Danse Macabre (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #14)

by Laurell K. Hamilton

It was the middle of November. I was supposed to be out jogging but was at my breakfast table instead, talking about men, sex, werewolves, vampires and that thing that most unmarried but sexually active women fear most...She should be concentrating on a dangerous situation: the ardeur, the sexual power that flows between Anita and Jean-Claude, Master Vampire of the City and Richard, the volatile werewolf who loves her passionately, is reaching new levels, perhaps evolving into something entirely new. It seems to be choosing new lovers for Anita, acting with a will of its own. The unexpected effect of this is that Jean-Claude's own powers as a Master Vampire has grown to new levels - and Richard, always unpredictable, is changing too. However as the days pass Anita finds herself less interested in vampire politics than in an ancient, more ordinary dread she shares with women down the ages; she may be pregnant. And if she is, whether the father is a vampire, a werewolf or someone else entirely, she knows full well that being a Federal Marshall, known for raising the dead and executing vampires, is no way to bring up a baby...

• ISBN10: 1101146826
• ISBN13: 9781101146828
• Publish Date: 27 June 2006 (first published 1 July 2003)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Jove Books
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 496
• Language: English

Reviews

[FranJessca @ A Book Lovin' Mama's Blog]

I’m going through my reread of the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series. It’s been thirteen years since I read the first book in the series and twelve years since I read Danse Macabre for the first time. It feels like I’m reading the books for the first time again. I enjoy being back with Anita and her harem of men at the beginning. This series was my first that had a reverse harem. It’s the reason why I’m obsessed now with RH. 

Storyline/My Thoughts: Danse Macabre is the fourteenth book in the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series. This time Anita Blake is dealing with the possibility of being pregnant by one of her men. Some men are thrilled by the idea of Anita being pregnant; others, not so much. Anita Blake is freaked out about the news. She’s not ready to bring a child into the world, in her world, specifically. She’s a Federal Marshall, Vampire Executioner, and Necromancer. How is she supposed to take care of a baby with her job? 

She has some supportive men in her life that would be willing to step up to the plate for her, but that still doesn’t help her nerves. 

Not only is Anita having to deal with the possibility of being pregnant, but Jean Claude has to invite several Masters to the city for Anita to pick a pomme de sang potentially. Anita is not looking forward to it, especially when there is also going to be a vampire ballet company in town, and those vampires do something that puts Anita, Jean Claude, Richard, and all of them in jeopardy. Several vampires will find out how much power Jean Claude has gained by having Anita as his human servant. Anita also has gained power, which shouldn’t be the case, but Anita is proving she’s one powerful necromancer. I enjoyed the power struggle in this book and how the others learn that Anita Blake and her harem of men are powerful together. 

Two people that drove me crazy in this book are Ronnie and Richard. First Ronnie because she is judgmental of Anita having a harem of men. Ronnie is jealous because she’s now settling down with one man. She doesn’t like the idea of Anita having a harem of men in love with her. Get over it, Ronnie! Ronnie ticked me even more, when she shared how she saw Nathaniel. Ronnie, you lost points with me when you attacked Nathaniel. He’s one of my favorite characters; no one will pick on him. I’m happy that Nathaniel is sticking up for himself, and he’s grown so much since he was introduced. 

Richard drove me crazy, too, in this book. I’m not too fond of his character and how he treats Anita. I realize he wants her to be monogamous, but unfortunately, she is dealing with Jean Claude’s ardeur. I wish someone would knock him down a peg.

Now, forewarning, this book has a lot of sex in it. If you are not fond of Anita having sex with random strangers when her ardeur is triggered, this book may not be for you. I know some readers have given up on the series because of Anita and her harem of men that she’s taken on in the series. It doesn’t bother me, so I’m rereading the series and enjoying it all over again. Anita is dealing with crazy things in her life. She has the ardeur and is a panwere (where she has several strains of shifters, but she doesn’t actually shift). 

Overall, this book gets 4.5 stars from me, and I look forward to continuing my reread of this series. I’m a big fan of Laurell K. Hamilton and her Anita Blake series. This series is what brought my love of vampires and shifters again and my first RH in a book/series. 

Standalone/Part of Series: It’s part of the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series, and I recommend reading in order.

Steam/Spice: 

Would I recommend this book? Yes. I recommend it to readers who enjoy Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance with Reverse Harem.

[Chelsea]

It might be time to give up this series but I hate leaving them unfinished. I was honestly just really bored with this one and I'm tired of the same plot over and over. I keep hoping it gets better so I keep reading yet I'm always disappointed.

[Hixxup]

I'm not really sure on how I feel about this book. I still can't stand Richard I think for the most part should be taken out of the picture, he's unbearable to read about. Anita, I think she is finally starting to get over her "I can't have casual sex, it's a sin blah blah blah" bit, but I doubt it, but it's really the only thing I find annoying about these later books in the series. I also am not too fond of the growing love she has for Nathaniel and Micah that's kind of (boring) anymore *Yawns*. I still Jean Claude, cause he does love Anita, and he's very tolerant of her having to have so many partners, does he like it OF COURSE NOT! but he's more willing to accept it than Richard is. It's like ok dorkface, she's a blood succubus, she needs sex to feed and live.... no she can't just have one guy, that's not how it works with incubus's and succubus's, they need multiple partners to survive. Richard one of his biggest problems is that HE DOESN'T FRICKIN LISTEN. Asher and the rest of these guys, it's beginning to become a depression fest with them, almost every guy in this book except for Jean Claude, Nathaniel, and Micah has been depressed one way or another. Really that doesn't motivate me to want to keep reading. I do enjoy the fact that others are gaining powers. But I believe that there should be more action back into the books as well as the sex. I think the characters are getting a little stale because all it is now days is long dialogue's about "feelings" and sex and who she's going to have sex with. I will continue on with the series because I do have a lot of complaints over it I do still enjoy most of what's going on. And I'm hoping Anita will change into an animal if not all of them hehe.

[ibeforem]

The only problem I had with this book is that all of the conflict was basically internal. Sure, there were a lot of power struggles with various other vampires, but no big bad guy. I miss the big bad guy. The sex in this one didn’t bother me as much — I think she managed to tone it down a bit.