Book review: Anita Blake series (up to Obsidian Butterfly)

I've decided to try something useful with my journal, reviewing the books that have eaten my life for the past month or two. You may not want to read these if you are the type who don't want to know anything about the books before you read them. Those like me who read the last chapter of a book before beginning it, I encourage you to read on.

I'll start with the Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton. I'm up to Obsidian Butterfly. Thanks to the Science Fiction Book Club, I've got all the books through Narcissus In Chains in four nifty volumes. This will seem scattered and random because I'll be talking about 10 books or so, but it's my journal and I'll do what I want to. :-)

The more I read the series, the more I grow fond of it. I've enjoyed all of the books, but it began as a like and is now a love. LKH has done a great job with the characters. I find myself thinking about things that could or have happened in the series and saying "Jean Claude wouldn't do that" or "Richard wouln't say that." But how the hell would I know? I'm not the author. Wrong. LKH is so strong with her characterization that the reader can easily get to know the characters and imagine what they would do.

I would like to say that I love Jean Claude - his ego, his sexiness, his control, everything. I hope Anita ends up with him. I like Richard, but he seems like such a pansy-ass sometimes. Part of me hopes he finds a new lupa and leaves Anita alone, but I don't want her to lose connection with the pack.

Some of my favorite scenes have been Anita's interaction with the weres, especially in the couple of books before Incubus Dreams. It shows the growth within herself and trust of others. I really like her recent interactions with Jason.

I'm only about 100 pages into Obsidian Butterfly, just past Edward admitting that he has feelings for the family he's living with. I'm thrilled that LKH did an Edward book. Of course I had to read the last few pages before beginning the book and I am pleased.

She has done a fantastic job building Edward as a character. I love him, I think he's my favorite. He's so predictible in a I'm-so-scared-I'm-going-to-shit-my-pants sort of way. I am rather anxious to see who Anita bangs in this book, I'm thinking it's the detective.

I've read on message boards that Anita starts sleeping with many more men in later books. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I guess I'll see when I read them. But I think she should choose Jean Claude.

You may want to know why I learn what happens in a series before I finish it - well, I don't like surprises. I'm the same person who goes to ruinedendings.com before I see a movie that looks like it will be sad.

I'll also be sharing my thoughts on a few other series that I've read in the next couple of days. I would love to hear anyone else's thoughts on these books. Maybe if we begin a dialogue about books I'll feel smart. :-)