Review: Bullet

Bullet is the 19th book in the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton.

Book Blurb:

Anita Blake is back in St. Louis and trying to live a normal life - as normal as possible for someone who is a legal vampire executioner and a U.S. Marshal. There are lovers, friends and their children, school programs to attend. In the midst of all the ordinary happiness, a vampire from Anita's past reaches out. She is supposed to be dead, killed in an explosion, but the Mother of All Darkness is the first vampire, their dark creator. It's hard to kill a god. This dark goddess has reached out to her here - in St. Louis, home of everyone Anita loves most. The Mother of All Darkness has decided she has to act now or never, to control Anita and all the vampires in America.

The Mother of All Darkness believes that the triumvirate created by master vampire Jean-Claude with Anita and the werewolf Richard Zeeman has enough power for her to regain a body and to immigrate to the New World. But the body she wants to possess is already taken. Anita is about to learn a whole new meaning to sharing her body, one that has nothing to do with the bedroom. And if the Mother of All Darkness can't succeed in taking over Anita's body for herself, she means to see that no one else has the use of it, ever again. Even Belle Morte, not always a friend to Anita, has sent word: "Run if you can..."

I have finally realized that Anita Blake=Sex, and so I enjoyed Bullet more than I thought I would. :)

There is trouble in paradise. That trouble comes in the form of Asher who is a master vampire in his own right and could have territory of his own - but because of the love he feels for Jean-Claude, he stays in St. Louis as JC's second.

Even though that love is returned, JC has not shown his love to Asher in any physical manner - at least none that satisfies Asher - and Asher has finally had enough (or not enough as the case may be). Asher sees Anita hopping on the happy train with countless numbers of people, she has Micah and Nathaniel at home - and JC at the Circus - and Asher has no one to call his own. He is ready to leave St. Louis.

One of the funniest lines in the book is when Anita is shocked to find that JC and Asher are not sleeping together when she is not there. She thought they were. JC's response was, "You have taught me to fear your moral compass, ma petite. I never wish to be on the wrong side of it again."

That actually made me laugh.

Anita and JC want to expand their power base and the fastest way to do that is by having Anita sleep with various members of the different factions. But the thought of one of her men enjoying the touch of another man - that he obviously loves - screws with her 'moral compass'. What a double standard.

Anita can now feed the ardeur with anger - so that is not the reason for so much sex. Now the reasoning behind the sex is to bring the supes into power. Power that they have lost over the years - and by doing that - Anita and JC gain power as well. And control.

And now that the Mother of All Darkness is back they need as much power and control as they can get.

I did enjoy Bullet. Yes, it did have sex - but it also had a story - and the story was good. :)

I give Bullet 4 out of 5 stars.

M