Readers tired of mild modern fairy-tales about nice, polite elves may want to explore the Meredith Gentry series, which remembers that Faerie was originally a dark, dangerous realm of sex and violence. Hamilton's Queen of Air and Darkness is a vicious killer and torturer, and many of her fay drink blood or practice kinky sex (or both). Under royal orders to bed many males, Merry is far from averse; she and several lovers hit the bedroom on page 8 of Seduced by Moonlight and don't emerge until page 175. There's no shortage of sex, but not as much as the page count may indicate; the characters like to talk and sulk even more than they like to fornicate. The large cast and complicated backstory make this book the wrong starting point; newcomers should begin with the first novel, A Kiss of Shadows. --Cynthia Ward