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jaguarrior's review against another edition
1.0
I finished this book last night. The more I think about it, the more it pisses me off. It really feels like the author didn't care, or maybe that it was written by someone else and published under her name. It's so inconsistent with the rest of the books.
The first thing that stood out was the Ardeur. In many of the past books it's been a constant issue and struggle. Everyone constantly checking in with her to make sure she ate food, or fed the ardeur that day. It was a constant worry and always had to be kept in check. This ardeur wasn't even an inconvenience in the slightest. She had to be begged to release it so she could feed.
Big thing number two was Nathaniel's transformation. He went straight from human to cat. In all the past books the change releases a ton of clear goo that is a pain in the ass to deal with. In this book, there was no fluid at all. NONE. It's always been a huge deal because it is messy as hell.
Big thing number three. Why didn't she use any of her powers? She didn't even attempt to use her necromancy to find answers, and that's usually one of the first things that she does. She has all these other bad ass powers as well, but the entire book was her relying on everyone else to do all the work while she sits back. Why didn't she pull from her pool of anger to break the hold Ramkin had on her? That's what she has done in the past, but no, she had to be rescued by Jean Claude. This is not the Anita I know from all the other books. It's completely out of character for her.
The ending, oh the craptastic ending. Nobody used even the slightest bit of their powers or shape shifting to kill the bad guy. They simply shot it until it was dead. No finesse, no real struggle. Just boom.. dead. No explanation to how that creature came to be either, or why they got fused together. Just monster = dead. It really annoyed me at the very end when the answer to everything was that the Lamia could fix it, and it would all be okay. Wasn't that the first thing they tried? She told them over and over there was nothing she can do, but suddenly she has all the answers and a good idea to help fix the issue.
Honestly if you didn't read this book and skipped on to the next one when it comes out, I don't think you would even notice. It reads like a fan fiction or a really long novella.
It was 75% stupid relationship drama that had little to do with what sounded like it was going to be an exciting plot. I was 75% of the way through the book before any of the real action started. It went great for a while, and then suddenly felt like the author got bored and stopped caring. The ending was super fast, and a total letdown after all the buildup leading up to it. There was zero character growth, or anything that would add to the overall story that is going through the whole series.
As much as I love Anita, I'm starting to feel like it might be time for the series to end.
The first thing that stood out was the Ardeur. In many of the past books it's been a constant issue and struggle. Everyone constantly checking in with her to make sure she ate food, or fed the ardeur that day. It was a constant worry and always had to be kept in check. This ardeur wasn't even an inconvenience in the slightest. She had to be begged to release it so she could feed.
Big thing number two was Nathaniel's transformation. He went straight from human to cat. In all the past books the change releases a ton of clear goo that is a pain in the ass to deal with. In this book, there was no fluid at all. NONE. It's always been a huge deal because it is messy as hell.
Big thing number three. Why didn't she use any of her powers? She didn't even attempt to use her necromancy to find answers, and that's usually one of the first things that she does. She has all these other bad ass powers as well, but the entire book was her relying on everyone else to do all the work while she sits back. Why didn't she pull from her pool of anger to break the hold Ramkin had on her? That's what she has done in the past, but no, she had to be rescued by Jean Claude. This is not the Anita I know from all the other books. It's completely out of character for her.
The ending, oh the craptastic ending. Nobody used even the slightest bit of their powers or shape shifting to kill the bad guy. They simply shot it until it was dead. No finesse, no real struggle. Just boom.. dead. No explanation to how that creature came to be either, or why they got fused together. Just monster = dead. It really annoyed me at the very end when the answer to everything was that the Lamia could fix it, and it would all be okay. Wasn't that the first thing they tried? She told them over and over there was nothing she can do, but suddenly she has all the answers and a good idea to help fix the issue.
Honestly if you didn't read this book and skipped on to the next one when it comes out, I don't think you would even notice. It reads like a fan fiction or a really long novella.
It was 75% stupid relationship drama that had little to do with what sounded like it was going to be an exciting plot. I was 75% of the way through the book before any of the real action started. It went great for a while, and then suddenly felt like the author got bored and stopped caring. The ending was super fast, and a total letdown after all the buildup leading up to it. There was zero character growth, or anything that would add to the overall story that is going through the whole series.
As much as I love Anita, I'm starting to feel like it might be time for the series to end.
killerkakez1224's review against another edition
3.0
Overall, the book felt rushed and the plot seemed muddled. While the overall concept was intriguing, and there is more detective work, it makes me wonder if the bleed over from LKH's personal life isn't approaching suffocating levels for her characters. Not a BAD book, but most assuredly not my favourite. There is less sex in this books than in the previous ones (for one, I am thankful), and it seems that LKH is getting back to her procedural roots, there stills seems to be a desperately needed tweak in work-life balance.
jasr037's review against another edition
2.0
I was so close to DNF'ing this book at 20%
The story was utterly boring until 55-60% of the novel. Once you hit the real action in the book, I was reminded of the old Anita Blake action.
The first 55-60% of the book is all talk and uncharacteristically had a lack of sex. Usually there are too many sex scenes in this series, so I was definitely surprised by the very uneventful and poorly written sex scenes.
The hardest part was reading about the constant "therapy talk" with Anita and her "lovers." You would think that after 26 books and the years that Anita has spent with her poly-group that the relationships would be calmer and would have more routine. You would think that there was nothing else to learn about each other. The fact that Anita still has reservations and shyness is odd for her character and the fact that her partners still have big issues within the poly-group would be a big red flag that this relationship is not working as well as Anita would like to think.
After almost DNF (Did Not Finish) this twice I started to skip past unnecessary descriptions. Every person that Anita met was explained in a lot of detail and often covered a single page or two with the description of Hotness Rating, Clothes, Hair, Face, Age and skills in combat. If the character is not important, I do not need this level of detail.
I did start to enjoy the book once the investigation began and the travel to Florida ended. The mystery of "who done it?" was rather obvious though and this took some of the fun away from the action scenes. The ending was too short and I hated that the wrap-up of the story was placed in a short epilogue.
I think I keep reading the Anita Blake series out of habit and some misplaced loyalty to the first half of the series.
1.5 Stars
The story was utterly boring until 55-60% of the novel. Once you hit the real action in the book, I was reminded of the old Anita Blake action.
The first 55-60% of the book is all talk and uncharacteristically had a lack of sex. Usually there are too many sex scenes in this series, so I was definitely surprised by the very uneventful and poorly written sex scenes.
The hardest part was reading about the constant "therapy talk" with Anita and her "lovers." You would think that after 26 books and the years that Anita has spent with her poly-group that the relationships would be calmer and would have more routine. You would think that there was nothing else to learn about each other. The fact that Anita still has reservations and shyness is odd for her character and the fact that her partners still have big issues within the poly-group would be a big red flag that this relationship is not working as well as Anita would like to think.
After almost DNF (Did Not Finish) this twice I started to skip past unnecessary descriptions. Every person that Anita met was explained in a lot of detail and often covered a single page or two with the description of Hotness Rating, Clothes, Hair, Face, Age and skills in combat. If the character is not important, I do not need this level of detail.
I did start to enjoy the book once the investigation began and the travel to Florida ended. The mystery of "who done it?" was rather obvious though and this took some of the fun away from the action scenes. The ending was too short and I hated that the wrap-up of the story was placed in a short epilogue.
I think I keep reading the Anita Blake series out of habit and some misplaced loyalty to the first half of the series.
1.5 Stars
the_lyon_reads_tonight's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
allisaurus_rex's review against another edition
3.0
Another Anita book that eventually remembers what the plot is. Olaf gets creepier. So does Anita. Edward's wife and her friend are super annoying, but not as annoying as Anita's need to be superior to all other woman.
I hate to say it, but the therapy insights are still super relatable and I'm still invested in some of these characters. Somehow now Olaf.
I hate to say it, but the therapy insights are still super relatable and I'm still invested in some of these characters. Somehow now Olaf.
selenajournal's review against another edition
4.0
Bad things happen, but good things happen, too, and if you don't let yourself enjoy the good moments, the bad will eat your life. It was like in Peter Pan: Think happy thoughts and you can fly. -92%
phyllica_reads's review against another edition
slow-paced
3.0
Oh boy...
I've been a fan of Hamilton's Anita Blake series for a very long time and this is the first time I had the urge to skim through a lot of the nonsense.
There was no focus on the main objective, only on her unique living situation and which person got their feelings hurt for one reason or another.
Took my months to finish this book and that is why...
I have the series sitting on my shelf, but who knows when I'll pick up the next one.
I've been a fan of Hamilton's Anita Blake series for a very long time and this is the first time I had the urge to skim through a lot of the nonsense.
There was no focus on the main objective, only on her unique living situation and which person got their feelings hurt for one reason or another.
Took my months to finish this book and that is why...
I have the series sitting on my shelf, but who knows when I'll pick up the next one.
library_breeder's review against another edition
4.0
I don't care what you all think, I love this series. However, I am still waiting for some real progression in the Anita/Jean Claude arc. The wedding would be nice since it's been 4 books already.
After re-reading this a lot, I am finding that Nathaniel is really getting on my nerves. Seriously? He's bitching about not getting sex more than twice a day? Micah and Anita are both working a lot of hours and he isn't doing anthing but stripping a couple of nights a week. Literally, he's complaining about not getting enough sex, saying they used to do it twice a day every day. When Micah says that he can't keep up with that kind of schedule forever, Nathaniel say's "I can". I love Nathaniel, but Laurell needs to give him an attitude change or else he is going to ruin the series.
Also,,,, I am TOTALLY shipping Anita and Olaf - Hear me out.... Lion to Call. Saves her from his possible attempts at hurting her, and possibly puts him on a better, less serial-killer path. Plus, honestly, I kind of want to see them do it. Hell, it's a book, I want to see this happen. LOL!
After re-reading this a lot, I am finding that Nathaniel is really getting on my nerves. Seriously? He's bitching about not getting sex more than twice a day? Micah and Anita are both working a lot of hours and he isn't doing anthing but stripping a couple of nights a week. Literally, he's complaining about not getting enough sex, saying they used to do it twice a day every day. When Micah says that he can't keep up with that kind of schedule forever, Nathaniel say's "I can". I love Nathaniel, but Laurell needs to give him an attitude change or else he is going to ruin the series.
Also,,,, I am TOTALLY shipping Anita and Olaf - Hear me out.... Lion to Call. Saves her from his possible attempts at hurting her, and possibly puts him on a better, less serial-killer path. Plus, honestly, I kind of want to see them do it. Hell, it's a book, I want to see this happen. LOL!
andadeen's review against another edition
5.0
Yes! We are getting back into plot and story. Love the direction these books are heading.
sistaharlem's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0