Volume 12

www.read-that.com book review

Anita Blake, Vampire Executioner, Zombie raiser, human servant to the Master of the City in St. Louis, can handle just about anything. If it doesn’t have to do with the men in her life that is. Anita has reached new heights with power in her triumvirate with Jean Claude, the Master of the City, and Richard, Ulfric for the local werewolf clan. She has also reached more power with her leopards and her Nimer Raj, Micah. Micah and Nathaniel have been living with Anita for a few months now and things are going good or so she thought. Damien, a very old vampire, has become a vampire servant to Anita due to some messed up metaphysical stuff. He lives in the basement.

At the wedding of a friend from Animators Inc., Anita learned by Jason, a friend, occasional food, and werewolf, that the life she leads isn’t going so good for everyone. He lets her in on a secret that Nathaniel isn’t getting what he needs from her and she needs to just fess up that she loves him and take him fully instead of just as her pomme de sang, apple of blood. Of course Anita doesn’t need blood, but from the vampire marks from Jean Claude, she inherited the ardeur. She feeds off of lust or sex instead of blood. Her learning curve has had to include Nathaniel but she wasn’t sure that she would need to continue to feed that often once she gained control but so far, no dice. Nathaniel is having problems being wanted sexually and to add more fuel to the fire, Damien is having issues as well.

Once home from the wedding, Anita is faced with her servant demanding more from her as well. Anita might be all big and bad when it comes to the bad guys but her relationships are a mess. While trying to deal with Damien and Nathaniel and the ardeur, Anita is overcome with metaphysics and lands into new territory. She has made her very own triumverate with them. Nathaniel is now her animal to call and she is their master. Now if Anita doesn’t feed like she should, the power drain starts with Damien. She would drain him and then Nathaniel before harming herself. Then you have all the emotions with Richard to contend with. He has been sleeping with anyone who walks and is astounded to learn that she hasn’t been sleeping with Nathaniel or Damien.

Not only does Anita have to deal with her men, but there is a group of vampires killing strippers and she’s afraid there will be many more bodies before the police find them.

I really enjoyed this one. I got to see a more sensitive side of the characters instead of guns and violence. Not that I don’t like that but it was a nice change of pace with the same people. I also enjoyed seeing into their hearts more. I was really fasinated by the metaphysics.

Hamilton has such an imagination. Two Thumbs Up!