What's on the Nightstand? #15, #16, #17 and #18 A Lick of Frost, Swallowing Darkness, Divine Misdemeanors and Bullet

    What an amazing day! The sun was so bright and the sky so blue I could hardly stand it. Big changes coming up this week for the book after having a marathon conversation with my writer friend M tonight. Even now I'm having to force myself to finish my few weekly tasks so I can jump head-long into everything we discussed while my brain is still percolating. As you can see by the four books on the blog today I've been keeping myself busy with reading while I waited for M to bring the hammer down on me haha! No worries, I asked her to tear it apart. It was an awesome experience picking things apart with her. What a talent and a true gift and opportunity to have knowledgeable eyes lent to my work.

    Due to the extensive time I need to put into the book, in the next few weeks my blog entries will be down to one per week in order to utilize the rest of the time for writing. Once a dental assistant always a dental assistant, so my organization meter is at def-con 4 right about now. So much to do! This week I'll be planning my writing schedule, advising the troops on their duty schedule and preparing the appropriate pieces for sneak peek releases which is another very excited thing coming up fast. Keep those peepers peeled folks! Good things are on the way.
Till Then,
Katie

A Lick of Frost by Laurell K. Hamilton

    In this installment of Meredith Gentry's story, Princess and heir apparent to the throne in the realm of faerie and one time private investigator in mortal world, things are becoming very dangerous. Merry is surrounded by her royal guards at all times due to the threat from her nutty cousin Cel. But even with her Darkness and Killing Frost by her side, Merry still isn't truly safe and neither are her men now that they hold her heart.  

    Add to it that the fact that her uncle Taranis, King of Light and Illusion's, cheese has officially slipped off his cracker and even exile isn't safe for Merry anymore. She's got one chance to save all those she cares for. Merry has to give birth to a new heir. Slipping back to Los Angeles, in the hope of outrunning the gathering shadows of court intrigue, Merry soon fears even that won't be enough to escape the grasp of those with dark designs.

Swallowing Darkness by Laurell K. Hamilton

    This is the continuation of Merry's story, and as the title hints to, much more about Merry and Darkness (aka) Doyle. Merry is leaning on her men heavily in this installment. She's battered and wore to a frazzle. The world as they all have known it for thousands of years is changing rapidly and Merry is trying to keep up. Whether she and Doyle will make it through together remains a mystery. 

Divine Misdemeanors by Laurell K. Hamilton 

This is Laurell's most recent book detailing Merry's story. In this installment, Merry has attempted to go back to the life she once new in L.A. Considering she's the last remaining faerie princess, that's easier said than done. The paparazzi are making the lives of all Merry's people miserable along with making it nearly impossible to work as a private investigator. Merry only thought she left court politics behind her. She soon comes to realize that evil knows no borders and nobody lives forever-even if they are magical.

    I LOVE these books! Laurell has one of the most amazing imaginations I've encountered in years. Merry's story begins with A Kiss of Shadows, A Caress of Twilight, Seduced by Moonlight, A Stroke of Midnight, Mistral's Kiss, A Lick of Frost, Swallowing Darkness and Divine Misdemeanors. Now you can read these books out of order, but I don't recommend it. There is so much detail and so many bits and pieces of each character that if you don't discover them in order you will really miss something. I've listed them here in correct order. If you love fantasy as much as I do then you should really get to know Merry, she doesn't disappoint!

Bullet by Laurell K. Hamilton

    Bullet is number 19 in this series and the most recent installment in Anita Blake's adventures. Anita is back at it in St. Louis and trying to live a normal life as resident federal vampire executioner and necromancer. Considering the complexities of Anita's version of normal, it remains to be seen how successful she gonna be. There's no way for me to tell you more about this story without giving things away.

    Anita's story is so incredible I'm going to do something I would never normally do and stress that you read these books in order. Of course they can be read out of sequence as they are all wonderful but you will be so lost on most of the important details and back stories! Ask me how I know, well I tried it. There are dozens and dozens of fantastical characters in Anita's story so there's no way to really understand them all  without going to the beginning to keep up. I can't describe how much more I enjoyed the series the second time through in order. Since there are so many books, I won't list them all here but you can click on the link and see them all in order starting with Guilty Pleasures. http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/h/laurell-k-hamilton/ As with Merry's series, Laurell's fantastic imagination spins yarns that leave me giddy for more. Anita is girl power to the tenth and is witty as the day is long making her one of my most favorite characters! If you're looking for a new series to fall into, these two don't disappoint.

Till then,

Katie

Laurell K. Hamilton is the New York Times bestselling author of the Meredith Gentry novels as well as soon to be twenty (2011, Hit List) acclaimed Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, novels. She lives in St. Louis, Missouri.

 To find out more about Laurell's upcoming titles visit her website, blog and follow her on Twitter. http://www.laurellkhamilton.org/index.php

@LKHamilton