It's been too long since I've read this series or anything by LKH. I could not get back into the series quickly or easily, and found myself putting the book down frequently. I think too much time has passed for me to enjoy this book anymore.

This has been posted since release. I’m not sure why it wasn’t here

I think Ms. Hamilton is trying to bring the series back to its roots. This installment, and the last couple of books, have certainly seemed to head that way.

SERPENTINE is reminiscent of Obsidian Butterfly, possibly my favorite book in the series.

First, it has a very similar cast: Edward/Ted, Bernardo Spotted-Horse, a few shifters including Nathaniel and Micah, but no Jean-Claude. There’s a (not-so-well-kept) secret cast member, too that made me very happy. You can Google, but we don’t do spoilers here.

Secondly, there is a real mystery--a missing woman from the hotel. Anita and crew really want to help because one of Anita's people is accused of the kidnapping. Soon, one missing women becomes missing people. And the police are stuck on the wrong suspect.

Thirdly, there is new magic, something none of the characters are familiar with.

The storylines come together really well. In fact, the second half of the book reads so quickly, it’s nearly impossible to put down.

Full disclosure: I have been a fan since GUILTY PLEASURES. I stuck it out through some not-so-story-driven books so I would have read this anyway, but it was great fun! And definitely recommended.

I enjoyed this book. You may not know this, but I really like Laurell K. Hamilton's writing and have read most of her work. I did take a bit of a break from the Anita Blake series but I knew that it would be something that I would get back to at some point. I have read the first 22 books in the series so I did skip a few books before starting this one but it worked out well but I don't think that this would be a great starting point for readers new to the series. I am really glad that I decided to pick this series up again.

I have often heard complaints from others about this series. People complain that the series is different than it used to be. That's true. It has evolved and Anita's life in book 26 looks nothing like it did in book 1. People complain that it is nothing but sex anymore. Yes, there is a lot of sex in these books even though there wasn't at the start of the series. Like I said, the series has evolved and sex is now a big part of the story. I can understand why the series may not work for everyone but it still does work for a lot of readers.

One of the reasons I decided to pick up this book was that it is what I refer to as an Edward book. Edward is a character that has been in the series from the very beginning even though he doesn't make an appearance in every book. Edward is pretty much a badass that has always had Anita's back. I love it when Edward and Anita work together to solve cases and Edward's personal life has been more than a little interesting. In this book, Edward's wedding is the backdrop for the story.

This book had everything that I was looking for. It had a really interesting case to solve with a paranormal being that was different than any I have seen before. I was able to catch up with many of the characters that I feel like I know from the previous books in the series. There were some scenes that really moved Anita's relationships forward a bit and a few scenes that let me chuckle. I thought it was a pretty balanced book in the end.

I decided to listen to this book and thought that Kimberly Alexis did a great job with the narration. This is the first book in the series that I have listened to but I wouldn't hesitate to go that route in the future. The narrator did a great job of handling a rather large cast of characters and adding a bit of excitement to the story. I think that I liked this book just a little bit more because of her narration.

I would recommend this book to fans of the series. I think that readers of the series will enjoy watching Anita and the gang navigate a wedding while trying to figure out what is happening to a family nearby. I do plan to read more from Laurell K. Hamilton in the future.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley and borrowed a copy of the audiobook from my local library.

Hamilton is BACK baby! I was worried because the last couple Anita Blake books weren't as good as the older books, but Hamilton nailed this book and then some. I binged the book in one sitting. I'm excited all over again for the series and will be impatiently waiting for the next book!

Anita and her group travel to Florida for Ted and Donna’s wedding and encounter two missing women and a strange snake family. ARC from NetGalley.

Hamilton did it again. I know a lot of people are fed up with this series after 26 books but I love it. The books come out far enough apart for me that its like coming home. To drama and chaos and a horde of men, but coming home.

I love the structure of Anita and her men and I love that about 1/2 of the book is about her personal life and 1/2 is the twisted plot that they are trying to solve.

This book was set out that a half and half. I will admit there was a little extra drama with the guys in this book, but at the end of the day, and book, I was reminded how much I love the exhilarating reads that come form the Anita Blake world.

Hamilton brings back the writing that we got addicted to early on in this series. The second half of this book truly reminds you of why we stick around after 26 books. It reminds who why its worth the wait.

This was a 5 star for me. I know other readers might be losing their love for this series, but if Hamilton keeps delivering the in depth satires like this that still leave me giddy by the end, I will keep reading them.

So... I have a problem. I have serious troubles in saying no when authors or publishers ask me if I want to review their book. Specially, if said book belongs to a series that has been on my radar for a while.

Serpentine is the latest example of that. See, I have heard a lot of good/bad things about Anita Blake. Enough that once I got the email, I immediately said yes. WITHOUT THINKING. Clearly I should have heard alarm bells, right? Because I basically accepted to read a review a book that is number 26 on a series, without having read any of the previous ones.

So, after a bad decision, a even worse one - to read a book out of order - was made. 

After all said and done, do I regret them? Hell no. 

Why? Because the book was good. It was darn good. I liked the mystery and the plot, sure some things sounded out of context - because I didn't have it - but other than that, I enjoyed the book a lot more than I was expected.

See, when I look at Anita Blake's reviews, I mostly see a lot of complains about how the story focus more on romance than the mystery at hand.  Well, that doesn't bother me, specially if I'm in a all-smutt-you-can-fit-on-a-page mood. On that regard, the book actually made me curious to read more polygamous stories, because clearly, I have been missing them on my naughty stories.

That been said. I jumped into the series without reading previous Anita's, and from what I gathered, the series used to be pure UF instead of romance UF. Maybe, when I'm finally caught up - because this book made me want to read the series - I'll agree. Which I pretty much doubt because as much as I love pure UF, the romance reader in me always enjoy when it branches out. I understand why the UF purists may not like it, I just don't agree with them.

ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Sarah – ☆☆☆☆
Anita’s road trip books are always my favourite and they are always better when Edward and the four horsemen take center stage. This is the story of Edward’s wedding weekend – a wedding weekend that is quickly overshadowed by murder and the discovery of a terrifying family of snake shifters.

As always, this story starts slowly. Really, really slowly. It takes a good portion of the book for Anita to explain her current relationships and attempt to help her men through their various insecurities. There is actually much less sex than I’ve come to expect from this series and once the murder mystery starts, the focus is almost completely on Anita’s work as a Marshal. The actual murder mystery is exciting and after so many books, I was pleasantly surprised that the author managed to come up with a few fresh plot devices.

I find it interesting that Anita now uses the language of the polyamorous community to describe her complicated relationships because Anita’s experimentation with polyamory started years before there was much public awareness of polyamory. I was intrigued by various characters’ desires for alone time in this book and I was also interested in the way Anita’s circle of partners has shrunk considerably since the ardeur-fuelled orgies a few books back. This book focuses on the relationships between Anita, Jean-Claude, Nathaniel, and Micah. With engagements in place and a long history behind these four, there are some thoughtful observations about the work that goes into sustaining long-term relationships. Maybe not as sexy as the orgies once were but probably more meaningful.

I really enjoyed this story – but I don’t think I’m capable of an impartial response to any book in this series. I’ve been a fan from the very start and beyond the vampire porn there are moments and observations in so many of the books that have resonated with me. So many of Anita’s musings about identity, relationships, and power have made me reflect, made me think, and have ultimately made me stronger. I have taken different things from these books at different moments in my life and after twenty-six books, I am way too emotionally invested in Anita Blake to offer a neutral critique. I’m already looking forward to the next book.


Erica – ☆☆☆☆
Disclosure: I had not read past Hit List, reading the previous books in the series dozens of times each. However, being so far behind didn’t offer much confusion. I easily caught up to speed, without spoiling much that may have happened in those books I own yet have yet to read.

At the start, I found the relationship issues to get rather tedious, reminding me of parents (the characters) bickering in front of their children (the reader). Wading through this manufactured strife/angst, during the beginning 25-30%, I was close to DNFing multiple times. They fought over everything big or small, taking offense to everything, where the plot stopped for the reader to sit through their conversational therapy. Everything was tedious, difficult to get through, with the entertainment value of watching loved ones fight.

Things readers will want to know: This simmers down. There is little to no sex, what is there is fade-to-black-esque. The bickering is classic LKH, so I rolled with it. No fangy fun. No hungry Anita, needing a harem to feast. Shifters, not vamps. Police procedural.

Finally, once the cast gets to the Florida Keys, the novel flows into a mystery to solve, which had me reading quickly, wishing to know what happened next. This was classic Anita Blake.

What I loved: The feeling of homecoming as my favorite characters made an appearance. Edward ‘Ted’ has always been one who most intrigued me, and I’m thankful and applaud LKH for maintaining Anita and Edward’s best-friendship by keeping it platonic yet emotionally connected. Olaf ‘Otto' Jeffreys. If Olaf is in a book, I’ll read every word, and Anita and Olaf's interactions were fascinating and had amazing payoff for the reader. Peter. Peter. Peter. I need more Edward, Peter, and Olaf monster hunting with Anita. Peter needs to join the Four Horsemen, make it five somehow, because Bernardo is awesome too. The Four Horsemen was pure perfection.

What I didn’t love: The parents bickering in front of the children (characters vs reader). The polyamory discussions that went past educational. I am a firm believer in polyamory, but this went beyond organically unveiled. These two issues roll into one, and felt like beating a dead horse (the reader's patience). The swimming pool scenes were beyond irrational, with women written that give the female gender a bad name, while emasculating men for their inability NOT to flirt or tell women NO.

Overall, I struggled at the start but eventually fell into the storyline. I do believe Serpentine was a worthy installment and recommend to fans, as I never pass up the chance to push Guilty Pleasures at new readers. I plan on reading those books I’ve missed before the next installment, which I cannot wait to get my hands on.


Kris – ☆☆☆
Well, I'm not sure where to go with this review. I’ll start by saying that I've been a fan for many years of the Anita Blake series and I've read them all. But did not read book #23 or #24. After Jason's book (book #22), I pretty much gave up. When this came up for review I decided I'd give one of my favorite authors another chance. I have to say, I'm pretty indifferent. I don’t think things have gotten any better for my longtime favorite. I was over 40% into the book and not a single thing was happening in the plot. You're in for total over descriptiveness (which was always present but exacerbated in the past few books) of clothing, scenery, hair color, facial expressions. There's bickering about who gets to have Anita's attention, and even Nathaniel became a bit whiny! Micah's character is usually my rock when things get crazy, but he was sort of never really present, always on the phone or out of town. There's hardly any Jean-Claude in this one except a brief scene in the beginning. Not even really good steamy scenes. The story FINALLY kicks in around the 80% mark with a murder scene and abduction and then does this Scooby Do ending where it all wraps up with one bad guy giving all the plot points and who-done-its. I was determined to finish this, and it took quite a bit of skimming. I love these characters, they're like old friends to me after 22 books. I'd love to see something better come out of this!

I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. I am a huge fan of this series and I have been for a very long time. I had been wondering for a long time what this was going to be like. Ever since Edward/Ted asked Donna to marry him. I was wishing for a lot more action like in the earlier books in the series and less relationship drama. Edward is by far my favorite character. I know that is weird a paranormal/sci-fi book and I pick the human. This has been pointed out to me a few times. But all of us who have been fan know that no matter where Anita goes there is going to be some kind of trouble. There are still some questions in the series I would like answered, but maybe it is time for me to go back and re-read the books and see if there is something I missed and see if I can answer my own questions. I think it is a good read and will continue to be a fan.

Edward and Donna are having a destination wedding in the Florida Keys, where a family has been afflicted with an unfamiliar strain of lycanthropy for generations. Anita, Micah, and Nathaniel head down there for some together time that has been largely lacking in their relationships. Even though Anita has every intention of just being Edward/Ted’s best man, and having a romantic weekend with her guys, trouble seems to find her. The wedding party is full of drama at every turn, and when the police are called to investigate a possible kidnapping, new problems arise for everyone involved.

Hamilton writes fantastic stories that are filled with sex, vampires, shifters, and monsters you can’t even imagine. After 26 books you would think that the stories would get boring or unimaginative, but she’s still got it and is going strong. I would say my only criticism is that there were not enough love/sex scenes. Her books are famous for them, and there was hardly any, even though there was a lot of focus on Anita and her poly relationships. In today’s day and age, this is a great storyline with sexual fluidity being prominent in the headlines. It would be nice if Hamilton explained a little more on how some of the relationships work for those that are not familiar with the new terms.

I have been an avid reader of the Anita Blake series for many years now. Despite the ups and downs of the series, I've always picked up the next book and tried to be as open-minded as possible. There is always a big wait between books and I my hope is that the wait will bring greatness. When I read an Anita Blake series, it has become more for the adventure than it has for any kind of romance.

Despite a great amount of time at the beginning of Serpentine trying to explain the romantic side of Anita's love life, I still find myself overwhelmed and then to the point where I just don't care anymore. It has come down to just a few main characters now, which is great, but the constant description of their polyamorous life and how it works just does not interest me anymore. It is like the author feels the need to explain how the whole situation works in every installment. The problem is, most of Anita's love life and problems within it took up almost the first full 60% of the book. I was almost to the point of DNF when I realized how far in I was and at that point we were finally getting into the meat of the story and the adventure, which was what I was waiting for. Especially with a story that included the Four Horsemen together.

There was an interesting power within one of the detectives that almost had Nathanial and Anita trapped in a bad place in the investigation of some missing girls from their hotel. It was a magic Anita hadn't come up against before and was a struggle for her to overcome. Anita also has another foe to deal with and I'm kind of worried about what is happening in that situation.

There are a lot of surrounding things happening with Anita, and the main adventure seems to take up very little time. You don't really get into it until well into the book and the details seem to be slipped into moments of other crises that Anita goes through. The time we did get with the Four Horsemen and the mystery storyline was my favorite and I savored what time we spent with that. Bernardo's reaction to the killing and missing girls surprised me a bit. I was also interested to see the many sides of Edward we see in Serpentine as his Ted and Edward personalities are warring between his relationship stuff with Donna and the case. I love Edward so any of the stories that he is in really grab me. His relationship with Donna was in jeopardy and his reaction was definitely interesting.

Serpentine has many ups and downs for me. I was disappointed that so much time is spent on the poly relationships in comparison to the adventure of the case. For readers who have been with this series for as many years as I have, we pretty much have all that stuff down. Of course there will be bumps in the road, but I don't think we need to spend so much time with them working it out. I'm much more interested in the kick-ass Anita and the monsters she has to fight. I hate to say I was disappointed with Serpentine, but for the most part I was. I think the series has pretty much run it's course. There are still the relationship strings to tie up. Maybe if we spent more time with Jean-Claude with the crew defending his kingship we might get more metaphysical stuff and action. Maybe more of Edward with his flamethrower!

I honestly don't know if this will be the end of the series for me. After as much time as I've spent with this series, I hate to give up not having some finality to it, but it is getting harder to get through all of what I feel is filler to get to the meat of the story. I sure hope the poly group just gets the weddings over with and move into some good action. I think it is really needed to pick this series back up.

I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley.

This is a banner day, my friends. Not only did I get to read this book early and for free, I am giving it TWO STARS. That is 100% more stars than any book in the Anita Blake series since book 17. Truly, an accomplishment to be celebrated. What makes this book 100% better than any of the previous 9 books in the series (although still not "good")? A couple of things. One, there is sort of a plot that is more-or-less focused on throughout the book. This plot is Edward/Ted's wedding at a resort in the Florida Keys. Yes, America's favorite Marshall-living-a-confusingly-unneccessary-double-life is finally marrying his semi-innocent sweetheart, Donna. But there is trouble in paradise...one of Donna's bridesmaids is here to fill the role of "person in Anita Blake book who is jealous/disapproving of Anita Blake's sex life to the point of literal hysteria and insanity." Dixie (the bridesmaid) still thinks Anita and Edward were once a romantic duo (which isn't all that unreasonable, when you think about it, since Anita and Edward actually confessed to once being a romantic duo to Donna back when she was, for some reason, unable to comprehend that men and women could be good work partners without also having sex, but they apparently straightened this all out in therapy and now Donna is on board with the truth, but her buddy thinks she's just brainwashed). Dixie is therefore determined to break up the wedding any way she can. For some reason, this does not cause Donna to just kick her out of the wedding altogether. Oh, and also, there's a whole group of weird-ass Medusa people who just happen to be also living on this island in the Keys, whom Micah and Anita just happen to be going to investigate/help as part of Micah's wereanimal coalition job. Then, a bunch of hotel/wedding guests go missing and get murdered, and Anita and her merry band are suspected of all the crimes by the local authorities although, frankly, it's pretty obviously connected to the weird-ass Medusa people. (Spoiler alert: one of the local authorities is actually one of the weird-ass Medusa family, and also has Siren powers, which is how he is steering this whole investigation against Anita and pals, but the whole thing presents for a long time as a typical "you people must have done it because your sex lives are not strictly monogamous and heterosexual" thing that tends to be the tedious default position of local law enforcement in every Anita Blake book since she and Jean-Claude and Richard first became a thing back in ye olden dayes of this series.) So, you have a bunch of wedding/relationship drama playing out, along with a lot of supernatural kidnapping/murdering on the side, which understandably throws a bit of a crimp into the wedding planning/having.

The other slightly-improved aspect of this book is that the author (and hence, her characters) seems to have reached a point in her/their therapy journey where some of the therapy is actually starting to sink in and people are using the tools they have learned to actually resolve or deal with some of their ongoing issues. For example, Nathaniel is kinda upset through this whole book because he thought it was going to have a fun and romantic vacation with Micah (to whom he is officially, eventually getting married) and Anita (to whom he is engaged but not marrying for legal reasons). Instead, Micah and Anita are spending a lot of time on the whole Medusa Family crime spree going on, and Nathaniel's feelings are hurt. There's some anger and unproductive behavior on all sides, but they mostly recognize pretty quickly what is going on, talk about it, name the issues, and resolve to work on solutions. It's almost...adult.

But don't worry, there's still plenty of bat-shit crazy behavior going on all around this that you won't suddenly worry you have fallen into a conventionally "good" book. Such as? Such as:

1. There are still plenty of long, painstakingly drawn-out conversations that go on for pages and pages and end up having exactly nothing to do with anything important. For instance, there's a scene early in the book where Anita and friends walk down the stairs. And they keep walking down these stairs. And talking about how there are so many stairs. And then they get to the bottom of the stairs, and there are new guards at the bottom of the stairs and they have a long discussion about the new guards and the new guard protocols and decide they might change up the guard protocols. This has zero bearing on anything else that happens in the book. Except, perhaps, that we learn that Jean-Claude is becoming so much sexier since Anita defeated that vampire in Ireland in the last book that some of the guards are afraid to be alone with him, because they fear they might spontaneously explode (or something like that) from how sexy he is.

2. Although Anita 'n' friends are becoming more adult over their relationship issues, everyone else in the book is, as per usual, over-the-top freaked out over anything to do with sex and relationship dynamics. The Dixie storyline drags on and on, with her becoming more and more violent and hysterical over stopping the wedding and hating both Anita and Edward/Ted, to the point where she nearly kills Edward/Ted's teenaged stepson (who, it turns out, Dixie is secretly in love with, of course). It's part of the ongoing theme in this series where everyone in the world is violently interested in and hostile to Anita's sex life. Certainly, I am aware that people in relationships that are not straight, monogamous, or otherwise "traditional" (according to certain, narrow, religious schools of thought) face prejudice all the time in our world. However, there is no nuance or realism in Hamilton's writing about this aspect of Anita's life. People in the world are either (1) someone Anita is having sex with already, and who think she is the most special sexy goddess badass ever, or (2) people who totally hate Anita because they are secretly jealous of her and embittered by their own sad, unfulfilling, traditional, monogamous, straight relationships. There is no in-between. It's an almost cult-like view of the world, and it's a tired nail that gets hammered in every book.

3. There's a lot more Edward/Ted name confusion, with even Edward/Ted seeming to forget which one he is supposed to be at any given moment for no reason that is ever explained in the book (I mean, I'm guessing the wedding/relationship/suspected of murder pressures, but it seems odd for an Anita Blake book not to spell that out in excruciating detail). It is still also utterly unclear why calling Edward by the common nickname Ted (or vice versa) in front of the wrong people would cause his whole sort-of double-life of being a cold-blooded monster executioner/warm-hearted good-ol'-boy police consultant on monster executing to implode around him, or why it would be so disastrous for people to realize that Edward the monster executioner and Ted the monster execution consultant are the same guy.

4. Also, Olaf is back. Fucking Olaf. And he and Anita are doing this gross Sherlock Holmes/Irene Adler role-playing the whole time, and Anita's internal were-lioness wants to bond with his were-lion even though Nicky is still right-freakin-there, and Anita is all "I am so morally opposed to Olaf and I shall resist his sociopathic advances on every front but OK I will call him 'Holmes' and he can call me 'Adler' and talk about how I am The Woman but this definitely won't go anywhere more disturbing" and just...barf forever.

5. The whole Medusa family thing is handled really oddly. (Stop reading here if you don't want any spoilers.) There's this whole group of people whose arms start turning into snakes when they hit puberty. First just one snake, and then into multiple snakes, like some kind of arm-hydra. And they never turn fully into snakes like a regular were-animals, but they do seem to go kind of insane as more and more of them turns randomly into snakes whenever they're upset or whatever. Also, some of them have "snake locks" in their hair, like Medusa. All of this is known to Micah and Anita going in, because the family thinks this is a curse and they want Micah and Anita to help them figure out a cure or how to stop it. So Micah and Anita's first stop is Melanie, the lamia who was kind of a villain from one of the early books in the series, who is now, conveniently, working for Jean-Claude as one of his side-show acts at one of his clubs. They go talk to her about whether she, as a semi-transforming snake person, knows anything about any other semi-transforming snake people out there in the world, and she (a) gets all huffy and accuses them of being were-racist for thinking she might have any knowledge or anything to do with it just because she's kinda snakey, and (b) displays an apparent long-standing crush on Nathaniel, not that anything comes out of this extensive bit of her scene. In the end, Anita sits by while Olaf TORTURES a member of the about the Medusa family to get information about their involvement in the kidnapping/murders (which a particularly old/insane/hydra-like member of the family has convinced them are necessary to lift the curse), they all go kill off the old/insane/hydra thing, and then...nothing else happens. Like, to this whole family who went along with kidnapping and murder. And Anita just dismisses the whole thing (in one of those typical 5-page end-of-book wrap-ups of most of the loose ends that we didn't have time to expand upon, even though we spent ages talking about the number of stairs and stair guards) with a kind of shrugged-off "well, we did torture that one woman, so they didn't bring any charges against anyone," and the revelation that, after they got back, Melanie confessed that, actually, these people are probably her descendants, and she will help out after all, apparently by...biting them and injecting MORE of her venom into their diluted bloodline, which will somehow make them maybe more lamia-like and maybe more in control of their snakey abilities, but who knows. So that's where we leave things...Anita and her buds violated all kinds of civil rights and tortured people and everyone is fine with this, a whole bunch of people who weren't directly tortured were involved in a kidnap and murder spree but will face no punishment, except, of course, for the fact that an ancient lamia is going to come down to their island and bite them and this may or may not make them more snakey.

So that's what a 2-star Anita Blake book looks like. Does this mark the beginning of a return to sanity for the series? Do I even want it to? Stay tuned...

I’ve read every book the Ms Hamilton has written in both the Anita Blake series and Meredith series and even the Star Trek book she wrote. I have been a devoted follower and was thrilled that Anita and Edward were paired up again for a new adventure. I was so looking forward the wedding and to see Edwards and other in the family. I had missed Edwards and the cases that where a part of the earlier series.
I enjoyed most of the book but the emotional going back and forth made me sometime hate this book and all the sex was ok but not when it takes over the book. I was very conflicted on how to say although I liked parts of this book I did not like the way the story evolved. I miss the huge stories arcs that were a mix of story, investigation and romance.

Unfortunately, Serpentine is yet another entry in the Anita Blake series that loses the bite and luster of the series' heyday circa books 1 thru about 10. There is too much repetitive nonsense that readers of the series have endured for the past 15+ books.



Yes, Anita lives an unconventional, polyamorous life. Yes, she and her partners are okay with it. Why then do readers have to go through the same conversations each book? It feels like a vicious cycle. If we're still reading, we get it, we can deal with it, so move on and get back to good paranormal monster/police investigations plots with a smidgen of steamy romance fun and not these droll dialogues that go in circles.



Serpentine is a step up from Dead Ice but again lacks storytelling flare. The is too much wedding and relationship drama while the connecting paranormal aspects are not fully explored and wrapped up too quickly in the last 10% of the novel. Elements I did like were appearances by Jean Claude, Micah, Nathaniel, and Nicky. Edward is always a treat and scary Olaf aka Otto shows up - plus eek freaky prediction for a future story tie-in w/ him as Anita's lion to call. I missed some of the other regulars and couldn't tell you a thing about the bodyguards who were present this book.



Why do I keep reading? I'm a glutton for punishment I suppose. Anita and Jean Claude have been a part of my live for more that 15 years. I can't quite give them up even if I'm disappointed with their current journey.



Final rating: 2 out of 5 stars

I am a long time reader of Laurell K. Hamilton. So much so, that I have been to conventions, book signings, and meet-ups because I was such a fan. But, something happened along the way. Maybe I have changed, or maybe she has. But, Anita Blake has lost its magic. I went into reading this story with both apprehension and hope. Maybe things have changed since the last Anita book I read, book 16? They haven't. After reading this all I can come up with is this story is the verbal sludge of Anita's brain. It is too many emotions, asides, and inner monologing. I like Anita as a character, and this being book 26 the reader has probably figured out a lot of what Laurell K. Hamilton tells us about what is going on inside her head. so we don't need 300 pages of inner monologing about how Anita feels about being poly. Or how she likes Nathaniel's ass or jean Claudes eyes.

I am done. It has been a "mostly" wonderful road Laurell. But this novel is middling at best. If you write another series, I will gladly take it for a spin. But I am done with Anita.

It’s pretty crazy to be reading book 26 of a series. I missed a few later on when the ardeur took over and there was just too much sex and not enough story for my tastes. But, when I saw that this installment contained a reunion with Edward, I couldn’t resist. I’m glad I jumped back in!

So, at this point in the story, Anita is in a relationship with Jean Claude, Micah and Nathaniel, to include Nicky and a few other regular playmates. Anita is engaged to Jean Claude (whom she plans to marry), as well as Micah and Nathaniel (whom are planning to marry), there not being a law against numerous fiances. Work has kept Anita and Micah away from home recently, and it is starting to take a toll. What better way to reconnect than to take a much needed vacation away?

So, the group, sans Jean Claude, head to the Florida Keys to attend the wedding of Edward/Ted and Donna. I’ve loved Edward from the beginning, so it was really great to see him again. There is a lot of backstory as you can imagine from 26 books, and many memories were brought back for me while reading this. Of course, this wouldn’t be an Anita Blake story without some monster hunting and danger. Who knew it would come in the form of Donna’s friend, Dixie, aka bridesmaidzilla? There is quite a bit of drama afoot, but it is taken a step further when Dixie goes missing.

Work follows Micah and Anita, which puts them in the doghouse with Nathaniel for a bit. But when everything starts blending together, they must pull together to help figure things out. Also on the scene is our favorite creepy psycho, Olaf, aka, Otto, who is just as stalkery as ever where Anita is concerned.

I really enjoyed getting back into this story again. There are a lot of details surrounding the who’s who in Anita’s life and the reasons for them being there. It definitely helps having most if not all of that backstory, but Ms. Hamilton does a good job of explaining what’s going on without recapping too much for those in the know. While an important aspect of this is about the foursome navigating their relationship together and in their various couplings (aka Micah and Nathaniel), there is surprisingly little sex. It is much more story driven than some of the previous books, and that makes it a winner for me and definitely got me back on board the crazy train.

The latest book is set in Florida for Edward’s wedding. There are the usual bridal party problems with one of Donna’s friends convinced that Edward and Anita are having an affair and wants the kids to know. The wedding location happens to overlap with a group of snake shifters that no one has ever seen before. It works more like a genetic curse and eventually coverts the victims to a mass of snakes permanently. A woman goes missing from another wedding at the hotel and local police want to pin the blame on one of Anita’s men. So in a short space of time Anita needs to solve a murder, keep a wedding on track as Edward’s best man and deal with a surprise wedding guest. The plus side was Anita didn’t lose control of her ardeur and spend chapters feeding it with sex. Yes there is still sex and tons of talk about her relationships with her lovers, brides, and bodyguards.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley

As always this is an amazing installment in the Anita Blake world and I cant wait to see what Laurell K. Hamilton does next.

Anita was amazingly badass as usual and the romance was steamy. We got to see our favorite characters featured and I couldn't be happier with the way this book was written.

I really loved Laurell K. Hamilton's early Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series books but I did feel like she lost the thread a bit in the middle of the series. I am glad to say that it seems like she is focusing more on the storyline and less on the sex of late which makes the books better in my opinion. I am reviewing this book based on an ARC received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion.

It's hard to believe that Serpentine is the 26th book in the Anita Blake series. I wish the Merry Gentry series had so many books out! I'm glad they are both still going as, whenever one comes out, it's like spending some time with old friends (who are ass-kicking monster killers).

In this installment, it's time for Edward/Ted's wedding down in the Keys, and Anita is the best man. Our big players in the story are (of course), Anita and Edward, along with Nathaniel, Micah and Nicky. There is a short Cameo for Jean Claude early on, but it seems that the series has shifted in these last books with more features by the shifters than the vamps. Unless I'm remembering wrong, there is usually a good stretch between releases that does my memory no favors.

So of course, wherever Anita goes, trouble will find her. There is lots of drama to go around in Key West. Relationship drama abounds, and it seems that some are not as happy with the poly group, and others are feeling neglected. There is wedding drama and bigotry. Micah is stressed about the Coalition, with a never-before-seen shapeshifter situation. And of course a criminal investigation pops up. I had fun navigating through the morass with our main characters, even the relationship drama which is usually an annoyance for me.

I also liked seeing The Four Horsemen back in action. Each of them adds a unique (and scary) twist to the story, given that they are all on the same side. I think the only one that I didn't quite care for in this installment was Donna, she was just a bit too irrational and weepy for me in this one. But it was great to have small parts from Peter and Becca, who are great kids. Well, Peter is a grown man now so I'm interested to see what his future involvement will be.

Overall, I had a good time with this book. I get along well with Anita, and I like her character. The poly group didn't seem overwhelming here, even though Micah and Nathaniel are not my favorites of her partners. I hope we get some variety in the next book. Reading one of the new releases always makes me want to go back and do a re-read, so I may look at doing that in audio sometime soon.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this audiobook that I received from the publisher, Berkley