Seduced by Moonlight (Meredith Gentry, Book 3) (Hardcover)

by Laurell K. Hamilton (Author) "A LOT OF PEOPLE LOUNGE BY POOLS IN L.A., BUT FEW OF THEM are truly immortal, no matter how hard they pretend with plastic surgery..." (more)
Key Phrases: tricolored eyes, sidhe flesh, most sidhe, Queen Andais, Red Caps, Killing Frost (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The third novel in Laurell K. Hamilton's Meredith Gentry series, Seduced by Moonlight continues the story of Merry Gentry, a mortal Faerie princess hiding in L.A. Her aunt, the immortal and insane Queen of Air and Darkness, has ordered her to compete with her cousin, Prince Cel, in making a baby. Whoever produces a child first wins the throne of the Unseelie Court. But Merry still hasn't conceived--and that's not her only problem. Unknown assassins seek her life; her magical powers are becoming potent and uncontrollable; and her sadistic aunt has just commanded her to return to Faerie.

Readers tired of mild modern fairy-tales about nice, polite elves may want to explore the Meredith Gentry series, which remembers that Faerie was originally a dark, dangerous realm of sex and violence. Hamilton's Queen of Air and Darkness is a vicious killer and torturer, and many of her fay drink blood or practice kinky sex (or both). Under royal orders to bed many males, Merry is far from averse; she and several lovers hit the bedroom on page 8 of Seduced by Moonlight and don't emerge until page 175. There's no shortage of sex, but not as much as the page count may indicate; the characters like to talk and sulk even more than they like to fornicate. The large cast and complicated backstory make this book the wrong starting point; newcomers should begin with the first novel, A Kiss of Shadows. --Cynthia Ward

From Publishers Weekly
Considering all the complications, sexual and otherwise, that Merry Gentry, heir to the faerie throne, endured in A Kiss of Shadows (2000) and A Caress of Shadows (2002), it's no surprise to find the start of Hamilton's third book in her erotic fantasy series weighed down by attempts to conversationally recap earlier convolutions. Even readers of the first two books might have problems sorting out exactly why Merry is messing with the goblin king via magic mirror. Though the author maintains interest through such devices as an imaginative sex scene involving Merry, two of her sidhe studs and a doll-sized, winged, blood-sucking demi-fey, it takes a milieu switch from L.A. to St. Louis and the Unseelie court for the plot to take off and become a page turner. Merry confronts faerie politics that make Machiavelli look like a rookie, while her aunt's sadistic madness leads to what must rank as one of the bloodier scenes of fictional slaughter. Since Merry's previous role as a private eye has almost completely disappeared, nefarious deeds require magic to solve rather than detection. Hamilton's trademark mix of the personal and emotional along with the sexual will as usual delight her fans. Add yet another tour de force ending, a new final total of 16 lustful sidhe male immortals with whom to couple (or triple or...), and a fair future is assured for Merry for at least another few books.
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; First Edition edition (February 3, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 034544356X
• ISBN-13: 978-0345443564
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (234 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #45,926 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #18 in	Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Fairies & Elves
  #60 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( H ) > Hamilton, Laurell K.
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• This is item 3 in The Meredith Gentry Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

88 of 105 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM, HOPEFULLY, March 30, 2004

By	Phillip B. Spotts "cintibookworm" (Cincinnati, OH) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Well just how many men (elves, goblins, demi-fey....) will Princess Meredith actually take to bed in her quest to get pregnant? How many 'true' and 'final' loves does she have? Guess the number of jellybeans in the jar and win the kewpie doll! There's the five or six she has regularly, then the two new goblins, then another four or five, maybe six, new guards the queen sends her, then there is the queen herself... Heck I can't keep track, and to be honest after the fifth or sixth time it happens I kind of lost interest. It seems the only criteria the ring uses to select her bedmates is the ability to move, and even that's not a forgone conclusion.

Everything in SEDUCED happens in the span of two days and if you read it and look back over the entire story you realize although you've gone through a lot of pages you really haven't accomplished much.

Hopefully SEDUCED is being used as a setup for a grand finale because it really isn't all that interesting in and of itself. For those of you, like me, who have followed this story from A KISS OF SHADOWS thru A CARESS OF TWLIGHT you will probably want to continue, but be warned, you just might give up on the series after this. I'm going to bite the bullet and RECOMMEND it, but I'm hoping the next one makes it worth the time.

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Mary Sue by any other name...., December 1, 2004

By	Erin L. (Missouri, USA) - See all my reviews

Let's be honest here, Meredith Gentry is a flat out, blatant, *screaming* Mary Sue. (For those who don't know the term, a Mary Sue is the idealized version of the author, little Ms. Perfect with super intelligence, super powers, super fashion sense and in this case, a super sex drive.) In fact, I haven't seen a Sue this obvious since the godawful Rhapsody novels.

Merry is not only a Faerie Princess, she's so incredibly beautiful that nearly everyone wants her, male and female alike. She has multi-colored eyes, naturally striped hair and skin that glows. Of course she has "faults" (which really aren't) like being too short, too big-chested, too curvy, too mortal, etc. She's more intelligent than everyone else; she develops powers that are rare and always right when she needs them, and as of the end of this book, she's making people into deities with a kiss or a touch. Added all together, this character should be enough to make you want to stab her and put her out of your misery.

The thing is, you don't quite get to that point.

Yes, the plot is predictable, the pacing is at times torturously slow and Merry is annoying. The sex is explicit and still manages to be utterly un-arousing and oft-times unintentionally funny. But this book, and the two preceding it, are a great deal like a trainwreck; you know it's bad, you have the feeling you should do something besides stare, but for some reason you can't look away.

I waded through all three novels and I couldn't put them down. Despite the mediocre writing, dull characters and contrived plot devices, I just *had* to see what new superpower Merry was going to develop next, or what new guy would end up in her bed.

It's hypnotizing, in a brainless, tasteless sort of way.

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent, February 3, 2004

By A Customer

I liked this book more than Caress of Twilight. Unlike the first two books, there's no mystery or investigation in this book. The first half of the book is filled with new and regained powerful magic for Merry and her men in Los Angeles. The latter half of the book takes place at the Unseelie court and is full of ten new guards, two new goblins, politics, a duel, assassination attempts, more scary Andais, and a great ending. My favourite part of Laurell K. Hamilton's books is that the heroine, by being an honorable, protecting, courageous person, gets ahead in life. Merry's responsible, humble, sheltering nature turns more and more guards to care for her more than the Queen. I liked the ending in particular because it was very tender and shows Merry's old guards easing the new guards into the very different culture of guarding Merry, which the old guards seem grateful for as a reprieve from the Queen's tender care. The book heavily hints that the next books in the series will cover their visit to the Goblin Court and the Seelie Court, and Merry keeping her bargain with Sholto. I've read it 3 times in 2 days, and now I'm re-reading the entire series again. I can't wait for the next one. Highly recommended.