- Hardcover: 384 pages
- Publisher: Ballantine Books; First Edition edition (30 April 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0345443578
- ISBN-13: 978-0345443571
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.2 x 4.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 528,555 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
A Stroke Of Midnight (Meredith Gentry 4)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
I am Meredith Gentry, P.I., solving cases in Los Angeles, far from the peril and deception of my real home–because I am also Princess Meredith, heir to the darkest throne faerie has to offer. The Unseelie Court infuses me with its power. But at what price does such magic come? How much of my human side will I have to give up, and how much of the sinister side of faerie will I have to embrace? To sit on a throne that has ruled through bloodshed and violence for centuries, I might have to become that which I dread the most.
Enemies watch my every move. My cousin Cel strives to have me killed even now from his prison cell. But not all the assassination attempts are his. Some Unseelie nobles have waited centuries for my aunt Andais, Queen of Air and Darkness, to become weak enough that she might be toppled from her throne. Enemies unforeseen move against us–enemies who would murder the least among us.
The threat will drive us to allow human police into faerie for the first time in our history. I need my allies now more than ever, especially since fate will lead me into the arm of Mistral, Master of Storms, the queen’s new captain of her guard. Our passion will reawaken powers long forgotten among the warriors of the sidhe. Pain and pleasure await me–and danger, as well, for some at that court seek only death.
I will find new joys with the butterfly-winged demi-fey. My guards and I will show all of faerie that violence and sex are as popular among the sidhe as they are among the lesser fey of our court. The Darkness will weep, and Frost will comfort him. The gentlest of my guards will find new strength and break my heart. Passions undreamed of await us–and my enemies gather, for the future of both courts of faerie begins to unravel.
Enemies watch my every move. My cousin Cel strives to have me killed even now from his prison cell. But not all the assassination attempts are his. Some Unseelie nobles have waited centuries for my aunt Andais, Queen of Air and Darkness, to become weak enough that she might be toppled from her throne. Enemies unforeseen move against us–enemies who would murder the least among us.
The threat will drive us to allow human police into faerie for the first time in our history. I need my allies now more than ever, especially since fate will lead me into the arm of Mistral, Master of Storms, the queen’s new captain of her guard. Our passion will reawaken powers long forgotten among the warriors of the sidhe. Pain and pleasure await me–and danger, as well, for some at that court seek only death.
I will find new joys with the butterfly-winged demi-fey. My guards and I will show all of faerie that violence and sex are as popular among the sidhe as they are among the lesser fey of our court. The Darkness will weep, and Frost will comfort him. The gentlest of my guards will find new strength and break my heart. Passions undreamed of await us–and my enemies gather, for the future of both courts of faerie begins to unravel.
From the Back Cover
I am Meredith Gentry, PI. Others know me as Princess Meredith, heir to the darkest throne faerie has to offer. But at what price? To inherit a court that has ruled through bloodshed and violence for centuries, must I really become that which I dread most?
Enemies watch my every move. From his prison cell, my cousin strives to be rid of me while some amongst the Unseelie await the downfall of my aunt, the Queen of Air and Darkness. And unforeseen others bide their time, poised to strike.
Such is the unease we feel that for the first time in our history we must allow human police into the world of faerie. And I confess I am in need of allies now more than ever - especially since fate will lead me into the arms of Mistral, Master of Storms and the new captain of the queen's guard. Our desire will reawaken powers long forgotten among the warriors of the sidhe. Pain and pleasure await me. And danger too, but we are all running out of time...
So reader beware, for herein lies the twilight world of Meredith Gentry, where the erotic and the exotic, the decadent and the deadly come together.
Don't miss first three Merry Gentry novels:
A KISS OF SHADOWS, A CARESS OF TWILIGHT and SEDUCED BY MOONLIGHT
--This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Inside This Book
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
25 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
What can you say about Laurell K Hamilton that hasn't already been said? Yes, "A Stroke of Midnight" is full of graphic, gratuitous sex and yes, the plot crawls along to a rather unsatisfying climax (no pun intended) but in my opinion, the Merry Gentry novels are better than the recent Anita Blake efforts.
For one thing, there is a definite story arc here, whereas the last two of three Anita books have just gone through the motions, shoving a little plot where it'll fit around all the turgid bedroom scenes. Merry is still trying to get pregnant and her twisted cousin Cel is nearing the end of his imprisonment. Plot threads that began in earlier books are continued and expanded, and Hamilton has created a delicious world of faery magic and politics that will obviously continue to develop into the next book.
Secondly, the sex actually serves a purpose in the Merry Gentry novels. Whilst Anita becomes more of a Mary Sue/author surrogate with every man she beds, Merry must get pregnant to keep her life and save the lives of those she loves. Every time Merry does the nasty with another impossibly beautiful fey man, old magic is restored to the men and the sithen. Having said that, the sex scenes are far too long and a lot of the time they seem like filler rather than plot advancement.
Thirdly, Merry is a far more sympathetic character than Anita. She gets ahead by caring, first and foremost, and she wins more and more fey to her side in this book by being compassionate and willing to take risks for her people.
If you've read the first three books in this series, this one if worth picking up. I don't recommend it as a starting point for newcomers to either Merry or Hamilton; there's far too much you already need to know to understand the complex storylines. Overall, it's trashy fun and fills a few hours, which is really all I expect from this series.
For one thing, there is a definite story arc here, whereas the last two of three Anita books have just gone through the motions, shoving a little plot where it'll fit around all the turgid bedroom scenes. Merry is still trying to get pregnant and her twisted cousin Cel is nearing the end of his imprisonment. Plot threads that began in earlier books are continued and expanded, and Hamilton has created a delicious world of faery magic and politics that will obviously continue to develop into the next book.
Secondly, the sex actually serves a purpose in the Merry Gentry novels. Whilst Anita becomes more of a Mary Sue/author surrogate with every man she beds, Merry must get pregnant to keep her life and save the lives of those she loves. Every time Merry does the nasty with another impossibly beautiful fey man, old magic is restored to the men and the sithen. Having said that, the sex scenes are far too long and a lot of the time they seem like filler rather than plot advancement.
Thirdly, Merry is a far more sympathetic character than Anita. She gets ahead by caring, first and foremost, and she wins more and more fey to her side in this book by being compassionate and willing to take risks for her people.
If you've read the first three books in this series, this one if worth picking up. I don't recommend it as a starting point for newcomers to either Merry or Hamilton; there's far too much you already need to know to understand the complex storylines. Overall, it's trashy fun and fills a few hours, which is really all I expect from this series.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As with all her novels this is full of erotica but alas this time somewhat to the detriment of the storyline. The sex scenes are overly long which means that the plot is slow developing.
Good light fun and an easy book to read but sadly no more than that.
Good light fun and an easy book to read but sadly no more than that.
25 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I read this book in less than three hours! I think that says it all really. I COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN!!!!! After the last book Hamilton put out I was a bit disillusioned with her writing but with Stroke of Midnight a lot of that faith was restored.
For once there seemed to be just the right mix of plot, sex, violence which is a refreshing change. In this book we learn a lot more about the court politics and the history of the fey which fascinated me. If you have not read any books by Laurell then this series would be an excellent one to start with. However I would advise to read them in order.
This book takes place in the unseelie sithen, unfortunately we don't go to the Seelie court or the Goblin court. In fact this entire book takes place over a day, we see a lot more of Queen Andais, showing another side of her, that although she is sadistic and mad she cares what happens to her court. There is also a mention of Cel and it becomes even clearer that he must not win the race to the thrown. From start to finish this book held my interest, it was almost like a race to get to the end of each page because I wanted to know what was going to happen next!
I cant recommend this book enough, if you were disappointed with Incubus dreams, as I was, then take heart, this is in a whole other league! The only down side is that now I have to wait for possible two years for another Merry Gentry book!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Brilliant!!
"She's done it again!". Laurell Hamiltion has done it again, this books is ace, as are all her books, the Gentry series is just as good as the Anita Blake novels- wonderful... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Faith
A fairly good read
This book is the fourth in the series and though it isn't as good as other Laurell K. Hamilton books, it is a required read if you want to know what's going on in the Merry Gentry... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Tasneem
interesting
So this is how I would describe a Meredith Gentry book: Merry almost gets killed, then she has sex with one or more people, something mystical and mysterious happens from... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Rebecca
Superb
Once again welcome back Merry and be on your way making us mere human very sorry not tobe you!Really enjoyable serie and to be recommended strongly!I cannot wait for the rest..
Published on 13 Feb 2010 by Wizamace
I enjoy all Laurell K Hamilton books.
I enjoy all Laurell K Hamilton books.
I started with the Lunatic Cafe, and hav'nt
read a bad one since.
I started with the Lunatic Cafe, and hav'nt
read a bad one since.
Published on 21 Jan 2010 by Mr. Aj Rigby
Not 'literature' but good fun
Not having read any of this particular genre before Ms Hamilton's offerings in the Meredith Gentry saga, I was quite intrigued and entertained. Read more
Published on 22 Mar 2006
Judging the cover
Sometimes you really can judge a book by its cover. Judging by the swooning, cleavagey woman who seems to be in the initial stages of ecstacy, with a bit of soft purply lighting,... Read more
Published on 29 Dec 2005 by E. A Solinas
They keep on getting better!
Being an avid fan of the Meridith Gentry novels I couldnt wait until the new book was published, but amidst my excitement was a slight worry what if Ms Hamilton had lost her touch... Read more
Published on 13 May 2005 by "pookiedookie"
Just a day in the life of Princess Meredith NicEssus
You look at the title of the fourth Meredith Gentry novel from Laurell K. Hamilton and wonder how long it will be before Merry engages in another attempt to see if the Goddess has... Read more
Published on 24 April 2005 by Lawrance M. Bernabo
WOW What A Book
I usually read contemporary and historical romance, never having been a fan of the 'Fantasy' side of the romance genre. Read more
Published on 16 April 2005
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