Flirt

Full price for a novella? Really?

I enjoy these books- that’s why I feel a bit robbed by this one. Short, and only four scenes- most of them short- office, restaurant, mansion, graveyard- wham, bam, thank you ma’am!

Laurell, please- don’t crank out a book every year to cash in on your fans. Don’t keep describing everything that happened in every previous book in the new book to fill in space- maybe allude to, or even mention- but DON’T describe the whole tableau in every book you write! Your fans read your books, probably in order even- let them enjoy recognizing a reference to a previous novel and be smug that they are in the know about Anita’s life and experiences, don’t bore them to death reading about it for the fifteenth time!!

And for the love of God- DON’T keep having the endless discussions such as between Richard and Anita debating morality or other issues!! Let them progress, and even if the issue is still there let them MENTION that they’ve discussed it before, instead of chewing it to death over and over and over… it just seems like your books now are filled with 50% describing events from previous books and exhausting conversations that never end! I find myself skimming over entire pages to get to some narrative that actually talks about events that bring the story forward…

Please- go back to the first 2-3 books in this series, and try to recapture that pace and flavor. Those are what hooked your readers.

What to say? Hamilton is stuck on the same formulaic development of the past half dozen (or more) novels. Namely, too many pages spent on poorly-written sex scenes that to do not really add any sort of plot or character development. Too many pages on how, as a woman, she must contend with male-dominated local authorities who are supposedly intimidated by the fact that she is a woman who likes to have sex with supernatural creatures. Too many pages spent on introspection that comes to nothing (am I a monster? or a good guy? etc etc). To many pages spent on exactly the same things she has said in the last 5-6 novels (size, gear, relationship status, hair and eye color). Meanwhile, there is very little plot development in terms of the actual foe that they are trying to overcome, with the monster-to-end-all-monsters actually being vanquished in a couple of pages (usually 1/10th of a typical sex scene), followed by a short wrap-up of all the threads that had been left dangling in the rest of the novel.

Do yourself a favor, and just try to find a better series to read. This one is played out.

First I want to say that I have been a fan of LKH since the 2nd book originally came out. I was instantly hooked & eagerly sought out each book as it arrived. I joined SciFi Bookclub just so I could get hardback copies of her books (they were only in paperback at that time) & in fact I have 3 sets: a battered reading set, a signed set (& I got in line 3 times over 3 hours to get them all signed), & an extra set for when my battered reading set finally dies. Later books I bought as soon as they came out in hardback. I also work at a bookstore & I added LKH to the Famous Author section in SciFi / Fantasy & actively recommended her books…. at least the earlier books. Sadly, I am one of the fans who do not like the change in style of the Anita books. I love the first 9 or so books but after that I range from disappointed to disgusted. I keep reading because I loved the characters. I loved Jean Claude & Richard. I loved the sense of fun on the early bulletin boards that the fans at the time took in the great Jean Claude vs Richard debate. But my favorite characters aren’t even in this book & that’s only part of my problem with this book.
Problem #1: Lack of characters. My favorite characters are no where in sight. Jean Claude is mentioned in passing, Richard not at all. Sadly that’s nothing new for the recent books but the characters that do appear are sadly lacking. Micah has always been a blank to me but I’ve always loved Jason & I’ve grown to like Nathaniel. Both of them seemed blah to me in this book.Even though the book is titled “Flirt,” Jason has been much more flirty, in your face, bubbly in past books & Nathaniel seemed too quiet & subdued, where was the hint of strength he has been slowly developing (the thing that made me start to like him)? And the werelion Anita rolls & adopts… there is nothing new or interesting about him, nothing different from many of the other Anita boytoys. He’s totally interchangeable with at least 5 other characters.
Problem #2: Anita’s job or lack thereof. I was excited at the thought of seeing Anita at work raising the dead again. But we learn nothing new or exciting in the scenes with the 2 clients. We’ve seen these characters before in earlier books & Anita responds to them the same as she always does with total lack of respect. In fact, part of this story (sadly I can’t really call this a real book) seems lifted directly from earlier books. We’ve seen clients with hidden agendas before. We’ve seen Anita forced to raise the dead before. We’ve seen Anita raise an entire cemetary before. We’ve seen Anita sic her zombies on bad clients before. We’ve seen Anita get away with it before. We’ve seen Anita roll, have sex with, & adopt another boytoy many many times before.
Problem #3: Flirting. Sorry, I was totally uninterested in this plotline. One of the things I liked best about the early Anita was her tough, non-girliness. I never considered it a weakness. But at least half of this story is Anita learning to sort of flirt. Why? I didn’t feel it added to her character in any way. I didn’t feel it made Anita more interesting. I thought it was kind of sad, actually. Anita is supposed to be such a powerful character but I felt this just made her seem weak, needy, & incredibly ignorant of the simplest social interactions.
On the other hand, despite my problems with “Flirt” it’s not all bad.
Positive #1: Not as bad as other books. While I wasn’t thrilled with “Flirt,” it didn’t disgust me. It’s a quick read (& not just because of the lack of length). The writing seemed to flow more easily than some other recent books. I thought the juxtaposition of the flirting scene with the kidnapping / threats scene was just a bit jarring. Maybe another flirting scene at the end might have made a more closed circle for me. But there was nothing that made me want to throw the book across the room unlike some other books.
Positive #2: The comic. I really enjoyed the comic at the end. I thought it was cute, interesting, & fun. I liked it more as a climpse into the real LKH than I do the section she wrote herself about how she got her idea. I may just have to search out more by the artist.
To close: Just when I think I’m finally ready to give up on LKH there’s a hint of something that keeps me coming back in search of what I liked so much about the early books. Was there enough of that hint in this book to make me buy the next book? I haven’t decided yet. I keep hoping. I hear there may be some significant changes in the next book. Please let it be a return to fewer, stronger characters, more actual plot that actually allows the characters to grow & develope, & less pointless sex with blank, uninteresting, interchangeable boytoys.

honestly to give this more than 1 star ( the minimum) you would have to be under the sway of the ardeur. this novella is just another pathetic attempt to “further” the story without actually doing anything of the sort. tbh i have not bought the latest few books from this author, ever since she went from writing horror/urban fiction and started down the adult fiction/teen angst road the series just bores me. if you took all the teen angst, anita being conflicted about the men in her life and richards constant hand wringing about how hard and unfair his life is then almost every book since the ardeur raised its ugly head would be a novella. seriously do not bother 0/100

A short story about Anita and her men. I understand not alot of people enjoy the sexual content but if you bypass it you will find a strong characters and an intense crime drama filled with all kind of baddies. Not a standalone story but a snippet into the lives of the characters.

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