I suffered, so you don't have to.

(Unless you really want to, that is.) Consider this a guide for those of you who (like me) are going to read the book even though it pains you to do so. Those of you concerned about spoilers can stop worrying now. I haven't put any spoilery stuff in here, because the book has hardly anything to spoil in the end.

I read the book, mainly because I didn't have to pay for it. I just checked it out from the library. And I can honestly say, without over exaggerating, that it has no plot. None. Oh sure, there's that pregnancy scare thing, and a ton of master vampires in town, for a 'vampire ballet'. But they are pretty much handled badly (when LKH tried to jam them into the story).

What it does have, is a lot of sex, and 'talking'. When I say 'talking', what I actually mean is that if you take the same arguments and conversations that Richard, Anita, and Jean-Claude have been having, then duplicate them again, only replacing the names of 'Richard' and 'Jean-Claude' with any other male, you have the midsection of this book (with a bit of 'spill'over into the other chapters).

And when I say 'the midsection' of this book, I mean from Chapter 3 to Chapter 45. Chapter 3 begins on page 21. Chapter 45 begins on page 403. This book is 483 pages long. Aside from a brief stint in a hallway, or the one trip to the hospital, this section takes place in Jean-Claude's chambers/bedroom.

I am not kidding. It was painful to read, mainly because you wanted them to get the hell out of there and actually do something, instead of just talk about doing something, or screw, or talk about how great Anita is, or that they REALLY REALLY NEED TO TALK ABOUT ALL THEIR PROBLEMS FOR THE UMPTEENTH TIME ALREADY.

Did I also mention that Richard fluxes between TOTAL PSYCHO and 50's man that gets into whining crying jags on and off in this book? Consider that the mention.

What little glimmer of hope I had that the shreds of some kind of plot might develop into something more were dashed at Chapter 48, page 424 where once again, a badly written sex scene is substituted for actual story, because only sex can save them all!

She tries to go back to the teeny frayed plot thread she was heading toward after that, but in the end the ending to this book feels pretty rushed, and half-assed, like the ending to ID.

The only plus to this book that I can see? It was edited, unlike ID, by a professional editor. There are fewer grammar and spelling faux pas in this book compared to ID.