Book Review
Title: Blue Moon by Laurell K. Hamilton (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Book 8)
Genre: Paranormal, Fantasy, Romance
Rating: 4.25 Stars
The opening to Blue Moon was great as we learn Richard has been arrested on an attempted rape charge and his brother has phoned Anita for help despite their rocky relationship because the full moon is in less than five days. Anita immediately offers to help but Jean Claude informs her the master of that area has barred them entry to his lands and going will risk a war between them but Anita can’t abandon Richard who is their third because she still loves him despite loving Jean Claude as well. Eventually she ends up going anyway and taking a number of shifters with her for protection but I have a feeling this novel is going to fast paced as Anita is on a time limit to free Richard and potentially work out their issues as well.
As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, Anita manages to convince Richard to at least speak with a lawyer but things aren’t going well better them as Richard’s actions are hurting Anita because she still cares for him but he can’t seem to understand her perspective on why she can’t be with him right now. After visiting him Anita notes that something strange is going on in the town and is determined to get to the bottom of it and Richard helps a little. She learns that there is a farmer’s son who wants to sell the land but can’t because protected trolls are living there and they have been making it seems like the trolls are killing people in order to get them removed and Richard is preventing it hence the false charges against him. While Anita does manage to get Richard out of jail he doesn’t want to leave until the issue with the trolls is sorted but Anita doesn’t want to overstay her welcome since she isn’t there on official business. During this time we also get to see Anita’s developing friendship and relationship with Asher which I really enjoy since he doesn’t seem to push Anita’s boundaries the way Richard and Jean-Claude do.
As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, being in Colin’s territory isn’t doing much for Anita but she is learning more about her roles as lupa and the leader of the wereleopards. She even gets the stubborn Richard to admit that he has missed her and we can see a little bit of their old relationship coming through and I wish they’d get back to normal already because this love/hate relationship is giving me whiplash. However, when Nathaniel is attacked and poisoned by Colin, Anita is furious and asks Asher and Damian for help which they give but because Damian isn’t a master vampire like Asher he ends up getting corrupted and is dying. The only way to say him is for him to drink from someone non-human and use their power to heal himself and Anita offers because she knows she has the power to summon Damian from his coffin and she has healed him before. This scene really highlights the growing friendships and relationships between the various non-humans and Anita which was amazing to see but I did want some more development on them right now.
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, Anita has to attend a greeting as lupa but she puts it off until after she has met Colin and paid him back for what he did to Nathaniel which everyone including Richard agrees to. The meeting with the vampires doesn’t go well as Colin wants Asher’s death and to torture Jason which is something Anita isn’t going to allow and things go south from there. When the vampires attack, Anita has no choice but to defend herself and she ends up using her necromancer powers in the same way she did when she summoned Raina after her death. This frightens all the opposing vampires into fleeing since Anita killed a lot of them in one go but it puts the shifters on edge and Anita has to forge a bond with her leopards especially after the way they were treated before. By the time they get to actually greeting Anita is struggling with keeping Raina out of her mind and she learns that she is going to have to learn to control the spirits rather than pushing them back because sooner or later they will win that tug of war. The relationship with Richard is also complicated since Richard wants to possess Anita and has severe jealousy issues which is something Anita can’t deal with as she values her freedom above everything which we saw in how hard she fought Jean-Claude’s attention.
As we cross into the second half of the novel, Anita is trying to do her job for the pack and the pard while dealing with Colin but she is struggling especially with her complicated feelings for Richard. As they are heading to the greeting ceremony they are attacked by the same group of men from earlier and Raina takes over Anita almost completely and the only way Anita can deal with it is by giving Raina what she wants which is Richard. Raina through Anita begins a ritual which won’t end until one of the pack beds Anita which terrifies her until Richard gets there first. Despite having complications Anita still loves Richard and he loves her and we finally get to see some action between the pair which was great although I was missing Jean-Claude. After the deed is done Anita remembers that the men who attacked them were sent by the same man trying to sell the farm land the trolls are on but he seemed to really hate the idea of Anita snooping around which is why they tried to kill her. I am hoping Richard and Anita’s relationship can get back on track and we can see how they and Jean-Claude get on as a throuple which is something rarely done will in romantic fiction.
As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, Anita and Richard don’t get to enjoy their morning after as they are interrupted by the police telling them again to leave town but things are about to get far darker. Anita receives a call from Niley wanting to discuss why he wants the land the trolls are on and she and Richard agree to go but Richard’s control is wearing thin this close to the full moon. However, Anita becomes aware that sleeping with Richard has strengthened the bond between the three of them and is giving Anita perks she wasn’t expecting like a stronger bite and the ability to run faster. Anita ends up being called to a body close by as the death is being blamed on the trolls but Anita quickly realises that the death is the work of a demon summoned there by someone before heading to her meeting. After meeting with Niley he explains there is a holy artefact on that land that he wants and the demon that was summoned might be one of his henchmen that has been possessed but there is something about them that sets Anita on edge. Going into the final section I don’t know what to expect from the last 100 pages but Hamilton does like to end her books with a large battle scene.
As we cross into the final section of the novel, Hamilton reals amps up the darker elements of this series to great effect and I really enjoyed them. Seeing Anita’s relationships with Jean-Claude and Richard was great as well as her growing bonds to Nathaniel, Damian and Asher but she is being overwhelmed by these new abilities because she isn’t designed to handle them the way the others are but that ending really got me in the feels and I almost cried at Anita’s bond with Charlotte. Overall, I am really looking forward to where this series in going in the future but I would like Anita’s naivety and averse to sex and nakedness to be toned down a little since it has been a major feature of her character until now but that seems to be changing so it doesn’t really fit her anymore.
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Comments