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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Review: Burned by Karen Marie Moning

Title: Burned
Author: Karen Marie Moning
Series: Fever, Book 7
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Release Date: 20 January 2015

It’s easy to walk away from lies. Power is another thing.

MacKayla Lane would do anything to save the home she loves. A gifted sidhe-seer, she’s already fought and defeated the deadly Sinsar Dubh—an ancient book of terrible evil—yet its hold on her has never been stronger.
When the wall that protected humans from the seductive, insatiable Fae was destroyed on Halloween, long-imprisoned immortals ravaged the planet. Now Dublin is a war zone with factions battling for control. As the city heats up and the ice left by the Hoar Frost King melts, tempers flare, passions run red-hot, and dangerous lines get crossed. Seelie and Unseelie vie for power against nine ancient immortals who have governed Dublin for millennia; a rival band of sidhe-seers invades the city, determined to claim it for their own; Mac’s former protégé and best friend, Dani “Mega” O’Malley, is now her fierce enemy; and even more urgent, Highland druid Christian MacKeltar has been captured by the Crimson Hag and is being driven deeper into Unseelie madness with each passing day. The only one Mac can depend on is the powerful, dangerous immortal Jericho Barrons, but even their fiery bond is tested by betrayal.

It’s a world where staying alive is a constant struggle, the line between good and evil gets blurred, and every alliance comes at a price. In an epic battle against dark forces, Mac must decide who she can trust, and what her survival is ultimately worth.

First things first, this cover. I hated it from the moment it was revealed. I mean, COME ON! We'd gone from beauties like this:


Beautiful. Each and every one of them. Then we get that monstrosity up there. It telegraphs sex. I guess that's pretty fitting because it's damn near all anyone in this book thinks about. That cover did not fill me with a great deal of hope, though. Not that I had a whole lot of it to begin with. Iced made me rage. I won't get into it here, but you can check out my review. Then there was the whole testing of the bond between Mac and Barrons that's alluded to in the blurb. I went into this book with some serious reservations. On the other hand, this is Karen Marie Moning! The author that blew me away in the original five books of the Fever series! I have faith! I had hope! I couldn't wait to see her make me eat my words of hate and irritation at Iced.

I'm avoiding SPOILERS for Burned in this review, but fair warning - there are going to be SPOILERS for Darkfever through Iced discussed.

Burned did not do that for me. While I didn't finish it wanting to throw it out the window, stomp on it, burn it, and then scatter the ashes, I also didn't finish with that beautiful feeling of having stepped from a world that amazed, having just listened to the most incredible story, told by a girl with verve, audacity, passion and brains.

I want to end this review on a positive note, I want to think positively about where the series is going in the future - so, I'm starting with the negatives. It took me about 3 days to read this book, only reading a few hours a day, because I spent the entire time taking notes. In the end I have over fifteen pages of notes on this book, and a severe disappointment - but again, I have hope (why, yes, I might be a masochistic optimist) for the future of the series.

Instead of the consuming story I had hoped for, I was treated to 400 pages of the author explaining everything that I, as a reader, was too dense to understand in Iced, sprinkled with a few truly great moments and teasers. Yes, I complained - a lot - about the adult, immortal men in Iced lusting over Dani, a 14-year-old-girl and abusing her. Yes, I said, on more than one occasion, that if KMM wanted to include sex (or innuendo) in this series I wanted it to wait until Dani was older. I don't think that's too much to ask. I was told by the author in interviews that I'd read the story wrong.

That went over well.

So, KMM took to Burned to explain exactly how wrong I was. Every.Single.Thing I had an issue with in Iced is contemplated, dissected, discussed and thought about. That's not even counting the moments where previous canon is being re-written. Things that were clearly stated in the previous six books were suddenly not the same. Facts are twisted. All of it telling me how wrong I was in my interpretation of the events that occurred. From multiple character points-of-view. There were meta-speeches in characters minds repeating the same words I've read KMM say in interviews. I can't even say how much this pisses me off. SHOW me I was wrong, don't tell me; don't have (multiple) characters TELL me. I want to SEE that I was wrong, not hear it. I've been hearing you, KMM, say how wrong I was for the last couple of years. Luckily, this is the only real rage-inducing thing I experienced while reading, and I'm pretty much over it. I get it. I do. KMM took a lot of flack and answered a lot of questions about the choices she made in Iced. Pedophilia was brought up frequently, frequently enough for her to address it in a FAQ (which has since been removed from her blog). That's bound to put anyone on the defensive. So I'm trying not to be too mad about this. I just wish that she'd not felt the need to cram this stuff down my throat and let the story speak for itself.

They fence me in with teenage rules that don’t hold me for shit, seeing how I grew up. You can kill but don’t cuss. Break any rule necessary to save the world but don’t watch porn or even think about having sex. How do they come up with this stuff--hold parental powwows for brainstorming diametrically opposed ethics?

You probably know, if you've read my Iced review, that Ryodan was my biggest problem in its pages. The vibe that he gave off when he was with Dani - one of waiting for her to grow up (she's FOURTEEN, and he's been watching her a LONG time), so he could have the woman she'd become - squicked me out. Then there's the abuse: holding her without food or water for three days, because reasons; slamming her face into a stone pillar, repeatedly; breaking her finger...Yup. I hated him. I hated everything about him. Prior to Iced I had kind of liked Ryodan. I didn't know enough to love or hate, but I was leaning towards like. Then all of that went down - and honestly that felt kind of out of character, too - and I'm not sure I'll ever like the bastard again. I can love an asshole - see Barrons; I can get down with manipulative - see Barrons again; I can handle secretive - hello? Barrons still; but abusive and a pedo vibe? Not so much.

"That's not why I watched over her."

"Bullshit. We all saw the woman she could become."

Anyway, that's rehashing the past. However, that's something that KMM excels at in Burned, so I guess I'm not too far off point. In these pages we learn that everything we thought we knew...we were wrong. Ryodan's not an abusive asshole - he didn't mean to break her finger, he forgot how fragile humans were; he didn't hold her for three days, chained in his basement, because he's a controlling freak - he did it for her own-fucking-good. There wasn't a pedo-vibe to his interactions with her, he was a guardian angel, protecting her, being her pillar, holding the roof up while she re-laid her foundation. What-the-eff-ever. I'm not buying what you're selling, KMM. No matter how many different characters sit and extol Ryodan's virtues, realizing what a nice guy he is.

I find myself questioning everything I thought I knew about Ryodan. Running prior conversations through my mind, realizing the man I believed moderately intelligent and highly manipulative of others--to their own detriment and destruction--is in fact highly intelligent and enormously manipulative of others, but I've begun to suspect it's because he's trying to fix what he perceives as the things they want fixed but don't know how. He sees the bird's-eye view and takes the hard, catalytic actions. Unsettling, disturbing to those of us that don't, makes it easy to call him bastard, heartless.

But why would he bother?

There are only two possibilities: either he wants whatever goal he will achieve by altering that person, or, unfathomable as it is, he cares about the world he pretends to scorn, and the people in it.

Now, maybe, just maybe, if I'd been shown that I was wrong about Ryodan, instead of having every character possible think about it, talk about it, and reflect on it, then I might have eaten my words. I still would have hated what he'd done, but I might have grown to like him again. There was one moment in the book where we were shown that Ryodan might be kinder than we've previously seen - his interaction with Jo - however, it's so heavy-handed, especially on top of all the virtue-extolling everyone else is doing, that it just made me roll my eyes. Take away? Ryodan's not a bad guy. In fact, he's a saint. Check.

This is already getting long, so I'm just going to skip to what I feel like was the checklist for this book.

1. Ryodan's an abuser and giving off strong pedo-vibes? No! He's a nice guy! Here, let me tell you! Check.
2. Dani's too young? We can fix that. Into the Silvers, you go, my girl. Check.
3. We miss Mac! Ahh. Well, she can be the narrator again. Check.
4. What's she been up to? Recap. Recap some more. Recap again. Recap stuff you just were there to experience. Check.
5. End scene of Iced, with Mac holding the Spear on Dani and being pissed at her, not make sense? Explain it away. She didn't know. Don't mind the previous stuff you've been told. It'll change as needed. Check.
6. Christian's too creepy. Can't have that. Fixed. Check.
7. Pedophilia? No way! Meta-speeches by several characters. That'll get the point across. Check.
8. More about the Nine - we must have it! Insert plot-device to allow us to spy on them, getting much more intimate with their thoughts and feelings - which apparently they talk about in private. Check.

One last thing I'm going to complain about...no, two last things. One: Mac's boring internal monologues got on my last nerve. I skimmed a lot of them. There were pages and pages and pages of her telling me stuff I already knew. I know some people complained about these in the first five books, but I swear she wasn't this bad. I guess I'll find out when I re-read. I haven't re-read the books in several years (granted I've re-read them several dozen times so I know them well) but I don't need to be hand-fed every single bit of information. And I know what a freaking linchpin is!

Two: the focus on sex! O.M.G. Honestly. I get it. If I were around Barrons, or probably any of the Nine, sex would be one of my main goals, too. But there's a freaking catastrophe happening around every corner! How about focusing on some of them? The random inserts of sex, thoughts of sex, and voyeuristic viewing of sex throughout the book was just...gratuitous.

Okay, I lied. I'm going to talk about one more thing I didn't like. Going back to the Dani-age thing. Yes, I wanted her older, but I wanted to see her grow up and become the woman she was meant to be. Even if it was in snatches, gradually, whatever. I didn't just want it to happen. And the way it happened? Not loving it. I see where KMM is going with this, and I get it, but I think it's the easy way out - and I never thought of KMM taking the easy way.

Shit. I lied again. Last thing. I promise. I hate, hate, hate, hate that Barrons calls Mac, Ms. Lane still! The intimacy that was gained in Shadowfever is apparently gone. Now they're "islands." Then there's some irritating, manufactured drama that is completely pointless. I could not believe how much drama Mac allowed this to cause.

Speaking of Mac (no this isn't another "thing"), she's no longer the kick-ass, Mac 5.0. She reverted to Mac 2.4 or something. She's passive, in the extreme, a mere narrator for events happening around her, and lacking in any initiative. Apparently, she's done what she came to do, and the rest of the time she's going to sit around watching her version of "reality tv" - and don't get me started on that. She's just lost everything that made me love her. Every once in a while I would catch a thought or action that flitted through her head, but mostly I was amazed that this was the same Mac I'd previously fell in love with.

One thing I do know is things can always get worse, most often at the precise moment you've decided they can't.

And so I remain, as Barrons would pithily say, idiotically passive.

The other effect her passivity has is making her interactions with Barrons seem ... less, somehow. He's the same asshole that I love, but without Mac strong it makes him seem even more an asshole. Of course while Mac is being an idiot - and trust me, she's an IDIOT at times - Barrons really shines, too. Actions speak. I've always trusted his.

Okay. I'm done now with that. I swear. Onto the good - and there are tidbits of good in this novel. They're what is going to make me pick up the next book (where I'm hoping and praying that KMM gets back on track). Unfortunately, most of them could be considered spoilerish - and I'd never do that to you guys. So, I'll be as vague as possible and see what I can do.

I started with a checklist - how about a much more enjoyable list?

1. WeCare - I'm still super interested in this! I need to know what their deal is, who they are, and what they're up to. I feel like they're going to be a problem for Mac and Co. at some point.

2. Mac/Sinsar Dubh - Holy.Shit. I did not see that coming! This storyline is the one I wanted to see the most of in Burned. It wasn't really dealt with a whole lot, so I'm hopeful that the future installments really delve into it. There's some really interesting evolutions and stuff going on here that I need to know more about.

3. Christian - Despite the 'quick fix' I feel that he got for part of his problem, he's not out of the woods yet. I can't help it. I love this guy. I want to see him conquer his demons. I want to see him thrive.

4. Lor - Who knew he'd end up being one of my favorites. Funny as hell, he was one of the bright spots in this book.

5. New Unseelie - YES! That's all.

6. Mac's ... entourage - MUST KNOW MORE! MORE!!!

7. Unseelie King/Concubine - consistently the best scenes. I love them separately, and even better, together. They have real issues that need solving, and I can't wait to see them do it. I hope we get to see them conquer their hurdles. Plus I just want more of the UK, and all his incarnations. There's definitely some interesting stuff going on here.

8. Barrons - He's Barrons. 'Nuff said. One of the few characters that maintained their personality. He is who is he. Period. And I love him. Forever. A quote from a friend of mine, Casey strikes me as absolutely perfect in regards to Barrons: I think Barrons is totally off the charts in terms of sex appeal but I hate all of broody silence and secrets. He makes me feel equal parts I need to punch you in your face/please wear my thighs as earmuffs. Hell, yes. This. For sure.

"Son of a bitch, Mac's ass is--"

"Mine," Barrons says flatly. "You will never go there. You have a problem with Mac, you work it out with me. I am her shield, I am her second fucking skin."

Sexy. That is so damn sexy.

There's actually quite a lot in that list of things that I loved, liked, or am interested in. However, they were bright, shiny moments in a otherwise dull book. The plot was nearly non-existent, Burned suffered from 'middle-book-syndrome', and there's virtually no movement on any of the interesting plot-lines. My big hope is that now that KMM has 'fixed' everything, Feverborn will get everything back on track. Though there was a lot I was disappointed in, I can actually see how it could - mostly - be brought back to the glory that was the first five Fever books. And I'm hopeful. And a masochist, because I'll definitely be reading the next one.


Grade: C-/D+

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Review: Bloodfever by Karen Marie Moning

Title: Bloodfever
Author: Karen Marie Moning
Series: Fever Series, Book 2
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Release Date: 16 October 2007

I used to be your average, everyday girl but all that changed one night in Dublin when I saw my first Fae, and got dragged into a world of deadly immortals and ancient secrets...

In her fight to stay alive, MacKayla must find the Sinsar Dubh — a million-year-old book of the blackest magic imaginable, which holds the key to power over the worlds of both the Fae and Man. Pursued by assassins, surrounded by mysterious figures she knows she can’t trust, Mac finds herself torn between two deadly and powerful men: V’lane, the immortal Fae Prince, and Jericho Barrons, a man as irresistible as he is dangerous.

For centuries the shadowy realm of the Fae has coexisted with that of humans. Now the walls between the two are coming down, and Mac is the only thing that stands between them.

**SPOILER WARNING** Likely nothing here will be a big spoiler if you've not read it or the series (WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!) but I recommend reading this series without ANY prior knowledge of what happens or is said - so go read my review for Darkfever, which will give nothing away and then get started. We can talk when you're done in a few days. Don't worry, I'll understand the sleep deprivation and manic actions.

Not once in the seven years of me reading this have I been able to pick up one of the books - to look up a reference or read a favorite scene - that I didn't end up reading the entire series from there to the end. It's addicting and will take over your life...at least it did mine. And I count it time well spent, each of the million re-reads I've done.

Although it may not seem like it, this isn't a story about darkness. It's about light. Kahlil Gibran says Your joy can fill you only as deeply your sorrow has carved you. If you've never tasted bitterness, swet is just another pleasant flavor on your tongue. One day I'm going to hold a lot of joy.

I read this series when it first came out. So I can tell you - reading this series, as dark as it gets, I held onto this quote. KMM said at some point later that this quote was her promise, in Mac's words, that Mac would be happy at the end of the story. Over the next 3 years I desperately held onto that promise, memorized this quote, reminded myself of it every time things got darker than I was expecting in even the most pessimistic corners of my mind. This one quote got me through a lot of the emotional heartache that this series brought me while I had the long waits between books. Thank god for it.

There are only shades of gray. Black and white are nothing more than lofty ideals in our minds, the standards by which we try to judge things, and map out our place in the world in relevance to them.

In the first book Mac said: You want to believe in black and white, good and evil... She's growing. She's learning, she begins to understand that not everything is the way she's always known it to be. One of my favorite (if convoluted) quotes below illustrates that beautifully.

Every time I think I'm getting smarter I realize that I've just done something stupid. Dad says there are three kinds of people in the world: those who don't know, and don't know they don't know; those who don't know and do know they don't know; and those who know and know how much they still don't know.

Heavy stuff, I know. I think I’ve finally graduated from the don’t-knows that don’t know to the don’t-knows that do.

Mac stepped off that plane in Dublin fresh, innocent and more than a little naive. I'm not saying she's made a complete 180, but she's gained some significant ground. She's getting smarter - thinking ahead, planning and actively attempting to understand and unravel this world that she's been thrust into. All while not losing herself.

Barrons has something the rest of us don't have. I don't know what it is, but I feel it all the time, especially when we're standing close. Beneath the expensive clothes, unplaceable accent, and cultured veneer, there's something that never crawled all the way out of the swamp. It didn't want to. It likes it there.

Barrons was one of the big enigmas that kept me guessing and reading and speculating from the moment Darkfever first hit the shelves. I won't kid you - you don't learn a lot about him. He can act like an ass, a dick, and a douche; but I've always loved him. He's the one that keeps Mac alive, keeps her safe (as possible), teaches HOW to survive, gives her the tools to survive. Sure he's not giving her everything, not trusting her completely, but he's helping her to become the stronger person she needs to be.

"What are you Barrons?"
"The one who will never let you die, and that's more, Ms. Lane, than anyone in your life has been able to say to you. More than anyone else can do."

I think this is part of what firmly won me to Barrons side early in this series. I was always intrigued, but his actions up to this point, and this simple statement - backed by the truth - made me a huge fan. I've never lost that love for Jericho Barrons.

One day I was going to write a book: How to Dictate to a Dictator and Evade an Evader, subtitled How to Handle Jericho Barrons.

Their interactions are some of the best I've ever read. Silent conversations abound, smart-ass remarks fly, and truth is buried in each and every moment.

Being touched by Jericho Barrons with kindness makes you feel like you must be the most special person in the world. It's like walking up to the biggest, most savage lion in the jungle, lying down, placing your head it its mouth and, rather than taking your life, it licks you and purrs.

And the oh-so slight building of sexual tension. That takes FOREVER for a payoff (be warned - though at least you don't have to wait YEARS :P)

"I'm sorry your pretty little world got all screwed up, but everybody's does, and you go on. It's how you go on that defines you."

This is another reason I love Barrons. He has a very *his* way of living. His own rules, his own acceptable actions, his own lines he will not cross. He knows what it takes to survive, to thrive, and this is the knowledge that he's slowly but surely passing onto Mac.

"The wisest man is the silent one. Examine his actions. Judge him by them."

Ah, yes. The other quote I took to heart. I judged Barrons by his actions. Sometimes I had to dig deep to get a good picture of what I think was really going on. He's not an easy character to see into. A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma...That's Jericho Barrons.

"One day you will kiss a man you can't breathe without, and find that breath is of little consequence."

A wonderful, intense, thrilling addition to the series. I remember finishing this book and immediately starting Darkfever again when I first read it. Reading it now, I can't even believe that I survived waiting for the next book.



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Review: Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

Title: Darkfever
Author: Karen Marie Moning
Series: Fever Series, Book 1
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Release Date: 31 October 2006

"My name is MacKayla, Mac for short. I'm a sidhe-seer, one who sees the Fae, a fact I accepted only recently and very reluctantly.

My philosophy is pretty simple - any day nobody's trying to kill me is a good day in my book. I haven't had many good days lately. Not since the walls between Man and Fae came down. But then, there's not a sidhe-seer alive who's had a good day since then."

When MacKayla's sister was murdered, she left a single clue to her death - a cryptic message on Mac's cel phone. Journeying to Ireland in search of answers, Ma is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to master a power she had no idea she possessed - a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae...

As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister's death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysteriou Jericho...while at the same time, the ruthless V'lane - an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women - closes in on her. As the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac's true mission becomes clear: to find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Book - because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control both worlds in their hands....

______________________________________________________

You want to believe in black and white, good and evil...but I've learned in the past year that things are rarely so simple.

If anyone hasn't read this series yet (WHY?!) I'm not going to spoil you here. The Fevers are best read, experienced, as they occur. So if you're thinking of diving in (and you really, really should), I recommend you don't even read the blurbs of the future books.

This series. Even now, 7 years since I first read it, I'm still in absolute awe of the brilliance of Karen Marie Moning. So much so that this is the first time I've ever tried, and been semi-successful, in revirwing it. She's created a truly epic story here. I picked it up on a whim. The title got me, the blurb hooked me.

My philosophy is pretty simple – any day nobody's trying to kill me is a good day in my book. I haven't had many good days -lately.

So started an incredibly tense, fascinating, speculation-filled four and a half year journey. I'll never regret picking up that first book when it was initially released. But I will also say that those of you starting it right now, are very, very lucky. The waiting was...intense. KMM ends some of these books with such horrible cliffhangers. And while I had to wait a year between each book, now everyone can devour from book 1, Darkfever to book 5, Shadowfever in a haze of sleepless nights that doesn't lift until you've turned the last page.

The story is told in first-person retrospective POV – definitely my first experience with that type of storytelling, and still probably one of my only. The 'retrospective' part of that description means that Mac is telling the story after she's finished, and there's comments of the 'if only I'd known' sort. I personally loved this, it gave me depth and more to think about, but I also think it will take others a lot of getting used to. The further I got into the story, the more sure I was that this series was going to make me think, and re-read for many years to come. On re-reads something is obvious that may not have been on my first read; KMM had this series so tightly written that clues and asides, notes and building blocks are there from the very start. Five books later I finally realized the significance of some things I'd learned in Darkfever. And even on this time there were little things that struck me anew.

Mac, short for MacKayla Lane, starts out an innocent, naïve, girl from the provincial, rural area of Georgia. A lot of people look at her and think Barbie, and they're not entirely wrong. Mac herself doesn't do a lot to subvert this opinion and frequently – in the beginning – doesn't think much beyond this of herself. She likes pink, sunning by the poolside, tending bar, eating her mom's home-cooking and generally leading as simple of a life as possible.

Then her sister, Alina, dies in Ireland. And Mac finds out there's a whole lot more to her. She has steel under the pink, frilly clothes and attitude. Watching her evolution, which is one that takes time, is so absolutely relatable. Her struggles as she comes to accept these new things happening, what she can do, and even what she needs to do, really drove the story for me. What we might not have realized at the beginning is that Mac is smart. More than just her looks, she's loves her family beyond any recognizable point, would do anything for them, and has the brains, the guts, and the sheer nerve to continue to push herself past her comfort zone. See Mac bluff… is a frequent thought of hers in this book, a necessary one to keep her alive and able; letting her continue her mission to find her sister's killer.

You may get sick of hearing about the Iceberry pink nail polish, or the pearls, skirts, and sandals Mac wears or misses wearing. You might be annoyed by her wishing she hadn't been pulled into such dangerous and trying times. Or when she goes somewhat reluctantly down this path she didn't even know existed. Maybe you'll want to smack her and make her see what's right in front of her. All reactions I've seen. Not mine though. Mac's reactions to what's around her felt utterly and completely real to me. From a normal world, like you and I live in, to suddenly seeing fae – monsters – sitting at a table in the same bar as her. Everything makes sense, has an order, and suddenly she's dealing with things from myth and legend. Faery tales, worse than any you could ever imagine. She may not always like what's happening to her, she may balk at the changes that are thrust upon her, but she always, always ends up doing what needs to be done. It's not easy, but she's still there. With every single experience she has you can see how it's changing her, affecting her and making her into the person she's to become. Her evolution, metamorphosis from pretty-in-pink Mac is done perfectly right. We get to see as she's pared down, each thing honing, shaping, sharpening. You start to see the person she is under all the glamor and polish. And I love her, too. It all makes me respect her; I don't think there are too terribly many people that could go from the sheltered life she started in, to where she ends up.

"Sometimes...one must break with one's past to embrace one's future. It is never an easy thing to do. It is one of the distinguishing characteristics between survivors and victims. Letting go of what was, to survive what is."

As Mac delves deeper into this complex world, we're right along with her. One of the beautiful bonuses with this is that there's never a moment that feels like an info-dump. Information is doled out, some of it even off-screen, and Mac then records it in her notebooks. Determined to keep an intricate, detailed record of what she's doing in case something happens to her, we see everything from her thoughts on the major players, to the fae species and their history – maybe even some things they forgot. Each piece intrigues; every single bit of information just makes you want more. By the end of this book, I had at least a dozen theories on what was going on, where things were, and who people were. Some of them contradictory, and every one could be supported by the text. One of my favorite things to do during the year wait for the next book was speculate, make grand theories, piece tidbits together. I had some doozies.

You heard me mention those 'other players'. Here's where Jericho Barrons comes in. None of them is more intriguing than the enigmatic Jericho Barrons. I don't even know where to begin. Damn. This man. From the very first moment he walked on the page I was in love with his arrogant, cocky, unapologetic, domineering, alpha male self. He's very used to getting everything he wants, when and how he wants it. Then Mac barrels into his bookstore one dusky evening. Little did they both know that meeting was a line of demarcation – as Mac is wont to call it – in both their lives.

He didn't just occupy space, he saturated it…

Barrons is a man of few words. He doles out information as if it's precious, and won't offer excuses, or reasons for why he does what he does, to anyone other than himself. There are explicit reasons for each action he takes, though. He's very precise, and calculating, someone that plans. He's a strategist at heart, you can tell he enjoys a good game of chess – on and off the board. He's absolutely never going to change to be what you want, he is who he is and makes no apologies, doesn't care what anyone thinks of him. Accept, or go the hell away. And even while I'm wondering if he can be trusted, all I want to do is sidle up closer to him.

He wasn't handsome, that was too calm a word. He was intensely masculine. He was sexual. He attracted.

All of that, all these words in this attempt at a review, and I've barely scratched the tip of the iceberg. This book, this series, is intricate and complex. It's filled with mystery, drama, questions and treasure hunts. There's danger around nearly every corner, and surprises mixed throughout. It's little wonder this is one of my favorite series.

On this re-read, finally, I'm attempting to review each book. Hopefully you'll be seeing the rest of them here soon.



Amazon | BN | kobo | Sony | Goodreads

Review: Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning

Because everything after this is a spoiler for the first four books, and I truly believe it's a journey that's best enjoyed the way the author wrote it, I'm going to offer up a mini-review first.

It's amazing. Epic. Beautiful. I loved it from beginning to end. If you haven't started this series yet waiting for the end - to avoid cliffhangers - this is the final book, now go and enjoy!  For those that need to know if there's an HEA (and I have a lot of friends where this is a requirement):

There IS an HEA, a very satisfying one.

Title: Shadowfever
Author: Karen Marie Moning
Series: Fever, Book 5
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Release Date: January 18, 2011

From Author's Website:

"Evil is a completely different creature, Mac. Evil is bad that believe it's good."

MacKayla Lane was just a child when she and her sister, Alina, were given up for adoption and banished from Ireland forever.

Twenty years later, Alina is dead and Mac has returned to the country that expelled them to hunt her sister’s murderer. But after discovering that she descends from a bloodline both gifted and cursed, Mac is plunged into a secret history: an ancient conflict between humans and immortals who have lived concealed among us for thousands of years.

What follows is a shocking chain of events with devastating consequences, and now Mac struggles to cope with grief while continuing her mission to acquire and control the Sinsar Dubh—a book of dark, forbidden magic scribed by the mythical Unseelie King, containing the power to create and destroy worlds.

In an epic battle between humans and Fae, the hunter becomes the hunted when the Sinsar Dubh turns on Mac and begins mowing a deadly path through those she loves.
Who can she turn to? Who can she trust? Who is the woman haunting her dreams? More important, who is Mac herself and what is the destiny she glimpses in the black and crimson designs of an ancient tarot card?

From the luxury of the Lord Master’s penthouse to the sordid depths of an Unseelie nightclub, from the erotic bed of her lover to the terrifying bed of the Unseelie King, Mac’s journey will force her to face the truth of her exile, and to make a choice that will either save the world . . . or destroy it.

I've always been a little incoherent about this series. Usually the most I've been able to manage is: "It's awesome! Read it! You'll love it! Read it!Read it!Read it!Readit!" I'll try not to devolve into that here today, though there's likely to be some squeeing fan-girl moments.

From the start, Darkfever, this has all been about Mac's journey. When we first joined her she was somewhat sheltered, a little self-centered, full of light, rainbows and love and absolutely comfortable with her place in life – which involved never leaving her small southern hometown. Throughout the previous four books we've seen her worldviews shattered and her convictions tested.

We've also had a lot of questions come up. Honestly, I was a little worried how Karen Marie Moning was going to fit all the answers into a single book and not make it seem like one big info-dump. Then there were my worries that my expectations were so unbelievably high that there was no way she could possibly produce a book that would live up to them. I spent months trying to lessen my anticipation – without success – and then worried some more. Happily, I needn't have worried at all.

Karen Marie Moning manages to answer all the questions that need answering, as well as taking us on one hell of an emotional, action-packed ride. I cried, I laughed, I grinned like mad, cried some more and by the time I was finished I felt like I'd taken every step of this right alongside Mac.

I've spent over four years speculating on so many different aspects of the books, so I was a little worried that I'd have figured it out before hand. And there was stuff I did figure out, which left me cheering and grinning because I'd gotten something right. But there were more things that I didn't even come close to unraveling. Which made me even happier. Karen Marie Moning once said:

"I believe a really good story gives you enough of the facts so that shortly before the truth comes out, you're onto it, and hopefully, when the time is right in this series, you guys will know in your gut whether it's a baby grand or a couple of sofas pushed together, before I yank the sheet off the covered furniture you've been staring at for several books."

And she absolutely succeeded! There's nothing I love more than a series that makes me think, and still doesn't let me get it all before the author shows me what's been hiding just below my vision.

The author deftly shows us Mac's, at times chaotic, thoughts and emotions. They're striking and hers and very, very real. I felt each one with her. And while there is growth in Mac, throughout the series and in this book, I feel that the author managed to do something spectacular in keeping the character true to herself. She is who she always was. Perhaps a little more stripped down, a little more 'savage,' but she's still Mac. The same girl that got off the plane all those months ago looking for her sister's killer.

All in all, it was a fantastic conclusion to the series. For days afterwards the only thing I could say about it was 'It's Epic. With a capital E.' I still feel that way. It had my brain, and my heart, engaged from beginning to end. It's the best series I've ever read. I couldn’t ask for more than that.

I've got to add one other thing – it's a minor spoiler, concerning a major character in the series. I'm putting it in a spoiler button because there's a lot of questions going into this book. Click at your own risk.

I've loved Barrons from the first moment he 'Ms. Lane'd Mac. Mac was often told to judge him by his actions, not words. I took that advice to heart, and that's where Barrons took root. He's not an easy hero. He's not even an anti-hero. He's absolutely comfortable with who, and what, he is. He makes no apologies. Wants no pity. He's demanding, possessive, arrogant and at times savage. He's the baddest thing out there, and knows it. And in the end? He doesn't change. He's still all of these things. He doesn't spout platitudes of love. And yet his love is easily apparent in all his actions. It made me sigh quite honestly. How attuned they are to each other. To me, this short quote just epitomizes that: "I'm the one who will always watch over you. Always be there to fuck you back to your senses when you need it, the one who will never let you die."

Grade: A+

Book Link | Amazon | Kindle | nook | kobo | Borders eBook | Sony | Book Depository | Delacorte Press

Feel the Heat Catch the Fever

So here we are. A little under FIVE hours from the release of Shadowfever, the fifth and final book in Karen Marie Moning’s hugely addictive Fever series.

I started this series back in October of 2006, when Darkfever was first released. I devoured it. And then couldn’t believe I had a year interim for the next book.

Little did I know that would just be the beginning of a wait that would continue for my foreseeable future.

A little over four years later, and that wait is almost over.

Finally.

I can’t begin to do this series justice. I’ve tried, over the years, to explain what it is that draws me so. And so I’ll try one more time, without spoilers for those that haven’t read them – and I’ll ask that no spoilers be posted in the comments either. I hope to have a proper review up for Shadowfever in the next couple of days – after I’ve read and digested it.

MacKayla Lane is a young woman who has never had to worry about anything more dire than if her favorite shade of nail-polish is going to be discontinued. Her life is good. She has friends, a decent job, lives in beautifully-lush Georgia with her parents, and her sister – who’s currently in Dublin, studying abroad.

Then she does something as innocent as answering a ringing phone. And her life changes, forever. Her sister, Alina, has been murdered in Dublin, horrifically. The Garda are searching for answers, but there just aren’t any. When Mac discovers a cryptic message that Alina left on her cell phone voicemail mere hours before her death, it starts Mac on a quest to find her killer – even if it means going all the way to Ireland to do it.

Once in Ireland weird things start happening. Mac thinks she’s losing her mind as she begins to see things that can’t possibly be there. Delving deeper into the mystery, she learns that things aren’t always what they seem. The Old Ones, faeries to you and I, are still among us. Though the worst of them are imprisoned, somehow they are beginning to escape.

When she runs into a bookstore seeking shelter and a phone to call a cab, she meets the mysterious Jericho Barrons. And soon he becomes the only one that’s ever offered her any sort of answers. But he’s not the only one interested in Mac. V’lane, a Fae Prince, has suddenly started shadowing her.

The boundaries between the worlds are faltering, and the only thing that’s clear is that Mac must find the Sinsar Dubh – a powerful book of dark magic – because if she doesn’t, someone else will. And then they’ll hold the very fabric of both worlds in their hands…

This is the world we’re thrust into. We learn right along side Mac. She knows nothing about her heritage, or the fae when she shows up in Dublin on a rainy afternoon. But the further she digs, the more we come to understand the huge consequences of what is happening.

I’ve followed Mac on a journey of four books, seen her grow and mature, learn and falter. She’s made huge triumphs, and devastating mistakes. She’s been hurt and healed. It has not been an easy, joyful ride, but a heart-wrenching roller coaster of a journey.

And now that we’re just under FOUR hours away, I can’t wait to see the conclusion of this epic tale.

Waiting on Wednesday: Shadowfever

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine which spotlights eagerly anticipated upcoming releases!

This book is probably my most anticipated book in several years (since the end of Harry Potter!) If they had a midnight release for this, I would be first in line to get it. I'm already planning on taking the day off of work to read it.

It's the final, fifth, book in the Fever series. If you haven't started the Fever series, I highly urge you to pick up Darkfever. Check out the reading order here. It has incredibly strong world-building and...I can't even do it justice. I've posted about the Fever series before (prior to the fourth book Dreamfever coming out). There's no real spoilers in that post. Seriously. Run, don't walk, to get this series.

****Spoilers after this point for the first four books***

Title: Shadowfever
Author: Karen Marie Moning
Series: Fever 5
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Release Date: 18 January 2011

Book Description (from author's website):

"Evil is a completely different creature, Mac.
Evil is bad that believes it's good."

MacKayla Lane was just a child when she and her sister, Alina were given up for adoption and banished from Ireland forever.

Twenty years later, Alina is dead and Mac has returned to the country that expelled them to hunt her sister's murderer. But after discovering that she descends from a bloodline both gifted and cursed, Mac is plunged into a secret history: an ancient conflict between humans and immortals that have lived concealed among us for thousands of years.

What follows is a shocking chain of events with devastating consequences, and now Mac struggles to cope with grief, while continuing her mission to acquire and control the Sinsar Dubh--a book of dark, forbidden magic scribed by the mythical Unseelie King that contains the power to create and destroy worlds.

In an epic battle between humans and Fae, the hunter becomes the hunted when the Sinsar Dubh turns on Mac, and begins mowing a deadly path through those she loves.

Who can she turn to? Who can she trust? Who is the woman that haunts her dreams? More importantly, who is Mac and what is the destiny she glimpses in the black and crimson designs of an ancient tarot card?

From the luxury of the Lord Master's penthouse, to the sordid depths of an Unseelie nightclub, from the erotic bed of her lover, to the terrifying bed of the Unseelie King, Mac's journey will force her to face the truth of her exile, and make a choice that will either save the world...or destroy it.

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.

Karen Marie Moning Book Order

Highlanders

* "Into the Dreaming" in the Tapestry anthology
Aedan and Jane

1. Beyond the Highland Mist
Hawk and Adrienne

2. To Tame a Highland Warrior
Gavrael and Jillian

3. The Highlander's Touch
Circenn and Lisa

4. Kiss of the Highlander
Drustan and Gwen

5. The Dark Highlander
Dageus and Chloe

6. The Immortal Highlander
Adam and Gabrielle

7. Spell of the Highlander
Cian and Jesse


Fever World

Mac
1. Darkfever
2. Bloodfever
3. Faefever
4. Dreamfever
5. Shadowfever

Dani O'Malley
6. Iced
7. Burned (22 July 2014)
8. Flayed (TBA)

Mac
9. [Untitled] (TBA)
10. [Untitled] (TBA)



Please note: This page was written by me, so as always, please visit the author’s website for up-to-date, author-verified information as well as for information on books that have not yet been included to this list.

http://www.karenmoning.com/