★★★★ @lkhamilton #bookreview #Rafael #SheisBACK @edelweiss_squad
Welcome back, Ms. Hamilton! Rafael is a bit about our wererat King and more about Anita. In this latest installment of the popular Anita Blake series, I am reminded of why I loved this series so much. The first book I read of Ms. Hamilton was Obsidian Butterfly. My spouse found it at a Borders store, read the book blurb and insisted that I needed to read this book. This could be a new author I have been looking for. Back in 2002, I thought, sure, why not? Since then, my adoration of this series has gone up and down. The last couple of books placed us back on an uphill trajectory and this book is making it a solid positive swing.
Even though this book is named after Rafael, it is really all about Anita. This is the only thing that caught me off guard. Because I thought we were going to see from Rafael's perspective and learn about his history. Whilst we do learn more about his history which is a sad tale, the world still revolves around Anita. This Anita is less emo nympho and more vampire executioner with experience and empathy. I like this more mature Anita who is doing her best to look at all angles and move forward with a game plan. She's best on the fly but her planning capabilities now, instead of headstrong charging in to show she is the biggest baddie is more attractive. She will still take down anyone fighting her, but she isn't doing her usual knee-jerk response. Her ability to assess and respond accordingly for the best possible outcome is definitely a sign of growth and I like it.
Seeing one of Anita's old powers come into play within the wererats is new and exciting. The world of the shifters is becoming more complex and I love how Ms. Hamilton is showing additional layers. And more specifically, why the other shifters are broken. This is a tightly written story highlighting all the best of Ms. Hamilton's writing style and characters. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and I cannot wait to see what comes next. This new arc with how shifter packs should be will be interesting to watch. This paranormal romance is recommended for urban fantasy readers and Anita Blake Fans of old. Both Anita and Ms. Hamilton are back - stronger and better.
*provided by Edelweiss
