A Shiver of Light

Merry Gentry, Book 9

By: Laurell K. Hamilton

Narrated by: Charlotte Hill

Length: 12 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

Merry Gentry, ex-private detective and full-time princess, is now the mother of triplets, a rarity in the high ranks of faerie. And not everyone is happy about it, including Taranis, King of Light and Illusion. He’s using the human courts to sue for visitation rights, claiming that one of the babies is his. To save herself and her children, Merry will use the most dangerous powers in all of faerie: A god of death, a warrior known as the Darkness, the Killing Frost, and a king of nightmares. They are her lovers, and her dearest loves, and they will face down the might of the high courts of faerie - while trying to keep the war from spreading to innocent humans in Los Angeles, who are in danger of becoming collateral damage.

©2014 Laurell K. Hamilton (P)2014 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Lots of action, royal faerie court intrigue, love, and loss.” (Fresh Fiction)

“Worth waiting for.” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

“The world-building remains spectacular.” (Kirkus Reviews)

Great book

I wasn't so sure of how the adult scenes would sound aloud, but they weren't so cringe worthy. I have some mixed feelings about the ending.

Meredith continues to entertain

Although we lose one of our consorts in this book, this series continues to grow and entrance the reader. Can Love conquer all when everyone else is using violence, rage, or just plain crazy. As always the sex is abundant, and in this book, all of our consorts grow. If you have not listened to this series, start at the 1st one and enjoy them all. Can't wait for the next

Story yay, narration nay

Hmm. Admittedly, I had to take a break from listening to this audiobook. Going from the last book to this one, the difference in narration was insanely difficult to get through. Like many of the other reviews stated, it feels this narrator didn’t take the time to listen to past books. The character voices and the way names or even words were pronounced was soooooo far off from the other books, it was rather infuriating. It really broke the fantasy.

After taking a break from this book (about half a year!!) I came back with a refreshed mind and was open to this narrative.

The story itself was descent and a true Merry Gentry book. It follows the life of Merry as she steps into motherhood and juggles the men of her life. All whilst trying to keep herself and loved ones safe from her wicked family. There are some parts that I believe could have used more story. And I did find the ending a little lackluster. Like many stories, I find the ending rushed and not all that well throughout. It felt like they just wanted the story done. Things could have been explained more. Some of the endings bits felt like they were just DONE and there will be no further information on them even if there is another book… buuuut. That’s the nice thing, I guess. Though the ending wasn’t as lively as some of the past books, Laurell has left it to either be done with this series OR has the possibility to continue the series.

I’ll be interested in seeing what she chooses to do.

Felt lacking

Honestly if I had not been listening to this on audible it would very hard to get through. It felt long and tedious through out most of the chapters as if trying to fit too much and at the same time not enough in each chapter, but in a rather drawn out and boring way. Then suddenly someone we were just getting to barely know was dead, and she was fighting against her uncle and then all was good with the world again in 3 very short chapters. I love the Merry Gentry series, but if this to be the last book it was sorely lacking in the everything that I had come to expect from this series. The feeling just wasn't there. I actually hope that she continues this series because we need an explanation for things like Frost and Doyle, and the other fathers. And I would love to see what happens with each of her children, because the way she described them made me think that stories about them growing up and coming into their own might be on the horizon. I truly hope that will be the case.

Bad narration......

Why Oh Why do these book clubs never listen to their reader/listeners?cWhy Do You Change Narrators in a series long running, it just doesn't make good senes..... That be said, I'm sure Ms Hill would be good in other books but in this she took the story ratings down for me, her voice was so bad I couldn't tell who was who, she switched from an Scottish Highland accent to an English accent back to a semi American accent WTH!

I could barely get through the first chapter and quit by chapter 7 and went and bought the book instead, she muddled through out the book and it was a train wreck.

My feed back...... Buy LKH book instead do not buy this audio book it ruin book 9.

not a bad follow up

I read the reviews by other listeners and almost didn't get this new installment of Merry Gentry and her band of misfits. The major complaint was of course the narrator. However, it has been many years since I read the last book, so I truly had no hang-ups about a narrator with a different accent.
It is however true that the narrator seemed to have the different accents a bit confused at times (which got a a bit confusing), but she wasn't so bad as to make the experience excruciating.
One of the reviewers seemed irate at the death of one on Merry's men, but for me, I couldn't help feeling a little relieved at the herd being thinned out a bit - trying to remember who's who/what, is starting to cause an enormous mental strain! Even Hamilton's Anita Blake series occasionally thinned out the herd .
I don't think this book is anywhere near the top 3 in the series, but for those who've eagerly awaited the next installment, it's nice.

Hate the narrator

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The narrator ruined this book for me! She didn't pronounce certain words right and the accents and characters were not right

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The babies were definitely my favorite aspect, the story jumped around a bit so I will read the book and hopefully it is a smoother story

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Charlotte Hill?

Kimberly Alexis would have done better or if they had kept the original narrator!

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

If the series as a whole were a movie yes, but this book wouldn't stand on it's very own!

Any additional comments?

Love lkh books but this narrator pretty much ruined this specific book for me, but I will suffer through her to hear the story through out

too much love

What made the experience of listening to A Shiver of Light the most enjoyable?

the narrator was very good.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Too much "love" in everything. I'm all for a good love story but every other word was "love" or being in "love" . Too gushy. Not like Laurel Hamiltons other books which had a mixture.

What does Charlotte Hill bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She brings the characters more to life with her voice. I enjoyed it.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Boredom. Too much of a good thing in "love". Life just isn't like that. On and on and on everyone is in love.

A lot disappointed in the ending. If you are going to kill of Sholto which was actually a good scene in the book even though I will miss him and the slaugh, why not make the perpetrators pay? What happened to the wild hunt? All of these books talk about how fearsome this court is but their king gets killed and nothing happens except everyone sits around crying and making a lackluster threat to the killer? One of the things that make this series good is that Merry is kind AND ruthless. Not much of that in this one. too much cry and I love yous. Also, whats up with the lack of using the hand properly on King Taranis? Only his arm? He should have been killed and this was a perfect time to do it. I am a mother and I know that if someone hurt the father of my child or my child, my inner dragon would be ferocious.

Any additional comments?

Not having seen the edited passages, I'm not liking the way this was edited. Lots of issues that I had with this book just might possibly be in those edited pages or not. The book didn't flow but felt very choppy and I am a big fan of this series as well as the rest of the books.

I love.this book

I really how that the lady who read this book is the reader for all the merry books for now on she rocks and will hope to hear more of her reading she has inspired me to write again thank you

Loved the story.....but not the narrator

What did you love best about A Shiver of Light?

The story line was really good, loved reading more about Merry and her Men

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Shiver of Light?

I loved the dream journeys she took.

Would you be willing to try another one of Charlotte Hill’s performances?

Worst Narrator Ever, she was the worst part of the book.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The death of one of her men was heart breaking, sad, made me cry but was a pivoting part of the story and made sense.

Any additional comments?

There were literally times I had to stop listening for a while, just because I found the narrator and her attempts at accents so annoying.