A Shiver of Light

May 4, 2015
Hamilton's return to her Merry Gentry series after five years makes for a rousing read. Keeping faerie princess Meredith Gentry and her (surprise) triplets safe from the rulers of both the Seelie and Unseelie courts is job number one for her lovers. The biggest threat is from her rapist, Seelie King Taranis. If he can legally claim partial paternity or bespell her while she dreams, his throne remains secure. Meanwhile, members of his court continue to flock to Merry; not only is she a fertility princess, she's the first of the fey to have given birth in years. Her powers and domain continue to expand through the pleasure she finds with her men. Hamilton's creativity in the sex scenes greatly enriches the narrative, as do the unforeseen, painful ramifications of true love. Given the time between books, a synopsis of the ever more complex politics within the world of faerie would be handy, but fans who frequently reread the series will enjoy this installment.

May 15, 2014
Fae princess Merry Gentry is about to give birth to triplets at the ad hoc Court she's established in Los Angeles, giving rise to political and personal complications across the faerie world and threatening those closest to her. Merry, born Princess Meredith NicEssus, is the first faerie princess born on American soil, with bloodline ties to both the Seelie and Unseelie Royal Courts. Having survived countless assassination attempts, she fled to California and lived a mortal life as a private investigator for years, but recently, her magic has awakened, and she has established her own household with powerful lovers while creating alliances with other supernatural beings. Both Fae Courts are likely ruled by infertile leaders, causing infertility in the population, so many faeries are following Merry to LA and pledging their allegiance to her, hoping she will help them bear children of their own. Meanwhile, her enemy, King Taranis, is using both magical and legal means to get Merry under his influence, all while Merry and her stable of lovers are settling in to life with three babies, from two different fathers. Paranormal superstar Hamilton returns to her Merry Gentry series with the same storytelling imbalance that affects most of her books these days: There's too much boring sex, talking about sex, and Merry waxing rhapsodic about her many, many lovers. We catch occasional glimpses of Hamilton's brilliant storytelling and compelling imagination, and the worldbuilding remains spectacular, with its many amazing physical and spiritual details-when we get to see it. Hamilton grew her reputation on her action-packed, supernatural storytelling and eroticism, and while we get slivers of it, we have to wade through too much banality to get there. A shadow of Hamilton's greatness, but avid fans waiting for the continuation of Merry's story will still buy it.

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June 15, 2014

In this long-awaited sequel to 2009's Divine Misdemeanors, homegrown American faerie princess (and former PI) Meredith (Merry) NicEssus gives birth to enchanted triplets. But she knows from bloody experience that life in the faerie court is far from fairy-tale perfect. The constant target of ruthless relatives, Merry, along with her consorts and the other faerie who chose exile in the human world, has to be ready for dangers coming her way. VERDICT After a five-year hiatus, best-selling author Hamilton returns with a spellbinding series follow-up. Her ingeniously imaginative worldbuilding, erotically inventive plot, and dark lyrical narrative are still impressive and don't lessen now that Merry is a mom. Fans will rejoice as the author puts Merry and her merry men through their paces in and out of the bedroom. For new readers, the series, which has a strong R rating, should be read in order.--Debbie Haupt, St. Charles City-Cty. Lib. Dist., St. Peters, MO

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