If your not shy about very well written sex scenes, that are also important to the storyline, than this series is a wild ride. Princess Meridith is de..Show More »scended from several fertility goddesses, so naturally her greatest power is expressed in the bedroom. Her lovers are all beings who have lost their power, and consequently, the world of the fey is dying -- but through her, they, and the fey, are revitalized. As a fiction writer, I find Ms. Hamilton's depictions to be a masterclass in writing a compelling sex scene. As a fan, I am endlessly entertained by her originality, and the courage of her convictions to tell the story as it is meant to be told. Having read the series, I'm now enjoying the audio books, just as much, if not more. The narrator is perfect.

For those who find it to be too much, I say, quit complaining and move along. This series is meant for adults. Go read Harry Potter. Again.

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The storyline progresses wonderfully in this book.
This review is feedback to the reader, who pronounces the character's names differently from ..Show More »the first two audio books (to the point of distraction and frustration for me) in this book. Why pronounce Andais as on'd'a-es, Doyle as dole (like the pineapple company)?

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With sexuality that would make even Anne Rice blush by comparison, political intrigue comparable to Frank Herbert and prose of true beauty, Laurell ha..Show More »s achieved something unique.
In addition to these achievements, Laural Merlington narrates this work so exceptionally that I literally forgot that this was not a full cast narration. She achieves unique voices for each of the characters in such a way the listener never looses track who is speaking. It's a rare skill.
Making this book an exceptional masterpiece for both its prose and its narration.

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Another great story. I really love the way these characters are developing slowly as the series progresses. Everyone, especially Frost and Gaylan ar..Show More »e getting much better at their initial weaknesses. The sex is much too drawn out and tends to stall the story from moving forward. That's ok though. I can get past the disk-long orgies because the story line is otherwise great. The characters are really good too. I would love it if the narrator would stick with pronouncing the characters names in a consistent way. Doyle was "Doyle" in books one and two, "Dole" in books three, back to "Doyle" in book four, and now back to Dole. I realize the pronunciation guide says that his name is pronounced "Dole", but stick with the same darned name! It's distracting, and quite frankly disrespectful to the author. Not to mention poor Darkness! I wish he'd pop out of the story with Mortal Dread and give the narrator a little slice... :)

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Way to go! For a while I thought that the books by Laurel K. Hamilton were slipping into a rut of nothing but sex and more sex. I thoroughly enjoyed..Show More » that this book, while not light on the sex, was meatier plot. I felt it was much truer to the characters we fell in love with. I hope that the next books continue in this fashion!

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I've read and then listened to all of the Merry series. The story itself was great. A lot of information this time around. Reviewers in the past ha..Show More »ve criticized LKH as too much sex, not enough plot. That's not the case for S/D. This story takes up right after Merry is rescued from her uncle and quickly takes off. I was pleased to see her character actually get stronger. I got sick of reading/hearing "I don't understand" in various other books. In this one, she leads the way and you can actually see that she would make a good queen. I'd give the story itself **** but the narration only **. If you want to listen to this series, do NOT start with this one. There are so many characters in this series and to get a good reading, the narrator really needs to be able to change the voice accordingly. This narrator has a monotone voice, and over enunciates throughout the reading. I was really disappointed in this purchase. Thank goodness I had read the book first. Again - recommend listening to other books in the series first as had I listened to this one first, it's highly unlikely I would have purchased the others.

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The book is great, but it sounds like it's being narrated by my grandmother...which is weird in the sex scenes. The entire series is excelent, but ma..Show More »ybe better to read in print.

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