Scan barcode
medievil_'s review against another edition
2.0
I think I need a break from Laurell K. Hamilton for a while.
radioactive_starfish's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
kinosthesia's review against another edition
3.0
Whilst i liked this book, it really didn't continue to keep my interest by the end of it and again, its more or a sexual-fantasy romance than anything to do with faerie. I didn't care much for the characters by the end of it to want to continue with the series, but it wasn't badly written, just not gripping enough.
eab_rose's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
crystalstarrlight's review against another edition
2.0
"Quit drawing out the story"
Merry Gentry is Princess of the Unseelie Court and co-heir to the throne--if she can get pregnant. Which she and her harem of interchangeable men are trying very hard to accomplish.
One fine day at the Detective Agency that Merry works (despite being royalty that attracts paparazzi easier than a bald Britney Spears), a man enters. After lots of hemming and hawing--a standard LKH practice to pad out the story and make her MC look supa amazing--Merry finds out the guy is representing Maeve Reeds, a Faerie super star who was banished from the courts 100 years ago.
One chapter is dedicated to Merry and her men driving to Maeve's house. (I would have thought that by going to her house, they had already decided to talk to her, but what do I know.)
Two chapters are dedicated to Merry and her men arguing with Maeve's bodyguards to be let in.
One chapter is dedicated to Merry and her men entering the house, meeting Maeve, who runs off to the backyard.
Another couple of chapters pass before Merry finally nails Maeve to the floor (figuratively), and they FINALLY talk about the whole point of Maeve's request. What is this request? Maeve wants children; problem is, her husband is dying. Also, Maeve believes the Seelie infertility is due to King Taranis' own infertility.
"It was dark by the time we arrived back to my apartment." Well, after how long it took to freakin' get INTO THE HOUSE and how much time you wasted tip-toeing around Maeve, I'm somehow not surprised. Actually, no, I am surprised: how did you get home IN THE SAME DAY?
Most of the actual solution to the mystery involves Merry turning to one of her guards and asking questions. Some of the questions include:
"What does that mean?"
"Are you saying...?"
"What?"
"Why?"
"How?"
I think Merry really should switch fields. She'd make a good investigative reporter.
But the job with Maeve takes a backseat. Merry and Doyle finally get their freak on--and fade-to-black. Yes, in a supposed erotica book, we get a fade-to-black between two of the characters. Lemme tell you, I wasn't happy. In fact, I was so surprised/shocked/horrified, that I checked with a print copy to make sure I hadn't somehow gotten a hold of an abridged audiobook.
In between lots and lots of flirtation, talking about her love with all her men, Merry has a few other things on her mind: repairing Galan's junk, having sex with a butterfly-like man, Sage (at least, I pictured him as a butterfly), arguing with her mother (whom she hates, of course), arguing with Nicoden, arguing with Rosmerta, arguing with a guy named Hedwig, arguing with King Taranis...actually, if there is someone Merry can argue with in this book, she does it.
FINALLY, after what seems like forever, Merry does end up doing something about Maeve's infertility (which produces the most AMAZING quote EVAH: "More sex. We must have more sex"). And she and her Deus Ex Machina bodyguards find the solution to a bunch of murders that abruptly appear halfway through the novel. Oh, and Merry and her men level up.
Gratuitous cute cat image.
I'm really disappointed in this book for quite a few reasons:
1) For an erotica book, there is a severe lack of sex. There are maybe three sex scenes in this book--maybe. One sex scene is fade-to-black. Even Auel's "Plains of Passage", a historical fiction novel, had more sex than this book.
2) The sex scenes aren't sexy. If reading/hearing "spilling power" makes you all tingly, these are your books; otherwise, they are going to have you bored.
3) There is a ton of time wasting. It's like LKH knew she didn't have much of a story and included her characters arguing a lot to make up for the lack of pages. One of the more ridiculous cases is the beginning. The beginning interview with Maeve takes up a good half dozen chapters, which amounts to a couple of hours listening time. If there had been actual content to back up this usage, then maybe I wouldn't complain. But when Merry argues with her boys for a chapter over what they are going to do now that they are at Maeve's house, I can't see it as anything more than shameless padding.
4) The murders don't occur until about halfway through the book. How can you solve a mystery in half a book? And not make the solution sound cheap?
5) Merry's men know everything. Merry figures out who the murderer is by asking one of her men, who conveniently knows about the Elder Man. This is a guardsman she is talking to; not that he wouldn't know, but half the fun with the mystery is INVESTIGATING, not having solutions fall into the character's lap.
6) Merry comes off as an idiot. Merry will waste time by asking for clarification on the smallest things. I am not the sharpest tool in the shed; I've been called "gullible" and "dense" before. And yet *I* could figure out what was being said easier than Merry.
7) Political machinations r coolz. Well, they would be if they weren't intertwined with the 1 billion needless conversations that pad out this book.
8) Interchangeable men. There is little distinction between the men. Not that I exactly blame LKH: when you have 6 men, it's pretty hard to make each one a different unique character. So most of them are identifiable (if that) by one trait:
Galen -> Green eunuch *snipsnip*
Doyle -> Queen's "Darkness"
Frost -> Eyepatch
Nicca -> Long hair????
Kitto -> Small, childish, creepy goblin
Rhys -> Uhhhhhh...
9)
There are a few things that make this feel less like a sexy, erotica novel and more like the wet dreams of a 13 year old girl. The super long hair of the men. How every one is ripped and has a perfect body. Instead of reading this and being turned on, I feel like I'm walking in on...something...that...well...I think you get my point.
10) Show not Tell. Hand in hand with pretty much every point on this list is the "Show not tell" rule. In fact, if LKH had employed "Show not tell" more, I'll bet I wouldn't have 75% of the complaints. Because you can cut down on conversations, characters knowing things conveniently, etc. if you have your character DOING something, instead of sitting around talking about it.
11. Clothes porn. As with the Anita Blake series, the story stops to update the reader on what everyone is wearing. Apparently, this also includes hair and makeup now, because, in the beginning, we get a long explanation of what sort of makeup Merry is wearing :P
And because that has been a lot of negativity, let me tell you some things I DID like:
1) Merry is a much more likable character than Anita. She is still painfully similar to AB, but there were some significant differences. Merry isn't ashamed of sex; in fact, she enjoys it. She comes off commanding and powerful instead of b!tchy and belligerent. And I feel she has more respect for her clients and people around her, which in turn makes me respect her more.
2) Faerie. While the political machinations were tedious this time around, I am still impressed with how unique and varied they are. And I think, for the most part, they seem to be consistent and make sense.
While I am hugely disappointed in this particular entry, I am not abandoning Merry. She's a pretty decent character and the land of Faerie is pretty interesting. And I need to read that tentacle sex scene!
Merry Gentry is Princess of the Unseelie Court and co-heir to the throne--if she can get pregnant. Which she and her harem of interchangeable men are trying very hard to accomplish.
One fine day at the Detective Agency that Merry works (despite being royalty that attracts paparazzi easier than a bald Britney Spears), a man enters. After lots of hemming and hawing--a standard LKH practice to pad out the story and make her MC look supa amazing--Merry finds out the guy is representing Maeve Reeds, a Faerie super star who was banished from the courts 100 years ago.
One chapter is dedicated to Merry and her men driving to Maeve's house. (I would have thought that by going to her house, they had already decided to talk to her, but what do I know.)
Two chapters are dedicated to Merry and her men arguing with Maeve's bodyguards to be let in.
One chapter is dedicated to Merry and her men entering the house, meeting Maeve, who runs off to the backyard.
Another couple of chapters pass before Merry finally nails Maeve to the floor (figuratively), and they FINALLY talk about the whole point of Maeve's request. What is this request? Maeve wants children; problem is, her husband is dying. Also, Maeve believes the Seelie infertility is due to King Taranis' own infertility.
"It was dark by the time we arrived back to my apartment." Well, after how long it took to freakin' get INTO THE HOUSE and how much time you wasted tip-toeing around Maeve, I'm somehow not surprised. Actually, no, I am surprised: how did you get home IN THE SAME DAY?
Most of the actual solution to the mystery involves Merry turning to one of her guards and asking questions. Some of the questions include:
"What does that mean?"
"Are you saying...?"
"What?"
"Why?"
"How?"
I think Merry really should switch fields. She'd make a good investigative reporter.
But the job with Maeve takes a backseat. Merry and Doyle finally get their freak on--and fade-to-black. Yes, in a supposed erotica book, we get a fade-to-black between two of the characters. Lemme tell you, I wasn't happy. In fact, I was so surprised/shocked/horrified, that I checked with a print copy to make sure I hadn't somehow gotten a hold of an abridged audiobook.
In between lots and lots of flirtation, talking about her love with all her men, Merry has a few other things on her mind: repairing Galan's junk, having sex with a butterfly-like man, Sage (at least, I pictured him as a butterfly), arguing with her mother (whom she hates, of course), arguing with Nicoden, arguing with Rosmerta, arguing with a guy named Hedwig, arguing with King Taranis...actually, if there is someone Merry can argue with in this book, she does it.
FINALLY, after what seems like forever, Merry does end up doing something about Maeve's infertility (which produces the most AMAZING quote EVAH: "More sex. We must have more sex"). And she and her Deus Ex Machina bodyguards find the solution to a bunch of murders that abruptly appear halfway through the novel. Oh, and Merry and her men level up.
Gratuitous cute cat image.
I'm really disappointed in this book for quite a few reasons:
1) For an erotica book, there is a severe lack of sex. There are maybe three sex scenes in this book--maybe. One sex scene is fade-to-black. Even Auel's "Plains of Passage", a historical fiction novel, had more sex than this book.
2) The sex scenes aren't sexy. If reading/hearing "spilling power" makes you all tingly, these are your books; otherwise, they are going to have you bored.
3) There is a ton of time wasting. It's like LKH knew she didn't have much of a story and included her characters arguing a lot to make up for the lack of pages. One of the more ridiculous cases is the beginning. The beginning interview with Maeve takes up a good half dozen chapters, which amounts to a couple of hours listening time. If there had been actual content to back up this usage, then maybe I wouldn't complain. But when Merry argues with her boys for a chapter over what they are going to do now that they are at Maeve's house, I can't see it as anything more than shameless padding.
4) The murders don't occur until about halfway through the book. How can you solve a mystery in half a book? And not make the solution sound cheap?
5) Merry's men know everything. Merry figures out who the murderer is by asking one of her men, who conveniently knows about the Elder Man. This is a guardsman she is talking to; not that he wouldn't know, but half the fun with the mystery is INVESTIGATING, not having solutions fall into the character's lap.
6) Merry comes off as an idiot. Merry will waste time by asking for clarification on the smallest things. I am not the sharpest tool in the shed; I've been called "gullible" and "dense" before. And yet *I* could figure out what was being said easier than Merry.
7) Political machinations r coolz. Well, they would be if they weren't intertwined with the 1 billion needless conversations that pad out this book.
8) Interchangeable men. There is little distinction between the men. Not that I exactly blame LKH: when you have 6 men, it's pretty hard to make each one a different unique character. So most of them are identifiable (if that) by one trait:
Galen -> Green eunuch *snipsnip*
Doyle -> Queen's "Darkness"
Frost -> Eyepatch
Nicca -> Long hair????
Kitto -> Small, childish, creepy goblin
Rhys -> Uhhhhhh...
9)
There are a few things that make this feel less like a sexy, erotica novel and more like the wet dreams of a 13 year old girl. The super long hair of the men. How every one is ripped and has a perfect body. Instead of reading this and being turned on, I feel like I'm walking in on...something...that...well...I think you get my point.
10) Show not Tell. Hand in hand with pretty much every point on this list is the "Show not tell" rule. In fact, if LKH had employed "Show not tell" more, I'll bet I wouldn't have 75% of the complaints. Because you can cut down on conversations, characters knowing things conveniently, etc. if you have your character DOING something, instead of sitting around talking about it.
11. Clothes porn. As with the Anita Blake series, the story stops to update the reader on what everyone is wearing. Apparently, this also includes hair and makeup now, because, in the beginning, we get a long explanation of what sort of makeup Merry is wearing :P
And because that has been a lot of negativity, let me tell you some things I DID like:
1) Merry is a much more likable character than Anita. She is still painfully similar to AB, but there were some significant differences. Merry isn't ashamed of sex; in fact, she enjoys it. She comes off commanding and powerful instead of b!tchy and belligerent. And I feel she has more respect for her clients and people around her, which in turn makes me respect her more.
2) Faerie. While the political machinations were tedious this time around, I am still impressed with how unique and varied they are. And I think, for the most part, they seem to be consistent and make sense.
While I am hugely disappointed in this particular entry, I am not abandoning Merry. She's a pretty decent character and the land of Faerie is pretty interesting. And I need to read that tentacle sex scene!
kathydavie's review against another edition
5.0
Second in the Meredith Gentry erotic urban fantasy series revolving around a half-fae princess and her harem in Los Angeles.
My Take
It’s a world we don’t want to acknowledge and yet is so fascinating in its macabre acceptance of what they consider normal. An excellent example of how power corrupts absolutely mixed in with dethroned gods and goddesses.
I love the culture of fae that Hamilton has created. That she chose the Unseelie instead of the Seelie, showing us the more positive side of the Dark versus the negative of the Light. It’s a complex culture with each species within it having yet more subcultures with their own customs and mores.
No, it’s definitely not sweetness and light in the Unseelie Court, but as Merry points out, they are more honest than the Seelie. And certainly more compassionate with all the orphans they take in. But don’t be fooled as both courts are deadly, even if the Dark is more accepting.
Yup, Merry is definitely channeling Anita Blake when she demands Rhys’ cooperation. You can hear Anita in her tone and her stance.
Hmmm, the worshipping rule continues into this story.
Crack me up. The dread Doyle is afraid of driving in a car, and Galen in his peekaboo apron. The men are such a contrast between themselves and similar yet different from other humans. And Frost, poor Frost is so terrified that when Merry does conceive, it won’t be a child with him, and he’ll have to return to the queen. A fear too many of the guard have.
Interesting contrast: Merry and Galen’s fertility ritual is a success and yet the fae are dying.
The Story
An unexpected and very dangerous client wants Merry and her men for an even more unexpected reason. One that could even more firmly cause Taranis to set assassins on their tails.
But humanity is in even greater danger, for the Nameless has been released to hunt. It can only be a fae who set it free, and if the human world should learn of it, the fae could be exiled from America.
The Characters
Meredith “Merry Gentry” NicEssus, Princess of Flesh of the high court of Faerie, has returned to L.A. Prince Essus was her father and Andais’ brother, and he taught her much about the other courts of Faerie. Besaba is Merry’s very vain mother.
Merry’s Unseelie high-court sidhe include:
Each man is a Raven, one of the Queen’s guards, but now they are Merry’s, possible consorts if one of them can get her pregnant. There’s Frost, a.k.a., the Killing Frost who carries Winter Kiss, the one with whom she’s in love. Doyle is part phouka and was the Queen’s Darkness who carries a deadly blade AND Snick and Snack, now he’s Merry’s. Now that he’s realized there are other ways to lose. Rhys is who he is now; before, he was a death god, the Lord of Relics, older than most of the sidhe, and too stubborn to realize that other courts have other customs. Now he has a passion for Bogey and film noir. Nicca is one of the guard, but soft. Galen, the Green Man, is Merry’s first love, too sweet and trusting to survive.
The plus-two-thousand-year-old Kitto is one of Merry’s, but a snake goblin and a symbol of her alliance with the very angry Kurag, king of Goblins. Queen Niceven holds Galen’s cure, until she passes it on to the hateful Sage in her own bid for power. Taranis Thunderer is the King of Light and Illusion of the Seelie Court and Merry’s great-uncle who set aside his second wife of a hundred years, Conan of Cuala, because she didn’t bear him a child. Hedwick is a dimwitted secondary secretary while Dame Rosmerta is the main social secretary.
Jeremy Grey, a trow, owns the Grey Detective Agency, which specializes in supernatural problems. Teresa is an agency psychic. Detective Lucy Tate is friendly towards the fae. Lieutenant Peterson is terrified of Merry, ever since the Branwyn’s Tears incident at the station in A Kiss of Shadows, 1. Bucca-Dhu is a diminished sidhe god and part of the ritual that brought the ghosts of dead gods, the Starving Ones, to life.
Queen Andais, the vicious and sadistic Queen of Air and Darkness is desperate for a child of her bloodline. Her son, Prince Cel, the Prince of Old Blood, is more likely to be executed for his beyond psychopathic crimes while her niece, Merry, is only a half-blood. Siobhan is the mad head of his guards.
Jeffrey Maison works for Maeve Reed, a fae exiled by Taranis, who took Hollywood and the world by storm. She had been a goddess of beauty and spring, Conchenn, but then Taranis exiled her. Some hundred years ago. Gordon Reed, the director who made her a star, is Maeve’s beloved...and dying...husband. Marie is Maeve’s young assistant.
Ethan Kane of the Kane and Hart Agency, the Grey Detective Agency’s only real rivals in L.A., is hostile toward Merry and her men. Max Corbin and Frank are two of the bodyguards. Jordon and Julian Hart are twins and strong in their own powers. Adam Kane is Julian’s lover and Ethan’s brother.
The Nameless is a conglomeration “of everything too awful, too hungry” in sidhe powers. All that is the worst of the Seelie and the Unseelie. A creation that allowed the Courts to come to America.
The Cover
The cover is dark and purpled in its old Hollywood effect with the wrought iron curls and and frills of the frame partially enclosing Merry, with Doyle’s turn in Merry’s bedroom.
The title is a hint of the Darkness for he and the others are coming out into the Light, and it’s A Caress of Twilight on them all.
My Take
It’s a world we don’t want to acknowledge and yet is so fascinating in its macabre acceptance of what they consider normal. An excellent example of how power corrupts absolutely mixed in with dethroned gods and goddesses.
I love the culture of fae that Hamilton has created. That she chose the Unseelie instead of the Seelie, showing us the more positive side of the Dark versus the negative of the Light. It’s a complex culture with each species within it having yet more subcultures with their own customs and mores.
No, it’s definitely not sweetness and light in the Unseelie Court, but as Merry points out, they are more honest than the Seelie. And certainly more compassionate with all the orphans they take in. But don’t be fooled as both courts are deadly, even if the Dark is more accepting.
Yup, Merry is definitely channeling Anita Blake when she demands Rhys’ cooperation. You can hear Anita in her tone and her stance.
Hmmm, the worshipping rule continues into this story.
Crack me up. The dread Doyle is afraid of driving in a car, and Galen in his peekaboo apron. The men are such a contrast between themselves and similar yet different from other humans. And Frost, poor Frost is so terrified that when Merry does conceive, it won’t be a child with him, and he’ll have to return to the queen. A fear too many of the guard have.
Interesting contrast: Merry and Galen’s fertility ritual is a success and yet the fae are dying.
The Story
An unexpected and very dangerous client wants Merry and her men for an even more unexpected reason. One that could even more firmly cause Taranis to set assassins on their tails.
But humanity is in even greater danger, for the Nameless has been released to hunt. It can only be a fae who set it free, and if the human world should learn of it, the fae could be exiled from America.
The Characters
Meredith “Merry Gentry” NicEssus, Princess of Flesh of the high court of Faerie, has returned to L.A. Prince Essus was her father and Andais’ brother, and he taught her much about the other courts of Faerie. Besaba is Merry’s very vain mother.
Merry’s Unseelie high-court sidhe include:
Each man is a Raven, one of the Queen’s guards, but now they are Merry’s, possible consorts if one of them can get her pregnant. There’s Frost, a.k.a., the Killing Frost who carries Winter Kiss, the one with whom she’s in love. Doyle is part phouka and was the Queen’s Darkness who carries a deadly blade AND Snick and Snack, now he’s Merry’s. Now that he’s realized there are other ways to lose. Rhys is who he is now; before, he was a death god, the Lord of Relics, older than most of the sidhe, and too stubborn to realize that other courts have other customs. Now he has a passion for Bogey and film noir. Nicca is one of the guard, but soft. Galen, the Green Man, is Merry’s first love, too sweet and trusting to survive.
The plus-two-thousand-year-old Kitto is one of Merry’s, but a snake goblin and a symbol of her alliance with the very angry Kurag, king of Goblins. Queen Niceven holds Galen’s cure, until she passes it on to the hateful Sage in her own bid for power. Taranis Thunderer is the King of Light and Illusion of the Seelie Court and Merry’s great-uncle who set aside his second wife of a hundred years, Conan of Cuala, because she didn’t bear him a child. Hedwick is a dimwitted secondary secretary while Dame Rosmerta is the main social secretary.
Jeremy Grey, a trow, owns the Grey Detective Agency, which specializes in supernatural problems. Teresa is an agency psychic. Detective Lucy Tate is friendly towards the fae. Lieutenant Peterson is terrified of Merry, ever since the Branwyn’s Tears incident at the station in A Kiss of Shadows, 1. Bucca-Dhu is a diminished sidhe god and part of the ritual that brought the ghosts of dead gods, the Starving Ones, to life.
Queen Andais, the vicious and sadistic Queen of Air and Darkness is desperate for a child of her bloodline. Her son, Prince Cel, the Prince of Old Blood, is more likely to be executed for his beyond psychopathic crimes while her niece, Merry, is only a half-blood. Siobhan is the mad head of his guards.
Jeffrey Maison works for Maeve Reed, a fae exiled by Taranis, who took Hollywood and the world by storm. She had been a goddess of beauty and spring, Conchenn, but then Taranis exiled her. Some hundred years ago. Gordon Reed, the director who made her a star, is Maeve’s beloved...and dying...husband. Marie is Maeve’s young assistant.
Ethan Kane of the Kane and Hart Agency, the Grey Detective Agency’s only real rivals in L.A., is hostile toward Merry and her men. Max Corbin and Frank are two of the bodyguards. Jordon and Julian Hart are twins and strong in their own powers. Adam Kane is Julian’s lover and Ethan’s brother.
The Nameless is a conglomeration “of everything too awful, too hungry” in sidhe powers. All that is the worst of the Seelie and the Unseelie. A creation that allowed the Courts to come to America.
The Cover
The cover is dark and purpled in its old Hollywood effect with the wrought iron curls and and frills of the frame partially enclosing Merry, with Doyle’s turn in Merry’s bedroom.
The title is a hint of the Darkness for he and the others are coming out into the Light, and it’s A Caress of Twilight on them all.
kzimm2024's review against another edition
4.0
I am not sure if I want to continue- these are not free books people and if I have to pay, well, it better be worth a 9 book investment. I don't feel like this is.
And the list of characters is getting ridiculous. I can feel myself talking myself out of continuing the series (even though I want to make sure Doyle gets to be one of the baby daddies!)
Its a terrific imagination and world building, so 4 stars for that. The descriptions of the creatures are clear and creative. So either I continue while I remember who all these characters are or I stop now...
I did like bits and pieces, like when the Queen lost it (laughing hysterically) about Merrys men having a sex schedule, and I really like to see more of Doyles personality come to life. And shocker, he never had sex with the Queen, so that is interesting. But ultimately the inconsistency I feel when I read these stories bothers me. People are not allowed to sleep with others and yet they are?
Make up your mind Laurell.
Anyway- all the other reviewers have way better reviews than I can put together so go read those :)
And the list of characters is getting ridiculous. I can feel myself talking myself out of continuing the series (even though I want to make sure Doyle gets to be one of the baby daddies!)
Its a terrific imagination and world building, so 4 stars for that. The descriptions of the creatures are clear and creative. So either I continue while I remember who all these characters are or I stop now...
I did like bits and pieces, like when the Queen lost it (laughing hysterically) about Merrys men having a sex schedule, and I really like to see more of Doyles personality come to life. And shocker, he never had sex with the Queen, so that is interesting. But ultimately the inconsistency I feel when I read these stories bothers me. People are not allowed to sleep with others and yet they are?
Make up your mind Laurell.
Anyway- all the other reviewers have way better reviews than I can put together so go read those :)
felyn's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
avid_reader_96's review against another edition
4.0
I loved it. I am hooked on this series. I can't wait to get my hands on the third one. I feel like I'm going to finish this entire series in one month, thats how good it is. I can't put it down.