Divine Misdemeanors (Meredith Gentry, Bk 8) by Laurell K. Hamilton

I love the Meredith Gentry books. And I love that Meredith seems to finally be getting her "Happily Ever After".

I mean, sure... real life isn't actually happily ever after, but what she's got now is about as close as anyone could come, I think.

She's got her men around her, she's pregnant, and people aren't trying to kill her from every direction imaginable anymore.

I like Merry, and I'm really happy for her.

That's not to say that there will be no more change, because I have a feeling that in future books things are going to get crazy again. But Swallowing Darkness tied up a whole bunch of story arcs, and this one's job was to get more story arcs started, I think. And it was nice to see Merry enjoying herself a bit, getting her bearings in her new life, while that happened.

I'm also really interested in seeing where LKH takes things with the Goddess doing things for humans now, since Faery apparently wasn't all that interested in the fact that she re-appeared. There are so many things that can happen next, and while I admit I'm a bit disappointed that we didn't see some of that in this book, I'm perfectly happy with the things that did happen in this book, and with the plot arcs that I saw starting.

There were a few things I didn't like about the book. A few times I heard Anita talking, not Merry, and it was disconcerting - it jarred me out of the story. Also, Galen and Nathaniel sometimes seem the same to me, and that bugs me... "But this was Galen, and he usually makes my life easier, not harder". That's Nathaniel, please don't turn Galen into Nathaniel. They both have the long hair, they are both a bit shorter than the others, etc.

Okay, with all of that, here's the blurb for Divine Misdemeanors:

You may know me best as Meredith Nic Essus, princess of faerie. Or perhaps as Merry Gentry, Los Angeles private eye. In the fey and mortal realms alike, my life is the stuff of royal intrigue and celebrity drama. Among my own, I have confronted horrendous enemies, endured my noble kin’s treachery and malevolence, and honored my duty to conceive a royal heir—all for the right to claim the throne. But I turned my back on court and crown, choosing exile in the human world—and in the arms of my beloved Frost and Darkness.

While I may have rejected the monarchy, I cannot abandon my people. Someone is killing the fey, which has left the LAPD baffled and my guardsmen and me deeply disturbed. My kind are not easily captured or killed. At least not by mortals. I must get to the bottom of these horrendous murders, even if that means going up against Gilda, the Fairy Godmother, my rival for fey loyalties in Los Angeles.

But even stranger things are happening. Mortals I once healed with magic are suddenly performing miracles, a shocking phenomenon wreaking havoc on human/faerie relations. Though I am innocent, dark suspicions of banned magical activities swirl around me.

I thought I’d left the blood and politics behind in my own turbulent realm. I had dreamed of an idyllic life in sunny L.A. with my beloved ones beside me. But it becomes time to wake up and realize that evil knows no borders, and that nobody lives forever—even if they’re magical.

Honestly, the plot in this book takes a bit of a backseat - mostly we get to see Merry living with her men and trying to get them settled into LA while she figures out how to be pregnant and work while her men are being overprotective of her.

Book Rating, Divine Misdemeanors: 7 of 10
Series Rating, Meredith Gentry: 10 of 10

I'm giving Divine Misdemeanors an 8 of 10, and I'm leaving the series at a 10 of 10.




1. A Kiss of Shadows (2000)
2. A Caress of Twilight (2002)
3. Seduced by Moonlight (2004)
4. A Stroke of Midnight (2005)
5. Mistral's Kiss (2006)
6. A Lick of Frost (2007)
7. Swallowing Darkness (2008)
8. Divine Misdemeanors (2009)