Cerulean Sins by Laurell K. Hamilton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
So! This will be the last Anita Blake book that I will review for a bit (more on that later in my blog!).
“Cerulean Sins continues the adventures of Anita Blake. In this novel, Anita continues to try to bring some order to her personal life, while simultaneously confronting a power play by Jean-Claude’s vampire master, Belle Morte and attempting to solve a series of brutal killings by an unidentified shapeshifter.” – From the Wikipedia
As it says, there are some major plot themes going on here. I’m going to touch on a few of them that I really, really enjoyed!
First off, Dolph! My goodness, it was such a huge character development to see him lose himself like he was. Honestly, we’ve seen his character have very small leaps and bounds of growth… and then suddenly this. I applaud LKH for it!
Secondly, it’s interesting to see the vampire politics once again! I have to say, the more we delve into the world of the vampires and the kind of hierarchy that they have set up, the rules, the stipulations, etc… I can’t help but to love it.
Third, we get to meet the ‘Mother of all Vampires’. That is one big bad that I’m interested in seeing more of, to say the least!
And fourth… oh, Asher. There is some really wonderful plot progression here with Asher that I have been waiting for!
So, there are also some great points in this book with Jason, with Jean-Claude, and with Anita’s were-leopards. I don’t want to spoil any of it, but those are indeed the highlights that you’re looking for. When you read this, and you see them… you shall go ah-ha!
Honestly though, there were some things in this book that I didn’t enjoy as much as I did in the last novels. First of all… Richard. Just… uugh, get him out of here. Honestly. I’m so glad he’s taken a back-burner position at the moment. This novel also marks a bit of a turning point for me – it’s organized differently, and you can tell. The front portion of it is all vampires/erotica with just a tiny, teeny splash of crime thrown in. All of the really good crime solving comes on at the very end of the novel. As for Anita raising the dead? There isn’t really time – we have a meeting in the first chapter, but it’s quickly dismissed… and nothing else is touched. This novel is where Hamilton really turns the switch and makes the books more about the vampires than the crimes. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, but it is different than what we’ve come to usually expect.
Still, overall I really enjoyed this book. 4/5 stars for a book that I’d certainly read again!
This, though, will be the last LKH book I review for a little while for multiple reasons. One, I next hit Incubus Dreams… where I’m 200 pages in, and all that I’ve seen is sex. Usually not a problem for me, but for some reason I always stall with this one and have to take a small break. I love the series, don’t get me wrong! That’s just a lot of the same author describing the same people over and over again in a row. Secondly, however, I have a few books coming in the mail that I need to review! I’m really excited about getting them! So, expect a 5-6 book delay, and then I’ll be getting back to Hamilton!
Until next time, keep reading and writing!
Author Amanda McCormick