The Laughing Corpse - Book Review

The Laughing Corpse (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #2)
by Laurell K. Hamilton

What is it about:
Harold Gaynor offers Anita Blake a million dollars to raise a 300-year-old zombie. Knowing it means a human sacrifice will be necessary, Anita turns him down. But when dead bodies start turning up, she realizes that someone else has raised Harold's zombie--and that the zombie is a killer. Anita pits her power against the zombie and the voodoo priestess who controls it.

In The Laughing Corpse Anita will learn that there are some secrets better left buried-and some people better off dead...

What did I think of it:
I still don't like Anita. One remark from Anita in this book about "bleeding heart liberals" even made me despise her. Still the story was once again entertaining enough to keep me reading. And I'm also promised Anita will grow as a character over the next few books. I can't wait!

So I grumbled under my breath about Anita and focused on the story. It's pretty straightforwards and not a lot of guessing, but there was enough cool action and even a bit of zombie mayhem to keep me entertained.

All in all an enjoyable read, so I'll pick up book three one of these days and see if Anita will indeed grow as a character or at least grow on me.

Why should you read it:
It's a nice UF read.


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Guilty Pleasures - Book Review

Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #1)
by Laurell K. Hamilton

What is it about:
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 did I think of it:
Another book I read back in 2011, but where the story was deleted by my brain. As a friend gave me 12 books in this series I decided to do a reread of this book.

And this first book is... problematic.

The world building, setting, and Anita's profession are promising, but not fully realized in this first book. And once again this is a first book where I felt that it started at the wrong place. There seemed to be a history and connection between Anita and Jean-Claude that I apparently just had to fill in myself. It also felt like there were important things missing from the story at times.

Still I was entertained enough to keep reading. Anita wasn't making it easy though: she's a bigot and quick to judge those who are different. Luckily I was told by several people that the books get better, and there is significant character development ahead, so I kept reading and only grumbled softly at Anita.

Overall this a nice read. I'll pick up the next book soon to see if Anita will indeed shape up, and to read more about Jean-Claude, because he seems interesting.

Why should you read it:
It's a nice Urban Fantasy read.


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Teaser Tuesdays - Guilty Pleasures

Another reread, because I got 12 books in the series from a friend, but can't remember much about this book.


The hair at the back of my neck crawled. I could meet her gaze, but evil has a certain feel to it.


(page 56, Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton)


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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: - Grab your current read - Open to a random page - Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) - Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Guilty Pleasures - Book Review

Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Book 1) by Laurell K. Hamilton

What is it about:
Anita Blake may be small and young, but vampires call her the Executioner. Anita is a necromancer and vampire hunter in a time when vampires are protected by law--as long as they don't get too nasty. Now someone's killing innocent vampires and Anita agrees--with a bit of vampiric arm-twisting--to help figure out who and why.
Trust is a luxury Anita can't afford when her allies aren't human. The city's most powerful vampire, Nikolaos, is 1,000 years old and looks like a 10-year-old girl. The second most powerful vampire, Jean-Claude, is interested in more than just Anita's professional talents, but the feisty necromancer isn't playing along--yet.

What did I think of it:
Hamilton's writing and world building are solid, her characters interesting and the story is quite good. Still I didn't much care for this book and that has to do with the lead character: Anita Blake.

I really didn't like her! Now why is that you ask?
As far as I could make out from this story and the background info that is given in this book Anita Blake is a bigot. She hates all vampires for something that only a few rotten apples did. At the same time she herself does things in her role as necromancer that had me wincing in sympathy with the ghosts she encounters. I really couldn't live with these character traits and I found myself cheering on the bad guys instead of Anita.
All in all I do not think I will read other books in this series.

Why should you read it:
It's a decent vampire story and maybe you will like Anita better than I do.

Bite - Book Review

Bite by Laurell K. Hamilton, Charlaine Harris, MaryJanice Davidson, Angela Knight and Vickie Taylor

What is it about:
The aptly titled Bite is a collection of five vampiric tales of supernatural seduction

I'll tackle them all one by one:

Hamilton's "The Girl Who Was Infatuated with Death" is set in time between the novels Blue Moon and Obsidian Butterfly. Vampire hunter Anita Blake, just beginning to come to grips with her recent metaphysical connection with master vampire Jean-Claude, takes a highly unusual case. A runaway teenager with bone cancer wants to become a vampire; but in order for her to change, another vampire must in essence murder a child. Blake agrees to find the rogue bloodsucker and pass judgment as only she knows how.

What did I think of it:
I wasn't impressed with this story. It's just a long conversation between two people. To do Hamilton justice I still decided to read the first book in her Anita Blake series after reading this story and I must say: Hamilton is not a writer for me.


In "One Word Answer" by Harris, everyone's favorite waitress, Sookie Stackhouse, learns that her only cousin has been murdered by one of the undead -- and the vampire Queen of Louisiana has sent her condolences in the form of an unusual gift.

What did I think of it:
I liked this story. It's simple, but clever. I do wonder however if people not familiar with the Sookie Stackhouse series would understand anything about this story.


Davidson's "Biting in Plain Sight" revisits her Undead universe with a touching love story about a benevolent vampire and her human suitor and the tragedy that brings them together.

What did I think of it:
A fun story with cool characters. A good balance between romance and action. I liked this story so much that I decided to give the Undead series a chance and I'm glad I did as it's a great series.


Knight's "Galahad" looks at Arthurian legend with a decided twist -- the knights of the Round Table are actually warrior vampires!

What did I think of it:
This is Voodoo Bride's favourite story. It's got sizzling hot romance and even a decent action storyline as well. The setting is intriguing and original. I've put Knight's books on my wishlist and intend to explore them in the future.


In Taylor's "Blood Lust," a researcher whose groundbreaking formula for synthetic blood was stolen by a maniacal vampire takes vengeance by becoming one of the undead!

What did I think of it:
I didn't much care for this story. The writing didn't appeal to me and the story just couldn't grab my attention.


So, all in all I liked 3 out of 5, not a bad score.

Why should you read this anthology:
It's a perfect way to try out new-to-you authors!