Retribution (Anna Strong Vampire Chronicles, Book 5)

Anna a new vampire that has been called the chosen one ,The true Immortal by elder Vampires that seem to refuse to explain what that means,runs a Bounty hunter business and keeps the fact shes minus a reflection from her business partner who now on Vacation.And tries to hold on to her humanity as all her connections to her humanity seem to dry up. Oh and fight a evil witch who out to make a fortune on face cream that uses vampire blood as a base.And the new knowledge that her vampire side seem to be acting be itself like separate personality has begun to alter her sexual orientation to bisexual to make eating ehh drinking easier. And a werewolf with hurt feeling who blames her for her lost loves death who ether wants to eat her or kiss her. The book filled with dozens of plot threads that should be funny but are instead are pure drama and action and makes this wonderful adventure as Anna not the reader is the one having trouble keeping track of her screwed up unlife.Who desperately fights her destiny,her vampire nature that seems more and more like a separate persona and tries to lead a normal human life. This is a must read for any hard core Vampire fans who enjoy character development.

i have all 5 now and i really like these books...anna can be somewhat obnoxious when she doesn't get her way and pouts and tries to do what she can to change things but other than her denial of being vampire the book was good. i wish she would just accept it already b/c it's not going to change! frustrating and i want to slap her! but the story line was good and kept you turning the pages to see what would happen and who would die this time!

Anna's really, you know... Strong. But it never seems to matter. Take out the word vampire everywhere, and she'd just be a private eye or a bounty hunter. It's good writing otherwise, though.

She has been fighting a losing battle to hold onto her humanity, but months old vampire Anne Strong doubts she can much longer. Her parents are sent by Anna's nemesis to a winery in France with their "grand-daughter" so they cannot be used as hostages by those coming for Anna. She has few friends, but one of them is shapeshifting Culebra who owns a bar in Beso de la Muerte where vampires can feed on willing hosts. He meets her in Mexico her and asks not to visit the bar because he is on vacation and his substitute Sandre wants nothing to do with her. Unable to believe what he is saying, Anna goes to see herbut meets Warren Williams, the former San Diego chief of police and now the chief officer of the supernatural community. He warns her that six young vampire corpses have been found drained of their blood. Soon after that meaning Sandra summons her to come to the bar because Culebra is ill and may be dying. Before Culebra lost consciousness he mentioned Belinda Burke, an enemy of his, Anna and William. She cast a spell on him and the only way to save his life is to find the witch and kill her. Anna fears she and Culebra will die if she fails to locate the witch. Tracing the path of her enemy, Anna finds more drained dead vampires and a person close to her who is helping Culebra stay alive through magic spells is now near death. Killing Belinda becomes the only sensible RETRIBUTION. This is a strong vampire urban fantasy entry in a great series (see THE WATCHER, LEGACY, and BLOOD DRIVE) due to the lead professional who has distanced herself for obvious reasons from her family and has joined the supernatural community. Anna continues to explore her new powers as she also treks the dangerous dark world in which beauty is only skin deep is a mantra as the monsters inside are deadly. The world of Jeanne C. Stein is dark, deadly and dangerous; but most critical to readers is her species (vampires, witches, and shapeshifters) seem genuine. Harriet Klausner

I've been an Anna Strong fan ever since I started reading these books earlier this year, so when Retribution, the fifth book in this series released, I dropped what I was reading to read it instead. In Retribution, Anna Strong is still dealing with her two sided nature, her vampire and human sides and trying to accept her new life as a vampire, which I think she starting to come around to, evident in her new-found relationship with another vampire who is also a super hot underwear model, Lance. Warren Williams, San Diego's ex police chief and her ex-mentor now the leader of the local supernaturals, is pressing Anna to help find the person responsible for draining newly turned vampires of their blood. Anna is resistant at first because she still feels a boat load of resentment towards Williams for having a part in her family move to a winery in France, even though it's the safest place for them to be, away from the dangers surrounding Anna's supernatural world. As a bounty hunter, Anna has to be cunning and part sleuth in finding criminals on the run. These skills as a bounty hunter come in handy while she tries to track down Belinda Burke, a very powerful black witch who has put a death spell on one of her close shape shifting friends, Culebra. Culebra owns Beso de la Muerte (Kiss of Death), a bar in the deserts of Mexico that caters to the supernatural and when he shows up at his own bar near death with Belinda Burke's name the last words he speaks, the clock starts ticking for Anna to find Belinda. Anna has always been a cocky, hard-edged gal with a strong stubborn streak, who has always been quick to speak her mind and never takes any bull from anyone but she's always had a soft heart inside the tough exterior she shows world. Anna speaking to a bail jumper: "Save your breath, sweetie," I whisper in her ear. "The last glimpse I had of Hank, he was hopping in the back of a pickup. He's long gone." I reach down and haul her to her feet. I use one hand as if she weighs twenty-five pounds instead of two-fifty. "Looks like it's just you and me." Hilda is looking at me bleary-eyed with confusion and alcohol. "How did you --? What did you--? Where did you--?" I pat her head and push her toward my own car. "Don't try to figure it out, Hilda. You'll hurt yourself." I've enjoyed reading about the situations she always seems to get herself into but this time there was a spot in the story line that really bothered me and I didn't like Anna's reaction, which I can't say anything about without giving out spoilers. I felt her behavior wasn't inline with her character. It was the only low spot in the book for me. I love the characteristics of the witches in this book and their ability to conjure magic with just a wave of a hand. The witches here can be very powerful beings and they have a whole world of possibilities and dimensions. One of the witches in Retribution has a short story in the anthology Many Bloody Returns, the story g