Burnt Offerings
Book Seven in the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Series
Laurell K. Hamilton

It's often hard to tell the good from the evil. Just ask Anita Blake. She seems to be developing a soft spot in her heart for vampires - one in particular. So, when an arsonist's flames begin licking at St. Louis's undead, it's up to Anita to save the very monsters she's sworn to destroy.

This book is a disappointment from the moment you read its jacket description. First off, the description isn't even very accurate. Yes, there are arson fires set that have been burning up the vampires in their daytime lairs, but this plot is secondary to the main plot, which isn't even mentioned in the description.

The main plot involves the vampire Council coming to town to make a move against Jean-Claude (vampire master of the city), Anita Blake, and Richard (werewolf alpha of the city). The pretense is that Jean-Claude needs to take a seat on the Council (even though they know he is not strong enough to hold it) because of a vampire that Anita killed a few books back. However, the pretense runs thin and it seems that every Council member is using this as an excuse because each of them has something personal against either Jean-Claude or Anita. Their personal reasons are transparently thin and rather lame.

The supernatural mystery/suspense that made the first novels of this series is all but gone, and in its place is an excuse for a supernatural romance novel with more sex than romance. This series is supposed to be for both teens and adults, but with as sexual as it's getting, it's really not for teens anymore.

Pretty much Anita has changed from a strong female character to the author's "Mary Jane" fantasy character of what she would like to be. I really hope this series gets better, because this novel just did not cut it.

Unless you're reading the entire series, I do not recommend this novel.

My rating: Two snails out of five.