Guilty Pleasures

An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Novel

By: Laurell K. Hamilton

Narrated by: Kimberly Alexis

Meet Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, in the first novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling series that “blends the genres of romance, horror and adventure with stunning panache”(Jayne Ann Krentz).

Laurell K. Hamilton’s bestselling series has captured readers’ wildest imaginations and addicted them to a seductive world where supernatural hungers collide with the desires of the human heart, starring a heroine like no other...

Anita Blake is small, dark, and dangerous. Her turf is the city of St. Louis. Her job: re-animating the dead and killing the undead who take things too far. But when the city’s most powerful vampire asks her to solve a series of vicious slayings, Anita must confront her greatest fear—her undeniable attraction to master vampire Jean-Claude, one of the creatures she is sworn to destroy...

“What The Da Vinci Code did for the religious thriller, the Anita Blake series has done for the vampire novel.”—USA Today

Critic reviews

Praise for Laurell K. Hamilton and the Anita Blake Novels

“Hamilton remains one of the most inventive and exciting writers in the paranormal field.”—#1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris

“If you’ve never read this series, I highly recommend/strongly suggest having the Anita Blake experience. Vampires, zombies, and shifters, oh my! And trust me, these are not your daughter’s vampires.”—Literati Book Reviews

“A sex-positive, kick-ass female protagonist.”—Starburst

“Number one New York Times bestseller Hamilton is still thrilling fans...with her amazing multifaceted characters and intricate multilayered world, a mix of erotic romance, crime drama, and paranormal/fantasy fiction. Her descriptive prose is gritty and raw, with a mosaic of humor and horror to tell this complex, well-detailed story. But it’s her enigmatic stable of stars that continues to shine, managing their improbable interpersonal relationship dynamics.”—Library Journal

GREAT Read

What made the experience of listening to Guilty Pleasures the most enjoyable?

The story moved along. I listened to Danse Macabre first. I had never ever listened to this author or even liked this type of books or movies(hate scary movies) I found myself laughing like a mad woman in my garage after l arriving home and listened to the first CD.I was hooked. I started searching for the other books online to find out how Anita got involved with a vamp.(Gulity pleasures) I have now check out, downloaded or purchased several of the books in the series.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Guilty Pleasures?

Anita running out of the circus being chased and Jean Claude giving Anita the second mark(eyes)

Which character – as performed by Kimberly Alexis – was your favorite?

Anita

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No..

Any additional comments?

Love the series so far. Not to cool on all the sex Anita has, but she kick's butt and I hope learns to control the adure thing I hope Ms Hamilton stays clear of under aged sexual involment with Anita. The 16 yr old boy was a bit over the line.

WHY WITH THE SOUND EFFECTS!?!?!

Seriously....the sound effects that randomly play during intense scenes made me DNF this audiobook around Chapter 6.
I literally rage quit and wanted to throw my phone out the car window while driving down the interstate....

I've read the physical copy of the book and it is good.
This audiobook though, for being such a big series, is really low-production audio all around. Narrator is not that great and practically emotionless along with not portraying other characters well/with too much accent.

Save yourself the pain and just read the physical copy.
Or beg for the audiobook to be redone.

Early Anita finally on Audiobook

I originally began listening to the Anita Blake series with Cerulean Sins. I LOVED the narrator, Cynthia Halloway. Her voice was incredible, feminine and embodied everything that I envisioned in Anita. I actually think her voice made the books better. The narrator of this book (and a few others) does an adequate job, but it's just not the same Anita that originally compelled me further into the series. Her essence is not the same. One thing I do like...it's nice to hear Jean-Claude with a French accent. Overall, the book itself is pretty good. I really enjoy knowing how the characters began to interact. It's refreshing.

a few words...

I'll just say this about Anita Blake series: it's very ,very good until you hit book 7, that's where everything goes cookoo. Its like Ms(or Mrs?) Hamilton suddenly hit puberty while dreaming a wild erotic dream as herself a nymphomaniac who needs at least three guys to satisfy her. Story gets lost and you catch yourself fast forwarding to peaces without sexual scenes and let me tell you this- it's hard to find them. Very frustrating for those of us who like action more then erotica. My point is this, read first seven and if you still like them, enjoy next 15 and good luck!

Who in the hell came up with the music?

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

The book itself I like... the audio version has some issues. First and foremost is the music. For some reason RANDOM music starts playing during book. The narrator keeps going and the music just stops and comes back at another weird time during the book. And I mean RANDOM MUSIC. Its not like it has some significance to the story. I could see if she says "The door squeaks open" and then you hear a door squeak. No no no... it more like: The Narrator says "...and the door slams shut!" But instead of a door slamming, we hear somebody whistling a tune to the Brady Bunch. Its pretty distracting. Please dont let the second book have this "added feature". Now I have heard complaints about the narrator. Give the lady a break. She actually sounds like I think Anita would sound. Now her other voices arent as strong as Lorelei King or the lady who does the Merry Gentry series... but she isnt awful. Jean Claude does sound kinda girly and she seems to always be whispering when she does his voice. Now about the actual material. Anita is 24 years old and with an awesome talent for raising the dead. All the supernatural creatures are out in the open. I love this idea in the book. The fact that its unrealistic to think you can hide these types of things ( Vampires, werewolves, zombies) from the public, makes bringing them out into the open a very smart idea. Hamilton actually goes as far to think of how politicians would handle legislation about the undead or wereanimals. Also, the fact that the big bad master Vampire is a little girl makes it so much scarier... I only wish the big fight in the end was not so short. When you're fighting a 1000 year old vampire I think it should be hard and take some real time. It was almost like Hamilton was tired and just said "Oh its time for dinner.She wins. The End". For those who havent read the books the audio will be just fine (except for random music) but if you read the books you may feel alittle cheated when it comes to the famous voice of Jean Claude. In the books his voice can make a women "happy" but in the audio it just makes you smirk.