Laurell K. Hamilton, Mistral’s Kiss

Mistral's Kiss

Laurell K. Hamilton

Ballantine, December 2006, $23.93, 224 pp.

ISBN 0345443586

Both the Seelie and the Unseelie courts of faerie are dying, but Princess Meredith "Merry" Gentry might have the power to bring them back to their former glory. Her aunt, Queen Andes, has made a contest with Merry and her son Cel. The first who is pregnant or gets someone pregnant is the next ruler. Right now Cel is being punished for trying to have Merry killed, while Merry's new powers slowly bring back life to the unseelie court.

Merry and her guards are in the gardens, where once a world complete with sun, moon and weather existed. Also with her, are the captain of the queen's guard Mistral and Abeloc. They make the land come alive again, but the Silth (fairy mound) isn't finished in reviving the Unseelie world. Merry finds herself in the Kingdom of the Straugh; ugly creatures who hunt their victims until they collapse from fatigue. Their kingdom is dead too, but when she has relations with its king, it comes alive. In gratitude, the monarch hunts Merry, her guards and the rest of Faerie.

Merry is not accepted at the Seelie court because she is part Sidhe and part human, but she also finds it too much to deal with the court intrigues and killings of the unsealie court. Through her magical gifts she makes the Unseelie court a prettier, brighter place, much to the court's chagrin. Laurell K. Hamilton has written a powerful and entertaining adult fantasy that is so hot readers will feel the heat.