After the debacle of [b:Mistral's Kiss|30224|Mistral's Kiss (Merry Gentry, #5)|Laurell K. Hamilton|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1438472731s/30224.jpg|4198], this installment of magical fairy sex adventures had a much better structure. Moreover, Merry spent most of it wearing clothes and dealing with political intrigue. The book even opens on a meeting with lawyers, in which tedious minutiae quickly segue into Merry baldly giving mean averages of how often she has sex. I did wonder who was taking the minutes and how they phrased them. As is generally the case with fae, it seems, the meeting then breaks up into violence and acrimony.

There was considerably less sex and magic in this book and more violence, as a result of which it worked better for me as a novel but is less fun to mock. No new technicolour men were introduced, although Cristall the sparkly rainbow guy got a cameo. Unfortunately for him it was as a torture victim. Doyle continues to wear wraparound sunglasses with his all-black attire, which must cause people to mistake him for the monolith in [b:2001: A Space Odyssey|70535|2001 A Space Odyssey (Space Odyssey, #1)|Arthur C. Clarke|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1432468943s/70535.jpg|208362]. Since events took place in LA, a supporting cast of humans (police, doctors, lawyers) react amusingly to fairy shenanigans. Perhaps my favourite example was the pragmatic nurse who had to deal with a giant dog jumping into her ambulance then turning into a naked Doyle. She merely says, "What the hell" then gives him a blanket. (I hope it was a silver thermal one.)

The overriding message I got from this update to the Merry Gentry story is that absolutist hereditary monarchy, never a solid idea, is especially catastrophic for magical immortals. All the fairy monarchs have clearly gone completely mad as absolute power has corrupted them absolutely. Merry should really introduce the notion of representative democracy to the Seelie and Unseelie courts posthaste. Also, someone urgently needs to set up a rule of law, to prevent rulers resorting to torture on any pretext (pique, boredom, etc).

I can't really comment any further without spoiling, so will cut here.

Events come thick and fast in the latter third of the book. (After writing that I noticed the double entendre and am very sorry.) A sort of magical A-bomb detonates in a manner that I found even less comprehensible than most magic in the series. This causes Frost, him of the sparkly silver hair, to sacrifice himself somehow, turn into a stag, and disappear. To my annoyance, I actually cared about this, as I've become invested in Doyle, Frost, and Merry having a happy threesome relationship. Alas poor Frost, maybe you'll return at some suitably dramatic juncture. At least both Merry and Doyle cried over you, as well they should. Then followed the revelation that Merry is pregnant, which was extremely predictable as soon as she started saying she felt under the weather. When previously making predictions about who would be the daddy, though, I radically underestimated the heights of absurdity to which this series aspires. Not only is Merry pregnant with triplets, but it seems that EVERYONE is the daddy. Indeed, I lost track. Were there nine fathers or just six? I remain confused. Those kids are going to have assign their dads numbers and some sort of visitation rota, either way. More importantly, what colours will their hair be?

The final twist in the story is by the far the least pleasant - that Merry's uncle has beaten and raped her. I was greatly relieved that this scene took place off-page as I hate reading rape scenes. I'm not sure what it says about Laurell K Hamilton, her audience in general, or me specifically, but reading about Andais torturing her guards doesn't break the fantasy atmosphere of the books, whereas a rape description definitely would. I wish the rape hadn't been included at all, as there seems no strong narrative pretext. Taranis was already murderous, unstable, and unhinged. Given that Cel and Andais have also made or threatened incestuous overtures, though, I really think the whole fairy royal family have gone wrong and are overdue for a revolution that ends with their heads on pikes.

To conclude on a happier note, I'm pleased that Rhys finally got to air his issues like an adult, hopefully reducing the level of ambient passive-aggression. Also, I liked the addition of many dogs to the household of Merry and her harem, although it will undoubtedly worsen the already parlous hair-in-the-carpets situation. It would be nice if Merry could spend her pregnancy recuperating peacefully and cuddling puppies. Somehow I doubt that is what will transpire. ( )

I still don't like narrator Laural Merington's voice for Dole, but otherwise, listening to A Lick of Frost was as good as when I read it in print. ( )

At last! This is how a good Merry Gentry book looks like when it`s filled with actual action instead of repeated, detailed and aimless descriptions of sex scenes. ( )

I am a big fan of Laurell K. Hamilton. I do prefer her Anita Blake series but her Merry Gentry series is quite good too. As usual, for her, it is a very well developed world with lots of violence. It can be a bit tricky to keep all the guys straight but in general I find the books to have far more positives than negatives. ( )

I loved the first couple of Merry Gentry books, then gave up on the series when they became less plot than interminably long descriptions of her and her guards making love.

I'd sworn not to buy any of the series again, but I checked this one out of the library. Now that I've finished it, I'm glad I did.

This book is so much better than the last several, although Hamilton can't seem to get through more than a few days per book. A lot of time is spent with Merry and one or more of her consorts doing a lot of emotional processing about who loves whom more, and how the less-favored men handle their pain -- but there are also some intense scenes with Taranis and/or Andais, and of course more magic coming into being due to Merry's special status.

Most surprisingly to me, there are events which caused me to really feel in response. Most of the Merry Gentry books are popcorn: fun, quick, sexy reads with a beautiful half-fairy princess and her gorgeous harem having adventures and lots and lots of sex. There was some true pathos in this one -- at least for me. In fact, after a couple of years of shunning the series, I find I want to buy this book and keep it around to read again.

No one is more surprised than me. ( )