Vampire Hunter Novel, Flirt: An Anita Blake

I have always liked Anita Blake as a series. I have made excuses for the books. I can't make them any more. This is by far her best writing in a while that is not pure sex. It is also not a book. It is a scene and the aftermath. In her indulgent manner to release this as a 24 dollar book is to show how much she does not care for any of her readers. The essay and comic on how she writes and the situation that served as the impetus for the book are okay if you want to know. But to show us that and give us less then 200 pages, one sex scene, and a retread story that she wrote before much better. No one did what she did with her first few books and that made her first few books very interesting and good to read. Now lots of people write in a similar vein and someone out there is probably striking a better balance in the story between character development, current plot, overall plot, and sex. She conquered the medium by putting out good quality product that was fun to read and actually interesting. Now it is self indulgent tripe that I regret having pre-ordered. I have recommended her books over the years and gotten quite a few people hooked on them. Now I won't. Stephen King just put out a book Under the Dome that is very good and is still exceptional story telling. There is also a feeling that he respects his readers and had a basic idea that he wanted to develop. I wish to Laurel K Hamilton for the ride she use to give me. What I paid for this book is that thanks.

Loved "Flirt" - a tasty appetizer until "Bullet" comes out in June. More like a novelette, I devoured "Flirt" in one sitting and finished with a smile of satisfaction. Anita at her best, all on her own and doing what she does best - focusing on what's in front of her and using everything she's got to protect her loved ones. Great mix of Anitaverse elements - power of all kinds,werelions,delicious and dangerous characters,just plain crazy folk, nice action,new and promising facets to the ardeur and Anita's necromancy,cozy ending(did miss the vampires but sounds like they will get lots of play in "Bullet".) Loved the flirt scene in the diner. Also really enjoyed LKH's postscript describing how she gets her ideas and the writing process.

Maybe it's the spill over from Patterson in a different genre, but Hamilton tried to go the easy route here. She decided to write a very short novel, I doubt you can actually call it that, since it's more of a short story, at the most a novella. Then, you can tell that she did not feel completely comfortable with the product she delivered, so at the end she goes into this long winded explanation about where ideas come from and why she wrote the book. Basically, she was writing one of the books on the Meredith series, and this thing happened, and she could not let the idea go, so she wrote a short novel to get it out of her system and be able to finish the other book. I kind of feel like calling BS on that explanation.

Going back to what the author delivered, it is not that bad if we are talking about the basic storyline, just a little undeveloped, linear and without any complementary events taking place together with those in the main plot. Also, in a book this short, wasting a significant amount of time explaining some of the relationships among characters and things readers of the series already know by heart, makes the new elements pretty restricted. I am fine with the explanations during a normal novel, but here I feel they were unwarranted. It should have been marketed only to readers of the series and new readers should start elsewhere. Especially because if someone has not read Hamilton before, and this is the first one they get their hands on, they won't be impressed.

I truly hope that the next book has some redeeming qualities and the author at least tries to deliver at a more professional level.

Hey, I it took me a while to go out to a book store and find this. Cause heaven knows I knew I couldn't buy it (not even on Kindle you hear?) This story was a little different then I had anticipated.

Anita is actually meeting with clients....I'm not talking about those clients, I'm talking about her Necromancy ability, you know her actual `job'. Unfortunately the client wants his marriage, that ended too quickly, to resume, dead or not his wife needs to come home.... Yuck... really.... And that's the crux of the plot line. What follows is the man doing anything he can to get his wife up, involving the local lions pride, which Anita hasn't officially `taken over' yet. And her actually getting hurt bad... but of course not for long.

She realizes that a lycanthrope sacrifice is more powerful???? Yea do you remember book umtenth where she uses lycan blood instead of her own and it's more powerful? It only stands to reason that obviously a sacrifice would be on that line of thinking as well... this means that she gets to raise a whole army (which she already did) to protect and help her.

And guys, I'm not even going to get into why the book is called `Flirt' I really thought that that was just a stupid name like Blood Noir (where's the black blood?) Bullet and what not. No it was put there for a reason as unfortunate as that sounds. Why with 20 million guys in her bed Anita and Nathaniel (stripper) want to flirt or learn? I have no idea but that poor waiter in the story is `blind sided' by the powers of the puss (Nathaniel... what you thought I'd say Anita?) and the riser of dead... things... (yup I went there) And what is with the cartoon? I was like... really? Really? She actually put that in her book to get published? Then had the indecency to make us pay (hah not me) how much for Flirt?

Be careful young ones... or the next time you're at a restaurant minding your own business and trying to earn money you will be next! (add scary music and cue lights.... The book kind of sucked guys)

I am not only an Anita fan but a Laurell one as well. Her first few books were excellent but actually not the normal genre I read so believe it or not, her later novels were more what i prefer. Many, many of you disagree with this. The fact of the matter is, I think a lot of her readers were "misguided" or lead on simply because Laurell's first 7 novels were more action/adventure, unlike her Merry series which started out as good old fashion smut and has steadfastly remained that way. :o) Usually the type of reader who is attracted to a/a is NOT the same person who will be happy with erotica. Needless to say, since my preference is erotica, Laurell's transition into that genre have made me a happy camper. How I do agree with the naysayers is that her earlier works certainly had more depth. The author took her time in character development which helped to make all of us fall in love with her work. Her more recent work has been fluff and fancy; cranked out in hyperspeed and not at all what we knew and loved. Which leads me to my next point.

There is a huge following of Urban Legend. So huge in fact that authors are catching hell trying to keep up with the Demand. Some authors are more prolific than others and can spout out 3 or 4 books a year. We KNOW this is not true of Laurell. Getting one book a year from her was a treat, but so very well worth the wait. Flirt, as well as some of her other work (ie: Micah) read just like chapter books. My theory is she peels off these small books and gets them out in the market to a) soothe the constant reader, b) keep up with the amazing works these new authors are putting out and/or c) fill her pocketbook. Unfortunately for me, who has been a stalwart fan from the beginning, its getting more and more difficult to justify her reasoning for releasing such small, unfulfilling books. At least Micah was sold in paperback. To put Flirt out as a hardcover is really just adding insult to injury to all her fans. If she is already realeasing a book FOUR MONTHS after this one, they really could have been incorporated together to make a full novel.

I can only hope that she takes her (harsh yet loving) critics seriously and makes a few adjustments. Not all of us hate the fact that her books are sex-based as opposed to action-based. She could probably keep all of her fan-based if she found a balance between the two. We just want a little more substance and we certainly do not want to feel as if she is ripping us off like with Flirt.

I still love the Anita Blake series; unlike many readers, I have no objection to the direction the stories have taken in the last dozen or so books, moving away from paranormal mystery thrillers to not-so-soft-core porn. I loved the early books, I love the later books. They're different, but still just as good.

That being said, for those who preferred the early books, this one has a bit more of the flavor of the earlier books. There is more concentration on story and less on Anita's sex life, and where there are sexually explicit scenes, they're less explicit than they have been in some of the other books.

Why, then, do I only rate this book at four stars? Because there isn't really enough book here to justify paying full-novel price for. There's only 233 pages of actual story, with an essay on "the making of the novel" plus a short cartoon depicting the scene that sparked the idea for it as filler. What's more, the 233 pages is misleading; the spacing is a little more than usual in mass-market paperbacks, and the margins are larger. I suspect that if this book was laid out as the rest of the series has been, it would have been under 200 pages. If that's all the story there was, fine; I wouldn't want the author to feel the need to add filler to flesh it out. But it should be priced lower than the other entries in the series if its going to be that much shorter, and in any case, don't insult our intelligence by fitting it into a novel-sized package by adding extra white space (as if you think we won't notice).

MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS, DESPITE THE PERDICTABLITY OF THE BOOKS

"Flirt." Just another display of Mary Sue. Anita's various boy toys all want to hold her, cuddle her, kiss her, tell her how beautiful she is, admire her breast, her unstoppable powers, and yadda-yadda. Been there, done that, own the Burger King themed cup. It would be nice if these boys would actually get a life outside of stripping (go figure), teasing, and sleeping under Anita's cosmic thumb.

Anita continues to talk smack in "Flirt", and then sleep with the enemy as intended, and known from the jump. No big surprise there. This chapter in the Anita Blake story is extremely predictable from start to finish. We all know that if a male has long hair, a deformity of some sort, or was sexually abused as a minor - he's more susceptible to Anita's vague trickery. Her job is to strip male characters of their rumored masculinity. Every new male (and old, considering Wicked Truth in the last book) absolutely HAS to be reduced to tears as they clutch Anita's knees desperately seeking her love and support because she's so totally awesome. Makes me wonder: Who didn't get a date in high school? Hmm. Unavoidably, Anita adds to her harem in "Flirt", which has become a golden rule despite her faux plea of aggravation. After nine books, if I can accept that she's a hole then she certainly should. Nevertheless, Anita still manages to murder and condemn people while justifying her "sins," then speak as if she's Moses at the burning bush. You know, because she's so powerful she knows what God is thinking concerning her villainous actions.

Basically... there's nothing new here...

It would've been nice if "Flirt" made up for something more considering the actual potential of the plot (and Anita back to zombie raising). It would also be nice if the author would stop unsubtly reflecting her deep, personal issues on the main protagonist, while giving some of the supporting cast permission to do their own thing without her. Stripping and walking down the street to some unknown destination doesn't count. The GOOD thing about the book is that Anita didn't fall into a mindless gangbang, and no teenagers were involved. Yay <clap, clap>. All it all, it was a fun. I always enjoy an Anita Blake story. Once you get over the character assassinations and seat fillers, you start to enjoy them for the extreme hilarity. Still, "Flirt" could've simply been a bonus chapter to a larger book. It just doesn't stand well on its own, like the price. And honestly, it read as if it was non-canon material. Keep the play-pretty stories at the bottom of the file cabinet and try to fix what mess exist above, I say.

Swear to you, LKH named this book flirt because almost the entire first half of the book was about flirting. Not kidding. Anita flirted and her men flirted, the bad guys semi-flirted and a random waiter flirted. Then we received some weirdo advice on flirting - eeks! Sounds repetitive? It was. Of course, all this awkward flirting was accompanied by the usual unmanly wangsting and complimenting of Anita's super special sexy bad-a** HAWTNESS.

Now that I've gotten that off my chest: did I hate it? The truth is that even with all the gibberish, unnecessary descriptions, tedious infodumps and lame attempts at what I assume was humor, it was an upswing from LKH's continuing downward spiral. She may have over-used metaphysical junk, and created the two most distractible and INCOMPETENT bad guys ever, but:

Anita went to work - twice.
She raised a bunch of zombies.
Her stable appeared only briefly, in limited numbers (3 of them) and barely did anything.
She only had un-sexy sex once.

And for the first in a long time I actually knew WHY she was doing what she did.The plot was meager; but I haven't seen a plot in so long I take what I can get.

Things are looking up. Take these 2.5 stars Laurell. Here's to hoping it will help you to do better!

p.s. Don't ask me what the razor on the cover was about. I guess that just like the scissors, saw blades and bullet before it, it's anybody's guess.

Oh no I'm so ugly, but all these gorgeous men with funny coloured eyes adore me, this can't be right as my fathers new wife said I was ugly. Oh I have all these feelings, one being weird about group sex with strangers but if I'm going to be me, I mean REALLY me then need to sleep with them, well I am hungry metaphysically all the time so it's fine. You have it bad? well check out all my scars, shapeshiftig witch, vampire servants brand....well you get the jist, there's alot, and I've had my fair share of pain. So you want me to solve this case? well I have to be as manly as you MEN, you know, cos your judging me and stuff but hey you've heard about my rep right? if you mess with me or my own I will kill you, and go to that place I go to were eveything's still and quite and my eyes change and my arms are steady and you feel all scared and thinking you shouldn't have underestimated me cos I'm small. Oh did I tell you about Nathaniel's eyes, there violet, and his hair is long, do I sound like I'm repeating myself, oh thats cos I put this bullcr*p in ALL of the last few books, and make them short with no effort, to make money. Thanks alot Laurell K Hamilton for being a cop out, get your sh*t together and right some of the good stuff, like before.

I never put spoilers in my reviews.
For adults.
To me, a Master Storyteller is as a Master Bard who uses words rather than music to grasp your imagination and make their vision yours. When we had mostly oral- rather than written- history, Master Storytellers were revered. They traveled from tribe to tribe, settlement to settlement, etc., gathering history-to-be and sharing news, history, tradition, and so on, bringing it to life for their listeners. Today this rare talent is shared in print and has the potential to reach millions.
Ms. Hamilton has that talent and we are, blessed, is the only word that comes to mind, that she shares it with us.
While great, these aren't easy stories, nor for the faint of heart. You don't so much suspend belief as you just believe. They embody life and love and hate and death in a rich tapestry that simply takes you in and makes you lose time. It's no wonder she is one of the top bestselling authors.
Read, believe, and come away richer for the experience.

I thought Flirt was a waste of time even for such a "short story". The story line of a man threatening Anita to raise the dead has been done before and she did it better. And I am so tired of the sex to get her strength back. Just an excuse for writing erotica. Give me a sensitive LOVE scene any day not this boring junk.

Then there was the whole how I get my ideas written by LKH. It felt self-indulgent and really not interesting. I started reading the comic and stopped because I was not enjoying it at all.

My library did not even carry this book. They got it from another town.

the decent from a great series into an experiment in poorly written porn continues. The blindly loyal fans want to believe that some of us just can't handle the sex, the point here is that the sex is supposed to be a part of the real story, not the story in every book. Poor writing, new powers that occur whenever required is more poor writing than anything else. Too many good, better written series out there to spend my time on this mess. Read any of Patricia Briggs books if you care to see what a good writer can do.

I did not buy this book based on Hamilton's previous 6 or 7 offerings. I borrowed it from the library so I wouldn't spend any money on it. The story was okay compared to "long" novels of the past few years. This is at best a novella, however, the price does not reflect it. The story itself was a little more interesting than her previous novels with only one sex scene (surprise). I liked the fact that Anita basically had to depend on herself rather than all the men in her life. I think the self serving preface and afterward (along with the cartoons) could have been left out; I'd rather have more of a story than autobiographical bull_____.

I've been an Anita Blake fan and LKH fan for some time now and loved the earlier novels - perhaps even up to Danse Macabre (minus Micah, another short story). Recent Anita novels have been short, loaded with pages and pages of mind-numbing dialogue between the main characters and very little action. It also seems that each new novel covers only one event or one day in the life of Anita ... at this rate these books could go on forever! This most recent entry, Flirt, is no different. At only 171 double-spaced, sparse pages (including an intro and 13!! pages of Afterword on how the author gets her ideas). The story itself was fun and riveting in it's own way, with interesting characters and less gratuitous sex but short, very short....would barely make a skinny paperback. I'm no longer adding these new novels to my home collection, but basically heeding the advice of other reviewers and just checking them out at the library.

I think that it's time for Anita Blake to die! LKH has done way to much damage to the series with the post menopause weird sexual fantasies, that it is impossible to recover her character's worth and believability. My advice, a new character, just remember love scenes are ok, love scenes with 10-40 different men a no no. Also keep the character within reason IE: no absorbing all the beneficial supernatural traits without any of the downsides. lol in other words if she has the benefits of all the wares and vamps at least make the character have a fuzzy patch :)

A very strange thing has happened. I reviewed this "book" a few days ago. I had the name of a e-reader in the title. That review is nowhere to be found. I guess I made the mistake of (1) mentioning the brand name of the reader or (2) referring to the number of pages tha book actually was on my reader. It will be interesting to see if this review survives. This "book" is a short story. It seems to me that LKH can't write a longer story anymore unless she inserts all the sex scenes. I loved her Anita Blake books when I first found the series, but I just can't believe how the series has ddeteriorated. The thing that is most amazazing, though, is that my first review has "mysteriously" disappeared. This "book" is a short story. It belongs in a collections of Anita Blake stories. The high price of the book for the length of the novel is UNBELIEVABLE! I made the mistake of not checking the length before purchase. I will never make that mistake again.

I can't believe Laurell Hamilton is an award winning writer. I used to be an avid fan of her books. She wrote the first paranormal romance that I ever read. I was hooked on her books and others. But some seven or eight books later Anita Blake was a joke, a sick one at that. I thought I'd try her again to see if things have gotten better, but like a soap opera where you can pick up the series without missing a beat, this book falls in the been there done that place. Oh yes Anita is now a lion. She was just a sex maniac the last time I left her, but the story or should I say short story was the same nonsense. Someone should stop this woman from writing and give poor Anita a long overdue break.

i have read all anita blake novels up till this one and i must admit i have found a few later books in the series tedious with the repeat descriptions of charecters, long winded dribble describing outfits, continuous arguements about the exact same issues from the cops she works with and some characters -richard especially- aswell as anitas own mind numbing inner monologue about how she doesnt like sleeping with everyone and anyone but does it anyway or her metaphysical issues -i swear if i have to read that word one more time im gonna be tempted to scratch my own eyes out- or how unattractive she says she is while all men bow at her feet , or even picking up strays like the rspca (pound) is having a 10 for 1 sale on all wareanimals. i still read them all and for the most part enjoyed them. what pi$$es me off is that i PAY for this book without being forwarned that its not actually really a full length novel like the others -under 200 pages on my kindle, which i wouldnt have bought if id known- AND ITS A RECYCLED PLOT almost exactly the same as the laughing corpse with the exception her of picking up... thats right you guessed it ANOTHER 'mindf@#ked lover/pet' which we will all have to hear about when her guilt kicks in AGAIN. i feel ripped off and wouldnt have wasted my money or those hours of my life on this crap, for a new plot i can look past the above mentioned issues i have and enjoy it but this... what a waste!!!. if youve read laughing corpse i dont see much point to you reading this mini version of it.

Soooooooooo mad and disappointed the ENTIRE time all Laurell talked about was HERSELF and what a great writer she is and how everyone loves her.....then the story was way to short and confusing out of character and needless to say she gets ANOTHER helpless man to bind to her ....I understand that Anita dosnt like Haven I get that he's sexist and pushy and dosnt share well with the others I understand that's why she wouldn't like him but he's been patient and kept any other lion off her but and protected her and then she gets kidnapped and just sucks the life out of this poor insecure guy who's deeply wounded and makes him her lion Rex? WAY WAY out of character for ANITA she would never willing suck someone's life away like that yeah yeah yeah she "had" to to save her "men" but she would have never done something like that she would have fought hard to find another way there could have been another way! I'm very disappointed in Laurell for this book FYI its SHORT!

I do hereby vow to never, ever again purchase another Anita Blake vampire hunter novel again. I have been patient, waiting for the the stories to take me somewhere exciting and entertaining, but they haven't and I'm pretty sure they never will. LKH has let me down over and over again, and I do believe "Flirt" was the last draw... The book only has 158 pages of actual story (which was seriously disappointing to say the least) the rest of the pages were an insert on where her ideas come from (A really boring lunch date with her friends) and a comic about it all...

***SPOILER ALERT***

So out of 158 pages in hard cover at full Hard Cover prices you get; a small story, half of which is about flirting at a restaurant with a male server. A rich guy who wants his wife brought back to life. A couple of were-lions sniffing around Anita because she's in heat. Another man slave to add to the long, long list of sexual subservant men. All in all, it's a lot of copy and paste from her previous books and I found myself rolling my eyes in disgust.

Sorry LKH but I have truly tried to stick in there but I just can't afford to anymore...

I was so excited and eagerly awaited the next Anita Blake book. The series started off slow, but by the second book you are hooked. They get really, really good. But halfway through the series, they seem to get bogged down with more sex and less story line. But loving the series as a whole, I have stayed with them realizing that every author has bad books. However, Flirt is not just bad, it is terrible. The book is very light on story and action. I love Anita, but I also love the other characters in the series and they are hardly in here. At 247 pages, you won't miss a thing by skipping this one. I am sincerely hoping that the next one in June is better. I think Flirt was rushed and not given the attention or time Anita deserves and it reads just that way! Come on Laurell...

This could've been a good beginning to a longer novel in the Anita Blake series. After a sluggish first chapter, it seemed to have a spark of a better plot than the last several (or more) books, but the shorter length wasn't enough to give it time to come to a blaze. Other than that spark, the author is still repeating too many themes and dialogue from previous books (the "I'm not beautiful" theme was especially overdone - again - in this book). I hope the author can carry what little momentum she had beginning to go for her in this book into the next book in the series.

I loved this series when it started out. The characters were interesting, the story line was full and involved, and there was a lot of sex and violence, necessary components in any action series. Then came the sex obsession. I was enthusiastic that group sex was brought into mainstream writing, but then the books ceased to have any story, and the entire content was metaphyisical and physical sex only, with a paltry plot thrown in. For the last few books, I've been feeling less and less involved. Even so, it's never been so bad as this last book, "Flirt".

I was listening to the audio book, and after 10 minutes of the story I had heard the word "flirt" in one form or another about 100 times. I believe that if that word was removed from the book, you'd lose nearly half the pages. Anita was using it in every other sentence. Her entourage was using it. Even random bad guys started using it, for no apparent reason. The main bad guy even referred to her men and his own wife as their respective "Flirts". WTF? It seemed less of a story and more of an attempt to see just how many times Hamilton could cram that word into her writing.

Of course, Anita was 'forced' to pick up yet one more man for her harem. That seems to be a requirement of any of the books. Why can't she just go back to shooting people? Simple, yes, but entertaining. Even in the old books, I thought much too much time was spent talking about how she'd dispassionately shoot anyone she had to. Honestly, after as many people as she's killed, you'd think no one would be shocked (as the supernatural community seemed to always be) that she'd just sneak up and shoot someone. They had to discuss it at great length. Even so, this is much preferred to the current idiom.

Ok. I have to say that I once LOVED Anita Blake. I still kind of like her. I've read all of the books and like many of you, wonder where the "real Anita" went. That being said, I keep plugging along and read the books. I can't say that I hated Flirt. I found myself getting pulled into the story once it got going. I am really happy that Anita is raising zombies and doing what she does best. If there were just a few changes made I think that many people would have felt differently and maybe the ratings wouldn't be so horrible.

1. Don't insult our intelligence by calling this a novel and charging a novel price. This was a novella! The 192 pages is more like 150 pages once you take out the acknowledgements and the afterward/ comic strip.
2. LKH, you are the author, NOT Anita! Your arrogance is getting annoying! The entire first restaurant scene would have been so much less annoying if I didn't have to picture LKH and her hubby the entire time.

So, overall the meat of the story wasn't so bad. If you can get over LKH's huge ego and the price, you might enjoy this very short NOVEL...... ;0)

I have read every single Anita Blake Novel since the series inception and I have to say, pretty much since Narcissus in Chains the series has been on a downward slope. Somewhere along the way Anita's kick-ass-attitude has been replaced with I-need-to-screw-everything-not-nailed-down and I am soooo sick of it. Now,I am far from a Prude-I enjoy an erotic scene or two(three) but there is a difference between a solid storyline with an over-the-top erotic scene and an Over-the-top-borderline-ridiculous-continuous-orgy with a vague storyline thrown in to keep it from being SMUT. I had hoped Hamilton would take heed from her fans and perhaps dial back the sex/fury/orgy and center more on the Anita we all loved in The Laughing Corpse and Blue Moon. Alas, it would appear that our cries for a decent mystery/murder/intrigue have failed to reach the only orifice Anita hasn't explored; her EARS.
This "novella" is no different, save your $8 for gas money or a semi-good bottle of wine.

Another in the Anita Blake series, although you might be forgiven for thinking Ms Hamilton cut and paste large sections of previous works to create this flimsy work. The first 50 pages are the same as the last few books. And the main character is still going over the same old personal territory without any discernible growth. It's just gotten beyond tedious. If you like character driven plots with sharp dialogue and intriguing situations, this is not the book for you... LKH seems to have lost that around book 6 or 7 of this series and is unashamedly churning out book after book without anything new. And I must admit the childish "point for him" scoring that the main character does is demeaning and childish. But maybe, disappointingly, that's the eventual legacy of this series; immature characters dressed in late eighties outfits and hairdos (lovingly described) playing with sex and violence. Sadly this series started with great originality and appeal, even if it was always poorly written, but now, it's just poorly written.

This book was just a complete and total MESS. While I understand wanting to change it up and go in a new direction, this book was just a disaster. I feel that for the last 2 books now, the series has taken a horrible turn. The original characters and the relationships that developed have been pushed aside for the sake of putting new life into the series. Well, I would like to say, that I for one liked the old characters and their stories. I don't understand WHY she had to change her formula when it worked so well. This is book took me less than a couple hours to read and ended with me feeling like it was a big waste of time. I hope this doesn't turn people away from the series who were picking it up because it looked good. This book does not represent the series AT ALL.

If I would have known this was more about how she develops a story I would have waited and checked it out from the library. While some scenes were rather steamy, its becoming too hard to follow all of her conquests. There are so many that the connection she feels for them ALL is becoming really watered down. Stay with what worked. We liked it.

I have been dissappointed in the last couple of Anita novels (sex sex sex) but this one was her all the way. I enjoyed the "early style" of LKH's writing and this one was so like those early novels. Now I have to say, you have to know the history to understand most of this book, I have been a huge fan since her first novel.
I did miss JC, but like most of her novels this takes place in just a couple of days and you just can't fit everyone in.
So don't complain if you haven't done the homework! LKH I was very happy with this one, are you ever going to let her shift????

I am so disappointed in this release. It was a rip off. I understand this was an "EXTRA" and not a planed release. However in the future just add these types of "extras" into a book of short stories. It was no treat paying for a hard book cover and getting what is equal to maybe 5 chapters worth of a book. Most of this book is filler. What happened to the 400 odd pages of hard core independent woman? Take my advice and go read it for free at the library. I usually read the first chapter of a book before i purchase it. Trust me this "book" will take you about the same amount of time it takes you to read it back to front as it usually takes for you to decide if your interested in a new or unknown to you author.

Apart from being too short and a rip off >=I
I do see possibilities with this. I just hope they are not wasted by LKH.

I recommend you not buy this book.

FYI No Vamps in the spot light at all in this book.

I am glad I am not the only one who is beyond disappointed in this book and the previous Anita and Merry books too. In this book is as everyone is stating there is no real plot. The "flirt" story reads as if part of it got lost in the mail on the way to the editor.

Anita picks up yet another stray to add to the batch, no surprise there anymore. The silver lining on the stray is that she took his free will so he will be incapable of making a decision on his own. I wonder who is going to be babysitting him? LKH has an opportunity here. Will she miss it?

What happened to her moral high ground? I admired that about Anita. She is tough, and straightforward but there were times when she really struggled with the right and wrong of a decision. This time it was "Oh golly I am going to take his freewill. Oops!" Shrug. Might as well insert a giggle or two in there. That is so not Anita. She would really care that she was forced to make that decision and it would bother her.

Also when we last left Anita she was bunking at Guilty Pleasures with Jean-Claude and Asher and now all of a sudden she is back home with Micah and Nathanial?

LKH left out 50% of the book by not relating what the boys were going through. What happened exactly to figure out she was in trouble. Who figured out who the snipers were? How did they torture them to get the info? What happened to Damian and Nathaniel when the link was severed? Didn't Jean-Claude figure it out when he woke up and no one was home on the vamp-link?

It is not just Anita anymore. The boys have become an essential part of any book. You really can't tell her story without them.

I saw her at a book signing in Portland with a friend and we both left thinking she was disingenuous, uninterested. Now having read this book I am beginning to think there is a lot to that statement. She is writing like she's not really interested.

Laurelll what has happened to you? Where did you go? Do you truly consider this writing worthy of your previous work? What about all those stories that have been hanging for years? The Anita/Nathaniel/Damien triumvirate, the wolf pack, the rats have not been seen is ages. Even the sex is getting boring!

Skip it and check it out at the library or just get it from your friend. They will be done with it in 15 to 20 minutes anyway and I doubt they will want it back.

The 'book' was entertaining enough and a good filler in between full length novels. I just think it needs to be marketed and sold for what it is. I reserved a copy at the library and would have been furious if I'd ordered this and paid full price only to discover it was little more than a short story. I also think the author comments and illustrations seem a little self indulgent. Do we really care what her inspiration was for the story? Isn't this the kind of thing you could go to her web site and read about if you cared enough to do so? I don't. Those were wasted pages that only a die hard LKH fan or members of her family would appreciate. To the rest of us it's just annoying. I have high hopes for her next book Bullet but will wait my turn at the library instead of paying full price.

after the last fiasco of skin trade, i swore i'd never spend good money on an LKH book again but stupid me saw it staring beningly from the walmart shelf and bought it anyway. The underlying story is good...but i digress...the story in a mere backdrop to the anita and her blazing libido. i have no issue with a strong, sexually confident woman but the invention of the ardeur has become its own cross to bear. All roads lead to anita's pants and the sex scenes are written so poorly that you often forget which book you are reading. they are repetitious and as dull as a box of hammers. i'm also bored to tears over anita's ever growing collection of men. they're weak and weak minded. Richard is painted as the jerk for wanting monogamy while Micah is a door mat, who stands there and smiles as anita mounts yet another limp wristed rag doll. the plot over all is good but this is too short of a snippet to be satisfying and it ends in the same manner as the last few (several) books. it feels like nothing new dressed up with a pretty bow. the story about how it all came about is okay but quite honestly...i don't want to know how the magic happens...it ruins the effect.

Readers should be aware that this book is like a bonus installment of Anita, much like her turn in Micah (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 13). It is a very short, quick read that has rather a lot of back matter explaining the author's creative process and her friends. It's not all that bad, really, with the shorter format LKH limits her sex to one interlude and it actually makes sense in service to the story. Her fans have been begging for what she gives us here - Anita back on her original job, raising the dead for money with less orgies. Some substance. While a few characters are rather flat, it was good to see a human as the 'big bad' that set this all in motion. No vampires in this one, which is a shame - I'd have liked to see J-C get a hold of Jacob....

Honestly, there isn't much more to add considering how many other reviews there are about this novella/short story "not book."

LKH should have printed this like Micah--a novella that comes out in paperback only, the cheapest book solution outside any ebook. I feel sorry for anyone who bought this book new. It was mostly blank pages and space after short chapters.

More people have gone into more detail about how the title lacked content, drive, etc. but not only did it read fast, but it was also inconsistent. In particular, one character was noted for having one eye. Only later on Anita looked into that character's eyes. Really, for something so short, you'd think you would remember a major descriptive element to that character (his only real distinguishable marker from all Anita's other love slaves).

If you're an Anita Blake fan because you're loyal despite declining quality in the series, borrow this from a friend or the library or something, but don't spend money for it full price. It's actually insulting to the fans that LKH offered this as a hardback.

I decided to borrow this one from the library this time instead of taking a chance on wasting my money again. I thought the storyline was much better than those in previous books. However it was not good enough or long enough to warrant the price of the book. I thought there was to much explaining of the "why's" of everthing, in fact going over the same area's several times. For one who has read the past books this gets old very fast. I was glad to see there was not as much sex in this one as in previous books. I am not against sex in books at all but when that is all you get I get bored with it.

I know this book was done from Anita's view point but it would have been great if Ms. Hamiliton could have found a way to tell us how the "guys" found the snipers and got the information of Anita's whereabouts from them. Ms. Hamiliton you could have left out the part of the widow that wanted to cut up her dead husband as it did not relate to the story at all.

I bought my first "Anita Blake" book in a long time yesterday. Lately, I've been going to Borders, sitting with a cup of coffee, just to read the 50 or so pages of actual plot available in her books. I thought this one might be better. Well, yes and no. At least here wasn't bad porn every other page. She got her character back to her profession as necromancer. But this was a novella, and very thin on plot. In the early Anita Blake books, this would have been a chapter, maybe two, of an entire book. This would have been a one-cup read, it was so short.
You're heading in the right direction, Laurell, just write a whole book next time, please.

I am a long time LKH fan, I started with her first book(I think first) Nightseer and went from there. Her first 5 books about Anita were very good to great. Then the hardbacks started and the porno. From there her stories began to go downhill. Now this is strange her Fey series and the hugemongous amount of explict sex feel more natural to her stories then the Anita Blakes books. Mostly I quickly flip pass that to get to more action unless in some ways it ties into the story.

Fans joked in early books aobut the new power of the day, where it seem she developed something new in each books. One of the things an author must watch out for is making the hero or heroine too powerful. I mean it. Superman would not had lasted as long as he had if his two weakness had not been added. Kryptonite and Magic. lol.

Well Anitia weakness is she forgets to use what she learn in the last couple of books int the one your are reading now. Does any body remember how in one early book she mental grabbed the heart of the vampire that was the beast master and threaten to rip it out. That has never happen again. Wow so Anita selected memory is her weaknes,

Watch she will never again use her necromancer power to cool down the beats as she did in this one.

Now she did admit in this book the afterwords that Micah was a spur of the moment book. God it had to be someting like that, at least they did not try to palm it off on use as a Hardback. This one should of been shoved over to her comic books, never pass the publisher of novels.

I have to admit that there is tons less of excess sex in her short works. I actually like this story, and think that it would of been a great lead in to a bigger work, What happen to the woman who wanted to bring her husband back so she could chop him up with an axe? She just disappeared from the story.

They bragged about knowing Anita, oh, Ted( edward) Olaf, did they not know about them? I dont care how professional a killer you are those two you not want looking for you.

Finally this is the most monster Anita has every shown. She definitely not worried anymore about lossing her humaness. She cold bloodly cut a throat, and killed the client, while this scene is very simalar to one is her 2,3rd book, It completely different in her attitudes.

I gave it 3 stars, this is for the combination of a good story, less sex, too small, and the lousy price on the books, max its a 7.99 not $23.99 the store has discounted it tremendously. Good for them. I hope Bullet is better.

Ms. Hamilton has obviously gotten very, very greedy, and I feel extremely ripped off.

I was given the hardcover "Flirt" book as a gift from my sweet husband who knows I have every book written by Ms. Hamilton - I've been a huge fan...until now.

The book doesn't have very many pages in the first place, so the fact that she left blank 29 pages (1/2 pages were added together to create a full page of blankness)was very dissapointing. There were pages with only a few words on them and 6 more pages were of horribly drawn childlike cartoon drawings.

In these economic times, at least in my house, books are a luxury. The cover price said $23.95 USA, so you can see why I'm a disgruntled fan who got maybe $2.00 worth of story.

What a thoughful gift my husband tried to give me. What a greedy, rude Author.

Today I foud out that Ms. Hamilton has a website, and writes blogs, so I wrote Ms. Hamilton a note on her website explaining that I will not be buying anymore books from her and why. I saw that she blogged that she was leaving Paris, and that made me pretty angry. She is having a lot of expensive fun, while I finish reading (might take 1 hour to read) the rip-off book that probably paid for the nice trip.

I hope that others let her know that this is unacceptable!

This book literally made me physically sick. This is not Anita. This is a monster without a concience (sp). I am glad I did not purchase this tiny "book" and the library appreciates me not damaging it after reading. Anita seems to realize she is a monster and yet does nothing to control it and even makes it worse. A Rex lion on his knees crawling; she coldly kills another as a zombie sacrifice; she orders zombies to mercilessly kill a human. The kicker: her "sweeties" had it under control.

Let me just say that I am a fan of Ms. Hamilton's writing style and personally do not feel that just anyone could've written this novel. However, every single person on her "team" from editors to support readers to her inner circle should have been honest with her about her content. It's short and in no way up to the standards of her previous work. This is NOT worth the listing price of a $16.00 novel. It's a novella and as such lacks the features one would expect of a true - LONG FORM - novel. What I miss the most about both Anita's trials and Ms. Hamilton's writing is the surprise and intrigue that used to lurk behind every page. To me it is as if the last half of this series simply exists for sales and sales alone. It truly may be time to let Anita go and let this series end. There is nothing of depth here worth reading. Check it out from the library but please don't support this farce of fiction by buying in. Maybe the author will get the point. She started strong but could not stay the pace.

I received FLIRT in the mail and read it in an hour, though I admit, i skimmed in parts because I kept waiting for something interesting to happen! I'm not talking about tons of multi-partner sex that has been so central to the Anita Blake books since Cerulean Sins, either. I was getting tired of that 'story arc' as it was. No, I was waiting for this to build on the intitial premise, which finally had Anita back in the office and dealing with the zombie-raising business. It doesn't, really. It is poorly written, predictable and downright insulting. There are no plot twists, no surprises, no interesting new characters. Honestly, this feels like an outline, a summary of a novel that could have been. One that would have resurrected this series instead of putting the last nail in the coffin.

Sigh.....What a disappointment. Do NOT waste money buying this "book". The story is OK, so just check it out from your local library. It is not as bad as _Micah_ was, because Anita stays in the action. Though Hamilton does repeat her ploy of having Anita unconscious so that she can change scenes without bothering to write about it. Worth reading only if it is free.

Ok, I meant to drop the series, but there it was, right on the bookstore shelf, a copy of Flirt. Flirting with my desire to read a good book. I thought, 'how bad could it be?' and wow, was it bad. In about 20 minutes I skimmed the entire double spaced short story. Random supernatural sex-politics, (shifter, were-lion), check. Random useless sex scene where Anita violates what little ethical sense she has left, check. Random male added to harem, check. Randomly commenting on how 'this circumstance' makes Anita super-powerful in some manner, check. Amazingly not worth it price ($24 on front cover), check. It was like I completed a 'bad book bingo' game.

DON'T BUY THIS.

I loved the book. I found it a fun read. What I am having trouble with are all those people who are "bashing" the book. First - those of you who complained about it being 156 pages - YOU ALREADY KNEW IT before you bought it. Secondly - if you didn't like the previous books - WHY DID YOU BUY IT this time? I get so frustrated with some of these reviewers. I realize we are ALL entitled to our own opinions - that's what makes posting so great. But honestly - I think some people buy a book simply to complain about it.

If you are a FAN of Laurell K. Hamilton - you will LOVE the book. It was a fast, fun read. If you are not a fan - than I am sure you will buy it simply to bash it.

I don't normally count pages, but I was disappointed at the length of the book, until I read it...then it couldn't end quick enough...it just was not an interesting book...I thought maybe LKH didn't write it, but then a lot of her catch phrases were there...it was not her best work...I'm hoping the new one with Anita Blake, is more cohesive and interesting...I have read EVERYthing she has written, and this was the most uninspired I've read of her works...I'm going to hang in there, and hopefully the next will be as good as previous ones have been...

I knew it was going to be short before I read it she even said it was going to be just like Micah in length.So I don't know why everyone's complaining on that front. It was a nice short book thought the price could be brought down a little but other then that it was a excellent story.

I have read all of the Anita Blake series. I have to say that I really hate these novellas that LKH comes up with. Micah was bad enough, but this one really sucks.

First of all for the price, this is a really short story. Only 158 pages and a lot of repetition. This is also poorly edited. I have to wonder if anybody reads these books before they go to press. I would be glad to read them and point out the errors.

On to the story - while I liked the idea of Flirt, it just became another reason for Anita to take on a new partner. Don't get me wrong - unlike some other readers, I like the sex in the books, but I would like to see the sex with the characters I like. The plot is ok and the bad guys are somewhat interesting, but with a story this short, it is hard to get into the plot and the new lover and her own low self esteem issues.

The worst part about this book for me is that this is the third book in a row with no Jean Claude and the second book with no Richard. For those newbies, they are central characters and most of us old timers like them and the dynamic they bring to a story.

It's usually a bad sign of some writers block when Pride & Prejudice quotes start showing up in books. Yes, the original is great, but a lot of authors seem to use it when they're in the weeds.

One of the weakest of the series run, this is really a short story that skips over a LOT of the familar and well-liked characters. One of the really frustraiting things about the later works in this series is that every story seems to be dealing with new issues and none of the (more interesting) questions raised in the past. This one is no exception. Forget every issue Anita has been struggling with at the end of every other story, here is a whole new cute little emotional fanny-pack (and a new were animal) to add to the confusion.

As much as I loved others in this series, it may be done for me.

Oh, yes, those first Anita Blake novels were quite stunning, with wonderful imagery and fun characters and lots of sexual tension. I've had to get them all from the library after a friend recommended them to me, and I've had to endure a steady decline of quality now since I've read them all in the past 8 months. I cannot imagine how bad the books will eventually get, but this bit of ballast sank deep.

I imagine it's about double-spaced, and after finishing it this evening, I think I can say that it has...one and a half events occurring, and half a sex scene. I'm shocked at that $24 price tag, and insist that all of you simply put this stinker on reserve at the local library, wait a few weeks/months, and you'll thank me for it. Even if you spend that $24 on fried fast food, you'll still be doing yourself a monumental favor by not purchasing this dreck of a novella.

I am a HUGE LKH Fan. Having read all Anita and Merry books, I was very disappointed with this purchase. I read the book in about 2hours....not worth the PRICE! The only interesting thing I took out of it was a peek into Hamilton's mind on how she gets the ideas to create her stories. I was so looking forward to this book, counting the days til the release date....and got a total let down. I knew going into the purchase that it would be a SHORT story, but it did not qualify as a what she stated on her web site as a "Surprise Anita Novel". The story itself should have been a part of a Novella with other authors, because there just was NOT enough story to justify the purchase of it on it's own. Even if released in paperback for $7.99, it would still not be worth the price. In todays economy, authors such as herself, should appreciate fans like myself that BUY every one of her books, and not take advantage of that fact.

Just in case LKH is reading this....WE WANT MORE JEAN CLAUDE!!! Stick to the characters that made Anita who she is...Anita has stated many times in her recent books..."SHE HAS ENOUGH MEN ON HER PLATE"!!! Fans want more to see more of her relationship with the characters we love...enough with her being an UBERWHORE!!! The first six books of this series were sexually frustrating and then went into overdrive by Narcissus in Chains. Dont get me wrong, I do love the steamy scences...but can she stick with, what's it now...10 MEN... on her plate...SHE DOES NOT NEED MORE!!!!!!

Let's just hope BULLET is worth the wait!

Flirt is actually not that bad of a story. But then again, I didn't pay for it, a friend gifted it to me. So I don't have the "I paid my hard earned money - for this?" issues to work through.

I was happy NOT to have to read through really, really bad sex scenes. While I love erotica, porn without plot has its place. But eating up page after page of a detective novel is not exactly where I would put it. Especially, as it's repetitive and boring. I hate having to flip through bad sex, to read a book, it just gets annoying. (Fun the first time around, not so much the tenth or fifteenth.)

Until we get a plot, no new Anita men, (can you keep track of who's already there?) and Anita's powers diminish, so she becomes less of a Mary Sue, we can only read the series, hoping that it gets better. After all, if she's never in any danger that magic Anita sex can't prevent, how exciting can the book be? Also, for God sakes, kill off a man or three. It'll help give the plot line some sort of credibility.

The rehashed ending, which reminded me of Bloody Bones, dropped the rating down two stars.

Buy the early books through NiC. Anything after that, get from the library.

****THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS****
I had such high hopes for this book, but once again, a complete let down. I own the entire series. I fell in love the story and the characters right away. The last several books have been real disappointments. This one may be the worst with its obvious lack of effort. First of all, I don't care if it is published in hard cover with a dust jacket, 158 pages is not a novel. I read it in an hour. Of course, to be fair, the plot is recycled so that may have sped things up. For those of you who have read the series you may remember "The Laughing Corpse". Bad guy wants to raise someone he shouldn't. Anita refuses. Bad Guys kidnap Anita to force her hand and Anita uses Zombie to kill bad guys and escape. Now in "The laughing Corpse" there are additional story lines, character development, and a continuous theme. "Flirt" doesn't really have any of those. Some other characters make cameo appearances at the very beginning and end, but other wise none of your favorite characters appear. The names have been changed but the story remains the same. Well actually, some of the names have been changed. "Cerulean Sins" begins with raising of Gordon Bennington. The villain in "Flirt", also named Bennington. One of the goons is named Nicky, same as Nathaniel's late brother. How difficult is it to flip through a phone book for a new name? Who did the editing? I can't believe this was published! Complete waste of money. Face it people, Anita Blake is dead. If this is all the effort Hamilton can muster, let the series die.

I just started reading this series this January 2010. I really liked the entire series, however by the time I came to this book I think I'm finally burned out. With that being said, I really did not care for this last book and was SUPER glad I got it from the library and did not waste my money on it. I really don't think this added to the series at all.

I am a *huge* fan of the earlier Anita Blake books.

But the last few in the series have been...overly laden with personal drama and not enough plot. I'm ok with sex scenes - even graphic ones - as long as it somehow advances the plot.

Flirt is better but still not quite as good as the first 8 or 9 Anita books. Here's my breakdown:

PROS:
-Anita gets over some of her "rules" and inhibitions to do what is necessary, and avoid making tense situations worse. Something I've been waiting to see her do for a LONG time. So, there was character development/furthering the Anita story in Flirt.
-Plot is better
-Narrative is pretty direct.
-Sex scenes seem to have a point, not just added in for the sake of sex like the last few Anita books

CONS:
-It's very short. I'm OK with a "novella" like Micah, but please - bill it as a NOVELLA, not a full price novel.
-I didn't see much point in the whole "flirt" theme as explained Author's Note. I was OK with the book itself, but I thought trying to label the theme of flirting was just a little silly.

All in all, if you're an Anita fan, I'd say it's worth reading. I really hope that Flirt indicates the direction and style LKH will be resuming with Anita. However, if you are new to the series I would NOT start with this book.

I would also say, buy it on sale - do not pay the full cover price, which was almost as much as a regular hard cover novel.

It was nice - it makes me hopeful - but this was not a mind blowing novel in of itself.

This will be the last time I will pay for a hard cover novel from this author. This book was not worth the price. It was the equivalent of a short story that could of shown up in an anthology.
It did nothing to move Anita's story along. And while the Vampire Hunter series is not my favorite I have been reading them since the beginning. Some I didn't like, some I did. This was just not enough of a novel for me. If I had known I would of waited for it to come out in paperback.

Having invested so many years in the Anita Blake series, I wasn't about to miss one. Wish I'd read the reviews here first and I wouldn't have wasted 1-1/2 hours of my life I'll never get back!

The plot is boring, the dialogue is boring, and the characters were BORING!!!

You really can skip this book and still read the rest of the series because, trust me, nothing of consequence happens in this book that can't be re-told in one paragraph in the next story.

Hey, did the publisher forget the last 300 pages? I suspect the hardcover will be no thicker than my kindle. Of course you do get to add the pages of Laurell explaining 'how I got my idea' and giving her friend the cartoonist some free publicity in an attempt to fill more space. Very disappointing when you are expecting a novel and get a short story. Save your money and wait to pick this one up from the used book store for a dollar.

I just started reading this series this January 2010. I really liked the entire series, however by the time I came to this book I think I'm finally burned out. With that being said, I really did not care for this last book and was SUPER glad I got it from the library and did not waste my money on it. I really don't think this added to the series at all.

I am a *huge* fan of the earlier Anita Blake books.

But the last few in the series have been...overly laden with personal drama and not enough plot. I'm ok with sex scenes - even graphic ones - as long as it somehow advances the plot.

Flirt is better but still not quite as good as the first 8 or 9 Anita books. Here's my breakdown:

PROS:
-Anita gets over some of her "rules" and inhibitions to do what is necessary, and avoid making tense situations worse. Something I've been waiting to see her do for a LONG time. So, there was character development/furthering the Anita story in Flirt.
-Plot is better
-Narrative is pretty direct.
-Sex scenes seem to have a point, not just added in for the sake of sex like the last few Anita books

CONS:
-It's very short. I'm OK with a "novella" like Micah, but please - bill it as a NOVELLA, not a full price novel.
-I didn't see much point in the whole "flirt" theme as explained Author's Note. I was OK with the book itself, but I thought trying to label the theme of flirting was just a little silly.

All in all, if you're an Anita fan, I'd say it's worth reading. I really hope that Flirt indicates the direction and style LKH will be resuming with Anita. However, if you are new to the series I would NOT start with this book.

I would also say, buy it on sale - do not pay the full cover price, which was almost as much as a regular hard cover novel.

It was nice - it makes me hopeful - but this was not a mind blowing novel in of itself.

This will be the last time I will pay for a hard cover novel from this author. This book was not worth the price. It was the equivalent of a short story that could of shown up in an anthology.
It did nothing to move Anita's story along. And while the Vampire Hunter series is not my favorite I have been reading them since the beginning. Some I didn't like, some I did. This was just not enough of a novel for me. If I had known I would of waited for it to come out in paperback.

Having invested so many years in the Anita Blake series, I wasn't about to miss one. Wish I'd read the reviews here first and I wouldn't have wasted 1-1/2 hours of my life I'll never get back!

The plot is boring, the dialogue is boring, and the characters were BORING!!!

You really can skip this book and still read the rest of the series because, trust me, nothing of consequence happens in this book that can't be re-told in one paragraph in the next story.

Hey, did the publisher forget the last 300 pages? I suspect the hardcover will be no thicker than my kindle. Of course you do get to add the pages of Laurell explaining 'how I got my idea' and giving her friend the cartoonist some free publicity in an attempt to fill more space. Very disappointing when you are expecting a novel and get a short story. Save your money and wait to pick this one up from the used book store for a dollar.

I've never felt the need to write a review before but this book was so horrible I wanted to warn others to not waste their money. I paid for 100 some pages of garbage. The story was so choppy I kept hitting the page back button on my kindle thinking I'd missed a chapter. Half of the of the book is the author talking about how great she is at he end of the book in the "afterword". I loved this series but the last couple of books leave me to feel like the author has lost the passion for the story and just pushing out short "books" to make money. Save your money and disappointing.

I agree with what other people's comments. This book sucked big time. Trust me just get a copy from the local library. I had hight hopes, whas waiting for this book, and when I saw how thin it was, I knew it was going to be a disappointment. I went ahead and got it anyways because her earlier work was super. Boy was that money down the drain. She did much better with Micah as a side story, and frankly her characters are beginning to annoy me. I sure hope the next one is much better.

I have followed this series from the start and have loved it. But I was very disappointed and irritated with this book. 1. It was way too short for a hard cover full price book. Why not put it out in a soft cover trade and lower the price. 2. The plot/story line was forgettable. This was a short story, not a novel. Whatever happened to the wealth of plot twists and character development that was the hallmark of the earlier books? Where is Anita's police work and the relationships with those characters? Why has Anita never agreed to the fourth mark? Where are Richard, Asher and Jean Claude? Please bring back the in depth story lines. 3. This is a "filler" for a series, it feels like a sop to the publishers and an insult to the readers. I'd prefer to wait another 6 months to a year for a better written, longer, a better developed story. I ended up returning the book, not even wanting to keep it in my library.

Why on earth can't Laurell K Hamilton listen to her fans? I had heard she was 'devoted' to her fan base. Why doesn't she listen when people tell her that her books are porn garbage? This one is sadly no exception. I didn't even bother finishing it, it's just sad. Her first 9 books were Amazing. Then, they brutally turned to porn and lost any notion of an original story line.

She keeps writing crap, even though her fans are screaming in protest.

Insubstantial book that I read in under 2 hours and quickly forgot. Nice to see Anita back to zombies instead of all the other junk, but no vamps in sight, no nothing, really. Two stars for better editing than usual. Not bad, but not worth a whole book, this should be an entry in a short story collection. Read it if you are a fan, but get it from the library!

As someone who has read all of LKH's books to date, I can say that I have been disappointed somewhat often in the last few books in the series. However, this is the first book she's released so far that I've been disappointed in not because of her writing, but because of one simple thing: THE PRICE.

This book is a short story/novella that begins with Anita getting a call from two different bereaved spouses who want Anita to raise their significant others from the grave. Both have very different reasons for doing so. However when Anita finds herself kidnapped & at the mercy of two werelions who claim to be working for someone who wants their spouse raised, she finds herself at a difficult choice. Either she raises the dead spouse & sacrifices someone to do so or the werelions' accomplices will order one of Anita's men killed.

Now, I actually liked this book for the most part. With the last few books LKH's writing has been getting a little better. She's not up to her old snuff, but it's enjoyable. I liked that in this book Anita does seem to explore her own existing powers more rather than take on her umpteenth new power/deux ex machina. I also like that the book's one sole sex scene actually furthers the plot along for the most part rather than just stick out (no pun intended) like some sore thumb in the book.

HOWEVER, the plot isn't all that meaty. It's not bad for a short story, but it just felt a little light even for the 158-ish pages that the story itself runs for. It just didn't seem to satisfy my hunger entirely. (And yes, I actually was enjoying this book enough to want a teense bit more of it or for it to be a little meatier.) Even though it's short, it still felt like it was missing a little something extra. A little more suspense as to who the bad guy is maybe? All I know is that it needed a little something extra added to it.

This brings me to my biggest peeve with the book. It's too short for it to be full hardback price. When books like 'Twilight' & such can be released in hardback, have more pages & STILL charge about twenty dollars or less for the book, it's hard to justify such a short book costing about twenty five dollars. I kind of feel like this is a bit unfair to the people purchasing it. (I read it at work for free as usual.) This just felt like the publishing company was taking unfair advantage of the fans who purchase their Anita books as soon as they are released. It could have & should have been released cheaper.

Anita fans, wait for this to hit the sales racks of your local bookstore or pick up a copy at the used bookstore- just don't pay full price for this.

EDIT:

I feel the need to add an afterthought to this review. I did not remove any stars for the length of the book. I had debated it, but in the end I gave the book the rating I believe that it deserved.

I disliked that the book was released with such a short length at such a high price for what was ultimately a lengthy short story because I felt like the average LKH fan would not be getting enough bang for their buck & there will be many who will feel the need to purchase this despite their reservations about the short length. I've rang up one person who *wasn't* aware of how short the book was & was a bit angry that the book was so short & the publishing company was charging so much for it.

I feel like I have read this story (I refuse to call this short story a book) a million times before. Too much angsting and whining, boring conversations. LHK trying to be funny, hip, edgy or poignant, but coming off as delusional. Dull characters who think they are better than everyone else. Oh yeah, and another pushover to join the harem of milksops. Anita now solves crimes with sex instead of her brain and/or weapons and it's super annoying. These books used to be so bad they were kinda funny, but now they are just pathetic. Do not read!

this was an ok short story but priced as a novel. i love this series but am so offended now that two of the books were just short stories. what a great way to piss off your fans. i just dont get it. farewell anita ~ i wont be buying anymore "books", which makes me sad.

It just keeps getting worse. This book just screams laziness. It's basically the same dialogue and characters as the Meredith Gentry books. Nothing really happens and it's only 150 pages. I'm giving up on Laurell K Hamilton after this. It's hard since her first several books in each series were wonderful, but I'm done wasting my time and money waiting for her to start writing a decent book again. What happened to plot development and series progression and climaxes other than orgasms! Goodbye Laurell K. Hamilton. You're off my shopping list for good.

Flirt- the 18th installment in the Anita Blake series- is nothing to write home about. It was also nothing much to read.

The story almost feels like a stand alone. Granted, there are references and sub-texts from past stories to draw upon, but none really impacted the story. Which would have been hard to do, given what story there was. This novel/novella/novelette contains quite a bit of padding before and after which is interesting- not so much what it is as to why it's there.

**SPOILER ALERTS**

A rich man wants Anita to resurrect his dead wife. She refuses on 'ethical grounds'(funny!) as it seems the man wants to resume their marriage, which she tries to explain is impossible. He leaves unsatisfied, and Anita and a few boytoys- Nathaniel, Jason and Micah- head off to lunch together. Lunch is all about the science and skill of flirting: touching, eye contact, double entendres, flattery... To emphasize this, the waiter that comes to take their orders is completely flustered by the mere presence of Nathaniel; Anita rises to the challenge and makes her own lasting impression upon him. Back at Animators Inc. a wealthy woman wants Anita to resurrect her dead husband so she can exact a terrible vengeance upon him; Anita refuses this time on 'moral grounds'- which is again, comical, given Anita's behavior. Anita returns to the same restaurant for another lunch, where the same waiter approaches her, hoping for more than flirting. During the encounter Anita senses another shapeshifter- a were-lion- and the lioness in her responds eagerly, despite the danger. Another lion- Nick- joins them, boxing her into their trap, and they threaten mayhem if she doesn't comply. They bring her to one of the former spurned clients, who won't take no for an answer.

** END SPOILERS**

The title FLIRT should be taken literally, as that's the focus of the novel. Every Anita encounter with the were-lions- which take up the bulk of the story- is about the male/female ritual and establishing one's dominance, as well as the constant references to the deceased blond wife as a 'furry' and the many beautiful men in Anita's life. It's also expanded upon in the Afterword, where LKH pontificates for thirteen pages about her writing process. Here you get a blow by blow description of a real-life encounter with a waiter that inspired the novel, which is repeated almost verbatim in the lunch scene. Hamilton states that her work on Divine Misdemeanors was hindered by the overwhelming, looming presence of this story idea in her head. And in case you still don't get it, you're treated to a five-page cartoon strip done by Jennie Breeden, author of 'Devil's Panties' online comics spoofing the seminal moment. Combined with three pages of dedications and an intro focused upon said waiter encounter... that's twenty pages of clutter wrapped around some light reading.

Though it's been remarked before, here you really can see where Hamilton is both recycling old plots and how unconcerned she is with maintaining continuity. The climatic scene takes place in a graveyard, an almost blow by blow rehash of the finale in Laughing Corpse- where she took down Dominga Salvador and the others. Prior to this Anita notes with some surprise how much added power sacrificing a were adds to her necromancy... except that she's been aware of this for some time now. Toss in all the tired, boring, endless inane drivel about how ugly Anita thinks she is because she's not blond/skinny/pale and all the boyz constantly reassuring her that she's the sexiest woman alive, you really gotta wonder why you're even bothering with this one. The only new development in the story is that Anita adds yet another male to the harem- and what's so new about that?

Flirt adds practically nothing to the Anita Blake canon and ultimately comes across as a cheap money grab or something to fulfill contractual obligations with. But just because Hamilton had to put it out doesn't mean you have to buy it.

The first of the series was great and improved with each book. I don't know what happened but the down slide officially start a couple of books back and bottomed out with this one. Read the first half of this series, then reread them and you will get the same stories as the last half and save alot of money.

Very disappointed in the very short length sold at a full-sized book price. This would have been far better as a bonus to a full-length book instead of as a stand-alone item at this price. The before/afters don't make up for the fact that this story on its own wasn't enough to release as a book. Feeling VERY ripped off and will seriously consider whether to continue buying Laurell Hamilton's "books" after this.

Seeing the other reviews, I'm glad I wasn't the only one who felt ripped off by this book.

VERY short - it came across as a half-hour episode of a TV crime series.

Anita was ridiculously humble as always - okay, we get it, you don't think you're attractive - move on. At least this time she didn't drone on in dialogue for 30 pages with someone else who doesn't understand her multiple boyfriends. Thank god almighty.

The Anita Blake series has been going downhill for a while, but this is officially the last time I waste my time and money on a Laurell K. Hamilton book.

This book is a joke!! I actually read it at the library while waiting for a friend. I think this book just sucked!!!! give me a break she writes a book about a flirting experience she had..sounds like she needs to get a life! thank god I didn't waste no money or a library card on it lol

I never write releavs but needed to with this one. I've been a fan of Ms Hamilton for years but it was like she was sleep walking thru this one and regurgitating old stuff. Her last couple haven't been up to the level of some of the her earlier books. No effort in the prose, when she was summarizing the characters it was more like an outline.

Little grit and not enough feeling. I could go pull some of the same sentences and descriptions from other books. If Ms Hamilton wants to loose her fan base keep this up and we will stop reading.

Why did I spend $16.00 on this? I keep hoping Hamilton will go back to her roots and make Anita enjoyable again. I continue to be disappointed, especially since this is not even a novel. Once again, no Jean-Claude; only another male addition to the herd. Retire Anita, kill her off, or something, but at least give Jean-Claude and Richard some attention!! Don't waste your money.

I've enjoyed the Anita Blake character from the very first novel. The main character has continue to developed through each book along with the world she inhabits. I have even enjoyed the shift to a more hedonistic (erotic) oriented writing style the writer has shown in the last several novels. However, this is not the case with this book. It has no meat to it, simple and obvious plot with no character development. It might have made a decent short story if Ms Hamilton had based it on an earlier point in the timeline when Anita had less resources to draw. Also the conclusion of the story had Anita doing something that up to this point in the series was totaly against her character's code of animator ethics. I hope this novel is not indicative of what we can expect from future Laurell Hamilton books.

Vampire fans beware: there are no vampire's here. Flirt was both spectacularly good in story and atrociously bad in price. Laurell K. Hamilton is one of my automatic buys. No matter which series, I must have it immediately. That's why writing this review pains me.

Flirt focused on Anita's zombie raising, which is an area that I love and believe has been neglected for the past few books. Flirt also focuses a lot on Anita's lioness and the implications surrounding the fact that it is un-mated. This is important to the story. The lioness portion needed to be told, but I am left to wonder why it wasn't added as a long beginning to the next book instead of being written as a novel in its own right.

There is bonus material in this novel, adding length in a way that most series fans will like but would rather have in the form of more story telling. Hamilton tells how she had the idea for Flirt and includes a comic strip depicting the event. It's interesting but ultimately used to pad the page count.

This is a great story and a fantastic addiction to the series, but only hardcore Anita Blake fans should purchase this book. Flirt is a "novella" and a short one at that, priced at $23.95. At that price compared to the amount of story you get, I most definitely recommend getting Flirt from your local library rather than paying for it. I love Laurell K. Hamilton, but this book, no matter how good the story, just isn't worth the price.

I will admit this is probably an unfair review, but considering the crap Hamilton keeps putting out, I think $10.99, (which is more than the paperback or the hardcover,) for an electronic Kindle copy is ridiculous. Especially for such a short book. I guess my time with the series has officially come to an end.

All of Hamilton's novellas have been failures. I'm not sure why. Perhaps its harder to hide that your not saying anything on a fewer number of pages. In a longer book, the character can be made to wander around doing nothing. Wait and buy Flirt at a library book sale. Meet the real Anita Blake in Circus of the Damned, Bloody Bones, Killing Dance, & Obsidian Butterfly. See more about these 4 novels below. Think of Anita as a supernatural Hoover vacuum. Instead of sucking up dust & dirt, she kills & does away with things that eat/kill other humans or (good) monsters. Her prey never see the light of day again. That's the real Anita. This is the Anita that won a huge fan following.

I wrote this for the many readers who are looking for Ms. Anita Blake. The voice and strong core of her character are missing from later novels. Anita Blake is a self-confessed sociopath (our little, 5 ft, femme Dexter). She is a killer. She hunts & viciously (it's the only way to do it) kills monsters, which include the usuals like vamps, lycanthropes, mythical beings such as nagas (E. Indian mythical being), fairies & evil things from Irish mythology, real demons from hell in physical form, witches, psychotic humans, Aztec gods & goddesses, evil black operatives (humans), 2 millenia-old, pre-human vamps & more & more.

First, you have to understand that these novels began as an one-of-a-kind, fascinating hybrid. The stories were incredibly well constructed, believable, & extremely well plotted. They were true detective novels - like Dashiel Hammett, Raymond Chandler. In 50-70% of her earlier books, Anita's busy crime fighting (euphemism maybe). She works for & is paid by the police dept. She kills monsters for them, for other police depts. around the country (as needed LOL), & even for the FBI. Thrown in with this meaningful crime fighting are the elements of horror & the chills & thrills of scary monsters. SHE HAS TO HUNT FOR THEM MOSTLY IN THE DARK. YES. IN THE DARK! A puny little human vs. super strong, mostly immortal beings. All of that action is then set into an interesting alternate universe with well-defined rules.

Secondly, Anita herself is scary & derives pleasure from a job - I mean a killing - well done. The sex in later books displaced this entertaining & engrossing work, which I believe to be the best part of the Anita stories. This important backbone suddenly & disastrously disappeared. Anita went from crime fighting, openly killing evil supernatural beings, & educating inept, scared & dubious law enforcement to lying on her back.

Thirdly, you can't read any post-"Obsidian Butterfly" (bk 9) Anita Blake novel & come away w/an understanding or appreciation of the depth & wealth of talent Hamilton displayed in her early Blake novels. After all, there must a reason why she developed such a huge following...& a fan loyalty that has partially weathered the decline of the series as evidenced by the fans that still buy her books today. Yes, knowing they're mostly crap but hoping that she will bring back Anita's core character and voice. Hamilton needs to get on track & start writing those spellbinding, scary...uh, bloody stories again.

Fourthly, Narcissus in Chains (Bk-10) is the novel where Hamilton's storytelling was 100% derailed and set on the track for page consuming descriptions of intercourse (there's nothing inherently interesting & no beauty in her style). I think she should sub-contract the love scenes out. Stick w/what you know. She is wildly creative, can deftly weave a mean & tight plot line, & can write well. When she wants too.

However, there is nothing more painful than reading poorly written, flagrantly horrible descriptions of intercourse. I've read a ton of erotica. Erotica is distinctly different than porn & PWP (porn w/o a plot) makes me cringe. Wm Styron said it was okay to be a promiscuous reader so I took that to heart. LOL

Erotica is Lolita, Colette, even Anais Nin. No one writes erotica better than Anne Rice. Rice has a lushness of expression even in non-sexual stories/scenes, so when she's focused on her characters making love it's more than their physical activities. Erotica is cerebral AND physical. None of Hamilton's vague yet still overly described - put A in slot B, etc. add anything to the story.

Lastly, there are 4 books that will introduce you to Anita Blake I love and know well. You'll understand immediately why her novels were so addicting. I apologize to everyone. Books 10-18 should be avoided. Just read enough in each of the bad ones to see where the characters are & then sit back & help keep hope alive. Maybe the real Anita will be resurrected in future books. So, here is the list of books that are truly worth buying. All of the earlier ones were. These were way, way above average for any writer in her genre.

********
Circus of the Damned-Bk 3 . . . Vamp Council comes to kill Anita & Jean Claude . . . Anita's abrupt & brutal intro to Vamp politics . . . nothing like guess who's coming to dinner - why the Vamp Council (average age minus Oliver is 2,500 yrs old) is coming - to get things stirred up . . . the better question is WHO is on the dinner menu . . .
********
Bloody Bones-Bk 5. . . Fairies, giants & other beings from Irish mythology run seriously amok . . . magic flies everywhere . . . main characters barely survived that story . . . fast paced, scary, surprising . . . uh, plenty of blood, too. See the title.
********
Killing Dance-Bk 6 . . . Anita is seriously hunted by skilled human assassins . . . first intro of Anita's BFF Edward, who was formerly licensed to kill by the US gov't, a true-born psychopath who spends 50% of his time with Anita figuring out how to kill her. His idea of an orgasm? . . . He's a sick & scary indiv & weirdly charming as well (LOL) . . . Edward's character was hugely popular & got its own story, book #9. Run out and get it. Edward's love tokens include cute, little and giant guns & other implements that kill . . . Edward brings new meaning to BFF LOL
********
Obsidian Butterfly-Bk 9 . . . Anita goes on the road to help her BFF Edward kill something in NM . . . the best book she wrote and my favorite even though its too scary. This is the best way to meet "Anita". It's scary & unpredictable. Your mouth hangs open the whole book. Your skin crawls & you might want to heave several times.
*********

Basically, I believe Hamilton is a lazy writer. At the beginning of this series, her characters' ages differed from book to book by 100's of years. Hair color, eye color changed. I found this to be extremely insulting to readers. I'm EMBARRASED to tell you that in my frustration I sent a friend to a Laurell H. signing w/a letter pointing out these inconsistencies. How obnoxious I was! But eye color? Age? Not something a writer should forget. Her vocabulary & phraseology were repetitive & unimaginative in some places. Yet I never would have dreamed her talent and poor Anita would be subsumed by sexcapades.

One thing in her defense. A great deal was made in the 90'sand even now about how well erotica sold, especially in the women's fiction market. I always wondered if this mid-stream change was natural or directed/forced by someone else like an editor or agent.

I haven't mentioned Merry Gentry b/c I don't have much to say. I am extremely disappointed that the world she created, the creativity & history she created - giving life to the Tuaatha da Danna - is lost & buried beneath the excess of sex. If you can't write it well, leave it out.I can't respect a novel in which the action that takes place (beg to end) over 1 day. 24-hour period is a sign of a lazy writer. Imagine if Merry's story was told as straight fiction/fantasy. Even an adult fairy tale. Hugely creative, clever, interesting & beautifully described w/lots of conflicts. I want to see what life/living is like as a fairy. I don't buy Merry or read at all now. All the energy here has been spent on the great titles.

Hmm, I just realized that Merry, too, is a detective. I hope that you will read an earlier Anita Blake. Anita Blake deserves new fans. I think you'll be delighted and have a great time. Just remember stop after bk 9. There are lots & lots of Jean Claude standing up in the early books. LOL And, the sex w/him in those books is "off-screen" so to speak. Their sex takes place in their mind and bed.

Happy Reading!

It's too bad that my very first review would be a bad one. Having said that, I felt that I had to write this review, in order to express how extremely disappointed I was in this book. Ms Hamilton should have a lot on her conscience for publishing and selling a meager little half-story (no, make that a quarter-story) such as this. Self-indulgent, ego-stroking price-inflated drivel. Harsh? Yes, and I apologize for it, however, when I return a book I bought for a refund for THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE! I just need to let someone know. Are you listening, devout LKH followers? My advice for anyone interested in this book: Go to the library, sit in a chair and read it because if you are like me, you do need to see for yourself. Don't worry, though, you won't be there long; in fact you won't even have to feed the parking meter....

This book was so short and shallow that anyone who had read hamilton's previous anita blake novels could have written this one. I'm not any kind of writer, but i could have set up this silly story based only in a resturant and a grave yard. The kidnappers sounded more like Laurel and Hardy and ONCE AGAIN we were forced to read about everyone of anita's weak boyfriends instead of who we really care about: Jean-Claude and Asher. I dont understand how we are told over and over of how anita loves JC the most but we never really have a story focused on the 2 of them. Every book ends up adding one more boy-toy that can't live without her and it is making JC look weak because even he can't put up with too much more of that!

I will not be buying another of hamilton's books (even her last one with princess meredith seemed hurried)until I am assured it is not another waste of my $$$

Does the publisher give refunds? I might just send them my copy so it doesn't waste shelf space in my home.

I gave this 3 stars because it was a story-before-a-story and the book really should have been a paper back and not a hard cover.

The biggest issue I've had with Anita in the last few books is her inability to accept the support from those around her book after book and the never-ending dance of avoiding the obvious truth about where her life has lead her. Oh yeah - and her need to prove she's just as good as the rest of the guys by showing she has a bigger ego. I would think she's been shown big hints by now that she can play the underestimated card to her advantage in a big way. No one would know what hit 'em!

What I really liked about this story is that it appears she's finally letting those she loves in and defining some boundaries between those that matter in her personal life and those that seem to be an evil necessity. I do agree with previous reviews that we all know Anita has a gift/curse, the arduer, passed down from J.C., and that it needs to be 'fed' in order for her and those connected to her to survive, but we don't need pages of it when it happens. Well, unless it's with the one's she loves ;) It'll make room for more butt-kicking Anita action. Keep her core men as tasty tid-bits and leave the rest! Some say the story had a weak plot and those who want nothing more than to find issues to complain about are right. But I think I'm a bit less judgmental about the series and I found the true heart of this story is not what's happening on the outside with Anita, but the change within herself. This I truly hope continues on in the coming books, and I also see it as a way to bring the series back more to what a lot of people started reading it for to begin with: A tough butt-kicking chick that takes no prisoners.

What struck me most about the novel, besides Anita herself, is the reminder of her and Micah's connection. For whatever reason his character stood out to me the most, and I've decided to dig out "NiC" and revisit how it all started between them. It may have been due to the fact *SPOILER!* his life was the one most in danger, and even I, the reader, was in waiting in anticipation for him to survive intact. Besides J.C., he seems to the other person in Anita's life that has the most significant role, being the Leopard King to her Queen, but he's also the one who keeps his ego in check, and Anita rarely has to hold his hand when his feelings get stomped on. Nathaniel and Asher are great, but we readers have spent BOOKS having to watch Anita 'fix' them in order to function. Jason is starting to get to the level too, but here's to hoping he doesn't.

Here's to hoping the next serving of Anita is more butt-kicking with less ego posturing and more acceptance of who she is and less avoiding the obvious.

By this point in the series, you're pretty much getting what you expect--delightful smut, life threatening situations, etc. etc. Flirt has a decent balance between the sex and the action (unlike some of the other books in the series, which should be shelved under erotica). Good story, but a bit on the short side. Seriously--it's only a couple hundred pages. If you were hoping for a full length Anita Blake adventure, this isn't it. This is more like a side adventure than an actual novel. The story is also focused on her necromancy (which we don't really get enough of, anyway) and the weres, so if you were hoping for vampire orgies, you're out of luck. Of course, then again, the orgies do usually involve the shapeshifters.... In short, wait for the paperback unless you're a hardcore fan, and if you'd drifted from the series, this is not the book that's going to get you hooked again.

This is not a book its short story in very large font. This book is a retread of an earlier AB story. ***SPOILER ALLERT*** I can't remember the name of the book but Anita is kidnapped and forced to make a human sacrifice to unwillingly raise the dead. She raises the whole cemetery then uses the zombies to kill her kidnapper. Been there, done that, have the t-shirt and the shot glass.

Very disappointing effort.

I keep waiting for Laurell K Hamilton to remember she's a good author, and start telling a captivating tale again, rather than quickly throwing together a plot to link the various sex scenes.

Every now and then I think I see a hint of the Anita Blake series I fell in love with, and so I buy the next book, only to be let down again.

I've got no problem with the large amount of sex Anita is having, if the story is good, but at the moment, that is not the case. Come on Laurell, you can do better.

I was eagerly anticipating reading this book as her last volume in this series seemed to be LKH getting back on track with the series and while I enjoyed the book it was way too short and should never have been published as a full novel. This is clearly a short story and I am really tired of publishers ripping us off. Publishers need to get real and realize that they are losing business to other forms of entertainment and with the rise of e-readers and e-books are going to lose out further to user generated content shared freely on the internet. Wake up to yourselves and start having some respect for the people who do actually still read "real" books!

This book was awful. Simply awful. Where is the plot? It seems like her collection of boys is getting so unmanagable that it took a third of the book to introduce them. I think we need to start killing her guys off, and get back to an actual plot line, because the last few books have felt like short stories, devoid of a true, gripping plot.

WHile it's nice to visit the Anita Blake world...I want to be truly immersed with it, as I was in the earlier books. I love the sex, but what point is it when you don't care about the characters or where it's going?

I must say I have tried to hang with the Anita Blake Series. I have been truly amazed by the lack of effort its seems that Ms. Hamilton has placed in developing this story. I decided based on the reviews that I borrowed FLIRT from the library, boy am I happy that I did. I have never been this unimpressed about a book to the point were I am embarrassed for the author. If you have run out of things to write about with Anita Blake then I recommend the series come to an end.

FLIRT was a pitiful excuse for a book. Not Ms. Hamilton's best work.

This book is pretty formulaic. Well, at less than 200pgs I guess it's more a short story than a novel. If you've read any of the previous Anita Blake books then the plot will not surprise you. She pretty much keeps recycling the same plot over and over a again. There are a lot of authors who can write short stories with intriguing plots but Laurel K Hamilton is not one of them. Only the names of some of the characters change. The characterization is awful as always. She manages to make Anita even more unlikable. The other characters are two dimensional as always.I would not recommend reading this book to anyone. If you really can't resist borrow it from the library. Even with the huge discount the store offers this book is not worth the money. It's absolutely awful.

I have noticed some reviews that complain the book is too short and thus a waste of money. I knew the book was short going in and that it was not the regularly scheduled next Anita Blake book, so I was okay with the length. Even though this book can function as a stand alone, it does actually tie into a storyline I have been waiting for. That storyline is the werelions; the werelions were introduced in Narcissus in Chains and have a supporting role in Danse Macabre and The Harlequin (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 15). I have been waiting for the lions to play a bigger role in Anita's life. It was not the lions I expected, but that makes the story more interesting. The other thing I like about this book is that Anita embraces her own powers. Anita is a Necromancer and in the early books, she uses her control over the dead as a weapon. In recent books, Anita has struggled against using her own power and the power she has inherited through Jean-Claude. This time she uses both powers purposely as a means of self-defense and to protect the future of her world. It was good to see Anita be that strong and be okay with what she did. Jean-Claude is basically missing from this book, and I really hope he is back for the next one.

2/4/2010 addition
I found more negative reviews and comments complaining about the content, price, and length today. First, the price, length, and basic content were known upfront, so you knew that. Second, Mercy Thompson: Homecoming was about $20 when it first came out and it is a graphic novel! I knew it was a graphic novel, looked at it, decided not to buy it. Third, to those of you complaining about LKH in book review after book review, maybe it is time for you to stop reading LKH. If a series stops meeting my expections, I stop spending money and time on it, simple!

Like others have stated this book is a novella at best. I loved the first 7 books but Ms. hamilton seems to be losing focus. This book is more like something handed in to meet a deadline in a senior writing class. The main story is more like the subplots in her earlier books. The interest hook just isn't there. The action(other than the sex) is MIA. This book should go back for editing and combination with more material for a real novel. Can you spell ripoff?

This short story was really a compilation of a few large diatribes; a lunch that lasted 1/4 of the book, a kidnapping, the token sex scene and a short conclusion. I found it not at all like the fist three novels by Hamilton, which I enjoyed greatly. I also found myself confused by the whole "Other" shifter within her, as well as the relationships she has with "every man she meets" it seems. It was arrogant, boring and a far cry from her other books. Very disappointed.

Sadly Laurell K Hamilton's Anita Blake series continues its sad descent into garbage. The first nine or ten books were masterpieces of original and often strange horror. Nowadays Hamilton can only produce horror porn with a mess of relationship angst mixed in that makes her books unreadable. She has ruined the series. Flirt is another shocking example of how low she has fallen. How she has wasted her talent and her characters.

I am a huge Anita Blake fan. That said, I realized that this was a short story (like Micah), before I purchased it. Anyone who has been reading the series should have realized that this was just a short story, and will be followed with a new full length book this Summer.

Honestly, I enjoyed the book. I definitely could have used a bigger Anita Blake "fix," but I knew it was going to be short going into it, so I can't complain. The plot was more than adequate, and it was a very engaging short story. From start to finish, the story takes place in a very short amount of time, and I really can't see how she could have made the book longer without just putting "fluff" into the story to fill up pages. Who needs that? I can't imagine any fans of this series NOT liking the book...it is right on par with the rest of them. Never before have I written a review, but when I saw all the negative reviews, I thought I needed to balance it out. If you are a true Anita Blake fan (and not one of the people who keeps reading past book 7, even though you cease to like them), you will really enjoy this short story.

Can't wait for the next book this summer!

I keep hoping for a positive spin back toward the intensity of the first few books, but every time I check in on the series I find myself disappointed. Fans of the erotic direction the series has almost been completely consumed by will not be disappointed and I only wish the series tone had been consistent throughout.

I've been reading Laurell K Hamilton for over 10 years. Flirt has to be one of her weakest works to date. Micah was bad but this should have been a short story or put in a book of anthologies. The value of the book is horrible (price point to # of pages). Highly disappointed in this one. Plus part of the books pages are an afterward that talk about her new comic venture and how the story came together via an incident in her personal life. I'm not a comic fan but I was a Laurell K. Hamilton fan. Hopefully, she'll start to remember that her success came because she was a great author - not a great brand.

On a per word basis, Ms. Hamilton must be one of the most well paid authors out there. I read the entire book in about two hours...yes, it was that short. Half the book retreads old ground with respect to "animals to call" and the interrelationships between Anita, Jason, Nathaniel, and Micah with the other half focused on zombie raising. My hope is that Ms. Hamilton takes a break until she can put together a decent novel (e.g. Obsidian Butterfly, Narcissus in Chains, etc).

If I were to sum up this review in one word it would be "Disappointed". The book is too short, and where are all the main characters that I got used to in the first dozen books? This one along with the last one were both a let down for me. I'm glad I borrowed mine from a friend and didn't have to pay for it.

----Truly not worth the poor, pulpy little trees killed in order to publish this drivel. A snarky aside: Why does LKH keep referring to herself as a "full-time" mother? I mean, her daughter's got to be in her late 20s or 30s (she was "little" when Hamilton published her first books in the 90's)?

I have to admit I have been dissapointed with the books lately. This one started out just like the first few books used to start out. Anita is at work and meeting with clients. Of course you know something bad is going to happen. The part that I haven't enjoyed about the past few books is the pages of sex with several characters. This one was just with one character. The entire book wasn't about how she needs to feed. It was about something more personal. I don't want to say more than that. There is a short comic in the back. Laurell wrote in the front to not skip to the back. Enjoy this short read. It is over 160 pages. I do of course recommend buying from the store. I bought my from boarders and paid 23 dollars for it. Enjoy the book.

I liked previous novels written by Ms Hamilton; however FLIRT was not in the same category as her previous books. Furthermore, it was more of a short story than a full sized book. Explanation in how she comes up with her ideas to me was just a way to give a couple of extra pages to a story that was too short to qualify as a full sized book. I guess I should have checked the page count ~ it was to expensive

What a shame. I actually returned this book to the place I bought it AND GOT MY MONEY BACK! This is a flimsy short story that never should have been published as a novel. When a series is out of control it's not interesting any more. LKH was one of my favorite writers and now I don't think I will read her again.

This installment is not a full length novel, it is barely more then a short story, and does little to add to the series, other then giving Anita yet another man to her collection, this one even more dependent then the others. It spends too much time with new characters and not enough time expanding on the characters we already have. We do, however, see Anita delving deeper into her darker traits then before, and a new low for her sense of practicality in her actions

I'm a true-blue Anita Blake fan and have devoured each book as it became available. While this most recent "book" is true to Anita's personality and foibles, it doesn't really deserve the title of "book."

More of a stretched-to-the-max short story, it was not the meaty serving of Anita that I was all set for. Sections were so filled with fluff words and phrases that it was very difficult to follow what little storyline existed.

I love Anita and can't wait for the next real installment in the series.

It was like anticipating Christmas morning and then waking up to a stocking of coal. I have read every Anita Blake story and all of the Merry Gentry series as well. I trusted that this new Anita story would be worth the pre-order. I just can't put my finger on it, but there was something missing to this one. (besides a few hundred pages) It was just....boring.

Does this mean I won't buy the next Anita Blake book? NO, but I won't pre-order it. I'll wait and decide after it comes out if I want it bad enough to pay hardcover price or wait for the paperback.

Let me say I have always loved the Anita Blake Series until now. I was disappointed in the length of the story as opposed to the price. I agree with the others that it should have been just a paperback. I hated spending the money but as I have been collecting the Series I wanted it. But the price was ridiculous for what we got. Sorry Laurel I know you can do better than this. Maybe she is getting tired of the series. If so please go back to Richard & Jean-Claude more!! She keeps talking about being a better human servant maybe this needs to be addressed. Personally I really wish Richard would get his act together & him & her connect on the true level of their feelings for each other.
Maybe the seires needs a tie up to end. I don't know but REally $23.95 for this book was ridiculous!

this is a waste of money. none of the characters are in it except for nathaniel, jason, and micah. they are only there for for a short while... very short. its such a pointless book.. its a short story. literally. u don't even need to bother with this book. just know she has a werelion named nicky now. thats it. i'm getting sick of being disappointed by laurell k hamilton. i really am. this book was 158 pages. A WASTE! jean-claude doesn't make an appearance.. actually no vampires do. i can't stress the waste.

I can't say I was expecting any better from the author, she seems to have lost her magic of her earlier books.. Surprise.. Anita gets another man added to her horde.. one more toy to play with..oh fun! I am honestly sick of reading the colour of Nat's eyes or how soft his hair feels and what colour..for goodness sake..he is described in all of her anita books..its not even amusing any-more..

I had little expectations when I bought Flirt. It was an easy read and I took me just a short time to read it. Do not expect it to enhance or progress the storyline as the larger novels do. There were things that were good about it and other things it could have done without.

The Good:
Anita was actually working her normal job. It has been a while since we have seen her returning to what she originally is, an animator. Skin Trade started in her office there but it was her thinking and talking about the head she was sent. I liked how she was just out doing something normal, like having lunch with Micah, Jason, and Nathaniel. It was doing something other than having sex with them or handling a crisis. You also get to see how much Anita loves at least three of the men she is with. I do like some of Anita's soft sides.

The Bad (Spoilers):
The action drags a bit in places. It is mostly bogged down by useless dialogue. The bad guys seem to getting chattier as the books go along. The scenes need more action and less chatting. Anita picks up another werelion and rolls him to save herself and her loved ones. I think the rolling of Nicky was a poor idea. I miss it when Anita toughed her way out of things instead of using the ardeur. The part where Anita sics the zombies on the bad guys is a throw back to the Laughing Corpse. Anita was no longer in immediate danger so it was a moot point taking out Tony and the others.

I saw a "tiny light" in this book that heralds back to the early Anita days. I am still a LKH fan but I do wish for improvement in her books. Flirt is a good read but not if you are expecting a deep plot and no sex with new men.

A friend introduced me to these books a number of years ago and the first few were such fun, very entertaining and now its just sex with little story development. Its hard to stop reading them because you love the characters and want to know what's going to happen to them but I think I'm done with the series.

This should have been titled Fluff. This is a heavily padded novella, not a novel (less than 50,000 words I think). Hamilton has driven another nail in the coffin of Anita Blake, which is a pity as the first novels were so much fun.

...but ahead would have been 5 books ago. Again another disappointment although this time she tortured us with a mere 192 pages. A small mercy I suppose. This is my final farewell to the Anita series.

Don't get me wrong. I love the "Anita Blake" novel series. But this is not a novel. This is a short story! When I pay over $15 for a book, I expect more than 171 pages and can be read in less than an 2 hours! Plus, the last 6 or 7 pages are comics! And what is worse...NO JEAN CLAUDE!!! He was brought up maybe twice!

Very disappointed!

Let me start by saying I love Laurell K Hamilton. The lady is a genius. Anita Blake is a beast and I love her. But this book just doesn't hit me where it should. I was extremely excited for its release. I went to Target all pumped on the novel and it....disappointed me. I spent my money on a horrible book. I felt like it was rushed. The book did not work out for me at all. For me to say those words just hurt my heart. I hope....jeez i pray that her next book "Bullet" is way way better. Because Laurell has it in her. I love all her novels. Fingers crossed. But definitely do not buy this book, unless you love the lady like me.

Oh my... I've read most of LKH's books- finally gave up on Merry a couple of books ago- but I have never LISTENED to one before. I understand there are some incredible actors who can do a wonderful range of "voices" for audiobooks. At the very least, for the love of all that's holy- please have a MALE reader do the MALE VOICES in books that are written in first person. Listening to a woman try to do different male voices (and ALL THE OTHER CHARACTERS ARE MALE) is terrible. The LUNCH SCENE that lasts an immortal lifetime- with this narrator flirting with her three were-guys- is so bad.

Anyway- I agree with many of the reviews already posted... after being trapped in the car on a long trip with this as my only "book"- it occurred to me that I would have skipped through the print version of this book in an hour.

I can't believe that a plot comes down to an inner werelion in heat.

Sigh.

This was a really awful book. I really expected better from her and was hoping that she would bring back the old Anita. But the book was just a waste of time. Whatever you do don't buy it, go to the library and borrow it. Really not worth your money.

I, for one, was relieved that this book was not 400-500 pages. I was glad she backed off of the blow by blow, page after page of explicit sex and focused on the story more with less "filler". I enjoyed this book and read it in one sitting. I was beginning to think she had crossed into
soft porn and getting tired of skimming over those sections which seemed to be the reason the books got so big and began to replace an actual plot. I realize she is a succubus, but 27 pages of one encounter is going overboard. This book gave me hope that she might be backtracking a bit and will get back to focus on the plot and not keep sinking further toward porn. The next book will tell the tale. I really liked Anita Blake but I'm getting weary of her succubus status. Seems to be an excuse for pages and pages of soft porn and it has taken over the series. Have moved onto Patricia Briggs Mercedes series, but decided to check back on Anita and am feeling some hope - not lots, but some. This is not a series I would share with a teen.

Waaay too short to be priced the same as a novel. I know the author has no say in covers or pricing so I blame the publisher. Rest assured that I'm not making the same mistake again. From now on I'm paying more attention to the number of pages a work has before I pay for it.

Nice short story but ridiculous price. Talk about taking advantage of your customers! I think the price for this book took away anything positive we customers might have thought to say. Sorry Ms. Hamilton but I think you took far too much of an advantage of your fans with this expensive group of pages.

Let me give a little caveat before my review: I loved this series when it first came out. I read every book multiple times over and couldn't wait for the next one (and the next one, etc.). Later in the series, it got to the point that it felt as if the books were a bit too much sex all the time. Don't ever get me wrong - there is NOTHING wrong with sex in books - but I prefer in novels that it fits into where the story is going and not just thrown in at 'random' times. If I wanted random sex scenes, I'd read a totally different kind of book! :-)

Onto the review...

I did enjoy this story very much and I'm always happy when Anita can get back into her necromancer and vampire executioner side. For me, Anita was one of the big powerhouse female leads in books for quite a while and I like when she can get back to her "roots" and what drew me to her story in the first place.

At work, Anita has been approached by two very rich people and asked to raise their loved ones. What they don't seem to understand is she can't give them back the person that they were - no matter how much money they want to throw at her. The dead that she raises may look and act perfectly life-like, but it doesn't last forever because they're zombies. Anita's a necromancer, not a resurrectionist, but someone just won't take no for an answer.

Overall, I liked book and it had some of the elements I loved about Obsidian Butterfly and Blood Noir (unfortunately no Edward). It make you really think...what would you do for the ones you love?

Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Series: Guilty Pleasures (1), The Laughing Corpse (2), Circus of the Damned (3), The Lunatic Cafe (4), Bloody Bones (5), The Killing Dance (6), Burnt Offerings (7), Blue Moon (8), Obsidian Butterfly (9), Narcissus In Chains (10), Cerulean Sins (11), Incubus Dreams (12), Micah (13), Dance Macabre (14), The Harlequin (15), Blood Noir (16), Skin Trade (17), Flirt (18), Bullet (19), Hit List (20), Kiss The Dead (21)

I liked this story, but man was it short! The story it's elf was only 158 pages. Again I liked it but I would not pay $14 for it. I am glad that I borrowed it from the library, actually Flirt and Bullet I rented because at this time I can't afford to pay $14 per book. I have loved all the books in this series so far (there are a couple that were O K but still good)

So the rest of the pages 159 to 171 is Laurell basically explaining where her idea for flirt came from, I didn't read passed the first couple paragraphs because really it almost seemed like she was trying to explain herself to readers that have been giving her bad reviews or something. (that's just how I took it anyways) I don't think she needs to I have enjoyed reading about Anita and the strength she has and reading about how she struggles to except herself with her ever growing powers. So I don't think she need to explain herself she has done great with Anita and her men.

I am looking forward to reading Bullet :)

I feel that the publishers did this book a disservice by not stating it was a novella. The author clearly started many many times on her blog, twitter and webpage that it was infact a short novella that she just couldn't get out of her head, but also couldn't fit in the next novel, bullet.
I think the story was a good story, it wasn't my favorite of the series, but it wasn't my least either. I would have been upset if it was a standalone book for the year, but that wasn't the case, and I am always happy to get a short story about Anita.

Let me start by saying- I will forever be a LKH fan. But this was a very short read AND it cost over 20 bucks. If you can get it on Kindle- do that, and save yourelf some money. I read this in an evening. It was just okay for me. When I was done all I could think about was "WHERE ARE THE VAMPIRES". Has she forgot about them? I look forward to Junes release and hope Jean Claude makes an appearance. He's missing from the action for a while.

I read this on my Nook, and I thought maybe there was a problem and I only downloaded part of the book (only 107 pages large font). Yes, it's short; it reminds me of Micah. I would call this an addition to her regular story line, not a continuance. I hope she releases another book soon and continues writing. I wouldn't give it a one or two- I've wasted my time partially reading books that I would rate a 1 or 2. I think that after waiting for the next release, I wanted it to be more substantial, a continuation from the last book. There is a lot left to be said for Anita after this book, and I'm sure in the next book we'll read how she answers it. To follow the theme of Micah, I would have titled it Nicky, not Flirt.

LKH has lost this series completely (her Merry Gentry series is headed in the same direction) and needs to take a very long break so she can hopefully get back to what made me fall in love with this series.

I LOVED all the early Anita Blake novels. And by novels I mean books with 400-500 pages. I understand that authors want to express themselves and take their art in different directions. It is such a shame that this great series had gone in the direction it has. I haven't given up on the series entirely, I feel I have too much reading invested in it. But I haven't bought an Anita Blake book in some time - I get them from the local library. Overall, I still the love world the books are set in and the characters. But the plot is getting thin and repetitious and the dialogue can be just plain annoying at times. There were a couple of new, interesting ideas introduced and this book could have been so much better if those ideas were explored in depth. I see another Anita Blake book is due out in June. I hope it is more that 158 pages and takes longer than 90 minutes for me to read.

I win. i finally stopped with this series. Didn't even notice this book came out. I started this series bout 2-3 yrs ago and was mesmerized with the plots/characters/original ideas of this series. Until after obsidian. Then it tanked and tanked hard. Our favorite vampire slaying/zombie raising gun slinger became a hooker. i stuck with it for a good long time. Even boght some of the hardcovers because I trusted some of the reviewers just to find out it didn't drop the skanktastic overtones of the later books. I wish I could sell them to make up some of that cash back and not feel like a complete fool. The value of this series is a big fat zero. If this series still makes you happy or you like the new direction over the old, you can have it. I don't want it. You could save yourselves a lot of money though by googling some FREE streaming porn sites. Theres lots of em out there.

If you prefer the story lines of the first 8 books, you may want to check out some of my new personal favorites. Without Hamiltons new direction for this series, i would have never heard of or become enamoured with jim Butchers Dresden series, Kim Harrisons "Rachel Morgan" series, Simon greens nightside series, and a new one I've really started to appreciate Patricia Briggs "Mercy Thompson" series. Theres a ton out there but these are the closest I've read to the original feel of hamiltons Vampire hunter series.

I'll never buy another book by hamilton ever again. One hard cover could buy me a couple years subscription to Hustler and the articles would still be better written than this vapire hookers series.

Thanks for reading and i hope i save at least 1 person some money.

LKH has lost this series completely (her Merry Gentry series is headed in the same direction) and needs to take a very long break so she can hopefully get back to what made me fall in love with this series.

I LOVED all the early Anita Blake novels. And by novels I mean books with 400-500 pages. I understand that authors want to express themselves and take their art in different directions. It is such a shame that this great series had gone in the direction it has. I haven't given up on the series entirely, I feel I have too much reading invested in it. But I haven't bought an Anita Blake book in some time - I get them from the local library. Overall, I still the love world the books are set in and the characters. But the plot is getting thin and repetitious and the dialogue can be just plain annoying at times. There were a couple of new, interesting ideas introduced and this book could have been so much better if those ideas were explored in depth. I see another Anita Blake book is due out in June. I hope it is more that 158 pages and takes longer than 90 minutes for me to read.

I win. i finally stopped with this series. Didn't even notice this book came out. I started this series bout 2-3 yrs ago and was mesmerized with the plots/characters/original ideas of this series. Until after obsidian. Then it tanked and tanked hard. Our favorite vampire slaying/zombie raising gun slinger became a hooker. i stuck with it for a good long time. Even boght some of the hardcovers because I trusted some of the reviewers just to find out it didn't drop the skanktastic overtones of the later books. I wish I could sell them to make up some of that cash back and not feel like a complete fool. The value of this series is a big fat zero. If this series still makes you happy or you like the new direction over the old, you can have it. I don't want it. You could save yourselves a lot of money though by googling some FREE streaming porn sites. Theres lots of em out there.

If you prefer the story lines of the first 8 books, you may want to check out some of my new personal favorites. Without Hamiltons new direction for this series, i would have never heard of or become enamoured with jim Butchers Dresden series, Kim Harrisons "Rachel Morgan" series, Simon greens nightside series, and a new one I've really started to appreciate Patricia Briggs "Mercy Thompson" series. Theres a ton out there but these are the closest I've read to the original feel of hamiltons Vampire hunter series.

I'll never buy another book by hamilton ever again. One hard cover could buy me a couple years subscription to Hustler and the articles would still be better written than this vapire hookers series.

Thanks for reading and i hope i save at least 1 person some money.

Laurell K. Hamilton's Flirt is book 18 in her Anita Blake series. It is really just a novella - disappointing to fans of the series who wait anxiously for each new installment - but nevertheless, a quick and easy read. Flirt gives the reader a taste, but not a full meal.

The story itself is good. Anita is back to business as usual, raising the dead for a living. When she refuses to take on a new client due to her nagging morals, Anita puts herself and all of her "family" at risk. Sounds good, right? Well, good is about the only word I can use to describe it. Flirt is just too short to be great.

My complaints don't have anything to do with the writing, Hamilton is as solid as ever in that department. But the length of the book made it impossible to explore the cast of characters in Anita's world that readers have come to know and love. No Jean Claude? No Asher? No Ronnie? No Richard? No Edward? These are just some of the moons orbiting around planet Anita, and they are all M.I.A. in Flirt - a real oversight.

I think I can understand what Hamilton was going for here. This story needed to be told in order for Anita to continue to grow and evolve as a character. But I really hope that book 19, Bullet (out later this year,) will be a full-size novel - not an over-priced "Happy Meal."

I just bought this for 16.76 at WalMart and being in a hurry didn't really check it out since I've been a fan since the beginning. However, I just looked at it and it's only 170 pages and that's only because of the spacing!!! Had I've known that I would not have paid so much for it as I feel that's a waste of money. Wait for the softcover to come out when it's cheaper or get it at the library. I'm so disappointed.

A small expansion in the cast of characters. The plot is ok. Kind of predictable story line given Anita's talents. The book is about 1/3 the length of her usual novels. I enjoy the growth and evolution of her characters, and this book just isn't long enough to have depth.

Unlike many of the recent Anita Blake novels, I liked Flirt. It is short-- only about 150 pgs. But, it has a good plot and brings Anita back to her original skill-- necromancy. Her men are, for the most part, not around-- which is good. Anita has to rely on herself and there aren't pages and pages (chapters and chapters) of her having vapid conversations with her band of lovers. I did like the Nicky character and while he is a minor annoyance in the next novel Bullet, he is interesting again in Hit List.

When I review the Anita Blake series, I am rating it based on the novels previous. I am not rating as a novel in and of itself, and whether or not you agree with that style, that is mine up front. :)

Now to the review. I truly enjoyed this story. It explained a lot and showed Anita having an emotional need for the men in her life. She is changing, although still completely herself...if that makes sense. I agree with the other reviews that say this book was badly priced and WAAAAAY too short to be called a novel (especially in the Anita Blake series). I own every other Anita Blake book and love them all but this one was very focused. It seemed to be a PART of a book...I understood the main plot was completed, it doesn't feel unfinished, but just short, and missing some of the other main characters. Being that this is the book directly after "Skin Trade", it just seems that Laurell is breaking up parts of Anita's life into different novels, instead of writing one large novel encompassing most or all of the characters.

Overall, I enjoyed the story, and bought it because I own all the rest, but if you aren't a collector of the Anita Blake series, I would suggest going to a bookstore, ordering a coffee, and reading it there. It took me (as a fast reader) an hour to complete the book in it's entirety. I'm looking forward to a longer novel in June...here's to hoping! :)

Let me first say that I have never read an Anita Blake novel before this; my experience with LKH's writing is all Meredith Gentry. I have no true- or troo- context to put things in, but after reading it, I don't really think I needed to.

The story almost feels like a stand alone. Granted, there are references and sub-texts from past stories to draw upon, but none really impacted the story. Which would have been hard to do, given what story there was.

This novel/novella/novelette only contains 158 pages of actual story, and this is comprised of the usual large, double-spaced type. There's also quite a bit of padding before and after which is interesting- not so much what it is as to why it's there.

**SPOILER ALERTS**

A rich man wants Anita to resurrect his dead wife. She refuses, mostly on ethical grounds as it seems the man wants to resume their marriage, which she tries to explain is impossible. He leaves unsatisfied, and Anita and a few boytoys- Nathaniel, Jason and Micah- head off to lunch together.

Lunch is all about the science and skill of flirting: touching, eye contact, double entendres, flattery... To emphasize this, the waiter that comes to take their orders is completely flustered by the mere presence of Nathaniel; Anita rises to the challenge and makes her own lasting impression upon him.

Back at the office a wealthy woman wants Anita to resurrect her dead husband so she can exact a terrible vengeance upon him; Anita refuses this time on moral grounds- which gives us a touch of symmetry.

Anita returns to the same restaurant for another lunch, where the same waiter approaches her, hoping for more than flirting. During the encounter Anita senses another shapeshifter- a were-lion named Jacob- and the lioness in her responds eagerly, despite the danger. Another lion- Nick- joins them, boxing her into their trap, and they threaten mayhem if she doesn't comply. All three flex their powers, testing and reacting to each other, with plenty of angst and emoting thrown in to drag things out waaaay toooo long.

Anita thinks she knows who's bankrolling all this, but the too-obvious attempt at a twist falls short. The meeting with the previously-spurned client is ridiculous: they talk about the situation, Anita gets angry, Jacob and Nick try to soothe the savage beast while the client stands there. Repeat as (not) needed.

The client needs something extra to resurrect their spouse, something sinister. Anita realizes what it is, which brings up the lioness- but she's in heat, having never been with a Rex before. Both males want her; she uses this against them and tries to escape in the ensuing tussle but is stopped by Silas- another lion- and they both suffer for it.

She awakes in a graveyard shed, her contact with her men blocked by the spell of a lioness witch who's a member of Jacob's pride. Isolated and weakened, she needs to feed; now past the point of normal food, she must use the ardeur and Nick offers himself willingly. Given the choice between flesh and sex, Anita chooses sex, "rolling him like a vampire" and even taking his free will, as she'll need some help to escape the situation.

Nick and Jacob both realize what she's done, with Jacob blaming himself for not anticipating it. Silas, the were-lion Anita fought before, tries to kill her but is fatally wounded and becomes fodder to help fuel the animation spell. Anita discovers that a lycanthrope sacrifice is infinitely more powerful than a normal human; after resurrecting the client's spouse, she channels the excess energy into the rest of the graveyard, raising them all up. The power spike shatters the witch's spell returning Anita's contact with her men, who are closing in. Anita recognizes the danger the client still presents to them all, and with a little help from her newly revived friends, settles the matter. Micah and the fellas arrive and everyone goes home, with Nick the New Guy in tow.

** END SPOILERS**

Being new to all this I thought the overall setting was interesting, but Anita's powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men kept hitting me over the head; what exactly can't she do- windows? I see what people mean about Anita and Merry being almost interchangeable- it didn't feel like there was much difference between them. The lone sex scene was ok, I suppose; but I never put much stock into them, instead waiting to see what the new developments are.

It was intriguing to me the way lycanthropes visualize themselves in their minds and the way they can read each other's body language, but I thought at times it killed potential scenarios: Jacob & Nick were constantly sizing Anita up and warning her not to try anything. The attempt at humor by quoting movies was stale, not as jokes but metaphors: one of the were-lions would say something and Anita would respond "Did you just quote...?" First one was ok, the rest were lame. Or maybe she was trying to establish some character quirks for them.

The graveyard scene was rife with potential. After the zombies finish up, there's something else to them that wasn't there before, something infused within them. Anita realizes what's happened, and is momentarily seduced by it. Trust me; you're gonna see this scenario pop up again.

The title FLIRT should be taken literally, as that's the focus of the novel. Every Anita encounter with the were-lions- which take up the bulk of the story- is about the male/female ritual and establishing one's dominance, as well as the constant references to the deceased blond wife as a `furry' and the many beautiful men in Anita's life. It's also expanded upon in the Afterword, where LKH pontificates for thirteen pages about her writing process. Here you get a blow by blow description of a real-life encounter with a waiter that inspired the novel, which is repeated almost verbatim in the lunch scene. LKH admits to Divine Misdemeanors being hindered by the overwhelming, looming presence of this story idea in her head.

And in case you still don't get it, you're treated to a five-page cartoon strip done by a good friend of hers spoofing the seminal moment. Combined with three pages of dedications and an intro focused upon said waiter encounter... that's twenty pages of clutter wrapped around some light reading.

To sum up: 3 Stars for a new reading experience, -1 Star for the same old problem- too much fluff, not enough story and -1 Star for the price; even the discount isn't enough- for what you're getting this should have been a paperback or a minimal cost download or something.

(Edit on 2/13: Just finished reading The Laughing Corpse and noticed that this book is pretty much the same story, right down to the graveyard full of zombies ending- only difference being the zombies just go away peacefully in LC. So what's the difference?)

I enjoyed the book but I wanted more. The book is way too short. I almost didn't buy this book when I saw how thin the book was. I hate paying even Walmart discount price for a hardback book that should have been a paperback. Micah was marketed as a paperback so should this book have been. I have all the other Anita books so I bought this one too. I should have waited a day because the library called today and the book was in for me to check out.

As a die hard Anita Blake fan I hold out for new books on her. But this one was just kind of confusing and lacked substance. It didn't read well and the story never quite grabbed me as previous books I have. I ended up going and buying an Anita Blake comic to get my fix....

As a lot of other people have said, the books have kind of went from dictionaries to children's books in length. As someone who has been able to read all of anita's books on the kindle, they went from a weeks worth of reading to a few days. The book was good though, it just wish it was longer and more like real life and less like a soap opera: miss a book or two but you still know what's going on.

I would say this book is a waste of time and money, but it took less than 2 hours to read. This short story, and it is a short story since it does not have enough length to qualify as a novella, let alone a novel, is a waste of money. If you want to read Hamilton, get an used copy of one of her early Anita Blake books. An earlier work where she cared what she put into a book, not just about getting PAID. Flirt is just her going over old ground, and not very well. A good portion of the 192 pages, and how they came up with that number I'll never know, is her inane drivel about her writing process. She would be better off sticking to the characters lives and leave her's out of it, because, I for one, could care less. Anyone who buys this book new is a FOOL.

Despite being a mini-story, this book was very entertaining from the first page. For those fans that fell in love with Anita from the very beginning, this story is a revisit to the original books. The return of Anita's originality and personality was extremely refreshing. This particular book highlights the protective nature of Anita. If you threaten one of hers, she will get even. The book also helps the readers reconnect with characteristics that demonstrate that Anita is not just a walking sex machine. Granted, the ardeur is still present in this story; however, the ardeur does not become the entire story. Anita is more than this one aspect and this particular book brings readers back to the original talents. My wish is to revisit with additional sections of Anita that highlight some other talents beside just the ardeur exist. For example, Raine as a main character was horrible; however, as one that heals, she is ideal and needs more exposure. For readers that enjoy Anita, just being Anita, this is your book. The lack of men hopping was truly a refreshing change. Excellent mini-visit with Anita.

No need to retype what others have already said but I was very disappointed in this book. I had anxiously awaited its release, too. Way too short - in length and content - to qualify for "novel." I can't help but feel that Ms. Hamilton rushed the process to get a paycheck which is sad b/c I truly enjoyed most of her other work.

Ok, so without going into the plot of this novella/short story, let me say the following: It was a good Anita Blake story. Just not something you pay 10 bucks for. I finished the book in a couple of hours. Not a good deal at all. Look, start at the beginning of the series and read away. That way you aren't smacked in the face with a character who has the power to raise the dead (stronger than any other person on earth), vampire powers (long story), multiple strains of lycanthropy inside her but not infectious (even longer story) a small cold dead place insider her that makes her wildly dangerous with gun, knife, machete... she seems like superman and while she is, she earned it through 16 books. Start there and you'll enjoy this novella a heck of a lot more than a newbie.

I read that this book was like a short story and after reading it, I can't agree more. I love anything Anita Blake and am currently getting into Ms. Hamilton's Meredith Gentry series. I think there is a possibility that Ms. Hamilton was rushed to complete this book? I'm glad to get my Anita fix but the story was only 158 pages and I read it in a couple hours.

Spoiler*

I was disapointed that Nicky came into this book and turned to be Anita's lion to call so easily and quickly. I've been waiting to hear more about Haven and even though I understand he doesn't "share" easily I still had hopes for something more to develop. Who knows what the future holds in more books to come though.

I love Laurell Hamilton's style of writing and hope that Bullet puts Flirt to shame and will be worth the wait.

While the reviewer who wrote One to Skip is right about the length of this novella, he or she is wrong about its quality. It is well worth a read - especially if you can get it from the public library, as I did. Not strong enough to justify the price otherwise, unless you get a good discount, but those who love Anita Blake will want to read this, as it gives the back story to a character who shows up strongly in other books in that series.

I enjoyed this book but I read it knowing that it wasn't supposed to be a full novel in the Anita Blake series. This is just a short story that she came up with while writing another book, and she told people that in interviews and gives the reasoning at the end of the book.

I was happy to see more of the necromancy with a mystery and less sex. Some sex scenes are good but I don't want it to be in every other chapter. I look forward to the next book coming out because this book and Skin Trade both seem to be more like the stories at the beginning of the series. The only thing I was disappointed in for this book was the lack of Jean Claude.

Flirt by Laurell K Hamilton
The continuing adventures of Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, brings the reader to the most recent novel titled Flirt. Anita is approached by several customers wanting her to raise the dead of loved ones. After realizing the truth behind the requests, she has a moral judgement to turn them all down. However one person will not take no for an answer. A scheme to force Anita to do the unthinkable is contrived, and ends up turning her life upside down.
Laurell K Hamilton serves up another Anita sensual adventure which includes her male dominated sidekicks, Nathaniel, Jason, and Micah. All the recognizable pieces are here for another enjoyable episode from Laurell. With the combination of these familiar characters, a few new faces, and the walking dead, this book is an enjoyable easy read. Old fans and curious new readers alike will find this tale appealing. For those who like their novels scary and emotionally poignant, look no further.

This is the 18th book of the Anita Blake series of paranormal thrillers. Some say it is time to shut down the series, I say keep on going. This particular book is actually a novella, not a novel as it is 288 pages of almost double spaced lines. I still liked it and rammed through it until 2am last night. That almost makes it a 5 star book for me.

The formula is the same, Anita meets bad people, Anita goes somewhere with bad people, bad people get bad, and Anita gets worse. However, Anita did cross a new level of bad in this story.

Wow! The story was just getting going when suddenly it was over. If the next book "Bullet" is this short, I think I'll just check it out from the library rather than pay for a short story that is made up to look like a full novel. I did like the story, what little there was of it.

I loved this book i first read l.k.h when i accidently ran accross her third anita blake book. From that point on i had to read everything i stopped at nothing to get the rest of the series even though one was out of print. I fond on a paperbackswap website you can tell when i cought up with her it goes from paperback to hardcover. Any who i fell in love with the charectors and even when things got way to hot i kept reading beacause i loved them, i just skip a page here or there. in this book you saw more charictor deavelopment and less steam which works for me. Though dont get me rong there was steam. I could have stood seeing more of her guys though that i have not seen in the last three books and more on how the waretigers where doing. sigh oh well cant get everything can we. well i hope this helps you decide if you want this book or not oh p.s. if you have never read l.k.h befor and you dont like alot of steam then start on book one if you want steam start on i think book four thats where i think it starts also if you like steam try her merry gentry series which i also have all of .

just my opinoun (sorry about the spelling)
brianne

I still read every Anita Blake book because I can't help myself. Let me first start by stating what I do and don't like about the novels. Lets tackle the most controversial firt shall we? The sex scenes. I like them, the multiple partners doesn't bother me at all and I understand them. What I don't like is that the scenes have gotten stale in the last several books, it's like they are choreographed. I don't like the confusing metaphysical stuff. It oftentimes lately gets taken too far just to explain something that the author can't seem to explain any other way. Too many powers is too confusing and just frustrates readers. The heroine kicks butt in a big way by herself. She doesn't need a zoo of animals to call or any other myriad of powers to make a good story. The other thing that has dragged the novels downhill has been the excessive angst. Some of the books suffer page after page, chapter after chapter of arguments and discussions about things that should take a paragraph or two. Readers find themselves skimming over these areas.
With all that said, I think this novella was on much steadier ground than some of the previous books and it made me look forward to Bullet's release. I think the author is taking into consideration what the fans want... to some extent and is trying to bring back some of the old school Anita we all fell in love with. Now I think I have higher ecxpectations for Bullet, and I hope and pray it makes the grade. Overall this book gets a four star rating from me because I enjoyed reading it with hardly any complaints which I can't say for other books... though I've still read them.

There are more low ratings for this book than high and I don't know why. If this book is compared with others in the Anita Blake series like the dismal Danse Macabe it's definite improvement. The sex is still there but vastly reduced. The story was engaging and it wasn't left by the wayside much to over explain things multiple times. The only downside was it was too short, I wanted more. I wanted to see what Jean-Claude had to say abot what happened. I wanted Richard to start a pointless argument over what Anita did to save those she cares for. (Not that I like Richard, I don't but that's what likely would happen with him.) Flirt while a bit on the fluff side of writing leaves me with hope for the upcoming Bullet.

Well, to be honest, the book isn't that bad. I just felt it was a bit short compared to other novels. I guess it was meant to be a short story, but I don't agree with the price they charge for such a short book. Not really sure how I liked the end part of the book where she talked about her writing habits. Stuff seems for more of a blog than a book I had to pay to read.

I bought this for my kindle a few weeks ago, so that it would auto download. Maybe its my fault for not noticing the page count but I expected a novel and received just a taste of one. Which also makes me question the cost of it as well, to me it would seem that this book should have been part of an omnibus, instead of forcing fans to pay full cost for half the product. I am a quick reader and this book was done before I could get comfortable in my chair. However complaints about size and costs aside, I really enjoyed the story. Please keep the full size novels coming!

Flirt (2010) is the eighteenth Fantasy novel in the Anita Blake series, following Skin Trade. In the previous volume, Vittorio overwhelmed ten other vampires and set up a trap for Anita. Edward broke up that plan and Anita convinced the Governor to commute the sentence of the other vampires.

Vittorio fed off the ardeur of Anita and then went off to take Max and Bibiani captive. Anita walked into the trap and played Vittorio's game. Rocco spoke an Arabic phrase and Anita zapped Vittorio with her ardeur.

In this novel, Anita Blake is a US Marshal in the Preternatural Branch. The vampires call her the Executioner. She is also a necromancer at Animators Inc. as well as the human servant of the vampire Master of the City of Saint Louis.

Nathaniel Graison is a wereleopard and Anita's lover.

Jason Schuyler is a werewolf and a friend of Anita. He is also Nathaniel's best friend.

Micah Callahan is the Nimir-Raj the local wereleopards and Anita's lover.

In this story, Tony Bennington asks Anita to raise his wife from the dead. She asks his purpose in doing so and he avoids the question. After a while, Anita understands that he wants her to raise Ilse permanently.

Anita knows that such animation is not possible and tries to talk him out of the idea. He keeps trying to persuade her. Finally, she just tells him no and escorts him out of her office.

Then Anita goes to lunch with Jason, Nathaniel and Micah. Jason starts flirting with the waiter and Anita tries the same moves. The waiter loses control of his speech at first and then hangs around the table providing small services.

Later Anita has a client who wants to animate her husband just so she can chop him to pieces with an axe. Every time Anita says no, the woman just raises the offer. Finally, Anita gets her out of the office.

Then Anita goes back to the same restaurant by herself. The waiter remembers her and tries a come on. Anita smiles back and he gives her the best service possible.

When she is waiting for the check, a werelion comes to her table. She draws her Browning and points it under the table at his nether regions. Then the waiter comes back with the check and another werelion follows him with a drawn gun.

Anita manages to get the waiter away from the table, but the scenario is still too deadly for the other people in the restaurant. She lets the pair take her out to the car, where they frisk her.

Anita's lioness is aroused by the smell of werelions. During the frisk, the power of the lioness makes the searcher miss the big knife on her back. Both werelions are aroused by her power and it continues to bother them while they drive her to their client.

The werelions make clear that they are threatening Micah, Jason and Nathaniel. So Anita keeps her cool as much as she can to protect her loved ones. It also makes her more dangerous to the werelions, but they don't know that.

This tale not only brings out the werelion within Anita, but it also arouses the blood thirst and the ardeur. The werelions are tormented by her powers. They become thoroughly sorry that they took on the job.

The story includes an Introduction where the author promises to inform the reader about the origin of the story. After the story itself, she does explain how the story sunk its claws into her psyche and stole time from another story. At the very end of the book, she includes comic strips that show another side of the original incident.

This novel is one of the shortest in the Anita Blake series. It is also a rather linear storyline. It is short and to the point.

This story is a digression from the schedule. The next installment in this series is Bullet. Read and enjoy!

Highly recommended for Hamilton fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of were creatures, arrogant and ignorant humans, and a determined woman with preternatural powers. If anyone has not previously read this series, the initial volume is Guilty Pleasures.

-Arthur W. Jordin

When I first bought the book, I was disappointed that it wasn't a longer read. That said, I still enjoyed it. It was basically a short story, but I think some people wouldn't like it if they hadn't read all the other Anita Blake books. I find that I need to read a whole series start to finish to get a real feel for all the characters. I am anxiously awaiting Hamilton's next book in this series.

Flirt is a wonderful story about Anita Blake's "day" job as a reanimator. It takes Anita through her life so far and how she's both changed and remained the same since she first hung up her shingle. It's about the extremes people will go to, especially when they think they are entitled. It's about love and death and life and choices. It's about ethics and integrity and remaining true to yourself. In some ways, I think Flirt has more insights about Anita than any story yet written. And it is also a well-written story, as we have come to expect from Laurell K. Hamilton. Brava, Ms. Hamilton! I'm really looking forward to Bullet.

Flirt is a mild return to Laurell K Hamiltons original formula for Anita; some flirtation and lots of violence, something lacking (and much missed) in some recent novels. Not much to be seen of Anita's usual bevy of 'man harem', but a new addition to it. All up, I think this one is a small treat if you take it on its own, as opposed to being part of the ongoing saga of supernatural political power.

I don't know why people are knocking this novel. I really enjoyed it a lot. It got to the action quite quickly without a lot of BS. Why is everyone complaining. Thank you for a great read Laurell. Keep going my dear. Anita Rocks!!!!!!!

Wealthy business man Mr. Tony Bennington enters the office of Anita Blake, vampire executioner and zombie reanimator. Grieving for the loss of his beloved wife, he asks her to reanimate her so they can be together again. She explains to her potential client that the individual who crossed over will not be the same person who returns. He begs her, but though sympathizing with him and wanting to say yes, she knows the consequences as the love of Tony's life will not come back the way he thinks. She continues to say no.

A few days later, Anita is at a restaurant when were-lions Nicky and Jacob join her. They are hired thugs who are to kidnap Anita in order to force her to bring back Mr. Bennington's wife. They explain why she should cooperate as her shapeshifting boyfriends are hostages. Anita gives them her weapons as she accompanies them to their lair. Although telepathically asking for help and being blocked by a witch from communicating, she now knows she will work this one alone as her loved ones are at stake.

Although a short novel, Flirt is Laurell K. Hamilton at her very best as it packs quite an emotional wallop from the moment a grieving Bennington begs her for help and that keeps the angst level high. Also keeping the tension level high is the heroine's love for her mates as she fights with all her strength and powers to end this High Moon confrontation. Throughout this tale the passions run stratospheric yet the plot is loaded with action as Anita must contend with powerful hooligan shapeshifters and their boss if she is to keep her boyfriends safe and not cause collateral damage; all she needs is a plan to deploy as she is buying time, but nothing else.

Harriet Klausner

I had become very disappointed in Ms. Hamilton's books recently, at least the ones in the Anita Blake series. There were several things that I felt were being handled too heavy handedly, such as the ardeur. The sex was becoming gratuitous and, frankly, annoying.

The ardeur is still present in "Flirt", but it is not nearly as overpowering as it has been in past books. Perhaps the author is beginning to treat it like most authors treat the act of eating: as something that everyone knows happens and so doesn't need to be talked about too in depth, unless it is a culinary themed book.

It was a fairly quick read; I got through it in about three hours. There are still problems, I think, especially regarding the contradictions that exist within Anita. She is not the same woman we first knew in "Guilty Pleasures", which would be fine. A character has to grow, right? However, I think her morals have slipped into an area that makes no sense. They have not grown and expanded, they've slipped right off the radar.

Also, the descriptions of the men in Anita's life are getting tiresome. Readers of the series by now know what Jason, Micah, and especially Nathaniel look like. We know their height, their musculature, etc. It gets weary reading through almost the exact same text in every book containing these characters.

Something interesting about "Flirt", though, is that Ms. Hamilton did an introduction and afterword that explained the process she went through writing this book, from stage one onward, and what she felt about the questions that every author gets along those lines. It was unexpected and while it didn't add anything spectacular to the course of the book, it was nice to see inside her head for a moment.

The past few books written by author LKH have not been all that great. After you get past the novel "Obsidian Butterfly" you find yourself immersed into a story line of books that have little to do with Anita Blake being an animator or vampire executioner, but more as a succubus who has to have sex to survive, and continues to collect men to have dirty, nasty sex with, rather than her usual "tough" personality that has appealed to so many readers in the past.

However, with this new novella, "Flirt" the author seems to have gone back to her previous roots for a moment and this story actually has a plot you can follow and get into. The book is only 158-pages, but it is a good storyline, and the characters are believable. There are no vampires in this new addition to the Anita Blake saga, only werelions, and of course, Anita picks up a new boyfriend, the one-eyes werelion Nicky, but regardless of this small fact, the story progresses well and you'll be guessing right up to the very end.

Micah, Nathaniel, and Jason, as always, provide good supporting lines and character to the storyline; Jean Claude and the rest of the vampires are a no-show in this novella however; much the pity in this readers opinion, but still overall the storyline keeps you reading and I finished reading it in one sitting within 2-hours, if that shows how hard it was to put this new addition down. If you have read the beginning books of the Anita Blake series and enjoyed them, then I feel you'll like this small side-note.

After reading so many negative reviews, I was apprehensive about getting this book, and yes, when I saw the price, I felt that was too expensive for so short a book; I bought it used instead. That being said, I felt the story itself was good. It was good to see Anita getting "back to her roots" as a reanimator, like others, I have been missing Jean Claude, Asher and those guys in the last book or two. Yes, she does add to her "harem" and take the guy's will, but it was necessary to save Nathaniel and Jason, it's not like she did it on a whim, so I don't feel like it makes her evil for doing so.

I have only ever had one 'BAD' LKH book experience, and true to form this was a great and enjoyable read. That said its less a 'Book or Novel' and more novella or short story, there are 158 pages of actual story, and this is comprised of the usual large, double-spaced type.

The afterword and the included short comic that detail the 'origin' of the story idea is a great after-thought but the book it's self felt small.

I don't balk at the brevity of the story as it was complete and didn't feel unfinished, but it was - in my humble opinion - far too short for its comparable price to other hard cover releases that double or triple the page count and content. If I were an editor this would be something I would place in a volume with collected short stories or tales set in the Anita-verse written by other authors...

That said, still a 5 star read!

Anita's 18th story is a definate pleaser. I liked that the story was so focused on Anita and that she had to do things the hard way. It was nice to see Anita like she was in the beginning of the series. In charge and saving her own butt, not relying on any of her men and so protective of them too. I also loved the end of the book where Laurell K. Hamilton wrote about her writing process and where she gets her ideas. Definately worth reading!

I really enjoyed this short story about Anita Blake and what happens when she is kidnapped and magically cut off from her ties to others. I am somewhat disappointed by the price, but that isn't in LKH's control anyway. Shame on you, Berkley. Anyway, the flirting scene was great! The story also introduces a new group of werelions and a new twist on how far someone will go to bring back a loved one. I can't wait for Bullet, due out in June. Of course I wanted more, but this was a satisfying and quick read. :)

I have not read Flirt, nor do I want to. I have not read a new Anita Blake book in awhile. I got so annoyed that all she was writing about was sex. I don't plan to read a new one, and if the reviews for Flirt are accurate I am making the right decision. I miss the old Anita. I miss Edward. I miss the old, evil Jean Claude.

The book was great! Laurell K. Hamilton is a wonderful author and fellow Missourian. The entire Anita Blake series is a must have... Also be sure to check out her Meredith Gentry Series, another excellent series!

I read this in one night, and loved it! I like the fact that the author keeps the fans going by publishing a short novel instead of making us wait for another full sized one. Thank You Laurell K. Hamilton! Your Vampires are amazing as well as your Fairies in your other series. I highly recommend this author to anyone who has ever loved Anne Rice, Stephen King, or steamy romance novels.

If you like this series even after Obsidian Butterfly you will like this. I was trying to find a review on this before I purchased the book, but couldn't find one that didn't seem bought or hate filled. I love this series and have enjoyed it all the way through. Some books are better than others, but all are enjoyable. It was great to see some of the regular characters back in this book. I hope the next one is based out of St.Louis. Missed the vampire dynamic in this one, but on the whole a good addition. If your new to this series it helps to start with Guilty Pleasures.

Ok for all of you haters of the last several books in the series and lovers of the first half of the series,
I have to say that Laurell K. Hamilton is a spectrum writer, and what I mean by spectrum is that she started out horror mystery fiction and currently a horror romance fiction writer. Two worlds apart bridged together by the Anita Blake series. I have to say I was a beefy romance reader until I came to know Anita Blake's world and now love thriller horror fiction too. I have to agree that this was a short story that deserved to be the size of Micah one of her other previous books rather than a hardcover. No shame in going back to pocket book until you can fill a hardback shoes. So far in these reviews you either love or hate Skin Trade and Flirt or you love them. I fall into the "loved them" category. I love her writing it sucks me up into a world that I just can't get enough of.
Flirt is what it is, a tease and a prelude to what is coming. I love the story and I love the evolution of Anita. In Flirt Anita is coming to terms with her inner termoil and her life with the men she loves. I for one am a sucker for description and detail and Flirt is about describing and detailing a lot of her inner thoughts and how she behaves because of it. Quick read and well worth the ride. I can't wait for the next book!

*** SPOILER ALERT ***
Ok the story starts out like most of our lives do, at work. She is getting the chance to interview her possible client and things go south, for so many reasons. Total foreshadowing, but its good. I like how even though Anita is on the brink of calling herself a monster and not knowing if she is good or bad, her decisions at work really help her feel connected to morals and ethics which in the end puts a steel backbone into her conscience. No one but herself is going to break that.
Later on to the trouble scene, I love it. Anita is taken, lives are at risk, she cooperates with her captors but her lioness is ready to take center stage. (I would have loved for Haven to work out but you can't have everything) Nick and Jacob both werelions are just about to meet a formidable opponent. Not only is her lioness in heat but Anita's ardeur is going to things to a new limit.
Trouble ensues and Anita is out of weapons and left with a horrible choice use the ardeur completely or loose all the ground she has gained with her life. She makes that decision to save everyones' lives including hers. I love the practicallity of it all and that she finally realizes the tangled web of life, energy, and power that she is the center of. Taking matters in to her own hands she saves those lives important to herself, does something she would never have thought she could have, and scares another bad guy out of town. Now she has a new animal to call and a new lover to take care of. Mind you, she is moving forward, accepting what her life is and not wishing for something different. I love that she has grown up from inward arguments to accepting that she is no longer singular she is the center of something way bigger than herself.

For all of those asking "where is Jean Claude, where is Asher, where is etc.?" This one is going to leave you waiting. I understand that this story is not about them, this is about putting to rest a lot of moral connundrums inside Anita's head, if she doesn't put those to rest now when will she? She has to be able to accept herself so she can love everyone of her men for what they are rather than fight with her emotions. Practicallity was always a problem with Anita, but now she is taking care of whole ecosystem (Her state, her job, her lifestyle, her men, the problems that come with each partner) not just herself. Flirt is appetizer for what is still waiting to come out of LKH's head. So don't take it as an insult, flirt back and ask yourself questions of what can be next, what will be new, and tease yourself with those possibilities. I for one loved it and will re-read her series like I religously do before her next book comes out, so I am refreshed and ready to ask questions.

I bought it at 10 am at Target and paid $17. I finished it at 1pm. So yes it was super duper short. I liked the story and it was very well written. I probably wouldnt spend money on her next hardcover until I see how long it is. I hope Berkley reads these reviews and feels the economy just cant take spending money on 158 pages of big type. Please dont let us down with the next book and make the fun last longer.

This is technically the 18th Anita Blake book, but people should go into this understanding that Flirt is a Novella, it is a short novel that is meant to help with the long wait between books. Laurell K Hamilton expressed many times that this book was like Micha, it just sort of happened. We will get a full fledged Anita story this spring/summer. I cant stand all the complaining that this is too short, there is product description on the store for a reason, look at the page count there. I must say that this was a great Anita story, there was just enough for to hold me over till Bullet comes out.

I enjoyed this book. It deals more with Anita's being a necromancer which is what I liked in the earlier books. The reviews on the store aren't all that great so I was pleasantly surprised. I liked the section at the end where Ms Hamilton describes the process of writing this book. It seems most of the negative reviews are due to length but if you knew it was a short book before you bought it what's the problem?

******* I miss Jean-Claude - I miss the days of Circus of the Damned and Lunatic Cafe. *******

I lost interest in this series a few years ago and finally decided to grab this one hoping Hamilton added an actual story line in the pages. I read this in two nights because it was small, not because it was a page turner. In the end, I can say there was a blurb of a story but the main plot: Anita added yet another male whore to her harem.

For those who are considering the journey into Anita Blake's life - the first 10 or 12 of the series kick ass. Those books contain characters you can love and plots you will enjoy. However, as you go through the books, you'll note the progression of sex with hardly any plot. Sure, Hamilton can blame it on Blake's vampire boyfriend's bloodline or the werefriends, or her own genetics, but no matter how the author spins it, Anita Blake is still an uninteresting slut by book 12.

If you're new to ANITA BLAKE, VAMPIRE HUNTER -- definitely start at BOOK 1. Then read through the first 12 (about as many lovers as Anita has in that many books) then....put Anita to bed w/ her lovers and quickly walk away. It doesn't get any better with 13, 14, 15 and on and on...