Laurell K. Hamilton

I've been reading this series for over a decade and it's definitely declining. In Smolder, Hamilton spends over 350 pages rehashing the same relationships that she has been dwelling on for thirty years. I'm glad that Anita, Jean-Claude, and Richard are finally moving forward, but the constant revisiting of the same stories/trauma/issues is too much. This book is almost a minute by minute telling if one afternoon/night in these characters lives, if Hamilton spent a little less time on everyone's therapy regimen or reminding her readers about who a character is and more time on actually moving the story along it would be so much better. I actually skipped three books in the series and I don't think I missed anything, or at least nothing that had any bearing. Truthfully, the biggest news of this book was Richard coming back into the group, and that was basically a non-event.

This book could have been a couple of chapters instead of an entire novel. Reading over the blurbs for the books I skipped, it seems like Hamilton is dividing the stories between Anita's cases and her personal life (which I have a strong suspicion mirrors, some things that Hamilton is working through in her own personal life). Why can't a novel handle both areas of Anita's life?

That being said, the tiny glimpse we see of Anita's biological family is intriguing. Will I go back and read the three I skipped... probably not, unless I stumble upon them in the library. Will I read the next book... maybe. I just hope… (mais)

hmmmm. First - I did not read - I listened to an audio copy. It does make a difference. This book is a bit different in a few ways. The first major difference was there was less sex - still a lot of sex talk - but fewer actual sex scenes and some were kind of glossed over. The reduction of sex was filled in by a major amount of inner dialogue and counseling was frequently in the mix of thoughts.
As readers, we finally get to meet her family (which was great) and the meeting caused me to restructure my views on some. I still really dislike granny, but learned that Anita's Dad is a problem and the rest of the family is fine - flaky but fine.
The next major difference was that the plot was broken between 2 books - a small difference even if it did drive me nuts - but the big difference? The villain was a joke. The idea and character had all this potential, but then Hamilton just did not develop him. It also led me to some serious questions on her worldbuilding. The whole purpose behind the 4th mark was to bind them solidly. This was just not believable. In fact, all of the interactions seemed watered down and Anita would have these long wandering inner dialogs instead of going after the villain or fighting. She was almost a wispy princess in need of rescuing.
Then there was the writing - it came through as choppy and without flow and then would begin to flow only to dissolve again. It just did not feel like Laurell Hamilton. It is almost as if she has stretched this as far as she can, and it is time to end the series.… (mais)