Danse Macabre
Book 14 in the Anita Blake series
Laurell K. Hamilton

Anita Blake needs to be concentrating on a dangerous situation: the ardeur - the sexual power that flows between Anita and Jean-Claude, Master Vampire of the City, and Richard, the volatile werewolf who loves her passionately - is reaching new levels. The unexpected effect is that Jean-Claude's own power as a master vampire has grown - and Richard, never predictable, is changing, too.
But as the days pass, Anita is less interested in vampire politics then in an ancient, ordinary dread she shares with women down the ages: she may be pregnant. And, if she is, whether the father is a vampire, a werewolf, or someone else entirely, she knows perfectly well that being a federal marshal known for raising the dead and executing vampires is no way to bring up a baby.

This book really doesn't even attempt to bring in much of a plot this time around. There's no police cases, no murderers to track down, no zombies to raise, etc. There is just Anita having uncontrollable sex with any man she can get her hands on.

The plot of the book is "controlling the ardeur" but in fact it seems that it is the ardeur that controls Anita - and every man around her who now wants to have sex with her.

If you're into a very descriptive book about sex with vampires and shapeshifters, then you'll probably like this. It is well written, the characters are well rounded, and it is very... descriptive.

If you're looking for any traces of the supernatural mystery/thriller that this series once was, it is gone in this novel.

In general, I wouldn't recommend it unless you're looking for a graphic supernatural romance novel. However, because of the writing and the way the characters are fully fleshed out, I'll give it three snails. But those three are only for writing and character development (which this book does go into) and not for plot.

My rating: Three out of five snails.