Rating: 
Summary: Dazed and Confused in California
Review: I discovered Laurell K. Hamilton and the Anita Blake series on a particularly long and boring business trip. Since first picking up one of her books at the airport, I have read everything of hers' I could find. I heisated buying "Obsidian Butterfly" in hard cover because I confess she was a "guilty pleasure" of mine and not someone I admit to reading. I did, however, finally break down and buy it and it has been one of my favorites.Naturally, I was all over this new book, "Kiss of Shadows" because I have become a proud fan. I liked the idea of Ms. Hamilton introducing a new line of characters and I think I opened the book in confident anticipation. I just finished the book last night and it was all I could do to get through it. Her new character Meredith is actually an uninhibited Anita Blake with alot less common sense. I didn't find a single character in the story that I want to learn more about in the sequel, which I am sure is being written as I write this! My main critism of the book is that the story is hard to follow as are the natures of the characters. At first I liked the Meredith character for her wonderful acceptance, even sexually of these odd creatures she came to know, whether from her past or from her present career. But, after a while, she was giving out favors to just about anything that crossed her path, whether she cared about them or not. I started to get the feeling that this story was just about proving that Laurell K. Hamilton can write erotic sex scenes through a whole book! Mostly, I'm disappointed because I thought I would learn alot about another fascinating world that this author is capable of drawing her readers into. Unfortunately, I think she threw too much at once at us and left me and I'll bet plenty of others, dazed and confused!
Rating: 
Summary: Eat your heart out, Tinkerbell!
Review: Hamilton has done it once again. KISS OF SHADOWS starts what I hope will be a long series following the adventures of Princess Meredith (Merry) NicEssus. Merry fled the court of Faerie years ago in fear for her life. Half mortal/human and half fey, Merry finds that she doesn't fully fit in with either side. Merry makes a life for herself in L.A. and hides her sidhe looks by using glamour. She cannot reveal her true self to anyone for fear that her Aunt Andais, Queen of the Air and Darkness, will find her and kill her.
Merry can't run forever though, and soon she finds herself back in the middle of the things she once tried to escape. Once looked down upon at the court for her weak powers and mortality, Merry now surprises even herself with her strength both in combat and in magic. The question is: will this be enough to keep her safe once the Queen finds her?
KISS has all the wonderful Hamilton trademarks: a quirky, spunky heroine, a variety of other-worldly characters, snappy dialogue and heart-pounding action. Merry narrates the tale and provides a more personal insight into the workings of all these magical beings. Doyle, Sholto, Galen, Frost, Uther, Jeremy, the Hags, Roane, Rhys, Kitto (and I could go on) are all delightful characters, and Hamilton lays some solid groundwork for the future of this series.
Merry is descended from several fertility gods...keep this in mind! This novel is much more erotic and blatantly sexual than most of the Anita Blake series. However, the reader discovers that the sensuality (and multiple partners) is all a part of the culture of these beings, and Merry herself finds that part of her powers involve her sexuality. Yes, I often wanted the sex to be finished so that Merry could get back to combat, but it is a nice change of pace to read all of this from the female perspective. However, if you are in the least bit offended by descriptive scenes of intercourse, this is not the book for you. Overall, I liked the blend of eroticism, alternate reality, humor and action. I fell in love with these characters, and I can't wait for the second in the series to be released.
Rating: 
Summary: Too much talk, not enough action.
Review: Merry Gentry is a faerie princess on the run. She would like to go home but she's afraid her aunt, the Queen of the Faeries will kill her. In the meantime she's holding down a job in L.A. in a paranormal detective agency and trying to lay low. But her hiding place is ferreted out and she is summoned home. Surprise, surprise Merry's aunt doesn't want to kill her but her plans for Merry make Merry think that a quick death may have been preferable. I am a big fan of Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series. I like the idea of a whole paranormal world existing alongside of, and with the full acknowledgement of, the everyday human world. A Kiss of Shadows follows in this same vein as well. The world of faeries and goblins and selkies (oh my) is brought to life in this series. I can't help but make the inevitable comparisons to Anita Blake. Like Anita, Merry is short, tough, sexy and is juggling lot of men. But that is where the comparison must end. While I liked A Kiss of Shadows, it had too much of a "setting the stage" feel for me to really enjoy it as a stand alone work. There are some nice scenes and some wonderful action, but all too often the interesting stuff becomes interrupted and bogged down by passages heavy in expositional detail. Sometimes, I felt like I was reading a primer on faerie life. Is this necessary so that the reader can obtain a good grounding in Merry's world so we know what we are dealing with? Probably, but it almost feels like a protocol officer is whispering in my ear the do's and don'ts of the faerie world nd it comes off a bit clunky. I do plan to continue the series and hope that this first book got most of the laying the foundation stuff out of the way so that the other books can concentrate on more action, romance and drama.
Rating:
Summary: Similar and Yet Very Different
Review: The main character (Meredith) resembles Anita of Ms. Hamilton's Vampire hunter series in many ways, the main one being her appearance (other than her glowing when not using her glamour to control herself), but also in attitude. The big difference between the two characters is their attitude toward sex. While Anita was very conservative when it came to sex, Meredith is on the opposite end of that scale. In a way this is a refreshing change. Mainly because the sex scenes are not your usual run of the mill sappy scenes. The good part is that Ms. Hamilton manages to throw in as much sex as she does and yet it is not there just for show. For the most part, the sex is an integral part of the plot. Without it, the nature of the fey would be difficult to explain. Basically my advice is to go into the book expecting some similarities to Anita but also go in expecting a completely different style of book. Her writing style is still the same witty humor, but Meredith definitely takes a different approach to life than Anita and that leads the book in an entirely different direction from the Vampire Hunter series. I think the series has a lot of potential. I myself can't wait to find out more about the characters we've already met. Happy Reading!
Rating: 
Summary: No comparisons, please.
Review: I have read every book of the Anita Blake series. I had my favorites, but I enjoyed the overall series. I bought "Kiss of Shadows" with no expectations beyond the hints that the characters were even better than that of the Anita series. I have an interest with supernatural tales, and this book makes a good start. No, not every character was detailed, nor was every lead in the plot explained. I simply remember that this is a start to a series and those little hints will grow into wonderful new tales. I don't think it is fair to compare this book with the Anita Blake series because this is just one book, just starting. Meredith, the missing fey princess, is dragged back into UnSeelie Court life. Surrounded by beautiful, backstabbing fey, she must determine who is friend or foe in order to survive. Finding her powers just in the nick of time, Meredith earns her born right of princess of the UnSeelie fey. Give this book a try and read it all the way through. I found it to be worth every penny.
Rating:
Summary: Read with an open mind...
Review: It drives me crazy (in a BAD way) when people fall in love with an author, and then don't want them to grow beyond a single character or series. Laurell K. Hamilton proved herself to be the Queen of sexual tension in the Anita Blake series (I don't think there was any actual SEX until the 6th book)...but THIS book shows that she is in the running for Queen of fantasy erotica as well. And there is a LOT of sex in this book...perhaps too much. The character of Merry is a typical Hamilton heroine - petite, gorgeous and TOUGH! I would read another Merry book...even if I do have to wade through all that SEX!
Rating:
Summary: A damn stupid book by a damn good writer...
Review: Hamilton's books have been a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. On the face of it they are nonsense: we are asked to believe in a world with homicidal vampires and werewolves co-existing with a modern high tech civilization. *Our* version of the human race has hunted nearly every predator on the planet to the brink of extinction. Somehow humans in Hamilton's world are willing to tolerate predation of people by intelligent monsters. The back story is never really explained. But Hamilton is a damn good writer, and she conveys the grim desperation of her characters struggling with powers and conflicts not of their making. I am always curious to see what will happen next, and since Hamilton is not shy of killing off characters, one can't be complacent. However, her new character (Meredith NicEssus) is barely distinguishable from her old one, Anita Blake. Both are grim, types with complicated sex lives. Both complain about being seriously out of their depth and underpowered despite having amazing supernatural abilities. Both have a familiarity with weapons that would make Soldier of Fortune proud. Other reviewers have commented that Meredith's sex life is kinkier, but you can see a steady trend in Anita Blake away from plain vanilla in the last few books. My final criticism is that the main character doesn't seem to *do* anything. She's in a detective agency but little deducing. She gets in a few battles which she wins with unexpected abilities. There isn't much of a mystery for her to solve - it's pretty clear who is trying to kill her. The book stops more than ends - a lot of the main problems in the character's life are not resolved, but will provide grist for the sequel. For all of this, Hamilton is an excellent writer. Sure her sex scenes get a bit gratuitous, but she crafts some fine incidental characters, creates an interesting take on magic, and puts her characters in some interesting political binds. Her characters are intelligent and strongly motivated. Her settings are vividly portrayed. I recommend to wait to buy this book in paperback, but I'd be sure to pick it up then.
Rating:
Summary: This is a bodice-ripper
Review: Hamilton does love to write about sex. Throughout the Anita Blake books, she has used a lot of sexual tension, and Anita uses sex as a weapon. Fine. There has been plenty going on to carry it. But this one! I don't read "Romance" novels because I get bored with plot-lines that have little to offer beyond sex. And that's all this was. There were maybe fifty pages of actual action involved. The set-up was interesting; we have a princess in hiding, and her relatives are her most dangerous enemies. OOH! What a premise! But nothing happens! Our heroine does maybe four things in the entire novel. Beyond that, we have lots and lots and lots of sex. This was a yawner. I guess I'm just not enough of a voyeur to enjoy it. Don't buy this in hard bound. If you decide to buy it at all, school yourself to patience, because there isn't much plot here.
Rating: 
Summary: Clothes and sex, clothes and sex.... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Review: I have loved some of Hamilton's other works, specifically the early books of the Anita Blake series. She has created an entire reality that incorporates the creatures of myth and legend into every day life, and has done so in an entertaining, engaging and believable manner. That said, this book was not up to par. I felt like Hamilton was more preoccupied with what everyone was wearing and how much bonking was going on than with, say, writing a story? With a plot? I was bored and had to force myself to finish it. Merry has the potential to be a great character, but she needs to be in more than an erotic fashion show to lure me back. Next!
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Fantasy
Review: What a fertile imagination Hamilton has. This is the first novel of hers that I've read, and will not be the last. The mix of court intrigue, blurring action, and sultry eroticism serves up quite the alluring brew indeed. I read a lot of so-called "mainstream" fantasy, and much of it pales in comparison to what Hamilton has done here. The premise seemed cheesy to me at first: elves, goblins, brownies, etc. living amongst modern-day people; a princess hiding in their midst, trying to avoid her evil aunt by posing as an undercover agent? Far fetched stuff. However, by sure force of narrative and imagination, Hamilton makes it all seem not only plausible, but altogether real and vibrant. I can't wait for the next installment. Sign me up to the ranks of Hamilton believers.
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