Guilty Pleasures

Title: Guilty Pleasures
Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
Genre: Horror
Rating: 4 stars out of 5

For those of you who haven't heard of Anita Blake, let me give you the rundown: Anita Blake is an animator. She has an affinity with the dead - all dead. She raises zombies for a living, but also carries the title of The Executioner. She kills vampires for the court. And she is very good at what she does.

In this, the first Anita Blake novel, the thousand-year-old master of St. Louis is gunning for Anita. Someone or something has been killing vampires, and has already managed to take out two of the most powerful vampires in the city. Nikolaos, the master, wants Anita to make these killings stop - and she will go to great lengths to ensure Anita does what she wants.

Having read most of the series in the past, and knowing what the series' reputation is, let me say that it starts off very good. The first half of the series is a horror series, with some mystery. Anita goes against different baddies, figuring out who is behind the recent slayings she investigates with the police. There is increasingly more sexual tension as the series progresses, and yes, the second half of the series is little more than porn interspersed with a little plot and bigger and badder bad guys.

BUT. The first few books are, without a doubt, very well written. I enjoy them immensely, and reread them every year for a reason.

And, I have to say that Edward is my favorite character in this series, by far.