Guilty Pleasures

My first foray into the vampire/paranormal romance genre. I set my expectations as low as possible, and they were well met. I was hoping to find a gem in this genre I knew I couldn't possible like. I had a few nice surprises before, like with Outlander, which turned out to be one of my favorite books of all time. I also hoped at last for a glimpse of something like Mercy Thompson, one of my favorite series of books.

So what did I expect? Well, when you check the reviews and you see the first 100 or so are all women gushing over the mere mention of the word “vampire”, and praising the kick ass girl power heroine who takes no shift from anyone, you get an idea.

But it doesn't stop there. The characters are blend, the story is simple and straightforward. There is nothing in the prose for me to hold on to. This seem to be the most popular book in the genre. It doesn't mean it's the best, but it should count as a good representative.

This feels much like a poor man's True Blood. I tried 2 other books in the genre (Magic Bites, The Hollows), they were also disappointments.

Brief summary

Anita Blake is an Animator, someone who can bring the dead to life for a a little while. Her intimate knowledge of the dead turns her into the go for person a perfect fit for a consultant for the law enforcement agencies when dealing with vampires.

In the first scene, she is invited by a friend of her best friend, who she doesn't know, to participate in a bachelorette party in a vampire strip club. She really doesn't want to go, because she is not that kind of person, but it is for her best friend, so she must endure it. Vampires are out in the world, and society pretty much accepts them as they are, as long as they don't kill anyone.

In the club, she is assaulted at every moment by vampires trying to “hipnoseduce” her. If she looks into their eyes, she is their forever (apparently this is totally legal). She is approached by BillJean Claude, a beautiful and seductive vampire who she isn't supposed to like, but he is so nice, for a vampire. He asks her to help the vampires in a murder investigation. She refuses, he threats her friend. She agrees.

She is taken to see their vampire lord, there she meets Erick a good looking and seductive vampire who is a bad boy, and his progeny, a female vampire who enjoys tormenting humans.

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