A Caress of Twilight (Meredith Gentry, Book 2) [Paperback]

Laurell K. Hamilton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 2005

“I am Princess Meredith, heir to a throne—if I can stay alive long enough to claim it.”

After eluding relentless assassination attempts by Prince Cel, her cousin and rival for the Faerie crown, Meredith Gentry, Los Angeles private eye, has a whole new set of problems. To become queen, she must bear a child before Cel can father one of his own. But havoc lies on the horizon: people are dying in mysterious, frightening ways, and suddenly the very existence of the place known as Faerie is at grave risk. So now, while she enjoys the greatest pleasures of her life attempting to conceive a baby with the warriors of her royal guard, she must fend off an ancient evil that could destroy the very fabric of reality. And that’s just her day job. . . .


From the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Faerie princess and private detective Meredith Gentry juggles love, sex, intrigue, magic, and more in this witty and sensual novel from Laurell K. Hamilton. Merry has her hands full: she's desperate to conceive a child and thereby claim the Unseelie throne; she's the target of intrigue from both the Seelie and Unseelie Courts; her newest client is an exiled goddess with a secret that could get them all killed; and a hideous fey force that alarms even her formidable lover-warriors is loose in Los Angeles.

A Caress of Twilight is infused with Hamilton's characteristic appealing blend of sex, magic, wit, and romantic dilemma. The mystery takes a back seat to the concerns of Faerie power and politics, making the book less balanced, but Merry's growth in leadership and power, along with a bang-up ending, won't leave fans disappointed. Readers new to Hamilton might be advised to start with A Kiss of Shadows or the extremely popular Anita Blake series. --Roz Genessee --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

In the second R-rated outing (after 2000's A Kiss of Shadows) from bestseller Hamilton to feature bright and winsome faery princess Meredith Gentry, the unlikely shamus, who runs an L.A. detective agency with a staff of faery musclemen (plus a pet goblin), seems to spend almost as much time pondering her position in the fey world as attending to her client, glamorous film star Maeve Reed, actually a Seelie goddess, who needs Meredith's help in getting pregnant. Meredith does what she can for Maeve, although she has troubles enough of her own in the conception game. As one of two possible heirs to the Unseelie throne, the other being her nasty cousin, Prince Cel, Meredith must produce her own child and then, by faery tradition, marry her partner. It isn't easy, since any father must be kingly material, but our heroine is a game lass, and her failure is not for lack of trying. In an exciting climax, the LAPD Bureau of Human and Fey Affairs summons Meredith to battle a fearsome, crawling, tentacled and slobbering monster, the Nameless, which was too blithely created by opposing faery courts her own, the Unseelie, ruled by her millennium-old aunt, Queen Andais, and the Seelie, ruled by the ruthless and equally ancient King Taranis. More attention to the detective motif might have made the story more fun, but steamy prose and Meredith's obsessive personal conflicts should keep the faithful turning the pages. (Apr. 2)Forecast: With a 10-city author tour, national print advertising and the success of last year's Narcissus in Chains and other novels in her Anita Blake vampire series, Hamilton should make another run at the bestseller lists.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (March 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345478169
• ISBN-13: 978-0345478160
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.8 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (209 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #416,178 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Laurell K. Hamilton is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of two series that mix mystery, fantasy, magic, horror and romance. Her Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter novels from Berkley Books began with GUILTY PLEASURES (now a hugely successful graphic novel from Marvel - the first sexy paranormal comic ever!) and continues with the SKIN TRADE, number seventeen in the series, in which Anita's complex personal and professional relationships with a master vampire and an alpha werewolf continue to evolve. There are now more than 6 million copies of Anita in print worldwide, in 16 languages. Hamilton's Ballantine series features Fey princess and private investigator, Merry Gentry and there are now six novels exceeding one million copies in print. Divine Misdemeanors, the eighth in the series will debut Octobe 29, 2009. She lives in St. Louis County Missouri with her husband Jonathon Green, daughter, one pug dog and one boxer/pug dog.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The fairy-tale continues, April 1, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: A Caress of Twilight (Meredith Gentry, Book 2) (Hardcover)

Last year, I happened upon Kiss of Shadows in my library. Ever since reading that book, I have read all of the Anita Blake Series as well. I had to wait for months for Caress of Twilight to come out, and needless to say, I wasn't disappointed. People that have not read KOS first will find this story a bit confusing because there isn't as much background history in COT. COT was written with the assumption that the first in the series was already completed. Ms. Hamilton does not take the time to review every single character (which I am grateful for, nothing is more irritating than having to learn the history of each character over and over again in a new book). COT picks up about three months after KOS ended. Merry and her men are still working for the Grey detective agency, and they are given a case to resolve for someone not only famous in the human world, but infamous in the fey world. For those that have a yearning for romance, there is plenty to be had. For those that are more into the paranormal/violent part, there is also a good amount of that. I found that the sex scenes in this novel are much less disturbing than the ones in the Anita Blake ones (at least in Narcissus in Chains), in fact, the sex scenes are not made to be a deviation from the norm, rather they are a part of the story (although one was a bit weird for me...but it was a height issue for me personally...if you've read the book, you'll understand, I don't want to reveal it because it is a surprise). I even discovered that I no longer have a favorite heroine between the two series. Anita's story is more about trying to keep true to herself, but there's so much torment in her life that it's very hard to do. I feel that Merry is much more secure in who she is and what she needs to do. I think that Ms. Hamilton does a fabulous job of weaving a story of a world that is much like our own, but vastly different as well. I think that my only complaint about this book is that it was much too short. The hardback is only about 350 pages long + or -, not over 400 as posted on this site. I would be willing to pay extra for one of her books if that's what it takes to get a longer story, especially now that we have to wait until next year (2003) for the next installment of either Anita or Merry.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Meredith and Frost...enough said!, March 27, 2002

By 

smartgal "ivybelle" (Santa Clara, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Caress of Twilight (Meredith Gentry, Book 2) (Hardcover)

I got this book last evening and read it in one sitting. It's that good. The author's Anita Blake series has become all but unreadable, but this series is fun and sexy and darkly beautiful. The faerie world and the modern human world are so well blended you can almost believe it's real-life, and the detective story in this novel is interesting. But I bought this book for one reason only:to see more of Killing Frost, sidhe warrior and contender for the love of Princess Meredith. All the men, and Merry too, are well drawn characters, with strengths, weaknesses and delightful little quirks(I won't give anything away but Doyle, Rhys and the goblin Kitto have some great scenes in this book). But Frost is the one to watch, as his emotions thaw and his vulnerabilty shows through his formidable sidhe armor. Hamilton does us all a great favor and allows Meredith to recognize fairly early on that Frost is her strength and her true love. I can't wait for the next installment, and I intend to read this book again to fully enjoy the sensual imagery and clever dialogue. And Frost.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not the worst, Not the best, March 26, 2002

By 

Hillary "jezebelxiii" (abington, ma United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Caress of Twilight (Meredith Gentry, Book 2) (Hardcover)

Fortunately for me, I got this book in advance of its actual release date. I think if I had to wait for it, I might have exploded - yes, I liked Kiss of Shadows that much. This book, though good, is NOT her best. Definitely readable, definitely interesting enough to make you turn the page, but this isn't a shocker or a heart-stopper by any means. It's good, but not grand.

Caress of Twilight picks up where Kiss of Shadows left off - Merry has come into her power. Her last hand of power has yet to manifest, and she still isn't pregnant. The royal Ravens (the Queen's guards) have followed her back to LA to protect her/sleep with her (Hamilton has gotten progressively more sexual in her writing . . . not sure if I personally like this, but hey, it must float somebody's boat). Soon, Merry is asked to help out a Seelie who had been cast out of the Fae more than a century ago, and Meredith, being a nice girl, of course offers her aid. Doing so, though, gets Merry in QUITE a bit of trouble with the Seelie court, and suddenly, our wee princess is being hunted down by something big, scary and powerful.

What did I like about this book? The dynamic between Frost, Doyle and Rhys (yes, Rhys gets a much bigger part in this book - thank you!). You suddenly see the contention of the three men as they try to win Merry and thus win the seat of King over the Fae. It was well done - Hamilton writes her people VERY well, and that's possibly what I like about her the best.

What did I dislike? I miss Barinthus in this one . . . he's barely mentioned (possibly my favorite Character from Kiss). Also, the plot line takes a HUGE backseat to the relationship dynamic, which is okay at times, but very quickly becomes annoying. Ms Hamilton needs to reign in the sex and people aspect, and let loose more on the plot. I find it a bit disturbing that by the end of the book, I didn't care who Maeve was. Considering that the plot revolved around Maeve, that's bad.

So - will I read this again? Yes. Probably. Would I recommend it as one of Hamilton's best? No, definitely not. It's good - it's just enough to make me want to read the third book, but not enough to make me want to read it over and over. I hope that the next installment of the Fae series will get a plot, please . . . this one was fairly ignorable and the characters just can't carry the book on their own.

Happy Reading!