ISBN: 0515142816
From the Publisher:Fans have been waiting to sink their fangs into an all-new Anita Blake hardcover in the "New York Times" bestselling series. These days, Anita Blake is less interested in vampire politics than in an ancient, ordinary dread she shares with women down the ages: she may be pregnant. And, if she is, whether the father is a vampire, a werewolf, or someone else entirely, she knows perfectly well that being a Federal Marshal known for raising the dead and being a vampire executioner, is no way to bring up a baby.
Ugh. Where do I start? Ok, how about this - Not once did she mention that a room "smelled like so much meat". Maybe because there was no crime scene, but that's ok - there just wasn't as much repetition as usual. Yay for that. I also don't really care about how much sex was in the book - I've read her last books, I understand that sex = major factor. I don't think that she does her sex scene's well (if she was a man, I would say that she has a very small penis and makes up for it through her writing. I guess I could say that she has a very hard time finding her "good spot", so Anita will climax a billion times a day instead), but they're written descently.
Here are the things that I hated about this book, and frankly, this series.
1. Every time there is a crisis, Anita gets a new power. I'm not going to say what it is in this book, but nothing crappy ever happens, she just gets more power, or figures a way to use her existing ones better (which isn't so much a complaint, but it's not normal character development in my mind).
2. Everyone else seems to always be growing in power all the bloody time. It's like they can't grow as people, they just grow to be more powerful beings. Frustrating, to me.
3. I seriously hate her quadruple orgasms and I really really believe that LKH thinks that she's Anita. I mean, if a girl can do that and all, that's fine... but I guess I feel like it's forced in the books. Like she's saying "look, I've so accepted my sexuality that I can do this, and if you accepted yours too, maybe you could be as awesome as me".
4. She used the "F-word" far too often in regards to having sex and feeding the
ardeur. It was just annoying. There are so many descriptive words and euphamisms that it wasn't necessary just to use that one. Maybe it's what she really meant to say, but I found it annoying.
5. Maybe I am very tired of Richard, but I just wanted to beat him up in this book, in a really serious way.
6. Also? The whole pregnancy thing, and the opening scene with Ronnie annoyed me as well. I mean, we all know that her pregnancy can't last, that it would destroy the series and thus LKH's main income. Why even bother? I mean, I didn't think even for a second "what if there really IS a baby?" I feel like LKH is becoming lazy, just expecting her readers to buy her books no matter what, so she gives her fans the lamest plots and twists possible.
I can't say as to whether I'll be reading
The Harlequin. I'm don't regret picking this one up, as I know that I like to finish a series, if for no other reason than to say that I've read the entire series... but yeah. I just don't know if I will get it. I didn't read the bit that was included in this one (after 517 pages of Pants Macabre, I just wasn't up to another 50 pages of LKH), but I did skim a couple of pages.
She brings back Edward, the bounty hunter. Now, I enjoyed Edward's character. He was edgy, well written and type-cast, but not too far. I liked her stories with him, and have to say that
Obsidian Butterfly was probably my most favourite book in the series due to his role. That said, I am absolutely petrified to read the next book. This, I think, will either save the series or put it in the ground. I mean, if Edward falls into her bed, I will seriously give away all of her books. I'd like to think that I would just throw them out, but I would probably take them to the used bookstore and at least get a couple of good books in trade. According to Edward's character, he must regect Anita, and if that happens, I think that more interesting things could happen. Maybe she'll shape up and actually start to do her job again, instead of just moping around the house playing with her boys. I don't know.
I really wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. I can say that I very much doubt that I will ever read it again. If you're a die-hard LKH fan, I still would recommend not buying the hardcover, total waste of money. If you are at all curious about the book, I would recommend that you take it out of the library, unless you figure that you'll need kindling soon after.
No tags on this one because I don't even know where to start.