Review: Shadowfever

Shadowfever (Fever Series #5)
by Karen Marie Moning
Urban Fantasy
Amazon  /  Goodreads

Plot Summary:

“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 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.

Review:

This is the last book that wraps up MacKayla's storyline and it is the longest of the series yet.  But it has a lot of things to wrap up.  After the cliffhanger ending of "Dreamfever", I wasn't expected yet another very shocking revelation in the beginning of this book.  Yet after that really awesome reveal, I felt like this book started having some pacing issues.  MacKayla got to be a little annoying as well in some of her reactions which was unexpected because I have grown to love her character so much.  Of course I don't want to reveal any spoilers, but in some ways I'm sure other readers were happy with the developments.

The plot really does take it's time though, as the reader finds out all of the different character's secrets and we learn more about what Mac might be and what happened before she was adopted in Georgia.  The world-building is excellent as always, and there are so many different aspects that were revealed that were utterly fascinating.  I loved seeing more of the fae world and how different it is to our own.  The rules of the fae were interesting, as were the effects of being in that dimension.

There's so much going on in this book, that I'm finding it very difficult to discuss certain aspects without revealing any spoilers.  So with just focusing on my feelings as I was reading this - I was at times impatient for the story to move forward, for Mac to get a grip on what was happening, and for other characters to step up to their duty.  But, there were a few (like four) absolutely jaw-dropping developments that made me want to jump up and down in outrage/shock, and for that I loved this book.  It's a mark of a good story for me when it shocks and surprises like this.  It's amazing how absolutely unbelievable some revelations are.

The denouement of the story was excellent as well - the author did a great job of wrapping up every thread and bringing Mac's story to it's rightful conclusion.  I was very happy with the book as a whole, although I'm not sure what to do with myself with a Fever series book that has not ended on a nail-biting cliffhanger!

Review: Dreamfever

Dreamfever (Fever Series #4)
by Karen Marie Moning
Urban Fantasy
Amazon  /  Goodreads

Plot Summary:

He has stolen her past, but MacKayla will never allow her sister’s murderer to take her future. Yet even the uniquely gifted sidhe-seer is no match for the Lord Master, who has unleashed an insatiable sexual craving that consumes Mac’s every thought—and thrusts her into the seductive realm of two very dangerous men, both of whom she desires but dares not trust.

As the enigmatic Jericho Barrons and the sensual Fae prince V’lane vie for her body and soul, as cryptic entries from her sister’s diary mysteriously appear and the power of the Dark Book weaves its annihilating path through the city, Mac’s greatest enemy delivers a final challenge.…

It’s an invitation Mac cannot refuse, one that sends her racing home to Georgia, where an even darker threat awaits. With her parents missing and the lives of her loved ones under siege, Mac is about to come face-to-face with a soul-shattering truth—about herself and her sister, about Jericho Barrons…and about the world she thought she knew.

Review:

Well.  This book certainly resolves a lot of the tension between Mac and Barrons without really resolving anything!  Canny.  The previous book in this series (Faefever) had a very dark ending, so this book very fittingly continues with that as Mac is changed from the character I grew to love in the beginning of the series.  That darkness and edge to her is welcome though, because things have gotten so chaotic in the world of this book, and I was more than happy to see her kick butt along with a spunky, young sidhe seer, Dani who can be a lot of fun.

The pace of this book is more leisurely than the first three books I felt.  There's a lot more happening, and some shifts in POV to Dani, as Mac recovers.  At first Dani was a bit annoying, and I was eager to get back to Mac's POV, but Dani really grew on me, especially since she has so much pain she tries to keep hidden.  And it was poignant to see her look up to Mac so much.  I was also glad how much Mac relied on Dani because the main men in Mac's lives - Jericho, V'lane, and Christian have all let her down in some way.  Girl power!

With the slower pace it was, at times, easier to stop reading the book than it had been before, but I think the development of the story was where it needed to be, so I didn't think too badly of that.  There are still the same shocking twists and turns I love about the series, and a really suspenseful cliffhanger - I mean WTF!! status, that is again propelling me onward to the next book immediately.  It's ridiculous how eager I am to read each new installment!

On a side note, I've been listening to most of this series on audiobook, and for some reason with the fourth book they've changed narrators, and added a male voice for all the male characters in the story.  Which works wonders for Jericho Barrons especially since I felt that the prior female narrator gave him such a strangely unattractive voice.  The original narrator didn't really bother me as much while I was listening, but now that I've heard these new readers on Dreamfever, I definitely find it much more enjoyable.  And the back and forth banter between Mac and Jericho is more fun because it's faster when two different people are reading it!

Review: Faefever

Faefever (Fever Series #3)
by Karen Marie Moning
Urban Fantasy
Amazon  /  Goodreads

Plot Summary:

He calls me his Queen of the Night. I’d die for him. I’d kill for him, too. When MacKayla Lane receives a torn page from her dead sister’s journal, she is stunned by Alina’s desperate words. And now MacKayla knows that her sister’s killer is close. But evil is closer. And suddenly the sidhe-seer is on the hunt: For answers. For revenge. And for an ancient book of dark magic so evil, it corrupts anyone who touches it.

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.…

Review:

This series continues to delight me so!  The world-building is expanded even more, as Mac works to become better prepared for whatever is coming.  Mac's efforts to not keep all her eggs in one basket as she says, means she has to deal with a variety of people who are untrustworthy and suspicious, and it's interesting how she navigates between them.  I'm pretty sure I know who I think she should trust, but it's good to see her explore her options.  Especially with V'lane, the Fae prince who is much more fleshed out in this story.  He's a fun character - all charm and manners, but with questionable morality and an inability to understand humans.  I definitely wanted to see more of a face-off between him and Barrons!

It is funny/annoying how pretty much all the guys Mac talks to wants to know if she's sleeping with the other guy (answer: no) and like Mac, I was very much fed up with their intrusive and unwelcome comments on her private life.  There's the addition of another character - Christian, who is of course very good looking, interested in Mac, and can tell when people are lying which makes Mac's life a little harder.  I did like him in the beginning, but his lie detector thing was getting very annoying, very quickly.  I say this though, not as a flaw in the story, but because I'm so caught up in these characters that I react to them as if they were real people!  Because I'm loving these books!

The story ramps up to the All Hallow's Eve finale, which is devastating - like 200% more than I was expecting, and which really elevated this book in my opinion.  The stakes are so high, and the ending is so chilling, that even the author included a little note at the end, telling her readers that things aren't as bad as they seem.  Well that didn't really help my stress level, but going immediately into the fourth book did!

Review: Bloodfever

Bloodfever (Fever Series #2)
by Karen Marie Moning
Urban Fantasy
Amazon  /  Goodreads

Plot Summary

MacKayla Lane’s ordinary life underwent a complete makeover when she landed on Ireland’s shores and was plunged into a world of deadly sorcery and ancient secrets.

In her fight to stay alive, Mac must find the Sinsar Dubh–a million-year-old book of the blackest magic imaginable, which holds the key to power over both the worlds of the Fae and of Man. Pursued by Fae assassins, surrounded by mysterious figures she knows she cannot trust, Mac finds herself torn between two deadly and irresistible men: V’lane, the insatiable Fae who can turn sensual arousal into an obsession for any woman, and the ever-inscrutable Jericho Barrons, a man as alluring as he is mysterious.

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.…

Review:

I feel like 'Bloodfever' is more of an extension of the first book 'Darkfever' than it's own story.  The first book ended kind of abruptly and on a cliffhanger - there's no real resolution, so that this book is absolutely necessary to pick up next.  And MacKayla's life continues to get more complicated and darker in this installment.  She also develops quite nicely into a stronger, more resilient heroine, who is determined to keep her own secrets in an effort to hold on to some control, while everything else in her life spirals crazily.  I love that her character is getting more spiky, snarky and daring as the story progresses!

One of the reasons I'm enjoying this series so much so far, is because of the antagonistic relationship between Mac and Jericho Barrons.  It's so fun!  They rely on each other but they fight a lot and it's obvious there's a lot of sexual tension there.  It's so fantastic that the author is really drawing that out!  You really need to keep reading the series to find out what's going to happen on that front.  And I am definitely still reading.

The world-building is expanded on even more, with more questions raised than answered about what is happening in Dublin with the influx of unseelie fae.  And I have to say the resolution of this book in particular was emotional and nerve-wracking - there's a few surprises, and some dark, sordid scenes that thankfully the author didn't over describe, leaving just enough to the imagination.  It's hard to think of this book on it's own merits though, as I'm reading this series back to back practically and they are all running together in my mind.  But I think that's the best way to immerse oneself in this fantastically detailed and dangerous world.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one and was very much eager to pick up the next in the series, as this ends on yet another eye-opening cliffhanger!  This book has cemented my addiction to this series!

Also, if you are unfamiliar with this series, I liken it to the Sookie Stackhouse books, although there is more of a focus on Celtic/Fae lore as opposed to the myriad of supernaturals in the Sookie books.  And this series has less of a focus on fantasy and self-contained stories, as each book seems to continue the main storyline.

Review: Darkfever

Darkfever (Fever #1)
by Karen Marie Moning
Fantasy / Suspense
Amazon  /  Goodreads

Plot Summary:

MacKayla Lane’s life is good. She has great friends, a decent job, and a car that breaks down only every other week or so. In other words, she’s your perfectly ordinary twenty-first-century woman. Or so she thinks…until something extraordinary happens.

When her sister is murdered, leaving a single clue to her death–a cryptic message on Mac’s cell phone–Mac journeys to Ireland in search of answers. The quest to find her sister’s killer draws her into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems, where good and evil wear the same treacherously seductive mask. She is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to learn how to handle 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, mysterious Jericho, a man with no past and only mockery for a future. As she begins to close in on the truth, the ruthless Vlane–an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women–closes in on her. And as the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac’s true mission becomes clear: 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 of the very fabric of both worlds in their hands….

Review:

I was unsure about reading this book in the beginning because I was afraid this would be full of 'sexy times' type scenes and I felt like that would mean it would be light on plot.  I was totally wrong.  It's does have it's adult moments, but the plot is solid and engaging, and there's much more suspense than romance.  It was in fact, a perfect read for me, because I could hardly put it down, and the twists and turns in the story were delicious.  I was also rooting for the main character Mac, who despite her Barbie appearances, is smart and determined, and I loved that she found a way to persevere even when she was scared and confused by everything happening around her.  She was also really funny and sassy!

Reluctantly, Mac teams up with Jericho Barrons who is such an enigma.  And I love that we are left with so many questions about him unanswered in this book - it's going to be interesting exploring his character further in the series.  He is the kind of dark, sardonic male lead I like to read about, although in the beginning of this story he really came off as a jerk and barely by the end is he starting to redeem himself.  I sometimes don't know what I think about him, but I do like the dynamic that is set up between him and Mac.

The setting and the world building is fantastic as well - the streets of Dublin, while scary with the fae running around, also seems so real and enticing in the way the author describes it.  The fae lore is very detailed and intriguing too - there's so much depth to their world.  The author did a fantastic job bringing everything to life in this book.

I was super addicted to reading this story - it was hard having to stop to do life stuff, when I wanted so much to find out more about the mystery and Mac's efforts to survive.  And if Jericho Barrons would stop being such a jerk!  And by the end of the story, this book continues it's addictive nature because it's a very unresolved ending!  I have so many questions unanswered, that I am picking up the next book directly!