After the debacle of Mistral's Kiss, this installment of magical fairy sex adventures had a much better structure. Moreover, Merry spent most of it wearing clothes and dealing with political intrigue. The book even opens on a meeting with lawyers, in which tedious minutiae quickly segue into Merry baldly giving mean averages of how often she has sex. I did wonder who was taking the minutes and how they phrased them. As is generally the case with fae, it seems, the meeting then breaks up into violence and acrimony.There was considerably less sex and magic in this book and more violence, as a result of which it worked better for me as a novel but is less fun to mock. No new technicolour men were introduced, although Cristall the sparkly rainbow guy got a cameo. Unfortunately for him it was as a torture victim. Doyle continues to wear wraparound sunglasses with his all-black attire, which must cause people to mistake him for the monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Since events took place in LA, a supporting cast of humans (police, doctors, lawyers) react amusingly to fairy shenanigans. Perhaps my favourite example was the pragmatic nurse who had to deal with a giant dog jumping into her ambulance then turning into a naked Doyle. She merely says, "What the hell" then gives him a blanket. (I hope it was a silver thermal one.)The overriding message I got from this update to the Merry Gentry story is that absolutist hereditary monarchy, never a solid idea, is especially catastrophic for magical immortals. All the fairy monarchs have clearly gone completely mad as absolute power has corrupted them absolutely. Merry should really introduce the notion of representative democracy to the Seelie and Unseelie courts posthaste. Also, someone urgently needs to set up a rule of law, to prevent rulers resorting to torture on any pretext (pique, boredom, etc).I can't really comment any further without spoiling, so will cut here. (view spoiler)[Events come thick and fast in the latter third of the book. (After writing that I noticed the double entendre and am very sorry.) A sort of magical A-bomb detonates in a manner that I found even less comprehensible than most magic in the series. This causes Frost, him of the sparkly silver hair, to sacrifice himself somehow, turn into a stag, and disappear. To my annoyance, I actually cared about this, as I've become invested in Doyle, Frost, and Merry having a happy threesome relationship. Alas poor Frost, maybe you'll return at some suitably dramatic juncture. At least both Merry and Doyle cried over you, as well they should. Then followed the revelation that Merry is pregnant, which was extremely predictable as soon as she started saying she felt under the weather. When previously making predictions about who would be the daddy, though, I radically underestimated the heights of absurdity to which this series aspires. Not only is Merry pregnant with triplets, but it seems that EVERYONE is the daddy. Indeed, I lost track. Were there nine fathers or just six? I remain confused. Those kids are going to have assign their dads numbers and some sort of visitation rota, either way. More importantly, what colours will their hair be? The final twist in the story is by the far the least pleasant - that Merry's uncle has beaten and raped her. I was greatly relieved that this scene took place off-page as I hate reading rape scenes. I'm not sure what it says about Laurell K Hamilton, her audience in general, or me specifically, but reading about Andais torturing her guards doesn't break the fantasy atmosphere of the books, whereas a rape description definitely would. I wish the rape hadn't been included at all, as there seems no strong narrative pretext. Taranis was already murderous, unstable, and unhinged. Given that Cel and Andais have also made or threatened incestuous overtures, though, I really think the whole fairy royal family have gone wrong and are overdue for a revolution that ends with their heads on pikes.To conclude on a happier note, I'm pleased that Rhys finally got to air his issues like an adult, hopefully reducing the level of ambient passive-aggression. Also, I liked the addition of many dogs to the household of Merry and her harem, although it will undoubtedly worsen the already parlous hair-in-the-carpets situation. It would be nice if Merry could spend her pregnancy recuperating peacefully and cuddling puppies. Somehow I doubt that is what will transpire. (hide spoiler)]
I can't decide what I think about the latest installment in the Meredith Gentry series by Laurell K. Hamilton. Yes, I like the series. Yes, I like Merry and Darkness and Rhys and Frost and Galen, etc. The last couple of books have bothered me on some levels, mainly that they take place over the span of only about one day, and are over-packed with intrigue, politics, alliances, sex (recreational, procreational and/or political... not bad, just sort of a LOT of it for reasons I'm not always clear about), carnage, miracles, magic, salvation... well you get the point. It's often hard to track who is allied with whom, and whether the seemingly miraculous happening is a good thing or a bad thing. This title starts by setting up what you assume will be the main conflict in the book, yet it disappears fairly early on. (Amazingly, NO sex till well after page 100) In some ways, this book almost felt like a novella compared to most of Hamilton's books. The story moved, changed and resolved so quickly, and there weren't a lot of character developments. I also wasn't satisfied by the "major development" at the end (don't want to give it away) but it seemed a bit of a cop-out. A resolution that, while interesting, seems to shoot down something we were supposed to be waiting impatiently for, and which was supposed to be of major political concern. Seemed like Hamilton said, "Well, can't decide what to do about that, so...!" I guess I'd say "Good, but not thoroughly satisfying." I hope the next book in the series is better.
What do You think about A Lick Of Frost (2007)?
yeah, it gets like that sometimes. i'll like a series but hear about another one and get sidetracked. plus sometimes it's better to put some variety in ur reading. it keeps a series surprising and interesting =D
—Domino (aka Meme)
4 stars (it may have been a bare touch below but not by much).Ooh, this was a traumatic one. I'm not sure I can even keep the spoilers small. Firstly someone is transformed but in a way that's a loss (view spoiler)[ I'm revealing it because if you've read my other reviews of this series you will know that his absence contributed greatly to my liking of this book. It's Frost. I will grant that the fact he and Doyle knew someone must be sacrified and Frost decided it be himself gives me more appreciation of him; but as a character he has consistently annoyed me so I'm glad he's gone. (hide spoiler)]
—Dee
I have followed the Princess Meredith series for awhile, but realized that I had missed a couple of installments. Frost is the princess's number two guard, after Darkness. Meredith struggles with her feelings of favoritism among her guards, but she is very honest about it. In A Lick of Frost she is once again in a fight for her life. She has repeatedly been targeted as a key member of Faerie society -by both factions, the Seelie and the Unseelie. She is also half mortal and this does not bode we
—Kercelia
