Maybe I made a mistake starting with a book that's 3rd in a series without reading the earlier ones first. I gave it up at page 118 as I just couldn't get engaged by the characters.
My previous experience with the Anita Blake series led me to this book hoping for a gutsy heroine and lots of action. There is action and descriptions of odd characters with extra eyes and magic skills. Guess I didn't make it to the sexy parts, as they mostly were talking about it, trying to be lyrical, but somehow the characters weren't coming alive for me so I gave it up.
I didn't want to pan this book entirely, knowing Laurell Hamilton's abilities, she might pull it together, but I just wasn't willing to keep soldiering on hoping for a turn around.

First, let me say I love the Merry Gentry series, but to each his own. I do think they need to be read in order since they follow a relatively limited time span (think *days* - not weeks or months), and keep in mind that there is very little plot to get in the way of the sex and violence at which Ms Hamilton excells!

With that being said, DO NOT BUY THE AUDIO BOOK. I've already written the same thing about Stroke of Midnight, but where did the publisher dredge up Laural Merlington to read these books? She is undoubtedly the WORST reader I've ever had the misfortune to hear. For example (and I am not kidding about this), what would possess a reader to pronounce the name Doyle as "dole"? AFTER PRONOUNCING IT CORRECTLY IN HER READINGS OF THE FIRST TWO BOOKS???? I am mystified. The reading of proper names shifts from book to book in incredibly annoying ways. Add to this the coming and going of a faux British accent (mostly faux Scots) and you end up with the worst reading ever of any book. If I could rate this 0 stars, I would (though I'm miffed that it all gets rolled into a cumulative rating for the title, not a separate rating for the audiobook). Don't say I didn't warn you...

This is a pretty good Merry Gentry book overall. There are some good twists and turns. A good book, as long as you have read the rest of the series.

This is the 3th book in the series about Princess Meredith of the faerie Unseelie Court. The faeries are broken up into the Seelie Court of Light and Illusion and the Unseelie Court of Air and Darkeness. To become heir to the throne of the Unseelie Court the Queen has set both Meredith and her sadistic son Prince Cel on a race to become/get someone pregnant, to insure that the blood lines will survive.

Merry while being a private investigator is trying to become pregnant. Due to the bloodlines dying out in her species you cannot marry unless you are able to get pregnant by the person. The Queen has given Merry a number of her Ravens to try to get pregnant by and you can see some of the starting to fall in love with her and her feelings grow for them.

Something new is happening when Merry mates with some of her guards, they are coming back into their long lost powers. As she is turning them into what they once were no one is sure how far her powers will take everyone. Merry is also cementing her deal for alliance with the Goblins and the Sluagh.

Merry and her entourage go back to the sithen when called by the Queen. When they get there they find that something is drastically wrong. Not only is there an attempt on Merrys life but the Queen is out of control. Someone has bespelled her and she is jeopardy of destroying her entire court. Merry is able to stop the coup attempt and they are able to determine who is behind it.

Here again many have complained about the sex in the book. If you don't like it don't read it. There are a lot of other things going on during the 2 days, alliances are made, and coups are defeated. Be aware this is and ADULT book.