However unsatisfied I am with this series, I think I will always keep coming back for more out of sheer curiosity. The Anita Blake early days were great. You knew what she was all about: fighting supernatural bad guys, using a lot of guns, and sometimes using a little bit of supernatural powers to save the day. Then came the sex and the ardeur, and that was fine, until it simplybecame too much. The most recent books feel like it's all about Anita's polyamorous relationships, no matter what bad guys seem to be hunting down innocents.

At least Affliction does have some decent fight scenes and police work. There isn't even a sex scene until a good couple hundred pages. However, there's a lot of talk about Anita's sex life and her numerous (20+!) sweeties. The repetition and the explanations are getting old and frankly you can almost guess who she'll sleep with next and how the book will end.

One aspect of the book that's new is that we travel to Micah's hometown. As one of Anita's main sweeties, I think it was about time that we learnt more about the wereleopard king. I enjoyed meeting Micah's family, and getting more information about his back story. He's always been a little bit of a mystery, even thought he's been in Anita's life for quite some time. It's sad that we only get to meet his family now, under bad circumstances, as his father lays dying in a hospital bed. And because they aren't exactly sure what supernatural force is killing him, Anita feels it's her duty to investigate and find out exactly what is making bite victims like Micah's father, rot from the inside out.

For me, this series has always been a guilty pleasure and I'm not ready to give up on it yet. Most characters are pretty great and I love reading about them. Despite the book being 500+ pages, it feels like not very much happened. A lot of it is filler, descriptions of all the pretty men in Anita's life, about who works out the most in the gym and whom can outfight or outgun whom. There's also a lot of law enforcement posturing and Anita refuting her "reputation" for being a bad ass executioner and a polyamorous lover. I'm going to cut this review short because ultimately, whether you read this book or not, nothing much in the Anita-verse will have changed. Read at your own risk!

I was very disappointed by WOULD-BE WITCH. Based on the description and the blurbs, I was expecting a Janet Evanovich-style story -- some sexy moments, lots of laughs -- but WOULD-BE WITCH was nothing like that for me. I can see where someone might have gotten that idea and perhaps this book will appeal to other readers who enjoy humorous stories but I was quite let down by this novel. It has pieces of what could be a good book but it largely fails to deliver, at least to my mind. This was quite sad since I thought the book opens with a great scene that really establishes who Tammy Jo is in a fun and memorable way.

My main problem is the stereotyping. WOULD-BE WITCH is rife with stereotypes. I don't mind that in a lot of cases -- after all, it's hard to reinvent the wheel with witches and werewolves as your main supernatural beings -- but that's not where I took issue with this novel. I also didn't mind the fact that we had the stereotypical mean girl, country bumpkin-types, Texan he-men, and all that. Caricature-type characters is something I would expect in an Evanovich-like novel and they fit into the style that Frost is using. But there's a line you have to walk when you have larger than life characters and I don't think that Frost succeeded in this novel. There were moments when I found myself taken aback by the way that the one Asian character was depicted. Johnny Nguyen Ho is Vietnamese, gay, and a theatre director. He's also a non-native speaker of English. None of this would be problematic, except for the way that Frost has written his speech. I hope that she was trying to produce a humorous character but to me, it came off as patronising. It reminded me a lot of the way that non-white characters would be depicted on TV in the 60s, with very broken English, because Johnny never use the verb be in his sentences, saying things like "You gorgeous" and "She not tall enough". (Yes, there are dialects where this happens and yes, non-native speakers of English can struggle with the language but this isn't at all accurate.) Unfortunately, I found myself getting more and more put off every time Johnny came onto the page because of the way he was written.

I also found the narrative and pacing to be inconsistent. There was something about the way things were written that felt very up and down and it was challenging to stay hooked on the narrative. I think this may be due, at least in part, to the fact that I found Frost's writing for Johnny so jarring.

There's a love triangle in this novel, among Tammy Jo (the main character), her ex-husband Zach the Deputy and Bryn the Forbidden Handsome Witch. I liked Tammy Jo's relationship with Zach and enjoyed the push-and-pull. I could have done without the Bryn aspect of it. It felt a bit forced at times, maybe because Bryn wasn't terribly well descriptive. I think he was supposed to be mysterious but he came off as rather two-dimensional.

That being said, there were things I liked about WOULD-BE WITCH. Like I said earlier, the opening scene is great. The plot is generally quite interesting -- I always enjoy stories that have that coming-into-your-own theme and Frost writes Tammy Jo's confusion well. There are some nice twists and turns in the main mystery and also in Tammy Jo's learning witchcraft. She's not at all adept at magic and I was quite curious to see how she would get a handle on things. We don't get answers in WOULD-BE WITCH but we do get to see some progress on that front. I also liked a lot of the characters, particularly Zach and Edie. Zach is a bit of a stereotype but a thoroughly enjoyable one. Edie's a family ghost with a lot of attitude. There are also some great new funny moments, particularly early on in the novel.

Although I didn't love WOULD-BE WITCH, I would suggest that you try it yourself to see if it's more your cup of tea.

Read an excerpt (and review snippets)

The great thing about a small town is that it seems like everybody knows everybody else and that can make seem friendly.  The bad thing about a small town is, it seems like everybody knows everybody else and you have very little privacy.  Allison finds that out when she returns to her hometown to start a Guest House (not a B&B).   She also discovers, though, secrets still manage to be kept and some are darker than others. At least that is the impression she gets from her first two guests, a pair of ghosts!  Allison must get her old house ready for business while raising her daughter and finding a murderer.

The story is written from the perspective of Allison so, we get to know quite a bit about her, her quick wit and her no-nonsense attitude.  Through Allison, we meet some of her friends, her mother and some acquaintances both unsavory and benign.  This makes for an eclectic collection of characters which is great for a murder mystery.  They're all varied and described well enough that it's easy to keep straight who is who.   It also allows for ample 'red herrings' which I believe is a requirement of a good murder mystery.

The pacing of  Night of the Living Deed is beautifully maintained.  So much so that, the reader is never worn out or left to feel stagnant at any time.   E.J. Copperman marries extraordinary events with the mundane to create and then relieve tension in the crafting of this story.

If I were to be negative about anything, it would be on two somewhat minor points.  One has to do with how to repair plaster walls.  A bit boring and pointless to complain about it even though it was hard to overlook when I was in the middle of the book.  The other I won't go into great detail (spoilers) but, there was a moment when two events seemed to get confused with each other.  Once a gain, not important, just one of those double take moments.

The Night of the Living Deed was a fun romp through two of my favorite genres: ghost stories and murder mysteries.  In both characters and content, this proves to be an inviting opening to an intriguing series.  There are some mature moments and a little bit of language that I believe puts this in the PG13 range.

 

***There is only one day to vote on the next series for me to review!  Just go to my las STS and share your thoughts!



 

 

I've been a big fan of this series in the past, despite all the ups and downs it went through. However, I can honestly say I'm not a fan of this particular book. At first, I thought "Yes! The Anita Blake I love is back!" since there was a lot police work at the beginning of the book. The first half of the book is dedicated to preturnatural police investigations and action. Dolph and Zerbrowski are back and I honestly thought the book was headed in the right direction until Anita's lovers made an appearance.

That's when most of Anita's internal dialogue switched from killing bad guys to describing her "sweeties." I've come to expect multiple lovers from Anita, and unlike many readers, it really doesn't bother me (the more, the merrier I guess). What does bother me, however, is the repetition. Each single lover gets several pages of description. After 20+ books, we get it, Anita's lovers are beautiful, handsome, fit, etc. I don't need to read the same description multiple times in the same book, except change the hair colour/length and eye colour depending on the man she's describing. Also, I don't see the point in describing their workout routines, especially when it's repeated multiple times in the same book, and why they need to keep fit. Don't get me wrong, a refresher is definitely okay when it comes to describing physical appearance, however, when I read more or less the same sentence a few chapters later, I feel like that's not just bad writing, but bad editing too.

Admittedly, Laurell K. Hamilton does know how to write a great sex scene. Even though the sex scenes are often filler, they are pretty intense, steamy and amazing. They never get boring. Variety is the spice of life, especially when it comes to lovers, in Anita's case. Another positive thing about the book is Zerbrowski, Anita's police "partner." Every scene he's in is great and I really wish we could have seen more of him. The new U.S. Marshall Brice is pretty cool too, especially since he's homosexual and doesn't want to sleep with Anita for a change (however, he would like a chance at some of her lovers).

I'm tired of seeing this series going nowhere. I've invested so much time (and money!) in the series. I keep buying and reading the books, in hopes that something new will happen. The series has failed to surprise me and really entertain me in these last few books. I fear this review has become a rant so I'm going to cut it short. Am I going to read the next book? Probably. I hate not finishing a series and I would feel even worse it the next book turned out to be amazing.

This is the Anita Blake that I love reading about. The kick ass US Marshal Anita Blake that hunts serial killers with preternatural abilities and always comes out on top. In the last few books of the series we hadn't seen this side of Anita very much. She was more about keeping everyone around her safe from the supernatural bad guys by having sex with everyone that crossed her path. Mind you, I don't hate that part of Anita but I did miss the old Anita before she started having orgies.

Hit List  is pretty tame when in comes to sex, compared to some of the most recent Anita Blake novel. There is only one sex scene (and it's pretty normal!), although a few other scenes have some pretty heavy petting, and there are quite a few scenes where Anita takes the time to admire the men surrounding her. The fact that there is less sex is probably because Anita has gotten better at feeding the ardeur, that metaphysical sexual need she needs to feed in order to stay strong and to keep her safe. I hope this better control of the ardeur translates in the next books because I much prefer to read Anita when she's at her best.

There was also quite a bit of posturing and Anita defending her ability to be a good Marshall, despite the fact that she has a lot of "sweeties," as she calls them. I don't know how many times she had to defend herself and prove that she was able to do the job, despite how many men she was sleeping with. And how short and womanly she is. Honestly, if I crossed paths with someone that was actively sleeping with that many men, despite all their hotness, I think I would have a hard time taking her seriously. Personally, I think Anita spent way to much time explaining herself to everyone in this book. If felt like her little speech was on repeat.

One of the best part about this book is the fact that Edward, Bernardo and Olaf are all back. When those three US Marshals/mercenaries are present, things are bound to be interesting. In Hit List we see a different side of Edward, a more sentimental and emotional side of him. He reveals a little about himself, but for Edward, a little is a lot. Bernardo is always the same, never changing and always there to lighten the mood. But Olaf... what can I say. He's had a hard on for Anita ever since they met but coming from Olaf, that's a really bad thing. Anita doesn't know if he plans on killing her, raping her or just dating her. Bottom line, I think she just doesn't want to find out, if pushed, what Olaf would do.

Like all Anita Blake  books, this story ends really quickly. Once the conflict is resolved, everything unravels really quickly, almost too quickly there always seems to be missing a few pages. It's something I've gotten used to from Laurell K. Hamilton so I'm not really surprised, but sometimes I wish she would spend as much time on the last chapter as she does on a sex scene.

The Anita Blake that got me hooked on vampires and werewolves is back and I can't wait to read the next books. I've fallen quite a few books behind because of my lack of interest in the series, but since I've read so many book already, I can't just drop it now. I just have to accept this new Anita, not that the author makes it very hard with all the hot men she surrounds her with. For those of you who have a problem with this series like I do, do give Hit List a chance. The old Anita is back and she doesn't let anyone push her around!