#1 - A Kiss Of Shadows
Laurell K. Hamilton's 'Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter' novels have established her as a force to be reckoned with. Her voice is fresh, her style sensual, her characters leap off the page and her blend of the contemporary and the supernatural is both original and exciting. Now, in A KISS OF SHADOWS, she introduces readers to an unforgettable new heroine: Meredith Gentry.
A Los Angeles private investigator with a strange speciality - supernatural crime, Merry has an even stranger secret: she's a Faerie princess in hiding, and on the run from her own otherworldly realm. For her aunt, the malevolent Queen of Air and Darkness, has dispatched her chief bodyguard back to the mortal world to fetch Meredith back, whether she likes it or not. She is to be the pawn in a plot that will transform the future of the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. Her role: to enjoy the constant company of the most beautiful - and immortal - men in the world of the Sidhe. Her reward: the crown. The penalty for refusal: death...
Rich, sensual and full of earthly pleasures, dazzling magic and memorable characters, some as deadly as they are beautiful, A KISS OF SHADOWS is an unbridled tour-de-force of the imagination where folklore, myth and legend come together with thrilling, erotically-charged adventure.
A Los Angeles private investigator with a strange speciality - supernatural crime, Merry has an even stranger secret: she's a Faerie princess in hiding, and on the run from her own otherworldly realm. For her aunt, the malevolent Queen of Air and Darkness, has dispatched her chief bodyguard back to the mortal world to fetch Meredith back, whether she likes it or not. She is to be the pawn in a plot that will transform the future of the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. Her role: to enjoy the constant company of the most beautiful - and immortal - men in the world of the Sidhe. Her reward: the crown. The penalty for refusal: death...
Rich, sensual and full of earthly pleasures, dazzling magic and memorable characters, some as deadly as they are beautiful, A KISS OF SHADOWS is an unbridled tour-de-force of the imagination where folklore, myth and legend come together with thrilling, erotically-charged adventure.
#2 - A Caress Of Twilight
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. And that's just the day job...
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. And that's just the day job...
#3 - Seduced By Moonlight
To some I am Meredith Gentry, P.I. To others I am Princess Merry, heir to the throne of Faerie. And there are those who whisper that I am both of these and more.
My aunt, the Queen of Air and Darkness, no long distracted by her sadistic pastimes, now focusses unwaveringly on me. I spend each night with my immortal guards, but still no child has come of our decadent pleasures. But something IS happening to me. I appear to have awakened a force that's lain dormant for thousands of years and I haven't the damndest idea how or why...
It all began with the chalice. I dreamed it, and there it was - cool and hard - when I awoke. My guards know this ancient relic well - its disappearance so many ages ago stripped them of their vital powers. And here it is with us now. My touch resonates with its force. A strange, dazzling magic now courses through my half-mortal half-Sidhe body. But while my guards cherish me for this unexpected gift, there are those who loathe me for it and would rather the Unseelie court suffer than have it ruled over by me, a mongrel queen. My enemies grow in number every day. If only they knew what I am capable of. But come to that, if only I did too.
This is the world of Meredith Gentry, a twilight world of gods, shapeshifters and immortal souls, a world full of sensuality, wild magic, treacherous deceits and latent powers about to be unleashed...
My aunt, the Queen of Air and Darkness, no long distracted by her sadistic pastimes, now focusses unwaveringly on me. I spend each night with my immortal guards, but still no child has come of our decadent pleasures. But something IS happening to me. I appear to have awakened a force that's lain dormant for thousands of years and I haven't the damndest idea how or why...
It all began with the chalice. I dreamed it, and there it was - cool and hard - when I awoke. My guards know this ancient relic well - its disappearance so many ages ago stripped them of their vital powers. And here it is with us now. My touch resonates with its force. A strange, dazzling magic now courses through my half-mortal half-Sidhe body. But while my guards cherish me for this unexpected gift, there are those who loathe me for it and would rather the Unseelie court suffer than have it ruled over by me, a mongrel queen. My enemies grow in number every day. If only they knew what I am capable of. But come to that, if only I did too.
This is the world of Meredith Gentry, a twilight world of gods, shapeshifters and immortal souls, a world full of sensuality, wild magic, treacherous deceits and latent powers about to be unleashed...
#4 - A Stroke Of Midnight
I am Meredith Gentry, P.I. and Princess Merry, heir to the throne of Fairie. I have departed the safe haven of Los Angeles to face the peril and deception of my first home, the Unseelie court. There, my enemies are many, and my guards may not be able to protect me from the treachery of the unseen foes that will stop at nothing to keep me from the throne.
As for my quest to produce an heir and thereby save myself and all that is faerie from utter destruction - well, I am still trying. As pregnancy becomes ever more urgent, I must leave the protected beds of the Queen's Ravens and lie with other men, men whose designs and allegiances remain in question. And a night of delirious passion will transport me and my new lovers to another place, the mysterious dead gardens - an event that portends great unrest in the forces of magic.
In order to save myself and those I love, I must walk into the very mouth of danger, and visit the Goblins in their lair - as well as the cunning King Taranis himself, who has an astonishing proposal for me. For I alone hold the power to rescue the universe, even if it requires aligning with my greatest and most dangerous of adversaries. But I'm running out of time. . . .
As for my quest to produce an heir and thereby save myself and all that is faerie from utter destruction - well, I am still trying. As pregnancy becomes ever more urgent, I must leave the protected beds of the Queen's Ravens and lie with other men, men whose designs and allegiances remain in question. And a night of delirious passion will transport me and my new lovers to another place, the mysterious dead gardens - an event that portends great unrest in the forces of magic.
In order to save myself and those I love, I must walk into the very mouth of danger, and visit the Goblins in their lair - as well as the cunning King Taranis himself, who has an astonishing proposal for me. For I alone hold the power to rescue the universe, even if it requires aligning with my greatest and most dangerous of adversaries. But I'm running out of time. . . .
#5 - Mistral's Kiss
The time has come for Meredith Gentry to put aside her detective work and fulfill her ultimate obligation to the world of Faerie - where her efforts to conceive an heir to the throne of the Unseelie Court are crucial to restoring magic, and life itself, to the Fey kingdom.
And though her quest to produce an heir may be full of sensual pleasures, it is also fraught with peril: the shadows of intrigue stalk the royal court, and sabotage lurks at any turn. Merry's cousin schemes and plots, determined to see her fall. But, in the once-dead gardens of the world of faerie, something has re-awakened an all-powerful, malign magic. And Merry's own powers have turned wildly - dangerously - unpredictable. As plots and counterplots are hatched and strategies and subterfuges played out, the destiny of an entire world turns upon the fortunes of Merry Gentry: object of obsession, target of treachery and pawn of uncertain fate.
And though her quest to produce an heir may be full of sensual pleasures, it is also fraught with peril: the shadows of intrigue stalk the royal court, and sabotage lurks at any turn. Merry's cousin schemes and plots, determined to see her fall. But, in the once-dead gardens of the world of faerie, something has re-awakened an all-powerful, malign magic. And Merry's own powers have turned wildly - dangerously - unpredictable. As plots and counterplots are hatched and strategies and subterfuges played out, the destiny of an entire world turns upon the fortunes of Merry Gentry: object of obsession, target of treachery and pawn of uncertain fate.
#6 - A Lick Of Frost
You know me. I am Meredith Gentry, princess and heir apparent to the throne in the realm of Faerie; one-time private investigator in the mortal world.
To be crowned queen, I must continue the royal bloodline - I must produce an heir. To fail would allow my aunt, Queen Andais, do what she most desires: to place her twisted son, Cel, upon the throne of Faerie...and kill me.
I am surrounded by loyal guards, my best loved - sworn to protect and to love me - yet for all our eager efforts, I remain childless. My sinister Queen and her confederates conspire against me and so my bodyguards and I have slipped back into Los Angeles. But it seems exile is not enough to escape those with dark designs upon us. King Taranis, vainglorious ruler of Faerie's Seelie court, has accused my guards of a heinous crime and asked the mortal authorities to pursue them. If he succeeds, my men will face a hideous fate. I know Taranis's charges are baseless - for his true target is me. He tried to kill me when I was a child. Now I fear his intentions are far more terrifying...
To be crowned queen, I must continue the royal bloodline - I must produce an heir. To fail would allow my aunt, Queen Andais, do what she most desires: to place her twisted son, Cel, upon the throne of Faerie...and kill me.
I am surrounded by loyal guards, my best loved - sworn to protect and to love me - yet for all our eager efforts, I remain childless. My sinister Queen and her confederates conspire against me and so my bodyguards and I have slipped back into Los Angeles. But it seems exile is not enough to escape those with dark designs upon us. King Taranis, vainglorious ruler of Faerie's Seelie court, has accused my guards of a heinous crime and asked the mortal authorities to pursue them. If he succeeds, my men will face a hideous fate. I know Taranis's charges are baseless - for his true target is me. He tried to kill me when I was a child. Now I fear his intentions are far more terrifying...
#7 - Swallowing Darkness
Merry Gentry is not your average private investigator. Half human, half faerie, she's caught in a struggle that threatens not only her life, but the lives of those she desires and holds dear. Her very existence and her rightful place on the throne of Faerie have long depended on her producing an heir - and now, after many failed attempts, she is pregnant... A triumphant moment, but revelation follows revelation: for Merry carries twins, and they have more than one father...
There are those of her own flesh and blood who want Merry and her unborn children dead, but she is a fighter and wields a wild magic. And this is her world. This is where the magical and the mortal intertwine, where folklore, fantasy and erotically charged adventure collide...
There are those of her own flesh and blood who want Merry and her unborn children dead, but she is a fighter and wields a wild magic. And this is her world. This is where the magical and the mortal intertwine, where folklore, fantasy and erotically charged adventure collide...
#8 - Divine Misdemeanors
Some know her as Meredith Nic Essus, princess of faerie. Others as Merry Gentry, LA private eye. In the fey and mortal realms alike, her life is the stuff of royal intrigue and celebrity drama.
Among her own kind, she has confronted enemies, endured the treachery and malevolence of her kith and kin, and honoured her duty to conceive a royal heir...all so she could claim a throne. But now she's turned her back on court and crown in favour of exile in the human world.
However, while she may have rejected the throne, she cannot abandon her people. Someone is killing the fey. The LAPD are baffled and Merry is worried: her kind are not easily captured or killed. At least not by mortals. And it's not just these murders that concern her. It appears mortals who she once healed with magic are now able to perform miracles themselves - a phenomenon that's wreaking havoc on relations between man and fey and provoking suspicions of forbidden powers.
So much for leaving blood and politics behind her. Merry had dreamed of a quiet life, but evil knows no borders and it seems nobody lives forever - not even the immortal...
Among her own kind, she has confronted enemies, endured the treachery and malevolence of her kith and kin, and honoured her duty to conceive a royal heir...all so she could claim a throne. But now she's turned her back on court and crown in favour of exile in the human world.
However, while she may have rejected the throne, she cannot abandon her people. Someone is killing the fey. The LAPD are baffled and Merry is worried: her kind are not easily captured or killed. At least not by mortals. And it's not just these murders that concern her. It appears mortals who she once healed with magic are now able to perform miracles themselves - a phenomenon that's wreaking havoc on relations between man and fey and provoking suspicions of forbidden powers.
So much for leaving blood and politics behind her. Merry had dreamed of a quiet life, but evil knows no borders and it seems nobody lives forever - not even the immortal...
#9 - A Shiver of Light
I am Princess Meredith NicEssus. Legal name Meredith Gentry, because Princess looks so pretentious on a driver's license. I was the first faerie princess born on American soil, but I wouldn’t be the only one for much longer...
Merry Gentry, ex-private detective, now full-time princess, knew she was descended from fertility goddesses, but when she learned she was about to have triplets, she began to understand what that might mean. Infertility has plagued the high ranks of faerie for centuries. Now nobles of the both courts of faerie are coming to woo Merry and her men at their home in exile in the Western Lands of Los Angeles, because they will do anything to have offspring of their own.
Taranis, King of Light and Illusion, is a more dangerous problem. He tried to seduce Merry, and failing that, raped her. He's using the human courts to sue for visitation rights, claiming that one of the children is his. And though Merry knows she was already pregnant when he took her, she can't prove it.
To save herself and her babies from Taranis 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 contain the war, to keep it from spreading to those innocent humans who are in very real danger of becoming collateral damage...
Merry Gentry, ex-private detective, now full-time princess, knew she was descended from fertility goddesses, but when she learned she was about to have triplets, she began to understand what that might mean. Infertility has plagued the high ranks of faerie for centuries. Now nobles of the both courts of faerie are coming to woo Merry and her men at their home in exile in the Western Lands of Los Angeles, because they will do anything to have offspring of their own.
Taranis, King of Light and Illusion, is a more dangerous problem. He tried to seduce Merry, and failing that, raped her. He's using the human courts to sue for visitation rights, claiming that one of the children is his. And though Merry knows she was already pregnant when he took her, she can't prove it.
To save herself and her babies from Taranis 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 contain the war, to keep it from spreading to those innocent humans who are in very real danger of becoming collateral damage...