Laurell K. Hamilton Reviews

Page Two

Updated! April 20, 2005

Cerulean Sins

An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Novel

Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Groups
Available At: Bookstores Everywhere
Publishing Date: September 2004
Genre: Fantasy: Dark
Format: Paperback
Price: $7.99
ISBN: 0515136816
Author Email/Website:www.laurellkhamilton.org
Reviewer: Sharyn McGinty

At the end of Narcissus in Chains, we learn Anita possesses, like her vampire lover Jean-Claude, the ardeur. For Anita, the ardeur manifests as lust for blood, lust for flesh, or good-old-fashioned lust. Denying the ardeur only makes it stronger.

As Cerulean Sins opens, Anita is doing what she does best: raising the dead. However, unlike previous animations she isn't using animal blood as part of the ceremony, she's using her own. The zombie raised and the lawyers' questions answered, she returns the zombie to his grave, closes the circle and is surprised by Asher, Jean-Claude's second in command. The normally in-control Master vampire is projecting extreme fear. Apparently Belle Morte, Asher's and Jean-Claude's creator, has sent her envoy Musette three months ahead of schedule.

Musette's early arrival is just the beginning of everyone's problems. Not only must they find ways to keep everyone from being declared food or sex toys, international hitmen are following Anita, a shapeshifting serial killer is in town, and Belle Morte is continually trying to take control Anita. However, none of this even begins to compare with the Mother of All Darkness, the first vampire, who just happens to be a shapeshifter. Something everyone, including Anita, considered impossible.

Cerulean Sins is everything I've come to expect from Laurell K. Hamilton and more. Musette's arrival gives us a deeper look into the world of vampire politics and the Council itself. Belle Morte is a looming threat and her schemes will keep readers on their toes, while setting the stage for the next Anita Blake novel. The biggest surprise was, of course, the Mother of All Darkness, she's waking from over a millenia of sleep and her presence will prove to be most interesting in upcoming novels.

I approached Cerulean Sins with slightly less enthusiam than previous Anita Blake novels. To hear some readers, Cerulean Sins was nothing but a giant orgy. Happily, as I read I quickly realized this wasn't true. Granted, it does have more sex than previous novels, but for a very good reason. Anita possesses the ardeur, she must feed it regularly or lose control and jump the first guy who comes her way, even if it's a complete stranger. Wrestling with the ardeur constantly forces Anita to reevaluate herself and her motives. I highly recommend Cerulean Sins and have placed it on my keeper shelf.

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