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The Lunatic Cafe (Anita Blake Vampire Hunter, #4)

Laurell K. Hamilton

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Jan 01, 2008 mlady_rebecca rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction__speculative, fictional_series__traditional, troupe__mindlink_mates, read_more_than_once, pov__first_person_female, author__laurell_k_hamilton__ab, characters__vamps, characters__lycanthropes_shifters, genre__urban_fantasy, 2002

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Despite being friends with Irving for years, this is Anita's first real taste of the lycanthropes up close and personal. Well, wererat experience in "Guilty Pleasures" aside. *g*

A naturally dominant individual, Anita learns the hard way that agreeing to protect a lycanthrope has a deeper meaning in the furry community. She also gets the first hint of what it means to the werewolves to have two masters - their Ulfric (or any of the alphas within the pack) vs Jean-Claude.

Spoilers...

Mystery wise, Despite being friends with Irving for years, this is Anita's first real taste of the lycanthropes up close and personal. Well, wererat experience in "Guilty Pleasures" aside. *g*

A naturally dominant individual, Anita learns the hard way that agreeing to protect a lycanthrope has a deeper meaning in the furry community. She also gets the first hint of what it means to the werewolves to have two masters - their Ulfric (or any of the alphas within the pack) vs Jean-Claude.

Spoilers...

Mystery wise, the lycanthropes are the victims in this book, but in a nice twist it's not one mystery, but three. A simple murder, witches killing for lycanthropes' skins, and the crazy hunters who want prey that's harder to kill. (Now who does that sound like?)

On the personal front, Anita agrees to marry Richard under the conviction that sex waits till marriage, but that's before he starts showing her his beast (in a metaphysical sense). The "yes" becomes a "maybe", and Jean-Claude throws his hat into the ring. Date us both, or force a confrontation. I think part of Anita wanted to be pushed into dating Jean-Claude, because the ok comes pretty painlessly.

Despite the absence of vampire marks, Anita can meet Jean-Claude's eyes. Her necromancy has grown since "Guilty Pleasures". Although, she does miss the healing abilities.

The first face to face between Jean-Claude and Richard (after Jean-Claude's ultimatum) puts Anita between the men as they both raise power. They all touch, and they feel the promise of power that is realized in "The Killing Dance". Anita is the connection between the living and the undead, and Richard and Jean-Claude close the triangle with Jean-Claude's ability to call wolves.

Ok, cast time. First off, this is Jason's first time on screen. And, yes, I loved him from day one. Wolves - Richard, Marcus, Raina, Jason, Stephen, Irving. Leopards - Gabriel and Elizabeth. Vamps - Jean-Claude, Gretchen, and Buzz. Humans - Bert, Dolph, Zerbroski, Ronnie. Rats - Louie, Dr. Lillian, and Rafael. Our first meeting with Christine, the weretiger. (Gabriel too, for that matter.)

(Reviewed 05/01/2009) ...more

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Jun 01, 2010 Pat aka Tygyr rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, reread, paranormal, thriller, romance, 2014-books, long-time-ago-read

In this 4th Anita Blake book she finds herself hanging out with the monsters more than she would like. She's dating Richard a werewolf. Jean Claude, Master of the City and Vampire, wants to date her thereby making his current vampire girlfriend insanely jealous and out for Anita's death, not just her blood. Anita continues to work for Animators, INC as a Zombie raiser. She also works for the "spook" squad as a consultant on preternatural crimes, and is a Vampire Slayer when called to do so. Murd In this 4th Anita Blake book she finds herself hanging out with the monsters more than she would like. She's dating Richard a werewolf. Jean Claude, Master of the City and Vampire, wants to date her thereby making his current vampire girlfriend insanely jealous and out for Anita's death, not just her blood. Anita continues to work for Animators, INC as a Zombie raiser. She also works for the "spook" squad as a consultant on preternatural crimes, and is a Vampire Slayer when called to do so. Murder is getting easier for her and sometimes she wonders if she is becoming one of the monsters. Richard, despite being an Alpha Male, is a pacifist. He bested the pack's Alpha but refused to kill him, so Marcus is still Pack Leader along with his sadistic Alpha Female.
A large snake skin is found hung up on rocks in a river. Anita is called in to look at it. It's a Naga, an immortal snake. Someone took his skin, and as Anita is out looking at it, a man grabs onto her and she realizes he is the Naga. As an immortal he will grow back his skin, but it will take time and be very painful.
Weres are disappearing. The human husband of one wants Anita to look for his wife. She gives the case to her friend Ronnie who is a PI. Edward is back in town with a video to show Anita. It makes her ill. It's weres having sex with a human woman, they change while having sex, and then they kill and eat her. Edward was hired by the human woman's family to kill the 2 weres. Anita already killed one of them when a meeting with Marcus, the pack leader goes very wrong.
Anita agrees to marry Richard, she won't have sex with him without marriage. When Jean Claude finds out he wants to kill Richard. The compromise is that Anita will date both men. When both men are in her apartment and it looks like the truce between the 2 men may be up, Anita gets in the middle and holds them back with a hand on each chest and they all feel a surge of power that no one really understands.
Anita's moral compass is no longer pointing due North. Richard is the moralist, pacifist on one end. Jean Claude will punish or kill any who dare to disappoint him, he is Master of the City and Vampire. Anita at the beginning of this book still tries not to kill if she can avoid it. But by the end, she is killing or allowing others to kill those she believes deserves it - human or monster. This change in her is causing problems between her and Richard. It is making Anita more and more like Edward the paid assassin. And though Jean Claude's marks are gone from her, she still can meet the eyes of vampires, even Jean Claude's without being put under their will. Curiouser and curiouser. ...more

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Jan 10, 2010 Cecilyn rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: anita-blake-vampire-hunter-series

Jan 20, 2010: Re-reading this novel again...for the third time....

Anita establishing herself as no push-over with any of the preternatural creatures she is dealing with and the protector for those who are weak who comes to her for it.

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