Book Review: Flirt, Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Series by Laurell K. Hamilton

The latest book in the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series is Flirt, the 18^th book in the series written by Laurell K. Hamilton. This is a series that I have followed for years and I'm always excited when a new book comes out. I enjoy reading paranormal stories about vampires and lycanthropes, especially when there is a strong female lead character such as Anita Blake.

Before I order any new books, even those written by my favorite authors, which Laurell K. Hamilton is, I try to find out as much about the book as I can. I have limited funds so I have to decide if I want to buy the book new or wait until I can buy a used copy. To that end, I wait until a book comes out and then I read all the reviews before I make the decision to buy a new or used copy. So I knew before I ordered Flirt that it was a short story, a novella.

Many of the reviews that I read about Flirt were negative. Many reviewers were upset because it was too short and other reviewers didn't like the story. After reading Flirt though, I can honestly say that I thoroughly enjoyed the story. I do agree that the story was short and I do wish it was longer. But then I wish Laurell Hamilton would write Anita Blake books all the time and put out a new Anita Blake book every month!

Flirt opens with Anita Blake at her job in the offices of Animators Inc. interviewing a very wealthy man who wants his wife raised from the dead. He keeps offering money but Anita won't raise the wife because she will still be dead even if she may not know it at first. Anita knows that a zombie is not alive and tries to get the man to understand that. Unfortunately the grieving widower thinks that Anita and only Anita can raise his wife from the dead and he ignores Anita's warnings that the wife will not really be back from the dead.

Once the widower leaves the office, Anita goes to lunch with Nathaniel, her were-leopard boyfriend and their friend, Jason, the werewolf. Micah, Anita's were-leopard boyfriend and King joins the group at the restaurant. While they are in the restaurant, Anita gets a lesson on flirting as Nathaniel flirts with the waiter. It ends up being fun and then Anita gets a memory from her childhood that helps the group bond closer emotionally.

Next, the action heats up when a couple of weeks later, Anita is kidnapped from the same restaurant. The kidnappers are hired mercenaries who are also were-lions. We don't know who the kidnappers were paid by at first but we find out that the hired crew wasn't told that Anita carries different strains of lycanthrope in her body and it seems that Anita's were-lioness is in heat and looking for a strong mate. This causes quite a few problems for the kidnappers as well as for Anita because the kidnappers have a sniper on each one of Anita's boyfriends and friends. The first one to be killed will be Micah if Anita does not cooperate with the were-lion kidnappers.

Anita tries to keep her were-lioness under control but unfortunately is unable to. Things go downhill pretty fast for Anita and she is forced to make some difficult choices to keep the people she loves alive.

I enjoyed reading Flirt because it is an Anita Blake story and has some of the characters that I have met in the previous books. I like reading about them and their continuing lives. When I read a book that is part of a series, I feel as though I am visiting old friends and catching up on their lives and that is the feeling I got when I read Flirt.

I enjoyed reading the extras at the end of the story. Laurell Hamilton takes us through her process of inspiration for Flirt and gives us a glimpse into her life as a writer. Afterwards, a friend of Hamilton's gives us a cartoon (comic) strip about the inspiration for Flirt. I found it a lot of fun to read.

The only negative thing I have to say about Flirt is that we don't get to see Jean-Claude or Asher in the story. I like the vampires and they don't make an appearance here.

Overall, Flirt is a good book in the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series and I give it a four out of five stars.

Flirt, An Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Novel by Laurell K. Hamilton
Hardcover: 192 pages
Publisher: Berkley Hardcover
ISBN-10: 042523567X
ISBN-13: 978-0425235676