Merry Gentry
#2274.07 of 664 ranked universes · 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.
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? #227 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 323,753 reader ratings across 9 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #227?
Ranked #227 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 4.07 across 9 core books.
- Backed by 324k reader ratings.
- Less than 0.01 behind #226, Gotrek and Felix (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 #227 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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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.