To be honest, I wish Rafael had stayed in the same category as Edward, with no sexual interaction between them. The voice of reason, older than Anita, acting as a mentor and advisor when she needed advice the most. The Rat King, a force to be reckoned with, loyal and logical, selflessly putting himself at risk to protect his people and the people of others. Rafael, a strong character I've adored since he debuted in the first in the series. I was at a loss with that, to be honest, and closed out the novel because of it.

In the end, after 40% of a novel, Anita takes a shower, and after such deliberation, said shower takes half a page. At this point, I hope Anita never marries, as I do not like many of them in how they do not put anyone but themselves first, coercing Anita into a position they all know she doesn't wish to be in. This would solve the marriage conundrum as well. If Anita is their Queen, she cannot be their equal. The power imbalance of being in a romantic partnership with someone who is your subordinate is creepy at the very least. Return with some perspective and break off romantic relationships with individuals who should just be family/friend/metaphysically bound/coworker- they do NOT need to be her partner. The first 40% of the novel takes place in a hallway, Anita debating to take a shower, with whom (as to not hurt feelings) with how many (as if after working out you want to do anything but wash the sweat off yourself in privacy) who watches the shower take place (it's a freaking shower!) what will occur in the shower (other than washing herself)Īnita is so conflicted, she can't seem to make a decisive choice, use her voice, or trust her feelings, fearing she will hurt someone else's feelings over what she truly thinks or feels, to the point Anita has lost herself.Īnita is deep in there somewhere, and she needs to leave town and all of these emotional vampires behind (some of them actual vampires, namely Asher) and get some perspective, allow herself to be herself, and be around people who actual care for her happiness and mental health. If you're not into the tedium of wading through relationship drama that has been rehashed for books upon books, I suggest you skip to around the 60% mark in the novel and read from there. However, I don't believe there to be much confusion if a longtime reader of the series jumped ahead and read the novel if they weren't up-to-date, especially if they've read at least 20 or so of the novels.Īs a fan of the series, a fanatic of the author, I'm going to be brutally honest. Rafael is the 28th installment in the Anita Blake series. I received a free copy of this title to read and review for Wicked Reads

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