Review: Faefever by Karen Marie Moning

Title: Faefever
Author: Karen Marie Moning
Series: Fever, Book 3
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Release Date: 16 September 2008

Mac's quest for the Sinsar Dubh takes her into the mean, shape-shifting streets of Dublin, with a suspicious cop on her tail. Forced into a dangerous triangle of alliance with V'lane, an insatiable Fae prince of lethally erotic tastes, and Jericho Barrons, a man of primal desires and untold secrets, Mac is soon locked in a battle for her body, mind, and soul.

As All Hallows Eve approaches and the city descends into chaos, as a shocking truth about the Dark Book is uncovered, not even Mac can prevent a deadly race of immortals from shattering the walls between worlds with devastating consequences.

I never wrote a review for this before. How the hell is that even possible? Scratch that. I know why. This book is ... world-changing, heart-breaking, intense, mind-blowing. I'm not sure that I could ever begin to do justice to the emotions that I feel throughout it.

Even now, even knowing how things turn out, what happens and how it all goes down, I was on the edge of my seat for the entirety of this book, needing to see, needing to know.

Spoiler-free? This book is amazing. I quoted as much as I could without spoilering anywhere, but there's so much more that I wanted to. Even in this, dark as it sometimes is, there was a great amount of humor, and I wished I could share more of it.

If the walls come down completely, all the Unseelie will be freed, not just the lower castes that are currently managing to get through somehow. The most powerful of the Unseelie Royal Houses will escape." He paused and when he spoke again, his voice was low, urgent. "Myth equates the heads of those four houses, the dark princes, with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse."

I knew who they were: Death, Pestilence, War, and Famine.

Mac's Growth: I love how consistently it's increased. Mac doesn't just become stronger and better and smarter. She learns - sometimes difficultly - and grows organically. I know that some people have issues with Mac in the first few books, but I get her. Even when I want her to trust Barrons, I applaud her for not. Yes, he gives plenty of reasons to, but there are those times when his actions are more ambiguous. I love that she doesn't trust him just because. I love that she doesn't really trust anyone, except herself, and she's using all she can to make herself more self-reliant.

But left to my own devices I'd prefer to skim over the events of the next few weeks, and whisk you through those days with glossed-over details that cast me in a more flattering light.

Nobody looks good in their darkest hour. But it's those hours that make us what we are. We stand strong, or we cower. We emerge victorious, tempered by our trials, or fractured by a permanent, damning fault line.

I never used to think about thinks like darkest hours and trials and fault lines.

Barrons: That being said, god-damn, do I love this male. He's so freaking....everything. I can't even help it. The small moments of humour. The moments of approval. The moments where it's very clear he wants to help her become everything she can be. The way he ensures that she maintains her agency. And when he does answer questions? Damn. Love.

"What are you? I said irritably.

"In the Serengeti, Ms. Lane, I would be the cheetah. I'm stronger, smarter, faster, and hungrier than everything else out there. And I don't apologize to the gazelle when I take it down."

V'lane: I don't love V'lane. Never did. But in this book he ... became something different for me. He redeemed himself to a small degree, for a time...

"Your wards are laughable. They could not prevent a nightmare of me from getting in."

Sidhe-Seers: I love that there are more strong females out there. Females that have the will to make their own choices, even in the midst of crisis. This is probably my favorite thing about these books: Women are STRONG. Don't forget it.

"You are not one of us."

"I say she is, and she just got off to a bad start. She didn't have anyone to help her figure things out. How would you guys have done in the same situation? She's just trying to survive, like we all are."

The Plot: OMG. JFC. Everything's coming to a head. Things are getting real.

"Speaking of which, I've decided I see the wisdom of your advice."

"Has Hell frozen over?" he said dryly.

"Funny. I'm not going to ask you questions tonight, Barrons. I'm going to ask you for three actions."

Interest uncoiled like a dark snake in his eyes. "Go on."

This book was the hardest ending for me to read on my first read. It's dark. And final. And there was no Dreamfever in sight for more than a year. I had to wait, and speculate, and wonder. I'm glad I don't any longer.


Grade: A

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I've Got a Fever...

Well, in a manner of speaking, anyway. I'm talking about the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning. It has easily become one of my favorite series, and with just 2 books left in this planned 5 book series, I am anxious for the next book Dreamfever.

Currently I'm doing a re-read of the first book, Darkfever, in which MacKayla Lane (Mac) discovers that life isn't as easy and pink as she thought it was. Mac is a southern girl, who spends her days lounging by a pool trying to decide which color pink to paint her nails. Until she gets the call that her sister, Alina, has been murdered while studying abroad in Ireland.

As Mac puts it, her life is divided by this call, this line of demarcation, into the time before the call, when Alina was alive and the world was normal, and the time after the call, when everything she knew was wrong.

When I first picked up this book in November of 2006, I remember thinking that it looked like an interesting premise, set in one of my favorite countries in the world. Little did I know that I was in for a years long ride, waiting, biting nails, speculating, and ultimately left wondering what was going to happen next.

I've loved this series since I opened it. From the first chapter on. It's written in first person point-of-view, and Mac's voice is compelling to me. Seeing everything unfold through her eyes is, I think, the best way to experience this story. You learn, and question, and make mistakes right along with her. And then you learn from those mistakes.

I like that there's not always a good option. But sometimes Mac just has to take the best one available to her at the time. It may cause trouble later down the road, but it's really the only way at the time.

And I absolutely love Jericho Barrons. When Mac first meets him in Barrons Books and Baubles he's an immediately compelling character. You don't quite know if he falls on the side of good or not. Or if he's there to help Mac or not.

He's an enigma. Too many secrets, too much learned, and yet not nearly enough. Two and a half years later, and I still sit here speculating, thinking, and wondering about him.

And then there's V'lane. Prince of the Fae. Telling Mac he's there to help her. And everytime he sees her, she desires him so much that she strips on the spot. Because that's his nature. Incredibly hot. But is he helping Mac, or serving his own interests.

The story is compelling, interesting, and pulls you through all the twists and turns of Mac's journey to find her sister's killer and everything else going on that Mac had no idea about. Barrons calls her a lamb in a city of wolves. Can she survive long enough to do what she swore to do?

I've started a re-read on the series. Looking for the little tid-bits that might be clues, looking for things that are defintiely questions I hope to have answered, and just for the pure joy of reading the story.

The first book is Darkfever, then Bloodfever, and Faefever. All of these are released. Coming up is Dreamfever (August 25th 2009) and Shadowfever, which should be the final book in the series.