Oh, I agree. The author insert, the Mary Sue, the wish fulfilment vehicle - all have been aspects of Anita from the beginning. Most characters have a drop of their author, otherwise they wouldn't be written properly, but to go that far is pretty bad.

The progression of relationships in the series aren't even written well. There was a note in the early books that she and Richard had been dating for "months" when JC decided to blackmail her into dating him - but where were the dates, the actual writing of tender scenes? It just seemed false. Anita was so incapable of being in a relationship with its compromises that when Richard surprised her at her flat with dinner, she was bitching about her space. How could they have a future if she didn't take nice surprises well, and they can't survive their arguments?