A Kiss Of Shadows (Merry Gentry #1) By Laurell K. Hamilton (Book Review)
((((There will be spoilers...You have been warned)))
Summary: Merry Gentry, princess of the high court of Faerie, is posing as a human in Los Angeles, working as a private investigator specializing in supernatural crime. But now the queen's assassin has been dispatched to fetch her- whether she likes it or not. Suddenly Merry finds herself a pawn in her dreaded aunt's plans. The job that awaits her: enjoy the constant company of the most beautiful immortal men in the world. The rewards: the crown- and the opportunity to continue to live. The penalty for failure: death.
In the opening scene we find Merry Gentry in Los Angeles and her boss Jeremy Grey convincing Merry to help two young women. One who is a wife and the other a mistress. Upon meeting both Frances Norton aka the wife and Naomi Phelps 'the mistress' Merry knew that they desperately needed their help. It seemed that Mr. Alistair Norton had a thing for the fae or those who are descendants of fae. The fae had a particular look to them such as being tall, thin, ethereal beauty, long hair to the ankles and an energy that screamed sex. Merry had her suspensions that Mr. Norton might not be doing some legal activities with all his 'special' women. Which leads to Merry meeting with him but she has to make sure to keep her identity a secret. Unfortunately, her plan failed miserably.
What gave Merry away as the long lost Sidhe princess was when she was exposed to Branwyn's tears. A oil that was spelled so it can make a human Sidhe for the night or make a Sidhe a sexual slave. During her exposure to the oil, her glamour was lifted and everyone could see her true appearance. Merry is strongly gifted in glamour, especially, in self-glamour and this is what helped her stay hidden for so many years. It was discovered throughout the novel that the oil was given from a Sidhe and trying to steal the essence and magic of Alistair Norton's victims. While also garnering followers of their own. Which is a big no no in the Sidhe new world. One agreement that the Sidhe had when they were allowed on American soil was that it is illegal to be worshiped as a God. But of course it ends up being Merry's cousin Prince Cel who was behind the whole cult and giving a human Branwyn's tears. His punk ass ended up getting punished with the same oil which can make a Sidhe go mad with sexual need. And of course he got punished by his own mother when he thought she would protect him.
This leads to the sluagh pursuing Merry. The sluagh is the nightmare looking creatures of the sidhe. King Solto of the sluagh was lied to by someone at the Queen's side to kill Merry aka Prince Cel. Fast forward to Merry discovering her hand of power and boom she has the hand of flesh, the same as her father. She turned one of Sholto's hags inside out...Literally! Just a mass of flesh and bones. But of course Merry not being full sidhe but part human from her mother's side she needed some extra help to get out of her predicament with the sluagh. And in enters the Queen's Darkness Doyle. First off, what kind of fucking name is that? I get that is not his birth name but why would you settle for a name like that? It's like saying here is the hellhound; Fido.
Merry ends up facing her Aunt after many years and is being told by the Queen herself if she gets knocked up by a guard then she becomes Queen. How nuts is that? Of course Merry doesn't believe it because before she left she kept getting challenged by Cel's supporters and the Queen simply turned an eye to it. Of course our girl Merry picks some of the most dangerous and good looking men from the Queen's guard to become her lovers. Merry is in a race against her cousin and whoever gets with a child first gets the Unseelie throne.
I don't understand why people hate so much on this book and on LKH. I really don't fucking get it. For other books she has written? Yeah, I get it. But for this book? No way. I absolutely love this book no matter how many times I read it. And the reason why is because it's innovative, captivating and original. I've never read a book like this thus far. Here is the thing. There was very little sex in this book while it was more talking about sex. She is a great writer and even without the sex it's an incredible book. She has a great captivating opening, action is building, character development etc. What more could you want?
What I love off the bat is just how much Merry has grown. I get this is the first book in the series but damn I love an empowered woman...literally! She left the Unseelie court running for her life and comes back with a hand of power that actually turns people inside and out and she is tough as nails. Not only is she a descendant from fertility gods but through sex she helped Roane get his seal skin back. And she brought the roses back to life when it seemed that they were dying after centuries. I am the type of reader who loves when the protagonist can fight back and doesn't depend on others to win her battles. She is all about strategy and positioning herself just like in chess. She got herself into an alliance with the goblins (I'd want them at my side too), she managed to get some of the best warriors at her side protecting her such as; Doyle, Frost and Rhys. I love that she is a bad ass redhead (currently a hot red head :P) and she's a fighter. I can relate to her in many different ways and her story is just amazing.
Rating:
I am going to give this book 5 stars out of 5! Obviously, I love this book and if you love supernatural, folklore and sexy warrior men then you'll love this book as well. I'm not over-exaggerating but I can't wait to read book #2. Merry is fighting for her life by having a lot of sex. Which sounds super crass when I put it that way but they are magical creatures who have a lot of sexual energy. Looking forward in reading and reviewing the next book. Let me know what you guys think of this book.
In the opening scene we find Merry Gentry in Los Angeles and her boss Jeremy Grey convincing Merry to help two young women. One who is a wife and the other a mistress. Upon meeting both Frances Norton aka the wife and Naomi Phelps 'the mistress' Merry knew that they desperately needed their help. It seemed that Mr. Alistair Norton had a thing for the fae or those who are descendants of fae. The fae had a particular look to them such as being tall, thin, ethereal beauty, long hair to the ankles and an energy that screamed sex. Merry had her suspensions that Mr. Norton might not be doing some legal activities with all his 'special' women. Which leads to Merry meeting with him but she has to make sure to keep her identity a secret. Unfortunately, her plan failed miserably.
What gave Merry away as the long lost Sidhe princess was when she was exposed to Branwyn's tears. A oil that was spelled so it can make a human Sidhe for the night or make a Sidhe a sexual slave. During her exposure to the oil, her glamour was lifted and everyone could see her true appearance. Merry is strongly gifted in glamour, especially, in self-glamour and this is what helped her stay hidden for so many years. It was discovered throughout the novel that the oil was given from a Sidhe and trying to steal the essence and magic of Alistair Norton's victims. While also garnering followers of their own. Which is a big no no in the Sidhe new world. One agreement that the Sidhe had when they were allowed on American soil was that it is illegal to be worshiped as a God. But of course it ends up being Merry's cousin Prince Cel who was behind the whole cult and giving a human Branwyn's tears. His punk ass ended up getting punished with the same oil which can make a Sidhe go mad with sexual need. And of course he got punished by his own mother when he thought she would protect him.
This leads to the sluagh pursuing Merry. The sluagh is the nightmare looking creatures of the sidhe. King Solto of the sluagh was lied to by someone at the Queen's side to kill Merry aka Prince Cel. Fast forward to Merry discovering her hand of power and boom she has the hand of flesh, the same as her father. She turned one of Sholto's hags inside out...Literally! Just a mass of flesh and bones. But of course Merry not being full sidhe but part human from her mother's side she needed some extra help to get out of her predicament with the sluagh. And in enters the Queen's Darkness Doyle. First off, what kind of fucking name is that? I get that is not his birth name but why would you settle for a name like that? It's like saying here is the hellhound; Fido.
Merry ends up facing her Aunt after many years and is being told by the Queen herself if she gets knocked up by a guard then she becomes Queen. How nuts is that? Of course Merry doesn't believe it because before she left she kept getting challenged by Cel's supporters and the Queen simply turned an eye to it. Of course our girl Merry picks some of the most dangerous and good looking men from the Queen's guard to become her lovers. Merry is in a race against her cousin and whoever gets with a child first gets the Unseelie throne.
I don't understand why people hate so much on this book and on LKH. I really don't fucking get it. For other books she has written? Yeah, I get it. But for this book? No way. I absolutely love this book no matter how many times I read it. And the reason why is because it's innovative, captivating and original. I've never read a book like this thus far. Here is the thing. There was very little sex in this book while it was more talking about sex. She is a great writer and even without the sex it's an incredible book. She has a great captivating opening, action is building, character development etc. What more could you want?
What I love off the bat is just how much Merry has grown. I get this is the first book in the series but damn I love an empowered woman...literally! She left the Unseelie court running for her life and comes back with a hand of power that actually turns people inside and out and she is tough as nails. Not only is she a descendant from fertility gods but through sex she helped Roane get his seal skin back. And she brought the roses back to life when it seemed that they were dying after centuries. I am the type of reader who loves when the protagonist can fight back and doesn't depend on others to win her battles. She is all about strategy and positioning herself just like in chess. She got herself into an alliance with the goblins (I'd want them at my side too), she managed to get some of the best warriors at her side protecting her such as; Doyle, Frost and Rhys. I love that she is a bad ass redhead (currently a hot red head :P) and she's a fighter. I can relate to her in many different ways and her story is just amazing.
Rating:
I am going to give this book 5 stars out of 5! Obviously, I love this book and if you love supernatural, folklore and sexy warrior men then you'll love this book as well. I'm not over-exaggerating but I can't wait to read book #2. Merry is fighting for her life by having a lot of sex. Which sounds super crass when I put it that way but they are magical creatures who have a lot of sexual energy. Looking forward in reading and reviewing the next book. Let me know what you guys think of this book.
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