanac's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Fatphobia and Sexual assault
kloughlin's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Cursing, Gun violence, and Torture
Minor: Sexual violence and Blood
camfaz's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This is the first book in the Anita Blake series. We get introduced to several characters who through the series become main players in Anita’s world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence
Moderate: Blood
pos1t1vel1fe's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent
_book_nook_'s review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I don't usually do vampires. At all. They usually make me cringe. But this. Charmed, Buffy the vampire slayer, and supernatural all entwined but make into a book. It's amazing. The action is amazing along with the characters and I honestly love the gore.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, and Violence
unwise_samwise's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The energy of the October Daye novels may have been inspired by this
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Violence, and Blood