A review by rj_owen
Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton

3.0

Guilty Pleasures is the first book in the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series. This is my first foray into the adult paranormal romance genre. In the beginning of the book, I found myself losing track of all the characters. Who is and isn't a vampire. All of a sudden, names would pop up and I wasn't sure where they came from. I kept having to reread sections to make sure I knew what was going on. This is a very short book, yet somehow, I often felt bored. At the same time, the story was elaborate and went too quickly. But once I got to the second half of the book, things really picked up. I found myself rooting for Anita, the kick-ass and witty heroine, and desperately wanting to know more about Jean-Claude. (Sexy, mysterious night club owner. Where have I seen this guy before? go team eric).

To be honest, I kind of expected some romance or maybe even *gasp!* sex in this book. I was left disappointed because I'm not even sure who was supposedly Anita's love interest (Isn't this supposed to be a romance?) I was a also a little confused about Phillip. Even though Anita is a very tough chick, she became smitten/drawn to this vampire junkie? Come on, I get the feeling if Anita was dead set against falling for his charms she would have resisted a bit harder. Even though it went no where, I felt that relationship made Anita seem a tad weak.

Luckily, Anita is such an intriguing character, I find myself wan't to find out what other trouble is going to land on her doorstep.

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