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. ( )

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. ( )

Amazingly enough, I enjoyed MISTRAL'S KISS. After the farce that has become the Anita Blake series, I was worried that the Meredith Gentry series would inevitably take the same downhill dive. Thankfully, that wasn't the case.

This book is enjoyable, and does actually contain a plot. There are some negatives, of course, the first of which is the length of the book itself--or, more accurately, the lack of length. At only 212 pages, this story is 100+ pages shorter than the other books in the series. It would have made much more sense to make MINSTRAL'S KISS another 10 chapters or so in the previous book, A STROKE OF MIDNIGHT, rather than a stand-alone book.

Also, the book only covers a few hours, from midnight until dawn following the assassination attempt on Merry's life that came about in A STROKE OF MIDNIGHT. I had noticed with the Anita Blake series that the time frames for each book were becoming shorter each time, and such now seems to be the case with this series, as well.

The sex doesn't bother me in this series, either, since the entire "background" of the main plot line is that Merry must become pregnant before her cousin Cel impregnates someone to take the throne. Although the first 70+ pages of MISTRAL'S KISS are a sex scene, with yet again multiple partners, it does actually make sense to the story.

My biggest complaint about the book, by far, is the fact that there is a major, major, MAJOR development at the end of the book that is only given a passing explanation. In less than two paragraphs, a huge event takes place, and yet Ms. Hamilton only devotes a few words to it--almost as an afterthought. Logically speaking, this should imply that the next book in the series will expound on that event, but if you've been following either of the author's series lately, you'd know by now that Ms. Hamilton doesn't always seem to write logically.

Overall, I did enjoy the story, much more so than the last Anita Blake novel. It won't take you long to read this (it took me less than two hours), and you won't see a whole lot of progression, but the editing is tighter with this book, and you'll definitely appreciate a dose of the faery world. ( )

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. ( )

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. ( )