Thomas can't very well afford to dwell on beautiful women being beautiful, given his situation. But Molly's POV in Bombshells and Cold Case didn't seem objectifying (some people might have problems with the portrayal of Winter ramping up her sex drive in the latter, but it still beats Harry's personality change in CD). I think it really is a character issue rather than the author's actual outlook leaking through into the writing.
Yeah, if you read Codex Alera or Cinder Spires in particular (both written from the third person), it has very little, if any, of the horny gushing that Dresden puts in.
It also varies from book to book within Dresden -- basically, the longer it's been since Harry has gotten laid, the more he, ahem,
focuses on the females he meets. Compare his description of Lara in Blood Rites, when he's been separated from Susan for several years...:
The newcomer was the real thing. She was grace. Beauty. Art.
As such, she was not so easily quantified.
She would have been tall, even without the heeled faux-Victorian
boots of Italian leather. Her hair was so dark that its highlights
were nearly blue, a torrent of glossy curls held partially in check
with a pair of milky ivory combs. She had eyes of dark grey with
hints of violet twilight at their centers. Her clothes were all effortless
style: natural fabrics, black skirt and jacket embroidered with
abstract dark crimson roses with a white blouse.
Thinking back later, I couldn't clearly remember her facial
features or her body, beyond a notion that they were superb. Her
looks were almost extraneous. They weren't any more important to
her appeal than a glass was to wine. It was at its best when
invisible and showing the spirit contained within. Beyond mere
physical presence, I could sense the nature of the woman—
strength of will, intelligence, blended with a sardonic wit and
edged with a lazy, sensuous hunger.
...to descriptions of her in Turn Coat, when he and Luccio are regularly bumping uglies:
Lara Raith, de facto ruler of the White Court, sat behind the
desk. She wore a silk business suit of purest white, cut close to
the flawless lines of her body. The cut of the suit elegantly
displayed her figure, and contrasted sharply with the long blueblack
hair, which hung in waves past her shoulders. Her features
had the classically immortal beauty of Greek statues, balancing
sheer beauty with strength, intelligence, and perception. Her eyes
were a deep, warm grey, framed by thick sooty lashes, and just
looking at her full soft mouth made my lips twitch and tingle as they
demanded an introduction to Lara’s.
Yes, he's still kinda gushing, because it's Lara. But all the fantastical, flowery description is toned down to more dryly describing her outfit and her actual features.
