Meridio's Daughter

This is one of the best lesbian novels I've ever read. I don't make that praise lightly. I've read hundreds of books in this genre and I have much to compare it to. LJ Maas is an extremely gifted writer and this book shows her talent.The story is gripping, exciting, suspenseful and a true page-turner. I found myself unable to put it down and at the same time, I was disappointed as I got closer to the end because I didn't want to be finished with it. I need more of this story and you will too. As soon as I finished this book, I started to reread it - it's that good!What makes it so good? The story is exciting. The characters are compelling. The writing is clean and solid. You won't find sloppy editing or a plot with holes in it. It's a great story - packed with action. The sex is so hot. The emotions are real. The writer knows how to hook the reader and keep her on the edge of her seat.

I didn't write a review of this book when I read it because there were already so many, but I felt compelled to return to it. This is a story that stays with you. As I've read more lesbian literature, I find myself often comparing those stories to this one. There is something about this book that keeps drawing you back, to the stories and the characters. I don't usually reread books, what's the point? But I find that I can't let loose of this one. Granted, some parts need work and it's another one in the tradition of the Xena stories, but, in the end, it just doesn't matter. I've read all of Maas' books and this one is the best. I don't know if I hope that she writes a sequel. The first one is so good that a follow up might ruin it. You'll like this book.

Well-researched, well-written and excellently plotted -- this book has it all. As reviewer MJ Lowe says, you need not know Xena to enjoy every bit of this book.Which begs the question, doesn't it -- when the writing is this good and the setting so luscious, why must one woman be tall, older and dark-haired and the other young, naive and blonde? Maas's writing is good enough that Xena and Gabrielle were only starting points. She takes these traits and makes them over in two new, refreshing characters.Like Lori Lake, LJ Maas doesn't need the Xena crutch. It's fun for the Xena fans but I would love to see the wings really stretch for this writer. With writing and imagination like this I bet Maas would do just fine with two redheads of the same age and height.

Everyone has secrets in this fast paced thriller by L.J. Maas. Andreas Meridio is a powerful and prominent businessman and olive grower on the Greek island of Mykonos. What his daughter, Cassandra doesn't know is that he is also the "Mangas" or godfather of the Greek black market in certain illegal goods. The 25 year old Casey is returning to Greece for the first time in six years, having completed graduate work in Classical studies and anthropology. She has been chosen to assist with an archaeological dig near Athens. The petite blond has spent most of her life since the age of five in America, although each summer until she started college was spent with her father. Casey also has a secret. Her traditional, "Old World" Greek father doesn't know that his accomplished archaeologist daughter is a lesbian. Then there is Tessa Nikolaidis, the beautiful and deadly Right Hand or "Kare" of Meridio. Openly lesbian Nikki, as she is known to friends, holds the most potent secrets of all. She has reasons and plans for revenge against Meridio. Life gets complicated when Nikki, entrusted with the safety of Meridio's daughter finds herself falling in love for the first time in her life, with Casey. It is a relationship of which Meridio would never approve. The open and honest Casey sees no reason to deny her feelings for Nikki. The two women finally compromise and begin a clandestine affair. Meanwhile Casey is once again haunted by dreams she can't remember reflecting events from 20 years ago. The same events that prompted her mother's decision to leave Greece. Meridio's Daughter is a suspenseful and engrossing story with a few plot twists. Maas provides wonderful depictions of the Greek islands, its culture (and lesbian subculture!) as well as interesting characters. Casey's post traumatic stress is handled reasonably and moves the plot. There is plenty of erotic play for Nikki and Casey that serves to further develop the characters and their relationship. Technically this novel could be considered Xena uber for those who might enjoy seeing it. However, happily the story requires no understanding of the show to be appreciated. L.J. Maas also created the lovely cover of this book (and several other books by this press) that matches the mood of the culture and climate. After reading Meridio's Daughter, this reader will be looking for other Maas novels.

It was 3:15 am by the time I finished this gem and it promptly shot its way straight into my list of all-time favorites. Set amidst the breathtaking beauty of the Greek Isles, this is a riveting epic about family ties, old traditions, deadly dealings and those bittersweet passions of the heart. Returning to Greece after living most of her life in the United States, Cassandra Meridio is looking forward to settling into a new life and new career and seeing the father she hasn't spent time with in over six years. Daughter of one of the wealthiest and most powerful businessman in the country, Casey expects to have to deal often with her father's "Karê" - or right-hand man. What she doesn't expect is the surprise greeting her at the airport when Andreas Meridio's Karê doesn't turn out to be a man at all, but a woman - and one with the most beautiful eyes Casey has ever seen. Tall, dark and beyond deadly, Tessa Nikolaidis has built a reputation throughout the region which serves her well as Meridio's Karê and which ensures his daughter will be safe under her care. Entrusted with the young woman's safety, Tessa finds herself spending more and more time with Casey and feeling emotions for her employer's daughter she knows she should not have - emotions which could eventually end up hurting them both more than any assassin's bullets. Fighting a losing cause, the Karê is helpless nevertheless to stop the young woman's incursion into her heart. Together they will chart a course that will have them experiencing a love unlike anything either has ever known even as it leads them also toward a fateful confrontation with the past and the certainty of future heartbreak. LJ has crafted a novel here that exceptionally well-written and entertaining. Tessa and Casey are two of the most engaging characters you'll ever come across - two fascinating women with an inner strength that grows even more intense as the connection between them gives them the determination to fight both inner fears and the deadly evils of a world where a love like theirs could endanger even their very lives. The storyline is beautifully paced with moments of suspense, humor, passion, romance, action and despair all intricately weaved into a fictional tapestry that will have you engaged from page one through the last. It simply does NOT get better than this guys. A phenomenal TOUR-DE-FORCE that gets my HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION!