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A Kiss of Shadows A Caress of Twilight Seduced by Moonlight A Stroke of Midnight Mistral's Kiss A Lick of Frost Swallowing Darkness Divine Misdemeanors A Shiver of Light | |
Author | Laurell K. Hamilton |
---|---|
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre | Horror, Erotica, Urban Fantasy |
Publisher | Del Rey |
Published | 2000–present |
The Merry Gentry series is a series of urban fantasy novels by New York Times bestselling author Laurell K. Hamilton. [1] [2] The series is narrated in first person format through the eyes of the series' title character Meredith "Merry" Gentry, a faerie princess turned private investigator in a world where faeries exist and are known to the general public. [3] The first book in the series, A Kiss of Shadows , was released by Del Rey on October 3, 2000. There are nine books in the series.
In an interview with Time magazine, Hamilton said that she saw the protagonist, Merry Gentry, as a way of exploring a character who "is totally comfortable with their sexuality" as opposed to the character of Anita Blake in her Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series. [4]
The series follows Princess Meredith NicEssus aka "Merry Gentry", a faerie princess that is forced to flee the court of her aunt Andais, the Queen of Air and Darkness and of the Unseelie fae. The first novel takes place after Merry has spent several years outside of her aunt's court out of fear of death via court sanctioned duels. Merry is soon brought back to the Unseelie Court and given the option to take her aunt's throne, but only if she can procreate before her sadistic cousin Cel can. She is allowed to take several of Andais's court guards with her and through the course of the series gains more lovers that are drawn to her side through love, friendship, power, promises for protection, and/or bargains struck with other magical creatures. Merry eventually gets involved in a series of secrets and court intrigues as she discovers that both of the rulers of the Seelie and Unseelie courts are potentially infertile, something that has the potential to keep both the followers in each court from producing new fae children. At the end of Divine Misdemeanors Merry has not only managed to become pregnant with twins, but has formed her own informal court, complete with lands and grounds that she has not fully investigated. She has also alienated herself from both the Seelie and Unseelie Courts, as she was responsible for the death of her cousin Cel of the Unseelie Courts and filed charges against her uncle Taranis, the ruler of the Seelie Court, for rape.
Critical reception for the Merry Gentry series has been mixed to positive. [5] [6] The earlier novels in the series received predominantly positive reviews while later novels in the series such as Divine Misdemeanors were criticized for having a "too simply resolved conclusion". [7] [8]
Changeling: The Dreaming is a tabletop role-playing game originally published by White Wolf Publishing in July 1995, and is part of the World of Darkness series. Player characters are changelings, fae souls reborn into human bodies, a practice begun by the fae to protect themselves as magic vanished from the world. White Wolf Publishing released a second edition in 1997, and Onyx Path Publishing released a 20th Anniversary Edition in 2017.
Laurell Kaye Hamilton is an American fantasy and romance writer. She is best known as the author of two series of stories.
Meredith "Merry" Gentry is the protagonist of an eponymous fantasy series by US writer Laurell K. Hamilton, best known for her other fantasy series Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter. The series comprises nine novels and was written between 2000 when the series began with "A Kiss of Shadows" and the final book, "A Shiver of Light", published in June 3, 2014.
Queen Mab is a fairy referred to in William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, where "she is the fairies' midwife". Later, she appears in other poetry and literature, and in various guises in drama and cinema. In the play, her activity is described in a famous speech by Mercutio published originally in prose and often adapted into iambic pentameter, in which she is a miniature creature who performs midnight pranks upon sleepers. Being driven by a team of atomies, she rides her chariot over their noses and "delivers the fancies of sleeping men". She is also described as a midwife to help sleepers "give birth" to their dreams. Later depictions have typically portrayed her as the Queen of the Fairies.
War for the Oaks (1987) is a fantasy novel by American writer Emma Bull. The book tells the story of Eddi McCandry, a rock musician who finds herself unwillingly pulled into the supernatural faerie conflict between good and evil. War for the Oaks is one of the first works in the subgenre of urban fantasy: although it involves supernatural characters, the setting (Minneapolis) is decidedly real-world.
Ironside: A Modern Faery's Tale is a young adult urban fantasy novel by Holly Black. It was published in 2007 by the Margaret K. McElderry imprint of Simon & Schuster, who recommended it for readers aged "14 and above".
Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale is a young-adult fantasy novel written by Holly Black. It was published in 2002 by Simon & Schuster, who recommended it for "ages 12 up". Sequels--Valiant (2005) and Ironside (2007)--completed a trilogy that is sometimes called [A] Modern Tale of Faerie, the subtitle of volume two.
A Stroke of Midnight is the fourth novel in the Merry Gentry series by Laurell K. Hamilton.
Seduced by Moonlight is the third novel in the Merry Gentry series by Laurell K. Hamilton.
A Caress of Twilight is the second novel in the Merry Gentry series by Laurell K. Hamilton.
A Kiss of Shadows is an erotic horror novel by American writer Laurell K. Hamilton, the first book in the Merry Gentry series.
Mistral's Kiss is the fifth novel in the Merry Gentry series by Laurell K. Hamilton, and was released December 12, 2006.
Summer Knight is a 2002 New York Times Bestselling contemporary fantasy novel by author Jim Butcher. It is the fourth novel in The Dresden Files, which follows the character of Harry Dresden, present-day Chicago's only professional wizard.
A Lick of Frost is the sixth book in the Merry Gentry series by Laurell K. Hamilton.
Jack, the Giant Killer (1987) is a contemporary fantasy novel by Charles De Lint. The book is set in present-day Ottawa, but incorporates many elements of fantasy, folklore, and myth.
Swallowing Darkness (2008) is the seventh novel in the Merry Gentry series written by Laurell K. Hamilton.
Divine Misdemeanors is the eighth novel in the Merry Gentry series written by Laurell K. Hamilton. The book was one of the top selling novels of 2009.
Darkfever is the first novel in the Fever series written by #1 New York Times best-selling American author Karen Marie Moning. The book was published in November 2006 by Delacorte Press. The romantic fantasy novel tells the story of the main characters journey into the supernatural world of fairies after she travels across the world to find her sister's murderer. The story is set in Dublin, Ireland and involves Celtic mythology.
Lord of Shadows is a young adult urban fantasy novel by Cassandra Clare. It is the second book in The Dark Artifices, which is chronologically the fourth series in The Shadowhunter Chronicles. The book is set in the Los Angeles area in 2012. The titles from each chapter are derived from the poem Dreamland by Edgar Allan Poe.
Queen of Air and Darkness is the third and final book in The Dark Artifices trilogy by Cassandra Clare, which is the fourth chronological series in The Shadowhunter Chronicles. This series follows the characters of the LA Institute in 2012 and features characters from all of the previous series. The chapter titles all come from the poem The City in the Sea by Edgar Allan Poe.