I am Meredith, princess of faerie, wielder of the hands of Flesh and Blood, and at long last, I am with child–twins, fathered by my royal guard. Though my uncle, Taranis, King of Light and Illusion, claims that he is the true father since he abducted me from my home, betrayed, and defiled me. And now he has branded my guards as a threat to my unborn children.

Bearing an heir has placed me halfway to my aunt’s throne, that much closer to my reign over the Unseelie Court–and well ahead of her son, my cousin Cel, in this race. Now I must stay alive to see my children born and claim my place as queen.

But not all in faerie are pleased with the news, and conspirators from every court in the realm plot against me and mine. They seek to strip my guards, my lovers, from me by poisoned word or cold steel. But I still have supporters, and even friends, among the goblins and the sluagh, who will stand by me.

I am Meredith Nic Essus, and those who would defy and destroy me are destined to pay a terrible price–for I am truly my father’s daughter. To protect what is mine, I will sacrifice anything–even if it means waging a great battle against my darkest enemies and making the most momentous decision ever made as princess of faerie.





From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Rating:
Summary: Lots of loose ends!
Comment: First thing I did after reading some of the reviews here was visit www.laurellkhamilton.com. There I found the following: "Rumor Control: Swallowing Darkness is NOT the last Merry book. Her saga has not yet ended." 'nuff said there.
As for the book itself ...
1. I was happy to see that not every other page was devoted to sex. Throughout the first two or three books, it was all good. But after the six books prior to this one, I was tired of being slapped in the face with it at practically every page turn. "Swallowing Darkness" certainly isn't sex-free, but it's refreshingly less prevalent.
2. It's hard to say a whole lot without spoiling it for those who haven't read it yet. But I have to ask: is it just me, or are there too dang many cliffhangers in this one? For instance, is Taranis brought to justice? What happens to Andais and her court? What about the babies? Those are just a few of the unanswered questions that really irritated me. I realize the publishers, etc., want us all to read the next book, but let's not ANNOY the readers, OK? This is the main reason I gave the book less than 5 stars. I can only hope the next book is released swiftly!
3. Not necessarily related JUST to this book in the series, but ... wouldn't it be cool if Merry and Anita teamed up on a case? Just a thought!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Took a little bit to get into...
Comment: It took me a little bit to get into this book. I love the Merry Gentry series but the beginning of Swallowing Darkness seemed a little dull to me. However it started picking up for me towards the middle and I was very happy about that. I can't believe that LKH is going to continue the series. In my opinion, this would have been the perfect ending to the books. But who knows, maybe she'll surprise us with something bigger and better?!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: SO HAPPY THIS IS NOT THE LAST BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Comment: 1ST THING I HAVE TO SAY I DID NOT LIKE C. BLACK THE READER OF THE BOOK!!!
IT WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER WITH LAURAL MERLINGTON!!!!!!!!!!
2ND U CAN NOT MAKE EVERYONE LIKE WHAT U DO!!!!!!!!
SOME PEOPLE HAVE SOME OVER DRAWN OUT REVIEWS ABOUT HOW THEY DID NOT LIKE THE BOOK. (TO EACH HIS ON!) THE BOOK WAS GOOD, I ALWAYS GET LAURELL HAMILTON BOOKS ON AUDIO AND I LIKE HOW THE WHOLE THING COMES TOGETHER. THE VOICE AND THE STORY LINE IS ALWAYS GOOD. ALSO THE BOOK DO NOT ALWAYS HAVE TO BE ABOUT SEX TO MAKE IT AN OUTSTANDING READ. IF U GO ON HAMILTON WEB SITE IT WILL TELL U THIS IS NOT THE LAST BOOK. I BELIEVE SHE IS GOING TO DO 4 MORE BOOKS UP TO BOOK 11.

IT WAS NOT THE BEST, BUT THE BOOK WAS STILL GOOD TO LISTEN TO. IT FELT LIKE SHE WAS MISSING SOME CHARACTERS OUT OF THE STORY. WITH SOME PARTS OF THE STORY I THOUGHT SHE WAS GOING TO LOSE EVERYONE. WHO KNEW THAT HER COUSIN CEL KILLED HER FATHER AND SHE SHOULD HAVE KILLED HIM FOR IT. SO, HE IS NO LONGER IN THE STORY LINE. THE QUEEN OF AIR AND DARKNESS, MEREDITH'S MOTHER, AND UNCLE SHOULD HAVE PAID FOR WHAT THEY DID TO HER.
I LIKE HOW THEY GOT FROST BACK AND SHE IS WITH KIDS.

IF, SHE DO WRITE MORE ABOUT MEREDITH GENTRY I WOULD LOVE TO SEE HOW EVERYTHING TURN OUT WITH THE KIDS ON THE WAY AND HER CRAZY FAMILY. IF U HAVE ALL OF THE BOOKS FROM MEREDITH THIS WOULD BE A GOOD BOOK TO ADD TO UR COLLECTION.
PICK UP THE BOOK HAVE FUN LISTENING OR READING.
U COULD LIKE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Swallowing Darkness (Meredith Gentry, Book 7)

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Quiet simply, Boring!
Comment: The question you need to ask yourself is why read this? The plot is gone, there is hardly any good tension between characters or any hot sex scenes, what is left is the most pathetic attempt at a novel I've had the misfortune to read. I can't believe I spent money on this drivel. Despite the decline in recent years of both the Blake and Gentry series they have generally remained entertaining on some level, a bit akin to eating a donut - empty calories. That pure escapist fun which kept me reading despite the disappearance of anything resembling intellect was absent in this novel. Yuck! I want my money back!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: the Waiting is over
Comment: I was not disappointed in number 7. I liked how she clarified things and brought other things to full circle. I can't wait for the next one.

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