Merry Gentry
#2574.07 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 9 books Status Ongoing 2000–present Reading commitment High Laurell K. Hamilton Last reviewed 2026-08-30
Overview
Merry Gentry is Laurell K. Hamilton's adult urban-fantasy sequence following Meredith "Merry" Gentry, a princess of the unseelie fae court living in hiding in modern Los Angeles as a private investigator, before being drawn back into a deadly succession struggle for the throne. It ran from A Kiss of Shadows (2000) through A Shiver of Light (2014), nine novels in print so far. Hamilton has described Merry as a way of writing a protagonist who is entirely comfortable with her own sexuality, deliberately setting her apart from the author's other long-running heroine, Anita Blake; the series follows Merry's race to conceive an heir before her rival cousin as the only way to claim the Unseelie throne, uncovering fertility problems affecting both fae courts along the way. A Kiss of Shadows debuted on national bestseller lists, and the series overall built a large, dedicated readership across its run, though critical reception grew more mixed in the later installments.
Urban fantasy, Romantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (9 works) counts toward ranking
Merry Gentry Laurell K. Hamilton
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | A Kiss of Shadows | 2000 | 1 | core | 4.02 (61,812 ratings) |
 | A Caress of Twilight | 2002 | 2 | core | 4.08 (43,030 ratings) |
 | Seduced by Moonlight | 2004 | 3 | core | 4.08 (38,756 ratings) |
 | A Stroke of Midnight | 2005 | 4 | core | 4.10 (36,006 ratings) |
 | Mistral's Kiss | 2006 | 5 | core | 4.07 (34,463 ratings) |
 | A Lick of Frost | 2007 | 6 | core | 4.16 (33,827 ratings) |
 | Swallowing Darkness | 2008 | 7 | core | 4.17 (31,355 ratings) |
 | Divine Misdemeanors | 2009 | 8 | core | 4.08 (27,041 ratings) |
 | A Shiver of Light | 2014 | 9 | core | 3.86 (17,463 ratings) |
Nine published novels; a tenth was announced as delivered to the author's editor but not yet published, so Core Canon here covers only the nine already in print.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Merry Gentry? Merry Gentry's Core Canon is 9 books.
- What is the reading order for Merry Gentry? Publication order, starting with A Kiss of Shadows. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Merry Gentry finished? Ongoing (2000–present).
- How much reading does Merry Gentry take? High reading commitment (estimated from 9 Core Canon books · ~2,904 pages).
- How is Merry Gentry ranked? #257 in this site's official ranking, based on 323,753 reader ratings across 9 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #257?
Ranked #257 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.07 across 9 core books.
- Backed by 324k reader ratings.
- Less than 0.01 behind #256, All Souls Universe (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 9 books · Ongoing · 324k ratings · Ranks #257 overall
Good choice if you want a long-running urban fantasy universe that's still ongoing, with new books still coming.
Reading order
Publication order (9 Core Canon books)
- A Kiss of Shadows (2000)
- A Caress of Twilight (2002)
- Seduced by Moonlight (2004)
- A Stroke of Midnight (2005)
- Mistral's Kiss (2006)
- A Lick of Frost (2007)
- Swallowing Darkness (2008)
- Divine Misdemeanors (2009)
- A Shiver of Light (2014)
Documented internal/story chronology is recorded for every Core Canon book here, and matches publication order exactly, with no divergence to show separately.
Awards (verified)
- No awards found for this universe.
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- Alex Verus Urban fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 4.17
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.07 across 323,753 ratings on 9 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon Extension: The Wolves of Mercy Falls, Merry Gentry, The Imager Portfolio accepted 2026-08-30
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-08-31
Rule: Core Canon is the nine already-published novels. A tenth novel was announced as delivered to the author's editor but is not yet published, so it is not counted here. This is a confirmed separate, unrelated universe from Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, despite sharing an author.