Product Description

She is Princess Meredith and she is heir to a throne - if she can stay alive long enough to claim it. Unlike most of her kind, Merry is part human and all too mortal, as her cousin and arch rival knows only too well. For a deadly game is being played in the Faerie court and whoever produces an heir first wears the crown. But as she auditions her royal guard - illustrious warriors equally at home with gun and blade or spell - for the role of future king and father of her child, Merry is somewhat distracted from her career as a private investigator. Then, in her adoptive home, in the City of Angels, people start dying in mysterious, frightening ways. What the human police don't realize is that the killer is hunting the Fey as well. It seems chaos awaits, threatening the very existence of the place known as Faerie is in grave danger and Merry finds herself facing an ancient evil that threatens the very fabric of her world.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11458 in Books
• Published on: 2003-03-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 449 pages

Bookseller
'Real heart-pumping stuff'

Synopsis
She is Princess Meredith and she is heir to a throne - if she can stay alive long enough to claim it. Unlike most of her kind, Merry is part human and all too mortal, as her cousin and arch rival knows only too well. For a deadly game is being played in the Faerie court and whoever produces an heir first wears the crown. But as she auditions her royal guard - illustrious warriors equally at home with gun and blade or spell - for the role of future king and father of her child, Merry is somewhat distracted from her career as a private investigator. Then, in her adoptive home, in the City of Angels, people start dying in mysterious, frightening ways. What the human police don't realize is that the killer is hunting the Fey as well. It seems chaos awaits, threatening the very existence of the place known as Faerie is in grave danger and Merry finds herself facing an ancient evil that threatens the very fabric of her world.

From the Back Cover
Most of you will know me as Merry Gentry, private investigator, but my real name is Princess Meredith NicEssus and I am heir to a throne - if I can stay alive long enough to claim it.

My cousin, Prince Cel, is determined to see that I don't. As long as we both live, we are in a race for the crown: whoever reproduces first gets the throne. The men of my royal guard - frighteningly skilful warriors - have become my lovers, auditioning for the role of future king and father of my child. Of course, they must still protect me - for unlike most of the Fey, I am part human and very mortal.

But now, in the City of Angels, people are dying in mysterious and frightening ways. What the human police don't realise is that the killer is hunting the Fey as well. I sense chaos is close at hand; the very existence of the place known as Faerie is at grave risk. So while I enjoy the greatest of pleasures with my guardians, I know I must soon confront an ancient evil that could destroy the very fabric of reality - yours, and mine. And that's just the day job...

Welcome to the world of Laurell K. Hamilton - a world full of earthly delights and dangerous magic, of grotesque ambitions and thrilling adventure.

Customer Reviews

Cold "caress"
Somewhere during the Anita Blake series, Laurell K. Hamilton decided to change the focus from horror/fantasy to sex, all the time and everyplace. With the newer Merry Gentry series, she cuts right to the chase.

"A Caress of Twilight" doesn't bother to follow up on its predecessor's sex-choked promise -- okay, we've got scheming and magic and urban fairies. But the second book only brings up a few interesting plot points, before tossing them away in favour of Merry's latest quickie.

In the previous book, faerie princess Merry Gentry is given a challenge by her aunt, the Queen: If she doesn't produce a kid before evil cousin Cel does, then Cel gets the throne. Outside the bedroom, however, things are getting messy: A mysterious force has left hundreds in California dead, and Merry has to find out why and who.

Coincidentally, an L.A. actress/fay-in-exile is seeking Merry's help for something that might be dangerous for them both, even as Merry learns that a bizarre, ancient power has been unleashed for murder. And what's more, Merry's very presence is beginning to awaken the godlike powers that the sidhe thought they had lost.

There's no point in beating about the bush -- this isn't a sex fantasy for the readers, but for the author. At least 90% of it is about sex in one way or another, and it's all centered on the beautiful, sexy, superpowerful, divinely-chosen Merry. Yes, it's really that bad.

Hamilton does reveal some interesting facets in this book, with a few new twists on the urban fantasy genre. The idea of the Starving Ones is simply astonishing. But none of those ideas are done justice here, because of the lackluster plotting and terrible writing. She repeats her own phrasing endlessly ("Hey, that sounds cool! I should use it again"), especially in the oddly dull sex scenes. They're explicit, yes, but also clinical and weirdly passionless. And sometimes simply weird.

Another example: her sexy male characters look alike -- flowing rainbow hair, odd colouring, poetry-laden powers. This would be okay, if they had individual personalities. Which they don't -- in fact, as her harem grows, the guys blend together even further. For that matter, they don't really do much except service Merry every so many pages.

Merry, of course, is the worst of all. She's an obvious fantasy alter ego for Hamilton. She's also chosen by the goddess, gauns superpowers casually, has every man panting with lust, and is (as Mary Poppins says) "practically perfect in every way." For a better writer than Hamilton, such a character might be appealing -- but Merry's arrogance is just nauseating.

"Caress of Twilight" is a cold caress. With lackluster writing and a heroine you can't help but loathe, the second book of the Merry Gentry series doesn't bode well for the future books.

Terrific Entertainment!!
Princess Meredith Nic-Essus is a member of the High Court of Faerie. When she lives in Los Angles, however, as she has for the past three years, Meredith assumes the name and identity of Merry Gentry. Merry works as a P.I. for Jeremy Grey, owner of the Grey Detective Agency, which specializes in "Supernatural Problems, Magical Solutions." She left the faerie world, the mounds at Cahokia, in Illinois, to go into hiding in California when her cousin Cel, the evil heir to the throne, attempted to have her assassinated once too often.

Meredith's Aunt Andais is Queen of Air and Darkness, and has ruled over the Unseelies, (those not of pure fey blood), for over one thousand years. Those who have pure faerie blood are the Seelies, and her uncle Taranis, King of Light and Illusion, reigns over them. Meredith is mortal, half Seelie Court and half Unseelie, (part of her heritage is Brownie). The Queen sent Doyle, the Captain of her Raven Guard, to the West Coast to bring her niece back to the High Court. Meredith was forced to return because Andais finally realized, what was obvious to many, that her only son and heir did not possess the necessary attributes and character to become King. So the Queen placed Prince Cel and Princess Meredith on equal footing. She stipulated that whoever became a parent first would be her successor. Meredith must bear a child before Cel can father one if she wants to wear the crown. The bit about having a child is paramount, although Andais could have handled the situation more delicately. The sidhe have fertility problems. Thus, childbearing is of the utmost importance if the royal line is to continue.

Meredith is finally allowed to escape the political machinations of court life and return to LA. Accompanying her are some of the Queen's hunkiest Ravens, who are instructed to guard her bodily, and to enjoy it. They are to assist her to become pregnant. Wow!! The lucky father-to-be gets to become King. Excellent motivator! Plus Merry is gorgeous, ruby-red hair, and smart to boot. Oh, a goblin is included in the merry mix of immortal men, due to a pact negotiated with Kurag, Goblin King.

Back in Los Angels, Meredith and her firm are contracted, in utmost secrecy, to assist the glamorous, golden goddess of Hollywood, actress Maeve Reed, who turns out to be a Seelie in exile. Ms. Reed once said "No," to King Taranis - thus the exile. She carries a terrible secret, and the King would kill her immediately if the information became known - which is why she is constantly surrounded by bodyguards. To complicate matters, now that Merry and her men have visited the Reed compound, the King might decide they know too much and order a mass assassination.

Just as things begin to get dangerous, in between bedroom interludes with Merry and the Ravens, "The Nameless" are loosed on humanity. They are the most evil elements of Seelie and Unseelie combined, and much has been sacrificed to keep these beings buried and suppressed forever. So, if anyone says that "A Caress of Twilight" is just about S-E-X, they're only partially correct!

The characters, the settings, the Ravens checking-out 21st century America and LA for the first time, Hamilton's take on Celtic mythology, are just a blast - pure entertainment! Of course, I am a major Laurell Hamilton fan and truly enjoyed her entire Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series. Merry is certainly not Anita, but she is fun. As always, Laurell Hamilton writes dark fantasy like no other. Her descriptions really bring one's imagination to life. I'm hooked and looking forward to reading the next novel in the series.
JANA

Brilliantly written
I really loved the Anita Blake series and decided to try out the Merry Gentry one. I'm already salivating for the next book! I really loved the descriptions of the court, The Queen and even her evil cousin Cel.

It's witty, original and one of the best pieces of fiction on fairies I've ever read. The other being Artemis Fowl.

Merry is a princess trying to pass for human until circumstances deliver her back to her Aunt's Court. Their her aunt makes a shocking revelation that leaves Merry reeling and in a desperate race to compete with her cousin Cel to produce a child or die.