Book: Divine Misdemeanors

Laurell K Hamilton
Fantasy
Ballentine / Dec 2009
Hard Back / 352 Pages
Series Meredith Gentry #8

You may know me best as Meredith Nic Essus, princess of faerie. Or perhaps as Merry Gentry, Los Angeles private eye. In the fey and mortal realms alike, my life is the stuff of royal intrigue and celebrity drama. Among my own, I have confronted horrendous enemies, endured my noble kin’s treachery and malevolence, and honored my duty to conceive a royal heir—all for the right to claim the throne. But I turned my back on court and crown, choosing exile in the human world—and in the arms of my beloved Frost and Darkness.

While I may have rejected the monarchy, I cannot abandon my people. Someone is killing the fey, which has left the LAPD baffled and my guardsmen and me deeply disturbed. My kind are not easily captured or killed. At least not by mortals. I must get to the bottom of these horrendous murders, even if that means going up against Gilda, the Fairy Godmother, my rival for fey loyalties in Los Angeles.

But even stranger things are happening. Mortals I once healed with magic are suddenly performing miracles, a shocking phenomenon wreaking havoc on human/faerie relations. Though I am innocent, dark suspicions of banned magical activities swirl around me.

I thought I’d left the blood and politics behind in my own turbulent realm. I had dreamed of an idyllic life in sunny L.A. with my beloved ones beside me. But it becomes time to wake up and realize that evil knows no borders, and that nobody lives forever—even if they’re magical.

I picked this book up because Series

What I liked the Most? The mystery - the dream come to life

What I liked the Least? More sex

Review: Divine Misdemeanors like the ones before had the potential to be something truly good. It could have been a fun, adventurous, and redeeming book filled with an interesting murder mystery and perfect "problems" in the ranks but it turned out to be is choppy, spacey, trashy jumble of scenes which are never cohesive. This was not an actual book - just badly disguised fluff.

I firmly believe that every book in a series should further the story along, that's why we crave & request series. I understand that a book can be a bomb - hell I even understand if a few books bomb, but if an author gets to the point when the story just doesn't happen, perhaps it is time to give up the series or at the very least honor the characters you have given birth to enough to set them aside until such time as you can do them justice. This was not a book that I would recommend to anyone. And that's sad, because I love her books.

Recommended to:Die hard fans of the series

Best Quote: I really couldn't say

Challenges: None

Book: Swallowing Darkness

Laurell K Hamilton
Random House Publishing Group / 2008
Hard Back / 384 pages
Series: Meredith Gentry Series, #7

I am Meredith, princess of faerie, wielder of the hands of Flesh and Blood, and at long last, I am with child -- twins, fathered by my royal guard. Though my uncle, Taranis, King of Light and Illusion, claims that he is the true father since he abducted me from my home, betrayed, and defiled me. And now he has branded my guards as a threat to my unborn children.

Bearing an heir has placed me halfway to my aunt’s throne, that much closer to my reign over the Unseelie Court -- and well ahead of her son, my cousin Cel, in this race. Now I must stay alive to see my children born and claim my place as queen.

But not all in faerie are pleased with the news, and conspirators from every court in the realm plot against me and mine. They seek to strip my guards, my lovers, from me by poisoned word or cold steel. But I still have supporters, and even friends, among the goblins and the sluagh, who will stand by me.

I am Meredith Nic Essus, and those who would defy and destroy me are destined to pay a terrible price -- for I am truly my father’s daughter. To protect what is mine, I will sacrifice anything–even if it means waging a great battle against my darkest enemies and making the most momentous decision ever made as princess of faerie.

I picked this book up because Series

What I liked the Most? And the story lines keeps moving forward.

What I liked the Least? He did WHAT!?!?!?! That is despicable.

Review:This book is an emotional rollercoaster - happy, sad, laughing, crying......everything. The story line is perfectly complex and totally engrossing. One of my favorite boy toys has always been Doyle, and since so much of this book was centered around him I was totally caught up in the story and I couldn't stop reading. I can't wait for the next one to come out!!

Recommended to:Fans of the series

Best Quote:"Silly man. I want you alive and at my side, not dead and heroic."

Challenges: 100+, Summer Reading

Book:A Lick Of Frost

Laurell K Hamilton
Fantasy
Random House Publishing Group / October 2007
Hard Back / 288 pages
Series: Meredith Gentry Series, #6

I am Meredith Gentry, princess and heir apparent to the throne in the realm of faerie, onetime private investigator in the mortal world. To be crowned queen, I must first continue the royal bloodline and give birth to an heir of my own. If I fail, my aunt, Queen Andais, will be free to do what she most desires: install her twisted son, Cel, as monarch . . . and kill me.

My royal guards surround me, and my best loved–my Darkness and my Killing Frost–are always beside me, sworn to protect and make love to me. But still the threat grows greater. For despite all my carnal efforts, I remain childless, while the machinations of my sinister, sadistic Queen and her confederates remain tireless. So my bodyguards and I have slipped back into Los Angeles, hoping to outrun the gathering shadows of court intrigue. But even exile isn’t enough to escape the grasp of those with dark designs.

Now King Taranis, powerful and vainglorious ruler of faerie’s Seelie Court, has leveled accusations against my noble guards of a heinous crime–and has gone so far as to ask the mortal authorities to prosecute. If he succeeds, my men face extradition to faerie and the hideous penalties that await them there. But I know that Taranis’s charges are baseless, and I sense that his true target is me. He tried to kill me when I was a child. Now I fear his intentions are far more terrifying.

I picked this book up because Series

What I liked the Most? She did it

What I liked the Least? Really, you just had to take HIM away didn't you.

Review: Just when I was ready to give up on the Merry series, Hamilton out does herself with this 'A Lick of Frost!' I have been a little apprehensive about reading this book because the last two books just didn't seem to move the story forward as much as I would have liked, but this book is the one that makes you go, "YES! this is why I'm reading her books!" It's full of unexpected twists and turns that actually really propel the story forward.

Recommended to: Fans of the series - You really don't stand a chance unless you have read the other books

Best Quote: "I've negotiated for pleasure tonight, Rhys"

Challenges: 100+, Summer Reading

Book:Mistral's Kiss

Laurell K Hamilton
Fantasy
Random House Publishing Group / 2007
Hard Back / 336 pages
Series: Meredith Gentry Series, #5

I am Princess Meredith, heir to a throne of faerie. My day job, once upon a time, was as a private detective in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, princess has now become a full-time occupation.

My aunt, Queen Andais, will have it no other way. And so I am virtually a prisoner in faerie–trapped here with some of the realm’s most beautiful men to serve as my bodyguards . . . and my lovers. For I am compelled to conceive a child: an heir to succeed me on the throne. Yet after months of amazing sex with my consorts, there is still no baby. And no baby means no throne. The only certainty is death at the hands of my cousin Cel, or his followers, if I fail to conceive.

Now Mistral, Queen Andais’s new captain of the guard, has come to my bed–defying her and risking her terrible wrath in doing so. But even she will hesitate to punish him in jealous rage, because our joining has reawakened old magic, mystical power so ancient that no one stands against it and survives. Not even my strongest and most favored: my Darkness and my Killing Frost. Not even Mistral himself, my Storm Lord. But because Mistral has helped to bring this magic forth, he may live another day.

If I can reclaim control of the fey power that once was, there may be hope for me and my reign in faerie. I might yet quell the dark schemes and subterfuges surrounding me. Though shadows of obsession and conspiracy gather, I may survive.

I picked this book up because it is a series

What I liked the Most? The Sex (it doesn't bother me in this series the main plot line is that Merry must become pregnant before her cousin)

What I liked the Least? The timing - there's too much happening in a single "day"

Review: Merry and her guards are in the dead gardens where once an entire world complete with sun, moon and weather existed. Through sex, Merry & her "dates" make the land come alive again. Merry then finds herself in the Kingdom of the Sluagh - their kingdom is dead too but when she has sex with its king, it comes alive, but not to the darkness of the past.

Side note - there is a LOT of erotic sex in this book.

Recommended to: Someone who likes books with ALOT of sex

Best Quote: Once upon a time wasn't as long ago as it used to be.

Challenges: 100+, Summer Reading

Book: A Stroke Of Midnight

Laurel K Hamilton
Fantasy
Random House Publishing Group / 2006
Mass Market / 416 pages
Series: Meredith Gentry Series, #4

I am Meredith Gentry, P.I., solving cases in Los Angeles, far from the peril and deception of my real home — because I am also Princess Meredith, heir to the darkest throne faerie has to offer. The Unseelie Court infuses me with its power. But at what price does such magic come? How much of my human side will I have to give up, and how much of the sinister side of faerie will I have to embrace? To sit on a throne that has ruled through bloodshed and violence for centuries, I might have to become that which I dread the most.
Enemies watch my every move. My cousin Cel strives to have me killed even now from his prison cell. But not all the assassination attempts are his. Some Unseelie nobles have waited centuries for my aunt Andais, Queen of Air and Darkness, to become weak enough that she might be toppled from her throne. Enemies unforeseen move against us — enemies who would murder the least among us.

The threat will drive us to allow human police into faerie for the first time in our history. I need my allies now more than ever, especially since fate will lead me into the arm of Mistral, Master of Storms, the queen's new captain of her guard. Our passion will reawaken powers long forgotten among the warriors of the sidhe. Pain and pleasure await me — and danger, as well, for some at that court seek only death.

I will find new joys with the butterfly-winged demi-fey. My guards and I will show all of faerie that violence and sex are as popular among the sidhe as they are among the lesser fey of our court. The Darkness will weep, and Frost will comfort him. The gentlest of my guards will find new strength and break my heart. Passions undreamed of await us — and my enemies gather, for the future of both courts of faerie begins to unravel.

I picked this book up because series

What I liked the Most? The characters

What I liked the Least? The short cycle

Review:As usual the men in this book are absolutely fabulous. I enjoyed this one as much as the others & found it hard to put down.

I am kind of hoping she can keep the lot of them when she becomes pregnant! I just can't see Merry giving up any of her beautiful boys - hell if i was the queen I'd be changing the rules. I found the whole series of events happening in the short period of time an interesting take.

Recommended to:Fans of the series or someone who likes SEX

Best Quote:"A flower may be beautiful all on its own, but a person is never truly beautiful unless someone's eyes show him that he is beautiful."

Challenges: 100+, Summer Reading

Book:Seduced By Moonlight

Laurel K Hamilton
Fantasy
Ballantine Books / 2004
Hard Back / 367 Pages
Meredith Gentry #3

I am Meredith Gentry, P.I. and Princess Merry, heir to the throne of Fairie.
Now there are those among me who whisper I am more.
They fear me even as they protect me.
And who can blame them?
I’ve awakened the dazzling magic that’s slumbered in them for thousands of years.
But the thing is, I can’t figure out why.

My aunt, the Queen of Air and Darkness, is no longer distracted by her usual sadistic hobbies. Her obsession has turned unwaveringly to me. The mission to get me pregnant and beat my cousin Prince Cel to the crown is taking longer than expected. Even though I spend each night with the Queen’s Ravens, my immortal guards, no child has come of our decadent pleasures. But something else is happening. My magic courses through me uncontrollably. And as I lock my half-mortal body with their full-Sidhe blooded ones, the power surges like never before.

It all began with the chalice. I dreamed of it, and it appeared, cool and hard, beside me when I awoke. My guards know the ancient relic well—its disappearance ages ago stripped them of their vital powers. But it is here with us now. My touch resonates with its force, and they’re consumed with it, their Sidhe essences lit up by it. But even as they cherish me for this unexpected gift, there are those who loathe me for it. Me, a mongrel, only half fey and part mortal. The Unseelie court has suffered for so long, and there are some who would not have it weakened further by an impure queen. My enemies grow in number every day. But they do not know what I am capable of. Nor, for that matter, do I. . . .

In Seduced by Moonlight, Laurell K. Hamilton brings the dark, erotic reign of the immortal fey to a startling new depth. Full of sensuality and the consuming anticipation of latent powers unleashed, this world of gods, shapeshifters, and immortal souls is unveiled in all of its supreme magnificence and its treacherous deceits.

I picked this book up because it's part of the series

What I liked the Most? Wow - it's getting hot in here.

What I liked the Least? Can there be too much sex in a non-pornographic book?

Review: Okay - Merry is not only a Faerie Princess, she's so incredibly beautiful that nearly everyone wants her, male and female alike. She has multi-colored eyes, naturally sidhe red hair and skin that moon glows. Of course she has "faults" (Can I have faults like these) such as being too short, too busty, too curvy, too mortal, etc. She's more intelligent than everyone else; she develops powers that are rare and always right when she needs them, and as of the end of this book, she's making people into deities with a kiss or a touch. Added all together, this character should be enough to make you want to stab her and put her out of your misery. The thing is, you don't quite get to that point.

Yes, the plot is predictable, the pacing is at times torturously slow and the characters can be annoying, but for some reason you just can't put it down. Or at least I can't.

Recommended to: Someone who likes sex in a book

Best Quote: "You're getting me wet"

Challenges: Summer Reading, 100+

Book:Caress of Twilight

Laurell K Hamilton
Fantasy
Random House Publishing Group / March 2003
Hard Back / 368 Pages
Series: Meredith Gentry #2

I am Princess Meredith, heir to a throne-if I can stay alive long enough to claim it.

My cousin, Prince Cel, is determined to see that I don't. As long as we both live, we are in a race for the crown: Whichever one of us reproduces first gets the throne. So now the men of my royal guard- frightening warriors skilled with blade, spell, and gun-have become my lovers, auditioning with pleasure for the role of future king and father of my child. And they must still protect me from assassination attempts-for unlike most of the fey, I am part human, and very mortal. All this royal back-stabbing makes it very difficult for me to pursue my living as a private investigator in Los Angeles, especially since the media made sure the whole world knows the Faerie princess is alive and well in sunny California.

Now, in the City of Angels, people are dying in mysterious, frightening ways. What the human police don't realize is that the killer is hunting the fey as well. Havoc lies on the horizon: the very existence of the place known as Faerie is at grave risk. So now, while I enjoy the greatest pleasures of my life with my guardians, I must fend off an ancient evil that could destroy the very fabric of reality. And that's just my day job. . . .

I picked this book up because second in a series.

What I liked the Most? More of Darkness, sidhe warrior and contender for the love of Princess Meredith.

What I liked the Least? The Ending - really - that's all it took???

Review:In the previous book, faerie princess Merry receives a ring and challenge by her aunt, the Queen: produce a kid before evil cousin Cel does and she gets the throne. We've got scheming and magic and urban fairies - and that's just in the bedroom. Outside the bedroom, however, things are getting messy - a mysterious force has left a number of people dead in California.

Merry and her men are working for the Grey detective agency, and they are given a case to resolve for someone not only famous in the human world, but infamous in the fey world. Will they all survive? Does Merry when the race to get knocked up? Will she finally find release in Galen's arms?


Recommended to: Someone not afraid of sex

Best Quote:"I also never thought you'd be so blessed down below."

Challenges: 100+, August, Para999, Summer Reading

Book: Kiss of Shadows

Laurell K Hamilton
Fantasy
Del Rey / 10/2000
Hardcover / 448 pages
The Meredith Gentry Series #1

A Kiss of Shadows introduces Merry Gentry, a.k.a. Meredith NicEssus, a faerie princess of the Unseelie Court, where politics is a blood sport. Merry, who's part sidhe, part brownie, and part human, never really fit in. She's short, not skilled in offensive magic, and mortal because of her human blood. These are real liabilities when your family, especially aunt Andais, Queen of Air and Darkness, is out to kill you. Merry has been in hiding for three years, living in Los Angeles and working for the Grey Detective Agency, which specializes in "supernatural problems, magical solutions." A new case sets her against a man who uses forbidden magic to seduce fey women and drain their power. A plan to trap him goes awry and Merry's cover is blown. Now Andais knows where she is. But things have changed in Andais's court, and Merry is changing too.

Despite the selkies, brownies, goblins, and ogres in this book, it's not for children. The fey are "creatures of the senses"--and in the Unseelie court, sex and pain go together. Merry is sexually adventurous and surrounded by gorgeous, powerful males, most of whom want her badly.

I picked this book up because I adore anything about the Sidhe and it's by LKH, what more could a girl ask for.

What I liked the Most? Darkness - wow. What a character.

What I liked the Least? It almost felt like you had to have too much background to enjoy any of the story. This is so&so his story is blank. For every new character. Not so bad in an established tale, but for every new character in a new series. Hmmm, little much.

My Review: I for one, love this book. Mrs Hamilton's writing style & prose comes together in a wonderful way with Merry Gentry hiding, living in LA (if there are any angels they are flying blind) working as a PI and she is doing pretty well. That is until one case reveals her as Princess Meredith NicEssus, the lost Princess of the Unseelie court. So she being brought back home, to the very place she has been running from for the past three years. The place where attempts on her life had been overlooked by the Queen, and even accepted by some of the nobles. It had been made very clear that she was wanted dead. But now there are other plans in motion, and the Raven's are dancing Merry's tune.

The imagination and thought that Laurell K. Hamilton put into this book is amazing. She created a world where humans and Faerie live and cooperate together. I love the plot and premise, and Laurell's writing style only adds to the story.

My Rant: Oh for petes sake, can these stupid whiney people stop crying about how Meredith was screwing every man in the book. It starts out with sex & it doesn't stop. Hmmm, I don't know what book you were reading, but the book I was reading started out with the girl at work, trying to convince herself & her boss not to take a magical murder case because it was bad news. And then she is raped by use of Aeval's Joy a magical aphrodisiac specifically designed to stimulate and make your body scream yes. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but this is still rape, right? Then she has sex with her boyfriend and the scene was more magical then sexual in description. So what if she has sex, she is clearly old enough to make up her own mind. If you don't want to read about sex, it's really simple - DON'T READ THIS BOOK OR ANY IN THE SERIES. I understand the beef about Anita Blake - she started out a prude and ended up catting around with everyone & their brother, but Merry is sexual from book one. Just don't read this series.

Recommended to: Adult!! Fairy Fiends

Best Quote: "I don't want your life, Doyle, just your body."

Challenges: 100+, Para999, Summer Reading