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

My rating:

add to my books

Cerulean Sins (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #11)

by Laurell K. Hamilton

3.74 · rating details · 15,952 ratings · 335 reviews

Vampire hunter Anita Blake learns what it's like to be at the new end of a centuries-old bloodline-and just how far she'll let herself get pushed around.

Mass Market Paperback, 547 pages

Published August 31st 2004 by Jove

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

The Best Adult Vampire Romance Books

60th out of 517 books — 1,249 voters

Best Vampire Books

113th out of 984 books — 4,413 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 21,537)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Sep 20, 2011

Regina rated it

Shelves: bingo-3rd-round, audio-also-listened-to, listened-to-audio-only, urban-fantasy-uf, can-t-recommend, dissapointing, i-just-don-t-care

I started the Anita Blake series knowing what I was getting into. I had heard the bad buzz, but I also heard that the earlier books were solid good urban fantasy badass heroine writing. And I gotta say, that is true. I loved the first 10 books in the Anita Blake series. Loved them. Obsidian Butterfly ROCKS. The world LKH created in the book is damned scary, gruesome and surprising. I enjoyed the development of Anita from the first few books through books 5-10. Anita progressed, the chara...more

like 18 likes

· see review

Jan 08, 2012

Tilly Slaton rated it

Shelves: reviews-completed

As much as I love the Anita Blake series, this is another book that I really don’t get too excited over. Blood. Gore. Sex. Lies. Deception. It has it all, but I found myself skimming and reading as quickly as possible just to get to the next book. And regardless of how fast I read, I still found myself watching more tv than reading. Heh ... go figure!

Anita Blake; Vampire Hunter and animator. She raises dead for a living, tries to survive vampire politics and dramatic person...moreAs much as I love the Anita Blake series, this is another book that I really don’t get too excited over. Blood. Gore. Sex. Lies. Deception. It has it all, but I found myself skimming and reading as quickly as possible just to get to the next book. And regardless of how fast I read, I still found myself watching more tv than reading. Heh ... go figure!

Anita Blake; Vampire Hunter and animator. She raises dead for a living, tries to survive vampire politics and dramatic personal relationships while all along investigating wonderfully disgusting murder scenes for the government and avoiding really jealous and pissed off sadistic vampires that arrive unannounced.

I took a sip from my coffee mug with the motto, “If you slip me decaf, I’ll rip your head off.”

Although she is the most blunt character I’ve ever met, her ballsy, rude and arrogant personality had a moment of holy shit surprise! Stuck in the vampire politics, she carefully treads on boiling water. If any of you have read the series up until now, you’ll think this is HILARIOUS!

I opened my mouth to call her a heartless bitch, but it wasn’t what came out. “Did you believe that gifts worthy of such beauty could be hurried? Would you really take some poor substitute in the place of the magnificence we had commission?”

“Ventriloquism,” Jason said, from the other side of Jean-Claude, “it’s the only answer.”

Forced into a new sexual relationship (that’s just going to be unsurprising from hence forth) she continues to make excuses to push others away.

Thankfully, she has her three sweeties, Jean-Claude, Micah and Nathaniel. She has others of course, but those are the only ones that count to me! Richard unworthy of sweetness and has now been utterly cast aside. (By me, not in the book heh)

Bottom line, not her best work, but brilliant nonetheless.

I recommend this book to anyone reading this series, ADULTS ONLY. Strong sexual content and descriptive violence.

Happy reading and now I’m on to Incubus Dreams!
(less)

like 4 likes

· see review

Jul 11, 2011

Niina rated it

· review of another edition

Okay, first of all I love the series, big fan of Anita Blake!

But this book, dear lord I did not enjoy this, it was a mixed salad of 50 ingredients. It was messy, hard to go with the flow and it left me with the constant 'move on' feeling. Chapter after chapter of the same scene that kept having twist after twist after twist.

I think the main problem is that there are just too many characters, Anita, Jean-Claude, Asher, Micah, Nathaniel, Jason, Richard, Zebrowski, Dolph - and a...moreOkay, first of all I love the series, big fan of Anita Blake!

But this book, dear lord I did not enjoy this, it was a mixed salad of 50 ingredients. It was messy, hard to go with the flow and it left me with the constant 'move on' feeling. Chapter after chapter of the same scene that kept having twist after twist after twist.

I think the main problem is that there are just too many characters, Anita, Jean-Claude, Asher, Micah, Nathaniel, Jason, Richard, Zebrowski, Dolph - and as they are all great it's great to know more of them but as she gives more info and detail on everyone it gets to be too much.

I loved it much more in the early books when we had Anita, Richard and Jean-Claude and extras, now it's a whole freaking theater full of people.

I probably sound harsher than I actually feel but this book left me restless and wanting to skip pages - and to be honest I did skip the last few chapters, cause it just didn't move anywhere, and I love stories that have action instead of 8 main characters in one room battling their minds for chapters upon chapters to no end.

Publisher's Blurb (in italics)

Anita Blake is trying to get her life back to "normal" after a break-up with her werewolf lover. She has settled into a pattern of domesticity, which means that the new man in her life, the leopard shapeshifter Micah, has no problem sharing her with Jean-Claude, Master Vampire of the City. Things are as peaceful as they ever get for someone who raises the dead, when Jean-Claude receives an unexpected and unwelcome visitor: Musette, the very beautiful, very twisted representative of the European Council of Vampires. Anita soon finds herself caught up in a dangerous game of vampire power politics.

To add to her troubles, she is asked to consult on a series of brutal killings, which seem to be the work of something un-human. The investigation leads her to Cerulean Sins, a vampire-run establishment that deals in erotic videos, videos that cater to very specific tastes. Anita knows one creature of the night who has such interests — Jean-Claude's visitor. But if Anita brings Musette down, the repercussions could cost her everything she holds dear.”

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.

Anita Blake returns to find hell hath no fury like a vampire scorned.

Okay now what I did like about this book is the chapters where she goes after the bad guys, on the crime scenes and her reactions to Dolph’s crack down, and Asher, even though he's damaged he's an interesting character. Can't say much more - after this I am actually bit apprehensive about the next two Anita Blake books I have in my shelf "Incubus Dreams" and "Micah and Strange Candy", and I hope to god they are more intack and flowing than this thing.

I know a lot people loved and liked this book, but I just didn't find this one so appealing to me, most due to Belle Morte, I think.

Rating:

☆ ★ ★ ★ ★(less)

like 1 like

· see review

Jan 03, 2012

Brandi rated it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I'm trying really hard to keep an open mind, and because I'm reading each in the series back to back, I understand why things have happened the way they have. For the most part, I like it, like the growth in Anita. If you believe in the world, everything else seems to make sense. So, here are my thoughts on Cerulean Sins:

* I am SO glad Jason called Anita on her actions in her relationships, but I think Jean-Claude and Asher let her off a little too easy. She does hold back, she does ...moreI'm trying really hard to keep an open mind, and because I'm reading each in the series back to back, I understand why things have happened the way they have. For the most part, I like it, like the growth in Anita. If you believe in the world, everything else seems to make sense. So, here are my thoughts on Cerulean Sins:

* I am SO glad Jason called Anita on her actions in her relationships, but I think Jean-Claude and Asher let her off a little too easy. She does hold back, she does demand a lot, and her love does come with conditions - I'm glad she's at least begun to acknowledge that. We'll have to see if she'll continue learning in the next book.

* Richard annoys the ever-loving crap out of me. I have never hated what's suppose to be a "good" character so much before! What began as a cute, but mildly irritating, character has devolved into a hateful, suicidal being. Anytime he comes on the page, I get irritated. How can he be Ulfric and still be queasy about killing people? It's such the opposite of other werewolf characters I've read that it annoys me. If you're going to be a Boy Scout, fine; but then don't try to be a badass when you aren't comfortable enforcing your own rules, Richard. I hope we see less and less of Richard, since there's no place for this relationship to go without someone caving (please, please, don't let it be Anita).

* The ending sucked. Sorry, but it did. There was no tension or build up in the police/murder plotline, and the ending was atrocious - three pages, that's it. Anita goes in, does what she does, and that whole plotline was resolved. Ew. Why even have any of that? Was it really necessary? With such a lame ending, I don't see how it could have added that much to the overall story.

* Dolph is beginning to scare me.

* The dinner with Musette/Belle was so confusing. I'm going to blame Richard for barging in and trying to be badass, and messing everything up. Way. To. Go. But beyond that, how did Jean-Claude, at only 400 years old, manage to become the master of his own line? How'd that happen - through his triumvirate with Anita and Richard?

* Glad to see that Jason and Asher finally got some action. But poor Nathaniel, left out again. I'm going to hope he gets a girlfriend one day.

* I miss Anita animating. I never thought I'd say this, but more zombies, please!

* It's been mentioned before, but the repetitiveness of the same characters being described in the same way in the same book over and over again is starting to grate a bit. Once at the beginning of a new book, fine, but I don't need constant reminders that Asher's hair is truly gold in the same book, thank you.

* Laurell K. Hamilton needs a new proofreader or editor, because a lot of little things, misspellings, additional unneeded commas, are irritating to see. In the first couple books, fine, but we're on book 11 now - it's okay to let someone proofread.

In the end though, I did manage to enjoy parts of Cerulean Sins, and the secondary characters were great for comic relief here and there (Zebrowski and Jason, I love you). But it sort of feels like the book wasn't finished right, and I'm left disappointed. 2 1/2 stars.(less)

like 1 like

· see review

Jan 05, 2010

Danielle L. rated it

Book Review: “Cerulean Sins” by Laurell K. Hamilton
Jove, 2004, 547 pages
ISBN: 0-515-13681-6 (Paperback)
Available in paperback for $7.99
Reviewed by D. L. Parker

I really hate picking up books that are part of a long-running series and finding out that to make sense of (at least number 10 in this case) I must read all its prequels. Never having read an Anita Blake story before, I was almost at sea in Cerulean Sins. Anita’s a vampire hunter, but seems to be more...moreBook Review: “Cerulean Sins” by Laurell K. Hamilton
Jove, 2004, 547 pages
ISBN: 0-515-13681-6 (Paperback)
Available in paperback for $7.99
Reviewed by D. L. Parker

I really hate picking up books that are part of a long-running series and finding out that to make sense of (at least number 10 in this case) I must read all its prequels. Never having read an Anita Blake story before, I was almost at sea in Cerulean Sins. Anita’s a vampire hunter, but seems to be more than cozy with the old bloodsuckers? She’s a federal agent, but a licensed shoot-‘em-in-the-face executioner as well? What the heck is an Ulfric? Progressing to stronger expressions of frustration, what the #$*! is a Bolverk? Or a Nimir-Ra? (All of which Anita, apparently, is). And why, oh why, does Anita just have to have sex with all those men?! What a life the poor girl leads.
Only, Ms. Blake isn’t the sort of gal one would feel sorry for even if she were hanging from thumbscrews. On a spectrum that includes Xena and Buffy at its far end and Shrinking Violet at the other, Anita’s in a class of her own. The woman out-swears all the pants in the story, punches big fellows in the guts and makes them fold like letters, totes a gun and flashes it like Wyatt Earp, all that and manages to sexually satisfy her own private harem of males at the same time (both breathing and non-breathing varieties). (Actually, I lost track of the harem…who she was Doing It with, who she had Done It with, and who was probably going to be Doing It with her by the next page or so). At one point, Anita has a young punk inching away from her in fear…with good reason, since she’s about to eat him, and that’s a literal statement. No wonder a member of her harem, a male stripper (there are quite a few male strippers in this story) asks her briskly, “Sex, blood, or flesh?” Thank goodness Anita’s in an amorous mood!
The principal character of this story was so beyond Terminator tough, in fact, that by the middle of the book this very odd feeling crept up on me. I felt like…well, I had this very strange feeling that Anita Blake was really a man; I felt like the whole story was one vast homoerotic fantasy. I mean, there are clues, I’m not just nuts here. She participates in anal and oral sex! (ok, not conclusive). But more telling─the woman despises embroidery (and yes, real women do embroider little useless floral thingamajigs, trust me). OK, so I’m tongue-in-cheek…but not much. When Virginia Slims points out You’ve Come A Long Way Baby, they have no idea how far we’re talking about here.
I confess that the main reason for my original interest in the story was the private investigator fantasy, but here I was vastly disappointed with Cerulean Sins. The little bit of detective business in the story remains a distant second to the vampire politics/sex plotline. It’s just there as a place holder, something Anita seems to do to keep her hand in, like the goes-nowhere necromantic raising she does at the start of the book. (I tell you, this gal’s resume must run to its own ten-thousand-words horror story). I finished the tale and could scarcely tell you any detecting went on at all. What little did didn’t seem to sink in to my brain, because of course it’s secondary to the main, um, thrust of the story…the kinky stuff.
The vampires, for example…trite as it is, after Anne Rice and others have done it to death, all the bloodsuckers in this story are absolutely gorgeous, even the villainous ones. Anita’s main squeeze, Jean-Claude, vamps around (sorry, I know puns are low humor) in sexy leather boots (thigh-highs, of course), tight leather pants, gorgeous long hair and frilly blouses. Asher, the second pair of pants in Anita’s ménage-a-trois, is a blonde as beautiful as─well, those Fallen Angels. (In case any reader misses the point, he’s actually, literally, painted that way, wings and all, in the story).
The main plotline of the story has Anita and her vampire lovers up against a wedge of French invaders (vampire, of course) who want to take the beauteous Asher back into a form of vampiric slavery. I find it interesting that the villains in the story are almost all female…there’s the Undead version of Barbie, Musette; her possessing mistress, Belle Morte, and─setting the stage for another sequel, of course─the ultimate Bad Mama, the Mother of All Darkness, who makes the rest of the matriarchal monsters look like sweetness and light and knock in their kitten-heeled shoes.
I’m not saying well-written titillating trash isn’t something one shouldn’t enjoy now and then. A balanced diet has to include some junk food as well as occasional runs of haute cuisine and home cooking.
But to me, the non sequiter ending of this story sums up the whole nicely. The book ends with Anita and her lover Jean-Claude on stage with another male stripper (one of the harem members she almost does it with), indulging in a little playful bad-kitty flogging show for the audience. Yes, this book is a homoerotic/heterosexual Chippendale show, with something for almost all sexual persuasions (but not quite all: I’m sorry, no girlie to girlie action, at least in this book. I was almost disappointed). As a detective story, I think it’s a dead loss, and I personally think Anne Rice did the ultimate Gorgeous Immortal Sex God Vampire business in her early Interview with a Vampire classic, and I feel Buffy makes a more sympathetic Slayer.
So I’m afraid I have no plans at this time to read prequels one through nine. I’d rather re-read Barbara Hambly’s superior Edwardian vampire mystery, Those Who Hunt the Night…which I highly recommend, if you can find it; it’s a gem!
Of course, though, if I don’t read those prequels I’ll never find out what the heck a Bolverk and an Ulfric really are, and that’s a pain, of course. But I don’t dare ask Anita for any explanation. No ma’am, I’ll just sit here with my hands in plain sight, doing my harmless embroidery, and you won’t need that gun or that whip at all. No offense, Ms. Blake, but you’ve got this reader perfectly terrorized!
(less)

like 2 likes

· see review

Oct 24, 2009

Hilda rated it

Shelves: anita-blake-vampire-hunter-series, vampire

I looked at him, and he was pale alabaster with that black, black hair, those blue eyes. The folds and hollows of his body exposed to the overhead lights were as beautiful and familiar to me as a favorite path that I could walk forever and never tire of.
I stared at Jean-Claude, and it wasn't the beauty of him that made me love him, it was just-him. It was a love made up of a thousand touches, a million conversations, a trillion shared looks. A love made up of danger shared, enemies conquer...more

like 7 likes

· see review

Nov 05, 2008

Mari rated it

Recommended to Mari by: Mike

Shelves: supernatural-romance

Now that I've read all the other books in the series, lovely Mike bought me the latest, "Cerulean Sins" as a Christmas present. I wanted to wait to finish other books before I started this one - but of course I have no will power, and I read it immediately.

If, dear readers, you've read the books leading up to this one, you know that our heroine, Anita Blake, has gone from being celibate to boinking nearly everyone in the books. This story is no exception. I won't divulge w...moreNow that I've read all the other books in the series, lovely Mike bought me the latest, "Cerulean Sins" as a Christmas present. I wanted to wait to finish other books before I started this one - but of course I have no will power, and I read it immediately.

If, dear readers, you've read the books leading up to this one, you know that our heroine, Anita Blake, has gone from being celibate to boinking nearly everyone in the books. This story is no exception. I won't divulge who - but I doubt you'd be surprised. Aside from the drastic morality shift, the only two annoyances to the plot are the main character's continuing badly timed guilt, and the increasing predictability of the crimes she investigates. The bad guys get increasingly bad - but she has increasing power to deal with them. Here's the basic equation:

Step One: Bad guys arrive in town and challenge one or all of the triumvirate (Richard/Jean-Claude/Anita). (Usually there is also some really horrendous crime committed - but not always related to the Bad (Supernatural) Guy.)

Step Two: An action, usually unethical/immoral/repugnant is the key to increasing power and thus defeating Bad Guy.

Step Three: Agonize over the decision.

Step Four: Do it anyway.

Step Five: Feel guilty.

Step Six: Beat the Bad Guy, but not before being introduced (somewhere in the plot) to a new imminent Badder Guy, that will probably arrive in the next novel.

Step Seven: Feel a bit more guilty. Think about Richard. Sum up.

I can't complain too much because having a successful formula will keep your fans happy and you employed. I just miss the mysteries being a bit more complicated. Though portions of the book are quite good - the main plot was just to obvious. The character, Anita Blake, seems to have only one weakness now - her own battle with her morality - which seems to get a bit more trite in every succeeding book. The secondary characters hold much of the interest now - particularly Asher, the old lover of Jean Claude. In fact, in several instances it is those characters that propel the story forward - especially Jason in this instance. Jason finally calls Anita on her feelings of guilt and angst - and draws attention to her defense mechanisms that are making her life harder and more complicated than it needs to be. I wouldn't have thought of his character as being the analytical type - but if follows the plot well.

That's it for now. Not exactly a thumbs up - but not a thumbs down either. I still buy the next book, of course, because I'm addicted and hopeful that I'll be surprised. We'll see. . .
(less)

like 4 likes

· see review

Oct 13, 2008

Chris rated it

Shelves: werewolves-are-awesome, vampires, ick-attack, urban-fantasy

Why I did I not like this book? I suppose it could have been the fact that a once kick ass heroine is now a sex fiend. However, Anita is Hamilton's character, and Hamilton has the right to change the character. I just wish she had done it in a more believable way. Why, for instance, can't Anita control her desires when Jean-Claude can? Why doesn't Anita even try? I might not have liked the book because all the sex sounds the same. It really does, and it is really boring sex. The only diffe...more

like 11 likes

· see review

Aug 02, 2007

Damecatoe rated it

Shelves: sci-fi_fantasy

"Nothing turns to hate so bitter as what once was love." – Anita Blake in Cerulean Sins.

You tell 'em, Laurell K. Hamilton, cause ooo, were your fans mad at you after that book (see reader reviews at Amazon.com). Well, it started with Narcissus in Chains, but I guess they were willing to allow that one if it were an aberration and not the new norm. Oh, well. Poor kids. I know how it feels. I know what Chri$ Carter did to the X-Files.

I'm reading these books as a ...more

like 6 likes

· see review

Jan 28, 2012

Amber Hahn rated it

I'll make this (mostly) short & sweet.
I wanted everyone to be wrong. I wanted to continue to like this series like I had at the beginning. I REALLY wanted everyone to be wrong. But they weren't. Not even a little bit.
In fact, the most recent review right before mine (by Regina) hits the nail on the head.
There were about 2 chapters of original story. 1 or 2 more of the same (but different!) stories from previous books. And lots... and lots... and lots... and lots... of sex....more

· see review

Jan 17, 2012

Myvampfiction rated it

Reviewed by Ciara

*Warning: possible spoilers ahead.*

Sex.

That’s this book in one word, more or less.

This book is, so far, furthest from all the things I loved about the first few books. I became addicted to the ABVH books because it combined crime, detective work and supernatural elements.

Don’t get me wrong, I love sex, and I enjoyed the early days of examples of how awesome Anita’s sex/romantic life, but I enjoyed that as part of the overall b...more

· see review

Mar 23, 2011

Barb rated it

· review of another edition

Cerulean Sins is the eleventh book in the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Series. In this episode, Ms. Blake is contacted by a man she quickly pegs as a hired assassin who says he wants to hire her for the purpose of raising one of his ancestors from the dead. As you follow the story, you discover that Ms. Blake is more than a “vampire hunter”. She is an animator, macromancer, part shapeshifter, and the girl friend of the Master Vampire. After completing a successful session of “animating” (raising a...moreCerulean Sins is the eleventh book in the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Series. In this episode, Ms. Blake is contacted by a man she quickly pegs as a hired assassin who says he wants to hire her for the purpose of raising one of his ancestors from the dead. As you follow the story, you discover that Ms. Blake is more than a “vampire hunter”. She is an animator, macromancer, part shapeshifter, and the girl friend of the Master Vampire. After completing a successful session of “animating” (raising a dead man) to settle an insurance claim between the insurance company and the man’s widow, Ms. Blake becomes involved in trying to find a serial killer. All this at the same time she has major problems going on in her love life and major problems with the international politics of vampires, werewolves, and various “other worldly” creatures.

This is the first of the Anita Blake series I have read. I admit I was quite excited about reading the book as I had heard some good things about some of her earlier books. However, I was extremely disappointed as I began to read the book. Most of the first half of the book was really one long, group sex act. Unfortunately, the sex had little to do with the plot and serves only to fill a good number of pages. The second half of the book did have a little more of a plot with some bit of mystery and some detective work. For me, it was too little to late. If I had not been reviewing the book I would have stopped reading after the first 50 or so pages and tossed it in the trash.

Ms. Hamilton’s writing is quite good and I believe she could have produced an excellent book with the serial killer plot, if she would have gotten down to business and developed the plot, instead of turning out page after dreary page of vampire sex. However, taken as it was written, the characters are ok but the author really didn’t make me care about any of them. Some of the characters had so many problems I should have felt some sympathy for them and should have continued to read with an expectant hope that their problems would come to a positive conclusion. That, however, was not the case. When I finished the book I mentally said, “That’s nice,” but I truly had no vested emotions in any of the characters. Further, I was really disappointed that in something called a “vampire hunter series” the hunter didn’t “hunt” any vampires; instead, she had group sex with them. What is that about?

I really wanted to like this book. I like stories about vampires and other scary stuff. What I didn’t want was a pornographic tale that ran for some 200+ pages of a 400-page book. It is a shame because I believe Ms. Hamilton could have produced a really great book. To say I was let down is an understatement. I am sorry to say that it will likely be a very long time before I read another Laurell Hamilton book.

(less)

· see review

Oct 19, 2010

Mary Grace rated it

I am again disappointed. I don't know what happened to the series after Blue Moon. From a plateau, it went down and fast. I used to love Anita, don't get me wrong I still love the series but I just think that the plot of the series was lost with all erotic scenes and the coming of the ardeur.

I have come to the point where I skip all the sexy scenes to where the action is and I am left with only a few pages to read. I mean that's a great degrade to the previous books that the se...more

like 1 like

· see review

Jun 19, 2010

Chinablue_25 West Bostedor rated it

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

like 1 like

· see review

Jan 06, 2010

Aimee mcmillan rated it

Shelves: necoromancers, series, shapeshifters, vampires, urban-fantasy

A must for all Hamilton fans!

After reading the whole series i couldnt believe that the last was still as good as the first. I loved this book as it concentrated more on the vampire politics and introduced Belle Morte, and her brand of malevolance into the series, should make the next book a little more interesting as we are allowed to delve more into the council and its strange brand of politics.

It allows us to get past the "anita and Richard" part of the book as ri...more

like 1 like

· see review

Aug 27, 2009

Robert Beveridge rated it

Shelves: cuy-co-pub-lib, finished

Laurell K. Hamilton, Cerulean Sins (Berkley, 2003)

Wait, what? We're ten books into this series and Hamilton stops with the bar-name theme in her book titles? Yes, it's true, for the first time, she's named her book after something other than a bar, perhaps because the only one that features in the book is Circus of the Damned (which was, of course, already used). It could also be because, while she does get back into Anita's actual day job in this one (which begins with an appointment ...more

like 1 like

· see review

May 20, 2011

Catherine rated it

There are only so many times one can read about Jean-Claude’s deep blue eyes before you feel like clawing them out just so that it will be mentioned no more. The same goes for Asher’s beautiful golden head of hair…one more mention of that and I will be sorely tempted to leap into the book armed with a razor to shave it all off. I’m also thinking of buying Anita a chastity belt. That way, maybe she can focus more on the plot rather than trying to have sex with as many guys in as short amount of t...moreThere are only so many times one can read about Jean-Claude’s deep blue eyes before you feel like clawing them out just so that it will be mentioned no more. The same goes for Asher’s beautiful golden head of hair…one more mention of that and I will be sorely tempted to leap into the book armed with a razor to shave it all off. I’m also thinking of buying Anita a chastity belt. That way, maybe she can focus more on the plot rather than trying to have sex with as many guys in as short amount of time as possible. It seems that Anita has decided to stop kicking ass and shooting people to better spend her precious energy on sex. Well done girl, you finally have your priorities figured out.

I don’t want to give up on this series as I’ve been enjoying it so much up until number nine, but if I have to slog through any more plotlines about the goddamn ardeur and the random sex and orgies, my head will explode. I fail to see how introducing the ardeur has added anything relevant to the series. There’s also the repeated descriptions of just about everything, from Asher’s scars, to Dolph‘s appearance, to Asher’s HAIR and Jean-Claude’s deep blue EYES, to Nathaniel freaking lilac EYES, to Micha’s bright green cat EYES, to…dear God, I can’t take anymore eye descriptions. At least Richard’s out of the picture so we don’t have to read about his amazing fluffy brown hair. There’s only Asher’s golden hair, Jean-Claude’s dark curls and Nathaniels long auburn braid. Seriously, what is it with the hair and the eyes?

You would think having read about the triumvirate for so long we’d be over it now, but no. We still have the same descriptions over and over again about how it’s affecting the three of them and nothing ever changes. Do we really need to read the same thing repeatedly, only worded slightly differently each time? I can’t bring myself to do it, so I’m skimming paragraphs and even pages at a time. I’m not sure how long I can keep this up for…maybe I can make you a deal Anita. If you can abstain from sex for the rest of this book, I will finish it but if I come across you jumping anyone else’s bones then the deal is off and I am done with you.

***

Well, I managed to finish the book and although I didn't encounter any more sex scenes, I also didn't encounter anything to make this book less of a failure. The ending seemed pretty rushed and Anita is still dating multiple guys so nothing has improved. I'm not sure whether to give the next book a try or to give up on this series. I can't remember the last time it took me six days to read a book. (less)

like 3 likes

· see review

May 25, 2010

KarenLee rated it

Shelves: library-books

Just about when I was ready to give up on this series, I read this one. I found this one to be well-crafted. I've perfected the art of skimming the parts that I find uninteresting, and finally understand what I like and don't like about the series.

I don't actually find Anita or Richard (2 of the main characters) believable. Aspects of their characters are well drawn, but other aspects don't seem to me to be "true to character". I know a lot of people will disagree wit...more

· see review

Mar 20, 2008

Jeri rated it

Shelves: fiction

I think I need to take a break from these books for awhile. I'm getting way too caught up in the lives of the characters. I really wanted someone to rip out Richard Zeeman's throat. He is far too whiny for an Alpha Werewolf. Oh well, that is what makes these books such fun. They are books about people who just happen to be werewolves, vampires, regular humans, etc. The emotional drama is the same no matter what type of non human is involved. On to the next one!

like 4 likes

· see review

May 30, 2011

Adriane rated it

Shelves: paranormal-fiction, paranormal-romance, kindle

This book was extremely decent, it deals with Jean-Claudes maker coming for a visit. This sounds innocent enough but with vampire politics nothing is innocent. So of course right off the bat Anita gets offended and ends up causing violence and pissing off Belle Morte. And she may not be the most powerful vampire but she's certainly one you don't need to be pissing off. Socially the good news is that every book Anita accepts a little bit more of who she is and doesn't fight her instincts as much....more

· see review

Apr 13, 2011

Adam rated it

Anita Had to deal with Belle Morte , Also Jean-Claud,Asher and Anita are finaly a threesome . Dolph is going through some personal Shit and trying to Bring it to the Job and blaming Jason for something he did not do . Also Anita was geting Mind fucked By Belle Morte and The Mother of All Darkness . This is the Frist Book That Mommy Dearest Makes a appearence. Anita is trying to deal with the audure Through out This Book. Richard had a death wish and was trying tofind away to KIll himself...more

· see review

Nov 19, 2011

NicNacNoodle rated it

OK, so we've made it to book 11 in this series and it's been a pretty bumpy ride. I've given ratings from as low as 3/10 and as amazingly high as 9/10 on the Nici Book Review Scale, and finally the inconsistency has caught up with me.

At first, I didn't want to like this series, it just lacked the finesse of others in the genre, then it hooked me in with books 7 & 8, only to toss me away again with book 9 and now Cerulean Sins. Hmm. What can I say?

Well, it started out with pro...more

· see review

Mar 09, 2011

Kaleena rated it

The first 5 books in the series were very well written. I really came to enjoy the character of Anita Blake and I very much liked how Hamilton was able to come up with crime thrillers with paranormal aspects. I also enjoy erotic novels and I was told originally that if I liked that, I would enjoy this book. I do have to agree with everyone else however. After Narcissus in Chains, everything went down hill. NAY!I feel the books changed for me when she slept with Richard. I liked Richard, though I...more

· see review

Jun 16, 2011

Amy rated it

Shelves: paranormal

After reading these books back to back I am emotionally exhausted! I couldn't wait to start Incubus Dreams though so the roller coaster ride continues. Cerulean Sins kept up the pace of Narcissus in Chains and then sped it up just a little bit more! All my favorite characters and tons and tons of JC and Asher! The vampire politics were perfect (they are my favorite part of the series) but there were other things to move Anita's life along.

I was really pissed at Dolf and I have still...more

like 1 like

· see review

Mar 17, 2011

Lynsey (Geekius) rated it

I'm coming back to the Anita Blake series after a long break. I got annoyed (that would be putting it mildly) with a certain aspect of the storyline at around book 10, Narcissus in Chains, and had to stop for a bit.

Basically, I can deal with my leading lady ending up in a love triangle. Just. But with this series, it started getting ridiculous. Anita went from not wanting to have sex before marriage with her one and only boyfriend, to sleeping with anything that moved, and I just did...moreI'm coming back to the Anita Blake series after a long break. I got annoyed (that would be putting it mildly) with a certain aspect of the storyline at around book 10, Narcissus in Chains, and had to stop for a bit.

Basically, I can deal with my leading lady ending up in a love triangle. Just. But with this series, it started getting ridiculous. Anita went from not wanting to have sex before marriage with her one and only boyfriend, to sleeping with anything that moved, and I just didn't like it. Sorry. It upset my delicate sensibilities:)

So, in this story, Musette, the right hand woman of Belle Mort, the leader of Jean Claude and Asher's line, is sent to St. Louis and Anita is forced to make Asher her lover in order to protect him from her. She loves him anyway, mainly through inheriting Jean Claude's memories of him, so she's not too bothered. They end up in a menage a tois, which of course Asher and Jean Claude have been in before with Asher's human servant, Julianna, who died. What happened to prudish Anita, eh?

She also adds Jason to her list of people she sleeps with, when an attack of the ardeur occurs when neither Micah or Nathaniel are available to... er...help out.

Micah is still a girlie wuss who lets Anita do whatever she wants with whomever she wants.

Nathaniel is starting to develop a bit of a backbone and is getting upset by the fact that he's about the only person left whom she isn't having actual intercourse with.

There was a lot of time concentrated on and around the sexual relationships in this book, and a very brief, almost a subplot or background story of a shapeshifter serial killer. So in case you are wondering why I am only concentrating on the rudey-doody bits when I just said that's what annoys me, well, its because it took up nearly 75% of the storyline of the book, that's why.

I did enjoy it though, having said all that. I think you just have to get your head around the fact that this ardeur thing makes it impossible for Anita to be a one man, woman now, and once I accepted that, and stopped getting mad, I actually started to appreciate all the different men in her life and their uniqueness, as they all bring with them such different trials and tribulations as well as the good aspects and in some cases, power boosts.(less)

· see review

Sep 08, 2011

Cherie rated it

My ratings system is as follows. One star is GOOD. The book is entertaining, easy to read and you don't want to stop reading because something about the book is compelling you not to. Two stars is GREAT! This time the story is not only entertaining, but highly creative, unique, easy to read and hard to put down. Three stars is EXCELLENT. Here the book has all aspects of one and two stars, but now the book is thought and emotionally provoking. Four is AWESOME. This is the read that is not onl...more

· see review

Sep 26, 2011

Jeannette rated it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This was surprisingly not as agonizing as I thought it would be. Isn't that an encouraging start?

The issue is that of course, I'm not particularly interested in Belle Morte. I'm fond of Asher, but I'm over the whole Julianna drama. A book that begins with by telling me that Musette has arrived does not make me particularly gasp. Especially when the entire ardeur plotline really aggravated me in the past novel.

Hamilton breaks away from that whole ordeal though, giving Anit...moreThis was surprisingly not as agonizing as I thought it would be. Isn't that an encouraging start?

The issue is that of course, I'm not particularly interested in Belle Morte. I'm fond of Asher, but I'm over the whole Julianna drama. A book that begins with by telling me that Musette has arrived does not make me particularly gasp. Especially when the entire ardeur plotline really aggravated me in the past novel.

Hamilton breaks away from that whole ordeal though, giving Anita more control over her new... quirk (well, it's not really a superpower, is it?). She compensates by making the sex scenes even more graphic and extreme, but they no longer occupy the space of the plot. I'll take a little compromise.

The plot that does unfold in this one isn't half bad. It was heart-breaking (and yet somehow fascinating) to see what grief does to Dolph, and impressive that Zerbrowski was ready and able to step into his shoes. Richard's continuing pain was unfortunately underplayed, but still touched me enough to make me sad. Jason becoming an even more well-rounded character was a relief, as I've always liked him. Also, hello Agent Brad Bradley Bradderson Bradford the Brad. Nice to see you again. The serial killer and Anita-stalking subplots intertwined neatly, were a great return to what Anita's actual career, and provided a really nice balance to what could easily have been an overwhelming cavern of blah.

Yes, I think Belle Morte is blah. She is arrogant and none-too-clever, and surprisingly old-fashioned for a vampire who has somehow managed to survive for thousands of years. How do you do that without adapting at least a little bit to the changing times? It's not sensible and I don't like it. Musette is just an uninteresting extension of her, with a disgusting child-abusing twist. I do like how that turns on her with Valentina and Bartolome. That was interesting and makes me wonder how they'll play out in the future.

Overall, I'd give it a 2.5, but I'll round up with this one for Jason's and Zerbrowski's sakes. I expect more Micah next time though, and when do Edward and Larry come back?(less)

· see review

Jun 28, 2011

William M. rated it

Shelves: horror

The 11th book in the Anita Blake Vampire series seems like Laurell Hamilton is running out of ideas. The stories are feeling more and more like a daytime soap opera. She has to understand that a soap opera is on every day, but we only get a new Anita Blake book every year! It should be important and mean something - make it count. Anita's character seems to go along with the flow of everything happening around her, instead of making decisions for herself. Yeah, I enjoy the sex as much as anyone ...more

· see review

Jun 28, 2011

Claudine Van Wyk rated it

This is a review overall of the entire series. Anita Blake is The Executioner, lupa to the local pack Alpha, human servant to a vampire, a necromancer, a living vampire, leopard queen, tiger queen and mostly human. While the first few books had decent story lines, from about halfway they disintegrated into a mass orgy of odder and odder sex. The vampire hunting and corpse raising gave way to pretty average sex. Now, each book has a beginning (sort of), massive amounts of having sex with mult...more

· see review

Oct 12, 2011

Paris Jordan rated it

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

· see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 717 718 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (27)

More editions...

Genres

Paranormal > Vampires

361 users

Fantasy > Urban Fantasy

314 users

Fantasy > Paranormal

260 users

Fantasy

260 users

Romance > Paranormal Romance

138 users

Horror

127 users

Romance

107 users

Fantasy > Supernatural

74 users

Shapeshifters > Werewolves

61 users

Adult Fiction > Erotica

44 users

See top shelves...

Readers Also Enjoyed

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

More about Laurell K. Hamilton...

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)

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Pin It

Trivia About Cerulean Sins

5 trivia questions

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from Cerulean Sins

“Neither love nor evil conquers all, but evil cheats more.” — 330 people liked it

“Never argue when you're winning.” — 168 people liked it

More quotes…

Groups That Shelved Cerulean Sins

Romance Readers Reading C...

4391 members

last activity 2 minutes ago

shelf: read

Paranormal Addicts & Newb...

4309 members

last activity 3 minutes ago

shelf: read

Building a SciFi/Fantasy ...

2358 members

last activity Feb 07, 2012 08:27pm

shelf: read

title link	preview: Cerulean Sins
avg rating	preview: Cerulean Sins Goodreads rating: 3.74 (15952 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30245.Cerulean_Sins?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1309204066m/30245.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30245.Cerulean_Sins?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Cerulean Sins by Laurell K. Hamilton[/url]

Cerulean Sins (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #11)

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Readers Also Enjoyed

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website