Category: romantic suspense

A Lick of Frost: a novel

By Laurell K. Hamilton

Place: Publisher & Year: New York: Ballantine Books, 2007

Genres: Fantasy, contemporary fantasy, dark fantasy, paranormal romance, romantic suspense, horror, mystery, occult fiction, erotic fiction

Series: Meredith Gentry series; 6

Intended audience: Adult

Number of pages: 274

Setting: Los Angeles, CA and the Seelie Court

Time period: Contemporary

Plot summary: The story begins with a meeting of various attorneys; about one month has passed since the previous book ended.  Three of Merry’s guard have been accused by Taranis, the king of the Seelie Court, of raping a Sidhe female, only Merry knows her men are innocent.  Taranis has involved the US government in this case.  For a Sidhe to lie means risking exile from Faery forever.  However, Merry and her men already know that Taranis has lied to his own people.  What they need to prove now is his capacity to lie to those beyond his own court.  They also need to discover the King of Light and Illusion’s reasons for conjuring and pursuing this particular lie. Continue reading “A Lick of Frost: a novel”

Mistral’s Kiss: a novel

By Laurell K. Hamilton

Place: Publisher & Year: New York: Ballantine Books, 2007

Genre: Fantasy, contemporary fantasy, dark fantasy,  paranormal romance, romantic suspense, horror, mystery, occult fiction, erotic fiction

Series: Meredith Gentry series; 5

Intended audience: Adult

Number of pages: 326 – includes an excerpt from the next series novel A Lick of Frost. Mistral’s Kiss ends at 302.

Setting: The Dead Gardens of both the Unseelie and Sluagh courts; outside the Mounds of Cahokia.

Time period: Contemporary

Plot summary: Princess Meredith dreams of The Consort and awakens to find another relic which has crossed from The Otherworld into hers.  The relic is a cup which belongs to Abeloec, who lost his powers as a cup bearer ages ago.  When Meredith and Abeloec begin the process of restoring Abe’s powers through sex, a few things happen at once.  First, Mistral, Queen Andais’ Captain of Guard, comes to the princess seeking her help, but quickly become engulfed by the sexual magic.  Next, the sithen relocates Merry and her men to the Dead Gardens, buried deep within the mound.  And finally, the queen comes looking for her captain, whom she finds entangled with her niece. Continue reading “Mistral’s Kiss: a novel”

A Stroke of Midnight

By Laurell K. Hamilton

Place: Publisher & Year: New York: Ballantine Books, c2005

Genre(s): Fantasy, contemporary fantasy, dark fantasy, paranormal romance, romantic suspense, horror, mystery, occult fiction, erotic fiction

Series: Meredith Gentry series; 4

Intended audience (Age range): Adult

Number of pages: 366

Setting: The Unseelie court at Cahokia, IL

Time period: Contemporary

Plot summary: Merry begins one of the longest nights of her life by participating in a press conference held inside the sithen.  While press conferences in general can be less than pleasant, this is particularly true when one is trying to hide information from the press.  Princess Meredith has been ordered by the Queen of Air and Darkness not to reveal certain truths about the recent assassination attempts.  Finally, the conference ends, only to be replaced by a very long night when two bodies – one human reporter and one Unseelie demi fey – are found murdered inside the sithen. Continue reading “A Stroke of Midnight”

Seduced by Moonlight

By Laurell K. Hamilton

Place: Publisher, Year: New York: Ballantine Books, 2004

Genres: Fantasy, contemporary fantasy, dark fantasy, paranormal romance, romantic suspense, horror, mystery, occult fiction, erotic fiction

Series: Meredith Gentry series ; 3

ISBN: 034544356X

Intended audience: Adult

Number of pages: 372

Setting: Los Angeles, CA and the Unseelie Court at Cahokia

Time period: Contemporary

Plot summary: As Merry readies herself for a visit to the Unseelie Court, she must renegotiate with her allies for continued protection.  This becomes a complex process given that she seems to have gained new powers from her encounter with the Nameless (in A Caress of Twilight).  Meanwhile, there are still attempts on her life, and she is still trying to become pregnant. Continue reading “Seduced by Moonlight”

A Caress of Twilight

By Laurell K. Hamilton

Place: Publisher & Year: New York : Ballantine, 2002

Genres: Fantasy, contemporaray fantasy, dark fantasy, urban fantasy, horror, mystery, paranormal romance, romantic suspense, erotic fiction, occult fiction

Series: Meredith Gentry series; 2

ISBN: 0345423429

Intended Audience: Adult

Number of pages: 368

Setting: Los Angeles

Time Period: contemporary

Plot Summary: Meridith Gentry, a sidhe princess of flesh from the Unseelie court, is in a race with her cousin, Cel, to produce a royal heir to the Unseelie throne.  Merry has a bit of a head start given that her cousin is undergoing six months of punishment for trying to have Merry assasinated.  Merry has returned to LA and to her job as a private investigator.  She is now protected with her own personal sidhe guards- Doyle, Frost, Rhys, Galen, and Nicca- who also take turns as Merry’s lovers and would be impregnators.  When Merry becomes involved in two different cases at work, she soon finds herself involved deeply in dangerous faerie politics with both the Seelie and Unseelie courts.  She and her men also must face a supernatural force which could possibly overpower all of them, and take out all of LA. Continue reading “A Caress of Twilight”

A Kiss of Shadows

By Laurell K. Hamilton

Place: Publisher, Year: New York : Ballantine Books, 2000 & 2006

Genres: Fantasy, contemporary fantasy, dark fantasy, paranormal romance, romantic suspense, mystery, occult fiction, erotic fiction, horror

Series: Meredith Gentry series ; 1

ISBN: 0345490657, 0345423402

Intended audience: Adult

Number of pages: 435

Setting: Los Angeles, CA and the Unseelie Court at Cahokia, IL

Time period: Contemporary

Plot Summary: Meridith Gentry, or Merry, is a sidhe princess posing as a human and hiding in Los Angeles.  She works as a private investigator for the Grey Detective Agency which specializes in magical and supernatural cases.  Merry is hiding from her relatives in both the Seelie and Unseelie courts.  Even though she is sidhe, her powers have not yet come to her, which makes it very dangerous for her to live at home in the Unseelie court where she is challenged to duels regularly.  In the past, Queen Andais, Merry’s aunt, made it clear that she was not concerned enough about Merry’s well being to provide her any extra protection, so Merry ran away.  However, when Merry becomes involved in the agency’s latest case, Merry’s cover is blown and before she can run again,she finds herself being brought back to Cahokia where she must confront her aunt and her other sidhe relatives. Continue reading “A Kiss of Shadows”