Review: The Killing Dance, Laurell K. Hamilton

Publisher: Headline UK
Format: Paperback
Pages: 464
Released: First released in 1997, this version in 2010
This is not a YA - title


















These days my life is a cross between a preternatural soap opera and an action-adventure movie.' The first hit man came after me at home, which should be against the rules. Then there was a second, and a third. Word on the street is that Anita Blake, preternatural expert and vampire killer extraordinaire, is worth half a million dollars. Dead, not alive. So what's a girl to do but turn to the men in her life for help? Which in my case means an alpha werewolf and a master vampire. With professional killers on your trail, it's not a bad idea to have as much protection as possible, human or otherwise. But I'm beginning to wonder if two monsters are better than one...

Dark & entertaining

The Killing Dance was another entertaining book about Anita Blake, but not my favorite in this series.

There is a prize on Anita Blake's head, but she does not know who or why. Richard and Jean-Claude must try to help keep her safe, and soon Anita is caught in a whirlvind of emotions.

I have read this book on and off for some time now. The book is entertaining, but I didn't find it very suspenseful. There is a lot of focus on the relationships Anita has with the two men in her life, and there is some surprising additions to this. We get to know the characters better, and they evolve.

I have read that this series just keeps getting more and more erotic as the story progresses, and that is obvious in this book. There is more action here than in the previous books. But Hamilton still manages to create an orginial world with interesting perspectives on the paranormal.

Another thing I like about this series is the dark humour, and the character Anita Blake. So even though this book was not the best read in this series, it was still entertaining and I will keep on reading.

Other reviews:
Supernatural Bookworm
Books I Loved
Nyx Book Reviews

Review: Bloody Bones by Laurell K. Hamilton

Publisher: Headline Publishing Group (UK)
Pages: 464
Format: Paperback
Source: Bought
Release date/year: 1996, this edition in 2010

















A gripping and thrilling Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, novel 'When the monsters are involved, it's never just one dead body. One way or another the dead multiply.' First, there were the dead in the graveyard, two hundred years dead. I'd been hired to raise them to settle a dispute over who owned the land they were buried in. Then there were the three dead teenagers in the woods, slaughtered in a way I'd never seen before. And then they found the dead girl, drained of blood and left in her bed. I knew what that meant of course. It didn't take a degree in preternatural studies to figure out that something was wrong. And I was right in the middle of it. My name is Anita Blake. Welcome to my life...


Entertaining and sexy.
Bloody Bones is your typical Anita Blake - novel with loads of action, supernatural elements, vampires and sexy scenes.

A couple of teenagers are discovered in the woods, dead, and Anita must assist the local police. There is not easy to say who, or maybe what, is behind the deaths. More people turn up dead and a boy is kidnapped. Anita must ask Jean-Claude for help to get to the bottom of this. She is also called upon to raise some dead corpses, to establish who owns the rights for a certain piece of land.

Bloody Bones is not the best book in the Anita Blake - series, but still a very entertaining read and a real must - read for the fans. The book is easy to read, entertaining, really funny at times (I love Anita Blakes cynical humour) and there is some surprises too.

The murders and the kidnapping is the main focus in the book, or so it seems, But the real focus is actually on the relationship between Anita and Jean-Claude. There is a development here, that I am really curious to read about in future books. I think Hamilton is so good at building up her characters personality and they are never onedimensional, but change and develop throughout the stories.

Other reviews for this book:
Escape Between the Pages

Guilty Pleasures, Laurell K. Hamilton

Publisher: Headline Publishing Group
Format: Paperback
Pages: 352
Source: Bought from Play

"The fantastically addicitive first Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, novel 'I don't date vampires. I kill them.' My name is Anita Blake. Vampires call me the Executioner. What I call them isn't repeatable. Ever since the Supreme Court granted the undead equal rights, most people think vampires are just ordinary folks with fangs. I know better. I've seen their victims. I carry the scars...But now a serial killer is murdering vampires -- and the most powerful bloodsucker in town wants me to find the killer."
(From BookDepository)

Background:
"Guilty Pleasures" was first released in 1993. Laurell K. Hamilton spent over two years tracking down a publisher that were willing to publish the novel. 17 years have passed, and the books about Anita Blake have become bestsellers. So far six million copies have been sold. That's quite amazing, don't you think?

Story:
Anita Blake has a very exceptional job: She makes the dead rise. She is also a vampire hunter and hates bloodsuckers more than anything in the world. But she is apparently not the only one with an aversion against vampires. A serial killers is bringing fear into the vampire community and Anita Blake is asked to find him.

Main Character:
I simply adore Anita Blake. She is strong, witty, cynical, adorable, funny, good looking, tough and vulnerable. There is so much about her, the readers can't help just loving her.

The Book:
It is not difficult to understand why this series has become so popular. I mean, it literally has everything: romance, suspense, mysteries, great characters, humour and lots of paranormal stuff. I was taken away. I can't wait to read more about Anita and all the other characters.