A Caress of Twilight

Rating:
Summary: Nice "Eye" Candy. . .
Review: She's surrounded by ancient exotic hunky faeries, protectors of her life who must help conceive a child. The rewards are great: the Unseelie Court and a future husband. But as Meredith, a.k.a. Princess of Flesh, attempts what seems to be the impossible; she must combat an old unseen force that could destroy all of LA. Meanwhile, plots thicken as she's being courted by the Seelie High Court when she visits an exiled Seelie Goddess trying to reconnect with the faerie world. In other words: all Hell breaks lose.

Stay tuned --- there are lots of surprises and intrigue for anyone. It's pretty fast paced and non stop action . . .

But, with any story, there are its flaws. It took me a little while to actually get into it; when I finished, I wasn't like, 'Oh, wow, that was awesome!' It was more like, 'That was pretty good but I hope the next one is even better' type of thing. While I did enjoy reading this novel, it didn't seem as well thought out or planned as the first book in the series. LKH is going for a different style and format than from her previous books, i.e. Anita Blake. People ----- please stop comparing the two. There are supposed to be very different but they will have similarities between them; there are about supernatural beings and so on.
If you keep comparing the two; your not going to enjoy it as much nor are you giving it any credit on its own.

Caress of Twilight is only the second installment of the series; it's getting into the full story. So be patient. Hopefully the next books will have more of a plot and not so rushed, but the other stuff---sex, violence and what not---are pure LKH. She makes her novels like poetry and spins a tale can make you laugh and cheering along. Her descriptions are awesome and I like that the dialogue is tell-it-like-it-is style. No corny mushy stuff, thank you verra much.

Rating:
Summary: MUCH Better Book!!
Review: (actually 4 1/2 stars, but they don't let you do that) I thought that A Caress of Twilight was the best LKH offering in quite some time. I was very happy to see that the characters were allowed to develop and grow in this book. There was a strong story line that brought history and a frame of refrence to the alternate reality that is Merry Gentry's world. I loved the fact that while the sex was as hot and graphic as ever, it worked WITH the story and was not just a move from one bedroom scene to the next with little thought or texture to make you care about the fate of the people you were reading about. Some of the writing, especially when Merry is alone and comtemplative, was just beautiful. I say Hurrah!! for the new editor, and Great Job to the author. Keep up the good work.

Rating:
Summary: More of the Same
Review: This book was not a disappointment, and I was pleasantly surprised. I found it on a par with the first in the series, which means there were no surprises, no disappointments and no flashes of inspiration from the author.

It was an entertaining read, but I fear LKH is a bit of a one-trick pony when it comes to writing. All her books devolve into: heroine deals with stable of handsome but insecure men, heroine deals with a little character development, and the story ends up with heroine saves the day while discovering a new power she didn't know she had.

For light reading with no real depth, it's as entertaining as the last book. If you're expecting more, you'll be disappointed. However, if you enjoyed the first in this series, you'll find this more of the same and equally enjoyable.

Rating:
Summary: Too much sex, not enough story
Review: While I do not shy away from books with explicit sex scenes, I do get a little upset when it seems like Merry is bed-hopping all the time and the big bad monster just kind of dribbles in, battles, magic, end. All this book felt like was Merry having sex with this faerie, that faerie, multiple faeries, etc. I do like the court politics, how we got to see more interaction with her aunt, her uncle, and her mother, but if you cut out all the sex stuff, I felt like I'd have a book 20 pages long. I like the Faerie idea a lot though, and will continue reading this series, unlike the Anita Blake books, which I've frankly gotten tired of. Hopefully, next time Hamilton will pay more attention to story and include a little less play between the sheets.

Rating:
Summary: Laurell Hamilton... true to form
Review: I've read every installment of Laurell Hamilton's Anita Blake series, so I was very interested when she came out with a new series of stories about a Faerie Princess/Private Detective named Meredith Gentry. Merry's life is quite complex. In the first installment "A Kiss of Shadows," Merry was hiding out in LA, as a Private Detective, from her aunt, Queen Andais. Her aunt the Queen was not protecting her from all the assassination attempts against her by her cousin Cel, Queen Andais' son. Now, in "A Caress of Twilight," Merry has become the Queen's heir to the throne, along with Cel. Queen Andais will concede the throne to the first one of them to have a child. So, Merry has herself a small "harem" of Sidhe warriors to help father her child. Each of her warrior lovers are pretty unique. They are all gorgeous and larger than life. They have been celibate for almost 1000 years and now they have a chance to be King, because the first one who gets her pregnant will share the throne with her.

There are a lot more twists and turns in the plot that keep you pretty entertained. Merry goes back to LA away from the Unseelie Court where she feels more comfortable and safe and her lover-warriors join her as body guards for the private detective company she works for.

You will find a lot of intriguing characters in this series. Laurell has an expansive imagination when it comes to describing faeries, goblins, etc. Her heroine, Meredith, is not unlike Anita Blake from her other series. She is a petite woman with a strong will and powers that keep growing with every story. Also, just like Anita, she has just as much trouble with her love life as she does fighting the bad guys and believe me, there are bad guys at every turn.

If you're a fan of the Anita Blake series, you'll find this series enjoyable as well. I just hope that she stays true to her characters, if she does, this story should get interesting.

Rating:
Summary: Not Anita Blake,but Merry
Review: I think people are being hard on Laurell,it seens to me lots of readers expect all of her books to be Anita likewise heroin but with another name.In this book she has created a world,another point of view,which I was waiting for.I get to see how the world of the fairies is and get into it.Merry is not the bad one with magical powers fighting the Anita Blake gang,she is her own character in her on world,with her own friends and problems.I wish I can see more preternatural heros and heroines in the future with their own stories.Not all preternatural and magical beings in Laurell K Hamilton's world can be bad,specialy if they are not friends of Anita Blake and company.I also hope that one day Laurell K Hamilton have a collection of characters with their own stories and that she relates them or incorporate some of them together in stories like Ann Rice do.
One tip for reading this book-read the first one in the series first "A Kiss Of Shadows" and you will be familiar with Merry and her world.Doing this will give you a better understanding of the story in "Caress Of Twilight"

Rating:
Summary: don't buy the hardcover
Review: I love Laurell k, I own everything she writes. But I was somewhat bitter about paying so much for such a short story. Merry is fun; i think some of the men have as much potential as richard and jean claude, but they just aren't as cool. Plus, hamilton cannibalizes herself big time. gee, a beautiful man with a scared face who needs acceptance? Next time a merry book comes out, i'm going to wait until it hits soft cover. honestly, if i didn't love everything by this author, this would probably be a three star book.

Rating:
Summary: Gotta Love Those Faieries
Review: Merry and the boys are back, fighting crime and making love. I was particularly amused by the thought of one woman and five men in a one bedroom apartment (one bathroom, too!) Kitto grows into a full-blown character and new fey are introduced to the mix. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and have already raved to my friends. (I burned a pot of green beans because I was so caught up in one passage!) If you enjoyed Kiss of Darkness, you'll love this book, too.

Rating:
Summary: Whew!
Review: Poor Merry! She has to get pregnant in order to inherit the Unseelie Faery Court's throne. To hasten this along she has to sample all her bodyguards and do her day job of being a private detective. For some reason I just can't feel sorry for her :^). There's not as much action and tension as there was in the first book that's why 4 stars, but we do find out more about her knights, the Unseelie & Seelie Courts (two sides of the same coin), her relationship with her mother (no Mother's Day gifts will be sent to this mom!), and her powers. I feel as if it's just a step towards a bigger pay off in the next book, but definitely worth the read.

Rating:
Summary: Merry and her men strike again
Review: Merry and her bevy of oh-so-attractive guards are once again victorious here. As per usual with Hamilton, the writing is spectacular and the characters are easy to relate to, whether it be positive or negative. There are a few too many quotes from the first novel in the series, but I suppose that that is to be expected, not everyone reading will have read the first one. The are a few plot holes, but most are filled satisfactorily if you read the first book. All in all, this book is a winner, definitely worth the money.