Better than recent offerings but still... - Rated 
I very nearly didn't read this book. Although the last offering was a slight improvement to recent books, it was still awful compared to the first nine books. So I got it out from my local library and I'm glad I read it. It's the best one she's written since Obsidian Butterfly, for starters it had a recognisable plot. But it's still no where near as good as Laurell K hamilton used to be.
It feels as though you're reading a draft of the book a lot of the time. I kept having the urge to write 'this paragraph needs more detail', or 'feels unfinished'. It was a welcome change from recent works where she went into unnecessary detail about every little thing you didn't care about. Though there is still odd moments like that, as usual it's the pondering moments about her many relationships. It's not needed. Whenever yet another character starts agonising about sex with Anita and it's meanings or sulking because they don't feel special as she's openly having sex with 13 other people regularly. It's dull. It's reads like a therapy session. If your going to insist on making sex such a dominant part of the series, at least let the characters do it with a song in their heart. Then at least it would be enjoyable erotica. But everyone whines too much. Especially Anita.
Everyone else has already expanded about how sex over dominates the series now and how there are just too many relationships ongoing for it to be taken seriously, so I'm not going to go into that in massive detail. However, I am going to say that the ardeur has more than had it's day. It's getting the way of what was a good character and it is certainly getting in the way of any decent plot. In this book it almost felt like Anita kept having to get the sex out of the way so they could get on with other things.
I know some people have put these flaws down to it being a long running series, but there are plently of authors still managing to maintain the quality and the fun, Jim Butcher being my favourite.
Ultimately Anita either needs to learn to stay out of bed, or Laurell K Hamilton needs to just put this series to bed.
LKH back to form if not top yet! - Rated
Having read the entire series, I will admit that some (namely last 3) have been full of sex and more sex, with not much plot line
However when I saw this one I picked it up eagerly, and read it in one sitting.
LKH is back to much better form with this one. The plot moves on with Marmee Noir, and we see insights into Anita's and other's characters. It is good to see Anita continuing to grow up as the series progresses, and whilst somethings are explained, new twists continue to appear.
If you have lost heart over the last couple of books, regain much of it with this one.
Lost the plot? - Rated 
Oh, Laurell. I enjoyed your earlier books so much, but whatever happened to the storylines? The charismatic characters? No murders to solve? No searching among the dead for truths? This great series has just morphed into a catalogue of Anita's sexual romps with the different characters in the name of assuaging the ardeur, and this latest - I hesitate to call it a story - is almost an insult to us regular fans and a bitter disappointment. The problem with Jason's look-alike cousin is not even resolved, in fact we never get to confront him, so he remains a kind of mythical character from Jason's past. LKH may be a money-spinner for the publishing house, but for her sake and that of her readers, they really ought to exercise more editorial control and say if a book needs more work done on it, like including a gripping plot.
Read between lines - Rated 
I think people are being harsh about this series, I'm not a fan of constant sex scenes, but this book doesn't concentrate on sex, i found it hard to put down, finishing this book in just over a day. Anita and Richard's characters develope in this book as does Jason's. I'm not thebiggest fan of the Nathaniel and Micha relationship, so it was nice to have a book without them. I like where the plot is going and can;t wait for the next book. My advise - if you don't like it, don't read it and stop trashing the books for everyone else
Better than many! - Rated
This book about Anita Blake is well written and very entertaining perhaps because of rather than despite the lack of the usual large cast of characters. It lets us into the lives of Anita and Jason and we learn more of their earlier lives. It is also better due to a lesser emphasis on marathon sex sessions. There is sex, but it takes second place to the story, which is as it should be and the story benefits from it.
However, that said, it is Anita lite, the plot what there is of it is interesting but there was not enough of it. It is, obviously, setting the scene for the next book in the series it might have been better to have shortened this book and amalgamated with the next one. I personally do not like our author's habit of using an entire book to cover very short periods of time, I would prefer a faster pacing of story lines.
That all said this is a reasonably entertaining book and you should enjoy it.
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