Rating: 
Summary: "Kiss" pretty close to Anita Blake Series
Review: An easy reading page-turner providing a new twist in the horror/fantasy genre. Laurell's latest effort is quite similiar to her current Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series. A strong female central character with special magic powers set in our normal world modified slightly to contain all the horror characters you can imagine. For example, the milkman might be a werewolf and the night bartender at the local watering hole might be a vampire. The difference betwen this series and others in the horror genre is that everybody knows about it! The monsters fit into life with everyone else: pay taxes, have jobs, etc. "Kiss of Shadows" moves into the subject of the faerie society in the U.S., with a tough young faerie Princess on the run. Like Anita, she rapidly develops a body count, unlike Anita she sleeps with half the cast members of the book. The descriptions of sexual activity in the book are fairly strong, so it is not recommended for younger readers. But the story rocks along and stays interesting through the explosive conclusion. On the downside, the book needs a good edit and should be about 50 to 75 pages longer (I suspect it WAS, and the economics of the game shortened it, causing most of the technical problems I had with the book). To list a few: 1, inadequate development of the central villan. 2, Inadequate resolution of conflicts of the protagonist's own nature and character. 3, oddly, since it really does read well, the plot has a few skips and misses before settling down to a real direction. Overall I recommend "Kiss of Shadows" and give it 3 and 1/2 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: A Kiss of Shadows doesn't measure up to LKH standards!
Review: I realize Hamilton is introducing a new alternate reality, a new batch of characters, and a new story line. However, A Kiss of Shadows was a total disappointment. There was virtually no plot, no character development, and no resolution to any of the situations presented within the story. The reader is immediately thrown into an intense sexual venue merely for shock value. If you make it beyond the first 200 pages, it gets truly boring. The book has the feel of Anne Rice or Stephen King writing about the Hatfields vs McCoys without the pleasure of their style. I'm very glad I borrowed the book and didn't pay money for it.
Rating:
Summary: A plot...a plot...my kingdom for a plot...
Review: (Sigh...) I wish I could say I loved this book, but I didn't. I didn't hate it either. I think it had the potential to be a wonderful book, but somewhere between the sheets,(of paper or satin - your choice), the story line got lost. I am not a huge Stephen King fan, but I read something he said once, and it stuck with me. It was something like "you can tell a good book from a bad one by how many times you are jolted out of the story and into the awarness that you are just reading a book." Well, I was aware all too frequently that I was just reading a book. I don't think that this would be as frustrating if I didn't know what a capable story-teller this author can be. LKH has one of the best imaginations in the field and I KNOW that she is capable of building support characters with more depth than 'I'm beautiful, you'r beautiful, let's get laid.' I, for one, would hold out for less frequent books if the plot quality and character lines were more fully realized. No, this was NOT a bad book, but I wish Ms. Hamilton would go back and re-read her first three books and re-discover the talent that netted her fan base.
Rating: 
Summary: Merry and the gang are great, but the plot...
Review: ...is a different story(pun intended).CHARACTERS- 9/10. Frost was just cool.(pun unintended) Doyle and the other characters are fascinating. No problems there. DESCRIPTION- 10/10. Very nicely described. The scenes are powerfully written. PLOT- 4/10. What plot? Cel was not too interesting a villian. Could be cos' he was only onscreen for about 5% of the book. The plot left me feeling like this book was just the prologue, setting the stage, if you will.
Rating:
Summary: Erotic, sexy, and definitely a departure from Anita Blake!
Review: To be frank, I actually prefer the Anita Blake books, but only because I really enjoy the gritty, bloody world portrayed therein. However, _A Kiss of Shadows_ certainly has its place on my bookshelf. The prose is definitely sexier than in the AB books, and much of it is actually sensual and erotic as opposed to out-and-out sex (as one of the other reviewers pointed out). Ms. Hamilton has painted a twilit world of sensual beings in this book, intertwining fey politics and Unseelie violence. I would love to see where Ms. Hamilton is going to take this series -- I'm quite sure that her readers will be in for an adventure. That said, I found that this first book is setting up the backdrop for the rest of the series. All in all, though, I really did enjoy this book.
Rating:
Summary: Merry and Anita - same girl with different problems?
Review: The book was excellent as only LKH can do. I love her writing - always imaginative and with well developed characters. I was disappointed that Merry Gentry reminded me so much of Anita Blake. It was my hope that a strong female character could exhibit strengths that would differentiate her from others. Some details in the book also took me back to Anita - the discussion on how to draw, where a holster is best placed, the male characters seemed to be reflections of Jean Claude, et al, and other little details that I so enjoy in the Anita Blake books distracted me by appearing in a different story line. The book would have benefited greatly from an editor who could help strain out the Anita Blake similarities.
Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely wonderful!
Review: I started this book and did not want to put it down. Laurell has once again created a completely believable character, whether you actually do believe in the Fey or not. You have to keep reading to find out what will happen to Merry next (Merry is the lead character). I can't wait for the next one, give me more!!!
Rating:
Summary: Wow! Worth the wait!
Review: Well- LKH said this book would be different than the Anita Blake series, and she wasn't kidding. I couldn't put the book down- I literally read it until I was finished. My first impression was that Merry Gentry was making up for the time that Anita Blake spent celibate- the second was that while Anita agonizes over the "monsters", Merry embraces them. This is not a book for people who like cute, sanitized fairies and/or sex;it is sensual, kinky,and a thoughtful look at a completely different type of society. Leave your preconceptions at home- they just won't survive a trip to Faerie. I can't wait for the next trip, though.......
Rating:
Summary: Laurell's Books Are My Drugs Of Choice!
Review: I loved this book! Finally Laurell has a character who is not afraid of sex! Don't get me wrong, I love Anita, but I get tired of her sexual issues. I mean really, what is the point of all those beautiful boys if she isn't going to enjoy them. So, Merry is a great character. The descriptions and explanations for each character are wonderful. If you like the Anita Blake series this is a must read. I spent several late nights with this book. Kiss of Shadows was worth the red, scratchy eyes I wore to work for 3 days. I'm glad Laurell is planning on more in this series. Keep up the writing Laurell, can't wait for the next one!
Rating: 
Summary: Fair. Not what you usually expect.
Review: I thought Kiss of Shadows was going to be great. You had Merry, a Faerie Princess in hiding and as a detective. It was a great setup and had lots of potential for a great series with Merry on the run, working behind the scenes, trying to be a detective and not be detected.... Too bad LKH threw it all away in one fell swoops, early in the book. The rest of the book was simply sex scene after sex scene. I was very disappointed.
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