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zoeelora's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
noellelovesbooks's review against another edition
3.0
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.
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