This book isnt bad, its written in true LKH style but it lacks what used to make her books interesting. Her work and suspense, in my opinion. This story is about Jason. I love Jason and its worth the read but something is missing. I did enjoy the twist toward the end and as usual Richard is a whiney cry baby, but that is sort of part of his charm its why you love and hate him. With the recent change in him maybe he wont be such a cry baby in the next book, which I might add I am waiting on.
I still recommend this read.

I can see where LKH is going...but the book was so so. I want more, more fleshed out story lines. The plot is fine, but there is a need for more precise editing.

I keep hoping the series will change direction but from reading the reviews I can see that I will not be buying any more. I broke down and got the last book but this time I will not be wasting my time and money. If I wanted to buy porn there are many more books and movies I could find. If I could give minus 100 stars I would. It's a shame because I really liked the series in the beginning.

Once upon a time, Hamilton was my favorite author. Unfortunately, that ended about eight books ago...somewhere after Obsidian Butterfly. From then on I checked her books out from the library, not even bothering to put them on hold. Just grabbing them when there was nothing else to read. Funny how quickly they are sitting on the shelf. Now I read them for the laugh factor. Her writing has gotten to dreadful, so utterly outlandish, it sounds as though she is purposely making a joke.

This one starts off with Jason depressed. You see, he had to break up with this girlfriend because she wants him to be faithful and have only sex with her. Hmmmm....no, see, that's not going to work. I mean how dare she ask for a monogomous relationship! The nerve of that woman to not understand that he has needs! Anita agrees with him breaking it off, yet later in the book puts him in his place for flirting with his old girlfriends because that was disrepectful to her since she was PRETENDING to be his girlfriend. Of course Jason grovels at her feet and pleads with her to forgive him.

Then there is the suposed "BDSM" scene. I have to put quotes around it you see, because Hamilton uses the acronym like she knows all about it over, and over, and over, *sigh* and over through the entire scene--even though it wasn't REALLY BDSM sex. ---sorry, I had to take a break here to laugh a little.

Of course I have to include this quote because it made me laugh outloud. This is from page 101:
"Because you do not watch me in a room the way you watch Jean-Claude, or Asher, or Nathaniel, or Micah, or Richard..." (lol, okay, is it just me or is there ALOT of names here? But wait it's not over!) "...I'm a little ahead of Requiem and London, and Damian, but I'm not ahead of the others."
Yea, yea, I know! Another whiny man. EVERYBODY want's them some Anita. How completely unrealistic. Especially since she's so unlikable.

Okay, enough from me. If you didn't get it...I thought the writing was beyond terrible. I read it for laughs and because I'm in-between books. I would not recommend any of her recent novels. Her first eight were good.

Wow, I read some of the reviews about how Anita was "back" and doing what she was known for not the self absorbed sex kitten she has turned into. What a load of &%$#@%^! This book is the worst so far in the Anita Blake series with the old Anita showing up in Chapter 53 of the 55 chapters of this book. Does Laurell Hamilton look at any of her fans reviews? The last good book she wrote was "Narcissus in Chains", after which, we saw traces of Anita here and there doing her thing as a vampire hunter. I really loved those early books! The opening chapter is Anita having sex with two men and when one of them says something sexual to her, she blushes! Come on!!Don't spend your money on this dud, there are other writers out there trust me. I'm done with Laurell's books from now on. Her Merry Gentry novels are the same thing, just different hair color! The people who gave this book a good review need to be on meds because they are delusional!

It was nice to see sex taking more of a back seat. Liked the story and the new charaters.

Well, another Anita Blake novel has come and gone and, like most of her fans I'm sure, I'm sorry that Laurell is still so obsessed with the sex that the story is suffering. A flash of her old violent brilliance toward the end just didn't cut it. Save the smut for the dark fairy tale series and get Anita back on track where she belongs, killing the damn monsters instead of jumping their bones!

Really? I went into this book ready to laugh at all the "more sex= less plot" crowd, Ready to see the rebound so to speak since I LOVED the series since the moment I found it.....but just where DID the plot go? One of the things I loved initially about LH was the way she was able to get the reader involved and still maintain a story. But I just.... well I feel like a kid who's favorite candy lost its flavor all of a sudden. The letdown was massive.
I doubt she will miss one more reader but I doubt I will be in a hurry to pick up any new ones from LH, There is just too much yummy stuff in the candy store to keep on with tasteless old favorites..........

I keep buying the Anita Blake novels despite the lack of integrity to the original series that has emerged over the last half of the run. In this 'novel', Anita has no big mystery to solve or monster to kill...she simply develops a stronger relationship with yet another character who's been waiting for her to want him. The lack of emotional connection I felt in reading this book is hopefully going to be enough reason to stop supporting this author and her obsession with the sex driven vampiric device. I whipped through the book waiting to care; luckily a ridiculous 'twin' gimmick ensured I was bored. I want the original series: a cool, tough chick, a challenging job, and some spark of sex along the way. How the author expects or hopes for people to respect this difficult woman relating to a stripper much younger than her while keeping up with her ancient vampire and mature werewolf is beyond me. Throw in 4 more 'men' for her melting pot and there is a mess.

As with all of Laurell K Hamilton's books. This one leaves you waiting for the next. Which as a fan of hers I really hope there are more. It is the type of book that makes it so riviting that you don't want to put it down...

Like many reviewers, I'm finding less and less to like with each novel. This book has about 2 pages of really fantastic material, and 30 pages of good material. Unfortunately, it's 352 pages long....

Still, there's a glimmer of hope here. The story finally has some potential to turn the corner here, and I think we'll see one of two things happening here. The first possibility is that the series will become a zombie itself, unsure that it's really dead while it plogs on along churning uninspired book after book...something that many readers might point out has already happened. However, the series could find that spark that made it so well loved and unique, and return to life with some great stories out there in the Blake universe that still haven't been told. There were a few tantalizing hints that showed potential for that to happen, although there have been moments in the last several books that could have shown that as well. Here's hoping that life will return, and not because the zombie has been raised.

All in all, not the worst of the series, but ranks pretty darn low. Still, the last few chapters really made for a pretty nice story--interesting that it happened to coincide with all the sex being over....

The actual close of the story seemed a bit abrupt, and seemed to lack any consequences to the events of the book--hopefully that may change if there is another book in the series, and attention is given back to things like plot and characters instead of sex scenes.....

I was so happy when I discovered the Anita Blake series. I have every book, pre-order them before they even come out. I always get hardback, because they are going on my shelves. Now, I'm not thinking I'll be pre-ordering anymore. I may not even get the next one in the series. This series has totally degenerated from what it was when it started. It is almost as if someone else is writing it, as if LKH has had a personality change. What else could explain such a 180 from the original direction of the series? If you were to read the first book in the series, and then read "Bloody Noir", you would never believe the same person wrote them. So, once again, I ask "What happened???"

This felt like a filler book. Not too much went on. I was disappointed with it. I thought that LKH might start writing with plot and good sex again, but I was really disappointed with this book. The sex was marginal, and the plot was really thin. I miss the days of Burnt Offerings and Obsidian Butterfly. I'd have given this book no stars if Amazon allowed. I really enjoyed the first 8 Anita Blake books, unfortunately she started having bad sex scenes after that with little to no plot and a huge Mary Sue complex. Don't get me wrong. I love sex. I love when it's well written, but this book doesn't have it. The sex in LKH's books are boring. If you want vampires that are enjoyable, try Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse books, or try MaryJanice Davidson's Betsy the Vampire Queen books, or even Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden series. Those 3 series won't disappoint. Unfortunately for now, LKH will disappoint you.

i really can't believe it took that long to write such a crappy book. Not only did it completely veer from her usual bloody gruesome work, but the erotica was lame and childish. This was like a bad beginning to what could maybe have passed as a good story if only it kept going for another 200 pages. I was sorely disappointed. I am not one to write reviews of books, however after such a travesty I could not hold my tongue. While the psychological insight was appreciated (as it is touched on in many of the other novels) dragging it through the entire book was a waste of time. I am not going to waste more time writing this, but I will defiantly read the reviews for the next book and actually listen to them this time.

I could re-cap the story line of"Blood Noir" here, but really, why bother? It's a shame that this series has degenerated into such tedious, ugly pornography. I've purchased and read the last few books in this series in the hope that Ms. Hamilton would turn her story telling focus away from violent group sex and oh-so tiresome vampire politics back to the gripping, sexy, and truly scary paranormal mysteries, featuring the smart, tough, and appealing Anita Blake, that we have known and loved. Alas, it appears that this is not to be. Good-bye Anita, good-bye Ms. Hamilton's novels - "Blood Noir" is the last book of this series on which I will waste my money and my time.

If you are looking for a good read in the paranormal mystery/suspense genre, I would suggest that you try the books in Kim Harrison's Rachel Morgan series, Patricia Briggs's Mercy Thompson series, and on the lighter side, Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse series - good reads all.

It would be easy to say that Laurell K. Hamilton is a bad writer, but that would be untrue. She is a good author and reading some of her earlier works in the Anita Black series you can easily see where she excelled and what propelled the series' popularity. Unfortunately, where these books now fail is in structure.

Telling vs. Showing: A basic tenant for good writing is the ability tell the story through the characters actions and reactions versus an author telling the reader what's happening. After many pages of three way sex, one participant says to another (and main character), Anita Blake: "You are so uncomfortable with sex Anita..." Huh? What?? This after not just any old ménage a' trois, but one tinged with light bondage. The statement just throws the reader off because that is not what the story has said so far.

Talking Heads: "Dr. Phil's approach to relationships and the supernatural." I've never read a book that devoted entire chapters to whether or not to have sex. When deciding to have a ménage a' trois or not - does one person really say to another, "And you, Anita, what's your motivations?" Ms. Hamilton usually does a nice job with her dialogues, but these type of statements are awkward and happens several times through out the book.

Failed plot points: There's repeated references the Vampire Council and Anita jeopardizing Vampire master Jean-Claude's position by her not being a better "human-servant." Much conversation is dedicated to this. Toward the end of the book she and friend, Jason, are mistakenly targeted by another vampire leader and attacked. There are no real repercussions on the council level to this - especially after the leader and his own human servant are killed. Why?

Anger Management: In regards to Richard tantrums: Can we please move on? Every book there is some sort of over the top emotional, angry argument with Richard and his love/hate relationship with Anita. Although for several books, we've known that this is due to the psychic link between he, Anita, and Jean-Claude; Richard has taken on some of Anita's emotions. Although I was grateful that we have some resolution here (Anita re-absorbs the rage) Richard does the same thing, but under a different guise (now Anita's "ardeur" or succubus ability is shared). Richard as an emotional slave and whipping boy is getting old.

False Advertising: In the book flap of Blood Noir the description leads a potential reader to conclude that the book is about battling or dealing with Marmee Noir, the "ancient [and very scary] mother of all vampires." However when Marmee finally makes her metaphysical appearance (3/4th of the way through the book,) in context to the entire story, the action surrounding this is relatively brief.

I am again disappointed by this latest in the Anita Blake series. Although I understand that the author would not want to go back to what she wrote earlier in her career, but I do think that a quick review of the first six books may remind Ms. Hamilton of what made this series so popular in the first place. I hope in the future to see (1) a real plot (beginning, middle, and end), (2) tightened dialogues, (3) try to get some middle ground between narrative portions and overly long yacking to communicate important plot points. The last few books have basically been soft porn connected by weak attempts at a story line. I continue to be hopeful for future books by Ms. Hamilton.

I thoroughly enjoy reading Hamilton's books. This one was very good but I wished it was longer. The subject matter always captures my interest and before I knew it I was finished reading the book. I can't wait for the next installment in the Anita Blake saga or for the next Meredith Gentry book.

I really enjoy these books - whereas some readers don't enjoy the direction that Anita's life has taken - it's all part and parcel of the way things are.

I have to say that her life gets more and more difficult. The sexual aspect of the story is HOT - although I found it humerous that she did experience a - well - I can't go there - that would ruin it for others.

Basically, I do wish that she would do a little more hunting - go back to being as dangerous as she was - Obsidian Butterfly and her story there with Edward was one of the scariest books that I've ever read. Her ties to that Vampire there are one of the reasons that her power is coveted.

I like how all the books are tied together - expanding on the relationships and going deeper into the psyche of the characters as well as the lives of them all...This story focuses on Anita's relationship with Jason. Richard is still himself in this story but Anita really helps him out - again, why ruin the story.

Her love, loyalty and friendships toward all her ongoing relationships continue to expand and her thoughts are further delved into. Her conflicting thoughts and her resentment towards the ardouer (spelling?) are discussed further.

Again, while I wish her adventures and romps contained a bit more mayhem, her developing storyline is fascinating and I will continue to be a fan - a HUGE fan of Anita and of Laurell.

I wish more authors I love would write this many books!! I reread them a lot, I get a lot out of them. They're extremely meaningful to me. This new one isn't my favorite, but I bought it, read it, and it was just as crazy as every other book in the series. I love the way the ante just keeps getting upped, and upped, and upped some more, both in the vampire and lycanthrope subcultures and in Anita's personal life. I really can't thank LKH enough for what she has done for fiction. Thank you Laurell!!! Don't stop any sooner than ya gotta. I'll be truly sad when this series finally winds down.

I'm never disappointed by Hamilton. This was a GREAT read. Her only problem is that she doesn't write her books on "Blake" fast enough. I can't wait to see "Blake's" next adventure, but I think it's time to kill off "The Mother of All Darkness."

Laurell, thanks for the wonderful entertainment!

And thats the scary part. I knew just by reading the first chapter before I even bought the book exactly what I was in for. Sadly I bought it anyway. More pointless, depressing, emotional, conversations before during and after sex and not a whole lot of anything else. Not any more than the others but not any less. I think the last good book in the series was the one where Anita went to help Edward and they kicked some good old fashioned human a**.
Why do I keep spending money on these books? It's because I'm attached to the characters. Good authors make me want to be part of their charcters lives and LKH managed to do that for me. Unfortanutly I don't think I can read much more of the garbage the Anita Blake series has become. Pathetic that I keep hopeing things will change.
Please Ms. Hamiltion. I love Anita and all her guys. HER guys not all the random sex partners. Give the woman some control over the sex issue, make the number of guys shes screwing a set number, get over the emotional sex scenes, get back to battles not fought with sex, and let Anita make up her darn mind to be happy with the men she has. I'm sick of the guilt and pity parties. Wouldn't mind killing off Richard either.

compared to the previous books this one lacks action and a good storyline. It's ok if you only want some cheap sex scene and mild action. Not the Anita Blake I came to love and expect.

LKH are you reading these reviews??? Get a clue girl and fix this series. Thanks to these nice people who took the time to review this item...I know not to buy it. I bought the last two...and regretted every single minute of it. Half the time I was gagging because of the bloated fake sex scenes...or groaning over the bad dialogue and plot.
I was hoping though that you might, just maybe, possibly, fix Anita and resurrect her as the great character she was. Looks like no such luck. Seems that you are just pumping out crapola to make a quick buck instead of sitting down and thinking about a good story line. As a FORMER fan I declare "shenanigans" on your idea of a novel. If you ever had hope to be remembered as a great American novelists that dream is 86'd... you will just be remembered as a great American trash writer. Good luck with sales of the next book.

After reading the book, all I can pretty much say is that there is no where near the amount of sex as there usually is.Though I may have not taken any breaks when reading this, looking back I can hardly remember what the book was even about. I can only hope that this was a "filler" book - a lousy one at that - and the next book will have a plot, still less sex, and all the characters will be back to their semi-normal selves.

I was so excited when I first heard of this book, but then I started reading it and was let down. I am a fan of this series and have been for years, but this book made me sad. I was sort of like when I bought Micah and expected a good story. In this book there is too much pointless sex and yet more new characters for Anita to try to work into her already WAY overcrowded bed. Save your money and read cliff notes.

I think Jason is a good charater and loved finding out more about him. I was really disappointed with Blood Noir as a whole. I own and read the Anita Blake series at least once every year. Anita started out as a vampire hunter and animator. This book does not do the charater justice. She didn't do any necromany in this book, which made me kind of sad.
Anita has so many men in her life now because of the ardeur, that it is hard to believe that she would leave St. Louis and not take anyone else with her. The Mother of All Darkness is awakening and Anita still has all the beasts inside her so she should have at least taken some weres with her.
She has so many personal problems that it makes my head spin.
I know she is an incubus, but there was way too much sex in this 340 page book, around 300 pages of thinking about, talking about or having sex, enough to catagorize it as erotica, which I am not into.
I miss the work Anita did with Dolph and Zerbrowski.
In this book, Anita somehow takes back the anger Richard gained from her when they formed the triumvirate which is a good thing. The bad is that she gave him some of the ardeur. Hopefully, the next book will address this and fix Richard enough so that he can control this new setback in his life.
Hopefully, the next book in this series will be better.

I actually liked it yes she takes for ever to get to the real point and all but if you like her books then you'll like this one. Keep up the good work.

I enjoyed this book. Not quite as much as some of the others but it still was a great read. I like the new sides of Anita and her "guys". I would reccommend this book to any Anita Blake fan; actually to anyone who enjoys Laurell's books. My only complaint is that I read them in one sitting and then have to wait so darn long for the next book!

I always enjoy the Anita Blake books and this was no exception. Yes, I'm in the camp that wishes for more plot and less sex, but the books are still fun or I wouldn't keep buying them. I wasn't as interested in this one as usual, simply because I don't find the character of Jason to be all that appealing, and it did seem like the plot was something that should have been used in a smaller work. But I find it difficult to come up with good paranormal writers as most either don't write well or don't have characters that grab my imagination, so I'm sticking with Ms. Hamilton and hoping the next book focuses more on Jean-Claude.

I liked Blood Noir, it's not my favorite, but still an interesting read. I wished that you could do half stars because I would give this 3.5 stars instead of 4.

Although I like Jason, I am just not sure if we needed a whole book for him. Another draw back with this book is that there was still yet another new character introduced, not that I don't mind new characters, I just feel that there were other characters who were introduced that need to be followed through with.

This one was okay. It did not measure up to the others by far. It reminded me a lot of Micah. Just a bunch of background information thrown in with some new stuff. I hope the next one is better!!!

a return to form for Laurell. this book ties together a lot of loose ends as well as developing some of the newer characters. a thrill a minute. couldn't put it down. lets have some more soon

All I can say is if you must read it get it at the library don't waste your money.
I am very disappointed in this book and its author, I hope she reads some of these reviews and goes back to her old formula, it worked why change.

Laurell K. Hamilton's "Anita Blake" series has managed to become so epically bad, if any books were to inhabit the top 5 worst books I've ever read, they would all belong to this series. It's a pity that a series I once respected and enjoyed has become a form of literary hell, the kind that inflicts mental anguish upon its readers. Blood Noir (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 16) is no exception, and only further exhibits this series' fall from grace.

Plot wise, "Blood Noir" is sorely lacking. It's almost as if Hamilton wanted so badly to write another novel in this series that she came up with the lamest plot attempt possible as a justification for writing it. I knew my brain was doomed the moment I read the first chapter and the important and startling revelation was that Jason had been forced by his girlfriend to only have sex in a bed with--gasp!--only missionary positions. But this could not stretch the plot any further than the 4 chapter long sex scene that would ensue, so it was further revealed that Jason's dad has cancer and is dying. Way to go, Laurell. I don't think I've ever seen a terminal illness treated as secondary to a controlling girlfriend. Anita, for idiotic reasons that don't make much sense, is asked to accompany Jason to visit his dad so that he might have a last Hallmark moment with a parent who has treated him like crap his whole life. And thus begins "Blood Noir", quite possibly one of the worst books I've ever read.

The plot (rather, what could only jokingly be described as a plot) continues with Jason being constantly mistaken for the governor's son Keith, Mommy Noir interrupting for some darkity dark stupid attack on the twosome (I must be mistaken to assume this vampire is a villain. It's the only excuse I can come up with to explain why on earth she would induce a two day sex session as a method of attack), Anita unsurprisingly gets more super powers, and Richard comes back for more arguing. Wow, the summaries of the latest books are all starting to sound astonishingly similar.

Blood Noir, besides having a weak premise, is absolutely agonizing to read. Clearly, there was very minimal editing that went into this book, because the sheer amount of grammar and spelling mistakes were copious. Many of them could have been fixed by simply running spell check on Microsoft Word. Even someone as idiotically technophobic as Laurell K. Hamilton shouldn't find that much difficulty in running a program as easy as spell check, which requires nothing more than pushing a button and paying just enough attention to make sure it doesn't correct certain words not included in the dictionary. Also, the fact that these books are no longer edited for content is becoming painfully clear, as events are rehashed and many scenes/lines/whole plots/entire book? was an unnecessary inclusion for this series. I suspect that if "Blood Noir" were professionally edited at all, a vast majority of the book would be suggested for removal and the end result would probably be no more than 100 pages. "Blood Noir" is nothing more than a pointless self insertion and I'm trying--and failing--to find a reason for why it was even written.

As for the characters and those who may have been anxious to hear that this book featured Jason as a main character, don't fall for it. Laurell K. Hamilton has obviously begun to equate the concept of "character development" with "accumulating a ridiculous amount of powers". If these characters have grown at all mentally, then I don't see it. Possibly, Anita Blake gets stupider as the novels progress. Half the book includes supporting characters being forced to explain what the hell is going on to this so called "preternatural expert". I doubt a more blatant example of a Mary Sue can be found in all of literature and, I dare say, the original Mary Sue would probably be offended by Anita Blake's character. Despite all of her flaws, including the fact that she's an idiot who gets angry at even the slightest provocation (and many times even without provoking), men flock to her and rail on about how amazing she is. And Richard, probably the only man sampling her wonder vagina who actually loves her despite all of her pointless power ups, is regarded as nothing more than a nuisance. And his idea of monogamy and marriage is treated by Anita as an almost disgusting example of idealism. Most of the time I feel like rescuing his character from Anita Blake, who clearly deserves being surrounded by men who love her for no reason other than the influence her powers have on them.

The other half of the novel includes pointless infodumps during dialogue. Hamilton clearly never learned how to share information seamlessly in a novel, because her attempts at summarizing are so forced and unnatural sounding, they resemble the mistakes of a new writer, rather than one who is on the 16th book in a fairly successful series. And then are these emotional moments with Jason that not only fail miserably, they are damn near laughable in their attempts to be serious and heartfelt. The sex scenes are just as bad, and the only good point about "Blood Noir" that I can describe is the fact that Hamilton chose not to describe the mystically inflicted 2 day sexathon with Anita Blake and three men. The worst part, however, appears to be a nod to the series' "negative readers" in the form of confusing and random statements about people (without stating who) being "jealous" of Anita's lifestyle as the town bike of St. Louis. "Jealous" is not how I would describe my mentality upon thinking about Anita's life style. "Flagrantly idiotic", yes. "Shudder worthy", definitely. "Jealous"? Only in this author's bad excuse for a wish fulfillment.

Read "Blood Noir" at your own risk. The days of Anita Blake being a good preternatural series are over. If these latest novels are any indication, Laurell K. Hamilton will probably be considered one of the worst authors in the preternatural genre. I can't help but suspect that the phrase, "Pulling a Laurell K. Hamilton" may start to be used by readers to describe authors in the genre who have jumped the shark. Though I highly doubt any other author could do it with the flair of Laurell K. Hamilton. Despite having a productive writing career for the last decade, Hamilton appears to write worse now than she did some 15 years ago, when the "Anita Blake" series first began. And that is quite the accomplishment.

How everyone complains about how much sex is envolved in Hamilton's latest Anita Blake books I almost didn't read this one, but I am gald that I did. I enjoyed it and finished in one day. I wouldn't mind if there was a little more action like there used to be, but if people don't care for the erotic parts skip through it, that's what I did. There just needs to be a little less standing around talking (although informative) and a little more action. I myself hope that the series continues.

First of all, let me say...yes I know those of you that are upset with Laurell K. Hamilton and that are punishing anyone that doesn't give the book a 1 star aren't going to be real happy with me. Just let me remind you that it says is this review helpful to you, not do you agree with it.

Anyway, once I gave up that Ms. Hamilton isn't going to go back to the "old" Anita then I have enjoyed these books for what they are. The first part of the series was about Anita, the vampire executioner. Then as she slowly started to get to know the Master of the City and the leaders of the other were-animals she started to change. I think that's what most people do. They change. Most of us aren't the same as we were in high school and definitely don't want to be. I'm not the same person I was before my dad died recently. I'm enjoying these books for the change that Anita has went through. I don't know yet if I like the path she is going down but I am interested in following her just a little longer.

I enjoy politics. Love them actually so I like the change in how the books are going. They are delving into the world of vampire and were-animal politics. How they rule their societies without getting humans into trouble. I liked how Ms. Hamilton sent Jason away with Anita. I enjoyed getting to know more about Jason and eventually Anita's childhoods. I liked how Richard is finally evolving into someone that I thought he might be from book 3. I liked that Ms. Hamilton has introduced the were-tigers into Anita's world and the part they may play. Now I agree with most that read these books, the sex at times is a little much. I am getting tired of how Anita is finding new partners at the drop of a hat and that she's not even having relationships with them now. Do I miss the mysteries and the action of the first 10 books in this series? Yes. Am I enjoying how we see how the characters think and feel now? Yes. Do I miss Dolph and the guys from R.I.P? Yes. Do I love the politics and how Ms. Hamilton is taking her time developing everything? Yes. I would highly recommend this book to people looking at seeing how Anita is changing and why. But I wouldn't recommend it to anyone that wants the action, killings and mystery of old.

I skimmed the last half of The Harlequin because it was just too pathetic, but then forced myself to go back and read it to give it a fair shake. But this one I could not even finish. I cannot believe that a once strong character with her own set of rules and an actual moral code could be reduced to such a mindless, skanky bimbo. It's been speculated that a different author penned some of the later books, but it could almost be argued that a different author writes each chapter. In the beginning, phrases were repeated here and there. Then as the series continued, the repetition increased from chapter to chapter. In this last attempt, phrases and words are repeated over and over and over again, sometimes in the same passage. I'm beginning to wonder if mental illness, drugs, and/or alcohol are causing the writer to forget what she or he just wrote. Or maybe the author is actually retarded. The dialogue doesn't even make any sense. WHY didn't anyone read this dreck before it was published? Are editors so hard to find? I'll be sending my copy back with a refund request -- it's too ridiculous for words that in this day and age a professional editor did not go over these pages in advance. I honestly can't believe it. Anita used to be cool, but now she's nothing but a stupid ho with no self respect. Very disappointing.

The last novel I read was Narcissus in Chains. With each new novel, I come out here and read the reviews - just to see if the series has improved. I'm sad to say that it doesn't sound like it. It also doesn't sound like I missed much in the last 5 novels.

I saw on another page where LKH doesn't read reviews of her books. Maybe she should start. She may get an idea that her fans are truly dissatisfied with her work.

This is not a continuation of any story or plot twist from the 15 previous Anita Blake stories. It did not continue or lead to anywhere. There was absolutle no point to this story, beside sex. It should have been a side note at the end of a real story. One star because I love Jason.

How so, you ask? Well, it's formulaic, cheesy, devoid of depth and all's well that end's well. It's got the requisite sex, some manufactured tension (even though Jason & Anita are already friends with benefits, so go figure), and CONFLICT (& by conflict, i also mean manufactured and unconvincing). It's an easy, breezy read (not a fascinating, enthralling one), which is handy for skipping over some of the repetitive dialougue, choppy been-there-before love scenes and faux confrontations. I particular love the number of times I read, "What do you mean by that", "What are you saying", "Anger is my warm, fuzzy blanket". I'm paraphrasing but if you've read many books in the ABverse, you know what I'm saying.

There are many people that say Hamilton has fallen off from her previous AB books; I'll go a step further and say that if compared, on it's own merits, to a penny dreadful, this book doens't cut it--it's not even as enjoyable as a cheap, trashy novel. Will I read more? maybe out of habit but I don't know. As it is, I only get them from the library or read them at Borders. Even snarking about her books is getting to be boring. But i do think if she keeps writing this way, her books should go straight to paperback, in acknowledgement of the slight diversion that they are.

PS Spoiler Alert: For a minute I thought Anita was going back to solving mysteries--ha ha the joke was on me, for the mystery was revealed in the book description above. And that's all there is to the big mystery-nothing more.

I love the Anita Blake series, it never bores me, always has new twists and surprises. I love the way she gives each character their own due and respect. It's the one time in my life I can live in an alternate world alongside Anita and her minions.

I have been a fan of the Anita Blake series for a couple of years now and have read and re-read the first fifteen books many times, and so was expecting to enjoy Blood Noir, but was sadly greatly disappointed. The opening sex scene seemingly goes on forever and is just more of the same - so much so that it's getting ho-hum at this point.

Plot and character development are thrown out the window for cheap thrills and titillation. It's quite poorly written compared to her earlier books, and has an air of been rushed through, the story lines are ridiculous now and the characters whiny and annoying.

My hope is that LKH goes for quality over quantity with the next book in the series and takes the time to write an Anita Blake like those of old, with characters you can respect and a storyline that holds you 'til the last page.

What happened? Did Ms Hamilton forget she had a dead line and just threw something together? I have always praised her books, but as you can imagine not this one. She waited till dam near the end of the book to have Jason kidnapped! Very poorly thought out and written, and after waiting a year sorry I purchased it. Hope the one for Merry Gentry is better.

The book was wonderful. It was great to learn more about the supporting charater's.

I've been reading LKH for many years and, overall, am a big fan of both the Anita and the Merry series. I know that not every book is going to be a knockout but what I really hate is when a book that I've been looking forward to leaves me with no strong feelings either way. That's how I feel about Blood Noir. It was...OK. I was thrilled that Jason was a main character in this book but I felt like it could have been condensed. I didn't feel like there was any one strong plot - there were a bunch of small ones that didn't really tie into the long term story arc. You could skip this book in the series and you wouldn't really miss much. If you are already an Anita fan, you'll want to read it. If you haven't read LKH before, I would start with one of the earlier Anitas like Blue Moon or Lunatic Cafe.

Anita Blake fan fiction is better than this. The Anita Blake series has degenerated to bad porn. If you like porn, don't buy this book - there's better free porn online.

I love the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series of books. Fun heroine, interesting characters and plots, good book sex. Blood Noir has none of these attributes. I don't mind meaningless book sex that has nothing to do with the plot. In fact, I enjoy it sometimes, but boring book sex is just unforgiveable. I'm not sure a rewrite would help. I believe I will just forget this book ever happened, and hope the next one is better. (I won't waste my money on hard back until I've read it.) If Ms. Hamilton is bored with writing her Anita Blake series, then don't write. Take a year off, maybe two years, or don't write any more in this series! Try something new. I don't mind never knowing how Anita's story ends. I do mind a "publish anything" book to sell to the fans, whether it is worth reading, or not.

I am a newcomer to the Anita-verse. A friend had been urging me to give the series a try for years and I kept blowing her off because it didn't sound like my thing. And then the controversy started. And it blew up to such magnificent proportions complete with full-fledged internet flame wars that I knew I couldn't hold myself back any longer and I picked up the first book in this series: Guilty Pleasures.

That was in the spring of 2007. I hadn't been terribly impressed with Guilty Pleasures, but I gave Hamilton the benefit of the doubt because it was the first book in the series and I had to admit that it had been somewhat entertaining. I was as surprised as anyone to discover that by the third book in the series, Circus of the Damned, I was completely hooked and kept trucking right along with the rest of the series.

Keep in mind that the entire time I was reading the series; I already knew what to expect. I'd read the complaints and fan disappointment about Anita, the ardeur and her hodgepodge harem of vampires and wereanimals, so I knew it was coming and took it all with a serious grain of salt when the fluids began to gush and flow.

For that reason, I think those things that have been such a disappointment to so many other readers seemed somewhat blown out of proportion to me. I'd gone into the deal knowing that Anita would eventually change from a prudish workaholic into a craveaholic sex fiend with a penchant for rough play and dirty, dirty bedroom (bathroom, living room, kitchen) recreation so I wasn't shocked when it happened and I tolerated it.

And then I read the most recent installment, Blood Noir. And seriously? I finally get it.

This was one of the most painful books I've ever read. Thankfully I'd opted to NOT purchase this one and had added my name to the waiting list at the library so I only just finished it last night.

First of all, what in the world was up with the first five chapters of this book?!? I don't have a problem with sex in books. I LIKE sex in books. But this sex did not leave me wanting to go into a room alone somewhere and light a candle. This literally had me squirming in discomfort and gasping in horror. The character's conversations about the sex that was soon-to-be-had occurred too early in the book and without enough of an introduction to put it in an appropriate context. I'm assuming the purpose of having a graphic threesome between Anita, Nathaniel and Jason so early on was to establish a "reasonable" premise for Anita to agree to fly to Asheville to meet Jason's abusive, dying father and the rest of the family. Buuuuut...

It flat out DIDN'T do it for me. Sorry Anita. Sorry Laurel. -5 stars straight off the bat for that filthy hogwash.

As the novel progressed, I calmed down and finally felt like I was easing into the swing of things and while I was slightly annoyed by the look-a-like cousin kafuffle that resulted with Keith Summerland and the lack of any concrete reason that there was anything for Anita and Co. to be truly concerned about, I felt myself thinking, "okay, maybe there are 3 stars in here somewhere, if only Hamilton would just remember her plot and not let the--"

Ok, forget it. Because suddenly the bachelorette party happened and someone flashed their "cookies." And then the 48-hour-long foursome that involved Anita, Jason, a strange stripper and a news reporter happened. And then Marmee Noir hallucinations and Richard (!) randomly showed up. And all of a sudden I was like HOLD UP! There aren't that many pages left in this book and literally nothing has happened except some crazy hotel sexin' that has taken up the entire middle and most of the end of this book!

And then all of a sudden, the poor, underdeveloped plot attempted to take off in what was probably supposed to be an Anita Blake "action sequence" but it was so horribly rushed that it felt like a cop out. And you know what? The "action sequence" and plot resolution took up fewer chapters than the nasty threesome scene from the beginning of the book. Seemingly out of nowhere, we're told (not shown) that Keith Summerland has run off with a Master of the City's wife, another vampire named Lorna. And that because Jason looks so similar to his cousin, the Master's human servant and vampire pawns can't tell the difference and abduct Jason instead of their real target, Keith Summerland. Jason is tortured. Anita saves him. The end.

The moral of the story is that 1) you can color me disappointed but 2) I'm probably not going to stop reading the series. I'll continue to rely on my local library for the goods (so sorry amazon) because I don't want these books on my bookshelf but I feel like I've already invested so much into this that I must see it through right on through to the sloppy end.

This installment of the Anita Blake series is above average as it features long time character Jason and gives us more background about his past. There was always sexual tension between Jason and Anita and this explores that much more than before, while keeping Anita still tied to all of her other lovers. It also takes her away from St. Louis which is always a nice change.

This is another thrilling, chilling novel of the Anita Blake Series. Exciting as a thrill ride at a theme park.