Cerulean Sins (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #11) by Laurell K. Hamilton

Sep 20, 2011 Regina rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 characters gr...more

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Oct 24, 2012 Crystal Starr Light rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: erotica, hello-my-name-is-mary-sue, horror, idiot-protagonist, read-at-your-own-risk, romance-in-disguise, i-whine-therefore-i-am

"Most people don't find me funny at all."

Anita Blake meets a guy in her office. Gasp, shock, horror, she actually accepts his job. She then raises a zombie. Asher arrives to tell her "Surprise! Musette, Belle Morte's cronie, is here!" She rushes to Jean-Claudes to get in a p!ssing match with Musette. Then she has to rush home to feed the ardeur. She argues about who she will have sex with. Asher waffles about having sex. Anita Blake has sex. Anita Blake is summoned to a crime scene, but she is...more

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Jan 08, 2012 Tilly Slaton rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 personal relationships while...more 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 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!
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Feb 24, 2013 Aimee mcmillan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 richard features very little in...more

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Oct 18, 2012 Lisa (Harmonybites) rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, horror, fantasy, novels

It's hard to believe, but when Anita stopped being celibate in The Killing Dance my reaction was "finally." I thought Hamilton had overdone the sexual tension leading up to that book. Oh, the good old days! When this was a fun series about Anita the necromancer and vampire hunter with her werewolf on the side. I knew it was a bad, bad thing when the ardeur rose up its ugly head in the previous book. In fact, I thought, "no, Hamilton didn't just do that!" but I thought it an aberration that Anita...more

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Jul 11, 2011 Niina rated it 1 of 5 stars · 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 as they are all great...more 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 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)

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Oct 30, 2012 Moira rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ach Anito.

Jak jsem psala - ze začátku to vypadalo tak nadějně. Ale...
Skončilo to tak, jak jsem podvědomě čekala. Zklamala jsem se. Abych to ale nebrala jen z té špatné stránky - tento díl byl po dějové stránce lepší než předchozí. O trochu. Co se týče nějakých morálních hodnot Blakeové, už jsem se smířila a vnitřně se přeorientovávám na trochu jiný režim. Jasně, stále vám Anita zastřelí cokoliv, co se jí moc nelíbí nebo se ji snaží zabít. Ale zároveň je ochotna pro své drahé překračovat hranice,...more Ach Anito.

Jak jsem psala - ze začátku to vypadalo tak nadějně. Ale...
Skončilo to tak, jak jsem podvědomě čekala. Zklamala jsem se. Abych to ale nebrala jen z té špatné stránky - tento díl byl po dějové stránce lepší než předchozí. O trochu. Co se týče nějakých morálních hodnot Blakeové, už jsem se smířila a vnitřně se přeorientovávám na trochu jiný režim. Jasně, stále vám Anita zastřelí cokoliv, co se jí moc nelíbí nebo se ji snaží zabít. Ale zároveň je ochotna pro své drahé překračovat hranice, kterých se v prvních dílech zuby nehty držela.
Mám chuť si přečíst první díl. Obrovskou. Potřebuju vědět, že tento vývoj postavy, ač se trochu nešikovněji vyvrbil, měl přeci jen solidní základy. Stýská se mi po nich.

Kdybych knihu měla charakterizovat několika slovy, bez zaváhání dám před zabíjení a monstra slovíčka jako sex, únavná vleklá upíří politika a pitvání citečků. Ne, nežertuji. Myslím, že lidičky, kteří Anitu milovali právě pro její detektivní případy a její zvláštní moc, s tímto dílem definitivně ztratí trpělivost.
Já jsem taky trochu znechucená. Jop, abych se dostala do stavu totálního zblbnutí, kdy se naprogramuju na tenhle ne-tak-dějově-dobrý režim, mi bude ještě chvilku trvat.

Na druhou stranu - oživovatelka zombie, nektomantka a Popravčí upírů, chlupáčů a tak dále, ať je to nápad sebelepší, by sám o sobě nic nezmohl. Myslím zaujmout lidi a tak. Stále je tady sarkastická jízlivá stránka hlavní hrdinky, její ochota zemřít pro přátele a udělat to nejlepší. Je tu styl psaní Hamiltonové, který mám strašně ráda. Ty věci, do kterých jsem se zamilovala především. Pořádná ženská hrdinka - to jsem hledala. Prostě se Anity tvrdohlavě nechci vzdát. Ale zpět k recenzi.

Charaktery má Hamilton skvělé. Už v prvních dílech si zasadila pořádné základy a když se jich drží, má pestré charaktery. Když se jich drží. Postavy jsou opravdu různorodé, různé úrovně propracovanosti, ale je to jedna z nejlepších věcí na posledních dílech. Ale vývoj postav...
Na jednu stranu je pro profesní dráhu Hamiltonové dobré, že své hlavní postavy vyvíjí. Na tu druhou asi autorka mnoho svých skalních fandů nepotěšila. Z obávané lovkyně upírů se Anita stala, no, trochu méně zásadovou osobou, která občas ztrácí nad svými (milostnými) záležitostmi vládu. A blbě to dopadá.

Co mě mrzí skoro nejvíce je jednoduchost. Jop, Hamilton se k tomuto snížila. Hodně prostoru věnuje upíří politice a milostnému životu Anity, na úkor děje. Někdy se jen mihle. A někdy, jako v této knize, se ukáže i trochu více, ale je tak bolestně odbytý, až je to smutné. Doslova se utápí v tom ostatním. Politice upírů a chlupáčů, abych Anitu citovala. Takže ději, jednomu ze základních tahačů série Anity Blakeové, můžeme truchlivě zamávat na rozloučenou.

Závěrem? Kniha je stejně krvavá, jako některé dřívější díly, máme zajímavé vykreslení děje, ale zápletka byla slabší. Navíc se čím dál více utápíme v upířích pletkách, což začíná být únavné. Hamiltonová však nadhodila vábničku. Jsem zvědavá, co s ní v dalších dílech udělá. Charaktery má Hamilton solidní, vývoj postav nekomentuju, ale líbí se mi, že autorka ukázala Anitu zase v trochu lidštějším světle. Ale celkově... kniha mě zklamala.(less)

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Jan 03, 2012 Brandi rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 demand a lot...more 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 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)

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Jan 05, 2010 Danielle Parker rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 than cozy with the old bloodsuckers?...more 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 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!
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Oct 24, 2009 Hilda rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 conquered, a...more

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Nov 05, 2008 Mari rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 who - but I doubt you'd...more 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 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. . .
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Oct 13, 2008 Chris rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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

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 difference...more

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Aug 02, 2007 Damecatoe rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 lark, so the trashier they get, th...more

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Apr 12, 2013 Miraphora rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy, vampiri

Son sorpresa, lo ammetto.
Di solito, quando leggo la Hamilton, o mi piace o mi fa schifo. Non ho mezze misure. Ultimamente, poi, la media era una depressione mista a disgusto che mi aveva portata ad abbandonare completamente l'acquisto della serie, ma a continuare a leggerla tramite biblioteca per pura curiosità e masochismo.
Ero pronta, quindi, ad incazzarmi come una iena e ad inveire contro Anita, la HamHam e tutto l'Anitaverse in generale. Ma non ho motivo per farlo. Prima di tutto perché in...more Son sorpresa, lo ammetto.
Di solito, quando leggo la Hamilton, o mi piace o mi fa schifo. Non ho mezze misure. Ultimamente, poi, la media era una depressione mista a disgusto che mi aveva portata ad abbandonare completamente l'acquisto della serie, ma a continuare a leggerla tramite biblioteca per pura curiosità e masochismo.
Ero pronta, quindi, ad incazzarmi come una iena e ad inveire contro Anita, la HamHam e tutto l'Anitaverse in generale. Ma non ho motivo per farlo. Prima di tutto perché in questo romanzo succede poco o niente, e poi perché mancano di sostanza anche i personaggi. Per 509 pagine c'è una calma piatta che spiazza: ok, Musette la 'starda vampira di Belle Morte arriva e manda tutti in crisi esistenziale. E' cattiva, tutti la temono ecc. eppure non da nessuna impressione di pure evil, come invece è capitato in alcuni romanzi precedenti. La cattiva cattivissima è Belle Morte che agisce a distanza ma che, puntualmente, non riesce a fare veri danni. Insomma, le due 'starde alla fine della fiera non combinano niente: niente cadaveri, niente tragedie cosmiche...nulla. L'unico vero dramma ruota, manco a dirlo, attorno alle problematiche sessuali di Anita.
Questa volta il dilemma è: mi trombo o non mi trombo Asher? Ah si, questo si che ci cambia la vita, che non ci fa staccare gli occhi dalle pagine. Come risolvere questo grandissimo problema? Ma è semplicissimo! L'ardeur! L'espediente metapsichico (uso continuo del termine, roba da mal di testa) preferito della HamHam. Poco male che ogni tanto qualche altro poveretto capiti sotto le grinfie della pazza Anita.
Va bene, a parte questo - thank God - la Ham ci ha risparmiato la solita dose di Nathaniel e dei suoi capelli all'Arbre Magique alla vaniglia, di Micah pisellone e di Richard che, lo ammetto, mi attizza un casino lo stesso anche se è isterico come una donna in menopausa.
Spicca piacevolmente Jason, che ha dei momenti in cui si intravede qualcosa di più del solito cretinetto. Jean Claude, anche lui, uno spazio maggiore e più definito nel senso che Anita lo vede più come suo compagno (non solo di letto) e stranamente dipende emotivamente e fisicamente di più. E' stato un cambiamento gradito, visto che lo ha sempre trattato come una pezza da piedi.
La parte relativa agli omicidi è totalmente trascurabile perché mal organizzata, superficiale e banale. Peccato, perché il licantropo serial killer era un'idea carina.
Che dire, quindi. Tutto sommato l'ho letto 'bene', ma non mi ha colpita né in bene, né in male. Vediamo il prossimo come si evolve e cercherò di capire se la serie può rientrare come tappabuchi nelle mie letture.(less)

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Jan 04, 2013 Fangs for the Fantasy rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Musette, the representative of Belle Morte, her vessel, is in town as an ambassador. And she’s three months early.

Normally such an unexpected, uninvited visit would be met with hostility and a quick boot outside the territory. But Belle Morte is their Soudre de Sang the head of Jean-Claude’s line, he owes her fealty and loyalty. It’s a tricky maze of vampire politics to navigate, especially since Belle is bitter about Jean-Claude and Asher leaving her and her embassy is determined to be as diffi...more

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Nov 19, 2012 Matt Schiariti rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Some of the reviews on this book are pretty harsh. I've been reading some of the community threads about this series online as of late and I can understand where a lot of the negative opinions are coming from, I have some of the same misgivings about what's been going on with the series and Anita herself as the main character myself. During the middle portion of the book I thought at times that I was going to find myself not having had enjoyed the book. There are some things that I don't particu...more Some of the reviews on this book are pretty harsh. I've been reading some of the community threads about this series online as of late and I can understand where a lot of the negative opinions are coming from, I have some of the same misgivings about what's been going on with the series and Anita herself as the main character myself. During the middle portion of the book I thought at times that I was going to find myself not having had enjoyed the book. There are some things that I don't particularly like but I still enjoyed the book as a whole and the ending was quite good.

This is a pretty busy book, as are most of the AB novels. It starts off with Anita being back to work, then a series of murders occurs. In the middle of all that, the vampire council comes to town again. On top of THAT we still have anita dealing with her ardeur and the coming of the vampire council certainly doesn't help her deal with that.

A lot of the negativity surrounding the later books in the series I've noticed deal with the increasing frequency of the gratuitous sex. There are times when several chapters in a row are nothing but long and quite detailed sex scenes. I'll say this on the matter. I'm no prude, far from it but I think people's main problem with it is the shift from the earlier books. Anita had certain rules, rules she stuck to and that was that. The more time she spent with all the monsters the more those lines get blurred and she seems to have thrown alot of them out the window. Add in the whole ardeur aspect and you really never know who Anita's going to be bedding down with from one moment to the next. Totally her fault? No, but if she kicked Jean Claude to the curb a long time ago then her life wouldn't be nearly as complicated. BUT that would also make for a boring character.

I'll be the first to admit it. Sometimes I really can't stand Anita quite frankly! LOL She just makes decisions that are quite aggravating, but she second guesses herself constantly which means there's something left of the old Anita left that I enjoyed so much from the earlier books and she's still human enough where I don't find myself wanting to smack her myself for very long.

Most of the decisions that I've found myself aggravated over the last few books have really been a result of circumstance, not knowing what she was truly getting into, and very bad timing. If she was always just a cold hearted witch (which she HAS been at times) with no regret or feeling whatsoever I think I would have stopped reading the series. But she's not. She may be able to pull the trigger without a care more often than not, she may say hurtful things when she knows she shouldn't but at least she knows these things are wrong.

While the ardeur is still prevalent in this book (to the point even where sometimes you may find yourself saying 'enough is enough!') there's still elements from the earlier books that made this a good read.

There's the murders obviously and as such she's dealing with cops, feds and RPIT. There's more Zebrowski time in this book than there has been in a long time and that's a very good thing. Not that much Dolf time, but given what transpired during that time it's probably a good thing (and that's all I'll say on that!) And as I said, there's a little visit by some Vampire council members and that's always good stuff. The vampire politics and things that Jean Claude reveals during these little visits always makes for good reading. And yes, Richard's in the book yet again. I still thing going to JC over Richard was very very stupid on her part, but that can partially be blamed on circumstance and bad timing, I still remain hopeful though ;)

So, while not all of it may be to everyone's liking I think there's still plenty of entertainment value in this one. I didn't go into the plot too much because that's been done to death as there are plenty of reviews on this book that do a better job of detailing the particulars than I can do. I just try to convey my thoughts on the book, Anita and the series as a whole up to the book I'm reviewing.

As I said, the ending redeemed some of the ardeur and relationship stuff in the middle of the book that I didn't much care for and it makes a good book end to the beginning as well as the series of murders that take place over the course of the book.

So did I enjoy it overall? Yep. Not my favorite of the series but I'm still along for the ride in these characters' lives to see how everything ultimately pans out, quibbles (both minor and major) aside. (less)

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Sep 05, 2012 Anna rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal

Reading the 11th Anita Blake novel is a bit like meeting up with an old friend who can be annoying but who, nevertheless is fun and a bit ridiculous but still worth the effort. I read this for pure entertainment in the full knowledge that Hamilton has lost the plot a little. I liked that the opening scenes reprising Anita's necromancer role, but at the same time this plot line felt like the bread in a sandwich: it just provided a different texture to the filling, but the link got a bit soggy. In...more

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Aug 04, 2012 Daniela rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The book of Asher with hints of Richard.

The book starts with Anita raising a Zombie. Very imaginative, very surreal, very cool.
Mussette shows up uninvited and Anita's cavalry arrives, it was so intense when all the were animals showed up. And the writer does such a great job at reminding us about the details of each pack. I just knew things were gonna turn in our favor when they showed.
I totally got the title but I'm not gonna spoil it, all I can say is poor Asher I feel so sorry for him, seein...more

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May 22, 2012 Nicole Green rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Laurell picked up the pace from the last book, Narcissus in Chains, in this book. There is a new villain who is ultra-badass and seems much the formidable foe we have come to expect to fight Anita Blake, there is a back story of serial murders going on behind the scenes, along with something very wrong with Dolph, but the main story still revolves around the heroine, Anita Blake, which is a good thing.

The thing I am not liking about the series as a whole at this moment, is that Anita seems to ha...more Laurell picked up the pace from the last book, Narcissus in Chains, in this book. There is a new villain who is ultra-badass and seems much the formidable foe we have come to expect to fight Anita Blake, there is a back story of serial murders going on behind the scenes, along with something very wrong with Dolph, but the main story still revolves around the heroine, Anita Blake, which is a good thing.

The thing I am not liking about the series as a whole at this moment, is that Anita seems to have lost the moral grounds she stood by early in the series. I bet if you asked her toward the beginning of the series (if she wasn't fictional) if she could see herself having sexual relations with not only Jean-Claude but Richard, Jason, Asher, Micah, and have Nathaniel as a pomme de sang, she would look at you like you've gone crazy and probably shoot you in the head. It comes up that she has issues with her sexual-ness, but it hasn't stopped her so far from having intercourse with many of her furry/dead friends. I bet, even in the first novel, she would have guffawed at the idea of having a relationship with a vampire, werewolf, or wereleopard. I miss the old Anita with her spunk (which hasn't gone away, just seems very subtle).

I do like, however, that the story keeps moving along and, unlike the review of The Big Bad Wolf that I posted yesterday, the story is still interesting and has yet to become repetitive in the sense that the author has run out of ideas. Laurell has a good head on her shoulders and I am proud to say that she is my favourite author of all time. Once I start one of her books, there are times when I cannot physically put the book down due to the fact it is so engrossing that my head feels like it is literally glued to the pages. Yes, my head, you need your whole head (brain included) to absorb the awesome that is Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes the Anita Blake series, I would definitely recommend the first book of the series to those who are extremely interested in what I'm talking about and would like to merge into the circle of knowledge. I'm sure that what I'm talking about makes no sense to anyone who hasn't read (a) the book, (b) the series, or (c) a single book in their life. So, go read it! CAUTION: STRONG SEXUAL IMAGERY WITHIN THE NOVEL, DO NOT LET CHILDREN READ!

Also, this is the first book that isn't named after some sort of club.(less)

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Jan 17, 2012 Myvampfiction rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 books, when it fit in nicely with a decent plot and ch...more

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Mar 23, 2011 Barb rated it 1 of 5 stars · 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...more 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 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)

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Oct 19, 2010 Mary Grace rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 series had. The sens...more

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Jun 19, 2010 Chinablue_25 West Bostedor rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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

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Aug 27, 2009 Robert Beveridge rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 for a rais...more

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Jun 01, 2012 Faye Bryrdan Morgan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Reading the series nonstop has been both a blessing and a curse.
I loved Anita from the start for her stubborn, bitchy attitude that never ceases to amaze me.
The plot is well written, the series constant and the consequences of each of the character's actions and decisions rational and complicates the story.
And the men, :)
Oh, Laurell, the men. XD
Jean-Clause has been a constant, always beside Anita, always the seductive vampire.
Richard is an ASSHOLE.
Micah is a new addition and I can't wait to arri...more

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May 20, 2011 Catherine rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2011, uf-pnr

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...more 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 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)

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May 25, 2010 KarenLee rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 with me, but I've finally said...more

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Jun 30, 2012 Emily rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

There's really not much to recommend in this book, at all. Matter of fact, I can't think of a single thing. The main part of this book is Anita having sex with virtually every man in sight. And then angsting about having said sex. And trying to control the ardeur and failing miserably. Oh, and there Mary Sue factor gets even higher, which I didn't think was possible. And the story! What story? Yeah, that bad.

The sex. She has a lot of it. It gets repetitive. I skimmed pages and pages and pages, h...more

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Mar 20, 2008 Jeri rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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!

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May 30, 2011 Adriane rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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

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Cerulean Sins (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #11)

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Quotes from Cerulean Sins (Anita B...