Talk, talk, talk, talk, talk. No action! Nothing happens! Not recommended! ( )

It was a good read and an intro to something new in this series. It's been a bit since we had a new baddie, but I definitely wasn't expecting it. The book is definitely a wrap-up-the-loose-ends sort of book, but it doesn't feel that way while reading. And despite the extremely short time from start to finish of the book, it really helped clarify some of the things I know I wanted to see. It's a necessary book, but it's not going to be my favorite.
All in all, I appreciate the book, the amount of growth in it, AND as always it was a great read. ( )

Deimos has risen and is attempting to take over St. Louis. Anita is preparing for her wedding to Jean-Claude. ( )

didnt' finish, I may have read it before? ( )

I've been reading this series for over a decade and it's definitely declining. In Smolder, Hamilton spends over 350 pages rehashing the same relationships that she has been dwelling on for thirty years. I'm glad that Anita, Jean-Claude, and Richard are finally moving forward, but the constant revisiting of the same stories/trauma/issues is too much. This book is almost a minute by minute telling if one afternoon/night in these characters lives, if Hamilton spent a little less time on everyone's therapy regimen or reminding her readers about who a character is and more time on actually moving the story along it would be so much better. I actually skipped three books in the series and I don't think I missed anything, or at least nothing that had any bearing. Truthfully, the biggest news of this book was Richard coming back into the group, and that was basically a non-event.

This book could have been a couple of chapters instead of an entire novel. Reading over the blurbs for the books I skipped, it seems like Hamilton is dividing the stories between Anita's cases and her personal life (which I have a strong suspicion mirrors, some things that Hamilton is working through in her own personal life). Why can't a novel handle both areas of Anita's life?

That being said, the tiny glimpse we see of Anita's biological family is intriguing. Will I go back and read the three I skipped... probably not, unless I stumble upon them in the library. Will I read the next book... maybe. I just hope ( )