The Harlequin just came out about a week ago here in the USA, and I just finished reading it like the day I bought it, lol! Took me most of the day (only cause I was interrupted to go work) but I did it!
For old schoolers like me and Shi this one is definitely up our alley. The plot doesn't focus so much on the sex as it does on the actual plot and mystery. Also, I have to admit I loved the fact that it brought Edward back (sighs and drools over the assassin goodness that is Death).
I myself have found myself weary of all the sex brought in the last several books in this series. If I wanted all sex, all the time in my book I would have just read the Merry Gentry series (a good one at that!) But what had really sold me to the Anita books in the first place was the mystery and the fact that Anita didn't give in to Jean-Claude or Richard or hell, even Gabriel or Phillip at the beginning. She was this kick ass harder version of Nancy Drew taking down the baddies. I'd say my absolutely faves are Guilty Pleasures, Circus of the Damned, Obsidian Butterfly, and Narcissus in Chains. The Harlequin is still relatively new as I just finished reading it and I feel as if Anita is being redeemed, LOL.
Hmm....most of my faves have Edward in there....hmmmm.
I think my fave men for Anita is JC, Asher, Micah, Nathaniel, Jason, and Damien. I used to like Richard until Narcissus in Chains. Up until then, I could sympathize with him, but then he just turned into a fucking asshole. The recent books I've come to hate him to the point I wish there was a way to absolve the stupid triumvirate and have a new, better Ulfric in.
And Micah....well. Micah, Micah, Micah. I know it's sick, but I kinda liked Gabriel. *ducks*
Micah though...there is one stud kitty that I'm still not sure I like him or not. On one hand he's great for Anita, but on the other he drives me nuts. Please, I like long hair on a guy, but I like my guys to look like guys. And c'mon, it seems everytime Anita gets a new lover he's better endowed than the last stud of the moment.
I hate the fact that every preternatural hottie seems to have the hots for our girl Anita. And Anita just plain pisses me off most of the time, lol, with her attitudes toward the men in her life.
Though I agree with her on Graham, Requiem, and the Cookie Monster aka Haven the werelion. Those boys are bad news.
I would like to see more of the leopards coming into their own, and possibly bringing in some enforcer type leopards so the pard isn't completely at the mercy of the coalition or jean-claude's vamps.
Also, Meng-Da/Meng-Die and Gretchen/Gretel need to die a permanent death. Those two undead bitches are CRAZY with a side order of bi-polar and a main course of psychotically insane. And I had actually like Meng-Die until Danse Macabre. Then all my assumptions of her went out the window as Ms. Hamilton's talents brought out a creature I had no idea was around.
Moral of the story: Anita actually doing policework or her zombie work or her federal marshall stuff good. Too much sex and not enough plotline to stomach all that sex not so good.
The Harlequin: two thumbs up and a definite you better read it!
