A Kiss of Shadows (Meredith Gentry, Book 1) [Mass Market Paperback]

Laurell K. Hamilton (Author)

Book Description

Release date: February 26, 2002

“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.”

Meredith Gentry, Princess of the high court of Faerie, is posing as a human in Los Angeles, living as a P.I. specializing in supernatural crime. But now the Queen’s assassin has been dispatched to fetch her back–whether she likes it or not. Suddenly Meredith 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 reward: the crown–and the opportunity to continue to live. The penalty for failure: death.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Laurell K. Hamilton revitalized vampires, werewolves, and zombies in the popular Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter books. In this new series, she updates faeries. A Kiss of Shadows introduces Merry Gentry, a.k.a. Meredith NicEssus, a faerie princess of the Unseelie Court, where politics is a blood sport. Merry, who's part sidhe (elvish), part brownie, and part human, never really fit in. She's short, not skilled in offensive magic, and mortal because of her human blood. These are real liabilities when your family, especially aunt Andais, Queen of Air and Darkness, is out to kill you. Merry has been in hiding for three years, living in Los Angeles and working for the Grey Detective Agency, which specializes in "supernatural problems, magical solutions." A new case sets her against a man who uses forbidden magic to seduce fey women and drain their power. A plan to trap him goes awry and Merry's cover is blown. Now Andais knows where she is. But things have changed in Andais's court, and Merry is changing too.

Despite the selkies, brownies, goblins, and ogres in this book, it's not for children. The fey are "creatures of the senses"--and in the Unseelie court, sex and pain go together. Merry is sexually adventurous and surrounded by gorgeous, powerful males, most of whom want her badly. She's politically savvy and no coward, though she's not the warrior Anita is. Hamilton fans and readers of adult fairy tales like Anne Bishop's Black Jewels trilogy will want to give Merry a look. --Nona Vero --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Erotica is fantasy, but it rarely gets as fantastic as this. After nine novels featuring Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter (Obsidian Butterfly, etc.), Hamilton launches a sizzling new series that blends supernatural fantasy with detective adventure and hot sex. Here, the world is populated with various magical faerie races along with humans. The most supreme of the fey are the immortal sidhe, so beautiful and powerful they were once worshiped as gods. The fey are not only lusty but incredibly accomplished lovers; those of the royal sidhe bloodline are literally addictively sexy. Full-blooded fey are, for the most part, intolerant of cities, metal and technology. They seldom live for long among humans. Mixed-blood Princess Meredith NicEssus, however, has fled the faerie world to pass for three years as Merry Gentry, a human with some fey blood who works in Los Angeles with a detective agency that specializes in supernatural problems and magical solutions. Suddenly outed as the missing princess and fearing that her aunt, the Queen of Air and Darkness, will kill her, she makes a desperate run aided by her detective pals. The queen does want her, but not in the way Merry expects. Ultimately, Meredith must fulfill the queen's designs for the future of her court, even if it means having to bed the most beautiful studs in the universe. Through constant danger and adventure, Meredith finds herself in a variety of sexual encounters that make it easy to see why her ancestors were so worthy of worship. As wild as the novel's premise is, memorable characters and wicked wit make it all delicious, ribald fun. 8-city author tour. (Oct.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (February 26, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345423402
• ISBN-13: 978-0345423405
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.1 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (378 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #63,646 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.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#24 in Books > Romance > Fantasy & Futuristic

#27 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#32 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

#40 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy

#55 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Horror

#24 in Books > Romance > Fantasy & Futuristic

#27 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#32 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

#40 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy

#55 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Horror

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

208 of 230 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An exhilarating and liberating book October 7, 2000

By "ter369"

Format:Hardcover

I found "A Kiss of Shadows" the most exhilarating and liberating book I'd read in a long time. LKH's themes and references are complex and sophisticated, and the use of the word "ribald" was an excellent choice by one professional reviewer.

Meredith Gentry is compassionate and warm, clever and vulnerable. This is a quest story, with the narrator seeking to survive politics and find her life path.

The reviews here at Amazon are informative, in that they seem to be by readers who are angry. Either angry that LKH verged into a new series instead of writing Anita Blake books more-better-faster. Or the readers are dismayed at LKH's frankness and Meredith's pleasure in sexuality.

Of course, we don't see reviews at Amazon (or too many other places, since Amie is not a message board) complaining that the violence and action sequences, the crime scenes and the magic, and the blood in the Anita Blake:Vampire Hunter are grotesque and perverse and that reader is never buying another book from the author.

As LKH has said several times in print: "There isn't that much sex in this book."

She is correct. But unsophisticated readers will only notice the erotic elements. (And these are really, really, good.) They might miss the fascinating magic that occurs (entirely different from the Anitaverse), the strong family and loyalty bonds that fill Merry's life, the wit, the Celtic lore that has played out with the Fey living in the USA, the sense of the team at the Grey Detective Agency in LA, the range of diverse characters (not all male) at the Unseelie Court and throughout the novel, plus the Queen of Air and Darkness who is terrifying.

This is an adult book. I mean, it is for anyone who brings their mature, inquiring mind to a novel of speculative fiction. What if everyone around you is immortal? How do they spend eternity? And how precious is life to you (Meredith) as a mortal in their midst?

What would it mean for you if physical pleasure, the life of the senses, a bond with nature, and a search for a mate to awaken your personal magic and link to your fertility were key in your life as a woman?

I highly recommend this book. It is extremely unusual.

51 of 53 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent beginning for a great new series! October 26, 2000

By Lisa Thompson

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I'm not usually a fan of Elven lore. The only reason I purchased the book was because it was written by one of my favorite authors, Laurell K. Hamilton. To say that I was pleasantly surprised would be a huge understatement. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, the plot and the characters. I read a lot of what I consider to be unfair reviews comparing Merry to Anita Blake. There is no comparison other than they both like a little ammunition and are women of power. Personally, it would have been a disappointment for me to have a carbon copy of Anita in this book. Merry will grow into her powers and develop in future books just as Anita has had the opportunity to do. With her different background, she is free to do things that would be out of character for Anita. Please be aware, that if you don't enjoy erotica in your stories then this is not the book for you as it goes far beyond what we've seen from the Anita Blake series. However, if you enjoy a good romp and some sexually generated heat then you'll love Merry and her band of characters. My only question is when do we get the next one?

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars great start to a new series April 1, 2002

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

I read this book before reading any of Ms. Hamilton's other novels. I wasn't disappointed. It was a bit slow to get into, but once involved, it didn't let me go, and I ended up reading the entire book in one sitting. Merry Gentry is another strong independent heroine, but much more feminine (but no less deadly) than the Anita Blake, the heroine of Ms. Hamilton's hit series. Merry is a sidhe princess in hiding who is forced to come back to her childhood home in order to hear the proposition that her aunt, the queen of the Unseelie court has for her. This series is also much more political than Anita Blake's (yes, there are vampire politics and were politics, but not to this extent). This series is more of a "fairy-tale" than Anita's is, and is therefore, not nearly as dark as Anita's story. Will Merry beat out her cousin Cel for the throne? For if she fails, she will undoubtedly be killed, and all those that are loyal to her as well. This story is a great beginning and I am eagerly awaiting the next installments.