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The Book Club :
Laurell K. Hamilton books

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 tryingagain74 (original poster member #33698) posted at 2:17 AM on Tuesday, January 22nd, 2013

Okay, so I just read the first book of her Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series (Guilty Pleasures).

I thought it was okay. I wasn't blown away by it. Anyone read this series? Should I try the second book? Do they get better?

FBS; now happily liberated!
Two DS and One DD
It matters not how strait the gate,/How charged with punishments the scroll./I am the master of my fate:/I am the captain of my soul.--"Invictus," William Ernest Henley

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Kajem ( member #36134) posted at 4:53 AM on Tuesday, January 22nd, 2013

I've read the series.

The characters get more and more developed as the series goes on.

For me the series shows how one person can rationalize each individual step away from who they were.

It's a fun read... the characters are complex... and the way they are developed is good. be prepared for a lot of sex and toward the end of the series some BDSM.

I liked the writing better than the 50 shades series.

I trust you is a better compliment than I love you, because you may not trust the person you love, but you can always love the person you trust. - UnknownRelationships are like sharing a book, it doesn't work if you're not on the same page.

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 tryingagain74 (original poster member #33698) posted at 1:45 AM on Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013

Wow! That's not what I expected. Right now, it's all about her investigations and hunting.

Thanks for the input. I'll keep reading and see where it takes me!

FBS; now happily liberated!
Two DS and One DD
It matters not how strait the gate,/How charged with punishments the scroll./I am the master of my fate:/I am the captain of my soul.--"Invictus," William Ernest Henley

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Kajem ( member #36134) posted at 2:15 AM on Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013

You'll find her investigating thru out all the books. And a bunch of other stuff as well...

I trust you is a better compliment than I love you, because you may not trust the person you love, but you can always love the person you trust. - UnknownRelationships are like sharing a book, it doesn't work if you're not on the same page.

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GabyBaby ( member #26928) posted at 2:17 AM on Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013

I loved the first 4-5 books, but it got progressively more pornographic.

I enjoyed the series because of the vampires, etc and the investigations. The books went from 90% story and 10% sex to (in my view) more of a 30% story line and 70% sex ratio.

I can only skim over so much before the book becomes unreadable....

Me - late 40s
DD(27), DS(24, PDD-NOS)

WH#2 (SorryinSac)- Killed himself (May 2015) in our home 6 days after being served divorce docs.
XWH #1 - legally married 18yrs. 12+ OW (that I know of).

I edit often for clarity/typos.

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WakingFromADream ( member #33934) posted at 3:39 PM on Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013

I agree with GabyBaby. I've read all of them except for the last two or three. I felt that the characters and the story lines were becoming stagnant and seemingly repetitive. The last few seemed to be a few orgy scenes with killing a vampire scene or two thrown in to loosely connect them together. For contemporary fantasy I much prefer the Harry Dresden series.

[This message edited by WakingFromADream at 9:40 AM, January 23rd (Wednesday)]

Me(37) DS(9) DD 11/16/11 EA(PA?) M 11y D 9/3/13

Don't make anyone a priority when you are only an option.

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 tryingagain74 (original poster member #33698) posted at 7:02 PM on Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013

Thanks again-- I got a couple of them at a used bookstore and plan on getting library copies for the rest. I don't enjoy it when the sex scenes dominate the book (and are often horridly recycled). I started the second one and am really enjoying the investigation (though it's very grisly) and the discussion about voodoo. I'll probably quit when they start getting all 50 Shades of Poorly Written and Trite.

FBS; now happily liberated!
Two DS and One DD
It matters not how strait the gate,/How charged with punishments the scroll./I am the master of my fate:/I am the captain of my soul.--"Invictus," William Ernest Henley

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Rebreather ( member #30817) posted at 7:26 PM on Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013

Same here. I really enjoyed the first 5ish, then it got too out there for me.

Me BS
Him WH
2 ddays in '07
Rec'd.
"The cure for the pain, is the pain." -Rumi

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Issaquah ( member #34484) posted at 8:49 PM on Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013

I didn't love her, but I do love that genre. I think there are some better urban fantasy out there. Here are some I like(and now I'm kinda embarrassed to admit I've read all of these):

-Sookie Stackhouse Mysteries by Charlaine Harris - this series is almost done. My very favorite!

-The Black Dagger Brotherhood by J R Ward.

-Sucubus Series by Georgia Kincaid - another easy read. I didn't really love the love interest, but the series was fun.

-Fever series by Karen Marie Moning. This one is SO hot, OMG!

- The Chicagoland Vampires series by Chloe Neill

- The Mercedes Thompson Series by Patricia Briggs

- The Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost. I love this one too - but they are easy reads.

BS - Me, 45
ExWS - Husband, 47 SA dx in March 2013
T-25, M-21 college sweethearts
Multiple DDays / OWs since 1999
Most recent DDay 8-12
Divorced

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SilverRose13 ( member #33982) posted at 10:43 PM on Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013

The Anita series gets a little.....repetitive and unbelievable after book 5. However I adore her Merry Gentry series. I also love the Mercedes Thompson series by Patricia Briggs, anything by Kelley Armstrong, and Kim Harrison.

Together 25 years, Married 23
BS (me; 42)
fWS (wtsmm; 43) 2 1/2 yr LTA
2 children, 21 and 15
DD #1 9/27/2011 (EA/Sexting)
DD #2 10/3/2011 (Some PA)
DD #3 11/28/2011 (Full Disclosure*) nevermind, didn't even have half of it

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Kajem ( member #36134) posted at 1:46 AM on Thursday, January 24th, 2013

I was wondering about the Merry Gentry series... will see if that is in the library.

Thanks for the other suggestions.

K

I trust you is a better compliment than I love you, because you may not trust the person you love, but you can always love the person you trust. - UnknownRelationships are like sharing a book, it doesn't work if you're not on the same page.

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 tryingagain74 (original poster member #33698) posted at 2:42 AM on Thursday, January 24th, 2013

Thanks for the further suggestions! I have read all of the Sookie Stackhouse novels; does anyone know how many novels are left?

I also love the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon (time travel, nothing with vampires or other things that go bump in the night) and am thinking about re-reading the first three. I stopped during book four; I'm not sure why.

FBS; now happily liberated!
Two DS and One DD
It matters not how strait the gate,/How charged with punishments the scroll./I am the master of my fate:/I am the captain of my soul.--"Invictus," William Ernest Henley

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WakingFromADream ( member #33934) posted at 5:17 AM on Thursday, January 24th, 2013

I like the Mercedes Thompson too. I'm pretty sure I have the most recent one sitting around here somewhere. Just haven't gotten to it yet.

Me(37) DS(9) DD 11/16/11 EA(PA?) M 11y D 9/3/13

Don't make anyone a priority when you are only an option.

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Issaquah ( member #34484) posted at 1:21 PM on Thursday, January 24th, 2013

I have read all of the Sookie Stackhouse novels; does anyone know how many novels are left?

The last Sookie book comes out this May. I believe the title is Dead Ever After. I read that the author has started a new series and the character Quinn from the Sookie series will be in it.

BS - Me, 45
ExWS - Husband, 47 SA dx in March 2013
T-25, M-21 college sweethearts
Multiple DDays / OWs since 1999
Most recent DDay 8-12
Divorced

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GabyBaby ( member #26928) posted at 5:25 PM on Thursday, January 24th, 2013

The Merry Gentry series (Laurell K. Hamilton) is pretty good, but again, by the third book the sex scenes start to get a little...repetitive and over the top. The rest of the story line still holds my attention though.

Love, love, LOVE the Sookie Stackhouse series. I was, however, disappointed that the price on the ebooks went from $7.99 to $11.99 with the last book...

Kim Harrison...omg...I'd forgotten her, but her books are really good. I'm going to have to jump back into her books since I'm sure there have been new ones since I last read her.

Me - late 40s
DD(27), DS(24, PDD-NOS)

WH#2 (SorryinSac)- Killed himself (May 2015) in our home 6 days after being served divorce docs.
XWH #1 - legally married 18yrs. 12+ OW (that I know of).

I edit often for clarity/typos.

posts: 10094   ·   registered: Dec. 26th, 2009   ·   location: Here and There
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leapyearbaby ( member #24902) posted at 6:54 PM on Thursday, January 24th, 2013

Anite Blake was really the 1st vampire series and I really like the beginning of the series. Then it seemed like the vampire lovefest began and the author tried to keep up with the Stephenie Meyer and all the rest.

I stopped reading them, then recently picked up one of her later ones and she seems to have returned to her roots of 90% story and some otherworld sex. But... Ilost a lot of the story line and will have read some of the "how many ways can one screw a vampire/werewolf" in order to catch up. Don't know that I can do it.

me BS the Big 6-0!!
him WS 56
married 28 years
together 31
DD 6/10/08
ow #1,2 lta on and off since 1995
ow 3 ons summer 2005
2 D, mine from prior marriage, but he raised them
R'ing...probably not....but then again, maybe....

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ladyvorkosigan ( member #8283) posted at 4:58 PM on Friday, January 25th, 2013

50 Shades of Poorly Written and Trite

You read Anita Blake after book 6 (except for Obsidian Butterfly which, hello, Edward) and you'll wish it was 50 Shades level.

I don't have any problem with 70% sex, 30% plot. I think of it kind of like with musical theatre. Pre-Oklahoma, musicals were segmented. Like, now we shall stop and sing! Now we shall dance! with no plot or character development going on in the actual musical parts of the musical, which is why so many old musicals center around show business, since that gave a reason for irrelevant musical numbers.

But Oklahoma, there the songs and the dances to move the plot/characters forward. Since then, that's the overwhelming norm for musical theatre.

So, I think even with 70% sex or sex-adjacent scenes, it's fairly easy to work in character and plot, since in reality, all the sex we have contains characters and plot. Sex is really just an action scene, and action scenes can either be gratuitous where nothing really happens or they can be much more.

However, the Anita Blake series is not 70% sex, 30% plot.

Now, let me say that I stopped paying attention to the AB series around #10 and then had stopped entirely by Narcissus in Chains, which I could not even finish, so this is based upon those books.

My breakdown of everything past #6 except OB is:

5%: Introduction of someone/thing villainous.

5%: Talking about having sex.

5%: Talking about who is/not going to have sex (because Anita is a cockblocker#).

5%: Arguing about who is/not going to have sex (because Anita is a cockblocker).

5%: Negotiating about who is/not going to have sex (because Anita is a cockblocker).

5%: Negotiating about where sex is going to be had (because Anita is a cockblocker).

5%: Inventing arcane rules about where people can place themselves relative to one another upon whatever surface they've agreed will be the location for the sex (because Anita is a cockblocker).

3%: Sex.

2%: Anita interrupting the sex to insist people reconfigure their positions relative to one another (because Anita isn't just a cockblocker, she's a buzzkill)

10%: Descriptions of what Anita is wearing, which will consist of either:

A. A red polo/t-shirt with matching socks/scrunchie and jorts (typically) or jeans (sometimes), or

B. Some black minidress that Jean Claude ordered from a Frederick's of Hollywood catalogue from 1985 and black heels/boots.

10%: Descriptions of the eye and hair color and hair length (which is always LONG) of the 15 or so guys being juggled at any given time. This suffices for characterization except in the following cases:

A. Huge penis haver.

B. The one with short hair who is the only male character in the series who doesn't want to have sex with Anita. He deserves to be rescued by Tuesday Next for that last bit. Maybe later in the series he started to want to have sex with her but nobody tell me, I can't stand it.

C. Jailbait with ankle-length hair who wanders around wearing satin bootie shorts with white stripes on the sides.

10%: LKH punishing characters based upon various IRL members of the St. Louis LARP and Rec Room BDSM Party scene (because LKH is butthurt)

5% Some sort of participation by one of the three female characters who are not Anita. One is evil, one is a jellus cow, and one literally wriggles on her tummy and kisses Anita's feet every time she sees her (because Anita is a cockblocker and LKH is butthurt)

10%: Dialogue in which Anita is neither clever nor funny nor incisive nor successfully cutting.

10%: Anita being told how clever or funny or incisive or successfully cutting she just was.

5%: Villain being defeated by another sexual superpower Anita just gained like 5, 10 minutes ago.

# Cockblocking, in this sense, can happen to anyone, even if they don't actually have a penis.

[This message edited by ladyvorkosigan at 11:03 AM, January 25th (Friday)]

It nagged him, in particular, that none of the girls he’d known so far had given him a sense of unalloyed triumph.

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GabyBaby ( member #26928) posted at 5:11 PM on Friday, February 8th, 2013

^^ Best. Breakdown. Ever.

Me - late 40s
DD(27), DS(24, PDD-NOS)

WH#2 (SorryinSac)- Killed himself (May 2015) in our home 6 days after being served divorce docs.
XWH #1 - legally married 18yrs. 12+ OW (that I know of).

I edit often for clarity/typos.

posts: 10094   ·   registered: Dec. 26th, 2009   ·   location: Here and There
id 6211617
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Heavy Sigh ( member #34243) posted at 6:26 PM on Friday, February 8th, 2013

If this is the book where the vampire who turns good vampire must be fed and has lots of sex, then .. pun intended... it sucks.

All I could do is wonder if a heroin addict who is also a sex addict wrote the book, because the book is all about addictions that are "prettied up" with vampire mythology. Or if the author had known addicts in her time, because this is all about appetites for destruction.

[This message edited by Heavy Sigh at 12:59 PM, February 8th (Friday)]

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confused82402 ( member #34616) posted at 8:22 PM on Friday, February 8th, 2013

I also was only able to get through the first 5. I felt like after that, they became all sex no real plot and I just couldn't do it anymore. But the first 5 were awesome!

Me- BW
Him - WH
Dday - 1/16/2012



~Honey, don't try to make sense out of nonsense...you'll drive yourself crazy in the process ~ my momma :-)

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