I've been a big fan of this series in the past, despite all the ups and downs it went through. However, I can honestly say I'm not a fan of this particular book. At first, I thought "Yes! The Anita Blake I love is back!" since there was a lot police work at the beginning of the book. The first half of the book is dedicated to preturnatural police investigations and action. Dolph and Zerbrowski are back and I honestly thought the book was headed in the right direction until Anita's lovers made an appearance.
That's when most of Anita's internal dialogue switched from killing bad guys to describing her "sweeties." I've come to expect multiple lovers from Anita, and unlike many readers, it really doesn't bother me (the more, the merrier I guess). What does bother me, however, is the repetition. Each single lover gets several pages of description. After 20+ books, we get it, Anita's lovers are beautiful, handsome, fit, etc. I don't need to read the same description multiple times in the same book, except change the hair colour/length and eye colour depending on the man she's describing. Also, I don't see the point in describing their workout routines, especially when it's repeated multiple times in the same book, and why they need to keep fit. Don't get me wrong, a refresher is definitely okay when it comes to describing physical appearance, however, when I read more or less the same sentence a few chapters later, I feel like that's not just bad writing, but bad editing too.
Admittedly, Laurell K. Hamilton does know how to write a great sex scene. Even though the sex scenes are often filler, they are pretty intense, steamy and amazing. They never get boring. Variety is the spice of life, especially when it comes to lovers, in Anita's case. Another positive thing about the book is Zerbrowski, Anita's police "partner." Every scene he's in is great and I really wish we could have seen more of him. The new U.S. Marshall Brice is pretty cool too, especially since he's homosexual and doesn't want to sleep with Anita for a change (however, he would like a chance at some of her lovers).
I'm tired of seeing this series going nowhere. I've invested so much time (and money!) in the series. I keep buying and reading the books, in hopes that something new will happen. The series has failed to surprise me and really entertain me in these last few books. I fear this review has become a rant so I'm going to cut it short. Am I going to read the next book? Probably. I hate not finishing a series and I would feel even worse it the next book turned out to be amazing.
I've been feeling the exact same way. I've been a huge AB fan from the beginning. I've stayed hard when many of the fans left. The amount of sex in the books don't bother me. Like you, I have issues with the excessive descriptions. My other pet peeve is the therapy. I feel like I'm in a session when I read the books. I can't remember if it is this one or Affliction that Edward even starts talking like a therapist. It is just too much.
ReplyDeleteI think the series needs to come to some sort of an end soon because I just don't think there is much left for Anita to do that she hasn't already done. I don't like to end series either, but I don't know if I can watch, what used to be my favorite series, just repeat itself over and over again. Great review.
I'm glad I'm not the only one that feels this way. I loved (loved!) this series in the beginning but like you said, there needs to be an ending soon. I just can't give up on the series because I really want to know how it all wraps up!
ReplyDeleteThe "therapy" sessions are annoying. I didn't go into details about this, but Anita is getting on my nerves, calling herself a monster, then denying it because she's doing what she's doing for the right reasons...
Anyways, thanks for stopping by and leaving your opinion!