Originally reviewed on "http://bloodcrossed.blogspot.com&quot... Bloody Words. 
 Genre: Urban Fantasy 
 Rating: 6.5 out of 10 
 Buzzword: FUN 
 Theme Song: "Chrome-Plated Heart" by Melissa Etheridge 
 Favorite Quote: "You'd be amazed what a great target you make juggling two armloads of shopping bags." 
 Pros: Loads of fun, great main character, interesting plot and ending, unique world-building 
 Cons: Pure entertainment with no depth to the story or characters, writing style can become redundant and mildly irritating, not particularly engrossing or motivating 
 Summary: Anita Blake is an animator: she gets paid to raise zombies for various legally recognized or other personal reasons. In her spare time, she is also a licensed bounty hunter who specializes in meting out court-ordered justice against vampires. These messy lines of work have gotten her unintentionally entangled with the master vampire of St. Louis, a disturbingly evil little girl, who has demanded that Anita solve the murders of several prominent vampires. Althought Anita finds this distasteful work since she hates vampires and is glad they're dead, she is persuaded by the overwhelming power of this master vampire and her desire to protect her friends and herself. As she pursues the murderer, violence and chaos ensue. 
 Review: Well, I admit it. I enjoyed this book. It was fun, action-packed, and easy to read. The fight scenes were well done and plentiful, I found the characters interesting if not particularly motivating, and I was very intrigued by the world Hamilton has created. 
 Vampires, zombies, lycanthropes, all of these things are recognized by human society if not completely understood. Vampires participate on the fringes of the world stage and are legally protected in America. If they kill someone, which they don't have to do with plenty of willing humans around to taste, then specialists like Anita can get a warrant to hunt them down and kill them. I really like this concept. It has a smattering of realism, like True Blood, but takes it a step or two further. Makes for a fascinating premise. 
 But... it is pulp fiction. It is necessarily lacking things that I, personally, look for in my books. Guilty Pleasures, like its heroine Anita Blake, is exactly how it appears on the surface. There is no deeper meaning or symbolism. It's just for fun. I did have fun, but I have never fully appreciated "art for art's sake." For a lot of people this won't matter, so I won't harp on it too much. This is the primary reason I gave the book a lower rating than my enjoyment level might reflect. It should also be said that for this reason, it took me longer than it should have to read a 250-page paperback. I just... didn't care that much. 
 The other thing that would cause me to hesitate when recommending this book is Hamilton's writing style. Again, it's fine for its genre, but she reuses the same buzz phrases over and over, relies on very simple vocabulary even though this could never been a YA novel, and her tone is often snotty far beyond what I expected and what the story called for. 
 For example, the book is in first person from Anita's point of view, and she has something smartass to say about everything. It's funny sometimes, but when the situation becomes very tense, dangerous, and even downright sad, Anita continues with the same attitude in her narration. For me, it broke the emotional connection between the reader and Anita. 
 Other than those two things, I can't say anything more that's negative about this book. It was fun, adventurous... I might even say romping. It does have a touch of violence so it might not be for the faint of heart or the young, but I like that part. Keeps things real. I had a blast. 
 The thing I loved most about Guilty Pleasures is that Hamilton's vampires are BAD GUYS! Yay! The main character, Anita, doesn't chase them around like a crazed school girl trying to fall in love, she's trying to KILL THEM! And she kills lots of them, it's great! There is the obligatory sexy French vampire, but other than that they're evil, bloodsucking monsters. This was a welcome refresher from the Twilight-soaked vampire literature coming out now. Thank you Ms. Hamilton!