If you missed my last article on Anita, it can be found here.
I was watching Tik Tok the other day, and one video I came across said, “Forget zodiac signs, what four fictional characters make up your personality?” I felt a kinship with that question in my soul. I sat for a while answering that. One person that showed up without question was Anita Blake. I mean, we have similar physical traits. We are both of Mexican/German descent, and we both are short with long black hair and a decent size chest (well, mine used to be). I just wanted to be her. If I am honest, I still want to be her. That aside, I was excited to find out that this year, Anita Blake turns 30. By the time I started reading Anita, she had been out for more than a decade, but I stay on top of the series nowadays.
Laurell K. Hamilton published the first book, Guilty Pleasures, in 1993. The next book, Smolder, comes out on March 21st. That is book 29. I just saw on Tik Tok last night, on Laurell’s page, that Slay, book 30, will be out in November. That is just way too cool! I must have both!
For an in-depth look at the kind of woman Anita is, check out my article introducing her, but let me tell you a little about her here. Anita is a necromancer that raises the dead for a living. She is also a federal marshal for the preternatural department. She can fight in multiple martial arts styles and multiple styles of firearms and can use both a knife and a sword effectively. She can raise a graveyard without a blood sacrifice of any kind. The “monsters” know her as War or The Executioner. She is also the human servant to the King of Vampires, Jean-Claude, whom she is marrying for love. Being the human servant to Jean-Claude puts her in a triumvirate with both Jean-Claude and her ex-fiance Richard, leader of the St. Louis werewolf pack. She is also in a separate triumvirate with her vampire to call, Damian, and Nathaniel, her leopard to call. Both triumvirates give Anita a serious power-up magick-wise. She is also a succubus with a complete harem of beautiful and powerful men. She’ll find more to add to it. She always does.
She is marrying Jean-Claude publicly, but Jean-Claude, Anita, Nathaniel, Micha, and a few others will be having a wedding/handfasting-type ceremony privately altogether. I do have to say, she has some sexy men around her. Even the “ugly one” is still beautiful. Anita is a powerful woman, but she has a good heart, and for those she loves, she loves fiercely. May whatever god you believe in have mercy on your soul if you threaten someone she loves. If you harm them, there may be nothing of you left for any god to have mercy on.
Anita has taken on vampires and werewolves, and zombies (Oh My!) but has come across so much more. There is the lamia, the naga, the vampire fairy, trolls, ALL sorts of shifters (literally lions, tigers, and bears), and more. Some of them have been so off their rocker that it is a surprise that the world still turns. With all this, Anita still believes in God. And she has gotten into therapy, though she still has a bit of a chip on her shoulder. She is a woman who is confident in who she is and won’t apologize for it. Not everyone likes her, but most at least respect her.
Now mind you, she doesn’t start out the series with all that. Twenty-eight books worth of growth is a lot to shove into a few paragraphs. Watching her grow and change, gain power-ups, find and lose lovers, fight, and love has been insane. I reread the series every so often, but it is a very long series. I highly recommend it. Ms. Hamilton has a second series that I love too, Merry Gentry.
If, like me, you want to have the new book, you can find it at the usual haunts on March 21st. You can currently find it for preorder on Amazon. If you want to hook up with Laurell’s website, here it is she is doing a giveaway contest monthly all year long. I am excited to read the book. I will let you know my thoughts when I review it.
Have you read Anita before? What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments below. Until next time, have fun storming the castle!
