R E V I E W | A Kiss Of Shadows by Laurell K. Hamilton

 A Kiss of Shadows is the first novel in the Merry Gentry series. Just a heads up, its an erotica! 😉

With that being said I loved this book! Its a fantasy novel that follows Merry Gentry aka Princess Meredith NicEssus, half human half faerie, who works as a Private Investigator in Los Angeles. Merry has been living in secret away from her aunt, the Queen of Air and Darkness for the past 3 years in a self imposed exile. She fled the Unseelie court after constant to-the-death duels fearing for her life. Merry is mortal so she would live a mortal life and die just as easily.

One day the firm is approached by two women, the wife and the lover of a man who is using magic to seduce women, and both believe he has cursed them.

During the investigation Merry discovers that the husband has been using a very potent fae oil called Branwyn's Tears to help seduce his lovers, giving them a heightened experience and leaves them begging for more...along with that, it looks like the Sidhe (high fae) who has given the oil to the husband, has been watching the husbands sexcapades through mirror magic and allowing them selves to be worshiped as a god- which is totes illegal. 

After the investigation goes a little wrong, Merry's story kicks up a notch. Her identity as the lost Princess Meredith NicEssus is outed and now she must flee from Los Angeles for fear of being dragged back before her aunt and killed.

The queen is desperate to get Merry back, but for reasons that surprise and enthrall Merry.

There is a lot of sex and touchy feely moments throughout this book but never does it feel like too much. Its just known that the Sidhe enjoy their sex and its just a part of who they are. Along with the sex there are quite a few graphic death scenes - one character is ripped to shreds by a mirror and left as a meaty mess, while another is turned quite literally inside out in to a odd fleshy ball, so all their organs are now on the outside..mm. There is also tales of rape so this book is definitely not a light hearted smutty read. More like an exciting epic fantasy novel with a decent amount of sex in it!

I love Merry as a lead character, she is sexy and sassy and at the start of the novel has very limited powers other than personal glamour - as the story progresses Merry comes in to her hand(s) of power. She not ashamed to let the reader know she's nothing powerful or kick-ass and that she feels the need to protect her self constantly - "A girl could never have too much jewelry or too much weaponry"

I'm excited to carry on with the series.

I rate this a solid ✰✰✰✰'s