Guilty Pleasures

Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton (1993)

Reader's Annotation

Vampire hunter Anita Blake is hired to find out who has been murdering innocent vampires.

Summary

Anita Blake lives in Saint Louis, Missouri, but it's not exactly our Saint Louis. In Anita's world, magic, vampires, werewolves, and the like are and have always been "out of the closet."  Anita is an animator with the ability to raise and lay to rest zombies. She also works as a vampire executioner; however, in her world, vampires have rights just like anyone else. That means she needs a court order to kill one.

At the story's open, Jean-Claude, master vampire and proprietor of the vampire strip-club Guilty Pleasures, tries to hire Anita to investigate a recent string of vampire murders—the vampires were the victims NOT the perpetrators—but Anita isn't interested; she doesn't like vampires and would much rather be killing them. Jean-Claude, who literally cannot take no for an answer, must blackmail her into taking the job.

Anita finds herself working for Nikolaos, the master vampire of the city. She is a thousand years old, very powerful, and looks like a prepubescent girl. She is not a good boss.

In the curse of her investigation, Anita befriends Philip, a human vampire junkie who strips at Guilty Pleasures. When Nikolaos' minions torture and kill Phillip then bring him back as a zombie, Anita vows to bring Nikolaos down.

By story's end, Anita has not only stopped the vampire killer but also, with Jean-Claude's aid, destroyed Nikolaos, leaving Jean-Claude master vampire of the city.

Evaluation

I enjoyed this book. It was a quick fun read. The writing and plot have a bit of the clunkiness of a first novel but I'd definitely read another. The world of the novel goes beyond just vampires and seems to have the potential to grow into something rich and complex as the series progresses. And I expect to see Anita Blake's relationship with Jean-Claude grow into something more as well. The tone of the writing is hard-boiled with a fair bit of violence, blood, and sex.

If you like this book, you should try Kim Harrison's Rachel Morgan series and Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress series.

Genres: Romance, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery/Crime
Subgenres: Urban Fantasy, Vampire Romance, Paranormal Romance

Halfway to the Grave

Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost (2007)

Reader's Annotation

Half-vampire Cat hunts vampires hoping one day to kill the one that fathered her.

Summary

Half-vampire Cat Crawfield hunts vampires—any vampires. They're all evil, according to her mother—especially the one that raped her and fathered Cat! Then one day, Cat tries to kill a vampire so old and experienced that she might just as well have been a kitten. But the ancient vampire—Bones is his name—doesn't kill her. Instead he agrees to train her in the art of vampire killing, IF she will agree to kill only evil vampires—the ones he says are evil. Soon she is ready, and together they begin to hunt. As she and Bones fight side by side, Cat begins to think that Bones may not be so evil after all—she may even have feelings for him! But as Cat's feelings for Bones' grow, she worries that her mother will never understand.

Evaluation

I enjoyed this one and intend to try more in the series. The characters are likable—especially Bones—and the action is fun and suspenseful. The world seems likely to develop a richness as the series progresses—ghosts have already been added into the mix. The book does have a good bit of sex and violence including vampiric blood exchange but the descriptions of vampiric sex are brief and don't become tedious as they do in some other vampire romances—at least for my tastes.

If you like this book, you should try Kim Harrison's Rachel Morgan series and Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series.

Genres: Romance, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery/Crime
Subgenres: Urban Fantasy, Vampire Romance

Wild Ride

Wild Ride by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer (2011)

Reader's Annotation

Restoring the Dreamland Amusement Park is a dream come true for Mab, but FunFun the Clown is NOT what she expected.

Summary

The Dreamland Amusement Park is not like any park Mary Alice Brannigan (Mab for short) has restored before. Turns out it's actually the prison of five ancient demons known as The Untouchables. Mab doesn't know this yet and, while putting the finishing touches on the statue of FunFun the Clown, she accidentally releases the first of the demons, the trickster Fufluns. Mab soon discovers that Fufluns isn't so bad as demon gods go and actually makes a pretty good boyfriend. Unfortunately not all the ancient demons are as easy-going as Fufluns and soon more have escaped confinement. As Halloween fast approaches, Mab and her friends must return the demons to their confinement before the evil demon boss god Kharos gains his freedom, initiating the apocalypse.

Evaluation

This novel was good frothy fun if a bit slight. The amusement park was a fun backdrop for an urban fantasy novel. The Romance aspect of the novel kept me guessing a bit. Would Mab wind up with the hunky Army Ranger? Nope, turns out he's her half-brother by the demon god Kharos. What about the trickster Fufluns? Nope, he has to go back into confinement, though he does get her pregnant. Turns out that the Homeland Security agent who's been in the background for most of the novel is crazy about her, even if she is carrying a demon spawn. I thought it was interesting that Jennifer Crusie wrote the chapters that are from Mab's point of view and Bob Mayer wrote those from the Army Ranger's point of view. (I guess you can tell which point of view I enjoyed more.)

If you really liked this novel, you should try the other collaborations between Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer; Agnes and the Hitman sounds pretty fun. But if you particularly enjoyed the humorous urban fantasy aspect, you must try Christopher Moore. In my opinion, his urban fantasies are funnier and better written, and many even include a bit of romance.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance
Subgenres: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance