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    Mistral's Kiss: A Novel
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    Mistral's Kiss: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Mistral's Kiss: A Novel
    Audiobook7 hours

    Mistral's Kiss: A Novel

    Written by Laurell K. Hamilton

    Narrated by Laural Merlington

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    I am Princess Meredith, heir to a throne of fairie. My day job, once upon a time, was as a private detective in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, princess has now become a full-time occupation.

    My aunt, Queen Andais, will have it no other way. And so I am virtually a prisoner in fairie-trapped here with some of the realm's most beautiful men to serve as my bodyguards…and my lovers. For I am compelled to conceive a child: an heir to succeed me on the throne. Yet after months of amazing sex with my consorts, there is still no baby. And no baby means no throne. The only certainty is death at the hands of my cousin Cel, or his followers, if I fail to conceive.

    Now Mistral, Queen Andais's new captain of the guard, has come to my bed-defying her and risking her terrible wrath in doing so. But even she will hesitate to punish him in jealous rage, because our joining has reawakened old magic, mystical power so ancient that no one stands against it and survives. Not even my strongest and most favored: my Darkness and my Killing Frost. Not even Mistral himself, my Storm Lord. But because Mistral has helped to bring this magic forth, he may live another day.

    If I can reclaim control of the fey power that once was, there may be hope for me and my reign in fairie. I might yet quell the dark schemes and subterfuges surrounding me. Though shadows of obsession and conspiracy gather, I may survive.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateDec 12, 2006
    ISBN9781423322337
    Unavailable
    Mistral's Kiss: A Novel
    Author

    Laurell K. Hamilton

    Laurell K. Hamilton is the author of the New York Times bestselling Anita Blake series and Merry Gentry series. She lives with her family in St. Louis, Missouri.

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    Reviews for Mistral's Kiss

    4/5

    877 ratings30 reviews

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    • 3/5
      The book was great the reader was not. She is the same who did the first 4 and she’s inconsistent with pronunciation and voices.
    • 1/5
      The plot gets slower and slower. I feel swamped by the seemingly ever-increasing cast of apparently minor characters who suddenly become more important as we learn more about them (having already forgotten that they existed and possessed this or that magic power apart from whatever new magic power has just conveniently appeared). I think this is the last of the Merry Gentry series that I will read. Hamilton has taken a very exciting idea and choked it to death. Although I do admire the way she sets the scene for a new location in the last pages of the book, thus opening up new possibilities for further books.
    • 3/5
      Fun book. I had hoped the story would come a conclusion, but it seems that it will carry on.
    • 2/5
      Not really my kind of thing, and since this is half way through the series, i didnt get it
    • 4/5
      Mmh, I'd have to say that, overall, this book was most frightening of all LKH's Meredith Gentry books. This book was also fantastical. Gardens springing to life, disappearances and reappearances, the great and terrible beauty of the wild hunt. Merry is bringing life and true purpose to Faerie. That is never a bad thing.
    • 4/5
      Wow. I'm deep in the midst of re-reading this series but there are so many things I've forgotten in the books that I keep doubting where I read up to the last time. I'll start with what I enjoyed...Mistal. Smokin hot. Sholto. I love this character. The man is a leader and yet so very flawed and sometime stupid.

      I am also starting to wonder how Merry remembers her harem's named cause...I can't. She just keeps adding more and more men...eventually there won't be anyone left in court she hasn't slept with. It doesn't bother me, or them for that matter, just an observation. I'm intrigued where this series is going because I read the back of the newest book and some things bode poorly for the soon to be situations. Oh well...we shall see.

      What I didn't like...I think Merry was naked for this entire book. Oh, no, she had a coat on at the end, but otherwise...naked...Just doesn't seem feasible but then again *shrug* it's Merry and after reading 5 books in a row I'm starting to get used to her.
    • 4/5
      This audio edition of Mistral's Kiss is abridged. According to my LibraryThing entry for it, I last read my paper copy in 2012, so I'm not sure what's missing. We get the dream vision, the dead gardens scenes, and the final battle. If you enjoy Merry's all-too-helpful-to-the-Sidhe (and Slaugh) sex scenes, some major ones are included. If, as I do, you feel that the detailed sex scenes are a distraction from the plot, sorry.Dog lovers, the scene with all those dogs has been included. I docked half a star for the abridgment and for narrator Laural Merlington's rendition of King Sholto's voice.
    • 4/5
      When A Stroke of Midnight left off, Meredith and company are still holed up in the underground fairy mound of the Unseelie Court, with the princess still trying to get pregnant. Mistral, one of the queen's guards, is on temporary loan to Meredith after the recent attempt on her life. The powers that they stir up affect some serious changes in the land of faerie, none of which make Queen Andais happy. Sholto, King of the Sluagh, comes to terms with Merry and awakens the Wild Hunt. Again, the book takes place in approximately one day.
    • 4/5
      Not my favorite one, i still enjoyed it very much.
    • 4/5
      I don't know of anyone who writes about sex and magic any better than Hamilton in this Meredith Gentry series. This installment moved slightly slower than some of the earlier books in the series, not advancing the narrative so much as exploring relationships and showingcasing some massive conflicts, but it will still be enjoyable for fans of the series. Truthfully, I should add that the early part of the novel had me wondering whether there'd be anything in the book But lovely description and sex, to the extent that I wondered whether I'd ever classify a Hamilton book as verging on porn, or just pornographic....But, I'm glad to say that the second portion of the book moved on in a fashion that left that worry to the earlier sections, focusing instead on magic and character and narrative. All in all, this isn't one of the books that keeps me coming back to Hamilton's work, but I enjoyed it for what it was. And, then again, it is her fascinating characters who keep me returning to her work again and again, so maybe it is all the same. Regardless, I don't think anyone who hasn't read the earlier books would get anything much out of this book, but I still recommend the series to lovers of dark fantasy who don't mind an R-rating (for sex and violence, as is always the case with Hamilton in this series) on their entertainment...
    • 5/5
      this is a very good book, i really enjoyed reading it, i would recommend it to anyone who like's to read :)
    • 2/5
      If I had paid the hardcover price for this, I would have been Not Happy. As it is, I got it from the library for free and am Slightly Annoyed. It's not like my expectations for this series are high, but nothing happens! Well, Merry's magic hoo-haa continues to get a workout with a bunch of random characters and somehow doesn't ever need to bathe, but ... I just don't care. I think maybe one day passes in this book? Whatever, I'm done. 
    • 3/5
      An improvement on the previous Merry Gentry book. Plot has picked its head up, if not returned entirely to the scene. That is to say, stuff actually happens. Unfortunately, said stuff constitutes only the latter portion of the book, and there's still that frustrating pacing problem that plagues other works by this author: the entire book takes place over, what? A few hours? One day at the most? Yes, there isn't quite as much standing around, talking about things instead of doing them. But these improvements would be more impressive if the book hadn't been so brief. I breezed through it in one evening, despite going back and rereading portions. I'm glad this series seems to have started picking itself back up, but there's still room for more improvement.
    • 4/5
      I like the new characters and that the books just keep me interested, can't wait for more books
    • 3/5
      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.
    • 4/5
      When A Stroke of Midnight left off, Meredith and company are still holed up in the underground fairy mound of the Unseelie Court, with the princess still trying to get pregnant. Mistral, one of the queen's guards, is on temporary loan to Meredith after the recent attempt on her life. The powers that they stir up affect some serious changes in the land of faerie, none of which make Queen Andais happy. Sholto, King of the Sluagh, comes to terms with Merry and awakens the Wild Hunt. Again, the book takes place in approximately one day.
    • 1/5
      There wasn't much added to the story this time, except more gratuitous sex. There is important information for the series, but I didn't feel as if I got my money's worth out of this one. The books better start getting longer & better written or I won't be buying them new - just used, if I can find them cheap.
    • 4/5
      I actually enjoyed this installment much more than I have the last couple. Instead of having some sort of murder/mystery set up in the beginning (and then be basically ignored through the rest of the book), Hamilton just let the interactions between Merry, the guards, the queen, and the sidhe's growing magic be the plot. Much better, in my opinion.
    • 2/5
      I did put off reading this book for around 6 months until the next one came out in paperback. I think I would have been angry had I waited a year for it, and then realized I'd have to wait another year for the next one.This book is far shorter than the other installments, not only in length of pages, but also in the way it is typeset.It is also largely composed of two or three sex scenes. Not much else happens. It always sort of amazes me when everyone gets so angry with the main character for not telling them about things (mainly the queen), but as far as I can tell, the action in most of these takes place over a matter of hours.That would be fine, except it's hard for me to accept that they're investigating a murder, having apocalyptic sex, and then having sex again after getting yelled at by the queen a time or two.That's all there is. I don't know how big a draw the plot of these actually is, but it's something I'm pretty interested in, and its disappointing it didn't move forward at all in this book.
    • 2/5
      I'm not entirely sure why I can't stop reading Laurell K. Hamilton's books, but they're like cake frosting -- I always want more, but it's so very, very bad for me. For example, I'm completely underwhelmed by this book, yet I just added the two she will be releasing this year to my wish list. The best thing I can say about this book is that there's some resolution at the end (which is more than I could say about the two prior). The rest of it is pretty much sex and faerie politics. Really, this series is just thinly veiled erotica, yet I CAN'T STOP READING IT.
    • 3/5
      I registered this under Romance, a more apt category would be "Supernatural Erotica", as the first 100 pages pretty much consist of lots and lots and lots of sex. I strongly recommend reading the series in order. Surprisingly there appears a storyline after those initial 100 pages of sex, that I actually liked quite a lot. Who would have thought! I don't really want to give away too much of it, but it involves the Sluagh and their king Sholto.... Yes, there's more sex as well....
    • 3/5
      This instalment of the Meredith Gentry series is thin on the time-frame, thick with the usual erotica, but, surprisingly, still an enjoyable read; with a little more plot and storyline than I expected of one night in the adventures of the Faerie princess. Following immediately on from the previous book, Meredith wakes from a disturbing dream, the portents and omens of which, along with the powerful talisman in her hands, offer a deliberate message from her deities, which is played out in the next few hours. The events that emerge – considerably dependent on the sex that also transpires – result in the continuing return of her coterie’s long-lost powers, and the revival of the dead or dying worlds of the mounds. The action occurs in a few distinct places – firstly in the dead gardens of the Unseelie sithen and then of the Sluagh. Old magic is recalled, the gardens are renewed, lost relics returned, and decisions taken which will affect the inhabitants profoundly. And the wild hunt is called – and changed.These books are a fast, lightweight read – and I am always hoping that the character development and the storyline will surpass the amount of sex. I understand the importance of the power of fertility, love and life, as opposed to death; but I was taken with the original premise and I would enjoy these books much more if there was a greater emphasis on plot. I skipped pages of detailed erotica simply because it bored me – which may be why I read this book so quickly.The story does advance, despite the short frame of time, and reading the start of the next book in this copy (a whole chapter with no sex) it held the beginnings of an interesting continuation! I am still invested enough to keep reading this series but, like the Anita Blake novels, I am wavering in my determination and my enjoyment. I wish with all my heart that Ms Hamilton would return to her former balance as these dark urban fantasies held so much potential in the beginning.
    • 3/5
      In the first book of the Merry Gentry series, A Kiss of Shadows, she kept folded knives clipped to her underwear and an ankle holster for a gun. She relied on herself for protection and could be dangerous. In this books she is pretty much naked for the whole thing and has over 7 guards for the most of the time watching out for her while she has sex with a new one. Thats pretty much where these books have gone in their content and style. They are an interesting escape but thats all you can really call them. They don't engage the reader and Merry herself, even though she is the main character is pretty passive to whatever happens throughout the book. She does show drive and choice in really only the last 30 pages. Its a huge switch from the first book and a total opposite of character from Laurell's first Anita Blake book where the main character was stubborn and strong to the point that a reader could get fed up with how aggressive she was all the time.
    • 4/5
      Book 5 in the Merry Gentry series and by far and away the best one, IMHO. This time the sex was grounded in the plot, the fantasy and faerie aspect was given due prominence and the wild magic felt wild. There was something raw and uncontrolled happening and even the frightening Queen Andais backed down before it. I'm glad that LKH is back on track, because when she is good, she is excellent.
    • 3/5
      Okay, I read very fast. But I usually don't kill a novel in less than two hours. Unfortunately, I have to agree with most of the less-than-stellar reviews here. There was a TINY bit of plot development, but mostly just disappointment. This should have been tacked onto the last book, or the start of one. Will Merry ever go to Taranis' court; or the Goblin Court? Will we ever find out who killed her father? I don't mind a lot of sex in the books--but I would like some questions answered along the way. And I also feel like she's losing touch with the men she supposedly loves (Doyle, Frost, Galen). Sixteen men (or however many)? Enough already. I can't even remember the last time she had sex with the original five guards who went with her!! I'm a die hard Merry fan, so I'll stick through to the bitter end. However, the bitter end will be gotten from the library instead of my wallet. And Anita Blake has one more chance to at least raise a zombie, or investigate a murder, before I give up on her.
    • 4/5
      The next story in Merry Gentry's series. Her power feeds into more of the men around her and she struggles to comprehend and control her power. Merry is getting quite overpowered and I'm starting to understand her Aunt and her annoyance with her.I prefer the honestly of this series to the Anita Blake series but it's mind candy with very little depth. I am curious as to what will ahppen next and how many of her entourage will survive, I'm also curious as to how they will determine who is her partner. Laurel K Hamilton has become a borrow rather than buy author for me.
    • 3/5
      If you're reading this series, then it suffices to say this is more of the same: more sex leads to more power leads to more desire for sex and power... Wash. Rinse. Repeat. [EDIT: I just noticed I read book 5 without ever reading book 4 (found it under my nightstand) and never even suspected I might have missed something. That speaks a lot about the "plot" in this series.]
    • 4/5
      Laurell K. Hamilton is the best brain candy going. There is no better way to leave behind the stresses of the day than a fast-paced story full of preternatural sex. That said there was more sex than story in this one.
    • 1/5
      The plot gets slower and slower. I feel swamped by the seemingly ever-increasing cast of apparently minor characters who suddenly become more important as we learn more about them (having already forgotten that they existed and possessed this or that magic power apart from whatever new magic power has just conveniently appeared). I think this is the last of the Merry Gentry series that I will read. Hamilton has taken a very exciting idea and choked it to death. Although I do admire the way she sets the scene for a new location in the last pages of the book, thus opening up new possibilities for further books.
    • 4/5
      Merry shags her away (admitedly with less people than usual) around again, this time restoring the dead gardens to life and giving the King of the Sluagh a load more power, as well as a load of her favourites.It seems odd to describe anything that has several potentially lethal fight and Red Caps in it as light and frothy, but it is. There are times when you wonder how they are going to get out, but you never doubt that they will.It's lots of fun for all that, and although it started off seeming like it was more of the same there are elements in there that advance the story in some new and startling ways.