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beautifuldissonance's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
I enjoyed this book but I'm not sure why as it was quite light on plot and was much more paranormal romance than urban fantasy. Maybe it's just that I missed the characters and I prefer this world over that of the Anita books. I had to skim past a lot of useless details, I'm not sure why LKH feels the need to go into such detail about what everyone is wearing, and the constant blather about how much everyone loves everyone else... Gag.
I want to see Bryleun grow up and rule the Sluagh.
I enjoyed this book but I'm not sure why as it was quite light on plot and was much more paranormal romance than urban fantasy. Maybe it's just that I missed the characters and I prefer this world over that of the Anita books. I had to skim past a lot of useless details, I'm not sure why LKH feels the need to go into such detail about what everyone is wearing, and the constant blather about how much everyone loves everyone else... Gag.
I want to see Bryleun grow up and rule the Sluagh.
killerkakez1224's review against another edition
It was an LKH book, long time fan and while typical for a book of hers, it was a welcome bit of smutty mind candy with a bit of political intrigue.
willeh's review against another edition
5.0
I don't think I'll ever be able to say a bad thing about the Merry Gentry series. Laurell still stands as one of my favorite writers and this book reminded me why.
The book gets off to a fast start and, I felt, kept going like that. I think that is what happens after you hold a story for five years. We waited five years (not nine months) to have the babies and to see what would come of that. Given the way the book closed, we could as well wait five more. Regardless, my main concern was the character development for these babies and I'm extremely satisfied.
This book is a bigger dive into her life and that of the men, even though we once again don't get to find out much about them. Some details here and there, yes, but still not much. Magic keeps running wild and rose petals keep falling, I have to add, EXCESSIVELY everywhere. I even found myself wondering if they had a person to pick these up. There's no way that whoever is piling these petals every couple of hours can be happy about it and I imagine negative thoughts insult the Goddess so...I don't know what to make of that.
The overall plot advanced some and there is a major loss at the end, but I won't spoil. I will say it is a man and I'll add that he wasn't one of my favorites and I felt nothing like what I felt when Frost died. Having said that, it was still pretty sad given that it some pretty amazing things had happened right before. It was bittersweet leaning on the bitter.
The end...well, again, I can see her stretching another book a couple of years. My imagination explodes with ideas of where this story could go, but it isn't mine and I don't think it'll ever go where I want it to or we would've been back in faerie a while back. Laurell loved the American aspect of Merry; she never fails to remind us, but I think it's some time we start kicking ass back home and if we're not going back home, it's time to start bringing home to us indefinitely.
Props for you, Laurell. <3
The book gets off to a fast start and, I felt, kept going like that. I think that is what happens after you hold a story for five years. We waited five years (not nine months) to have the babies and to see what would come of that. Given the way the book closed, we could as well wait five more. Regardless, my main concern was the character development for these babies and I'm extremely satisfied.
This book is a bigger dive into her life and that of the men, even though we once again don't get to find out much about them. Some details here and there, yes, but still not much. Magic keeps running wild and rose petals keep falling, I have to add, EXCESSIVELY everywhere. I even found myself wondering if they had a person to pick these up. There's no way that whoever is piling these petals every couple of hours can be happy about it and I imagine negative thoughts insult the Goddess so...I don't know what to make of that.
The overall plot advanced some and there is a major loss at the end, but I won't spoil. I will say it is a man and I'll add that he wasn't one of my favorites and I felt nothing like what I felt when Frost died. Having said that, it was still pretty sad given that it some pretty amazing things had happened right before. It was bittersweet leaning on the bitter.
The end...well, again, I can see her stretching another book a couple of years. My imagination explodes with ideas of where this story could go, but it isn't mine and I don't think it'll ever go where I want it to or we would've been back in faerie a while back. Laurell loved the American aspect of Merry; she never fails to remind us, but I think it's some time we start kicking ass back home and if we're not going back home, it's time to start bringing home to us indefinitely.
Props for you, Laurell. <3
sandygx260's review against another edition
2.0
I read "A Shiver of Light" during prep for my recent colonoscopy. There's something — fitting about the timing of reading this largely full of crap book. Aside from a few high points and one major character death, this book is mostly talk and little progress.
You know those annoying TV shows where, after every commercial, the show needs to give the viewer of something that just happened three minutes ago?
That's the way Hamilton has written this book. The book contains endless reminders of events that happened in the past, even if the reader just read about someone reminiscing about the event twenty pages ago. I swear Hamilton reminds us about Killing Frost and his beloved Rose at least six times. This happens to a few other topics.
Also, in case we forget, Merry needs to remind everyone that she can't have "intercourse" because she just popped out three babbbbeeees. Odd how she needs to remind the freakin' fathers of the said kiddos! Maybe her men aren't too hep on the uptake. Worry not— this just means there's long, technical descriptions of cock sucking and hand jobs. Skin glows, and as usual Hamilton whips out her favorite old chestnuts for describing fae sex. For example: "My hair was spun garnets and rubies wrapped around the shining white metal of his hand." 120 pages later: " My hair shone like spun rubies and garnets woven in cool fire across my face." Editing? Hamilton don't need no stinkin' editing to clean up any repetition. Hauling in boatloads of bucks tends to do that to authors.
As usual, Hamilton becomes bored and wraps up the novel in two pages, describing events that would have been more interesting to react to in "live time." No, more tell, not show.
I gave this book two stars for keeping me company when I didn't feel like reading something I cared about too much, and for actually surprising me with the unexpected character death. Not sure what Hamilton had against one of my favorite characters— maybe she's taken lessons from George RR Martin.
Not recommended.
You know those annoying TV shows where, after every commercial, the show needs to give the viewer of something that just happened three minutes ago?
That's the way Hamilton has written this book. The book contains endless reminders of events that happened in the past, even if the reader just read about someone reminiscing about the event twenty pages ago. I swear Hamilton reminds us about Killing Frost and his beloved Rose at least six times. This happens to a few other topics.
Also, in case we forget, Merry needs to remind everyone that she can't have "intercourse" because she just popped out three babbbbeeees. Odd how she needs to remind the freakin' fathers of the said kiddos! Maybe her men aren't too hep on the uptake. Worry not— this just means there's long, technical descriptions of cock sucking and hand jobs. Skin glows, and as usual Hamilton whips out her favorite old chestnuts for describing fae sex. For example: "My hair was spun garnets and rubies wrapped around the shining white metal of his hand." 120 pages later: " My hair shone like spun rubies and garnets woven in cool fire across my face." Editing? Hamilton don't need no stinkin' editing to clean up any repetition. Hauling in boatloads of bucks tends to do that to authors.
As usual, Hamilton becomes bored and wraps up the novel in two pages, describing events that would have been more interesting to react to in "live time." No, more tell, not show.
I gave this book two stars for keeping me company when I didn't feel like reading something I cared about too much, and for actually surprising me with the unexpected character death. Not sure what Hamilton had against one of my favorite characters— maybe she's taken lessons from George RR Martin.
Not recommended.
witchylevy's review against another edition
3.0
I love the characters in LKH's series but I get a bit bored when the plot feels secondary to sex. Don't get me wrong, this was a good book but she could have done better. and knowing that she is done with this series is sad. I feel that there is more she could write about Merry and the courts. If faerie is following Merry then shouldn't she be a queen of more than the sluagh? Don't know if that is spelled right. The issues with the children could have been expanded on. Also, Merry becoming a conduit for the Goddess for the soldiers could be written on. Did I miss in the book where the paternity tests came back? Bottom line - I was disappointed.
mirandal's review against another edition
3.0
I have always been a big fan of the Merry Gentry series, and have waited (and waited and waited...) for the next book(s) to come out. This one though, was probably my least favorite. It took me FOREVER to read and I don't feel like I ever really got into it. Let alone the fact that until I found it on Goodreads, I hadn't even realized that it had come out. Like many others, I felt that the important events took place in one or two sentences, but there are pages describing the children's names. I finally felt that during the last several (short chapters) I was finally getting into the novel and it felt like the other ones, but then it ended abruptly. I don't know that I will continue to wait for a series that takes to long to write the next one, that I can't remember what happened before, or what happened in the previous chapters (Frost got injured?). It obviously feels the LKH has lost interest in her own characters.
charlotteg0a807's review against another edition
3.0
At first I thought it quite repetitive actually for a lot of the book it was repetitive but I've been wanting to read it to end this muched love merry gentry series I needed to finally finish. I am disappointed with the end the last chapter of this does seem like I've run out of ideas let's edit this monumental event down to three short paragraphs in a interview room, when the end event should have replaced most if not all of the repeats, the event plus the evil king of the glittering throne end story needed to be more. A disappointing ending to one of my favourite series
libra35a's review against another edition
I can't believe I waited 5 years for this drivel. Why do I continue to read Merry Gentry or Anita Blake stories? Guess it's because after so many books, I'm invested in the characters, even if the story is repetitive and banal. Seems LKH is out of ideas and just submits something because she has a contract to fulfill. {smh}
horfhorfhorf's review against another edition
2.0
I'd like to swear off LKH -- and her lazy-ass "last chapter wrap-up" endings -- but I'll probably keep up with the Merry Gentry series for another book or two. If there's one thing these books are now primed to do, it's jump the damn shark.