A Kiss of Shadows - Laurell K. Hamilton

...general tone is written as a mix of fantasy and an alternate history. The point of deviation from normal history is when Thomas Jefferson gave the Unseelie and Seelie courts asylum after they were exiled from Europe. However, Jefferson said that they could not set themselves up to be worshipped as gods, or they risked being evicted from American soil.


Meredith NicEsus is a faerie. No, she isn't two inches tall, and no, she ...
...and twisted Cel. But being a faerie princess isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Unfortunately for Merry, she not only has royal blood, but also lesser Fey AND human blood, which has left her mortal, which the sidhe don't take kindly to. Having staved off legal assassination attempts (in the form of duels) for years now, she realises that she is fighting a losing battle, so she flees.

She moves to Los Angeles, where she ... more

Laurell K Hamilton is the number 1 New York Times bestselling author of two series that mix mystery, fantasy, magic, horror and romance. The first series she started, 'Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter', started off with 'Guilty Pleasures' and is now onto its 14th novel, (Danse Macabre), and has the latest edition, 'The Harlequin,' lined up for release sometime in June 2007.
The second series, Merry Gentry's story, is currently on its fourth volume, with the eagerly anticipated 'Mistral's Kiss' due for release on the Twelfth of December (A lovely Christmas present, HINT HINT!!!). The first book in the series, 'A Kiss Of Shadows', is the one I will be reviewing now.

The Book
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Okay, first off the story rests on the premise that faeries are not only known to the general public, but are also quite fashionable. There are even faerie-wannabes, humans that imitate the look and manner of fey. Generally, these people are either seen as pathetic, endearing, or inferior by actual fey. The general tone is written as a mix of fantasy and an alternate history. The point of deviation from normal history is when Thomas Jefferson gave the Unseelie and Seelie courts asylum after they were exiled from Europe. However, Jefferson said that they could not set themselves up to be worshipped as gods, or they risked being evicted from American soil.

Meredith NicEsus is a faerie. No, she isn't two inches tall, and no, she doesn't have wings. She is a sidhe, (pronounced shee), the highest ranking of the Fey. She is third in line to the throne of the Unseelie Court, (the darlking throng as she calls them), after the Queen Andais (her aunt) and Andais' son, cruel and twisted Cel. But being a faerie princess isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Unfortunately for Merry, she not only has royal blood, but also lesser Fey AND human blood, which has left her mortal, which the sidhe don't take kindly to. Having staved off legal assassination attempts (in the form of duels) for years now, she realises that she is fighting a losing battle, so she flees.

She moves to Los Angeles, where she assumes the name 'Gentry,' uses her magic to portray herself as a human with fey ancestry, and begins work as a private detective specialising in supernatural crimes.

The story, which is told by Meredith herself, begins with Jeremy Grey, the boss at Grey's Detective Agency, asking Merry advice on whether to take on a divorce case, which isn't usual practice. But this lady has a death spell on her, placed there by her husband. Seeing her sitting broken and bruised, comforted by her husbands' mistress, Merry just can't say no. They learn that the husband (Alistair Norton) is part of a fey-winnable cult, seducing women just like Merry (well, the Merry that she has made herself into), or even lesser fey, and draining their powers.

Going under cover, Merry learns that Alistair is using Branwyn's Tears, an illegal aphrodisiac oil, to entrap these women and to siphon their magic, but not for himself. He has a benefactor as such, a fey who has set himself up as a god and who is robbing the magic of all these fey women. (Uh-oh!)

During the undercover assignment, Merry is covered in the tears in an attempt to drive her mad with lust, but unfortunately the tears tear apart her glamour disguise, and she is outed as the missing American Faerie Princess (double uh-oh!).

News travels fast to the Queen of Air and Darkness, and soon Doyle, the head of the Queen's warriors, turns up in L.A. with strict orders to bring Meredith home, whether she likes it or not.
But rather than a public execution, which is what she expects,
Merry is greeted with open arms (well, almost!) by the woman who tried to drown her as a child. Andais believes that faerie is dying, that the magic of both the Seelie and the Unseelie courts is fading. She names Merry co-heir to her throne along with Merry's cousin, Andais' only child, Cel; but there's a catch. The first to bear a child will become true heir to the Unseelie throne. Given the bounty of the Queens Ravens, her personal guards, and thus ending their centuries-long celibacy, it soon turns into a race against time, but is it one that Princess Meredith can win?
And can she survive the assassination attempts long enough to even try?

I've left quite a bit of the story out, but I hate to give the whole plot away, and I hope what I HAVE written will inspire you to find out for yourself!

What it says on the back.
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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 the 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 hiding ever since. I ran as far as the land would take me, stopped only by the shore of the Pacific Ocean, and the fact that if I'd used my passport the Bureau of Human and Fey Affairs would have been notified, and they would have told my relatives. And my relatives would have killed me. As Merry Gentry, I am a private investigator for the Grey Detective Agency: Supernatural Problems, Magical Solutions. My magical skills, which are scorned at the courts of Faerie are valued in the human world. Even by human standards, my magic isn't flashy. Fine by me: Flashy attracts too much attention, and I can't afford that. Sightings of the Princess Meredith are now more popular than Elvis sightings.

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

The running is over. The fighting has just begun . . .

My opinion.
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This is one of my all time favourite books ever, I loved it. I literally couldn't put it down! I spent many a night vowing to myself that I'd go to sleep after 'just one more chapter,' only to read about five more. The story is fluid and gripping from the start, the pace is fast, and Merry is really someone you can sympathise with and relate to; even though she's Fey, you don't see her as 'other'
(except for the magic!), she relates to you as any other young woman would. Hamilton's characters are almost touchable, well fleshed out, and most are incredibly sexy! There ARE a few sex scenes, and they get more frequent throughout the series, but they are well done and add to the magic of the story. There are a few confusing points with all the different types of fey, but it does all become clearer later on in the book! If you're still confused there are plenty of sites on the internet about the weird and wonderful world of faerie.
Admittedly, like red wine, this series has got better with age, but this is still a brilliant novel. Charged with sexuality and magic, sprinkled with horror and humour, this book is a must for anyone who has a slant towards the unusual.

The Series
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A Kiss Of Shadows (Published October 2000)
A Caress Of Twilight (Published March 2001)
Seduced By Moonlight (Published February 2004)
A Stroke Of Midnight (Published April 2005)
Mistral's Kiss (To Be Published December 2006 - yay!)

 

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