Bullet by Laurell K. Hamilton review & Guilty Pleasure's giveaway!

title:	Bullet (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter)
author:	Laurell K. Hamilton
format:	Hardcover
isbn:	0-425-23433-9 / 978-0-425-23433-4
publisher:	Berkley Hardcover
pages:	368
published:	01 Jun 2010

Amazon

Amazon UK

I am back in St Louis and trying to live a normal life – as normal as possible for someone who is a legal vampire executioner and a US Marshal. I have my lovers, my friends and their children, school programs to attend. In the midst of all this ordinary happiness a vampire from my past reaches out. She was supposed to be dead, killed in an explosion, but the Mother of All Darkness is the first vampire, the dark creator, and it’s hard to kill a god. She has reached out to me here – in St Louis, home of everyone I love most. She has decided she has to act now or never, to control me, and all the vampires in America.

The Mother of All Darkness believes that the triumvirate created by master vampire Jean-Claude with me and the werewolf Richard Zeeman has enough power for her to regain a body and to emigrate to the New World. But the body she wants to possess is already taken; I’m about to learn a whole new meaning to sharing my body, one that has nothing to do with the bedroom. And if the Mother of All Darkness can’t succeed in taking over my body for herself, she means to see that no one else has the use of it, ever again. Even Belle Morte, not always a friend to me, has sent word:  ‘Run if you can...’

_________________________________

I am a huge fan of the Anita Blake series. I have only been reading them for two years, but they are definitely one of my most favorite series. I really enjoyed the first few books, and then she started to collect men like they were going out of fashion. A few of the later books were sex and no story. Although I know she needs the men to feed the arduer. It got a bit much for me. 

This latest book still has sex, but it felt to me a bit more like the 'original' Anita. 

In Bullet, she doesn't go vampire hunting or anything but has to deal with a lot of problems at home. Turns out Marmee Noir, the Mother of all Darkness isn't dead. She has possessed the members of the Vampire Council and is trying again to take over Anita.

Bullet see's the return of Richard, the Ulfric. He's the alpha of the local werewolf pack, and Jean-Claude's werewolf to call. Most people who read the series don't like Richard. I can understand that. He never wanted to be a wolf, and tried his hardest to be as 'normal' as possible. In this book he goes to Jean-Claude and Anita to apologize for the way he has been acting. He's been working with a therapist and really wants to help them. For some reason I've always liked Richard. I missed him in other books. I liked him even more throughout this book, as he began to work through his issues and was genuinely wanting to be with them. Anita was understandably cautious. I liked that she was willing to give him a chance. She seemed to 'grow up' quite a lot in this book. She was realizing things about herself and how they affected the men in her life. I was a bit disappointed with the lack of action in the book. She hasn't been out for a while now, and the action seems to happening around her but not to her. Jean-Claude and Micah always seem to be the voices of reason, and try to get on board to increase their power base, so they can defend themselves against Marmee Noir.

There are a few side plots that will have a big effect on the main plot if they don't sort out the problems. I think she wove them all together very well. Sometimes side plots seem to overwhelm the whole story, but she managed to get the side stories sorted, so they didn't interfere too much. There is a lot going on in this book, and I would need about six pages to get through it all.

Overall I really, really enjoyed the latest offering from Ms Hamilton, but there were a few things I wish were different. I never felt like the sex was the bulk of the story, it was there, but I could see it had merit, and worked well into the story. I'm glad Richard is back, and I can't wait to see where their story with him goes. Of course, Marmee Noir isn't dead, but they have a plan to hopefully finally defeat her. If your over Anita I ask you to give Bullet a try. Of course this is just my opinion, but I think it is better than a few of the other latest books. If you haven't read this series, I suggest you give it a try. 

I give it 4 out of 5 roses.

***********************

  

Want to win a copy of the first book in the Anita Blake series, Guilty Pleasures?

Here's what you have to do:

+2 new follower

+5 old follower

+4 Answer this question, 'Who is your favorite paranormal/urban fantasy heroine?'

+3 for blog posts, in your sidebar, facebook. (please leave links so I can check)
+2 for comments on my Boys of Twilight post.

Please leave you email in the comment area and add up your points. The winner will be chosen by random.org. It is open internationally.

Contest runs from 1st July - 15th July. 

Good luck!