Surprisingly less porn...
When I read 'Danse Macabre' a while ago I said I was calling it quits with Laurell K. Hamilton and her strange new predilection for writing very, very bad porn. Twelve pages into this new novel we're greeted with a twelve page sex scene but surprisingly that's really it for the graphically depicted sexual acts. That at least seems to be a return to her earlier writing style. Unfortunately the book falls flat in many places. There's too much psychoanalysis, yapping and whining. Richard is a total prat, write him out, kill him off, do something Laurell, he's just an annoyance these days. The action takes more than half the novel to build up to and ends too easily with no real resolution. This felt more like filler released just to keep the characters and author's name in people's minds. We'll see what happens with the next book. Here's to hoping for a return to the better days seen in 'Guilty Pleasures' and the other early novels in this series.

somewhat disappointed
It seems that these have gotten so complicated. There have been so many characters introduced over the series of these books that I have found it disappointing the author left most of them out. Still the books are awesome and I hope they continue for a long time.

On the Rise?
After the tragedy that was Danse Macabre, The Harlequin was a step up, and Blood Noir is yet again better. The greatness of the series that was Anita Blake ended at Obsidian Butterfly, but what has been the last six or so books is still brilliant writing, even if the plot is dying/dead. Character development is still arguably there and I do still enjoy the characters, but I badly miss the days with RPIT, and, of course, less sex.

I did enjoy this episode, but the novel didn't seem to properly end. Hamilton has begun, it seems, to do to this series what she does to Merry Gentry, and that is end the book without actually ending it. There is a difference between the end of a book and the end of a chapter. Merry Gentry seems to be a string of chapters, which makes each book difficult to remember and distinguish from each other, but Anita Blake had a beginning, a middle, and an end. Until recently, that is. It's great that Hamilton experiments and develops her style, but readers expect a level of consistency, and Anita Blake doesn't have that anymore.

Still a must read for me!
So I have read all of the books in the Anita Blake's series. This is t he first one I have sent an actual review. I know I am not the best writer, but I'll give it a try. I actually liked this newest installment very much. I do not see Anita's character as a raving whore. I see the complexity of her character. She have slowly evolved throughout this series. She can not change who she is and she accepts this. In my opinion, the Anita Blake series could go on for a very long time. There are so many different characters and plot lines that could keep developing. Let's face it we are dealing with paranormal here, so nothing that is written should be shocking. I love Laurel K. Hamilton's writing style and look forward to more books to come.

Oh my god; its absolutely bloody awful
About 4 books back I swore I'd never buy another L Hamilton book because it struck me that lately the bulk of the books are about sex; long detailed descriptions of having sex, agonizing about the sex, talking about the sex, etc.
I seems to me she's been using sex as a filler for books that would be novella sized otherwise and has lost the backbone and thrust of the story.
It's like she's forgotten how to write a story and can only really write about sex now. Which is a shame because the story could be engrossing again if only she'd focus on it!

I picked up The Harlequin at a library on a whim and was pleasantly surprised; the plot moved along, less than a quarter of the book was about sex, important developments in the supernatural community were set forth.

Basically a pretty decent read - not nearly as good as the first 6 - but still a decent read. I thought to myself "well I'll be, she's actually listened to her readers and is focused on the STORY and PLOTLINE again..."

So I borrow Noir from a friend expecting to find out what happens next only to get face full of everything I've despised about the last 6 books, only distilled into concentrated crap.

Its absolutely bloody awful, I actually started skipping 10-15 pages at a time trying to find a storyline; by the middle of the book I couldn't take it any more and quit trying to read it. Which is really saying something since I'm a READER; 2-5 novels a week.
I can say with complete honesty that this is the worst book published by a "professional" author I've ever tried to read.

So, fool me once - shame on you. Fool me twice - shame on me. I've been fooled twice now and so:

I've placed L Hamilton on my "don't bother to ever read again" list, much less the "dont' ever buy another" list and I'd recommend you do the same, especially at todays prices for books!