A lick of Frost - Laurell K Hamilton

You know me. I am Meredith Gentry, princess and heir apparent to the throne in the realm of Faerie; one-time private investigator in the mortal world. You also know my circumstances: to be crowned queen, I must first continue the royal bloodline, and give birth to an heir of my own.If I fail, then my aunt, Queen Andais, will be free to do what she most desires: install her twisted son, Cel, as monarch . . . and kill me.

My royal guards surround me, and my best loved - my Darkness and my Killing Frost - are always beside me, sworn to protect and make love to me. But still the threat grows greater. For despite my eager carnal efforts, I remain childless and all the while the machinations of my sinister, sadistic Queen and her confederates remain tireless. So my bodyguards and I slipped back into Los Angeles - hoping to outrun the gathering shadows of court intrigue. But even exile wasn't far enough to escape the grasp of those with dark designs upon us.

Now, King Taranis, powerful and vainglorious ruler of Faerie's Seelie court, has accused my noble guards of a heinous crime - and gone so far as to ask the mortal authorities to prosecute them. If he succeeds, my men face extradition to Faerie - and the hideous penalties that await there. But I know Taranis' charges are baseless - his true target is me. He tried to kill me when I was a child. Now, I fear his intentions are far more terrifying.

Between the darkest faerie magic and the deepest desires of the flesh lies the world of Meredith Gentry - princess, private eye and powerful player in a deadly game of supernatural and sexual intrigue...

Laurell K. Hamilton is the No.1New York Timesbestselling author of the Meredith Gentry novels -A Kiss of Shadows, A Caress of Twilight, Seduced by Moonlight, A Stroke of MidnightandMistral's Kiss- and the acclaimed Anita Blake Vampire Hunter novels. She lives in St Louis, Missouri. Her website iswww.laurellkhamilton.org