Burt Offerings, by Laurell K. Hamilton

Anita kicks some serious ass in this one - Some serious Council ass! Richard continues to be disgruntled. I can't blame him completely, but I've decided he changed into the wolf the way he did to push her away. 

So, last book he changed to his wolf for the first time in front of Anita. Or more, ON TOP OF Anita. To reference my last review (The Killing Dance) "There's a part when Anita is talking to JC and she comments that she's worried that if she accepts Richard's beast, he'll be horrified that she could and reject her, and if she rejects it, he'll reject her anyway because she can't accept him." To expand on that, I think Richard changed the way he did to make it as horrible for Anita as possible. I'm not sure if it was a subconscious effort to push her away so much as to get her to hate his "beast" as much as he does. I don't think he thought it would push her to Jean-Claude though. He figures, at least a wold isn't a corpse, right? Anita even comments that if he had changed differently, she might have been able to accept it. It's not like he had no other opportunities to change.

However, some of his behavior is just ridiculous.
She's literally putting her life on the line for him and the pack and he's acting like she's the problem. Like when she asks why he didn't tell her about the were-leopards being without a leader and he says because they're just monsters and she wouldn't care. I wanted to reach into the book and slap him. His whining is starting to remind me of Ted Mosby (How I Met Your Mother). Ted is constantly lamenting when he'll find the one. Richard is constantly lamenting what a monster he is. Clearly 2 different topics, but the critical mass of whining is reached quickly with both. 

I think Anita puts it perfectly when she tames him beast while rescuing the were-leopards from the Council. She tells him that there is light and dark in everybody. He says he wants to lick the blood from her and that's evil. She says it's just not terribly civilized. 

This is such a good part. First, I think it nicely encapsulates her love for JC and Richard. Richard is her light, JC is her dark. Neither are evil, just not terribly civilized. She is trigger happy and paranoid. No doubt about that. She will pull a gun (likely her oozie) if you even THINK about threatening her. But she'll do the same for her people - for the people she cares about, or respects, or who are just to helpless to do it themselves. Light and dark. Richard needs to see this - in her and in himself.

And I'm going to use this as another vote for polyamorous (I can't really see a menage a trois. I don't think JC would have an issue, but more so for Richard. I do think it will START as one though :>) JC is a vampire, Richard is a wolf, and Anita is a necromancer, executioner, and is likely the most powerful of the 3. None of them are normal people. So why should they conform to normal conventions? They love each other. They should just go with it. Richard and JC may never have a romantic love, but I can see a bro-mantic love. I think Richard is the key. If he can let go of this idea that he's super normal, if he can accept both light and dark, I don't think Anita will be able to resist. Why can't we all have our cake and eat it, too?

Another thing this part brings up for me is the connection to the 3 of them have. Initially, yes, Richard and Anita needed to be cut off from each other. But this book, and this part in particular, made me think that this connection may be the best way to heal both of them. When you can feel what the other person is feeling, their pain, their love, it's hard to stay mad. I'm not saying it's a cure, but I think it may help. Which makes me wonder if JC may be keeping them separate out of fear that they WILL make up and he'll be left alone. If so, not cool, Jean-Claude. Not. Cool. 

We shall see. I'm already about 2 chapters into Blue Moon, so I know Anita goes rushing off, without JC, to save Richard. Can't wait!! :) 

Burt Offerings, Laurell K. Hamilton