Laurell K. Hamilton revitalized vampires, werewolves, and zombies in the popular Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter books. In this new series, she updates faeries. A Kiss of Shadows introduces Merry Gentry, a.k.a. Meredith NicEssus, a faerie princess of the Unseelie Court, where politics is a blood sport. Merry, who's part sidhe (elvish), part brownie, and part human, never really fit in. She's short, not skilled in offensive magic, and mortal because of her human blood. These are real liabilities when your family, especially aunt Andais, Queen of Air and Darkness, is out to kill you. Merry has been in hiding for three years, living in Los Angeles and working for the Grey Detective Agency, which specializes in "supernatural problems, magical solutions." A new case sets her against a man who uses forbidden magic to seduce fey women and drain their power. A plan to trap him goes awry and Merry's cover is blown. Now Andais knows where she is. But things have changed in Andais's court, and Merry is changing too.

Despite the selkies, brownies, goblins, and ogres in this book, it's not for children. The fey are "creatures of the senses"--and in the Unseelie court, sex and pain go together. Merry is sexually adventurous and surrounded by gorgeous, powerful males, most of whom want her badly. She's politically savvy and no coward, though she's not the warrior Anita is. Hamilton fans and readers of adult fairy tales like Anne Bishop's Black Jewels trilogy will want to give Merry a look. --Nona Vero


From Publishers Weekly
Erotica is fantasy, but it rarely gets as fantastic as this. After nine novels featuring Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter (Obsidian Butterfly, etc.), Hamilton launches a sizzling new series that blends supernatural fantasy with detective adventure and hot sex. Here, the world is populated with various magical faerie races along with humans. The most supreme of the fey are the immortal sidhe, so beautiful and powerful they were once worshiped as gods. The fey are not only lusty but incredibly accomplished lovers; those of the royal sidhe bloodline are literally addictively sexy. Full-blooded fey are, for the most part, intolerant of cities, metal and technology. They seldom live for long among humans. Mixed-blood Princess Meredith NicEssus, however, has fled the faerie world to pass for three years as Merry Gentry, a human with some fey blood who works in Los Angeles with a detective agency that specializes in supernatural problems and magical solutions. Suddenly outed as the missing princess and fearing that her aunt, the Queen of Air and Darkness, will kill her, she makes a desperate run aided by her detective pals. The queen does want her, but not in the way Merry expects. Ultimately, Meredith must fulfill the queen's designs for the future of her court, even if it means having to bed the most beautiful studs in the universe. Through constant danger and adventure, Meredith finds herself in a variety of sexual encounters that make it easy to see why her ancestors were so worthy of worship. As wild as the novel's premise is, memorable characters and wicked wit make it all delicious, ribald fun. 8-city author tour. (Oct.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
This is a new dark fantasy from Hamilton, author of the popular "Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter" series (e.g., Obsidian Butterfly). For three years, Meredith Gentry has been hiding in Los Angeles from her aunt, the wicked Queen of Air and Darkness. Part human, part sidhe (fairy), Meredith is abruptly summoned back to the Faerie Court with the captain of the Queen's guard as her escort and personal bodyguard. What does her aunt want from her? Forging alliances with powerful, immortal men and exploring her newfound magical powers just might keep Meredith alive long enough to figure it all out. Hers is an edgy story of sex, violence, and magic that manages to be both disturbing and entertaining. Highly recommended for all public libraries.DLaurel Bliss, Sterling Memorial Lib., New Haven, CT Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Review
“I’ve never read a writer with a more fertile imagination.”
–DIANA GABALDON


“SEXY . . . MERRY’S ADVENTURES ARE ENGAGING AND KEEP THE READER TURNING THE PAGES.”
–St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“STUNNING . . . STEAMY . . . AN EXCITING AND ORIGINAL WORLD.”
–San Jose Mercury News

“A STORY THAT MIXES MYSTERY, ROMANCE, AND POLITICAL INTRIGUE.”
–The Denver Post




From the Paperback edition.


Review
?I?ve never read a writer with a more fertile imagination.?
?DIANA GABALDON


?SEXY . . . MERRY?S ADVENTURES ARE ENGAGING AND KEEP THE READER TURNING THE PAGES.?
?St. Louis Post-Dispatch

?STUNNING . . . STEAMY . . . AN EXCITING AND ORIGINAL WORLD.?
?San Jose Mercury News

?A STORY THAT MIXES MYSTERY, ROMANCE, AND POLITICAL INTRIGUE.?
?The Denver Post

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Bestselling author Laurell K. Hamilton steps outside her highly addictive Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter books to introduce readers to a new series of intrigue. A Kiss of Shadows is a sensual novel of dark fantasy that will both entertain and unsettle. In a manner reminiscent of Roger Zelazny's Amber series, Hamilton draws the reader into the adventures of two violent worlds: one a perilous mortal realm, the other a place of disturbing and often deadly magic.

In this alternate reality, the mystical Fey have always existed side by side with mankind, though not always calling attention to themselves. Many nations of the mortal realm closed their borders to the Fey, but the founding fathers of the United States sympathized with the magical beings and so opened America to high levels of immigration. Situated in Illinois, the Fey lands are a main tourist attraction and exist as a kind of "reservation" of sorcery.

Beautiful Princess Meredith of the Fey has been on the run from the Unseelie Court for several years, having taken the human identity of Meredith (Merry) Gentry and working as a private eye who handles cases with a supernatural bent. During a case involving a bizarre cult and Faerie artifacts, Meredith is forced to use her magic. She is immediately noticed by her aunt, the Queen of Air and Darkness, who resolves to have Meredith brought back to the Court.

The Queen sends her bodyguards to do the dirty work, but Meredith agrees to return home without a fight. The Queen seeks to find an heir to the throne because she feels her resentful and sadistic son, Prince Cel, isn't suitable to rule. She devises a strange contest between Meredith and Cel, decreeing that the first to bear a child shall have the crown -- and the loser will be put to death. Thus begins a violent struggle between the rivals that involves unbridled passions, malicious attacks, and bitter betrayals.

Hamilton has researched Celtic folklore in creating the Fey, but she has imbued these folk with a variety of personalities, from benevolent to psychopathic. This is an edgy, high-octane thriller filled with adventure and action; it's a deftly plotted tale that speeds from one imaginative story twist to another. Meredith is a unique and powerful protagonist whose humor and wit never hamper the strength of her resolve, moral fiber, and determination. With A Kiss of Shadows, Laurell K. Hamilton achieves new heights of stylish erotic fantasy with which to captivate and enchant her readers. (Tom Piccirilli)

Tom Piccirilli is the author of eight novels, including Hexes and Shards, and his Felicity Grove mystery series, consisting of The Dead Past and Sorrow's Crown. He has sold more than 100 stories to the anthologies Future Crimes, Bad News, The Conspiracy Files, and Best of the American West II. An omnibus collection of 40 stories titled Deep into That Darkness Peering is also available. Tom divides his time between New York City and Estes Park, Colorado.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"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 dead as the King of Rock and Roll . . ."

Three years ago, Princess Meredith fled the court of her cruel Aunt Andais, the Queen of Air and Darkness, leaving that garden of decadent delights and backstabbing intrigues for the comparative calm of Los Angeles. Using her magic to pass for human, Meredith began a new life 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.

The product of a marriage designed to cement peace between the rival Seelie and Unseelie courts, Meredith has always been scorned by both factions in spite of her royal blood. But that blood is behind the Unseelie Queen's surprisingly urgent summons.

For ever since the fey's exile from Europe to America, their power and purity have been fading. Desperate to renew her race, Queen Andais now pins her hopes on a contest between Meredith and her own son, the sadistic Prince Cel. The first to produce a child will win the throne.

The loser's reward will be death . . .

Laurell K. Hamilton's bestselling series of novels featuring Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, established her as one of the hottest new writers of dark fantasy and erotic horror. Now, in a thrilling adventure of unbridled imagination, Hamilton turns her talents to the glittering, myth-drenched lands of Faerie and brings them brilliantly into the postmodern age. Enter a thrilling, sensual world as threatening as it is beautiful, replete with the titanic passions of immortal beings once worshipped as gods or demons. Full of earthly pleasures and dazzling magic, Laurell K. Hamilton's A Kiss of Shadows will hold you under its hypnotic spell.


From the Hardcover edition.

SYNOPSIS

Enter a thrilling, sensual world as threatening as it beautiful, replete with the consuming passions of immortal beings once worshipped as gods or demons.

FROM THE CRITICS

11th Hour

Despite its modern setting, A Kiss of Shadows has all the elements of a traditional dark fantasy book: a throne to win, an evil prince to defeat and a generous smattering of enchanted objects with cool names. Its darker aspects include powers that turn the flesh inside out, various members of the Host, and one of the guards has a few extra surprises. The Unseelie Court is simply not a place that gives you the warm fuzzies. Overall, A Kiss of Shadows proves Ms. Hamilton as an exceedingly imaginative story-teller who does her job well in setting the stage for her new series.

Publishers Weekly

Erotica is fantasy, but it rarely gets as fantastic as this. After nine novels featuring Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter (Obsidian Butterfly, etc.), Hamilton launches a sizzling new series that blends supernatural fantasy with detective adventure and hot sex. Here, the world is populated with various magical faerie races along with humans. The most supreme of the fey are the immortal sidhe, so beautiful and powerful they were once worshiped as gods. The fey are not only lusty but incredibly accomplished lovers; those of the royal sidhe bloodline are literally addictively sexy. Full-blooded fey are, for the most part, intolerant of cities, metal and technology. They seldom live for long among humans. Mixed-blood Princess Meredith NicEssus, however, has fled the faerie world to pass for three years as Merry Gentry, a human with some fey blood who works in Los Angeles with a detective agency that specializes in supernatural problems and magical solutions. Suddenly outed as the missing princess and fearing that her aunt, the Queen of Air and Darkness, will kill her, she makes a desperate run aided by her detective pals. The queen does want her, but not in the way Merry expects. Ultimately, Meredith must fulfill the queen's designs for the future of her court, even if it means having to bed the most beautiful studs in the universe. Through constant danger and adventure, Meredith finds herself in a variety of sexual encounters that make it easy to see why her ancestors were so worthy of worship. As wild as the novel's premise is, memorable characters and wicked wit make it all delicious, ribald fun. 8-city author tour. (Oct.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

Library Journal

This is a new dark fantasy from Hamilton, author of the popular "Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter" series (e.g., Obsidian Butterfly). For three years, Meredith Gentry has been hiding in Los Angeles from her aunt, the wicked Queen of Air and Darkness. Part human, part sidhe (fairy), Meredith is abruptly summoned back to the Faerie Court with the captain of the Queen's guard as her escort and personal bodyguard. What does her aunt want from her? Forging alliances with powerful, immortal men and exploring her newfound magical powers just might keep Meredith alive long enough to figure it all out. Hers is an edgy story of sex, violence, and magic that manages to be both disturbing and entertaining. Highly recommended for all public libraries.--Laurel Bliss, Sterling Memorial Lib., New Haven, CT Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\

Carolyn Cushman - Locus

An intriguing start to a new series, if even more of a guilty pleasure than Hamilton's previous series.

Kirkus Reviews

The stylish creator of nine Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, novels (Obsidian Butterfly, 1999, etc.) launches a charmbearing new series in erotic dark fantasy.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

She blends the genres of romance, horror, and dventure with stuning panache. — Jayne Ann Krentz

A wonderful excursion into the magic of desire.  — Alice Borchardt

I've never read a writer with a more fertile imagination. — Diana Gabaldon