Book: Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter

[Sapphire]

I constantly talk about this series on IRC with Yuki, and Budweineken got interested, so I thought I'd make a thread about it.


Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter is a series of erotic fantasy novels by Laurell K. Hamilton, narrated by the title character, Anita Blake. Anita lives in a fictional Saint Louis much like our own, save that, not only are things like vampires and shapeshifters real, but everyone knows that they're real and they are considered citizens of America, much like normal humans. The novels follow Anita's ongoing conflicts with the supernatural as she attempts to solve a variety of supernatural mysteries, come to terms with her own abilities, and navigate an increasingly complex series of romantic and political relationships.

ebooks: http://www.sendspace.com/file/aurvtd
to open ebooks: http://www.microsoft.com/reader/downloads/pc.mspx

[Buffalobiian]

I think I'll pick this up. I've got a thing for vampire media these days. This book tab is a nice edition. I can look for book recommendations now as well as anime.:)


edit:
My library's getting some weird results. Apparently there's two series.

Series 1 includes: Micah, Death of a darklord.

Series 2 includes: the laughing corpse, circus of the damned, bloody bones....

Which is it? Both by Hamilton.

If relevant, one's cataloged as Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter (2), and the other's An Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter Novel (1)

[Yukimura]

Micah is really Anita Blake book 13 but for some reason it wasn't marketed as such. It could be because it's not much of a novel and is more like a side story novella that sheds some light on Anita's relationship with the titular character without advancing the main story all that much. Death of a Darklord has nothing to do with the Anita Blake series and is one of LKH's previous works.

The proper order of Anita Blake Series Books is:
Guilty Pleasures
The Laughing Corpse
Circus of the Damned
The Lunatic Café
Bloody Bones
The Killing Dance
Burnt Offerings
Blue Moon
Obsidian Butterfly <<<--- My personal favorite
Narcissus in Chains <<<---Turning point of the series
Cerulean Sins
Incubus Dreams <<<--- LHK: "Shark, this is me jumping you"
Micah
Danse Macabre
The Harelequin
Blood Noir (out May 27th 2008)

Personal Reflections
While I have read all the books and have no intention of not reading new books in the series the author has killed much of my respect for her and her abilities as a story teller with the more recent books in this series. For the first half of the series the central theme of each book is a problem that the main character must solve and details abound about her personal experiences and issues she deals with as she goes about trying to solve the problem. I should also add that she's generally out of her league during this time

However, Starting with Narcissus in Chains the main characters personal issues begin to eclipse the actual problems the plot poses in terms of importance and story focus. With this the novels turn from suspenseful mysteries with dark themes and sensual undertones into darkly themed romances with sexual overtones and a mystery/antagonist tossed in just to give the characters a reason to interact.

If you aren't attached to the characters by the time you get to this point I think it would be hard to keep going with the series.

[Sapphire]

I actually have a podcast review of the series somewhere, but my friend is editing music into it. XD
So far I've read about the first ten books of the series, and my opinions differ from Yuki's a little, but we still generally agree on the overall quality of the series.

I've read:
Guilty Pleasures; The Laughing Corpse; Circus of the Damned; The Lunatic Caf&#233;; Bloody Bones; The Killing Dance; Burnt Offerings; Blue Moon; Obsidian Butterfly; Narcissus in Chains

[[Book one to book six~seven are a bland tie of personal faves for me lol]]

This might seem a lot, as the books are some 200-500 (?) pages each, but the series is damn addicting. I think I read it all during the break. The initial humor and wit of Anita Blake as a character is great, especially when she is thrown into situations that she never asks for. Each character has their own distinctive, well written voice which enables each reader to have a personal opinion of each character, even different from perhaps Anita's opinion. In my opinion the tone and plot series started to change in book 8, Blue Moon. The emphasis of certain characters, the personality of many characters, and belief systems, values and generally the world begins to change at this point. However, among fans, the undisputed turning point of the series is book 10. I personally don't like the change of logic, values, and plot of the characters, but many people do like it. It all depends on your preferences. One thing is for sure, though. Though LKH (Laurell K. Hamilton) basically transforms the series, she does it well, and she does it well enough that we're still able to hate and even love certain characters. The characters (who still stay in the series) may change, but they still have personalities (even though they may completely suck), so that's what makes the latter half of the series worth discussing IMO

[Yukimura]

Oh I think the books will always be worth discussing. LKH doesn't tell effective stories so much anymore, but she can still describe her characters and their feelings well. The feelings and thoughts of some of the people in the books are really interesting, even if they are filtered through the twisted mind of the main character. Plus we can always hold out hope that in one book a character will manage to surprise us.

[Sapphire]

Perhaps this is possible, if LKH manages to realize the real concerns of her readers. It's hilarious how you called it a 'twisted mind'. The sad thing is that in the first chapter of Blood Noir it is not only ridiculously different from the first chapter of Guilty Pleasures, but the "feel" of desire and admiration that I felt from the characters to Anita surpasses even MG. >_> (Merry Gentry series) Jason's situation seemed mildly interesting, but the end result seemed predictable and Mary Sue-ish..

By the way for people who haven't read this yet - My sig is a quote from book 1 - Guilty Pleasures. Yaay! (Or was it book 6? :o)

[Ryllharu]

Apologies if this is a bit off-topic, more of a recommendation for the readers of this series:

Really just tossing this out there, but if you like a series like this, you might want to check out novels by Kim Harrison and Kelley Armstrong. Both have very similar premises and settings, both with different takes on the "mythology" of this.

Several reviewers of both authors have references to LKH, though I just stumbled upon them randomly in the bookstore, but it might be worth checking out. Books are in order in the parentheses.

Kim Harrison (Dead Witch Walking, The Good the Bad and the Undead, Every Which Way but Dead, A Fistful of Charms, For a Few Demons More, The Outlaw Demon Wails).
- Takes place in an alternate Cincinnati where common knowledge of vampires, werewolves, witches, and host of other races are present (sound familiar already?). The difference being that a genetically engineered tomato wiped out the majority of the humans in the world, so there was no more reason to be living in secret. Now humans are forced to share the world with the other races, called Inderlanders, but segregation is prominent, and tensions do arise from time to time. The story follows Rachel Morgan, a witch who works for Inderland Security, the firm that rose to replace the police during The Turn (the plague that killed much of the human race). It doesn't stay that way for too long.

Kim Harrison's books keep much of the same conventions we've always known, vampires die in sunlight, vampirism is infectious, etc, but manages to make it work and explains many of the reasons why humanity would have never noticed them before while they lived among them. Written in first person.

Kelley Armstrong (Bitten, Stolen, Dime Store Magic, Industrial Magic, Haunted, Broken, No Humans Involved, Personal Demon)
- Takes place in our reality (or close enough to it). The series arches over many different heroines, starting with werewolves and moving to witches, ghosts, necromancers, and half-demons. Vampires are present too, but no book stars one just yet. Under the premise that humanity has no idea that the other species exist, they remain in secret. This series breaks some of the standard conventions, like werewolves needing to or forcibly transforming under the light of the full moon among others. I really liked the more "realistic" approach she takes with a lot of the old myths. Written in first person again, but what I think really sets her apart is the tone of her novels totally changes under each of the different protagonists. Each one has a different set of values, a way to look at the world, a very different narrative voice, and yes, in the tradition of LKH, a different viewpoint on sex (starts with werewolves...take a guess).

If you have a chance, try them out, they are very much in the vein of LKH and both good sets of novels. Kim Harrison's novels are a bit more of a "guilty pleasure" (see what I did there?) but Kelley Armstrong's different approach is a really good one if you start from the beginning and she's far and away one of my favorite authors now.

[Sapphire]

Bahah! I know Yuki knows about Kim Harrison, and I was meaning to check her out sooner or later. I downloaded a CRAPLOAD of ebooks and I know I have both of their stuff.

In vein of 'related series' I'll bring up anything by Karen Marie Moning. Her stuff is awesome, and ACTUALLY manages to get better and better each time. For example a review of an audio version of a book from her first book in the fever series:


MacKayla Lane searches for her sister's murderer in Ireland. Her only the clue is the Sinsar Dubh, a magical book. When MacKayla meets Jericho Barrons, a man with magical powers, she discovers she can sense the Faeries and other unworldly, scary creatures, including a Faerie prince who ignites her libido with some potentially offensive sex scenes. Joyce Bean captures the beauty, fear, and otherworldliness of Moning's characters. Bean portrays Mac as plucky and self-sufficient and Barrons as all-knowing and powerful. Moning's explicit sex scenes rival those of Laurell K. Hamilton's Meredith Gentry (Faerie) series. While Mac searches for her sister's killer and her heritage as a seer, Barrons takes her on an adventure among the Faeries and other creatures of the night.
*reads*

Okay LOL I am completely shocked that I saw the LKH was mentioned in that review. Whoever wrote that is wrong because there is no sex in that particular book, though Moning is a master of erotica (better than LKH). Anyway, guess I'm not the only one who thinks the novels are sort of on the same vein. XD If you decide on reading Karen Marie Moning, I suggest you start at Kiss of the Highlander and then go~

5. The Dark Highlander (2002) - One of the best
6. The Immortal Highlander (2004)
7. Spell of the Highlander (2005)

Fever Series

1. Darkfever (Oct. 2006)
2. Bloodfever (Oct. 2007) - One of the best
3. Faefever (2008) - Comes out the day after my birthday <333333

~I hear the ones before that are awesome, but they are only loosely related. Everything gets tied together from Kiss on. Each novel is narrated by a separate female protagonist, with completeeeely different stories in chronological order, but live in the same world so the stories are tied. In the fever series, which is reviewed above, it is from the point of view of the same person, and consecutive in story though in the same universe as the previous novels if that makes sense lol.

[Yukimura]

Yeah, I've read most of the books by the authors you mentioned Ryl. I spent pretty much all of my college reading time on the urban fantasy/magic/kick butt heroine series where Kim and Kelly are pretty settled. However after recently finishing Lilith Saintcrow's Dante Valentine series Patricia Briggs's Mercy Thompson series I've started to realize that I'm growing tired of so called kick butt heroines. I just can't find much variety among them anymore. If you know of any authors whose heroines don't have to deal with nagging fear or self-doubt or other 'weak' emotions that they always need a relationship with a male character to get them through I would love to read them.

In addition to Harrison and Armstrong I've also read: Patricia Briggs, Carrie Vaughn, Karen Chance (NOT RECOMMENDED), Michelle Sagara (NOT RECOMMENDED), and recently Kate Daniels. Except for Harrison's series there is always a recurrent theme that the heroine has to get 'rescued' in some way by a romantic interest, either potential or realized.

Unfortunately Harrison's main characters Rachel and Ivy getting too annoying because of their rampant indecisiveness (until the end of For a Few Demons More at least) and the story of my favorite Woman of the Otherworld, Eve, seems to be finished. I still haven't gotten a chance to read No Humans Allowed or Personal Demon yet but I was never all that into Jamie, but it should be out in paperback soon so I'll probably pick it up anyway just to see if she develops into something more than what she's been in the other books.

Something that really bugs me though is that I think both of the authors Ryl recommended are superior story tellers to LKH in the genre, as their books actually involve some risk and danger, however because of her Legion fanbase LKH is often still viewed as the God-Emporer of the genre by on lookers.

[Sapphire]

Yuki~~ Read Kiss of the Highlander or Darkfever~ =3

The gist of the fever series is it is about a girl who's sister is murdered, and right before she is murdered she leaves her sister a message. This message is like "OMG SOMETHING SOMETHING SOMETHING" and Mac, the girl interprets this as a cry for help or something (I don't remember well). So she goes to Scotland (or was it Ireland) to go solve who murdered her sister, but she doesn't know she can see Fae, so she walks around staring at all the mystically hot guys until someone slaps her for risking her own slavery and/or death. The male in the series pretty much hates her, (think Kaze no Stigma) and is not adverse to exposing evil faery merchandise to her while she throws up and faints in pain. XD Also she has to learn how to fight, and she has a real strong personality, but she's by no means all powerful. She gets her ass kicked. It rocks.

[Ryllharu]

DISCLAIMER: I realize this topic has...strayed and that it is entirely my fault, but these books are still all in the same sub-genre and vein, vampires and female protagonists and whatnot.


Yeah, I've read most of the books by the authors you mentioned Ryl. I spent pretty much all of my college reading time on the urban fantasy/magic/kick butt heroine series where Kim and Kelly are pretty settled. However after recently finishing Lilith Saintcrow's Dante Valentine series Patricia Briggs's Mercy Thompson series I've started to realize that I'm growing tired of so called kick butt heroines. I just can't find much variety among them anymore. If you know of any authors whose heroines don't have to deal with nagging fear or self-doubt or other 'weak' emotions that they always need a relationship with a male character to get them through I would love to read them.

...

Unfortunately Harrison's main characters Rachel and Ivy getting too annoying because of their rampant indecisiveness (until the end of For a Few Demons More at least) and the story of my favorite Woman of the Otherworld, Eve, seems to be finished. I still haven't gotten a chance to read No Humans Allowed or Personal Demon yet but I was never all that into Jamie, but it should be out in paperback soon so I'll probably pick it up anyway just to see if she develops into something more than what she's been in the other books.

Something that really bugs me though is that I think both of the authors Ryl recommended are superior story tellers to LKH in the genre, as their books actually involve some risk and danger, however because of her Legion fanbase LKH is often still viewed as the God-Emporer of the genre by on lookers.
I guess I'll cover these in reverse order.

Sure, LKH definitely has the most vocal fanbase, but you'll always find plenty of people all too happy to admit her books are not that great. Like employees at Borders. Needless to say, those honest admissions have largely kept me away from her novels.

I'm waiting for Personal Demon to come out on paperback (and in part because I really didn't give two shits about the character when she appears in No Humans Involved), but I felt the same way as you did about No Humans Involved. Jamie always came off somewhat annoying and weak and all those things. But the novel really surprised me. Armstrong manages to cover a lot of the things you never really expected to be going on in Jamie's head, especially after some of the parts in Broken. Jamie was written as coming off fairly vapid in the other books, but not only does Armstrong have Jamie admit that in the novel, she proves it wrong. It covers a lot of the problems you voiced about the heroines of these kinds of books. No Humans Involved added a lot to my opinion of Jamie. I was kind of hoping for a Savannah book, but that might not happen before her books run out of ideas (which is partly why she wrote an assassin novel, which was good, but not great.)

You might want to try out the Noble Dead series by Barb and J.C. Hendee (Dhampir, Theif of Lives, Sister of the Dead, Traitor to the Blood, Rebel Fey, and a sixth one out in hardcover, Child of a Dead God).
- Set in a fairly medieval/renaissance period with a bit of the fantasy realm tossed in there (elves and such). Follows Maigere, a (fake) vampire hunter who ends up having to do the real thing and finds out that she is also a dhampir, the vampire half-blood. Along with her is a drunkard half-elf, and his strange looking wolf-dog. The saga just goes way outward from there. Here the heroine is definitely taking the lead and certainly the most powerful, she's more often than not the one doing the rescuing, but...everyone in the series all has their own issues. Each one has doubts about where they came from, what they are doing with their life. It can actually get a little depressing at times, but its not necessarily a bad shift from the "purportedly strong female lead needs saving anyway." They're not the greatest books I've read, but they just might be the shift in the archetype you're looking for.

The added bonus to these is that the villains of the series are just as equally developed and fleshed out as the main characters. The first novel actually does an amazing job at it.

[Munsu]

DISCLAIMER: I realize this topic has...strayed and that it is entirely my fault, but these books are still all in the same sub-genre and vein, vampires and female protagonists and whatnot.


Well, there's little discussion in this forum... so whatever increases that books discussion should be fine, I'd say. But it's minor off-topic...

Maybe we should create some Theme related book threads (KitKat's idea)... what do you guys think? Seeing how you guys are involved talking about the Vampire genre, it seems like a good idea to me.

[Ryllharu]

I think that might be more advantageous than going with single books, authors or series. It would enable those interested to find more books and authors of a specific sub-genre, and it has a much better chance of promoting some discussion.

[Sapphire]

I say sure in the future, but we got a really good discussion going on now unless you want to move all these posts to another thread. (Though I can't imagine an accurate title for another thread)

Perhaps rename this thread to:

"Erotic to semierotic supernatural novels with female protagonists"
(this ain't vampire genre /DEATH)

Because that's what we're specifically talking about. XD (or you could leave it alone)




Sure, LKH definitely has the most vocal fanbase, but you'll always find plenty of people all too happy to admit her books are not that great. Like employees at Borders. Needless to say, those honest admissions have largely kept me away from her novels.

True, but the first 8 books are definitely worth reading. XD

-

Ryl: Have you read the Merry Gentry series by LKH (This has somehow not been ruined by her yet)? I'm going to read the Noble dead series beceause it reminds me of the drunken guy in MG. Hahha. Drunken half elves FTW

[Ryllharu]

Ryl: Have you read the Merry Gentry series?Nope. But sadly, work has not left me all that much time to read anymore. Something I have to change.

[Sapphire]

The good thing about Merry Gentry is the sex is introduced at the beginning, so you already know what to expect when you first read the series. Also the characters are AWESOME. It's hard to believe in that aspect it is by LKH, though you can sense poutyness in one character, at least the entire series isn't ridden with poutyness like AB. XD

Andais FTW

Actually I like how the characters change their mind in LKH stuff. For example AB was like "I ain't never dating no bloodsucker!" and now she has sex with a vampire every day, and MG at first was like "Man, good thing I don't love any of these people I have sex with" and now she is getting married to like 8 babies daddies who she is deeply in love with. (ROFL)

Actually that is very hypocritical and most time the series turns out for the worst, but hey, beggars can't be choosers.

PS - Funny how this is called Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter when she doesn't even hunt vampires anymore. I bet not even LKH knew how much she would mess up her series.

[Yukimura]

Lol Ryl I guess I should have listed everything I've read not just the urban fantasies with heroines.

I picked up Dhampir a while ago and I'm currently reading Rebel Fay as it just came out in paperback (I only buy paperbacks). However my melancholy towards heroines even extends to Magiere, who, despite her physical and emotional strength and patent refusal to act like a damsel at any time is starting to follow the same path. I respected her a lot in Dhampir and Thief of Lives, but ever since she and the other characters started dealing with their pasts and their personal issues I've slowly been losing interest as their becoming more and more psychologically brittle. I've always though Leesil was pretty awesome but the end of Traitor to the Blood had me a bit less enthusiastic.

Your comments about No Humans Allowed have rekindled my interest in reading it. I've always liked the world of Women of the Otherworld even though they tended to have weak magic except for Eve, Savannah, and Elena. I wasn't too keen on Jamie though thanks to what you mentioned, but I guess that's why she got her own book.

I had no idea anyone else on this forum actually read any of the kinds of books I liked. <3 you Ryllharu and Sapphi.

[Sapphire]

Which book should I read after I finish Noble Dead series?

[Yukimura]

I would read Kelly Armstrong's first book (Bitten I believe) if you're in the mood for magic and mystery with some romance tastefully tossed in. It's about a werewolf not a vamp but Armstrong weaves a nice modern world populated by werewolves, vampires, witches, wizards, and half-demons all with strengths and weaknesses and internal political struggles.

Read Kim Harrison's first book (Dead Witch Walking?) if you're in the mood for magic and a higher butts kicked per page ratio but with somewhat more angst and less romance. Both series are good but I like Armstrong's better because of her world building.

On a personal note I'd really like a second opinion on Michelle Sagara's first book (Cast in Somethings -or-other) and Karen Chance's first book (Touch the Dark) . I hated them both at the end but I don't feel comfortable hating a book because I like so much so I would like it if someone could point out why both books turned into series.


And one more kick butt heroine series I found recently that i'm on the fence about but might be enjoyable is the Signs of the Zodiac series by Vicki Peterson. The main char is the only ever child of an agent of Darkness and an Agent of Light and of course her choice of which side she'll fall into will pretty much save or destroy the world. It's kindof interesting, but i picked it up when I'd already started going jaded so I'm not sure how objective my assessment is.

[Ryllharu]

Your comments about No Humans Allowed have rekindled my interest in reading it. I've always liked the world of Women of the Otherworld even though they tended to have weak magic except for Eve, Savannah, and Elena. I wasn't too keen on Jamie though thanks to what you mentioned, but I guess that's why she got her own book.
I actually started with Dime Store Magic. It's the book that caught my eye in the bookstore first (it had just come out and was prominently displayed). Up until about Haunted, you could pretty much start the books with either Elena or Paige (Bitten or Dime Store Magic). They operated fairly separately, and Armstrong put in enough recap to make it work. Having two very different heroines with respective viewpoints didn't hurt either. Paige wasn't around for most of the action in Stolen, so hearing about those events in a flashback was heresay, just like Paige knew about them.

As for Eve and Savannah, they are very special cases due to their parentage. That's what I liked about Paige. She was simple and definitely less powerful than most of the other people she knew. But she still desperately wanted to do the right things anyway. It's the same with Jamie too.

The two of them are less of the "kick butt" heroines and more of the "kinda kick butt" heroines. I thought it made them more interesting. Sure, a superhero can blast a villain clear off the face of the earth, but how would a more "normal" person deal with that same villain?

[Sapphire]

Bah! It looks like I actually have to go to the bookstore to read Noble Dead, so I shall start with Kim Harrison. XD

(You guys srsly have to read Moning >[)

[Yukimura]

Heh, I started with Dime Store as well, we sure are similar Ryl.

Anyway I went to the bookstore and read the first three chapters of No Humans Allowed. I must say I was very underwhelmed. I just wasn't sucked in by Jamie's frumping about getting older and wishing to be TV star. The high point of the three chapters for me was when Jeremy called and talked about Clay and Elena. It just felt like most things supernatural were taking a far back burner to Jamie's personal and professional issues, which still turned me off.

For contrast I opened up the newest Harry Dresden series novel (by Jim Butcher) and planned to only read three chapters just to compare. However Dresden had me hooked by chapter one and by chapter three he'd already killed a faerie assassin, beaten off two others and received two black eyes and a broken nose. I couldn't even put it down till chapter 7 or 8, I guess I just need more action nowadays then some authors like to provide.

[Ryllharu]

I got hooked pretty early on with No Humans Involved, but I bought a Jim Butcher Dresden novel before because one of the staff there who is big into these kinds of novels too recommended it, given what I was buying at the time (Noble Dead, and a Kim Harrison book).

As the saying goes, it bored me to tears. I couldn't get too far beyond the second chapter. It sits on top of my bookcases, collecting dust.

Guess we aren't that much the same after all...

[Sapphire]

We're only human, after all.

I haven't started Harrison yet, but I will start now..

Edit: Page 12. I'm in love.

Double Edit: Page 12. But I don't know if I could ever enjoy reading again! I so desperately and wholeheartedly adored Anita that I happily saw no other. And see what happened then! Now I feel like I can never love again so dearly as I loved AB. ):

[Sapphire]

Well I just finished Dead Witch Walking, but I'll hold off discussing it for now because I'm too lazy and I want to finish the rest.

[Ryllharu]

I just read Armstrong's Personal Demon. It was a big disappointment. The ending was really great, but the majority of the book just comes off really jumbled and disjointed. The narrative switches between Lucas and Hope (half-demon who first showed up in No Humans Involved). It seems like she wanted to write a book about Lucas, but had to tie in a female lead character. Part of it comes from me having absolutely no interest in the character of Hope at all.

But the ending was great. Once it actually becomes clear what the hell was going on the story is a lot more interesting. Even with that, it is by far the worst of the series.

[Sapphire]

SPOILERZZZ

Last night I finished Every Which Way But Dead. The book was pretty awesome. LOL AT NICK. wtf @ jenks? I could see how he'd get pissed, but that was a little overboard. Well not really. I'd have pixed her and left. Okay so I hate Nick, but I want him to come back because he is such an asshole. And I think Kist was better when he was a spunky sex machine rather than a cold disturbed entrepreneur. Now I'm kind of bored of him. And Newt comes along. He's pretty badass. I'm a bit weary of his power though. If Harrison didn't throw in those 'lesser demons' I'd think that demons were extremely freaking powerful. I think her situation with Newt was funny. Al is still awesome though. Actually right now I'm at the beginning of Fistfull of Charms. I could have sworn when David was introduced he was unattractive, fat, and balding? Now he's a muscled hunk in leather? lolwut? And Yuki hates Trent and thinks he's evil so maybe he does something messed up in awile, but right now he's being portrayed as 'good'. Like.. I was just about to say a spoiler haha good. (A character who you think is an evil killer for a long ass time but then you just find out he's doing it to save lives and you're like wut?!) Lee was cool until the end. He managed to slink his way out of dying and look good while doing it. He was kind of ruthless towards the end though. It's funny when Rache gets tipsy. Harrison's magic, humor, characters and action are amazing, but her romance/eroticness has room for improvement. I forgot all the other stuff I was going to talk about.

I laugh when I think of AB. Then I cry.

/rant

[Sapphire]

~Spoils.

*cough* I just finished Fistfull. The climax of that novel left me writhing. Her and Peter was so profound, I practically wanted to cry. Ivy's always annoyed me a little, so no change. Nick definitely lived up to my expectations. Win. Jax sucks. WHY DO PIXIES ONLY LIVE TO 20-0-0-0-0. Yuki thinks I get over excited. But hey, if you can't get a thrill out of reading a book like this, where's the fun? (Perhaps I am a little like Rachel in this aspect)

On to ..the demons one. I like Newt. I like him a lot.

[Ryllharu]

*Spoilers*

No love for Ceri? She and Ivy are probably my favorite characters.

[Sapphire]

I think we all know this is SPOILZ LOL
I love Ceri, but Harrison is portraying her as more and more irritable/snippy as the series goes on. But how she just described Ceri was pretty awesome. Freaking the hell out over Newt and creating three circles. I sorta like Ivy, but she seems way too weak. I don't mind her being controlling and selfish, but her "struggle" with her inevitable self in the novels is creamed on a bit too heavy for my tastes. XD But only Rache and Ivy could bear living with one another, haha.

[Yukimura]

Ceri rocks, she's a fallen princess, so I can get why she's so snippy being a regular person now that she's free. She also really needs to get laid. I don't hate Trent I just think he's pretty pathetic (just like Rachel seems to at the end of For a Few Demons More) in addition to being an asshole. Nick is lame and I'm glad he's gone. But Rachel's taste in relationship partners is really annoying. Nick is a deadbeat, Kisten is a poser, Big Jenks is not only married, but looks like a teenager. The only decent relationship choice she has is Ivy, even though she's a bit emo. Hopefully Rachel will works some more of that out in the Outlaw Demon.

Anyway, Newt is badass. Sanctity? What sanctity? I'm Newt bitch! BOOM!

Sapphi send me The Outlaw Demon Wails if you have it.

[Sapphire]

Found it Yuki!

http://www.sendspace.com/file/v768tt

But my .lit converter won't show up in my Word program, so I have to give it to you as html and .doc..... I'm still trying to get my .lit converter to work. I'm sure it's on Mininova, but Mininova is down. *Cannot continue reading For a Few Demons More until I obtain .lit version of this book* lol that was a bitch to find without Mininova, but I'm sure it's worth it. (If that's real >.>)* When I find/make a .lit version I'll link it.

[Yukimura]

What are the advantages of this Microsoft reader thing? I've never seen or heard of it before now.

[Sapphire]

It can go fullscreen which is way less distracting than trying to read it on Word or Firefox or something. And you can read the book page by page, conveniently, by just pressing space or the page down button.You can close it at any time and it automatically opens to the page you were at. You can leave bookmarks and easily copy/paste sections. Didn't you ever open all the other stuff I sent you?

[Ryllharu]

I read manga on my computer, but you two are insane to read full novels on a computer screen. (Unless you are using a Kindle or the Sony Reader.)

I read enough 300 page documents off a screen at work...

[Sapphire]

It helps that I use a projector, lie on a mattress, and have it on full screen. :p

Edit: Um. LOSS OF WORDS. Just finished for a Few Demons More. THAT WAS FREAKING AWESOME. WHY KRISTEN? OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG GGGG

PS - I want to have Ceri's babies. And Marian is freaking awesome LOL. And. Um. Al is awesome too. >.>

PPS - I have the .lit version of Outlaw finally, if anyone wants it. I went through hell back to obtain it, but starting on sixth book later. :]

[Yukimura]

Damnit Sapphi you're not allowed to pass me! Start reading some other book instead!

And who the hell is Marian?

[Ryllharu]

And who the hell is Marian?I'd like to ask that question myself. I read Outlaw Demon Wails a month or two ago, and I can't seem to remember anyone with that name.

I know about Alice, Rachael's Mom, and agree she is awesome, but I don't remember any Marian.

[Sapphire]

Okay maybe I said his name wrong, it starts with an M and he's Newt's caretaker. A total mystery (of what the eff happened to Kisten) was set up in the last book, so yaay. I am still pissed they killed off Kisten. But so much for 'feeling the thrill' lol. I never would have guessed that Harrison would have actually punished her character for that. The whole being possesed by a wolf thing scared me, because we all know how that turned out with AB, but it ended up for the better. <33 I don't know if I can even get into this next book because it was so freaking awesome! Oh well, if she kills off Kisten, that means she can have sex with Minaes or Marian or whatever his name is, or even Al. Now that should be fun. >.>

~Badass demon quotes

M, after being stroked up by Rache: "If you touch me like that again.. I'll rip your fingers off"

Newt: "Sometimes I don't remember the past right. Or maybe they simply change it and don't tell me"

Newt: "Do you want to live forever?"
Rache: "No."
Newt: "I didn't either. And then I tried it."

Al: "I haven't laughed since the turn. We all laughed at that"

(I am a nerd for memorizing this.)

If you guys were in 'The Hollows', who/what would you be? I'd wanna be like.. Newt. Now that sounds awesome.
--
Mysteries that haven't been solved yet:

Does Ceri hook up with Trent/give him a sample
How is Nick/Jax
Who is the cult guy
Who killed Kisten and how
What exactly killed Rache's dad and how does Kensing/Keaton/Kisling (or w.e) know
How much longer is Ivy going to mope about blood balances
How fast is Rachel going to hook up with someone else (hopefully a demon)
Do Jenks and/or Matalina die
Ivy's mortality

[Ryllharu]

It's Minias, and he's totally boring. Newt is by far better, because she's absolutely insane. Even Al is more interesting, because Rachel keeps kicking his ass and outsmarting him.

But definitely, no one beats Ceri in terms of generalized awesomeness. Like Yuki said, she has that high bearing of royalty (which she is), but is not afraid of doing what she has to. She's muscle around anyone but Al, and I really love when she snaps at Rachel for being such a big baby about all these things.

A decent amount of your questions are answered in Outlaw Demon Wails, but there's no way I'd ever say which ones...

...and there will be a lot more to add to that.

[Yukimura]

I like Minias, he's a typical badass, and I like typical badasses. Al has already be revealed as a relative poser (at least by the end of Few Demons More) so he lost a lot of my respect. But I still like how he just goes around and ruins everyone's day and laughs in their faces aboutr it. His behavior in Few Demons More often cracked me up. Newt's crazy is an excellent blend too, but she needs to either snap out of it or snap and do something else crazy or I'm going to be bored with her.


Oh , and I propose this thread be renamed the Mature Fantasy Thread since that's pretty much what we talk about, not just Anita Blake. I would say Urban Fantasy but that would kick out the Black Jewels and Noble Dead Sagas.

[Sapphire]

Sure why not.

At the current time I'm merely not in the mood for Bishop. Though she is proficient at first and third person, I think her writing style lacks a sense of mood, description, and detail, thus causing it to read more like a history book of what happened than something more personal. So though I can clearly tell that some characters are badass, I lack the feeling of compassion and am thus apathetic. This causes me to lose a sense of atmosphere, setting, and tone along with it's various connotations as well. (I just randomly woke up and wrote this lol). Maybe later I will be in the mood for such a narrative.

The funny thing about Newt is I understand everything she's talking about. How can Rache think she's crazy? It makes sense once you keep reading. "Maybe they changed the past and didn't tell me" *cough Minaes and forgetting potions*

srsly, who the eff killed Kisten? D: (Not that I want to know Rly, just expressing concern lol) *no spoilz plz lol!* Oh and Yuki, if I -do- end up reading it, I won't spoil until you finish.

[Ryllharu]

I was surprised they killed Kisten off that early, but to be honest I really didn't care.

"Wow, they killed him off, that was kind of unnecessary," is a fair approximation of what I thought when I read it. His death really didn't mean anything other than to disrupt Rachel's life so she could find someone else, pretty much the same thing they did with Nick running away because he didn't like getting epileptic. Though Kisten's character wasn't really going anywhere.

Kisten's death also happens so quickly that it seems more like Harrison thought it up last minute.

His death was probably the most ambivalent I've ever felt about a primary character's death.

[Sapphire]

I completely agree with you, though I probably miss Kist a bit more. Those are the best deaths to have in a novel, though. Deaths with some connections to the Main Character and still some loose strings to tie up. I find it hilarious that Yuki calls him a poser, but I still liked him. But interestingly enough, I liked Nick a bit more, because he's such a lying slinky jerk. I didn't dislike Kist though. I like Ivy less.

It seems like Matalina's sickness was randomly mentioned and for the most part ignored. Jenks: "I'm going to show this to Matalina! That'll get her moving around." <<Uhh, okay? Whatever back to Rach getting attacked lol, I don't expect it to be any other way since Matalina isn't really major, but I'm still surprised.

[Sapphire]

All I want to say is Harrison is possibly one of the best authors ever. She's easily on my top... 3 list? And I've read a -lot- of books. She is truly talented to plan her plots 3, hell SEVEN books AT LEAST in advance and still keep us all stringing along, guessing what is going to happen/what really happened without any plot holes, and shocking and reminding us of mysteries and connections from her very first books, and discovering more and more about her world. Wow. She's amazing. *gushes*

[glyphes]

Haha, wow, I've been lurking around gotwoot for a long time, using it as the place to go for picking which anime to watch, but never felt compelled to say anything til now. . .and it's not even about anime!

I just wanna say I've read all the books mentioned in this thread and they really are the bees' knees, or in LHK's case, used to be the awesomest. I remember posting on LHK's first fan page back in like, '99, and getting introduced to Jim Butcher's "Storm Front" from her website (strange how the fansite promoted Butcher and they're now both so big and have nothing to do with each other.)

Harrison is also a great writer, but it's getting to the point where she's accumulating a disposable harem that seems a bit Hamilton-esque (Kirsten goes the way of Philip - anyone remember him from Guilty Pleasures? Ya, me neither, I had to look up his name. . .) So I've kinda given up on her guys, but unlike Hamilton, her plot keeps me going. . .

Um, I don't mean this to be so long for a first post, but I had to put in another author - Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire Mystery series the first of which is "Dead Until Dark." The main char is a waitress named Sookie was has an unfortunate handicap - she's telepathic, but lo! It doesn't work on vampires. . . I like her as a heroine cause ya she has guy problems but she's not whiny much and knows when to let go - kinda. And she's not uber powerful. Ok, I'll stop now :)

[Sapphire]

Welcome to Gotwoot glyphes!

If anything, I think Kisten differs from Phillip in that he was -really- deep, and really easy to ...love? But yeah, I totally compared them. I think that Harrison gives her a lot of guys to keep the plot flowing and to get more amazing characters in or something, which is awesome. Each character is awesome for their own reason. I really want Rachel to hook up with Al. He just gets better and better each book >_>. One extreme difference is that Rachel actually cares about people. Another difference is she doesn't throw away her morals easily. AB is just like 'I HATE THOSE BLOODSUCKERS' and then 9 books later she's in bed with 40 guys having a blood orgy with no compelling reason other than ex machina. (I think that's the term?) Another difference is that mysteries are actually answered in later books, which makes it seem like the author actually put some thought into things, and planned stuff out several books in advance. *continues ranting to self*

Anyway, I'm about to read the Noble Dead series since I found ebooks for it, and I'll read Dead Until Dark if I can find it. :D

By the way - Have you read the MG (Merry Gentry) series? I cannot believe it is by the same author.

[glyphes]

Thanks for the welcome!

Heheh, ya, Kisten was definitely more developed, but sadly was thrown away just as easily! Al? Really? Hmm, I kinda wish something would happen between Rachel and Trent. . .although not if he's gonna go all mushy and weak . . .

Yup, Anita is exactly like you describe! Very hypocritical . . . I also find it interesting how Hamilton kind of replied to readers' complaints by saying, well, yes the books are "not comfortable" and I guess you people should read "books that don't make you think so hard." Ouch. That shows us I guess. We obviously don't have the brains to read scenes of endless angst and violence-fed orgies. I guess I'll read something more my level and more comfortable like, o, hentai.

O yes, I've read the Merry series and it was really interesting at first. I liked it more because it was established from the beginning that she's more promiscuous and I liked the cool guys that don't give in to her every whim . . . uuuntil well, they started giving in to her every whim. I'm a bit behind now, I think Lick of Frost was the last I read. . .was the next one about her hitting on another of the queen's guards that we've never even heard of? I'm more forgiving about the Merry series, but if they don't get to that ball after like 3 books. . .I dunno. . . :cool:

[Sapphire]

I have a lot to say about Trent and Al, but I won't mention anything until Yuki finishes the latest book. XD!!

I like how MG is all sexual from the start, so LKH fans can't get pissed when she starts having orgies. rofl. The next book is Swallowing Darkness. ROFLLLLL!!!! Frost is like, a stag right now, and right now MG is pregnant with like twins and six babies daddies. I can't help but laugh. I think Lick of Frost is the latest one, yeah. SWALLOWING DARKNESS LOL <<When does that come out? I hope it is worth reading.

Top characters in MG---
Andais
Rhys
Kitto?!
The guy with the tentacles (well, not anymore :()
UH..
Taranis
Prince what's his name, because he is a spoiled brat who is about to rape MG (LOL)
oh AND the two blood elves.

[Sapphire]

Hilarious thread on who should be culled in MG next (http://www.amazon.com/Who-would-like-culled-next/forum/FxJ7EEGTFB5Y58/Tx3Q8PCHNXZML4V/1/ref=cm_cd_ef_rt_tft_tp?%5Fencoding=UTF8&asin=034549590X)

[glyphes]

The guy with the tentacles. ..Sholto? Was that his name? I actually liked him - probably because he wasn't totally under Merry's thumb, and isn't it always more fun that way? Same for Doyle. . .but he's recently been more and more her slave boi, so that kinda went away. . .

It just occurs to me, although I guess it shouldn't, that Hamilton isn't very good at writing romance. Kinky interesting playtime with beautiful men, yes, but emotionally there's no connection with almost any of the guys (wow, I totally forgot about Kitto til I checked out that thread Sapphire. . .uuuuuuuhhhh, Kitto. . .)

[Sapphire]

I liked Sholto too, until I read that weird island scene. I totally didn't get it at all! So much for imagery. Well I get what happened but I feel like it was horribly written. Sholto was at his best in teh first book, when he calmly chased Merry around, and then solicited sex.

Doyle was awesome when he was all mysterious and stuff, randomly saving Merry when she was getting her ass kicked, and what not. But yeah, now he is all "I LOVE YEWWW MERRRYYY!!" he's still cool, but I wish he was still a mysterious badass.

I agree that Hamilton sucks at writing romance. Remember the first novel when Merry was like, "good thing I don't love any of these men, then I'd be screwed!" I was like writhing in the lack of romanceness. She can't write erotica either. At all. None of her stuff is racy. Hell, I get more ruffled from reading STEPHENIE MEYER and she doesn't even go near the genre of erotica haha. I'm sure I've said this before, but Hamilton sucks at writing romantic/erotic scenes so much that I had to go read another random romance novel to make sure I simply wasn't desensitized to romances..

[BioAlien]

The link isn't working anymore, the file got deleted.
Would it be possible to upload it again?

[Sapphire]

Laurell K Hamilton: http://www.sendspace.com/file/g0ydja

and Kim Harrison: http://www.sendspace.com/file/jzi2ga

If you get around to wanting the latest Kim Harrison book.. let me know. I don't think I remembered to stick it in there.

[BioAlien]

Thanks, I will start reading, it look really interresting.
And yes, you did forgot to include "The Outlaw Demon Wails" the last of Kim Harrison one.
There's also missing "The Harlequin" from the Anita Blake series.


I will start reading in the order they were released. So Nightseer first since it was released in 1992, and the first of Anita Blake in 1993. (Or so say Wikipedia)

I downloaded some Text-To-Speech voices, as the Microsoft Sam voice is awful. I listen to the books being readed by the beautiful voice of a women~ AT&T Natural Voices, Crystal.

[Sapphire]

You know... audio books -do- exist... I'll go find them for you lol. What book are you on?

[Sapphire]

Here is Blood Noir:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/6fj3z5

[Sapphire]

Anyone read the Dante Valentine series thing by Lilith Saintcrow? I am still reeling from the awesomeness that is Harrison, but:

"I wish to speak with Danny Valentine," the demon enunciated clearly, "or I will kill you."
"Come on in," I said.

I think I might be able to fall in love again. And February is the next Harrison book!!!!! Yesssssss!!!!!!!!!! And Yuki stop replying in IRC and reply in here so I don't look dumb. :(

[glyphes]

Hey Sapphire! I finally borrowed Blood Noir from the library - I know, I'm late, but I just couldn't muster up the enthusiasm to read it (and usually I go to Borders and just read the hard cover there!) Hopefully reading it won't be tooooo painful. . .

And yes, I have read the Dante Valentine series - not bad! I do wish there was a little more Japh though and a little more development there, but then I guess it would no longer be about the girl, right?

Have you read Jenna Black's Morgan Kingsley series? It's about an exorcist - it kinda reminds me of Dante Valentine. . .

[Yukimura]

Blood Noir was great, it had everything I've come to expect from the recent AB books: sex, metaphysical stuff that only leads to more sex, more sex, Anita bitching at people for not worshiping at her feet, an orgy, character assassination, oh and I think Godnita picked up a new power or two. Happy reading.

[Sapphire]

Long time no speak, glyphes!

I read one or two books of Dante Valentine. The first book was fucking AWESOME; because it ended just terribly. I mean the devil owns her, practically just beats the shit out of her and her dead best friends daughter/legacy just happily leaves with him while Dante is writhing on the ground in pain. It was just devastatingly awesome. Oh and the fact that her lover died. I am just like shivering at how much of an awesomely devastating ending that was.

I loved how she went into hell and everything was just... off. And the devil would just read her mind and get absolutely anything he wanted. How there were 'laws' in hell and even he was restricted from leaving and getting the job done himself.

And then the ex-boyfriend comes along, doddles around, and oh look, CONVENIENTLY dies as soon as Japh gets revived. WHAT? I was also annoyed at the fact that Dante was now soooooo beautiful and powerful. The only thing that kept me reading it was how damaged she was on the inside. But since I was just reminded at how devastatingly sad (awesome) the first book ended I think I will totally pick this series up again.

11 days until the next Hollows book is out. Oh yes. FUCK YES!!!

[Sapphire]

http://www.sendspace.com/file/l9cnp8

White Witch Black Curse - The Hollows book 7

[Nadouku]

I read the first book of the Anita Blake series, Guilty Pleasures, and I must say that it's quite intriguing. The concept of having vampires and other monsters intermingle with the human society is quite refreshing from all the other ancient history books that I've read (any Shakespeare plays, for example). The characters are good, though I wish to delve deeper into their history, and the plot contains a lot of action. I will probably continue this series as time progresses, as well as the Hollows series that's being aforementioned.

[Sapphire]

Ｈｅｙ　Nadouku, how far along are you now?

[Nadouku]

Well, Anita Blake series just took a weird turn around Narcissus in Chains with its overly sexual themes and mostly character interactions. It's nice to see some character development happening, however, I feel that the antagonist were just thrown in there to give the plot a moment of advancement. They just feel... out of place.

As for the Hollows series, I'm half-way done with Every Which Way But Dead. I like the characters presented in this story, too, and the plot of the two earlier books kept me interested. Similiar to Anita Blake's setting, but a little more dark. I get that vibe. :p

[Sapphire]

@Nadouku: There was character development in NiC?! I dropped that book the minute she decided to have sex with some random guy she just met instead of saving her friend. (A rapid turn for the worse, since in the first book she immediately went out to save her friend).

Her bitching about who to sleep next to for several pages was also a huge turnoff. Also the way she didn't even bother with people who needed and loved her; dismissing them without a second thought.

[Nadouku]

Oh no, there were no development in Narcissus in Chains. I think I was referring to earlier books, but I kind of worded that weird. :p

Regardless, I finished the Anita Blake series for now. I was surprised at how the series turned out to be. It initially went from hunting down bad monsters to "lets have sex!" I guess re-reading the beginning few books should give me a good ol' boost to the series that hooked me on, not off. I'm at the White Witch, Black Curse for the Hollow series, but I gotta say, I'm kind of glad you recommend me these books, Sapphire. They are good read!

[Sapphire]

OMG - Okay, I am on the latest Hollows book, but I can't get myself interested in it. If there are demons in the latest book, let me know. Yuki says Jenks is the reason he keeps going back to the Hollows books but the only reason I read is for the demons. They are crazy, sexy, awesome, and EVERYTHING!! So let me know if there are demons in the latest book.. because I can't seem to get into it!

DEMONS (newt > minaes > al) > KISTEN > RANDOM WITCH GUY > NICK > IVY.... HOOK UP WITH A DEMON, RACH!!!!

Nick is such a pussy. It's awesome. Ivy is too emo. She's like ....Anita OH GOD

I heard there is no sex in the latest Anita Blake book "Skin Trade". Ha ha ha, what?! Well I think Hamilton has already dug herself a bottomless pit of horrible writing anyway. I can't even read her books anymore without critisizing the bad logic of the main character. Have you read any of the Merry Gentry books? I actually enjoyed the first five books or so of that.

Dante Valentine series is also good, but I got pissed off by the end of the second book so I haven't bothered really with the third one yet.. The first book is amazing though.

Yuki - Does Valentines friend's daughter show up in the third book?

[Yukimura]

After finishing Outlaw Demon I am much more into the demons and the world they live in and how they and it work. One of the big draws for series like this for me is the world building. The explanation of what the Ever After is as well as the implications of Rachel's genetic tomfoolery and her connection with the Gargoyle all helped rekindle my interest in the world of the Hollows. At the same time I feel like I'm kind of over the vampires in this series. Ivy is kind of cute in how she tries to fight her urges but the tension was just getting annoying. And then of course right when it gets released Rachel finally grows some sense and reneges. I pity any man (or woman) stupid enough to ever bee in a relationship with her. She is crazy and I am with Sapphi on this, she needs a nice demon mate, he'd be less likely to put up with her bullshit and would just smack her around mentally.

As to the Danny Valentine series I only explicitly remember the daughter playing any role in the final book. She might have been in the fourth or even the third but I don't remember well enough to say she definitely was or wasn't.

[Sapphire]

Laurell K. Hamilton's newest Anita Blake book, Sex Trade, I mean Skin Trade (http://isohunt.com/download/98102165/skin+trade+anita+hamilton.torrent), is now out on torrents!

[Sapphire]

THERE'S GOING TO BE AN ANITA BLAKE TV SHOW - HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA HAAAAAAAAAAAAA LOLOLOL HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!! HA!!!!

http://www.scifiguy.ca/2008/06/fantasy-casting-for-anita-blake-pilot.html

[Abdula]

Hey, I might actually watch this. If they do it right, it could be a nice cheesy vampire hunter show to watch when there is nothing to watch. Kinda like Buffy or Angel or more recently Blade: The Series and Moonlight. There really isn't anything to fill that niche.

[Nadouku]

Hmm, I guess I could watch the beginning part of the series before I drop it when it becomes sexually deviant. Right now, I'm just reading Skin Trade for all it's worth.

[Yukimura]

I'm about a third of the way through Skin Trade now and something that has been nagging me for the last few books has finally clicked and seems painfully obvious now. Ever since the character assassination of Dolph the portrayal of men (and women) not in Anita's harem or in awe of her majesty has been getting progressively worse to the point where I can't suspend my disbelief any longer. It seems so obvious now that LKH is purposefully writing the characters to exemplify the worst stereotypes possible in order to make Anita seem like a constant victim/underdog/moral authority despite how poorly Anita behaves and how unrealistic it makes the characters to behave as they do.

Skin Trade has finally made me realize that LKH has been using her books to actively push the "All men are macho frat boys who think women are good for nothing but pumping out babies and spending men's money" agenda. Every single character Anita has met who hasn't bowed at her feet has been painted as chauvinistic, misogynistic, stuck up, old-fashioned and stubborn, and/or just plain irredeemably evil. The problem I see with this is that again and again supposedly professional people are portrayed like angsty high school students while Anita is painted as the noble school buttmonkey. It's just getting ridiculous that NO ONE can behave like a professional in Anita's presence until after they act like idiots and then Anita gives them a lecture.

[Sapphire]

Hey has anyone picked up Karen Marie Moning yet? Her new book, Dream Fever is finally out and I'm so excited.

If you guys haven't checked her out yet you should! (I can get you guys a torrent of all her books if you're interested)

[Sapphire]

Wha- what?! I just saw an ad for 'Flirt' - Laurell K Hamilton's latest book, on Hulu. A video ad. I've never seen a video ad for a book before on a streaming website. I barely see them on amazon and youtube and that's when I look for it. Just how much money does this woman have? And why can she afford it when her books are so crappy?!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSNPqrnSWTo = was on Hulu