The 4 supernatural Marshalls are back together again. Always happy to see that. I wish the wererats and hyenas had gotten some more screen time. This was the first time we would have seen them in action as more than bodyguards; showing off their skills from before they changed.

I forgot most of what happened in this book since I first read it. Its somewhat of a filler since nothing major happens here except the situation with Asher which is fairly short. But a lot of world building and tertiary character development. I will say that I agree with some other reviews with regards to how overly descriptive Anita is in this book. Laurel k. Hamilton is an author who uses descriptions a lot but this was repetitive to the point of redundancy even for those new to the series. It looks like some editing was missed. That being said my only complaint is there's a new interesting character that is focused on for seemingly no reason.

Anyway, this book marked a new chapter in Anitaverse. Anita is more comfortable in herself and her life than she has ever been before. The supernatural and mundane worlds are changing with new laws, a new council, and new societal norms. I found it all interesting. Also, this is the first book where we jump right into the middle of a case already active. Not the crime but the case and the attempts to solve it.

Kinda forgettable. Its basically just a sex scene. Though not a badly written one. But as a reread especially its like filler. Even if its been awhile since we've seen just Anita and Jean-Claude.

So much better than the last shirt story. There's just more story here even when you take out the descriptions. I'm happy to finally meet Katie and wow, Zebrowski has kids. I think this is the most relatable Anita Blake book for me personally. BBQs always bring the togetherness but also the drama. I will say though that the Matthew-Monica situation creeps me out. Why? I understand it takes a village and Matthew is sweet but no.

Fave book in awhile. This is my second go round. I love the series and every book with one novella exception. But this was great. Its nice to see Anita out if her depth again. Same with Edward, who was a surprise. I was a bit disappointed with the bad guy reveal but not that much. The look at some of the Harlequin was great too. Plus we get to see some of the affects the new laws have in real time. Lastly, Micah's family. Lots of surprises there.

I liked this. As a long time reader of LKH and this series, its been getting hard to feel as excited about it as I used to be. No, its not because of the sex but because the series is now so long that I've begun to forget import points from previous books, mix up the order of some events and forget who some of the characters are. Since this has happened to me before with other long series I don't blame it on LKH.

Why I liked this book and why I keep trying to keep up with the series is because of the character development. Even when there was 4-5 books that were basically just sex, sex and more sex, you could see Anita changing; even if it was just her outlook on sex and sexual relationships. I enjoyed that because I like Anita. But I also like others (and plot and bad guys and zombie stuff too) and I've been missing the main guys.

So I loved this book because of the bromance between Jason and Nathaniel. That has been alluded to in the past but not really shown until now. I like J.J., who I only vaguely remembered. It would be nice if Anita had female friend again since Ronnie couldn't cut it anymore. I love that Anita realizes that

Jade needs to go

. She's just as manipulative as what's-his-face who Anita had to kill. Just because you were a victim and I feel bad for you and want to help does not mean you get to suck the life out of me or have all my attention. So hurrah for that decision. And that extends to Anita realizing

she can't fit all this people in her life at the same levels.

I loved the sex because it was helpful and everyone enjoyed it.

I think having a more experienced buddy when you're trying something new in bed is awesome and it should be a thing.

So yes, I quite enjoyed this book. The sneak peek for the next one looks good in that

zombie rape is bad but a new case and Zebrowski making fun of Anita's fairy tale engagement is good.

I'm crossing my fingers for more Jean-Claude who's been almost transcendent lately.

-edited- I saw someone else's review and I forgot to add this. The reason this is not 5 stars is because of the descriptions and explanations. LKH has clearly gotten a bit better at cutting down the conversations to move things along but the character descriptions need to be cut too. It takes up too much of the story and its hella irritating to a long time reader. Other authors have found ways to keep new readers up to speed without bogging down older ones, she should too. Something has got to go.

This ending is a pain in the ass. I've never been a big fan of her super fast wrap up endings after all the detail she gives in the rest of the books. But this one in particular was upsetting. But otherwise, another great book. We opened some interesting doors with the Harlequin, Nathaniel and Anita working internationally. Everybody learns some of the consequences for their actions in previous books. I am particularly interested to see how Nathaniel changes in the next book. I also find it odd and hilarious how little technology is in Anita's life.

On a more series-wide note, it was good to re-read the entire thing again. I haven't done this in a couple of years. Its like a refresher course, especially the latter 10 books with so many characters. I do wish more of the vampire politics in America was not backstage. Same with Micah's furry coalition stuff. Because I have questions.