ARC Review: A Shiver of Light by Laurell K. Hamilton

Princess Meredith Nic Essus, Princess of Flesh and Blood is expecting twins. After a doctor visit, she’s surprised to learn she actually has three babies on the way. They will be the first children born to a princess in centuries. Six men have fathered her children. The babies, two girls and one boy, are born early and the race to claim them is on. Each man sees his own traits, some obvious, others hidden. The girls are showing powers beyond their age, one can bespell a human with a glance. Nonhuman nannies are hired immediately. The extended family is staying with a movie star, Maeve Reed and her son. The tabloids are drooling for pictures of Meredith and her children. Her great aunt and great uncle want access too. She is the Queen of the Unseelie Court and he is the King of the Seelie Court. Meredith has claim to both thrones. The palace intrigue is rampant in the story. Alliances are made and broken. Everyone knows Meredith is the key to the future. Dead or alive.

Meredith is a strong leader and treats everyone fairly. She has amassed plenty of support from other beings. She straddles her world and the human world very well. Her late father was the queen’s beloved brother. Both royals have attacked her over the years. She treads lightly, planning revenge on both.

Meredith’s two main squeezes are Doyle(Darkness) and Frost(Killing Frost). Both are former guards to the Queen. Noble, faithful, and devoted to Meredith, they will make excellent fathers. They protect and defend at all costs. They can’t get enough of her and she feels the same way. She has many lovers, but her heart belongs to these two.

The secondary characters all have supernatural traits. Meredith has attracted a wide array of characters. Giants with bleeding heads, green men, storm gods, goblins, and many things that go bump and grind in the night.

This story doesn’t resolve many issues. The family is trying to decide whether to star in a reality show for the much needed money. Meredith has a title and supernatural powers, but not much cash. A major character is killed. The trail leads to one of the courts so a decision will have to be made to attack or renegotiate treaties.

Spoiler alert: I’m a huge Laurell K. Hamilton fan. This is the Merry Gentry series of books. Her other books are the Anita Blake series. To know the players and the history, the books must be read in order.

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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