A LICK OF FROST by Laurell K. Hamilton

A LICK OF FROSTLAURELL K. HAMILTON
Fantasy
Ballentine Books
ISBN# 978-0-345-49590-7
$24.95 Hardcover
Print - Available October 2007

Rating: 5 Enchantments

Princess Meredith, Welder of the Hand of Flesh and the Hand of Blood, vessel to the Goddess Danu, or simply Merry to her friends, has returned, with the newest installment in the ‘Merry Gentry’ Series, A LICK OF FROST. In this installment, we finally see just how far her Uncle Taranis is willing to go to get Merry at the Seelie Court. We are introduced to his insanity at the very beginning and it only grows worse as time goes on.

Not all is bad for Meredith though, no. She finds that she is more powerful than anyone ever imagined. She also learns that though she cannot control her heart, Danu will not leave her heartbroken…well, mostly. Many of us who have followed the series have been hoping our heroes made the final cut and became King to Merry’s Queen, well good news for many - we have gotten our wish. If you want to know who has made the impossible possible, well, ...you will have to read the book.

There is a real bittersweetness to the story as well, though Taranis might be on his way out, though Merry got the father - or was it fathers - we all wanted, though it seems she has won the race, love comes with pain and a deep searing pain is what happens when the one you love the most is suddenly gone. But, is all hope lost? Is the one that Merry held dear to her heart gone?

Only time and reading A LICK OF FROST will answer any and all of these questions, and leave you with even more. I felt honored, and still do, to have been given the chance to read it before publication. I cannot wait to see what the final copy will look like, and hope to get the pleasure of reading more of the ‘Merry Gentry’ Series in the future.

Ms. Hamilton has shown what she is made of and grabs you from the first word to the last, leaving you wanting more. Ballentine Books continues to stand at the top, continually producing truly exceptional books.


Dee
ENCHANTING REVIEWS
October 2007