Seduced By Moonlight - Laurell K. Hamilton

Seduced By Moonlight (Merry Gentry #3)
Laurell K. Hamilton
Ballantine Books
Copyright: 2004
978-0345443595

The amazon.com product description:

 I am Meredith Gentry, P.I. and Princess Merry, heir to the throne of Fairie.
Now there are those among me who whisper I am more.
They fear me even as they protect me. And who can blame them?
I’ve awakened the dazzling magic that’s slumbered in them for
thousands of years. But the thing is, I can’t figure out why.

My aunt, the Queen of Air and Darkness, is no longer distracted by her usual sadistic hobbies. Her obsession has turned unwaveringly to me. The mission to get me pregnant and beat my cousin Prince Cel to the crown is taking longer than expected. Even though I spend each night with the Queen’s Ravens, my immortal guards, no child has come of our decadent pleasures. But something else is happening. My magic courses through me uncontrollably. And as I lock my half-mortal body with their full-Sidhe blooded ones, the power surges like never before.

It all began with the chalice. I dreamed of it, and it appeared, cool and hard, beside me when I awoke. My guards know the ancient relic well—its disappearance ages ago stripped them of their vital powers. But it is here with us now. My touch resonates with its force, and they’re consumed with it, their Sidhe essences lit up by it. But even as they cherish me for this unexpected gift, there are those who loathe me for it. Me, a mongrel, only half fey and part mortal. The Unseelie court has suffered for so long, and there are some who would not have it weakened further by an impure queen. My enemies grow in number every day. But they do not know what I am capable of. Nor, for that matter, do I. . . .

In Seduced by Moonlight, Laurell K. Hamilton brings the dark, erotic reign of the immortal fey to a startling new depth. Full of sensuality and the consuming anticipation of latent powers unleashed, this world of gods, shapeshifters, and immortal souls is unveiled in all of its supreme magnificence and its treacherous deceits. 

Remember back when I reviewed A Kiss of Shadows, the first book in this series and I noted the lack of violence compared with the Anita Blake books? Forget I said that. Forget I even thought it. I'm shaking my head at myself on that one after reading Seduced By Moonlight.

At any rate, Seduced By Moonlight, the third book in the Merry Gentry series, following on A Caress of Twilight was another "couldn't put it down" book - up to the point where I was forced to by the need to recharge my Kobo. Then it was right back into the read.

This book has very little to do with the "real" world as it were, being much more focused on the politics of the Seelie and Unseelie courts and also on the interpersonal relationships centering around Merry. And believe me, that is enough to keep the book going and fascinating! However, I'd say this series might not be for everyone. There are quite a few points where it gets pretty graphic - both sexually and in terms of violence. By this point though, that shouldn't be much of a surprise to fans of Laurell K. Hamilton's writing.

As I said, this book is quite focused on the interpersonal relationships and politics of the Faerie courts. On top of that though, there's other things and powers at work. Merry doesn't have a clue what's going on and neither do her guards - or us for that matter. That was one of the aspects of the book that really gripped me on this read through - watching the lot of them coping with the unexpected.

Lots of questions left for the next book too (A Stroke of Midnight). I really want to get into reading that one, but at the same time I'm kind of feeling like I should go back to some of the other books I've got on the go, so no idea of what I'm going to be reading next.

One thing I found really neat at the end of Seduced by Moonlight - this one may just be me and my love of research though - is that Laurell K. Hamilton has included a list of the books she's used in researching the Merry Gentry series. Given that I'm currently hunting (or trying to) down material on British mythological creatures and beings for an idea/project of my own, I'm very happy to see this right now. The next thing on my to-do list is going to be googling the various titles and finding more information on some of those books. Thanks!

Believe it or not, one of my favorite things to see in a novel (esp. historical fiction) is a listing of research sources when appropriate. All too often for me, reading a novel with a basis in fact (or mythology as in this case), I get quite curious about the reality of the situation - such as it is. Seeing what the author has used for source material can be quite intriguing.