A Lick of Frost (Meredith Gentry #6) & Swallowing Darkness (Meredith Gentry #7)

A Lick of Frost (Meredith Gentry #6)

Swallowing Darkenss (Meredith Gentry #7)

By Laurell K. Hamilton

 

 

Synopsis of A Lick of Frost:

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 vain-glorious 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.

Synopsis of Swallowing Darkness:

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.

 

Reviews:

I love this series.  I love that the female lead is very strong but she doesn’t mind asking others for help or their opinions when needed. There is a lot of real world Celtic history that has gone into this series and it is very interesting to read and research on my own.  The pace of the series has been very steady throughout all books which has made it very easy to continue to read.  My favorite of these two in this post has to be “Swallowing Darkness”…everything comes to a head in that one and it is super exciting.  I think I could have been satisfied if that were the last book in the series…but alas, there is another, “Divine Misdemeanors”…I am waiting on it to be delivered as we speak.

I would recommend this to adults.  Pervasive sex, some language and lots of violence.

 

List of Books in Order:

A Kiss of Shadows

A Caress of Twilight

Seduced By Moonlight

A Stroke of Midnight

Mistral’s Kiss

A Lick of Frost

Swallowing Darkenss

Divine Misdemeanors

Seduced By Moonlight (Meredith Gentry #3), A Stroke of Midnight (Meredith Gentry #4) and Mistral’s Kiss (Meredith Gentry #5)

 

(for all 3)

Books 3-5 (Meredith Gentry Series) – Laurell K. Hamilton

Synopsis of Seduced By Moonlight:

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. . . .

Synopsis of A Stroke of Midnight:

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.

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.

Synopsis of Mistral’s Kiss:

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.

Reviews:

I am really enjoying this series.  Ms. Hamilton’s writting style is very easy to read.  It has been very well planned out and I don’t feel like there have been any holes to the plot, at least not that I can remember.  There is so much that happens so it’s really hard to know if you have missed something or if something hasn’t been answered.  I can only say that nothing BIG has been overlooked.

The only problem I have had so far is that there are sooooo many people involved that I have a hard time keeping straight who is who.  On the flip side, each character is well developed and very easy to fall for.  It would be hard for me to pick a favorite.

This series has everything from romance and sex to murder and mystery as well as Celtic heritage.

It is a dark series in that there is torture, domination, power and somethings that go bump in the night.

I love how the author has combined the “real” world with the “fae” world and made them so completely different, from the way the politics have been handled to the perception of love/sex/power between the two worlds.

I can’t wait until I get the next 3 books in the mail.  I am completely hooked on this series.

Recommended for adults: There is pervasive sex and some language and violence.

List of Books in Order:

A Kiss of Shadows

A Caress of Twilight

Seduced By Moonlight

A Stroke of Midnight

Mistral’s Kiss

A Lick of Frost

Swallowing Darkenss

Divine Misdemeanors

A Caress of Twilight (Meredith Gentry #2)

A Caress of Twilight (Meredith Gentry #2) – Laurell K. Hamilton

Synopsis:

After eluding relentless assassination attempts by Prince Cel, her cousin and rival for the Faerie crown, Meredith Gentry, Los Angeles private eye, has a whole new set of problems. To become queen, she must bear a child before Cel can father one of his own. But havoc lies on the horizon: people are dying in mysterious, frightening ways, and suddenly the very existence of the place known as Faerie is at grave risk. So now, while she enjoys the greatest pleasures of her life attempting to conceive a baby with the warriors of her royal guard, she must fend off an ancient evil that could destroy the very fabric of reality. And that’s just her day job. . . .

Review:

This is a great continuation of “Merry’s” story.  It is still a little hard to follow, for me at least, because there are so many people involved and there are a lot of politics that go with being heir to the throne.

The author is fantastic at describing things but it can get a little long winded.  She is very imaginative and the world she has created get bigger with each book.  It’s fascinating to read it as it unfolds.  I still feel like it is taking awhile for the story to have any kind of climax and I realize that this series is 8 books as of right now but I still look for some kind of build up and there really hasn’t been anything yet.  I look forward to continuing the series.

There were a few typos and grammar errors that got through the editors but nothing to distract the reader from the story.

Recommended for adult readers who like romance.  There is graphic sex situations and some language.

List of Books in Order:

A Kiss of Shadows

A Caress of Twilight

Seduced By Moonlight

A Stroke of Midnight

Mistral’s Kiss

A Lick of Frost

Swallowing Darkness

Divine Misdemeanors

9th Untitled TBA

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• A Kiss Of Shadows (Meredith Gentry #1) (jjjernigan1.wordpress.com)

A Kiss Of Shadows (Meredith Gentry #1)

A Kiss of Shadows (Meredith Gentry #1) – Laurell K. Hamilton

Sorry I have been on vacation for the last little bit and haven’t been able to post my review.  I finished this one while I was at the beach.

Synopsis:

My name is Meredith Gentry, but of course it’s not my real name. I dare not even whisper my true name after dark for fear that one hushed word will travel over the night winds to the soft ear of my aunt, the Queen of Air and Darkness. She wants me dead. I don’t even know why…

I fled the high court of Faerie three years ago and have been in hiding ever since. As Merry Gentry, I am a private investigator for the Grey Detective Agency: Supernatural Problems, Magical Solutions. My magical skills, scorned at the courts of Faerie, are valued in the human world. Even by human standards, my magic isn’t flashy, which is fine by me. Flashy attracts attention and I can’t afford that.

Rumour has it that I am dead. Not quite. I am Princess Meredith NicEssus. To speak that name after dark is to call down a knock upon your door from a hand that can kill you with a touch. I have been careful, but not careful enough. The shadows have found me, and they are going to take me back home, one way or another.

So the running is over. But the fighting has just begun…

Review:

I liked this book once I was able to get into it.  It takes awhile for it to get going, at least it did for me.  The author is very detail oriented so that takes a lot of time and there is a lot of politics in “Merry’s” world and it can be a little hard to follow.  There are a lot of people involved in the storyline.  I loved the author’s imagination to create this Fae world.  It is very intricate and big.  It makes for a very compelling story and allows you to feel like it could totally be within the realm of possibility because of how closely her world resembles our world.

The only thing that I had a problem with was that I could not relate to “Merry”, the Fae princess, but that would kind of be hard for anyone to relate to.

The world consists of Goblins, “Real” butterflies (that can drink your blood), beings that are 13 feet tall, immortals, Shape shifters, ect.

I love being able to get lost in a world that is not quite real but it’s still on the fringe of possible.

There is a lot of graphic sex and violence in this book but if you loved/liked Laurell K. Hamilton’s “Anita Blake” Vampire Hunter series then you will like these.

I recommend these for adults who want a little romance, a little fantasy and a little action/mystery.

List of Books in Order:

A Kiss of Shadows

A Caress of Twilight

Seduced By Moonlight

A Stroke of Midnight

Minstral’s Kiss

A Lick of Frost

Swallowing Darkness

Divine Misdemeanors

9th Untitled TBA

Update Post…

I just wanted to give an update of what I am reading right now 🙂

I am currently reading A Kiss of Shadows (Merry Gentry #1) by Laurell K. Hamilton and I am about halfway through the book.  I will refrain from giving my review until I am finished which I am hoping will be tomorrow.

But here is the synopsis of the book:

My name is Meredith Gentry, but of course it’s not my real name. I dare not even whisper my true name after dark for fear that one hushed word will travel over the night winds to the soft ear of my aunt, the Queen of Air and Darkness. She wants me dead. I don’t even know why…

I fled the high court of Faerie three years ago and have been in hiding ever since. As Merry Gentry, I am a private investigator for the Grey Detective Agency: Supernatural Problems, Magical Solutions. My magical skills, scorned at the courts of Faerie, are valued in the human world. Even by human standards, my magic isn’t flashy, which is fine by me. Flashy attracts attention and I can’t afford that.

Rumor has it that I am dead. Not quite. I am Princess Meredith NicEssus. To speak that name after dark is to call down a knock upon your door from a hand that can kill you with a touch. I have been careful, but not careful enough. The shadows have found me, and they are going to take me back home, one way or another.

So the running is over. But the fighting has just begun…