Review – Mistral’s Kiss by Laurell Hamilton (3/5 stars)

This book is the fifth book in the Meredith Gentry series by Laurell Hamilton. I am really not sure why I read this series. I think part of the reason why is that I have always been intrigued by the Unseelie and Seelie fairy courts. This series is one of the best ones for delving deep into traditional-type fairy culture. Unfortunately a lot of this series is also devoted to sex. Lots and lots of sex. Which I guess is okay since the whole point of the series is for Merry to have a heir. I don’t think people should still be complaining about their being too much sex in these books. These books made no secret about what they were about from the very beginning and if you don’t like the sex you probably shouldn’t still be reading them!

This book spends a lot of time dealing with three of the fairy members; Mistral, Abeloec, and King Sholto. With Mistral’s entrance to the sex scene there is a little tame S&M introduced into the book. The sithen continues to act oddly in response to Merry’s prescence. Merry’s guard continues to gain godlike powers by sleeping with her. There is some plot development but oddly the book is very, very short. I think it took maybe 3-4 hours to read it. I agree with some other reviews I have read that this should not have been a stand alone book.

I am strangely intrigued by Merry’s guards all turning back into gods. I mean in the end what will that make Merry considering she is not fully sidhe? It continues to be an interesting series, but I have learned not to expect a whole lot from these books. They are fun and quick and at least Merry’s character has been fairly consistent throughout the series. When I read the Anita Blake books sometimes I feel like Merry has been creeping into Anita’s character and it bothers me.

So all in all, the book was okay. I am glad I waited to buy it used. This book was exactly what I expected, which is to say it wasn’t awful but it wasn’t anything extraodinary either.