Customer Reviews

Mistral's Kiss (Meredith Gentry, Book 5)

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(45)
3 star:		(59)
2 star:		(55)
1 star:		(55)

 

 

OK, OK, it's still got more steamy, group gropes than really necessary - and some this time are weirder than ever, but AT LEAST THERE IS SOME PLOT DEVELOPMENT. Not as much as I'd been craving, mind you, but some. At only 212 pages, I knocked this book out over the morning commute and lunch period. So it was a bit like dieting - just enough to make you wish you had a full meal. I was disappointed that there wasn't more because, in all honesty, this felt more like the end of Stroke of Midnight or the first third of a new book than an entire book that should stand (and sell) on its own. That said, I was delighted because it was not just one sequential orgy - there was actually a bit of progress on the plot (e.g., there is a light at the end of the tunnel for Merry and her men to get out of the sithen). Still no progress on going to the Shining Court. Still no progress on visiting the Goblin court. And Merry is still acquiring men like a hound acquires fleas - her sex scenes are starting to seem like a Cecil B. DeMille movie with a cast of thousands, many standing about doing a whole lot of nothing. I've started just skipping over them at this point because I'm bored. There is no emotional intimacy in all this stuff. I miss that and would really like more scenes where there is emotional progress with Doyle and Frost. Sex is fine, but empty sex - bleh. Anyway, I miss Frost. I miss Doyle. I want them to be more than wallpaper. I miss plot. I miss tension that isn't involving sex. Don't know about everyone else, but I am pretty tired of seeing this world only through Merry's libido. It needs some heart, too. I'm a huge LKH fan, but I encourage her to return to some of her earlier writing style.

This book has no plot and consists of four episodes or scenes, three of which are sex scenes. I read that LKH couldn't figure out what genre she was writing in. It's erotica. E-R-O-T-I-C-A. It's not, as she puts itit, "more like hard-boiled mysteries, or horror novels in tone of writing, but the romance and the magic ... there, too."

Because there is no plot, the book is short, and the entirety of the story takes place over less than a day, I hardly know what to write as a synopsis. Let's see the timeline goes as follows: Merry wakes up in bed with some of her men. Another lost artifact appears. Gives all of her people more power. Aunt Andais is not happy, but like all of the evils in your books, she's emasculated (I think this is a masculine adjective, but don't know what the feminine counterpart is). Andais lets Merry do everything that Merry wants. Merry goes on to have sex with Abeloec, Mistral, and one other character. There is a run in with Sholto. Something paranormal ensues. It's easily resolved. Everyone is happy.

This "book" (and I use that term loosely and defined as words bound and sold with a cover from a NY publisher) is nothing more than a series of scenes. It cannot work as a stand alone novel. It has virtually no relation to the previous book (i.e., what happened with the accusation against Rhys of raping the Seelie woman? Or the ball that Taranis is holding? or cel losing another guard? or anything?). It has no resolution. No crescendo and denouement unless we can count each orgasm as a mini story.

The saving grace is that there are tender moments between Frost and Merry and Doyle and Merry which almost makes it worthwhile. What am I saying? Of course, paying $17.95 for this pap isn't worthwhile unless the reader is a sick addict. I just am so invested in the original series with Doyle, Frost and Merry, that any tiny scrap makes me happy. Sick. I am sick. I need help.

I love hot sex scenes as well as the next 58 year old grandmother, however I would like a plot thrown in too. I have read all of Laurell's books and have been a fan for years but her last 4 books have cheated her fans. I could read an adult magazine, i.e. Playgirl, Penthouse, and write 200 pages of steamy xxx sex. And if that is all I wanted to read I would buy those magazines or the paperbacks by Anonymous. Sorry but I am going on to other aurhors like Kim Harrison and I won't be back. Four strikes, and babe that's all my money you are going to get. PS I would write a review of the book if there had been something like a plot to review.

first off the good... There was plot advancement (look for it in the last chapter, after they get back to the Unseelie court. Galen causes it. its about 2 paragraphs so dont skim, or you will miss it)...

the bad...oy... where to begin... first off, LKH has gotten carried away with her alliterations. Her swallowing the moon, full essence, ripeness of being, etc etc, practically bleeds purple on the page. LKH said recently that she writes books that read like hardboiled detective books, but... thats what she USED to write. This is like a Soap Opera gone horribly wrong in the way it read. I used to love her spare snappy style, but its gone. Now there are huge circular discussions that can drive a lesser person to drink ( the scene with the cup... I was ready to shriek, just drink already or shut up!!)

The Ugly.... This book isnt a book! Its a series of scenes that read like they were mistakenly cut from the end of the last book. It cant stand alone, and frankly even though I read the other books, I was lost at times. Plot lines (that in book time literally took place the night before) were completely dropped, not to be mentioned at all (Rhys accused of rape. this book had 4 scenes, 3 of them sex scenes. (which wouldnt bother me, because I never minded the sex in the Merry books, but when its the ONLY thing going on...I am just saying, I would like some main course with my filler).

I will say that this book kept me glued to it till I was done (it wasnt hard at under 2 hours) and at times what kept me glued was my disbelief that someone allowed this tripe to be published... I give it one star because LKH needs a pat on the back for getting some poor sucker to publish her latest Letter to Penthouse..

Sadly, this is not a positive review. To give you an idea of how much I was prepared to love Mistral's Kiss, let me share the fact that I discovered the Anita Blake series a few years ago with Obsidian Butterfly, and within two weeks I purchased and read not just that entire series, but the one or two Merry Gentry books then available, as well. At that point, I began to pre-order and then immediately consume every new book that was published within a day of receiving it. It was with some regret that I'd reach the end of each book - knowing I would have to wait for the next installment, but content with the fact that it would be well worth my patience.

It has been pretty much a given that I would love anything by Laurell K. Hamilton in the two series and I have read both entire series SEVERAL times. Unlike many of her fans, I haven't terribly minded the steamier route her more recent books have taken, as for the most part, there were still crimes to solve, evil plots to overcome, and a fairly cohesive and forward-progressing story line - at least until her last two books. Danse Macabre was merely so-so, with a lot of loose ends left hanging from previous books, and the sex, while copious, generally managed not to be sexy. Still, the book was SOMETHING to tide me over, and I had hopes the poor quality of the story was a fluke. Then came Mistral's Kiss.

Between the number of pages and the size and spacing of the text, let me warn you that Mistral's Kiss is more a novella than a full novel; worse, it almost felt like she ran behind schedule and didn't have time to flush out the story, so they made do with what they had. Some of LKH's books were fairly huge, and they were meaty reads. Here, I feel like nothing was really accomplished, I didn't learn anything of much interest, and I didn't really CARE for the characters the way that I normally do. The only nice thing I can really say about the book is that the proof-readers did a better job than usual - the editing of her books is usually beyond awful.

One can only assume that LKH's publishing company is getting greedy and pushing her to grind the books out, but I hope they figure out that they are KILLING their cash cow. The magic is gone. I see she has another book coming out mid-2007, and I can only assume the worst. I might not even buy it, and I'm about as die-hard a fan as you will find.

Regretfully, I would only recommend Mistral's Kiss for the relentless Merry Gentry fans determined to stick with the series to the bitter end. I hope Laurell K. Hamilton slows things down and starts taking more time with her books again. The earlier ones are magic and have a permanent spot on my keeper shelf.

This tale would have been far better as a paperback rather than a supposedly novel-length book. The same things that I have found objectionable about the last 4 ANITA BLAKE novels have - alas!! - invaded this series as well.

The plot is so thin as to be practically non-existant, the main characters and their followers are boring, the sex is silly, repetitive and BORING, and Ms. Hamilton's writing skills seem to be falling into the dreaded "formulaic writing trap". "Sex makes the kingdom rejuvenate, rah rah rah" is tired; "spine bowed with passion" is lame, and I found myself racing to finish the book so that I could trade it. QUICKLY.

This will be the last Laurell Hamilton book that I will make the expensive mistake of buying. I think, instead, that I will continue to read Kelley Armstrong's terrific books - where there's LOTS of sex,true, but said acts are a subsidiary of the plotline - and Kim Harrison's amazingly well-crafted books about Rachel Morgan. Both of these authors, at least, have NOT fallen into either the formulaic writing trap, or the sex-for-sexs'-sake trap.

I hate to write off a writer that has been, in the past, so very good at plot-driven stories that were interesting and fun. I really CARED what happened to the protagonists in both of her series, until the sex became more important than the storyline, the plot development or the character development.

Too bad......

I read this book at the bookstore, in about an hour, yeah there was some plot development and I truly do appreciate it. It was not LKH quality and did not measure up to the previous books. This has been a trend in her books with less plots and more empty sex scenes (suprising for a women who used to hate writing these scenes). Her previous books were extraordinary and the only way we will see the type of quality we used to expect is to stop buying these empty books. These books suck and it is only her devoted fans who keep on buying it, but I say if your a real fan you won't buy because these aren't LKH's books and don't buy until she gets the message.

I'm more a fan of Laurell's characters than her writing. However, in this book the characters are f-l-a-t. It takes place over less than 24 hours. There is zero plot - just one sex scene after another. I give the book the two stars because Laurell does come up with multiple ways to write a sex scene - something that is not easy to do. Aside from a dream sequence, I don't believe Meredith wears a stitch of clothes throughout.

I am quickly losing interest in Meredith Gentry. I'll give the series one more book.

Just wait till the paperback comes out or it tops out on Ebay at $10 since it's a 3 act play and there are porn magazines with more plot than the latest writing of LKH.

Gosh--I wish she'd go back to writing stories instead of the collections of wet dreams that she's been churning out for the past few years. She's sitting on a gold mine of smart, funny female characters that have clearly lost their way and am sure that both Merry and Anita would love some sharp witty dialogue besides oh baby, oh baby.

Catch it on sale..

I ran out Tues. as soon as I got off work to buy this book. I got it on sale for $14.41 and I should have waited for it to come out in paperback. I bought it hoping that it would be better than the last one. Yeah, OK we get it, Merry likes to have sex with anyone and anything! I want something with substance, plot, meaning, anything. I don't mind the sex but come on a person can only take so much. Porno's have less sex and more plot than this book. I started out reading Anita VH and I loved LKH's style, plot, descriptions, and her ability to bring you into the book. Both series no consist of nothing but sex. Why doen't she just combine the two and stop waisting time?? Maybe Merry and Anita can go at each other! Ok so I'm pissed that I wasted my time and my money on this book...It will be the last LKH book I ever purchase. LKH books just aren't worth it anymore.