Rating: 
Summary: Good book
Review: Laurell K Hamilton writes an exciting tale in her continuing Anita Blake series. I felt this was a transitional book and Ms. Hamilton did an excellent job transforming Anita. Although I did not personally like the transformation of Anita, I still thought the book was well written and entertaining. It was well worth the money I spent to purchase it in hardcover.
Rating: 
Summary: a new evolution in the series?????
Review: ok, first off, i'll start by saying this book could have been a lot worse. and it is nowhere near as bad as many people have said it is! Anita returns to Saint Louis to find things a mess since people have been trying to fill the void she left.......everyone has been complaining left and right about Anita's evolving sexuality. i have several comments to make there. first, the were-animals, are, by nature, very touchy feely. if there was one thing that seriously annoyed me about anita blake it was the fact that she just didn't get it! i REALLY wanted to throttle her by book 8. with all the time she spent around the wolves and the kitties, ya think she would have gotten a bit more comfy with it sooner perhaps? i have heard a couple of complaints about the homoerotic undertones to this book, and all i have to say about that is "tough". if you don't like it, don't read it...just get off the soapbox and welcome to the 21st century. there were hints in prior books about the ardeur, so i am hardly surprised it came to a head here. i suspect that if Anita had been a bit less holier-than-thou about casual sex, it wouldn't have been so bad. however, she marked herself with a werewolf and a master vampire who feeds off lust...this is a surprise why?!? her own ideals made this worse for her. it'sbeen there. jusy one of the many things about herself she refused to accept...why else can you imagine her and Raina getting along so well?!? ok, admittedly it does seem that everyone wants her and everyone who does is supernaturally endowed. one of the reasons this book only got four stars is that. the S/m and D/s makes sense. anita's struggle with the ardeur makes sense. i am getting a bit tired of everyone lusting after her though. just once i want to meet a vamp or werecreature who says "i'm gay" or "you're not my type, let's be friends". admittedly we are dealing with power issues here, and well, she does have it, so i guess that's the reason for the attraction? speaking of new powers...anita has always hinted that she never cut loose and wanted to be a full-fledged necromancer. well, now she has no choice. i bet if she had studied her vauduun roots earlier, she would have better control and a better idea of what she could do. again, it comes down to the fact that she has spent so much time repressing everything, that when it rained, it poured! add to the mix a master vamp and alpha wolf, and what do you expect from a triumverate?!? again folks, this has been building...why do you think she had a stronger immunity to vamps than Larry or Manny or the other Animators? and remember, this is a woman who could raise a cemetary of dead folks without a human sacrifice in bloody bones, and has had control of vamps since before the Coucil came to town in burt offerings! and the munin are hers to call as well! she ain't your average Animator. this all makes sense to me, although it does seem that it came all at once. again, why i only gave it four instead of five stars. as for Richard and Jean-Claude. i can understand Jean-Claude at this point. he is frustrated with Anita, mainly because of everything i have said above. she fought so much about the marks, and now he has to help clean up the mess she made. i'd be pretty peeved too! as for Richard, i do so hope this is his farewell. i hate him. period. Micah will be a better match for Anita and Jean Claude, and i sincerely hope Sylvie kills richard soon and becomes leader of the pack. his holier-than-thou attitude and self-pity is annoying at best. Anita spends waaaayyyyy too much time brushing his bruised ego. i know he's got the whole "i-hate-what-i-am" thing going, but come on already! Richard, you're ULFRIC! GET OVER IT! another reason why it only gets four starts. overall, decent plot, good writing, good development; i gave it 2 stars because it picked up and quickly dropped too many of it's plotlines in an effort to be "erotic". there was far too little character devolpment for my taste, too many new characters, and it just didn't feel like i was reading an Anita Blake book. i don't know what's up, but i hope it changes, and soon....
Rating: 
Summary: Was this the same author?
Review: I should first tell you that I just loved the very first book in this series and went on and read them all. This last one.....well, are we sure that it was written by the same person??!! I hated how the characters have turned out (anita most of all) Was there anyone that she didn't sleep with? And stripping in front of everyone just to prove that she had a bite mark on her?? The old Anita would have just shot who ever called her a liar!! And Marco?? I'm over him already and what was the point of the fox guy?? Laurel used to tease and string the reader along...this last book was just too too too much until you were sick of it. Now, if there is another in this series I hope that Laurel sits down and re-reads the first couple ones and maybe (just maybe) she can save these characters!!
Rating: 
Summary: A New Direction... But Not A Wrong One
Review: In the tenth of the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Series we are introduced to a plethora of new characters and new obstacles for our heroine to argue, fight or sleep her way out of. Having just returned to St Louis after having taken sixth months off to explore her new powers Anita is still uncertain about her very unusual love life, what she is certain of is that she must begin acting like the power she is and beginning to accept her role in BOTH of her mens life, be it vampire or werewolf. Ms Hamilton has taken Anita in a slightly new direction in "Narcissus in Chains" but I do not believe it is completely wrong. Yes, there seems to be more eroticism in this novel, and even for Ms Hamilton that is difficult to do, but everything DOES have a reason. For instance the sex in this novel seems directly tied to the fact that Anita is beginning to really understand and come into her powers and her place. She begins to understand that she cannot hide nor erase the fact that sexuality is directly tied to her magic and to the magic of her lovers. In "Narcissus in Chains" we are introduced to a new would be suitor/lover Micah Callahan, who like Jean-Claude and Richard is a handsome devil, but unlike the two is the Nimir-Raj to an outside wereleopard clan, which makes this meeting between Micah and Anita very "interesting". I admit that the introduction of new characters in addition to new "problems" without tying up the old ones can become slightly overwhelming, especially when Anita has quite a lot of OLD problems without needing new ones, but I believe that it is imperative that Ms Hamilton take this series further, and she is. She is beginning to take Anita from a confused, whining member of a almost useless triumverite to the strong sexual woman that she was meant to be. Of course Jean-Claude is essential to the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series as he is the dark to her light and the constant shadow that reminds us that no matter how many humans and non humans Anita kills and no matter how much blood is spilled that Anita is still a moral person. No matter which direction Ms Hamilton takes the series Jean-Claude will be the center which brings us back to the circle, for Anita and Jean-Claude will always be that which they are... true lovers, magical elements and endless etertainment. For fans of the Anita Blake Vampire Series this is a must, for although different it shows us a fabulous new side of our heroine. Just be prepared for more shocks, scares and of course the "raunchiness" that we have come to love from the "Queen of Fantasy and Vampire lore"
Rating:
Summary: Anita Blake meets Anne Rice
Review: For the first several books, the Anita Blake series was one of my favorite guilty pleasures. The hero was sexy, sassy, funny, and tough, conflicted about powers she didn't completely understand, not sure how to reconcile the certainties of a moral framework shaped by her traditional Catholic upbringing with her current, complex reality. The setting was intriquing -- a modern day alternate world in which vampires have civil rights and heroes quite rightly wonder who the real monsters are. That question, for good or ill, was definitively answered with this book. Anita has long feared that she might be one of the monsters. Now she not only knows the truth, but embraces it. Given the subject matter and the tone of many popular vampire books, this progression is not unexpected. Some readers will no doubt enjoy the darker tone and more graphic (and frequent) sexual descriptions. Others might feel that Anita has lost too much of herself as she gained power. Whatever the reader's sensibilities, this book is likely to provoke a strong reaction, and the author contines to write vivid prose and a fast-paced, page-turning story.
Rating:
Summary: Now we are going somewhere
Review: All I can say is girls get ready this one is good. Guys still got the goods but it's leaning on the love life. Enjoy cause I know as soon as I was done reading I was looking for the next. Laurell K. Hamilton never ceases to amaze me. I like what she has done with Anita.
Rating:
Summary: Narcissus in Chains by Laurell K. Hamilton
Review: ALL I HAVE TO SAY TO MS. HAMILTON IS "GREAT BOOK." I LOVED THIS BOOK, AS I HAVE LOVED, ALL OF THE OTHER'S, UP TO THIS ONE. I WAS HOOKED FROM "DAY ONE" AFTER READING MY VERY FIRST BOOK ABOUT ANTIA BLAKE. THANK YOU FOR ALL THE GREAT BOOKS, FOR ME, TO READ. I EVEN GOT ANOTHER FAMILY MEMBER HOOKED ON THEM. THANK YOU FOR ALL THE NEW PEOPLE IN THIS BOOK. IT MADE IT EVEN MORE INTERESTING TO READ, NOT THAT ALL THE OLD PEOPLE AREN'T JUST AS MUCH FUN TO READ ABOUT TOO. OK..THERE WAS A LOT OF SEX IN THE BOOK...BUT IT WENT WELL AND ALONG WITH THE STORY LINE. AND BESIDES ANITA HAS TO GROW..DOESN'T SHE??? I FINISHED THIS BOOK TONITE, AND LOOK FORWARDS TO YOUR NEXT ANITA BLAKE BOOK....
Rating: 
Summary: Warning: Pass This One Up!
Review: I've read ALL of the Anita Blake Series. So far I've liked them all. Anita Blake started out in the series a bit of a prude - and while I agree she needed to lighten up a bit - there was no need for Ms. Hamilton to turn her into a harlot. This book was AWFUL! I'm being kind giving it one star. I couldn't even finish the blasted thing it was so bad. All the great story lines - everything - has been dumped and in it's place are just boring stories with some awful (and I do mean awful) sex scenes thrown in. Don't get me wrong - some sexual forplay and tension is great - but this is just plain outlandish! I feel a little cheated wasting my time reading what I did - Amazon has so many more other writers that are doing so much better than this.
However, I do highly recommend the rest of the Anita Blake series. Perhaps Ms. Hamilton has ran out of storylines (it happens) - or just lost the essence of her main character. But whatever the reason - as far as the future of the Anita Blake series is concerned: "I'm Finished!"
Rating:
Summary: I do so love Anita Blake...
Review: The "you'll like this book" ratings system by our friends here at Amazon really worked for me on this one. After it popping up over & over again on my "recommendations" page, I bought it on a weekend I needed some "FUN" reading. I instantly loved Laurell K. Hamilton's scrappy hero, Anita Blake and bought all the books in the series, devouring them one by one in a matter of weeks. I then moved on to her other books, and enjoyed them too. Now, they are sometimes a little "blush-inducing" in the romance department. Hamilton really catches that "attraction/revulsion" tradition of the vampire. You want to like them, and you want to be repelled by them, just as Anita Blake is. You worry right along with her that the things she does for a living might be affecting her soul. You don't believe it, but wonder. I think that this is a series well-worth reading. As a review said, it's like Buffy, but grown up. I like the feminist touch that appears ever so lightly, and the fact that even when Anita is fighting, she is not always "pristine" and she gets beat up sometimes-- makes it more realistic than the ones who never even break a nail.
Rating:
Summary: Highly Disappointing. . .
Review: I've really enjoyed the Anita Blake books so far, but this one I couldn't even make myself finish. I forced myself to read about 3/4 of the way through but just couldn't make it to the end. Maybe that makes this a slightly unfair review, but so be it. Anita used to be a very strong, very powerful character. I was looking forward to her slowly becoming the true Master of the City. Instead, she's turned into a [woman] with no self-control. I am not a romance fan to start with, although the previous books' romance elements were fine for me. But in this book, Anita was having sex with everyone she met without a second thought. And for the record, I consider her first tryst with Micah to be rape -- she says "no, no, no" and he has sex with her anyway. Of course, it turns out she likes it, which drops my opinion of her even farther. Not only does she have no self control, she's turned into one of those obnoxious stereotypical women who says no but means yes. And what about her great detective powers, being used to save the day? Nope. I'm sure she stepped in at the end, but throughout the entire rest of the book it never even crossed her mind who had brutally tortured and nearly killed two of the wereleopards under her protection. The old Anita would have been rampaging through the streets looking for answers & making sure it never happened again. But the new Anita decided she'd rather stay home and have sex with as many men as possible. Give me a break. The only reason I gave this book a rating as high as one star was that the actual writing (descriptions, etc) was not hideously awful. And that's the best I can say about this book. I won't be buying any more Anita Blake books.
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