Jeanne C. Stein

THE BECOMING starts with a bang - as the book opens, protagonist Anna Strong is only moments away from a violent, but impermanent, death. Stein leads us through the attack, and then skips to the moment when Anna regains consciousness in the hospital. The doctor looking after her, Avery, doesn't seem to have much concern for hospital procedure - Anna has no memory of the attack, but Avery fills her in on all the gruesome details while Anna is still groggy and weak. He sends Anna home that show more very same day.

...Then shows up at her house later that afternoon, chipper as can be, to tell her what he couldn't before: actually, she's a vampire. He seems surprised that she hasn't already figured it out, and doesn't have any patience for her shock and disbelief. He wants to help her out, tutor her in vampire ways, but he expects her to be excited and happy about her new state pronto.

Avery is a total jerk. But he's suave and good-looking and willing to help, and Anna is completely smitten. She follows him back to his palatial home where he has a pretty easy time getting her into bed with him, despite the fact that she has a boyfriend of two years, Max.

At this point, I put THE BECOMING down. I have no patience for books about supposedly independent, kickass heroines who can't wait to fall into the arms of a big, strong man and let him solve all their problems. But this book had received so many fantastic reviews, and so many of the reviews had praised the twists and turns in Stein's plotting, that after a few days I decided I should pick the book up again and see what happens. Maybe Anna Strong would turn out to be more than just a doormat.

Well, everything I've described happens early on in the book. The plotting does have a lot of twists and turns, and I'm not going to spoil them. The problem that I had at the beginning never quite went away - either because Anna is a little stupid, or the author is a little clumsy, I'm not sure. I'm a little curious to find out what happens in subsequent books; Stein does have an interesting setup here, and if subsequent books are an improvement on the first, they could be very good. But as far as the becoming is concerned, my verdict is a great big, "MEH." show less

Why do I like Anna so much? "Legacy" is Jeanne C. Stein's fourth book in her Anna Strong series and I'm still asking myself that question. Anna's not overly nice, she denies what she is, and trouble follows her like white on a skunk. But every time I open the next book, by the end of the first chapter I'm sucked into Anna's life. She's not stupid. She's trying to do what she believes is best for herself and those she loves...yet some of her decisions make me want to shake her into next week! show more

This is urban fantasy and fine urban fantasy at that. Anna's world isn't much different from our own. Those closest to her don't know that she's a vampire, and she's doing her best to keep it that way. Vamps and witches and anything else supernatural are firmly 'in the closet' in Anna's world and that's where they're happy to stay. Now, if OTHER people would just let Anna be, her life would be so much happier.

This time the trouble Anna faces involves her best friend and business partner Dave. Well, Dave's ex..and thank god for that! But somehow in trying to help Dave, Anna's become involved in a murder investigation. And she's just found out there's werewolves! And their leader, Sandra, has some type of glamour Anna can't seem to resist...but what does Sandra really want?

There's so much going on in Anna's world, I can't begin to explain it all. Suffice to say it's addicting. If you like urban fantasy but in a world where the fantasy is secret...pick up one of Stein's novels about Anna. I bet you can't read just one. show less

Having finally realised that Frey is the one for her, Anna and Frey begin to dream of a life together. For the first time, Anna is not only deliriously in love but happy. Unfortunately, this doesn't last for long and Anna is informed her mother is dying. Now she must make the decision whether or not to reveal her true nature in order to save her mother or watch helplessly as she dies.

In order to make her mother happy, Anna and Frey decide to move up their wedding day. It promises to be the show more happiest day in Anna's life. Once again however vampire politics intrude and Anna finds herself meeting Vlad the Impaler and dealing with the European Council who not only do not recognize her position but have a completely different plan for how to deal with the humans.

Blood Bond is very different from every single novel in this series. Rather than dealing with vampire politics, it is largely focused on Anna's human life. Being immortal sounds great, especially when you factor in the things one will be witness to until the reality of the fact that at some point everyone you love is going to die and leave you behind sinks in. Anna has love and happiness but the reality is that even though she and Frey promise each other forever, it can only really be temporary. It gives the book a tinge of sadness, even as it allows Anna to experience the most growth she ever has.

Blood Bond is the last in the Anna Strong Chronicles and it is all very fitting. For the first time, we see Anna really begin to accept what has happened to her and what it really means. I found myself embracing this series in a way that I never have. The Anna Strong Chronicles essentially falls into the ass kicking protagonist trope were strength and spunky agency are meant to suffice for the purposes of character development and personality. If one is a fan of copious fight scenes, I suppose this is a plus; however, it's not something that never really worked for me.

The Anna Strong Chronicles had many problems from the beginning chief among them Anna's relationship with women. Anna is not able to get along with women who are not related to her. I thought that we were going to get a reprieve when Tracey entered the story but all they ever did was talk about the men in their lives. This series does not even come close to passing the bechdel test. A book is not simply pro woman because it has a female protagonist who defies gender stereotypes and is written by a woman. The female characters need to be developed, engaged and not constantly snarking at each other.

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Though Anna is the Chosen One, things have actually settled down in her life. Anna has been able to work a steady schedule, start dating a new man and basically live the life of her choosing. For the first time in a year since she has become a vampire, everything is normal. Unfortunately for Anna, this is not destined to last. Anna returns home to fine Chael, the representative of Middle Eastern vampires sitting on her couch. Her instinct is to kill him because he represents a threat to her, show more until he dangles a carrot that she cannot cast away out of hand - the chance to regain her humanity. When Chael brings up Frey's son John John, Anna knows that she must investigate, if not for herself, then to ensure that John John is safe. What Anna does not realise, is that trip to the Navajo reservation, is going to change her life forever. Once there, she must confront her White privilege and decide whether or not she can accept the vampire she has become.

Crossroads is easily the best book in this series since The Becoming. Anna has been very busy running around and kicking ass for most of the past year but while doing so, she has become completely self involved. While Anna has been concerned about the loss of her mortal life, she has done little to sustain the relationships she has developed. I loved that Frey pointed out that she would have known about him breaking up with his girlfriend had he bothered to call. Anna is forced to accept that she only turns to her supposed friends when she needs them and has not been there for them otherwise.

For the majority of this series Stein has seen fit to erase people of colour, and in Crossroads, she seeks to rectify this by setting the book on a Navajo reservation. This is a nice change of pace. Anna continues to be filled with privilege, racism and ignorance, and it is up to Frey to attempt to reign her in. Anna views the Navajo people initially as ridiculously superstitious for their instant distrust of her vampire nature and refuses to acknowledge that vampires do indeed present a legitimate threat to humanity, despite knowing that members of the vampire council seek to enslave humanity. For much of the novel, Anna exotifies the people of colour she interacts with but by the end of book she develops a sort of reverence, which to me, really still reads as false. Part of the problem is that she is on the reservation to seek out the council of an elder. It reads too much like wise person of colour directing the clueless White lady.


I am further concerned by the re-introduction of Chael as a character. Though he was described as a power hungry coward, I fear that he is going to be set up as the antagonist. This would make Anna, The Chosen One, battling against a male of colour for supremacy. When placed into context of the current political divide, it's hard not to see this as demonizing Middle Eastern people. Anna is described as the progressive one because she believes in protecting humanity whereas; Chael would have humanity reduced to little more than cattle. It reads as though Whiteness and of course a Western identity, represents not only morality but civilization and once again casts Middle Eastern people as sadistic, hopelessly backward and animalistic.

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