I liked most of the previous Anita Blake books (the exception being Blue Moon), but this really is were the series shifts. The hint at the end of OB that Anita wants to get her life under control is not fulfilled here. In fact, it is almost like Anita has become a totally different character. There is no real plot to this book, honestly. The melding that occurs seems to have been pointless, and just made Anita weaker, in the form of enslaving her to sex. Considering that Hamilton always teased with the idea of Anita being in a real relationship with two men at once, there seems no point to having Anita gain the ardeur, unless it is to have her sleep with more than two men. This makes it a bad plot device. But my main problem is that in the hardcover edition, the Anita/Micah shower sexual encounter shows it as a rape, and then I am suppose to believe Anita loves Micah? Anita from the earlier books would have, at the very least, shot Michah or turned him into the cops at the end of the books. If you are looking for a book that is just pointless sex, read this. If you are look for a book that deals with a plot that has sex, and handles sex and rape in an adult manner, this is not the book for you.
