Guilty Pleasures: An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Novel

Written by Laurell K Hamilton

Narrated by Kimberly Alexis

Meet Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, in the first novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling series that “blends the genres of romance, horror and adventure with stunning panache”(Diana Gabaldon).

Laurell K. Hamilton’s bestselling series has captured readers’ wildest imaginations and addicted them to a seductive world where supernatural hungers collide with the desires of the human heart, starring a heroine like no other...

Anita Blake is small, dark, and dangerous. Her turf is the city of St. Louis. Her job: re-animating the dead and killing the undead who take things too far. But when the city’s most powerful vampire asks her to solve a series of vicious slayings, Anita must confront her greatest fear—her undeniable attraction to master vampire Jean-Claude, one of the creatures she is sworn to destroy...

“What The Da Vinci Code did for the religious thriller, the Anita Blake series has done for the vampire novel.”—USA Today

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Audio
• Release date: Aug 20, 2009
• ISBN: 9781101079492

Laurell K Hamilton

Laurell K. Hamilton is the bestselling author of the acclaimed Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Novels. She lives near St Louis with her husband, her daughter, two dogs and an ever-fluctuating number of fish. She invites you to visit her website at www.laurellkhamilton.org.

Reviews for Guilty Pleasures

[artemisa-191823 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I like it, but in a weird way it reads like an old film noir, not like the urban/paranormal fantasy that it actually is.

There's something cliche about Anita, she absolutely reminds me of early Buffy, but in a way she totally isn't Buffy. (And unfortunately, in this book at least, Jean-Claude reminds me of Angel, or more accurately of late Spike, when he is in love with Buffy, and starts to get what may pass for a soul).

Because of the name of the series is really hard to forget the comparison to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and I have read a fair amount of vampire books without comparing them to each other or the tv series. There's something in this book that kept that comparison in mind, and that's not very flattering to the writing.

This book reads, first has a detective story. And as far as the detective plot goes, it's not that good. It had that weird part were we are supposed to know as much as the detective (Anita in this case), but I got the solution before she even thinks that he is a suspect. At one point she is looking for a serial vampire killer AND for a series of people that have been kill... Connect the dots???

And dealing with a 1000 year old master vampire is just trouble and distraction to get the action going.

But the world is well written, the action has a really nice, fast paced action, with about 50 chapters at around 200 pages, so it reads a bit like a movie, going from scene to scene, without boring descriptions, but lot of red herring chasing, when the killer was in the first meeting with the vampire masters.

[jodiebc · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Just okay. Didn't find the characters very compelling to follow. May or may not read more of these. Too much vamp going on in my reading list of late.

[nlwilson607 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I picked up this book because of a recommendation from someone who doesn’t do a lot of reading. Typically, vampire books aren’t my genre of choice, moreso because I haven’t done much work to immerse myself beyond film/tv such as Buffy (which I adored). There were a number of moments I really enjoyed in this book. I did not find myself particularly attached to any of the characters beyond appreciating some quippy humor from Anita.

I did think the story felt rushed, even with the story taking place over 3-4 days. There were times I had to confirm I didn’t miss a page because I wasn’t sure how we jumped from one location to another. I’m interested in Anita’s backstory and what lead her to who she is when the story starts. I also felt that the ending was wrapped up a little too quickly and I would have liked to see another 10 pages to handle the last few scenes.

I did expect substantially more romance for a book categorized under the romance genre. Other than some empathy, I didn’t find this book to have any actual romance in it (which could be a fault moreso of the bookseller than the story itself).

[tanyaferrell · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was surprisingly good. I got into the Anita Blake series in college, right around when people began to complain about the series growing too smutty and romance heavy and Anita becoming out-of-character. I read a couple of books and never continued because I've always been bad with continuing series. This first book is such a good series opener. It's told in first person, which I usually hate, but Anita has a pretty pleasant mind to visit. She's funny and cool and likeable, while also having obvious flaws and making questionable decisions. She takes too long to figure out who's committing the crimes she's trying to solve and the motives of the Big Bad don't make a lot of sense, which is why it wasn't a five star read for me. But the ending line about her killing vampires and not sleeping with them is such a fist pump moment, even if you know that stance won't last for long.

This book is straight urban / paranormal fantasy, without any romance. I read this right after trying to read Pleasure Unbound and Angels' Blood, two series openers to PNR series. And I DNFed both because the main characters were unlikeable and the romances were so rushed and relied on the "not like other guys" trope. I think I prefer this low-romance start to a paranormal series. It gave me more time to appreciate the protagonist and to set up a frenemy dynamic between her and her first love interest.

Little things I also liked about this: so much diversity. I'm not sure it was perfectly executed but I appreciated that every other side character that was introduced was a POC. I also loved that Anita dressed like a 12-year-old hot mess. With the exception of two scenes, she put almost zero effort into her appearances and I loved it a lot. Very much looking forward to continuing the series this time around

[electrascaife · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Anita Blake is a reanimator and vampire hunter by trade, living and working in St. Louis. She gets a job offer that she literally can't refuse from the local vampire master to find out who's been murdering vampires in town. Things get...complicated from there on out.
And I mean ridiculously complicated, or at least it seemed to me that the plot was overly convoluted. It could just be that I couldn't ever quite manage to care enough about Anita to bother with following along in all the details. She annoyed me. To be fair, I listened to the audiobook and it could be that the narrator was the annoying part and that if I had read a print version I wouldn't have been so not taken with Blake. At any rate, I don't think I'll continue with the series. For me, there are better vampire/monster stories out there and much more interesting vampire/monster hunters.

[dawn.b.reads68 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Fabulous book.

[elenaj-147457 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I started listening to the audiobook, but couldn't get through it. I think it was a combination of the audio (*terrible* fake accents) and the story, which I found both boring and kind of gross.

[jennifer6hettenbach · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The start of the series that I would read most of before becoming lost in the overwhelming need to have sex with anything and everything that crossed the main characters path.

[morgandax · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I find it interesting the highly contrasting reviews here. Those who have read the entire series and bemoan the loss of the strong protagonist found in the earlier books.

For me the early books were difficult to get through due to sloppy writing and/or editing, but I liked the premise and the series had been recommended by several people. I found the prudishness of the protagonist in the beginning super boring, however she does make a massive pendulum swing in later books, and it's somewhat tacky, especially with how it started. I do appreciate the author's intent on her character's growth, but it often feels disingenuous, and that keeps getting worse the further into the series I get. (I'm on book 8, I think.) I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with the character, but she does often feel underdeveloped, or overdeveloped perhaps. Not sure quite what it is.

However, that being said, the writing itself has gotten much better as the series has got on. As a writer myself I find it interesting to watch the author develop her skills. I wish I was brave enough to put myself out there like that! Though with how much money I've spent on her books, I wish she would hire a better editor. Seems like I'm constantly finding errors.

[juva_3 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Anita Blake is a necromancer, intermittent vampire slayer, and full time private investigator. She's got a body covered in scars, weighted down with artillery, and frankly brimming with attitude. Someone has been killing vampires in her city illegally though, and it's very likely to soon become her problem. Enough have died that the Master of the City is looking into it personally, and she wants Anita to take the job.

Anita would really rather not, but with the life of her friends in the balance, she has very few choices. She'll find the killer, and she'll take out the Master Vampire too.

This is the first book in the (shockingly) still running series. I read these books for the first time many years ago, but I didn't remember how crummy they are. Still, there is a bit of a nostalgic payoff here.

[lariheldenlama · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Dieses Buch habe ich schon sehr lange auf meinem Print Sub. Es wurde mir damals (ca 2013) empfohlen da ich gerade eine der berüchtigten "Vampirphasen" durchgemacht habe.

Die Rezension nun viele Jahre später fällt mir nicht leicht, der Einstieg in die Story fiel mir auch nicht leicht und ich bin mit den Charakteren leider gar nicht warm geworden. Es war keiner im ganzen Buch an dem ich mich festhalten konnte, der greifbar war. Alle waren unnahbar und total uninteressant.

Anita Blake ist eine berüchtigte Vampirjägerin, eine die nichts umhaut und die vor kaum etwas Angst hat. Sie hatte immer (ich meine wirklich IMMER) einen Spruch auf den Lippen - in den meisten Fällen fand ich die total unpassend und einfach nur wie von einem pubertierenden Teenie der seine Grenzen austesten möchte. Es war nicht witzig - es war nervig.

Die Charaktere waren nicht wirklich ausgearbeitet und es gab absolut keine Weiterentwicklung. Ich habe nix gespürt, war überhaupt nicht in der Story drin - sie plätscherte an mir vorüber ohne mich anzusprechen. Sie entwickelte sich furchtbar langsam und es dauerte eine schiere Unendlichkeit bis sie endlich auf den Obermufti der Vampire traf und ihren Auftrag bekommen hat. Von da an wurds teilweise etwas spannender und es kam ein wenig Action auf, aber nicht wirklich genug. Wie es weitergeht war mir eigentlich egal, die Charaktere waren mir einfach egal - das ist so schade, weil diese Reihe so hochgelobt war (und ich noch 4 weitere Bände davon besitze) aber ich bin sicher, dass ich sie nicht weiter verfolgen werde.

Es tut mir leid, ich weiß dass viele Fans der Reihe nun aufschreien werden, aber ich kann nicht mehr als 2 Sterne geben. Und dieses mal KEINE Leseempfehlung von mir.

[lvstrongpuff · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Anita Blake is a necromancer and vampire hunter in a time when vampires are protected by law--as long as they don't get too nasty. She may be small, but she can hold her own and vampires call her The Executioner.
I love her. I love how she has her rules and doesn't mind telling other people what is what and how she feels about it.
Laurell K Hamilton can spin a story and keep you hooked. After reading this book I went out and starting getting the rest of her series. She is a def read.

[chrisweir-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

First in the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series. Anita is a full time animator, read zombie maker, and part time vampire hunter. She is coerced into investigating local vampire murders in St. Louis. She meets the local vampire leader who's over a thousand years old and as well as being very powerful is very sadistic. She befriends a "freak," in other stories would be called a vampire or vampire lover. She meets various vampires and freaks along the way. Helps to raise a zombie. Finds out that someone is practicing voodoo. Wererats, not werewolves but were rats. Sorry this review doesn't really tell much in regards to the plot but the series has lots of possibilities. Also lots of back story to be explored book kept eluding to her past.

[5eva5 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Anita Blake is a detective/vampire hunter/animator (aka zombie-maker) who is blackmailed by a vampire master into investigating a series of murders in the vampire community. I had been under the impression that this was a paranormal romance, so I was pleasantly surprised to find out that there is more fighting than romance. I also liked the premise that all supernatural creatures are "out" in Anita Blake's world, even if it makes for a few unlikely scenarios. I thought Anita was a decent character - it's fun that she is full of talk and then actually kicks butt as well, but I would have liked some more backstory to actually get a sense of who she is. Also, if the vampires are so desperate to get her help with the murders, why do they keep interrupting her investigation (and kinda trying to kill her...)? I get that they have instinctual/animal drives, but that should mean that they're even better than humans at figuring out how to achieve their goals. Overall it was an entertaining read and if I trip over another installment I'll certainly pick it up, but I won't go looking.

[ragwaine · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

5 Chapters, 47 minutes on audio. I would say those were minutes I'll never get back, but I was either painting or driving while I was listening to this so it wasn't really time wasted. It was painful though, extremely painful. Sorry, it's going to take something more persuasive than a "reading challenge" to get me to read something this bad.

[aweebishbookblog · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This review first appeared on A Weebish Book Blog

GUILTY PLEASURES by Laurell K. Hamilton is the first book in the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series. It is a series that I have re-read countless times and I never fail to enjoy myself. This is the only time I’ve attempted to review them, I’m not sure why I never got around to it, but I guess this is as good a time as any.

“Welcome to Guilty Pleasures. We are here to serve you. To make your most evil dream come true.”

Anita Blake is the ever popular zombie animator for Animators, Inc., licensed vampire hunter, and the bogeyman—dubbed The Executioner—to vampires everywhere. After the Master of the City not-so-politely blackmailed her into investigating the vampire murders shocking Saint Louis, Missouri, Anita must use her skills as preternatural expert, vampire hunter, and even as a zombie animator to solve the mystery and save her friends from harm.

Anita Blake is a character I’ve admired for years. The woman is flawed. She’s frustrating, stubborn, bitchy, and judgemental, but she’s also tough-as-nails, loyal, and will never stop seeking justice for victims, humans or otherwise. The facets of her personality never fail to fascinate me. She will kill to protect her loved ones. She is feared by monsters, respected by cops, deeply religious, prude, compassionate, and collects stuffed penguins. Plus, she’s a reader. How can I not be in love with her?

Another beloved Anita Blake character is Jean-Claude, a master vampire and local business owner. He’s deliciously French and is intrigued by the challenging vampire hunter. He’s not my favorite character of the series, but I am a fan of the seductive vampire. He is a puzzle that I doubt I’ll ever truly understand, but that is one of his draws.

Hamilton created a world that stands out from other horror or urban fantasy stories. It is detailed and dazzling and sports an alternate history where humans and supernatural creatures live in recognition of one other’s presence, but certainly not harmoniously. Though the police and average humans do live woefully ignorant of preternatural species and their cultures, which gives more depth and conflict to GUILTY PLEASURES and the rest of the series. It does also make for a plausible human race. When aren’t we ignorant of other cultures?

Every time I re-read this series, I find new books have been written. I am a die-hard fan of Laurell K. Hamilton and no doubt I always will be, though it is crazy to think this series was first published in the early ’90s and new books are still coming out. Yet somehow, I am still eagerly awaiting more Anita Blake adventures.

Romance does not come into play in GUILTY PLEASURES, but there are a couple of heated scenes to enjoy. Fear not, there is intricate world building, supernatural creatures out the wazoo, and a captivating mystery to devour in the first book of this treasured series.

[turtlesleap · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Predictable tale of the dead and undead.

[thanbini · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

First in a new series for me that I've been meaning to read for a while. At first I was intrigued with the world this book is set in (a world where Vampires, Zombies, etc. are accepted as the norm among normal humans). The author seemed to lose a little steam towards the middle of the book, but picked it back up with a vengeance for the ending. The main character was awesome and I can't help but be reminded of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, another old fav. Definitely gonna read the next one.

[carol420 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Guilty Pleasures" is the first of the Anita Blake series. What makes the series unique is the strong, tough-minded character of the heroine and narrator. Before "Guilty Pleasures" vampire stories rarely had female leads, let alone one with the hard-nosed style of Anita Blake. She is a professional animator (one who raises the dead) and a licensed vampire killer in an alternate earth where vampires have come out of the closet (coffin?) and are active participants in American life. he plot is fast paced, often moving from cliff-hanger to horrific confrontation with all the agility of the ball in a pinball game. There is a steady sexual undercurrent that veers towards sadistic and fetish oriented pleasures. It is a natural outgrowth of the vampire personality and is as chilling as it is erotic. In "Guilty Pleasures" it is an effective plot device that keeps the heat turned up. If you are a vampire story fan you will find Laurell Hamilton's efforts deeply satisfying.

[bethanymoore · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I adore this series! What I love most is that the 'monsters' aren't hiding in the dark somewhere. They're walking around and riding the bus and shopping and teaching your children... and they have rights (mostly). Vampires are people too(?). But if they step out of line? Anita Blake, raiser of the dead and executioner of bad vamps, is called in to carry out their death sentence.

I loved Jean Claude right away. He's sexy, suave, and doesn't sparkle! From this first book, I hoped Anita would hook up with Jean Claude... I had no idea just what was coming!

[raeadav · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great book. Can't wait to read the second one! :)

[eire2011 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book was a fun read and a change from what I usually read. The story was a great mix of humor, mystery, supernatural and an interesting point of view. Anita makes an awesome friend but I sure wouldn't want to be her enemy. My only complaint is that I didn't read it sooner. Looking forward to the rest of the series.

[sweetzombieducky · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I went into this reading experience with expectations based on how frenzied people get about this book. I didn't find Anita Blake to be a very interesting character and the author's attempts to make her seem sarcastic and snarky fell flat. Gothic vampires in Victorian dress and a child as The Big Evil.

No. Just ... no. Do not see what the hype is all about.

[rosetyper9 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It's been so long since I first read this book that I forgot how much I enjoyed Laurell K Hamilton's writing. I am going to re-read the entire series before I hop over to the faery series.

This book has everything a girl could want in an urban fantasy...guns, knives, zombies, vampires, were-rats...I could go on but there really is no need. I love the world that Laurell built in this book and the amazing character of Anita. I'll keep reading..I know it goes off the rails a bit but it will be nice to see where it ends up after all this time once I'm through.

[addictedtomorphemes · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series. I ate this series up. Beware that it gets darker and kinkier (oftentimes bizarre) as the series progresses. You'll know by the first book if this is your type of thing. If not, stop here. I thought it was fun to get absorbed into this strange little world.

[librarycin · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Anita Blake raises people from the dead and, on the side, hunts vampires. Lately there have been vampires being murdered. The high ranking vampires hire Anita (a.k.a. The Executioner), to find out who has been killing these vampires. This puts Anita in some tricky spots, as she will likely be killed herself if she can’t solve these murders.

I wasn’t sure what I was going to think of it, but it was pretty good. I do like vampire/supernatural books, but I wasn’t sure how far into erotica she was going to go. I hear there’s more of that later in the series. For now, I might continue reading some of the Anita Blake books, until she gets too much into the erotica angle.

[jennamarie96 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

"Guilty Pleasures" has become one of my guilty pleasures! I picked up this mostly due to the fact that it was fantasy and had the word Vampire in it. This book had me hooked from the first chapter. Laurell K. Hamilton has put a wonderful spin on the overused vampire genre. Beware though this book isn't for the faint of heart ! It's full of gore and saucy moments.

The moment Antia Blake is introduced I fell in love with her. She's a tiny spitfire filled with sarcastic humor and a complete badass. As a necromancer and vampire hunter she is every undead creatures nightmare come to life. Anita Blake has earned her title as the Executioner. Antia is short has tons of curly hair and isn't perfect.She has scars and a personality that's just kick-ass. Honestly she is a believable character that isn't boring because she is more like an actual woman in real life and isn't portrayed as being this sex goddess who is model thin with perfect features. Frankly those perfect female characters have become boring and a character like Anita Blake is refreshing. You'll be rooting for her throughout the entire book. Though the one character you will have an instant crush on is the vampire Jean Cluade. He is the personification of sex on leather clad legs and knee high boots.Usually these characters can be quite boring but he has layers and you can't help but fall for his charm even though he's one of the undead that Antia has sworn to protect the living from.

The spin that this book has put on vampires and other supernatural creatures is intriguing , because in this world they are considered normal in everyday life. Hamilton has mixed these two worlds in a wonderful manner that it makes the book into something you've never read before. It's worth picking up to try as long as you read it when no one else is around! "Guilty Pleasures" is a great naughty read that has a plot and love able characters as well as some truly evil characters that will make you want to read the rest of the sinfully good books in this series.

[laurustina · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

My sister bought this book for me, and I have to admit that I didn't pick it up until I read an article in Wizard about them turning the Anita Blake books into graphic novels. And ok, I snjoyed it. Like a cream puff, no wait, more like a chocolate covered old-fashioned donut. It'll sit like a rock in my belly for a few hours, but damn, it was a tasty treat at the time.

[jolenemacinjax · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Guilty Pleasures in the first book in the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Series written by Laurell K. Hamilton. There are currently 21 books in the series and I have read all of them and try to re-read the entire series at least once a year. Starting with the first book you learn about this feisty little lady who has the natural ability to raise zombies and does it for a living. On the side, she helps the local police solve crimes involving vampires and other non-natural people. She isn't having much luck in her love life and seems to be attracted to all the wrong men. We can all relate to that at one time or another. Ms. Hamilton makes us believe that vampires, zombies and werewolves are possible and tells us what would their everyday lives entail should they have to make a living, pay their bills and try to get along with their neighbors like the rest of us. Give the series a try.

FYI after the 5th book in the series there will be more intense/alternative sex scenes in the story lines. Some may like that sort of things while others may not.

[antiquary_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book definitely lives up to its name for me. Actually the incident began wit my picking up a copy of the second volume (Laughing Corpse) in the university library and reading it for an hour when I should have been working. Since I hd not read the first book (and I believe in doing series in order) I ordered a cheap copy of this book, and when it came in I sat in my office and read it for hours when I should have been working, and then read it fairly steadily at home till I finished it. Hamilton definitely has the gift of trapping the reader's interest. She also has some nice wry wit. I like the fact that the heroine is a "happy Episcopalian" with a real sense of good and evil. On the other hand. there are a lot of just plain grisly and sometimes revolting scenes, not all of which really seem justified by the plot, and some lose ends. Going to the Guilty Pleasures vampire strio club is justified --the vampires are gaining control of Anita's friend so she will help them find out who is killing top vampires --but going to a freak party --supposedly some of the victims enjoyed these human-vampire group gropes --suddenly reverts to a scene with a zombie in a cemetery, and finding the notation "Ned" on the calendar of Malcolm the vampire leader of the Church of Eternal Life leads nowhere at ll, nor is it explained away.