REVIEW: Serpentine by Laurell K. Hamilton

Publisher's Summary:A remote Florida island is the perfect wedding destination for the upcoming nuptials of Anita's fellow U.S. Marshal and best friend Edward. For Anita, the vacation is a welcome break, as it's the first trip she gets to take with wereleopards Micah and Nathaniel. But it's not all fun and games and bachelor parties...

In this tropical paradise Micah discovers a horrific new form of lycanthropy, one that has afflicted a single family for generations. Believed to be the result of an ancient Greek curse, it turns human bodies into a mass of snakes.

When long-simmering resentment leads to a big blowout within the wedding party, the last thing Anita needs is more drama. But it finds her anyway when women start disappearing from the hotel, and worse--her own friends and lovers are considered the prime suspects. There's a strange power afoot that Anita has never confronted before, a force that's rendering those around her helpless in its thrall. Unable to face it on her own, Anita is willing to accept help from even the deadliest places. Help that she will most certainly regret--if she survives at all, that is.
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Unfortunately, Serpentine is yet another entry in the Anita Blake series that loses the bite and luster of the series' heyday circa books 1 thru about 10.  There is too much repetitive nonsense that readers of the series have endured for the past 15+ books.

Yes, Anita lives an unconventional, polyamorous life. Yes, she and her partners are okay with it. Why then do readers have to go through the same conversations each book? It feels like a vicious cycle.  If we're still reading, we get it, we can deal with it, so move on and get back to good paranormal monster/police investigations plots with a smidgen of steamy romance fun and not these droll dialogues that go in circles.

Serpentine is a step up from Dead Ice but again lacks storytelling flare. The is too much wedding and relationship drama while the connecting paranormal aspects are not fully explored and wrapped up too quickly in the last 10% of the novel. Elements I did like were appearances by Jean Claude, Micah, Nathaniel, and Nicky. Edward is always a treat and scary Olaf aka Otto shows up - plus eek freaky prediction for a future story tie-in w/ him as Anita's lion to call. I missed some of the other regulars and couldn't tell you a thing about the bodyguards who were present this book.

Why do I keep reading? I'm a glutton for punishment I suppose. Anita and Jean Claude have been a part of my live for more that 15 years. I can't quite give them up even if I'm disappointed with their current journey.

Final rating: 2 out of 5 stars

REVIEW: Dead Ice by Laurell K. Hamilton

Dead Ice is the 24th installment to Hamilton's Anita Blake series. As a U.S. Marshall, Anita has consulted on countless cases, especially since she has a badass reputation and more vampire executions than anyone else.  She's seen and done it all so when a new case rattles Anita to her core, readers know that its a truly heinous crime.

Someone is live-streaming zombie porn.  Unfortunately, this isn't a new occurrence. However, when it appears as if the zombie's "soul" is still trapped in its body, Anita makes the connection to a case and someone from her past that she knows is long dead and gone.

So, what did I like?

Truthfully, not much. I've been reading the series since around 2002 when a friend insisted that I check them out.  I breezed through the first 11 in a little under two weeks. I was obsessed and loved them.  Things started to go downhill after that for me and a lot of other readers when there started to be less horror-mystery-thriller plot and more supernatural metaphysical bedroom hopping and partner switching.  I'm not a prude and read plenty of steamy fiction, but when that's all there is with little to no intricate plot like we'd become accustomed to with earlier books, I still read the series but always brace myself for disappointment.

That said, the beginning of Dead Ice started with promise. Horrific, creepy case in need of Anita's insight? Okay, cool! Tie in to book 2, The Laughing Corpse? Awesome! However, the investigation is all but left behind as readers have to trudge through yet more of Anita's complicated love life and quite literal power struggles with political and strategic ties to multiple supernatural were-groups.

Quite frankly, after 24 books it's exhausting. I listened to this one rather than reading and for the first time found most of the character highly irritating. There's a lack of focus and no sense of accomplishment.  By the novel's end, I didn't feel like Anita or her people had resolved anything or developed as characters. Listening to the audio only enhanced the whining and as much as I used to like Asher back in the day, I just can't take it anymore.  He's gotta go!

When Anita does finally get back on the case and the action, thrilling part of the mystery unfolds, the pacing and writing is good. However, by this point I just didn't care. The revelation and wrap up just happened way too quickly and then the book was finished.  If I continue to read (and let's face it I probably will), the alarming amped up quality to Anita's necromancy powers will eventually lead to some epic story (I hope) but I'm not sure when or if that will ever happen.

Final rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

#deadice #anitablake #urbanfantasy #vampires #wereanimals #meh