The Harlequin (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #15)

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The Harlequin (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #15)

3.86 of 5 stars 3.86 · rating details · 23,361 ratings · 592 reviews

Readers haven't seen anything yet-new in the "fabulously imagined series" (Publishers Weekly) from the #1 New York Times bestselling author.

Anita Blake is about to face the challenge of her life. Into her world-a world already overflowing with power-have come creatures so feared that powerful, centuries-old vampires refuse to mention their names. It is forbidden to speak

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Hardcover, 432 pages

Published June 5th 2007 by Berkley Hardcover (first published November 30th 2002)

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May 13, 2013 Crystal Starr Light rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: erotica, hello-my-name-is-mary-sue, idiot-protagonist, romance-in-disguise, ha-ha-ha-no-really, i-whine-therefore-i-am, so-bad-it-s-good, i-should-know-better, you-did-not-just-go-there, what-the-hell-did-i-just-read, audiobook

For once, I actually can relate something resembling a PLOT that occurs in this book! YIPPEE!

Anita Blake is at her workplace (don't faint!) and meets up with Malcolm, the leader of the Church of Eternal Life. Two of his vampire followers have Execution Hits out for them - executions that Anita is set to enact - but Malcolm hints that his followers have been falsely accused, that there is another threat. And then, while on a date with Nathaniel (and between his pressuring her to do BDSM, somethin...more

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Jul 28, 2007 Amy rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Only those who feel obligated to read it.

Shelves: junkfood, 2007-2008

The Harlequin relies very heavily on dialogue between the characters, which is typical of Hamilton's work but in this case it comes off as clunky and tiresome. Harlequin is riddled with pages of conversation between Anita and a minor character that not only does nothing to advance the plot but does not advance the character development.

Speaking of characters, Harlequin has too many of them. The core cast of characters, long thought by myself and others to be one of the strengths of the series, i...more The Harlequin relies very heavily on dialogue between the characters, which is typical of Hamilton's work but in this case it comes off as clunky and tiresome. Harlequin is riddled with pages of conversation between Anita and a minor character that not only does nothing to advance the plot but does not advance the character development.

Speaking of characters, Harlequin has too many of them. The core cast of characters, long thought by myself and others to be one of the strengths of the series, is bogged down with a ridiculous amount of minor characters who are given way too much stage time. There are several characters whose appearance does absolutely nothing to advance any plot or subplot(s). It almost seems like they were thrown in so you wouldn't forget that they existed within the world (and sometimes they are minor enough where you really have forgotten who they are), but with all of them making an appearance it is difficult to follow the storyline. Subsequently the characters of Anita, Jean-Claude, Richard, Edward, Nathaniel, and even the long obsessed about Micah suffer from neglect. There needs to be a very large battle or war or something to trim the character list (and Anita's six or seven long-list of lovers) back down again.

The one who suffers the most is Anita, who has lost whatever sense of realism that she once had. Yes, she lived in a world of vampires and zombies and had a quirky day job, but she was still realistic. You could relate to her and feel like if you lived in a world of vampires and zombies you could kick butt too. What happened to her zombie job? Not a mention of it, even though the opening scene takes place at work. I think that was the only time she went to work. What about her hobbies? They have seemingly fallen away to be replaced by managing her sex life - and with six/seven lovers, it really is a full time job (and an unrealistic one at that. Few can manage to date one person, some can manage two, no one could handle six). Her conflict with her faith and her mortal friends? It has been reduced to a bit scene with Dolph - portrayed as a one dimensional racist - raging on about her love life. When was the last time she went on a crime scene? Raised a zombie? Had coffee with a friend? Dealt directly with her necromancy for some reason other than because it created problems for the ardeur?

I did like how Edward was reintroduced. Even though there were only a handful of strong scenes with him, they were the stronger ones in the book. I also like the development of Nathanial as a character but I didn't like his new prominent role in the book. I'd like his role better if it seemed like Hamilton could make up her mind regarding him - it seems like she doesn't know if he's important or not. The same goes for Micah. Now that you've written a whole novella about him, you're going to regulate him to the backseat? Decide who is going to be the main cast and who isn't and stick to it.

In short, this work is inconsistent with sloppy writing and an unwieldy cast. You are not missing much if you wait until the library's copy frees up to read the book - or better yet, don't read it at all. You're looking for Anita and the Anita that we all know and love died sometime between Obsidian Butterfly and Narcissus in Chains - the one in the current series is supremely shallow and undeveloped.

What is desperately needed - aside from an end to the series - is an editor with a spine. She needs an editor that will tell her "We can't print that, it's a cumbersome, incoherent mess. Cut out X, Y, Z and go back and tighten up your characters, your dialogue, and the flow of your storyline." (less)

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Jan 26, 2012 Tilly Slaton rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviews-completed

The Harlequin is a very interesting book.

Have you ever tried to make spaghetti sauce from scratch? In the beginning, you add all the spices and you think you have a good thing going. Then after you let it simmer for a few hours, everything explodes and you have this monstrosity of a pot of sauce that has drowned itself in too many flavors?

Well ...that’s this book.

Some people say that you could never have too much of a good thing. I disagree. I enjoy reading about all of Blake’s sweeties, all the...more

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Mar 09, 2009 Jim rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, paranormal-urban

Better than "Micah", but still too much sex & not enough adventure for me. I really like Anita Blake. She's tough & good hearted, facing some trials that would take most people under. She hangs in there & tries to do the next right thing. When she can't figure out what the next right thing is, she at least tries not to do the wrong thing. It doesn't always work out. Twisted, complicated world she lives in.

I'm a little surprised I've hung with the series this long. I almost gave it up...more

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Aug 23, 2007 MissM rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-2007

I stopped buying the Anita books awhile back when they turned into lame bodice rippers. I kept reading them though because I was interested and invested in the Anitaverse. Oddly enough, this book had significantly less sex than previous titles, but sadly, it didn't improve the quality of the story. After years of wishing we could have some plot withOUT sex, we get it and it's dull. The horrible, terribly irony.

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May 28, 2008 Anita rated it 5 of 5 stars

The thing I love and hate most about Anita Blake novels is one in the same: I find them utterly and completely addictive. Really, they are nearly impossible for me to put down. LK Hamilton (the author) does a tremendous job of getting inside the heads of her characters. None of the characters are fictional perfect - in fact, it's the flaws they have to overcome that make them interesting. There's never a cut and dry happily ever after, but there is joy, sorrow, fear, love - a whole range of emot...more

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Dec 19, 2007 Samantha rated it 4 of 5 stars

Hmm, I debated and debated and debated whether to even write a review for this book because of all the controversy surrounding Laurell K. Hamilton changing her characters. I liked this book. Was it the best Anita Blake book? No. Was it better than the last couple? Yes. It's not a stand alone book so if you haven't read the others you probably should. I always enjoy the politics of the vampires and the wereanimals. I think that it is interesting just like I find our American political system fasc...more

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Aug 21, 2007 Marian rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: readit

The sex scenes no longer occupy more pages than anything else, but the character list only continues to grow wildly out of control. Which I can live with, actually. What might be the final nail in the coffin, however, is the fact that some of Anita's actions this go round can, and probably should be, seen as those you'd typically associate with any given villain.
Rex of the lions won't bed her so she can feed on all the lions [which the book likens to rape since it's not like everyone being use...more

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Jul 18, 2007 Beth rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Grown up Fantasy Readers

I'm not done yet. These are my thoughts so far:

Lots of repetition of lines or acted upon thoughts. Anita says something, someone repeats. Anita thinks something, someone else does it. I’m waiting to see if this is a symptom of the Harlequin’s visit or just sloppy writing on Laurell K. Hamilton's part. I’m inclined to think the latter because of some very awkward sentence structure and word usage. The sex isn't as gratuitous as it was in the last two or three ((does Micah count?)) and seems to be...more

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Jul 04, 2007 Meredith rated it 4 of 5 stars

Series: #14 Anita Blake

Pages: 422

Number: 37

First Sentence:

"Malcolm the head of the Church of Eternal Life, the vampire church, sat across from me"

Synopsis:

From the Publisher
Readers haven't seen anything yet-new in the "fabulously imagined series" (Publishers Weekly) from the #1 New York Times bestselling author.

Anita Blake is about to face the challenge of her life. Into her world-a world already overflowing with power-have come creatures so feared that powerful, centuries-old vampires refuse to...more

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Dec 10, 2012 StrangeBedfellows rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I agree with some other reviews that this book is an improvement on some of the previous books. There's still a lot of eyeroll-worthy drama slogging down the action, but at least the characters are all starting to realize that their weepy, self-absorbed hysterics are getting old. I'm actually surprised I liked this one as much as I did, given the astonishing display of poor behavior exhibited by many of the characters. Happily, Jean-Claude and Nathanial seem to have grown a pair or two, and thus...more

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Feb 23, 2009 Ashley Ann rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: my-personal-library

Didn't really like it. These books normally only take me a day or two to read, but this one took me almost two weeks. I just couldn't get into it.

I used to be a die-hard fan of the series, but my interest is fading. I personally think LKH should have either stopped with Obsidian Butterfly which was the last Anita Blake book that I actually enjoyed, or should could have kept going but made the ardour a temporary thing. Pretty sure that was what killed my interest.

These books have become porn wi...more

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Oct 23, 2008 Gail rated it 3 of 5 stars

I am getting so tired of Richard the werewolf and his angst. Hopefully, Hamilton is too. Anyway, this time, the vampire police have come to town. They're messing with Malcolm and his non-blood-oathed religious vampires—or somebody is—and they don't seem to be following the vampire cop rules. So she calls Edward for help—and he brings his stepson. There's lots of blood and mayhem. Lots of angst from Richard. Lots of sex. And there may be the final straw with Richard. I liked it anyway. A lot.

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Apr 17, 2013 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This one was much more along the lines of what I’d come to expect from the series. There’s a new big bad in town, and Anita and company have to deal with it.

The Harlequin are the police of the vampire world. They’ve come to town bearing white masks. White means they’re there to observe, red means pain, black is death. Anita and Jean-Claude just get white, yet someone keeps messing with them – enhancing emotions to the point of being out of control. It gets to the point where Richard tries to tur...more This one was much more along the lines of what I’d come to expect from the series. There’s a new big bad in town, and Anita and company have to deal with it.

The Harlequin are the police of the vampire world. They’ve come to town bearing white masks. White means they’re there to observe, red means pain, black is death. Anita and Jean-Claude just get white, yet someone keeps messing with them – enhancing emotions to the point of being out of control. It gets to the point where Richard tries to turn Anita into a wolf, almost kills JC and gets himself mortally wounded in the process. Anita manages to save them all, of course.

I had really hoped this near death experience would help Richard…and maybe it does to an extent. When Anita and the gang first hear the Harlequin are in town, they call everyone in. Richard has to cancel a date and ends up actually acting like a lycanthrope and sleeps, naked, with Anita, Micah and Nathaniel. No sex. Let’s be clear. I mean literally sleeps. He even helps protect Anita while they sleep from Mommie Dearest, the mother of all vampires. He also tries to accept Micah by trying to check with him before volunteering to feed the ardeur. Anita tries by going to Richard first when she sees him again and sitting with him on the couch. This is right before the bad guys start messing with him and he almost kills them all.

All that gave me hope that Richard was accepting – or at least trying to accept – Anita and her life as it is, instead of as he wants it to be. I had hoped when he showed up at JC’s side to battle the Harlequin that it meant he was accepting his role, even if he hid his face to protect his identity. But no, Richard disappointed me, and Anita, again. He disappointed them all. They’re winning. They’re fighting this immense power, and they’re winning. To seal the deal, they have to raise the ardeur. Aaaaaaand Richard comes through with the rejection again. Sigh.

He literally steps away from them during a battle to leave them to fight, and possibly die, alone. The power of the bad guys is in part to cause doubt. Or maybe to enhance the doubt. Either way, Anita and company touch Richard to protect him from the doubt, to protect him from the attack. Richard, ungrateful bastard that he is, complains. He doesn’t complain about being protected. He complains about joining the group that’s protecting him. He even has the audacity to call those who protect him evil. No immoral, EVIL. Even Malcolm, the leader of the vampire church tries to explain to Richard. Malcolm says he judged Anita and the gang, called her a whore, called them evil, called them corrupting, but only in that moment realized that he was wrong. He tried to explain that the ardeur Anita offered to his followers was only friendship, and Richard still refused to see it. He admits that he doesn’t include Anita and JC in his list of people he cared about, the people he tried to do right by. He begs Anita not to remove the protection she’s giving him to, but won’t help her maintain it. JC tells him that Richard judges them continually – vilifies them, really. He admits to Richard that he cares for Richard. Still Richard will not budge. They leave it up to Richard. If they are evil to him, then he should step away from their protection.

He does.

When the ardeur rises, it’s not lust but love. Micah , who is not bound to Anita or JC, manages to amplify their power because Anita loves him. Richard, realizing that it’s not lust, that he doesn’t have to “fuck” everyone as he accused them of, tries to return. Only, when he touches Anita, the power doesn’t jump. It doesn’t work for him. When he questions it, Anita tells him “You said we were nothing to you.” He’s never understood that it’s not just about sex for Anita. Malcolm tried to explain to Richard, he just is to attached to what he thinks are morals.

As irritated as I’ve been with Richard, I’m sad that he might have finally gotten Anita to fall out of love with him. He might have really finished it. I won’t know till I keep reading, but I still hope he learns. I hope he learns because I think Anita is the only one who can love him. She’s the only one who would completely accept him. And I think she wants to love him, always will to an extent.

And I hope when he does that he can make it up to her. Because when he does learn, he’s going to realize what he gave up.

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Jan 18, 2013 Niobe Garcia added it

I liked this book somewhat. It wasn't my favorite but it was ok. The whole ordeal with the Harlequin was sort of annoying, I felt that we were gearing towards a fight throughtout the whole book but it was always Anita in the hospital or Anita hurt, or everyone else getting hurt for Anita. The entire Richard/Anita love hate relationship has gotten super played out. I'm tired of the back and forth between them. I get it that he is in love with her, and they are bound to each other, but it's just s...more

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Nov 19, 2012 Matt Schiariti rated it 4 of 5 stars

God help me, I actually liked this book. I think it's more deserving of a 3.5, but it's closer to four stars than three.

If you've read any of my reviews of the previous Anita Blake books (and you probably have not, but you never know!) it's no small secret that I feel the series has been getting worse and worse after Obsidian Butterfly. That was the last really GOOD Anita Blake book...B.A 'Before Ardeur', B.M.S 'Before Multiple Sweeties', B.O. 'Before Orgies'. Narcissus in Chains started the dow...more

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Oct 18, 2012 Lisa (Harmonybites) rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Those Who STILL Think the Anita Blake Novels are Peachy

Recommended to Lisa (Harmonybites) by: Crystal

Shelves: fantasy, fiction, horror, novels

It strikes me that it was a bad sign that the most likable and most interesting character in this book is the sociopath, Edward. It probably helps Anita doesn't sleep with him. If that changed in later books (I stopped midway in Flirt) please don't tell me.

Yes, as the above implied, I did finally give up on this series after a few more books. When I started this series, this had been the last book published, so sheer momentum (and that I loved the first nine books until Narcissus in Chains) had...more

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Jul 21, 2012 Susannaf rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: didn-t-like, erotic-romance

First things first - I am not going to finish this book. I stuck it out over half way, and it's only getting worse. This may not have been the best book to start on, since I've never read this series before, but it's the first one that came my way, and it doesn't bode well. Anita was a bit interesting in spots, like when she talks about guns and her job. But mostly she is just pitiful, confused and snarky. I have read about this series, so I knew there's a lot of graphic erotic scenes in it. But...more

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Jul 10, 2012 Emily rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book starts to recover a bit. The story, at least at the outset, is really interesting. Then we derail into relationship-angst-land again for most of the book, which is unfortunate. Once again, the vast majority of the book is about Anita and her sex life/relationships/gaining more power, with very little storyline. Still, at least there WAS some story here. That alone gets it a star more.

The first fifty or so pages are story, as are the last fifty or so pages.

The other reason it gets ano...more

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Jun 21, 2012 Karissa rated it 2 of 5 stars

Okay so I am sucker. I asked for this hardcover Anita Blake book for Christmas; after swearing never to buy another hardcover book from Hamilton again. Although I guess *I* didn't buy it.

This is the 15th (yes, count them, 15th) book in the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series. In this book both Anita and Jean Claude are contacted by the Harlequin who is some type of elite vampire special force that the vampire council sends out to get people they don't like. Somehow this is mixed up with some vampi...more

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Jun 19, 2012 Khristine Stain rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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May 22, 2012 Nicole Green rated it 4 of 5 stars

Another great installment in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton. As a woman, I can greatly relate to Anita's struggles as she goes through not knowing if she's pregnant or not and I really liked this book because it was a lot more down to earth because of it. I also liked this book because we got to find out more about the ardeur, something that isn't as readily available to anyone and no one can relate to. There were a lot of sex scenes, all of which were great, and I...more Another great installment in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton. As a woman, I can greatly relate to Anita's struggles as she goes through not knowing if she's pregnant or not and I really liked this book because it was a lot more down to earth because of it. I also liked this book because we got to find out more about the ardeur, something that isn't as readily available to anyone and no one can relate to. There were a lot of sex scenes, all of which were great, and I felt that they were really tastefully done, although the one between Anita and Requiem took a little too long to get to. There are some points were it's just tension building and finally you get to the scene, but that particular scene took way too long to reach.

I rated this book a 4/5 because I felt that the ballet and party that is stressing everyone out from the beginning also takes way too long to get to. I understand that Anita has some issues going on in her life, but it felt like Laurell didn't really know how to introduce these issues without putting off the highlight and main part of the book until the very end. Also, there was too much Richard for my liking. I don't know what happens later on down the road, seeing as there are 20 books in the series (at this point) and I just finished number 14, but Richard is really starting to get on my nerves and I am really hoping he jolts out of the picture at some point. I really didn't miss him earlier in the series and I don't think I'm going to miss him now. Throughout the book, Anita is referred to as the "Prince Charming" whom all the princesses (pomme de sang candidates) were going after. Well, throughout the whole series it feels like Richard is the "woman/princess" of the triumvirate that he shares with Anita and Jean-Claude and he's constantly lusting after "Prince Charming/Anita" but to no avail. Just move on!

Alright, I'm going to end my Richard rant there and mention that I would recommend this book to anyone who likes paranormal fiction, paranormal romance, and the Anita Blake series. I know it's long, but keep going and Laurell will not disappoint.(less)

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Apr 28, 2012 Amelia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal

I didn’t expect to find The Harlequin already out in Malaysia so when I saw it in the shelves, I snatched it up and read it that very same night.

I missed Anita Blake.

Although the last few Anita Blake books have spiraled downwards in terms of plot (blink and you miss it) and character development (number of characters increase exponentially but none are developed), I still read the books in the series in hopes that one day Hamilton (the author) will listen to her fans and reduce the number of pag...more

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Feb 27, 2011 Jennifer rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Oh my...well I have read this book before but in desperation at the lagging selections at my library for audio books I picked this one up on CD just to check it out.

First off the creepy music that appears throughout was just weird and along with the breathy voice of the reader it sounded like porn in my car. Which...come on I suppose it wasn't too far from that after all. Some her voices for the characters were just silly. I don't know how Nathaniel ended up sounding like a prepubescent 12 year...more Oh my...well I have read this book before but in desperation at the lagging selections at my library for audio books I picked this one up on CD just to check it out.

First off the creepy music that appears throughout was just weird and along with the breathy voice of the reader it sounded like porn in my car. Which...come on I suppose it wasn't too far from that after all. Some her voices for the characters were just silly. I don't know how Nathaniel ended up sounding like a prepubescent 12 year old boy while Peter who is closer to puberty sounded like an adult. The voices on the phone and through the mind control were straight up alien porn quality.

In reading my review from when I read the other edition I think that I must have skimmed over quite a bit when I was actually reading it that I was unable to while listening to it and driving in my car. First off the descriptions of her many men were tiresome and very repetitive. I think we get it they are very pretty, they have lovely hair and eyes and give good face!! I don't think it is necessary to describe their hairstyle every time we see them. It is not important if Nathaniel's hair is wet or dry, in a braid or semi wet while in a braid. I mean really along with whether or not their is product in their hair it is so not necessary to the story. And yeas I hear you they give good face whether it is angry face, disappointed face or confused face!! Your analyzing of their faces is ridiculous!! Also, I find it sadly unbelievable that they make her go tingly in parts down below every time she sees them.

I think that I had to hear about Mommy darkness at least a dozen times and she just kept repeating the same thing over about her, as well as the arguments with Richard extremely tiresome to have to listen to once let alone over and over. Alot of it was just cheesy, the battle in the end was less of a battle and reminded me more of the Care Bears with the Rainbows popping out of the chest saying lets join hands and spread our friendship around. In my head I kept singing "Let's get together yeah yeah yeah!!"

Then there was the whole Olaf thing either shoot him or F@#& him because I am sick of the indecision on that one!!

Ahh bottom line I cannot figure out why I keep reading these it is like a train wreck though and I can't seem to stop myself from looking!! (less)

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Oct 28, 2010 Chibineko rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Ever since the action in the Anita Blake shifted from action in the streets to action between the sheets, the series has taken a turn for the boring. This book seems to show the signs of this more than the others do. What would have been an otherwise interesting premise for a novel has been killed- not by Hamilton's penchant for mind numbingly repetitive sex. No, that I think I could have dealt with. What killed this book is that everyone seems to want to talk each other to death.

This entry in t...more Ever since the action in the Anita Blake shifted from action in the streets to action between the sheets, the series has taken a turn for the boring. This book seems to show the signs of this more than the others do. What would have been an otherwise interesting premise for a novel has been killed- not by Hamilton's penchant for mind numbingly repetitive sex. No, that I think I could have dealt with. What killed this book is that everyone seems to want to talk each other to death.

This entry in the Anita Blake series has Anita enjoying a rare night out with one of her boyfriends when she receives a mysterious white mask. Jean Claude, her vampire master & lover informs her that it is the calling card of the Harlequin- a band of vampires that monitors anyone who is suspected of being too powerful or too abusive of their power. He tells her that the white mask means that they are only watching & that they cannot make any moves until they have given a color appropriate mask. Unfortunately the Harlequin agents appear to have their own agenda in mind, as Anita & her group find themselves being attacked both spiritually & physically.

Seriously, what part of the above doesn't sound awesome? I mean, an elite squad of vampires that answer to no one except the vampire high council & even then, have the power to exterminate one of the council if they were to step too far out of bounds. In other words, the Harlequin is the freaking vamp police. And they're trying to mess with Anita's head & the heads of her loved ones. The premise for the book had a lot of promise.

But in the end, this awesome idea is trampled flat by repetitive sex scenes & long dragged out episodes where Anita & her men talk everything to death. I'm not saying that I wanted it to be all full of Michael Bay-esque explosions, but come on... You have scenes that take 30 pages to say something that could have and SHOULD have been said in three. It got incredibly old after a while & I found my eyes glazing over as I kept reading the same idea spouted over & over again, but through the mouths of different characters. After a while I just wanted to scream at the book "OK- I FREAKING GET IT. Now can we move on?" (I'm not even going to go over some of the more squicky parts of the book, such as the scene where Anita says a girl had "buyer's remorse".)

This book could have easily been shortened by a hundred pages & been the better for it. The Anita Blake series is in DESPERATE need of an editor to take care of not only the grammatical & spelling errors, but to also improve the pacing of the novels. The series has been spiraling into a slow decline & this book shows this. I gave the book 1 star because while the idea of it was interesting, the talkity talk of the book just killed it. (less)

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Oct 19, 2010 Mary Grace rated it 3 of 5 stars

Anita is in trouble, again! But this time, the villains are bigger and badder. With the great threat, Anita seeks the help of her friend Edward. With the increasing power of Anita's first triumvirate and all their allies, The Harlequin looks into their affairs for a little "straightening".

Anita eventually removes her allegiance from the were-lion due to complications that their Alpha cannot provide. With the attack of The Harlequin and their disregard of rules gives Anita's camp their leverage a...more

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Apr 10, 2010 D.C. rated it 5 of 5 stars

Ahhhhhh, finally the series is back on track. THANK YOU Ms. Hamillton!!! I truly enjoyed this series as found that it didn’t contain too much sex, although the sex scenes that were involved were very very nice, and contained just the right amount of suspense and action, along with all the characters being brought back together. I also found that Jake’s role in this book was surprising and very well placed.
The Harlequin brought Olaf and Edward back into Anita’s life based on a threat from what t...more

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Dec 11, 2009 Christina rated it 2 of 5 stars

To be fair this book more deserves 2 1/2 stars than only two. I was promised "hot vampire sex" by a friend if I read this author. I guess I picked up the wrong book because the few actually sex scenes were more disturbing than anything. For a character whose life literally depends on having sex, it was a disappointment.

The story line did keep me reading and I found the last 100 pages to be quite entertaining. Entertaining enough that I plan on reading another book of her's. With that said I did...more

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Oct 21, 2009 Jimyanni rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror

When this series began, I rated the violence content "R", and the sexual content "PG"; the violence has remained more or less constant throughout the series, but the sexual content has gradually increased until it got to the point, three or four books ago, that I would have to rate it "X"; if you enjoy a fast-moving, well-written pornographic novel, as I do, then you'll continue to enjoy this series; if that's not what you're looking for but want to read books like the early ones in this series...more

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May 13, 2011 Nenia Campbell rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: urbane-fantasies, x-series-bk-15, reviewed, holy-shit-a-vampire-get-in-the-car, putting-the-best-in-bestiality, braiiiinssss, x-2006s, pr0n, icky-sex-fantasies, i-burn-i-pine-i-perish, trashiest

The Harlequin are the vampire equivalent of the secret police, and they've just gotten interested in Anita and her posse. All the members dress up in costume when they meet with people, and they hand out masks as messages. White means they're watching you, Red means they're going to punish you, and Black means death. It's a good premise. I love the idea of a bunch of evil theatrical vampires who dress up like harlequin characters from old plays and hand out masks as calling cards. It's very Phan...more The Harlequin are the vampire equivalent of the secret police, and they've just gotten interested in Anita and her posse. All the members dress up in costume when they meet with people, and they hand out masks as messages. White means they're watching you, Red means they're going to punish you, and Black means death. It's a good premise. I love the idea of a bunch of evil theatrical vampires who dress up like harlequin characters from old plays and hand out masks as calling cards. It's very Phantom of the Operaesque.

Anita Blake is getting so annoying, though. It's getting to the point where the only thing that moves the plot along is her dialogue and interactions with her twenty-something lovers and the only reason I'm still reading is to see how bad it gets. As one of the characters in the book ironically says, "It's like a train wreck, I just couldn't look away." I actually lost count of how many men (and women) Anita slept with in this book. She collects lovers the way other people collect stamps or foreign coins. In this installment, she adds to new ones to the list: Rafael the Rat King, and Donovan, the Swan King. Plus, there's a sixteen-year-old boy who's seriously messed up from being raped who has a crush on her, and a serial killer who also kind of has a crush on her. She really knows how to pick 'em, Anita does.

It's so sad, because the first few books in the series were really good. Dialog pumped the plot along but it was good dialog, and relevant to the plot. It was just as dark and just as bloody, but not gratuitously. The villains were terrifying, but they actually got air time. And Anita Blake didn't just sleep around! In fact, I remember a time when she actually didn't want to sleep with Jean-Claude because she was afraid he just wanted her around for sex. What happened to that Anita Blake? She wasn't a prude, but she wasn't the whorish Mary Sue she is now, either. She was just a young woman with ONE cool power who also had weaknesses, and dealt with her problems alone.

In adding so many characters, Laurel K. Hamilton has also given Anita a huge dependence on them. I don't like the fact that she calls for help at the first sign of trouble, especially since she's usually naked when trouble comes along because she just finished having sex. I used to think people were exaggerating about how badly the series was deteriorating, but now I see that their complaints were justified.(less)

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About Laurell K. Hamilton

Laurell K. Hamilton is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of two series that mix mystery, fantasy, magic, horror and romance. Her Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter novels from Berkley Books began with GUILTY PLEASURES and continues to thrive with over sixteen volumes to the series and an comic adaptation. There are now more than 6 million copies of Anita in print worldwide, in 16 languages. Hamilt...more

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Books by Laurell K. Hamilton

Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #1)

Circus of the Damned (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #3)

The Laughing Corpse (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #2)

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

Bloody Bones (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #5)

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Quotes from The Harlequin

“She should have remembered that people have given everything they own, everything they are, to be taken care of, and to have their pain gone. It's the lure of cults: the promise of a good family; it's what people think love is, but love isn't absence of pain, it's a hand to hold while you're going through it. ” — 170 people liked it

“You take insult where none is intended, but if you will find insult where none is meant, then perhaps I should try harder to insult on purpose.” — 98 people liked it

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The Harlequin (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #15)

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