Skin Trade (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 17)

So glad, I only borrowed this book from the library instead of wasting my money.
And that's the only thing I'm glad about after reading this book. Now,I haven't read the other books in this series but I still was able to figure the characters out because each one was painfully introduced in vividly-boring details -who cares that much about anyone's eyecolor???
But, a woman wrote this, really!? At one point in the book, the so-called heroine uses her powers to force a guy to have sex with her. The guy then breaks down and cries. But the author decides only the "heroine" matters because she then has hissyfit, "I feel bad I can't control my power; I'm worried I'll become a monster" Really?! She just raped someone! But all is well because the poor guy gets dose of power from the heroine. Why not just drugs or money?
I couldn't finish the book after that. What does the author think?! All men want sex so its ok to force them? That's no different then a guy saying a woman was asking for it!
Lastly, any book where a character just bitches and intimadates everyone/everything, hangs out with sociopathic murderers/rapists, only cares about themselves, then drugs and rapes someone is the VILLAIN! This book was suppose to be about a vampire hunter, but she's a SUCCUBUS, and all the other vampire humters who appeared were attracted to her??? Will the real vampire hunter please kill this character?!

Today we'll be making "Skin Trade," also known as "Bad Writing Soufflé." This desert will involve a lot of heavy violence, but not nearly as much as some of the others we've made over the years. Additionally, like many of the past recipes on this show, there will be lots of build up. And like the last 6-7, the goal will be to make SURE your soufflé falls as badly as possible, just to disappoint your consumers. The most important difference between this LKH desert and the last ten will be that, for all of you trying to watch your BDSM intake after too much Shades of Grey, instead of actual sex, we're going to substitute TALKING about sex. Preferably in a derogatory way. Now, to begin, take the beginnings of a reasonably good plot in a large mixing bowl. Dismembered heads are a great starting point. Marinate your plot in a quick change of scenery. When you drain the marinade off the plot, make sure to leave behind lots of hurt feelings and bad communication if you can. Now add some spice to the dish with a dash of confusion. What happened to the reasonable-sounding guy who we talked to on the phone? When did he become a rabid sexist maniac? Also, why does this killer's abilities and MO completely not match what we expected considering we've hunted him before? The more spice you can add, the better. A cup of macho-muscle flexing is good. Oops, we seem to have added the whole bag, but we'll work around it. An extra hundred pages should allow us to stir that in nicely. Add a few tablespoons of "whiny boyfriend" just so everyone remembers that they exist, but don't actually add enough to let it flavor the plot, we just want the texture. If you find your mix is too heavy, splash in some derogatory, sexist comments and stereotypical characterizations to keep it moving. This is also a good place to add that badly done, repetitive sex-talk. This may make the plot a bit lumpy, but who cares? Once your mix is ready, preheat the oven to "WTF" and bake for 20 minutes. Allow it to cool for awhile while you have nonsensical conversations that might be touching if we cared. Frost your soufflé with a thick layer of complete fan heartbreak. My favorite recipe for the frosting is to take 5 books of "super bad-guy build up" and then burn it to a crisp, offstage, with a "non-character" and a homemade bomb. It never fails to crush reader spirit and is the perfect topper to this nightmare. Color the frosting with some bad math like repeatedly referring to 6-7 animals as being 5. Also, you can add your own touches to the recipe. For instance, try adding some biologically impossible sex to the mix. While I did say we were substituting sex TALK, there is no reason you can't add a smidgen on the real thing here and there for decoration. Another thing you can try is making every character ingredient whiny, insecure, self-obsessed and unappealing. That is SURE to make your soufflé fall! If you really want to make sure your guests hate it, add in enough off-screen pedophilia to be really revolting. Remember, when you present this dripping slimy mess to your consumers, after choking it down they'll be delighted to have you return to those easy, empty-calorie sex books...I mean recipes...you've been writing!

I've been reading the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series since it came out and for the most part I've loved it. There have been one book here and there that hasn't made the cut at least to me and I hate to say it but this is one of those books.

After 17 books in this series, you have to imagine that not all the books are going to appeal to everyone. This one starts out much like the other books in this series do. Anita is The Executioner in this book and is tracking down a serial killer vampire, Vittorio. She is joined in Las Vegas by her friend Edward AKA Ted as well as Bernardo and Otto Aka Olaf.

I was ready for a wonderful book full of mind blowing sex, plenty of action, great dialog, camaraderie, suspense, as well as the great characters Asher, Jean-Claude, Micah and the rest that we are familiar with.

Instead I got some weird interaction between Anita and Olaf, which for the record I did not like. Olaf is a serial killer and makes Anita nervous but she was also strangely attracted to him.

There was very little sex and one time when it did happen Anita goes to sleep next to two men and wakes up after having an orgy in her room with no memory. There was no flashes of memory to tell us what happened during said orgy, so we didn't get a glimpse into it at all. But when she wakes up she finds that she had a 16 year old boy in her bed. That I found quite disgusting.

The book was long, 486 pages long and I'd have to say that less than half was even good. I would love to see Laurell K. Hamilton write the way she did when she first started this series. I miss the hot erotic sex scenes all through the books, I miss the action scenes where Anita is kicking ass and isn't tired of killing the bad guys. I really want her to get back to the main characters and back into her relationship with them. I want to see more Jean-Claude, Asher, Micah and Jason. As well as the other men she is having a relationship with along with them.

Will this short fall with this book keep me from reading her next book? No, I have become a fan of the Anita Blake and Merry Gentry Series and I will keep buying and reading the books probably until the series ends because most of the books are really good.

I gave up on the series with this book. I do believe she has lost the original character. And like another reader's review on her other book, I too wonder if she is using this book as an outlet for therapy of some sort because this author has written better than this. Yes, she can write a porn scene, no problem, that is not the issue. The issue is that there seems nothing left anymore, nothing worth saving, nothing sacred. The good has become evil and depressing and fighting to save evil all the time, and where is the interest in that??? We see THAT every day on the news. Wake up! We want OUR side to triumph. That or you have not been paying attention at all to your readers. Bring the original character back or let Edward's psycho stoolie kill her off. This is such a DEPRESSING series, that i dropped it.

Another Anita Blake book that I love!

I LOVE THIS BOOK! As I do all the others in this series. Its not in the same catagory as some of those sappy, redundant novels you find today. Though this book is part of a series ,enough info is given about the characters that it is just as good read independently . Once you read this one though you will probably end up reading all of them. This is the perfect fantasy book for those who love great sex, action,fantasy, and lots of men, that is written for women, not girls. Also, this price cant be beat. I cant buy a used paperback for this amount. Im on a trial of Amazons Prime program. In the couple weeks Ive been on the program Ive already paid for half the program with my savings on s/h. The book arrived in perfect condition and on the day stated, exactly as promised. I couldnt be more pleased with this book , Amazon, and their Prime program.

I can understand why some people are disappointed in the newer books, but Anita is growing in a way these readers don't understand. I love her unconditionally

I absolutely love her books. Every story gives you something new. No matter if its the first book or the 10th book you can always expect something new and exciting.

I am one of those people that has been a fan of these series all along. I liked it when it started as more of a horror series and I still liked it when it moved over to a realm in which debauchery run rampant. As long as the story is fun to read and there are new elements in each of the books, I keep having fun. Anita is a great character and I enjoy reading about how her character and powers evolve from one installment to the next.

In this book Hamilton clearly caters to the critics that claim she had turned into erotica and that the plots were gone. She definitely puts work on creating an engaging story, and does so extremely well. Anita receives a persuasive calling card from the maniacal vampire Vittorio and thus ends up in Vegas searching for him and trying to help the local law enforcement figure out a series of brutal killings. I enjoyed the description of how Anita has to show the local cops and SWAT units that she has what it takes to work with them even though she is a woman. The "whose d... is bigger conversations" are fun and if you like Anita's wit like I do, you will have a blast.

Anita is joined in Vegas by Edward, Olaf and Bernardo and later by other fan favorites. This provides us with additional entertainment. We also get to learns about new creatures and evolving powers. Of course, we get to see a bit more about Marmee Noir. Finally, Hamilton decides to hold off on the sex scenes until towards the end, and when she opens the faucet, the scenes pour out.

There are a couple of things that led me to take down the rating in this book. The set up for the action is a little too long. I mentioned how I enjoyed the back and forth between Anita and the male officers, but Hamilton takes it a little too far, stalling the start of the chase. Also, once the chase starts there are a couple of hiatus that slow down the pace going back to the same topic. But the main problem with this novel resides in the ending. We have a huge buildup in terms of the confrontation we are expecting at the end. As we get closer and closer we find ourselves reading faster and faster to reach this point. But once we get there, it comes and goes so fast and with so little fanfare that it feels like Hamilton just wanted to wrap up the story and did not want to bother to do it in the way the story deserved.

I still have to say that this was one enjoyable novel and if you are a fun of the series and like "hearing" Anita talk and her wit, you won't be disappointed. There is also a nice balance between plot and sex, which has not always been the case lately. It's a shame we also got the weak points mentioned above, because without those this could have been truly superb.

gotta love sitting in a local coffee house with a good book

recommended highly if your an anita blake fan