Without a doubt, A LICK OF FROST is the best book in the series since Laurell K. Hamilton first introduced Meredith Gentry in A KISS OF SHADOWS.

Although there's still sex in this book, it's toned down and limited to two actual scenes, which leaves the other 300+ pages open to actual plot.

This book is also very emotional, not just because of the changes that Merry's hands of power brings, but because of the way things end up due to these circumstances.

I really hope that Ms. Hamilton keeps it up with the next book. Keep the sex, if you must, but continue on this path of great, emotional storylines! ( )

Last straw. Again, I didn't get my money's worth from this book. If it had been put together with 'Mistral's Kiss' & half the sex (or more) had been left out, it would have made one good book. Still a great world & story line, just not enough per book to warrant the money. ( )

A Lick of Frost begins one month after the events of Mistral's Kiss. Merry and her guards/lovers Doyle, Frost, Rhys, Galen, and Abeloec in a conference room, being questioned about the charges of rape against Rhys, Galen, and Abeloec which King Taranis has brought the charges on behalf the woman allegedly raped by the aforementioned fey. The meeting ends badly, with Taranis losing what little control he had on his sanity. One of the officers of Taranis' guard, Sir Hugh, tells Merry that he is going to force a vote among the nobles of the Seelie court to choose a new king, and he wants Merry to take Taranis' place. When Merry and her guards get home after taking a trip to the hospital after tending to the injuries sustained by Doyle and Abeloec. They call Aunt Andais to tell her of all that has happened"”specifically the offer to rule the Seelie Court. Andais believes Merry already agreed to rule and abuses one of her guards in a sadistic rage. Eventually, Merry and her men convince Andais otherwise, but she still continues to abuse the guard in reaction to many of them leaving to join Merry. The series of mirror-calls end and Merry finalizes the coming together of herself and two new half-goblins, Ash, and Holly for later that night. Night comes and Holly and Ash arrive, along with all of the Red Caps in tow. Jonty, a Red Cap that helped Merry fight in Mistral's Kiss, sheds a tear as Merry tells him she would bring the Red Caps into their power. She catches the tear on her finger and consumes it. This brings on the remaking of Maeve Reed's house into a sithen. Those of faerie who stand in that room with no faerie dog to keep them grounded, crumple to the floor. Some of the crumpled men are revived by one of the dogs, but Frost stays down. The creation of the sithen allows the ring of fertility on her finger to flare to life and Merry realizes that she is pregnant with twins. Each twin has three fathers like in the story of Ceridwen. A phantom image of Merry's children appears by their respective fathers, Rhys, Frost, Galen, Doyle, Mistral, and Sholto. There is also a dimmer phantom image of a 3rd child that has the potential to be born after the twins. Frost turns out to be the sacrificial king for the creation of the new sithen. Merry prays for him not to die, and he turns into a white stag and runs off. Merry runs to one of the gardens of her sithen to be alone and grieve the loss of Frost. While out there, Taranis, using illusion to appear as one of her guards, knocks her out and takes her to his bedroom back at the Seelie Court. It is assumed that he rapes her, and then believes he fathers her children. Hugh, some others at the Seelie Court, and Doyle sneak her out of the bedroom and into a press conference where she tells the press that Taranis made the Seelie woman Lady Catarin believe that it was Rhys, Galen, and Abeloec who raped her; when in fact, it was all just an illusion of Taranis' making and the woman was in fact raped by other Seelie nobles working with him. Merry also tells them that she is pregnant, and that Taranis kidnapped and raped her. The book ends with Merry in an ambulance with Doyle, continuing to mourn Frost and her current situation. She is on her way to the hospital to treat the concussion she received from Taranis and to take a rape test. ( )

There is finally something happening with the plot, it's moving forwards and you get some real stuff too, not just hints.

I am probably being sadistic because even thought I don't really enjoy this series, I still keep reading it. I want to know what happens though, without the sex this series would be so much shorter, but the sex is a component that makes the series work so well. It was also to clear the space of my bookshelf, it's not a keeper for me.

I enjoyed this book more so than the others. ( )

 this book was pretty good but for a book from Hamilton, I was a bit disappointed. However, its a must-read if you're into the Meredith Gentry series. ( )