Blood Noir: Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 16

I don't mind all the sex, really I don't. I don't even mind that in the later Anita Blake books all major plots are resolved through sex. Ok, that is a big fat lie, I do mind. But really, what's worse is that Laurells characters have all gone stagnant. Sure, they get new magical abilities now and then (after sex), but they keep having the same emotional problems over and over again. And then instead of resolving these side plots Laurell just goes on and adds another sexual partner/character to keep it fresh, a character that is all but forgotten in the next book.

Laurel K Hamillton has lost her edge on writing. The succubus Anita is just boring. I loved the earlier books with Anita hunting vampires and other preternaturals. I'm not sure if I'll even try her newest one.

I wish I could give this a zero star rating. In a moment of weakness I bought this book to give the Anita Blake series one more chance. I can't believe I fell for this trash - again!
It's time for me to say goodbye to this once loved series forever. This book is just awful. No plot, unbelievable storyline and nauseatingly bad dialogue. Just plain boring.
Don't waste your credit or money.

Either you like Laurell K Hamilton or you don't - I happen to like her books, though I agree with many that she's lost her way with this particular series. However, this is an audiobook review, and what I find most helpful for audiobook reviews is commentary on the narration. For reasons that escape me, Laurell K Hamilton has abysmal luck with her narrators. I hadn't thought that narration could get much worse than Laurell Merlington reading Hamilton's Merry Gentry series (you haven't known pain until you've heard a professional reader pronounce the name Siobhan "Sigh-Oh-Ban"), but I was wrong. The narrator of Blood Noir is so bad, this book is unlistenable. And I mean, quite literally, that I could not listen to the book. Cynthia Holloway's narration is plodding and wooden - with one character indistinguishable from the next. Read the book or perhaps check and see if it had a different reader in the UK. Avoid this version at all costs!

I am a long time fan of the Anita Blake series of books but I have reached my saturation limit with this book. It begins with sex, not unusual, but there is no real build up and it rehashes old plot threads to the point that it is almost boring.

I love all the main characters, love Jason and sometimes Richard when he is not being a complete pill, and I always like Jean-Claude, but there comes a point when enough is enough. The Ardor, the group sex, the constant agonizing over the rightness or wrongness of having the sex, and all that preaching about having sex has overwhelmed any plot, or adventure, or simple goal of climax and resolution that was once the primary joy of reading the books. Anita cannot add another animal to call, cannot add another man to her roster, cannot have another 'I cannot be your woman' argument with Richard, without being boring.

I have never given a single star, until today.
Sci-fi & Fantasy has not been the right place for Anita Blake for awhile now. The once great bastion for female might is nothing more than an excuse for unimaginative sex. All plot devices, and possibilities are left by the side (Mistaken Identity and other great starts just flushed away). Even the sex scenes that might be interesting, or adventurous come across as written by someone who has only heard about these activities. Stereo instructions have more to offer than these bland, reused sex scenes from the past six books.
One last problem is there is only so much a person can suspend our disbelief. Twenty men waiting to take their turn without the slightest bit of envy, or competition anxiety might be a wet dream for the heaving breasts, and throbbing member crowd but has no business in this genre. Please bring plot back into the books, because gratuitous sex can only be used so much before it becomes boring. Readers cannot live on sex alone, as nice as the thought would be.

-Tizroc
P.S. I hate giving bad reviews but sometimes you cannot find anything redeemable.

I was really looking forward to my first Anita Blake novel. Maybe it's because I've not read any of the other Anita Blake books, but this is serious dreck. I almost stopped listening when the FIRST FIVE CHAPTERS of the book dealt with a three way...are you kidding me? Did Ms. Hamilton get her start writing letters to the editor of Penthouse? Did she let a teenage male relative start the book? The start of this book was so bad it kinda pissed me off. I listen to audible books on my commute...seriously not interested is such teenage drivel while stuck in traffic.

And I thought Anita Blake was supposed to be the hard charging, take no shit female...and in this book, she's a sex partner to a bunch of whiney guys. BORING! I am not interested in trying another book in the series...totally lost my interest. Maybe it's time for Ms. Hamilton to create another series, cause this one is just plain silly.

And don't get me started on the laughable reading by Cynthia Holloway...I will never download a book she reads ever again. I could have done a better job than she did...flat and boring. I resolved to struggle thru this book because I wanted to see if it got better. About halfway thru, my mp3 player malfunctioned and the book reset to the beginning with no ability to fast forward. I took it as a sign and dumped this miserable sucker. I got it during a "3 books for 2 credits" promotion and think it was a waste of a partial credit.

I loved this book! I am a huge Jason fan among others! But it was great to read a story just about Jason and his family...with the Anita flair!! Although I did miss Nathaniel and the others. Keep them coming!

As an Anita Blake fan I found this book good. But the last 3 books have turned more to love life problems and less action. As a whole, the set of 16 books are the best books I have read. My husband who is Mr. Macho and would not be caught dead reading a girl book, has even started to read them, he is now on the fifth book and can't get over how well written they are.

There are really no words to describe the depths to which this series has fallen. I gave it another chance only to see the error of my ways. I suggest anyone stay away unless they want to listen to hours of staggeringly bad erotica.