Anita Blake is involved in vampire politics in Burnt Offerings. She meets the vampire council and its quite unconventional methods. The council, especially Yvette, wants Jean-Claude to replace Oliver (from Circus of the Damned), but for sinister reasons. To make matters worse, a pyrokinetic (someone who can call fire physically) has burned various people and vampire establishments with the hope of illegalizing vampires again. Anita and Jean-Claude have to put a stop to this before it is too late. But first Anita has to deal with Fernando, a wererat and son of a sadistic vampire. Fernando is the kidnapper and rapist of various were-leopards and other shape shifters. By doing so she has to become the were-leopards' leader and protector -- something that does not sit well with ex-boyfriend Richard. He decides to make her as miserable as he has been since she broke up with him. Her hands are quite full. Will she be able to save the monsters, even those who aren't worth saving? There various twists throughout the novel...

Several interesting things happen in the seventh installment. The most important part is that there are a few new characters. The ones that I think will play important roles in the other novels are Asher, Jean-Claude's former best friend and nemesis, and Nathaniel, a were-leopard with submissive tendencies. Asher is the one that intrigued me the most. Hundreds of years ago, he and Jean-Claude had loved the same woman. Asher blames Jean-Claude for Julianne's brutal death. This is a great subplot -- one that I hope Ms. Hamilton delves deeper into in the other novels. I wonder if this love triangle foreshadows the future of Anita, JC and Richard. Asher is gripping, almost as sensual as JC, and I look forward to reading more on him. I don't yet know what to make of Nathaniel. I'll have to read more on him, though I must say that I'm not crazy about the aforementioned character thus far. Another good thing about this installment (other than Asher and his subplot) is that we are reacquainted with some of my old-time favorite characters, like Larry and Dolph. Though others were notably absent (I missed Edward!). And, of course, I was happy to read that the relationship between Anita and Jean-Claude has solidified into something loving as well as sexual. They're so cute together! Also, there are a few semi-erotic scenes in this novel and I think I know where LKH is headed. Burnt Offerings is another great installment, but it didn't grip me the way the previous six novels did. There are things that I did not like about this one. The thing that bothers me most is that this book has far too many subplots. I felt that LKH was going around in circles, not really stopping to delve into a particular subject. The story was hard to follow at times. Also, I don't like the direction the characters Richard and Dolph are headed. Richard is understandably hurt and angry with Anita, but his ranting and whining are too over the top for me. And since when did Dolph become a vampire hater? His attitude with Anita has changed since she started dating Jean-Claude. I do miss their friendly banters. Other than that, this is another great Anita Blake novel and I look forward to reading the next one.