A Kiss of Shadows

Meredith Gentry, Book 1

By: Laurell K. Hamilton

Narrated by: Laural Merlington

Length: 15 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

" All it would take was my true name being mentioned after dark, and it would float back to my aunt. She was the Queen of Air and Darkness, and that meant that anything said in the dark was hers to hear, eventually.

"The fact that spotting the missing Elven American Princess had become more popular than spotting Elvis helped. Her magic was always chasing blind leads: Princess Meredith skiing in Utah. Princess Meredith dancing in Paris. Princess Meredith gambling in Vegas. After three years, I was still a front-page story for the tabloids, though the latest headlines had been speculating that I was as dead as the King of Rock and Roll."

In fact, Meredith has been posing as a human in Los Angeles, living as a private investigator specializing in supernatural crime. But now Doyle, the Queen's chief bodyguard and assassin, has been dispatched to fetch her back - whether she likes it or not. And suddenly Meredith finds herself a pawn in her dreaded aunt's plans...plans that affect the future of the entire UnSeelie Court.

The requirements of the job: to enjoy the constant company of the most beautiful - and immortal - men in the world. The reward: the crown - and the opportunity to continue to live. The penalty: death.

Fairie tales: listen to another Meredith Gentry fantasy.

©2000 Laurell K. Hamilton (P)2000 Laurell K. Hamilton

Critic reviews

"[A]n edgy story of sex, violence, and magic that manages to be both disturbing and entertaining." ( Library Journal)
"As wild as the novel's premise is, memorable characters and wicked wit make it all delicious, ribald fun." ( Publishers Weekly)
"I've never read a writer with a more fertile imagination." (Diana Gabaldon)

Geese not Jeeyoss

Please, please, please - will somebody PLEASE let the narrators know that the word "geas," meaning a magical compulsion or constraint, is pronounced like the waterfowl, geese, instead of what I so often hear used, jeeyoss. It drags me out of the story and compels me to shout GEESE at the rafters. Which is just weird to those in the house.

I was bored after awhile

What did you like best about A Kiss of Shadows? What did you like least?

It caught my interest at first, and I think I tried to read it years ago. After, a few chapters (maybe half way through) i just stopped caring about the book and the characters.

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

I'm not sure why I didn't connect with this book. I loved the author's other series.

Amazing story.

i love her books, the stories are amazing and i can't wait to hear the rest of the story.

A great series

I love LKH as a writer, her stories are full of words that takes you into the life of the characters in such a way, you feel like your there. This is a great series, I love Merry and her strong bond to her men, her no nonesess attitude to get things done..If you like sf-fi romance, this is a great listen..

this is the best series ever

I love this series. it is the best that I have read. I read it over and over and over

great books

i love this book it gives u a sould base for the series pleanty of action and sex. i love the way she makes sure u know the characters

A Kiss of Shadows

If you could sum up A Kiss of Shadows in three words, what would they be?

Keeps your attention.

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

Laural Merlington brings life to the characters. I liked the different voices she used for the characters.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes.

Any additional comments?

The main character of this book Merry, is very well described and the details are great. I really began to recognize the main "men" all through the book. The story was entertaining and easy to follow.

Simple Plot, Yet Complicated Story

A Kiss of Shadows revolves around a half-mortal, half-magical, character named Merry. The fantasy world written by Hamilton is predicated on the idea that Fairies live alongside knowing humans. The story opens to Merry, an unseelie princess, trying to maintain her anonymity from the magical world. She had fled to live among humans as she fears for her life. The powerful Queen, her aunt, never liked her and his son hates her as well, so she tries to remain hidden. Ultimately, as the plot unfolds, Merry is re-acquainted with people from her past... as she does, the reader is introduced to them.

Overall, the story line is unique and creative. Hamilton's writing style is no doubt intense. She has a flair for description. However, I found so much over-described. Personally, I find that some authors knowingly write in excess, beautifully or not, to fill the pages... That said, this is a story that requires some vocabulary to understand what's going on. I checked online and found little to no information. Its not until the latter part of the 2nd book, that so much of what had been happening becomes clearer. Honestly, I wonder if it would be best to read Kiss of Shadows, then a Caress of Twilight (Book 2), and re-read Kiss of Shadows before moving forward in the series. Currently, I'm about a third of the way into Caress of Moonlight (Book 3), and once again, find myself lost with the introduction of new vocab and NO explanation. I find that I have to take breaks from the story... to give my brain a rest!

FYI: Of the Fairies, there are seelie (those of light) and unseelie (those of darkness). The magical species' are divided into the two courts - seelie and unseelie. Each with it's own rulers. The She species is represented in both courts. The She have historically dominated the Faerie population because of their magical capabilities. However, not all of the Faerie magical species are seen in both courts. Not all She have the same powers nor do they have them from birth... many grow into them. Also, Merry is mortal (being part human) whilst most of the Faerie world is viewed as immortal.

Great story, not so great narration

I love the Merry Gentry book series. I reread them often. I was hoping for a great audiobook version for when I can't hold a book while running or completing tasks.

This narration fell quite far from that goal. Ms. Merlington's pace and timing are ragged and challenging to follow, her pronunciation of frequent words and names is very inconsistent throughout the series, and sometimes throughout a single book (Dole instead of Doyle, as an example), and her narration during sex scenes is downright creepy.

As much as I love reading Ms. Hamilton's books, listening to Ms. Merlington read them is nowhere near as enjoyable.

Please write more books

Please write more books to this series! Please….. I have read these books a couple years ago and now I’m listening to the audibles…..