I have been a fan of Laurell K Hamilton’s for several years beginning with her Anita Blake series. While sometimes her stories got lost in the sex, I have always enjoyed the tough girl characters. This latest offering with main character Merry Gentry aka Princess Meredith shows a softer side of the gutsy, faerie princess. After giving birth most women experience an array of hormone related emotions and fears, LKH portrayed these emotions beautifully and with a realism that was strikingly close to home. The changes in Merry and her lovers was believable and interestingly woven into the next phase of the princess’ life. The moral issue of racism and bigotry was very real and crosses the line from fantasy to everyday. While not preaching tolerance, LKH showed us how our ignorance can turn from fear to fanatical. Learning to accept ourselves isn’t always easy alone, having someone love us and accept our differences and appreciate them is all most of us really want in this life. LKH accomplished this with a poetry of words and descriptions, a spirituality and uplifting saga. This was one of the best stories in a legacy of incredible story telling.