Rating: 
Summary: Rare Gem
Review: All I can say is this is the first book I've given 5 stars. Maas other books were wonderful but this one has been the best by far. The story wrapped me up right away and kept me there until the end. This is one of those rare books that you loose yourself in so much you think your right there feeling what they feel. I would love a sequel and if you read this you will also want more.
Rating: 
Summary: Good story. Annoying habit.
Review: An engaging story that moves along at a good pace. Nice glimpses of Greek culture. I would have given this book five stars except for something I found so annoying I almost stopped reading the book after the first 20 pages or so -- the author has anywhere from five to seven different ways of referring to each main character. It drove me crazy until I started forcing myself to simply skim across such references. One character is Tessa, Nikki, Niko, Kare, the dark-haired woman, the larger woman, the taller woman, etc. and she can be referred to by all of those in just a couple pages. Same thing goes for Cassandra, Casey, the smaller woman, the small blonde, the young woman, etc., etc. That said, Meridio's Daughter spun a good tale and the sex scenes were sometimes shockingly erotic. Nice not to have to wait until the last few pages for the sex scene to materialize. One added bonus was the beautiful cover, also done by the author. It has to be one of the few books of this genre where the cover actually seems specific to the book.
Rating:
Summary: An engaging romantic thriller from beginning to end!
Review: Everyone has secrets in this fast paced thriller by L.J. Maas. Andreas Meridio is a powerful and prominent businessman and olive grower on the Greek island of Mykonos. What his daughter, Cassandra doesn't know is that he is also the "Mangas" or godfather of the Greek black market in certain illegal goods. The 25 year old Casey is returning to Greece for the first time in six years, having completed graduate work in Classical studies and anthropology. She has been chosen to assist with an archaeological dig near Athens. The petite blond has spent most of her life since the age of five in America, although each summer until she started college was spent with her father. Casey also has a secret. Her traditional, "Old World" Greek father doesn't know that his accomplished archaeologist daughter is a lesbian. Then there is Tessa Nikolaidis, the beautiful and deadly Right Hand or "Kare" of Meridio. Openly lesbian Nikki, as she is known to friends, holds the most potent secrets of all. She has reasons and plans for revenge against Meridio.
Life gets complicated when Nikki, entrusted with the safety of Meridio's daughter finds herself falling in love for the first time in her life, with Casey. It is a relationship of which Meridio would never approve. The open and honest Casey sees no reason to deny her feelings for Nikki. The two women finally compromise and begin a clandestine affair. Meanwhile Casey is once again haunted by dreams she can't remember reflecting events from 20 years ago. The same events that prompted her mother's decision to leave Greece. Meridio's Daughter is a suspenseful and engrossing story with a few plot twists. Maas provides wonderful depictions of the Greek islands, its culture (and lesbian subculture!) as well as interesting characters. Casey's post traumatic stress is handled reasonably and moves the plot. There is plenty of erotic play for Nikki and Casey that serves to further develop the characters and their relationship.
Technically this novel could be considered Xena uber for those who might enjoy seeing it. However, happily the story requires no understanding of the show to be appreciated. L.J. Maas also created the lovely cover of this book (and several other books by this press) that matches the mood of the culture and climate. After reading Meridio's Daughter, this reader will be looking for other Maas novels.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, Excellent Excellent
Review: Excellently told story of two realistic modern day characters.
No faults with this brilliant work. It was emotionally engaging, sexy and fast paced, but at the same time incredibly realistic and believable. Not only was it impossible for me to put it down, I also found that I was grinning most of the way through it as I enjoyed each and every page. I'm going now directly to see what other L.J. Maas novels are available. I'm Hooked !!
Rating:
Summary: Had to return
Review: I didn't write a review of this book when I read it because there were already so many, but I felt compelled to return to it. This is a story that stays with you. As I've read more lesbian literature, I find myself often comparing those stories to this one. There is something about this book that keeps drawing you back, to the stories and the characters. I don't usually reread books, what's the point? But I find that I can't let loose of this one. Granted, some parts need work and it's another one in the tradition of the Xena stories, but, in the end, it just doesn't matter. I've read all of Maas' books and this one is the best. I don't know if I hope that she writes a sequel. The first one is so good that a follow up might ruin it. You'll like this book.
Rating:
Summary: An addictive page-turner!
Review: It was 3:15 am by the time I finished this gem and it promptly shot its way straight into my list of all-time favorites. Set amidst the breathtaking beauty of the Greek Isles, this is a riveting epic about family ties, old traditions, deadly dealings and those bittersweet passions of the heart. Returning to Greece after living most of her life in the United States, Cassandra Meridio is looking forward to settling into a new life and new career and seeing the father she hasn't spent time with in over six years. Daughter of one of the wealthiest and most powerful businessman in the country, Casey expects to have to deal often with her father's "Karê" - or right-hand man. What she doesn't expect is the surprise greeting her at the airport when Andreas Meridio's Karê doesn't turn out to be a man at all, but a woman - and one with the most beautiful eyes Casey has ever seen. Tall, dark and beyond deadly, Tessa Nikolaidis has built a reputation throughout the region which serves her well as Meridio's Karê and which ensures his daughter will be safe under her care. Entrusted with the young woman's safety, Tessa finds herself spending more and more time with Casey and feeling emotions for her employer's daughter she knows she should not have - emotions which could eventually end up hurting them both more than any assassin's bullets. Fighting a losing cause, the Karê is helpless nevertheless to stop the young woman's incursion into her heart. Together they will chart a course that will have them experiencing a love unlike anything either has ever known even as it leads them also toward a fateful confrontation with the past and the certainty of future heartbreak. LJ has crafted a novel here that exceptionally well-written and entertaining. Tessa and Casey are two of the most engaging characters you'll ever come across - two fascinating women with an inner strength that grows even more intense as the connection between them gives them the determination to fight both inner fears and the deadly evils of a world where a love like theirs could endanger even their very lives. The storyline is beautifully paced with moments of suspense, humor, passion, romance, action and despair all intricately weaved into a fictional tapestry that will have you engaged from page one through the last. It simply does NOT get better than this guys. A phenomenal TOUR-DE-FORCE that gets my HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION!
Rating:
Summary: buy this book!!!
Review: It was wonderful. It quickly took me to that place and that time.
Rating:
Summary: A little more adventure and a little more raw emotions!
Review: It was wonderful. It quickly took me to that place and that time.
Rating:
Summary: By a novelist of considerable and self-evident talent
Review: L. J. Maas' Meridio's Daughter is a perceptive and relentless novel of deception, intrigue, and cold family ruthlessness set on the beautiful island of Mykonos in modern-day Greece. The daughter of Meridio comes home after a six-year absence to find that her father's new right-hand man is in fact a beautiful, seductive, dangerous, and vengeful woman. L. J. Maas is a novelist of considerable and self-evident literary talent and Meridio's Daughter is a lethel story of passion that grips the reader right until the end!
Rating:
Summary: Erotic, romantic, and compelling
Review: L.J. Mass had accomplished with Meridio's Daughter what few authors in this genre seem to manage: to combine a flawless plot line, with compelling characters, in a romance with just enough eroticism to keep you turning pages long after you should have shut off the light. This book will now be added to the list of titles that I give to readers when they ask me to recommend books in this genre. This is the highest compliment I can give (there are only six books on my list). Throughout the story, set primarily on the Greek island of Mykonos, we are drawn in increasingly by Tessa, Meridio's Karê, and her secrets; there is no doubt from the early pages that when she and Cassandra (Casey), his daughter, come together it will be the spark that ignites a blaze. The problem is they are burning in a world filled with deception on all fronts. Just when you think the plot line is going to take a predictable turn, you will be mistaken. My one note of decent from calling this a perfect read would be Mass's over use of descriptive names (the small blond, the older woman, etc.) instead of pronouns in dialogue and action description. I'm sure she was using it as a device in setting a tone for the story, however I found it somewhat distracting. This is a nit picky thing though and did not stop me from ordering another one of her titles, into which I look forward to immersing myself this weekend. Lastly, but most definitely not least' if you have a distaste for reading very hot and well depicted love scenes do not, I repeat do not read Meridio's Daughter.
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