Urban Books - Page 6

Anansi Boys

Neil Gaiman

Amazon Price: $7.99 List Price: $7.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: HarperTorch Amazon Marketplace: 115 new & used starting at $0.41

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> World Literature -> British -> Contemporary
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Contemporary
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 183 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A Great Follow Up to American Gods. 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Not so much a sequel, as an "enrichment" to the world Gaiman created in American Gods, Anansi Boys is a much more light-hearted and accessible read. Though not possessing the same level of ambition as AG, it is perhaps more successful because of it. Solidly entertaining.

Poor for Gaiman 2 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

American Gods was a fun take on gods. With that in mind, I looked forward to Anansi Boys. Oooops. The book was about as predictable as could be. Nothing original existed in the book and it often seemed its purpose was to piece together a few shticks that came to the mind of the author. True, some of the shticks and jokes were cute, but that doesn't make a novel. I was fairly certain how it would end from very early on, and the righting wasn't exciting enough to let me get past that.

If you want a really funny, well written book about ancient gods and modern people wandering around together, get Coyote Blue: A Novel. It's great!

Editorial Review:

Fat Charlie Nancy's normal life ended the moment his father dropped dead on a Florida karaoke stage. Charlie didn't know his dad was a god. And he never knew he had a brother.

Now brother Spider's on his doorstep—about to make Fat Charlie's life more interesting . . . and a lot more dangerous.

Cerulean Sins (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 11)

Laurell K. Hamilton

Amazon Price: $7.99 List Price: $7.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Jove Amazon Marketplace: 74 new & used starting at $3.25

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Authors, A-Z -> ( H ) -> Hamilton, Laurell K.
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Horror -> Dark Fantasy
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Horror -> United States

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 400 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

One of my favorites in the series 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This is the 11th book in the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series. A few months have passed since the conclusion of the previous book, Narcissus in Chains, and it's the beginning of September.

There is a lot going on in this book, unlike the last book, Anita does some necromancy and crime-solving with the local police unit that solves supernatural crimes involving vampires and shapeshifters (called RPIT, Regional Preternatural Investigation Team). Not only does Anita have to juggle trying to track down a possible serial killer with the local police, she has to deal with the vampire entourage sent to St. Louis by Jean-Claude's maker, Belle Morte. It appears that Anita has caught Belle's interest and she sends her cronies to check her out, surprising everyone with the unexpected early visit. Not to mention another new, mysterious vampire that is wakening that makes Belle Morte look like an innocent baby. On top of that, Anita has some assassin/spy goons interested in her and she has to figure out what exactly their motives are in following her.

I really enjoyed this book and it's one of my favorites in the series because IMO Hamilton was able to strike a better balance between the sex scenes and the crime-solving aspect of the series. In later books, there is less of the detective/sleuth and more of the ardeur/sex plot line. I can't say that was unexpected change because in Cerulean Sins, Anita even admits she is tired of all the blood, death, and carnage she sees at all the supernatural crime scenes she assists the police with. It's taken its toll on Anita where it's clear she needs a "break", so in that regard I can understand why the next few books touches little upon crime scenes and Anita helping the police and more on vampire and shapeshifter intrigues and politics, not to mention the ardeur/sex plot lines. (Note: the latest Anita Blake book, not yet published, appears to be swinging back in the other direction, all I know about the latest book is Anita is called in to help the police in Las Vegas catch a serial killer that seems to have interest in Anita so I really look forward to this book in the series).

Anyways, you get to see a bit of early Anita, the book opens up with her taking a client to raise a zombie and then Anita going to her next zombie appointment where you get a brief scene of her using her necromancy powers. For those who are uncomfortable with detailed descriptions of blood, gore, and sex this book has all three in abundance.

For instance, at one crime scene a man is found nailed to the wall, another where a woman is found in her bed with only her head intact, the rest of her body "exploded" with all the bits and pieces everywhere, a third crime scene described in a bathroom looking like someone just had a fun bloodbath with blood covering almost everything and the floor literally swimming in blood. If that sounds very disturbing, it is and the author does a much better job than me detailing the scene. Did such a good job in fact that I could very much see the image in my head.heh.

Oh, another scene that may make some people squeamish, there is a group sex scene between Anita, Jean-Claude, and Asher. Yah, it wasn't too bad compared to later ones, but those who like more mainstream horror/urban fantasy will probably not like this book or the later books.

Now, I did have some annoyances with this book, and that had to do with the main character herself, Anita Blake. Anita is a very hard person to like, and since the series is told from first person POV you really get inside Anita's head. There are a few scenes where I thought she was being a total "B" and wanted to slap her.

Despite those few annoyances I'm still able to enjoy this series a lot. (really, if you're going to read and enjoy this series you have to be able to take reading about Anita's personality quirks...control-freak, anger issues, intimacy issues, relationship issues...basically she's very flawed). But, she is a kicka** character and doesn't put up with crap from anyone and that's one thing I love about the character. She's very practical and straightforward, she can only take so much crap from others before she just goes, "Look, hate to say this, but can we do this now!?" There are also humorous moments in the book, Anita can be really dry and sarcastic and it's really funny.

Overall, a pretty good book. Nice balance between the ardeur/sex plot-line and the crime-solving plot-line, with a few other side vampire plot-lines added in for good measure.

Editorial Review:

Once a sworn enemy of all monsters, Anita is now the human consort of both Master Vampire Jean Claude and leopard shapeshifter Micah. When a centuries-old vampire hits St. Louis, Anita finds herself needing all the dark forces her passion can muster to save the ones she loves.

A Fistful of Charms (The Hollows, Book 4)

Kim Harrison

Amazon Price: $7.99 List Price: $7.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: HarperTorch Amazon Marketplace: 83 new & used starting at $2.86

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Contemporary
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> General AAS
Subjects -> Romance -> Vampires

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 134 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Someone Should Make a Movie 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This one was so full of events...I think someone should make it a movie. I would certainly go see it!

I'm glad my library stocks this book... 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Before buying a book, I go to the library and borrow it. In this case, with Harrison's series "Dead Witch Walking", "The Good, The Bad and the Undead" and "A Fistful of Charms" (very cute puns on Clint Eastwood films) I'd feel my money would be better spent elsewhere.

I *enjoyed* parts of the books, when there was plot evident, but I did not enjoy the constant emo-ing and angsting. Although the plague that wiped out a huge portion of humanity is mentioned once in a while, usually in tandem with tomatoes, the only effect the plague seems to have had was to bring supernatural creatures and witches and so forth out of the closet. If Harrison was not going to incorporate such a enormous societal change in a realistic way, it should not have been included at all as an explanation for a world with open magicking.

By "A Fistful of Charms" the only character I give a hoot about is Jenks. He doesn't emo all over the place, although he does take part in one too many deep heart-to-hearts with Rachel Morgan about her love life and psychological state. This book in particular felt like I was eavesdropping in on a massively long and drawn out therapy session instead of following along in a well-structured adventure/mystery puzzle.

The plot, when it bothered to show up between talking head heart-to-hearts, was sort-of cohesive. There was some weaving together of elements from the beginning of the book to later scenes, but, either I wasn't reading closely enough, or I missed the section that introduced a character (by name) and by who he was arriving with in order to have an assisted suicide. I had to figure out he'd been mentioned cryptically a few chapters earlier, but not by name. He was not a character until Rachel had the chance to ooze emo all over HER ethical dilemma. It made her incredibly self-indulgent and unlikable. I almost found myself wishing she'd been killed in the car wreck, also.

Rachel Morgan's own revelation at the end of the book about her psychological nature of needing thrill-seeking to have sex was just...I won't say repulsive, but really, I didn't need to have it spelled out for me. In fact, I didn't like having every deep personal motive of the every major character spelled out for me in dialogue between the characters, as if they were all in Junior or High School trying to figure out their social status and who they could screw and why not or why it could work or not. Does every character own some sort of speshul knowledge about a key character, as if they all have canted telepathy?

Harrison does have a way with writing hooks in her stories. I just wish she'd reign in the emo-talk, the spelling-out of motivations, and hang her stories together a little more securely. Also, make Rachel less of a whiny sex-driven stereotypical witch, please. Sex is healthy; but I don't want to read about characters endlessly whinging about it!

Editorial Review:

The evil night things that prowl Cincinnati despise witch and bounty hunter Rachel Morgan. Her new reputation for the dark arts is turning human and undead heads alike with the intent to possess, bed, and kill her -- not necessarily in that order.

Now a mortal lover who abandoned Rachel has returned, haunted by his secret past. And there are those who covet what Nick possesses -- savage beasts willing to destroy the Hollows and everyone in it if necessary.

Forced to keep a low profile or eternally suffer the wrath of a vengeful demon, Rachel must nevertheless act quickly. For the pack is gathering for the first time in millennia to ravage and to rule. And suddenly more than Rachel's soul is at stake.

Sunshine

Robin McKinley

Amazon Price: $7.99 List Price: $7.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Jove Amazon Marketplace: 71 new & used starting at $3.24

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Horror -> Occult
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Horror -> General
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Horror -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 315 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Burdened with excessive inner monologue 2 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I really wanted to like this book. The storyline was interesting and the character development was fine. I didn't even have a problem with the first person narrative as some readers do. The problem I do have is the rambling inner monologue that is simply never ending! I am halfway through the book and am now so frustrated by the monologue that I just can't bring myself to finish reading it.

Also, the author's use of analogies and similies is all over the map and mostly nonsensical. I spent so much time attempting to figure out the point she was trying to make. After a while I realized that my mind started wandering while I was reading the endless monologues so I figured there was no point in reading any further.

Sadly, this book had promise but I will not be coming back for seconds.

Editorial Review:

There hadn't been any trouble out at the lake for years, and Sunshine just needed a spot where she could be alone with her thoughts. Vampires never entered her mind. Until they found her.

Every Which Way But Dead (The Hollows, Book 3)

Kim Harrison

Amazon Price: $7.99 List Price: $7.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Eos Amazon Marketplace: 82 new & used starting at $2.24

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Horror -> Dark Fantasy
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Horror -> United States
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> General -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 122 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

The Best So Far 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I am currently on the 5th book in the series (I am hooked), but this has been my favorite so far. I love the characters! I felt like I got a little closer to them when I read this one.

Editorial Review:

Rachel Morgan's back! Bestselling author Kim Harrison returns with a new supernatural adventure that fans of Laurell K. Hamilton and Charlaine Harris won't want to miss.

Some days, you just can't win. Witch and former bounty hunter Rachel Morgan's managed to escape her corrupt company, survive living with a vampire, start her own runner service, and face down a vampire master.

But her vampire roommate Ivy is off the wagon, her human boyfriend Nick is out of town indefinitely and doesn't sound like he's coming back while the far-too-seductive vampire Kisten is looking way too tempting, and there's a turf war erupting in Cincinnati's underworld.

And there's a greater evil still. To put the vampire master behind bars and save her family, Rachel made a desperate bargain and now there's hell to pay—literally. For if Rachel cannot stop him, the archdemon Algaliarept will pull her into the sorcerous ever-after to forfeit her soul as his slave. Forever.

Narcissus in Chains (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 10)

Laurell K. Hamilton

Amazon Price: $7.99 List Price: $7.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Jove Amazon Marketplace: 108 new & used starting at $2.56

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Authors, A-Z -> ( H ) -> Hamilton, Laurell K.
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Horror -> Dark Fantasy
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Horror -> Vampires

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 568 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

You either will like it or hate it from this point on in the series 3 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I give this book 3.5 stars. There are a lot of opinions out there regarding the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter novels. I can't quite decide whether I want to love the series or hate it.LOL. The series isn't going to win any literary awards, it doesn't have beautiful prose, but that's not what is so addictive about this series. The story, the fictional world, is what keeps me coming back for more. The author has created an incredibly rich and detailed world and I think this is what I love best about the series. You see the world through the eyes of the main character, Anita Blake, and it's all very real and you almost expect to see and meet all the characters once you close the book.

It's been 6 months since Anita put her men on hold to gain control of her powers. The Master of the City vamp, Jean-Claude and the Ulfric, the uber-werewolf king, Richard. She is now the human servant of Jean-Claude and is bonded to him and Richard as a triumvirate. Anita is not your average human servant, she's also a necromancer, able to raise the dead (and undead, that's vampires), so the power of their triumvirate is unknown and they're all grasping in the dark. She comes back to St. Louis ready to face them and acknowledge the vampire marks, but that isn't the only thing she has to worry about. She may become wereleopard Queen, Nimir-Ra, in truth at the next full moon, plus she has to deal with another mysterious shifter that wants her dead.

I view the 10th installment of the AB series as a turning point in the series from the previous books, 1-9. I'd consider the books 1-9 as urban fantasy with more of a mystery/detective angle, but starting with this book it's more urban fantasy erotica (It's the best I can come up with.heh) with more graphic sexual scenes.

Narcissus in Chains introduces Anita to the power of the succubus. Once Anita decides to marry the vampire marks between herself, the Master of the City, Jean-Claude, and his animal to call the werewolf king Richard, it becomes clear that this sexual power she has inherited from Jean-Claude is something she'll have to live with for the immediate future. What this entails is daily "feedings", feeding off the lust of others to satiate this sexual power, called the ardeur. This power pretty much dominates the rest of the series as Anita tries to learn to control this power, with sex being quite prevalent (however I felt the last 2 books did tone it down a lot).

I'll give a few of my thoughts and opinions about the 10th book on. I like both the early and later books, although I'll admit one huge annoyance I've had with the series is how much of a control-freak and angst-ridden Anita is. As the series is written in first person POV, you are privy to all of Anita's thoughts and feelings. Her character isn't the most likable, in fact, sometimes she's downright un-likable most times. Contradictory, stubborn, can't admit she's wrong and gets angry to cover it, etc. But, I like how the character has flaws. I think it makes her character more real despite how her frustrating her character can be.

I also think the author needs to give Anita more control over the ardeur, as Anita has been put in situations where she was unable to control it and pretty much slept with whoever was available. I believe the ardeur has been toned down somewhat, IMO the last 2 books weren't as filled with graphic sex scenes as say Incubus Dreams or Danse Macabre, but I still think it has had enough page time. I liked the early books with Anita going vampire hunting and using her necromancy powers, solving preternatural crimes, but I also like the later books that evolve into an entirely new direction (which IMO, was more supernatural politics and intrigues between the shapeshifters and vampires). I liked learning about the power structure of the supernatural world.

This book could cause uncomfortable "squeamish" feelings in some readers. Laurell K. Hamilton doesn't pull her punches when it comes to describing in intimate detail every thought or action of her characters. Whether it's violence or sex. There is a lot of graphic sex in this book (and the later books afterwards). There are themes, sexual in nature, that may cause discomfort to some readers. One of Anita's main squeezes is a vampire who had a male lover centuries before and this character still holds passion and love for this former male lover. Another broad theme throughout this book and in later books is the mingling of pain and pleasure that inhabit the dark world of the supernatural creatures, shapeshifters and vampires. Which makes sense, the world Anita lives in is very outside the mainstream and never comfortable.

One thing I liked about this book is that Anita is finally (okay, maybe not quite, but almost!) willing to accept that perhaps she isn't all that human. She's been so much a part of the "monster" world, as she was the supernatural expert the police called in on supernatural crimes, but she always viewed herself as wholly human. Now, she's learning that she is more at home with the monsters (the shifters and vamps), and that frightens her. In this book, it's clear she still has this prejudice of the monsters, which like I mentioned earlier is a contradiction in Anita. She's a necromancer and human servant with vamp-like powers (the ardeur), and yet she is loathe to have her vamp boyfriend Jean-Claude "feed" off her and she doesn't want to be a wereleopard shifter in truth. I view it as Anita was always different anyway, having the power of a necromancer so it was inevitable she'd find more of a home in the supernatural community.

Anyways, this book takes a turn for the best or worst, depending on your viewpoint. I still enjoy the series for what it is: brain candy and no thinking required.LOL. When I just want a bit of escapist fantasy that's all I want. An imaginative and intriguing fictional world that helps me escape from the "real world" for a brief time. This book more than delivers and kept me turning the pages until the end.

Editorial Review:

The "steamy" (Booklist) Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter novel that took Laurell K. Hamilton to a whole new level is now in paperback.

Includes a bonus excerpt from the next Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter novel, Cerulean Sins, coming in January 2003.

Danse Macabre (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 14)

Laurell K. Hamilton

Amazon Price: $7.99 List Price: $7.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Jove Amazon Marketplace: 84 new & used starting at $2.24

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Authors, A-Z -> ( H ) -> Hamilton, Laurell K.
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Horror -> Dark Fantasy
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Horror -> Occult

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 614 Average rating: 2.0 of 5

Not even worth one star, maybe half a star if that 1 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Its been a long time since I read a book that made me repeat, oh brother, in disgust and disbelief. How sad to see this series so far down in the dumps. Its been going downhill for awhile, Micah was a waste of paper, and this is just barely better. I stopped reading LK for awhile, then came across Micah for .25 cents, sad to say that was a total waste of a quarter. I cannot recommend you buy this book, if you must read it then borrow it from a library, that way you'll only have wasted your time and not your money. Sad sad sad, I loved the first books. oh well!

I give up! 2 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I keep reading . . . and reading . . . but I now officially give up. The past, what, 5-6 books have been almost indistuishable. It's like a three-page story filled with hundreds of pages of the exact same sex-internal magical crisis-sex-internal magical crises related to sex - on and on and on and on. I like the first three, especially, because they were interesting stories. I just can no longer read another page of what is essentially the same plot repeated over and over with so little variation. It's sad when even the hot sex scenes do little because we have read it all before.

Editorial Review:

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, werewolf, or something else entirely, it's clear that being a Federal Marshal known for raising the dead and being a vampire executioner is no way to bring up a baby.

The Dream-Hunter (A Dream-Hunter Novel, Book 1)

Sherrilyn Kenyon

Amazon Price: $7.99 List Price: $7.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: St. Martin's Paperbacks Amazon Marketplace: 150 new & used starting at $1.95

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Contemporary
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> General AAS
Subjects -> Romance -> Fantasy, Futuristic & Ghost

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 129 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

In the ethereal world of dreams, there are champions who fight to protect the dreamer and there are demons who prey on them...

Arik is such a predator. Condemned by the gods to live eternity without emotions, Arik can only feel when he’s in the dreams of others. For thousands of years, he’s drifted through the human unconscious, searching for sensation. Now he’s finally found a dreamer whose vivid mind can fill his emptiness.

Dr. Megeara Kafieri watched her father ruin himself and his reputation as he searched to prove Atlantis was real. Her deathbed promise to him to salvage his reputation has now brought her to Greece where she intends to prove once and for all that the fabled island is right where her father said it was. But frustration and bad luck dog her every step. Especially the day they find a stranger floating in the sea. His is a face she’s seen many times.... in her dreams.

What she doesn’t know is that Arik holds more than the ancient secrets that can help her find the mythical isle of Atlantis. He has made a pact with the god Hades: In exchange for two weeks as a mortal man, he must return to Olympus with a human soul. Megeara’s soul.

With a secret society out to ruin her expedition, and mysterious accidents that keep threatening her life, Megeara refuses to quit. She knows she’s getting closer to Atlantis and as she does, she stumbles onto the truth of what Arik really is.

For Arik his quest is no longer simple. No human can know of a Dream-Hunter’s existence. His dream of being mortal has quickly turned into his own nightmare and the only way to save himself will be to sacrifice the very thing he wanted to be human for. The only question is, will he?

Jacob (The Nightwalkers, Book 1)

Jacquelyn Frank

Amazon Price: $6.99 List Price: $6.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Zebra Amazon Marketplace: 77 new & used starting at $1.88

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> World Literature -> United States -> General
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> World Literature -> United States -> General AAS
Subjects -> Romance -> Fantasy, Futuristic & Ghost

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 95 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Since time began, there have been Nightwalkers - the races of the night who live in the shadows of the moonlight. Love with humans is absolutely forbidden, and one man makes certain to uphold this ancient law: Jacob, the Enforcer...For 700 Years, He has resisted temptation. But not tonight...Jacob knows the excuses his people give when the madness overtakes them and they fall prey to their lust for humans. He's heard every one and still brought the trespassers to justice. Immune to forbidden desires, uncontrollable hungers, or the curse of the moon, his control is total...until the moment he sees Isabella on a shadowy New York City street. Saving her life wasn't in his plans. Nor were the overwhelming feelings she arouses in him. But the moment he holds her in his arms and feels the soft explosion of her body against his, everything changes. Their attraction is undeniable, volatile, and completely against the law. Suddenly everything Jacob has ever believed is inflamed by the heat of desire...Bring on the night.

The Lunatic Cafe (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 4)

Laurell K. Hamilton

Amazon Price: $7.99 List Price: $7.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Jove Amazon Marketplace: 84 new & used starting at $1.80

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Authors, A-Z -> ( H ) -> Hamilton, Laurell K.
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Horror -> Dark Fantasy
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Horror -> Vampires

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 120 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Finally a story about werewolves!!! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

this is one of my favorites from the series. Mostly because it deals with werewolves as the main characters this time. There's been a werewolf in the first three books, but they didn't transform into one until the third book. I think from this book you can see how far Laurell has grown as an author.

The only thing dumb about this book i would say is the cover!!! Just bogus and dumb. I'm a guy and I've gotten a lot of funny looks when i leave this thing lying around. (i've since learned to put a book on top of it or turn it over. The artwork is so irrelevant and dumb) My only beef but that's the company's fault. I don't think Laurell has a say over artwork.

Editorial Review:

In Laurell K. Hamilton's New York Times bestselling novels, Vampire Hunter and zombie animator Anita Blake is an expert at sniffing out the bad from the good. But she's about to learn that nothing is ever as it seems-especially in matters of the not-so-human heart...

Dating a werewolf with self-esteem issues is stressing Anita out. Especially when something-or someone-starts taking out the city's shapeshifters.