Dec 18, 2006 3 min read

Nearly every little girl, at some point in her life, dreams of being a princess. She wants to go to the ball like Cinderella, wear a crown like Princess Diana, and be rescued by the Handsome Prince, just like Snow White.

She doesn’t know about the heavy responsibilities that a princess has. Things like war and revenge and making sure her consorts are safe. But former-PI-turned-princess Meredyth Gentry knows, and in “Mistral’s Kiss” by Laurell K. Hamilton, she’s learned the hard way that being a princess isn’t all jewels and riches.

Sometimes, being a princess is dangerous.

As with many adventures, it all started with a dream. Merry dreamed that a God came to her in the form of a white boar and the boar’s tusk became a drinking vessel. When she woke from the dream, the cup was in her hands.

Abeloc, one of her consorts, recognized the cup and when Meredyth gave it to him, she saw changes in him. While many of Merry’s consorts had come to her bed, Abeloc had not. Now that the cup was in his hands, it seemed that his time had come.

When Mistral, Queen Andais’ captain of the guard entered the chamber where Abeloc and Meredyth lay, Mistral became quickly infatuated with Meredyth. It had been thousands of years since he’d lain with a woman and while he was the Queen’s consort, he couldn’t leave Merry’s side.

He would pay for his decision, as would all the faerie world.

When Queen Adnais learned of Mistral’s indiscretion, she became angry and threatened to do harm to an entire clan whose leaders had attempted assassination. In exchange for a stay of cruel punishment, Meredyth and her consorts, Doyle, Rhys, Frost, and the others agreed to bring life back to the gardens which had withered eons ago.

But as Meredyth, Mistral, and Abeloc joined and rain came to the gardens for the first time in centuries, Darkness was very nearby. One of Meredyth’s beloved consorts was killed as she lay with Mistral, and another disappeared. To escape, Merry called for doors to other worlds, but her magic is fickle, especially when other forces are more powerful than she.

Have you read any of the other books in the Meredyth Gentry series? If not, then don’t start with this one. “Mistral’s Kiss” follows what seems to be one day of Merry’s life, and if you read this book without having read at least the last one or two of the series, you’re not going to enjoy this book quite so much.

For fans, though, author Laurell K. Hamilton extends Meredyth Gentry’s adventure in her signature colorful, erotic way. I was completely caught up in the brilliant worlds and warrior characters that Hamilton so carefully creates, and getting to the cliff-hanging ending was pure magic.

If you’ve never read any of the other books in this series, grab the last two and be prepared to be whisked away to other worlds. If you’re a Hamilton fan, though, “Mistral’s Kiss” is a royal treat.