Like many reviewers, I think this book was too short and filled with way too much sex and not enough plot. The reason I actually read this far in the series is that right from the start, I've been fascinated by the character of Sholto. He was a character with terrible beauty and really seemed to break the mold of the other guards. And I'll admit, I was incredibly curious to see what a full sex scene would be like with him given all his "extras".

So, for me, the most disappointing part of this book was that when Merry finally does get around to having sex with him, it's only after all of his tentacles have been completely amputated. LKH seems to pride herself on "edgy" books, but I really feel like it was a cop out to mutilate the character of Sholto just long enough for Merry to have sex with him (because of course he is magically restored right after the sex is done).

For me, the only interesting part of this book was the Wild Hunt at the end, where we finally get a reprieve from boring sex scenes and get to see some action.

Ok. I had heard she was a great writer, and I started with this book. At the end I was still trying to figure out the storyline. Too much bizarre sex, and no real live plot. I don't recommend this one. Maybe her other books are better. This one left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

Please tell me why I actually paid for this book? Like everyone else here I am invested in Merry. The first two books took me on a rollar coaster ride and I couldnt wait to get to the next book. Now i'm just wishing the end would HURRY up and get here. How about a book that goes somewhere? Better yet, how about a book at all. I think somewhere along the way LKH lost the plot and forgot why she was writing this story. I hope she finds it again. But from now on, I will wait till it goes to paperback and get it at the discount bin. I'm tired of spending 17-25 dollars of my hard earned money for this one - two scene crapola.

Its an exciting book that leaves you breathless literally. when its finnish your upset because you never want it to end.

I liked this book and i like the series as a whole. I like being teased and hoping that Merry ends up with my favorite guy to begin with.
I don't necessarily enjoy all the sex, but I have only come across one "perfect" series in my day and after all these books are for entertainment right? well, all i'm sayin is that i AM entertained. laugh if you want, but I'm sticking with it to the end because i need to know if she ends up with Doyle. I also can't eat lunch if i don't have a book at work to read. They make fun of me and my "gothic erotica food" obsession, but I can't help it.

lemme tell u guys, when i first started reading paranormal romance and the whole likes of it this is who i found. my first book ever was narcissus in chains, and i was hooked! so i went onto reading some of ms hamiltons other works. i liked her meredith gentry character and i stuck with her, but as of lately i have been let down. ms hamilton needs to take a long awaited hiatus n come back 10xs better. i was disgusted that i paid my money to read mistrals kiss. its gettin cheesier and cheesier. not to mention repetitive, if u dont have to,dont buy this book.

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.

http://karissabooks.blogspot.com/

Waiting for the next one in the series. This series of books is of higher quality than the Anita Blake novels in my oppinion.

Sincerely,
Ira Carmel

A scandalous waste of money. One-dimensional characters with about as much depth as a half-dried mud-puddle. No discernible plot. I'd rather I'd saved my money toward the cost of my own cremation when I die, lo these many years hence.

Found it at Wally world, and got it because I had seen it on my reccomendations list. It was confusing, poorly written, and I wasn't really impressed. If it wasn't for the above average Sex scenes, I'd have taken it back.I read other reviews and they said this was the worst book of the series so I decided to hit the library and give it a chance. The reading order is Kiss of Shadows, Caress of Twilight, Seduced By Moonlight, A Stroke of Midnight, Mistral's Kiss, and A Lick of Frost. I just read Kiss of Shadows and it was not near as bad as Mistral's Kiss. I will get the next one from the library. I wouldn't dare go buy them all because they just aren't THAT good. But I'm bored waiting for Acheron...

These books are entertaining, plain and simple. You have a barage of colourful men with fascinating eyes, rather not so bad sex scenes and Merry who is quite cool.
But there are some flaws.
These books are close to 20 bucks each, so why are they, like candy bars getting smaller and smaller? There's absolutely no reason why Mistral's Kiss and Lick of Frost couldn't have been combined into one book. It's deeply annoying the way the story is being dragged out.
Repetative phrases. How many times does this writer say "masculine" and "masculine laugh." We get it! They are men! Dang.
But, these books are exciting and entertaining with the faery lure and dark sort of magic.
But could we at least have a 300 page book? Or even 350? A little bite of a book isn't enough. You got to have a full meal of a book. Not just a crumb of cake.

Ok, so I managed to get through 97 pages of this book and stopped reading because there still was no plot in sight. I went back a few days later and counted of the 97 pages I read, 51 were explicit sex scenes. I've decided to abandon this series due to lack of storyline. I will continue to read the Anita Blake series because I'm too vested in it, I'm afraid I'm going to miss something good, but I'm through with the Merry Gentry books.

I like the first book of this series, unfortunately like her other series with Anita Blake, it's basically soft core at this point. I'm not looking for that in my trashy vampire/fairy/supernatural books. I've moved on to teen supernatural books where they still have plots instead of one scene after another with group sex as all Ms. Hamilton's books do at this point.

If your reading this Ms. Hamilton, please lose the soft core porn. It bores me.

Don't even THINK about reading this "book" if you haven't read the earlier ones in the series. This one has no introduction of any kind, no plot that I could find, and lots of boring empty sex scenes... so tedious that Meredith is having conversations with those around her rather than engaging with her partner of the moment... until she all of a sudden (and at the last possible moment) gets moving. At least one reviewer is of the opinion that this novel feels like a small part of a larger one, and I agree. Disappointing at best, and I was really looking forward to having the story move along. Back to L.A. Oh, well.

Or better yet, get it from the library and save your money. I read it in one evening, that's right one. It consited of two very long sex scenes. Ok maybe there were three but it's hard to tell when one begins and the other one ends. Really, you can do without this one. You won't miss but a pinch of the on going plot. I was extremely dissapointed in this book. There was almost no substance. I know this stuff is light fluffy reading. To be honest I skip over most of the sex because it's starting to bore me to tears but I do like the Merry and the plot (when it exists) is quite different from other 'fairy' books I've read. But this? BIG waste of money. I only gave it two stars because I needed a book fix and it did the trick but it's like eating really cheap crappy chocolate when there's no Godiva....regret and a bad taste in your mouth

Though I wasn't fooled into reading this series and then had it turn into porn on me, like I was with the Anita Blake series. I knew what I was getting into from the get go with Merry. However, is it too much to ask that a little plot development be involved in these books? This entire series reads like a soap opera, one of the bad one's that draws out situations and altercations for a full week of our time that only take 10 minutes of soap opera time. The entire series has taken place in just a few months, yet the amount of sex Merry is having, someone would have to carry her out of the sithen because she wouldn't be walking.. Especially after the well endowed Mistral finished with her.. It has to be said though, there is just something about Hamilton's writing that keeps us coming back for more, and no I really don't think it's the sex.. But maybe it is, because for the life of me, I really don't know what it is.. I just know that when I read one of her books, it's like eating that decadent and forbidden chocolate chocolate chunk cookie that you know is loaded with empty calories, preservatives and isn't going to do a thing to nourish your body, but you eat it anyway and when you finish it, no it doesn't leave you feeling full and you'll probably forget about it long before you burn the calories off but it puts a smile on your face for a few minutes at the very least. Here's to hoping that the next plate of sinful cookies is fuller and more memorable than this one was..

I didn't think I'd ever say I'm disappointed in a LKH book, but this one should have been the last part of Stroke of Midnight. It's more of a tease than a novel. (actually, it's more novella length.)I was first attracted to the series because the idea of a fairy detective in LA was so unique. Now we have left that concept behind and gotten involved in the politics of Faerie. There's nothing wrong with that except that I miss Merry's interaction with her human side. She is more and more sidhe. But that isn't the root of my disappointment. More and more, I feel as if the books are erotic PWP's (Plot? What plot?) I expect more from LKH.

Time continues to move at glacial speed in Laurell K. Hamilton's Merry Gentry series. Mistral's Kiss occupies such a brief time that I felt dissatisfied at the end. I mean, Merry only has sex twice...or is that three times? Luckily the latest installment is just around the corner.

The Merry Gentry series is one that you should begin from the beginning with A Kiss of Shadows (Meredith Gentry Novels). You will be frustrated and confused if you don't.

In Mistral's Kiss, Merry has an opportunity to consummate the powerful attraction she and Queen's guard Mistral experienced in A Kiss of Shadows. Merry's sidhe powers continue to grow through expressing her sexual energy, and it's even hinted that she may be becoming less mortal (if this isn't like being "a little pregnant"). Speaking of being pregnant, this is Mission #1 for Merry, and since this need drives most of the plot tension, it's not a spoiler that doesn't seem to become pregnant in this book either. Although it's not clear if Faerie relies on home pregnancy tests or something more mystical for early detection.

In Mistral's Kiss we get more understanding of the court of the Sluagh and its powers. Sholto, King of the Sluagh makes another appearance and gets a chance to collect on Merry's commitment to him.

Merry's fans will enjoy this book but will find it unsatisfying. Perhaps Ms. Hamilton is stretched thin between two active series. I look forward to A Lick of Frost (Meredith Gentry, Book 6)and hope for more!