To set the scene, I read this installment of nonsensical fairy quasi-pornography whilst in the background my Nana watched snooker on the TV. I found that stolid commentary on the perambulations of balls around a green table really added to the Merry Gentry experience. I ran through 'Mistral's Kiss' quickly, because I wanted to get it over with. A friend who I won't name and shame warned me that it was by no means one of the better installments in the series, and they were correct. I believe this was because Mistral was a main character and he is such a jerk. As before, I found myself sympathising with Queen Andais - aside from the seemingly obligatory one creepy incest moment and her insistence upon torture as a solution to all problems. Mistral is her Captain of Guards and, given his fondness for getting rough with women during sex without prior consent, I can see why she forced him to be celibate. At the outset of the book, she turns up while Mistral is banging Merry and asks him, not unreasonably, what the heck is going on. Rather than admitting the obvious (magical booty call), he prevaricates by claiming he wanted to ask advice from Doyle. A weak excuse, since he charged into the room and immediately started frenching the princess, without so much as saying Hi to anyone.Andais has to put up with a lot of bullshit, really. She is definitely the most plain-speaking character, which endears her to me. On page 49 she asks Merry, '"You think you can fuck the gardens back to life?"' Doyle replies in the affirmative and (spoilers) that is literally what happens for the next 250 pages. It must be tiring having a son who is deranged enough to be a danger to everyone and everything, as well as niece who unleashes random, disruptive, and powerful magic every time she orgasms, which is constantly. Since the lands of faerie have no apparent rule of law, she is constantly having to negotiate treaties, alliances, and agreements for every little thing - whilst Merry does the same without informing her of it. (I'm surprised by the lack of faerie contract lawyers, actually, as there is clearly a need for them.) To cap it all, Merry's magic is redecorating her entire underground palace without prior consultation. As Andais complains, '"There is a field of flowers in my torture chamber."' That's just uncalled for. At least she has the comfort of owning a sword called Mortal Dread, surely the most badass of weapon names, and a wardrobe of black ballgowns to match.Perhaps it is the fact that the narrative really wants you to sympathise with Merry rather than Andais that makes me determined to like her despite her hyperbolic sadism. After all, Merry does some incredibly violent things too, but as the books are from her point of view, we know that she feels bad about bleeding people to death. With regard to Merry's plot arc in this book, I think the salient point is that she doesn't put on any garment whatsoever until page 270. Prior to that, she is clothed only in blood (mostly not her own), lake water, rain, and (presumably) other bodily fluids. There are many discussions about magical sex and several sex scenes in which she mainly seems to be trying to avoid being hurt, which is pretty grim. As with previous installments, the pacing is incredibly inconsistent. Things only really started happening three quarters of the way through, after (spoiler) Merry apparently shagged all the sanity out of Sholto, with terrible consequences.Although the last quarter was thus pretty good, I enjoyed this installment less than the previous ones due to dislike of Mistral, sympathy for the villainness, and the absence of levity. The Merry Gentry novels work best when they acknowledge their own absurdities. This one contained a single solitary joke, two pages before the end. 'Mistral's Kiss' could have done with more light-heartedness, much less Mistral, and more Frost & Doyle interaction. Moreover, Merry deserves some R&R (her hair must really need washing by now) and it would be nice if she got to talk to her harem more. Calling out Rhys on his passive-aggressiveness is especially overdue as a conversation topic.
What do You think about Mistral's Kiss (2006)?
I couldn't really find a plot to this book at all. Having not read any of the other books in this series, I was at a complete loss to work out what the whole idea of the book was. If it wasn't for the description on the back of the book I would have no idea that Meredith was trying to get pregnant, and was willing to have sex with pretty much anyone to achieve it. The whole story seemed to concern having sex in one place, then going to another place and having sex with some other guy, then having sex somewhere else with yet another guy. It also lacked the 'happy ever after' which is standard for pretty much all romance novels. Overall, a very underwhelming 'story'.
—Jackie
The Good: Lots of sexy times, a little more hardcore than we've seen before in the series. Variety is good in a series with this much mating going on. Significant increases in power move the story along and give the reader some interesting possibilities for the future. Merry remains awesome, as she masters diplomatic issues and the hardness that is necessary in the world of faerie.The Bad: Mistral's Kiss is significantly shorter than the earlier books in this series. Normally, not a huge deal - but here it's extremely noticeable in the lack of single book mystery. The entire book pushes forward the series but lacks anything that would make it stand out in the series as important on its own.
—Jennifer
~*~Book Description~*~I am Princess Meredith, heir to a throne of faerie. My day job, once upon a time, was as a private detective in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, princess has now become a full-time occupation.My aunt, Queen Andais, will have it no other way. And so I am virtually a prisoner in faerie trapped here with some of the realms most beautiful men to serve as my bodyguards . . . and my lovers. For I am compelled to conceive a child: an heir to succeed me on the throne. Yet after months of amazing sex with my consorts, there is still no baby. And no baby means no throne. The only certainty is death at the hands of my cousin Cel, or his followers, if I fail to conceive.Now Mistral, Queen Andais's new captain of the guard, has come to my bed defying her and risking her terrible wrath in doing so. But even she will hesitate to punish him in jealous rage, because our joining has reawakened old magic, mystical power so ancient that no one stands against it and survives. Not even my strongest and most favored: my Darkness and my Killing Frost. Not even Mistral himself, my Storm Lord. But because Mistral has helped to bring this magic forth, he may live another day.If I can reclaim control of the fey power that once was, there may be hope for me and my reign in faerie. I might yet quell the dark schemes and subterfuges surrounding me. Though shadows of obsession and conspiracy gather, I may survive.~*~My Review~*~**This book is more a novella than novel. Approximately just over 200 pages.Ok, I can honestly admit that I feel a bit lost at all the events taken place in a matter of hours in Mistral's Kiss.The book picks up right where it left off in the fourth book, and our little group of Merry and her men get transported through the sithen to the dead garden. It's there, Mistral and Merry get another go at their more 'BDSM' style love making.It's during this little romp that Mistral and Merry's magic bring life back to the garden. It also takes some of the men into the ground and sky (Galen, Nicca, Adair...and a few others).Though with the return of life they are a bit trapped in the garden.Since Merry is now able to make requests to the sithen, and after several attempts, Merry's magical door send her and her men to the slaugh's garden! Enter Sholto....yum. LOL, I have no idea what it is, but I adore King Sholto....Anywho, lots of things happen while they're in the slaugh's garden...which include but not limited to: another death of a hag, Sholto and Merry getting it on, the wild hunt being released, Sholto wearing a flower/vine crown (lol), and the wild hunt after all things sidhe!And how does the book end.....CEL IS OUT AND AFTER MERRY!! After a little mishap with our sweetheart Galen, all prisoners are free'd and that includes the ever insane Cel! The Queen has mandated that Merry and her guys go back to LA so she can get Cel under control.
—Casey
