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Fever #5
Shadowfever
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Favorite Book of 2011 (2011), Winner for Best Paranormal Fantasy (2011)“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.
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.
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.
608 pages, Hardcover
First published January 18, 2011
About the author
Karen Marie Moning
55 books30.1k followers“The only other calling I ever felt was an irrepressible desire to be Captain of my own Starship. I was born in the wrong century and it wasn’t possible, so I chose to explore the universe by writing fiction instead. Books are doors to endless adventure.” -KMM
Karen Marie Moning is the #1 NYT bestselling author of the Fever Series and Highlander novels.
An alum of the Immaculate Conception Academy, at seventeen she attended Purdue University where she completed a BA in Society & Law, with minors in Philosophy, Creative Writing and Theatre, while working full time as a bartender and computer consultant. She intended to go to law school but after an internship with a firm of Criminal Attorneys, decided against it. For the next decade, she worked in insurance, where she wrote intercompany arbitrations and directed commercial litigation. At the age of thirty, she decided it was time to get serious and do what she’d always wanted to do: write fiction novels.
Beyond the Highland Mist was published in 1999 and nominated for two RITA awards. She then published six more novels in her award-winning HIGHLANDER series, and received the RITA Award in 2001 for The Highlander’s Touch.
In 2004, she began writing the #1 New York Times bestselling FEVER series. The books have been optioned twice for potential franchise development by Twentieth Century Fox and DreamWorks Studios, but the rights are currently held by Moning who has expressed a desire to one day see it as a television series. Her novels have been published in over thirty countries. She divides her time between Ohio and Florida and is working on two future projects for Random House Publishing.
“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.” – Jorge Luis Borges
Karen Marie Moning is the #1 NYT bestselling author of the Fever Series and Highlander novels.
An alum of the Immaculate Conception Academy, at seventeen she attended Purdue University where she completed a BA in Society & Law, with minors in Philosophy, Creative Writing and Theatre, while working full time as a bartender and computer consultant. She intended to go to law school but after an internship with a firm of Criminal Attorneys, decided against it. For the next decade, she worked in insurance, where she wrote intercompany arbitrations and directed commercial litigation. At the age of thirty, she decided it was time to get serious and do what she’d always wanted to do: write fiction novels.
Beyond the Highland Mist was published in 1999 and nominated for two RITA awards. She then published six more novels in her award-winning HIGHLANDER series, and received the RITA Award in 2001 for The Highlander’s Touch.
In 2004, she began writing the #1 New York Times bestselling FEVER series. The books have been optioned twice for potential franchise development by Twentieth Century Fox and DreamWorks Studios, but the rights are currently held by Moning who has expressed a desire to one day see it as a television series. Her novels have been published in over thirty countries. She divides her time between Ohio and Florida and is working on two future projects for Random House Publishing.
“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.” – Jorge Luis Borges
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May 12, 2021
Reread 05/2021: There can't be many series I can reread ten years after the first reading and feel exactly the same way about. But I did with Fever. I love the mythology. I love the Dublin setting. I freaking love Mac & Barrons.
Original review:
I read this book back in early March. March. And I left one of those little notes saying that I was going to compile my thoughts and would be back soon to write a review. Well, um, it seems it took me a bit longer than I thought possible to get over everything I experienced with this series. Truth be told, I'm still reeling from it.
Unlike a good few other readers, I didn't nab each book as it came out and it wasn't until around the time that Shadowfever was being released that I actually picked up the first book - Darkfever. But I read them all in the space of a week. I honestly don't know how I would have survived if I'd read each book as they were released and I'm just thankful that I didn't have to wait between that dreaded cliffhanger at the end of Dreamfever and the final book. How did some of you cope? This series is an addiction in every way. The last time I became so addicted to a story and its characters was back when I was watching Buffy.
This is a book and a series that I feel very strongly about and, because of that, I want to say what needs to be said to get everyone to read it. What can I tell you? Well... there's a heroine who both kicks ass and paints her nails Barbie pink, Mac is the perfect mix of strong and feminine. Don't let Kristin Cashore kid you that those two don't mix, Mac will prove you wrong. If it weren't for Barrons I'd probably have developed a literary crush on Mac instead. Ah, but Barrons...
I happen to think Barrons is one of the sexiest characters in any book I've ever read. He takes crap from no one, he seems serious most of the time but he's got a wicked sexy grin when he wants to. I like how KMM didn't make him into some hero, she never tried to redeem him and made it clear that Barrons has no time or need for redemption. He's the biggest, baddest alpha and he loves it... and you know you do too!
But I'm going to sell this series all wrong if I'm not careful. This isn't a paranormal romance, it's an urban fantasy. The key difference being the quality of the story and mythology. Don't go thinking that it was just these awesome characters that kept me mesmerised for the full five books. There's mystery and supernatural creatures, there's murder and the dredging up of past secrets... it has everything.
This series is one of my all time favourites. It can make you laugh and make you cry. There's smut (woo!) without making it a book all about sex and there's well thought out mythology that is never boring. What else can I say? Read it.
Original review:
I read this book back in early March. March. And I left one of those little notes saying that I was going to compile my thoughts and would be back soon to write a review. Well, um, it seems it took me a bit longer than I thought possible to get over everything I experienced with this series. Truth be told, I'm still reeling from it.
Unlike a good few other readers, I didn't nab each book as it came out and it wasn't until around the time that Shadowfever was being released that I actually picked up the first book - Darkfever. But I read them all in the space of a week. I honestly don't know how I would have survived if I'd read each book as they were released and I'm just thankful that I didn't have to wait between that dreaded cliffhanger at the end of Dreamfever and the final book. How did some of you cope? This series is an addiction in every way. The last time I became so addicted to a story and its characters was back when I was watching Buffy.
This is a book and a series that I feel very strongly about and, because of that, I want to say what needs to be said to get everyone to read it. What can I tell you? Well... there's a heroine who both kicks ass and paints her nails Barbie pink, Mac is the perfect mix of strong and feminine. Don't let Kristin Cashore kid you that those two don't mix, Mac will prove you wrong. If it weren't for Barrons I'd probably have developed a literary crush on Mac instead. Ah, but Barrons...
I happen to think Barrons is one of the sexiest characters in any book I've ever read. He takes crap from no one, he seems serious most of the time but he's got a wicked sexy grin when he wants to. I like how KMM didn't make him into some hero, she never tried to redeem him and made it clear that Barrons has no time or need for redemption. He's the biggest, baddest alpha and he loves it... and you know you do too!
But I'm going to sell this series all wrong if I'm not careful. This isn't a paranormal romance, it's an urban fantasy. The key difference being the quality of the story and mythology. Don't go thinking that it was just these awesome characters that kept me mesmerised for the full five books. There's mystery and supernatural creatures, there's murder and the dredging up of past secrets... it has everything.
This series is one of my all time favourites. It can make you laugh and make you cry. There's smut (woo!) without making it a book all about sex and there's well thought out mythology that is never boring. What else can I say? Read it.
December 4, 2013
Usually when reviewing a book, it's possible to give away a few minor plot points, in order to discuss the theme and intentions of the author, without actually spoiling anything in the book. With Shadowfever, however, pretty much discussing anything is a spoiler.
In fact, admitting the existence of the book is actually a spoiler.
I can't even really discuss what characters feature in this story because that, too, would be a spoiler. This review has absolutely no spoilers in the main part. Down below, if you scroll to the very bottom of the page, you will see some comments and thoughts of mine that contain spoilers but they are well marked and easily avoided.
My best chance for providing a spoiler-free review for you is to just describe my general feel of the book.
This is really the easiest way for me to do that.
Reading this book was like that scene out of Napoleon Dynamite where Pedro promises his class that if they vote for him, all their dreams will come true.
Shadowfever was a little like that. In the first four books, KMM promised that if I just picked this one up, ALL MY DREAMS WOULD COME TRUE.
And you know what? KMM wasn't fucking around.
Pictured: Not Fucking Around
She did everything I believed was absolutely impossible. She did it with class, she did it with style and she actually made me happy that I put my faith in this series.
That's a pretty big order to fill.
As promised, the Shadowfever delivered WITH fireworks.
Part of it was that Mac was such a singularly self-introspective character. Every thought, every action, every word or omission was examined with cruel, objective efficiency. And even when she lied to herself, she always came back later with a big hammer of truth and shattered those illusions until those illusions were SORRY and promised to never illude (made up word alert) again.
She defied a mainstay of western literature in her savagery and need for vengeance. Most (Disclaimer: Not all) literature idealizes woman as the forgiving creature who prefers to get on with her life as opposed to wasting it on vengeance. Probably so that she can get down to the baby making that is so important.
This is a particular problem in the romance genre where KMM first made her big break.
Women do not traditionally want to hold the cooling body of their enemy while blood drips to the floor and their hand twists the weapon that has brought an end to their vengeance. Usually, that's a man thing.
But, you see, Mac takes responsibility for her own vengeance. She takes responsibility for the world - despite how much she doesn't want to. We see repeatedly in the first four books that as much as she wants to shift the burden, she doesn't. That takes a special kind of strength. All the while reading this series, I was only glad it was Mac's story and not mine.
Kat's story would have ended with shagging V'lane ruthlessly because Kat couldn't keep it in her pants when sexy came calling. The end. I just would have trusted my gut and hoped that Barrons, Rowena or V'lane of the MacKeltars knew better. Who was I to decide the fate of the world?
Shadowfever sorely tests that aspect of Mac, that strength to not rely on others to solve her problems. I cannot sing KMM's praises enough for this. Princesses who sit in castles waiting for the noble prince to find them, romance heroine's whose honourable, rich lover turns up to rescue them... Their stories pale in comparison to a lead character who rolls with the punches that life gives her and does everything in her power to punch back.
The single problem that I have with this book is its inability to let go of other western (and other cultures are to blame too) ideals that we place on our female leads.
The concept of action for selfish reasons is briefly addressed in this book and I felt that KMM was handling it so well. I felt that Mac's selfishness and desire to use power for her own means were actually so well justified by the past text that maybe she SHOULD be allowed to use the ultimate power to achieve her means.
This concept was later twisted and garbled though and, without going into detail, was the only small botherance I really had with what was other a fantastic novel and a spectacular end to this amazing series.
SPOILERS BELOW
***************
**Spoilers Commencing:**
There is actually more of a reason that I didn't give this book more than four stars and why I might decide to bump it down to three.
Reading up to this book several fans, including myself, picked apart the other four looking for clues. We were so sure that Barron's identity, Mac's mysterious past, the Unseelie King, the purpose of the book... we were so sure that the answers were staring us right in the face and that we just needed to find the right set of evidence to figure it out.
But now I know that for the lie it was. Some things were cleverly concealed, like the identity of Alanna's killer and the holder of her journal. However, all of the rest, I feel, were kept from us. You can't deduce what Barrons is from the pitiful amount of information provided in the first four books and nothing will prepare you for the rather annoying truth. He's something never before seen. Never before heard of. There's no myth, no legend. It was never something we COULD guess.
Same with Mac's origins. How could you actually know that the book was capable of absorbing itself into a fetus? You can't. You never have enough information that you could have deduced that.
So whilst I really enjoyed Shadowfever, I felt a bit cheated that KMM wasn't the brilliant creator, cleverly concealing the truth so that the truly observant amongst her readership could arrive at the right conclusions. She just didn't give us enough information. Maybe that sounds like whining. Maybe it sounds like a petulant child, stamping its foot and saying, "It's not fair!"
Well, truthfully, if a mystery writer finished a novel and the hero came out and said, "It was the Maid in the poolroom with the candlestick but you wouldn't have been able to guess that because I'm only now presenting the information necessary to come to that conclusion!" Well, in that case you'd think the mystery writer was cracked. Half the fun is in trying to be smarter than the protagonist. In this case, none of us really had a chance.
Also, Mac's a big whimpy coward who should have told Barrons right from the getgo that she loved him.
My other problem with this entire series is the nature of women and men portrayed. Mac and Dani are the only good, powerful women portrayed and Dani is just a child.
The Fae are supposed to be matriarchal yet they are effectively led by V'lane. The women don't really have any power. The so-called queen is weak, ineffectual and needs to be protected by a Prince who also does all the work for her. In the confrontation between Seelie and Unseelie we see that the female fae have no voice or authority over the men and their opinions are easily discarded.
All the big players in this book are men with the sole exception of Rowena, who is not only a total bitch but also weak and obviously a very poor leader with bad judgement. Women who gain power in this series, with the sole exception of Mac, become bad. The Seelie Queen is depicted as cruel, jealous and ultimately defeated by her more powerful husband.
Might makes right for Barrons and his men whose views on women make cavemen look fair and reasonable. The MacKeltars are just as bad and reading this book gives the distinct impression that Mac's vagina (and who gets it) is just as important as Mac's abilities.
Barrons becomes furious with Mac in Dreamfever for withholding information about the Book because apparently this is the one thing he's after. YET, he knows that Mac's search for her sister's killer is the one thing she's after and he is all too happy to keep information about that to himself.
Fiona gains some power by eating unseelie flesh in these novels yet she is ultimately a doormat to her petty emotions for Barrons. Not a single one of the major book players (McCabe, Malluce, O'Bannion) are female. Women simply don't have power in the Fever world. Even if they're supposed to.
In fact, admitting the existence of the book is actually a spoiler.
I can't even really discuss what characters feature in this story because that, too, would be a spoiler. This review has absolutely no spoilers in the main part. Down below, if you scroll to the very bottom of the page, you will see some comments and thoughts of mine that contain spoilers but they are well marked and easily avoided.
My best chance for providing a spoiler-free review for you is to just describe my general feel of the book.
This is really the easiest way for me to do that.
Reading this book was like that scene out of Napoleon Dynamite where Pedro promises his class that if they vote for him, all their dreams will come true.
Shadowfever was a little like that. In the first four books, KMM promised that if I just picked this one up, ALL MY DREAMS WOULD COME TRUE.
And you know what? KMM wasn't fucking around.
Pictured: Not Fucking Around
She did everything I believed was absolutely impossible. She did it with class, she did it with style and she actually made me happy that I put my faith in this series.
That's a pretty big order to fill.
As promised, the Shadowfever delivered WITH fireworks.
Part of it was that Mac was such a singularly self-introspective character. Every thought, every action, every word or omission was examined with cruel, objective efficiency. And even when she lied to herself, she always came back later with a big hammer of truth and shattered those illusions until those illusions were SORRY and promised to never illude (made up word alert) again.
She defied a mainstay of western literature in her savagery and need for vengeance. Most (Disclaimer: Not all) literature idealizes woman as the forgiving creature who prefers to get on with her life as opposed to wasting it on vengeance. Probably so that she can get down to the baby making that is so important.
This is a particular problem in the romance genre where KMM first made her big break.
Women do not traditionally want to hold the cooling body of their enemy while blood drips to the floor and their hand twists the weapon that has brought an end to their vengeance. Usually, that's a man thing.
But, you see, Mac takes responsibility for her own vengeance. She takes responsibility for the world - despite how much she doesn't want to. We see repeatedly in the first four books that as much as she wants to shift the burden, she doesn't. That takes a special kind of strength. All the while reading this series, I was only glad it was Mac's story and not mine.
Kat's story would have ended with shagging V'lane ruthlessly because Kat couldn't keep it in her pants when sexy came calling. The end. I just would have trusted my gut and hoped that Barrons, Rowena or V'lane of the MacKeltars knew better. Who was I to decide the fate of the world?
Shadowfever sorely tests that aspect of Mac, that strength to not rely on others to solve her problems. I cannot sing KMM's praises enough for this. Princesses who sit in castles waiting for the noble prince to find them, romance heroine's whose honourable, rich lover turns up to rescue them... Their stories pale in comparison to a lead character who rolls with the punches that life gives her and does everything in her power to punch back.
The single problem that I have with this book is its inability to let go of other western (and other cultures are to blame too) ideals that we place on our female leads.
The concept of action for selfish reasons is briefly addressed in this book and I felt that KMM was handling it so well. I felt that Mac's selfishness and desire to use power for her own means were actually so well justified by the past text that maybe she SHOULD be allowed to use the ultimate power to achieve her means.
This concept was later twisted and garbled though and, without going into detail, was the only small botherance I really had with what was other a fantastic novel and a spectacular end to this amazing series.
SPOILERS BELOW
***************
**Spoilers Commencing:**
There is actually more of a reason that I didn't give this book more than four stars and why I might decide to bump it down to three.
Reading up to this book several fans, including myself, picked apart the other four looking for clues. We were so sure that Barron's identity, Mac's mysterious past, the Unseelie King, the purpose of the book... we were so sure that the answers were staring us right in the face and that we just needed to find the right set of evidence to figure it out.
But now I know that for the lie it was. Some things were cleverly concealed, like the identity of Alanna's killer and the holder of her journal. However, all of the rest, I feel, were kept from us. You can't deduce what Barrons is from the pitiful amount of information provided in the first four books and nothing will prepare you for the rather annoying truth. He's something never before seen. Never before heard of. There's no myth, no legend. It was never something we COULD guess.
Same with Mac's origins. How could you actually know that the book was capable of absorbing itself into a fetus? You can't. You never have enough information that you could have deduced that.
So whilst I really enjoyed Shadowfever, I felt a bit cheated that KMM wasn't the brilliant creator, cleverly concealing the truth so that the truly observant amongst her readership could arrive at the right conclusions. She just didn't give us enough information. Maybe that sounds like whining. Maybe it sounds like a petulant child, stamping its foot and saying, "It's not fair!"
Well, truthfully, if a mystery writer finished a novel and the hero came out and said, "It was the Maid in the poolroom with the candlestick but you wouldn't have been able to guess that because I'm only now presenting the information necessary to come to that conclusion!" Well, in that case you'd think the mystery writer was cracked. Half the fun is in trying to be smarter than the protagonist. In this case, none of us really had a chance.
Also, Mac's a big whimpy coward who should have told Barrons right from the getgo that she loved him.
My other problem with this entire series is the nature of women and men portrayed. Mac and Dani are the only good, powerful women portrayed and Dani is just a child.
The Fae are supposed to be matriarchal yet they are effectively led by V'lane. The women don't really have any power. The so-called queen is weak, ineffectual and needs to be protected by a Prince who also does all the work for her. In the confrontation between Seelie and Unseelie we see that the female fae have no voice or authority over the men and their opinions are easily discarded.
All the big players in this book are men with the sole exception of Rowena, who is not only a total bitch but also weak and obviously a very poor leader with bad judgement. Women who gain power in this series, with the sole exception of Mac, become bad. The Seelie Queen is depicted as cruel, jealous and ultimately defeated by her more powerful husband.
Might makes right for Barrons and his men whose views on women make cavemen look fair and reasonable. The MacKeltars are just as bad and reading this book gives the distinct impression that Mac's vagina (and who gets it) is just as important as Mac's abilities.
Barrons becomes furious with Mac in Dreamfever for withholding information about the Book because apparently this is the one thing he's after. YET, he knows that Mac's search for her sister's killer is the one thing she's after and he is all too happy to keep information about that to himself.
Fiona gains some power by eating unseelie flesh in these novels yet she is ultimately a doormat to her petty emotions for Barrons. Not a single one of the major book players (McCabe, Malluce, O'Bannion) are female. Women simply don't have power in the Fever world. Even if they're supposed to.
February 5, 2021
A satisfying conclusion. This whole series of books is quite remarkable in its world building and mythology. Kudos to KMM, who, before Fever books, only had written historical bodice rippers. This is an achievement.
However, Shadowfever is waaaay too long. It would have benefited from shedding a couple of hundred pages of angsty navel-gazing and a dozen of unnecessary hard-ons (guys, put them away, you are crowding me).
Giving it 5 again for old time's sake.
Update 12/22/2014
I still think it's a great story and I still think the first part needed some trimming - too much recapping and too much horny angst.
NO SPOILERS (I wouldn't do this to you) *But there might be some in comments*
OMG! What an exciting ride it has been! And how satisfying! So much depended on the quality of this last installment and, thank goodness, Moning didn't disappoint. Shadowfever is not one of those series finales that you want to forget ever reading. Quite the opposite. There is a lot to be said about benefits of series' outlining. I strongly believe that a series with no pre-planning has almost no chance of succeeding. We are lucky Moning knows her stuff.
This last installment is a twisty tale, with so many revelations and surprises, your head will spin. After speculating for months who was who or what and what everyone's motives were, I have to admit, I guessed correctly almost none of it. It takes talent to write an ending that is so satisfying and with the outcome we all wanted, and make it so exciting and unpredictable until the very last page.
Shadowfever is not a flawless book. Some vital revelations were not foreshadowed properly. I also found the 1st part of the book a little hard to connect with. It gave me painful flashbacks of being in Katniss' head in Mockingjay (I love that book by the way). But the moment the 2nd part begins, oh my, there is no stopping that train! I ended up staying up most of last night telling myself - just one more chapter... And the flaws? Well, even though there is plenty of them, the final result is still deliciously satisfying.
I feel exhilarated and uplifted after finishing Shadowfever. Do not worry, it ends well, even though the path to HEA is a thorny and angsty one. Yes, the series became darker and darker over time, but Moning wasn't lying assuring us that Fever series was about light and not darkness. Indeed it is. Shadowfever is about light, about survival and, of course, love. Love makes appearance in many unexpected forms in this novel.
I also have to give Moning a special credit the fae world she had created. It is by far the most creative, complex and convoluted (in a good way) take on fae mythology I have ever encountered.
And of course there is that VERY IMPORTANT part of the series we all can't get enough of. I don't think there are many fantasy hunks out there who could rival Jericho Barrons. He is the one very-very bad guy who you simultaneously want to run away from and do bad-bad things to him behind the bookshelves in BB&B... Goodness, I feel hot flashes just thinking about him!
I look forward to reading Fever books again and again in all their sexy, violent, intriguing glory. And there are more Fever universe books on the way. Isn't that great?
However, Shadowfever is waaaay too long. It would have benefited from shedding a couple of hundred pages of angsty navel-gazing and a dozen of unnecessary hard-ons (guys, put them away, you are crowding me).
Giving it 5 again for old time's sake.
Update 12/22/2014
I still think it's a great story and I still think the first part needed some trimming - too much recapping and too much horny angst.
NO SPOILERS (I wouldn't do this to you) *But there might be some in comments*
OMG! What an exciting ride it has been! And how satisfying! So much depended on the quality of this last installment and, thank goodness, Moning didn't disappoint. Shadowfever is not one of those series finales that you want to forget ever reading. Quite the opposite. There is a lot to be said about benefits of series' outlining. I strongly believe that a series with no pre-planning has almost no chance of succeeding. We are lucky Moning knows her stuff.
This last installment is a twisty tale, with so many revelations and surprises, your head will spin. After speculating for months who was who or what and what everyone's motives were, I have to admit, I guessed correctly almost none of it. It takes talent to write an ending that is so satisfying and with the outcome we all wanted, and make it so exciting and unpredictable until the very last page.
Shadowfever is not a flawless book. Some vital revelations were not foreshadowed properly. I also found the 1st part of the book a little hard to connect with. It gave me painful flashbacks of being in Katniss' head in Mockingjay (I love that book by the way). But the moment the 2nd part begins, oh my, there is no stopping that train! I ended up staying up most of last night telling myself - just one more chapter... And the flaws? Well, even though there is plenty of them, the final result is still deliciously satisfying.
I feel exhilarated and uplifted after finishing Shadowfever. Do not worry, it ends well, even though the path to HEA is a thorny and angsty one. Yes, the series became darker and darker over time, but Moning wasn't lying assuring us that Fever series was about light and not darkness. Indeed it is. Shadowfever is about light, about survival and, of course, love. Love makes appearance in many unexpected forms in this novel.
I also have to give Moning a special credit the fae world she had created. It is by far the most creative, complex and convoluted (in a good way) take on fae mythology I have ever encountered.
And of course there is that VERY IMPORTANT part of the series we all can't get enough of. I don't think there are many fantasy hunks out there who could rival Jericho Barrons. He is the one very-very bad guy who you simultaneously want to run away from and do bad-bad things to him behind the bookshelves in BB&B... Goodness, I feel hot flashes just thinking about him!
I look forward to reading Fever books again and again in all their sexy, violent, intriguing glory. And there are more Fever universe books on the way. Isn't that great?
January 26, 2016
I know a lot of friend readers and bloggers adored this book, and I completely understand and respect that. Usually every book I read has at least some issues that are, to a varying degree, overlookable. The tragedy happens when the flaws for the reader overpower the attractions, and sadly, this is what happened for me with Shadowfever.
**Warning, SPOILERS**
Here is the truth: This book drove me BANANAS with the endless paragraphs of questions. Shadowfever did NOT need to be the length that it was, that it was stretched out entirely too long with unnecessary emo verse and Mac Version 200 Questions made me want to stab someone.
Here are just 2 of endless examples in which a paragraph of questions are used to tell the story:
“What would happen when we finally had the Book under lock and key? How did Barrons think he was going to use it once it was contained? Did he know the First Language? Was he that old? Had he learned it over time, or been taught? Did he plan to let us re-inter it at the abbey again, then sit down and read it? And do what with the knowledge?” pg 372
“Was she bad because she’d loved him? Was he evil because he’d wanted to reclaim what had been taken from him? Hadn’t the same motives driven the Unseelie King and his concubine? Didn’t the same motives drive humans every day?
Why hadn’t the queen just let the king have the woman he loved? Why couldn’t the king be happy with one lifetime? What might have happened to the Unseelie if they’d never been imprisoned? Might they have turned out like the Seelie court?
And what about my sister and me? Would we really doom the world? Nurture or nature: What were we?” pg 452
That is just crappy storytelling, for me. The equivalent to pages and pages of paragraph questions like this throughout the book is not endearing to me. I know that KMM has used this style of writing in previous books, but it was too excessive for me to forgive.
Should I go on with the things that really bothered me? She is looking through a photo album of Alina’s, and she opens up to a picture Alina took of her and Darroc having sex and the shot is him as he’s coming. Wait. What? Let me get this straight. Alina took a picture of Darroc right when he is orgasming inside of her, had it developed, and then put it in to her photo album along with photos of her birthday parties and shit? Are you serious? /INSERT ME GAGGING HERE/: “From the look on his face, I knew he was coming when she took it. And I could see it in his eyes. He’d loved her, too.” That just ain’t right!
By the middle of the book I was channeling Dave Chappelle chanting “Wrap. It. Up!” She’s the concubine. No, she’s the Unseelie King, no wait, she’s only one of many parts of him, she’s becoming Fae, she’s here, she’s there, what is he, where is he, it just became ridiculous. By the time she takes Barrons by the hand and kills him AGAIN by trying to get him through the Unseelie King’s silver in his boudoir, I threw in the towel. Again she kills him? Again she says “I’m sorry?” Overkill. Enough! Tell us what the BLEEP is going on, already! Then, what is ultimately revealed about who Mac is, is just silly. She was “touched” in the womb by the Sinshar Du and that’s how she and it are connected? How she has all these memories? I’ve waited over a year for this? And Christian. What was the point of Christian’s evolution from Druid to Unseelie Prince? Huh?
I did like several parts of the book. I enjoyed the world building. I felt like I could really see the White Mansion, and the Unseelie Prison. I also loved when Darroc was decapitated, and all Mac was concerned about was putting his head back on and torturing information out of him. That was AWESOME! I think this was my favorite quote from the book:
“Darroc is no longer about to kiss me, because his head is gone—just gone—and you’re never ready for that, no matter how cold and hard and dead you think you are inside. Being sprayed by the blood of a headless corpse—especially someone you know, whether you like him or not—gets you on a visceral level. Doubly so when you were about to kiss that person. But even more upsetting is that I don’t know how to merge with the Book. All I can think is: His head is gone and I don’t know how to merge with the Book. He eats Unseelie. Can I put his head back on? If I do, can he talk? Maybe I can patch him up and torture it out of him.” pg 149
Another part that highly amused me, even if it was not totally buyable, was that V’lane this entire time was Cruce, the last Unseelie Prince. I honestly did not see V’lane’s deception coming at all. I did like the plot twist of Dani leading Alina to her demise, too.
I loved of course that she and Barrons AFTER 4 BOOKS and 450 PAGES OF THIS BOOK finally gave in to one another, but by the time it happened, for me it was too little too late. I was really passed the point where I could take their anger/stress/sexual tension any longer and I was sick of them both by part 4.
And then, after all these millennia of Barrons searching for the Sinshar Du at all costs to end his son’s suffering, that part of the story is resolved in the last 2 pages and it is something so ridiculously simple? All the things he has done to track the book, the people he has hurt and killed, and his problem is solved, wrapped up in a nice little bow at the very end? And we never learn what Barrons really is other than “a Beast”. What are he and his 8 really? She couldn’t give that to her readers? Who was the mother of his child? And how did Fiona know all of this about his inability to die and more, more than Mac did? How did Fiona initially fit in to all this? Hey! This entire paragraph of questions makes me sound like… wait for it… Mac Version 200 Questions!
Sorry, KMM, but 2.5 stars. I am disappointed with the end result. I don’t feel you gave us readers the true ending to the series we deserved, but I ain’t mad at ya. You had a story to tell and I am just one fan who didn’t like it.
Qué sera sera.
Originally posted at WickedLilPixie Reviews
**Warning, SPOILERS**
Here is the truth: This book drove me BANANAS with the endless paragraphs of questions. Shadowfever did NOT need to be the length that it was, that it was stretched out entirely too long with unnecessary emo verse and Mac Version 200 Questions made me want to stab someone.
Here are just 2 of endless examples in which a paragraph of questions are used to tell the story:
“What would happen when we finally had the Book under lock and key? How did Barrons think he was going to use it once it was contained? Did he know the First Language? Was he that old? Had he learned it over time, or been taught? Did he plan to let us re-inter it at the abbey again, then sit down and read it? And do what with the knowledge?” pg 372
“Was she bad because she’d loved him? Was he evil because he’d wanted to reclaim what had been taken from him? Hadn’t the same motives driven the Unseelie King and his concubine? Didn’t the same motives drive humans every day?
Why hadn’t the queen just let the king have the woman he loved? Why couldn’t the king be happy with one lifetime? What might have happened to the Unseelie if they’d never been imprisoned? Might they have turned out like the Seelie court?
And what about my sister and me? Would we really doom the world? Nurture or nature: What were we?” pg 452
That is just crappy storytelling, for me. The equivalent to pages and pages of paragraph questions like this throughout the book is not endearing to me. I know that KMM has used this style of writing in previous books, but it was too excessive for me to forgive.
Should I go on with the things that really bothered me? She is looking through a photo album of Alina’s, and she opens up to a picture Alina took of her and Darroc having sex and the shot is him as he’s coming. Wait. What? Let me get this straight. Alina took a picture of Darroc right when he is orgasming inside of her, had it developed, and then put it in to her photo album along with photos of her birthday parties and shit? Are you serious? /INSERT ME GAGGING HERE/: “From the look on his face, I knew he was coming when she took it. And I could see it in his eyes. He’d loved her, too.” That just ain’t right!
By the middle of the book I was channeling Dave Chappelle chanting “Wrap. It. Up!” She’s the concubine. No, she’s the Unseelie King, no wait, she’s only one of many parts of him, she’s becoming Fae, she’s here, she’s there, what is he, where is he, it just became ridiculous. By the time she takes Barrons by the hand and kills him AGAIN by trying to get him through the Unseelie King’s silver in his boudoir, I threw in the towel. Again she kills him? Again she says “I’m sorry?” Overkill. Enough! Tell us what the BLEEP is going on, already! Then, what is ultimately revealed about who Mac is, is just silly. She was “touched” in the womb by the Sinshar Du and that’s how she and it are connected? How she has all these memories? I’ve waited over a year for this? And Christian. What was the point of Christian’s evolution from Druid to Unseelie Prince? Huh?
I did like several parts of the book. I enjoyed the world building. I felt like I could really see the White Mansion, and the Unseelie Prison. I also loved when Darroc was decapitated, and all Mac was concerned about was putting his head back on and torturing information out of him. That was AWESOME! I think this was my favorite quote from the book:
“Darroc is no longer about to kiss me, because his head is gone—just gone—and you’re never ready for that, no matter how cold and hard and dead you think you are inside. Being sprayed by the blood of a headless corpse—especially someone you know, whether you like him or not—gets you on a visceral level. Doubly so when you were about to kiss that person. But even more upsetting is that I don’t know how to merge with the Book. All I can think is: His head is gone and I don’t know how to merge with the Book. He eats Unseelie. Can I put his head back on? If I do, can he talk? Maybe I can patch him up and torture it out of him.” pg 149
Another part that highly amused me, even if it was not totally buyable, was that V’lane this entire time was Cruce, the last Unseelie Prince. I honestly did not see V’lane’s deception coming at all. I did like the plot twist of Dani leading Alina to her demise, too.
I loved of course that she and Barrons AFTER 4 BOOKS and 450 PAGES OF THIS BOOK finally gave in to one another, but by the time it happened, for me it was too little too late. I was really passed the point where I could take their anger/stress/sexual tension any longer and I was sick of them both by part 4.
And then, after all these millennia of Barrons searching for the Sinshar Du at all costs to end his son’s suffering, that part of the story is resolved in the last 2 pages and it is something so ridiculously simple? All the things he has done to track the book, the people he has hurt and killed, and his problem is solved, wrapped up in a nice little bow at the very end? And we never learn what Barrons really is other than “a Beast”. What are he and his 8 really? She couldn’t give that to her readers? Who was the mother of his child? And how did Fiona know all of this about his inability to die and more, more than Mac did? How did Fiona initially fit in to all this? Hey! This entire paragraph of questions makes me sound like… wait for it… Mac Version 200 Questions!
Sorry, KMM, but 2.5 stars. I am disappointed with the end result. I don’t feel you gave us readers the true ending to the series we deserved, but I ain’t mad at ya. You had a story to tell and I am just one fan who didn’t like it.
Qué sera sera.
Originally posted at WickedLilPixie Reviews
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 21, 2011
Basically, every single one of these books makes me want to break into song and dance! They got the UNSEELIE oooooooout!!
Shoulder. Chin. Shoulder, shoulder, shoulder. DOUBLE DREAM HANDS!!!!
There may be minor spoilers in this review. They are mainly just spoilers about the general feeling of the end result, definitely not about any specifics or plot twists. I don't think it's any big spoiler to say that by the end of this book, the Unseelie are mostly wiped out of Dublin. Most people probably assumed that would happen or at least hoped.
As I sit here wearing my "Dublin rocks" t-shirt (I'm not exaggerating), pondering and daydreaming, I have come across a great revelation.
I am ruined. I am ruined for every single other urban fantasy. I am ruined for every other paranormal romance. Hell, I'm ruined for every other book EVER. How could I go back to YA after this? How can I go on in urban fantasy when I started at the top? How can I ever read another book again?!?! Of course, I'm being melodramatic but somewhere inside, I feel it's true. I know I'll get over it. Eventually.
While I loved it, I had quite a few issues with this book, so here we go:
1. The Dani Perspective - Dani is a relentless spitfire. Unfortunately that means what often spews forth from her is fire and it's painful. It burns my eyes and my brain. I love Dani but enough with the rambling, woman! I felt like every time we were dumped into Dani's head, it was tedious and unnessecary. A technique that is used by writers of lesser talent to rachett up the tension between the scenes that you actually want to be in. KMM is better than that. She doesn't need to use this ploy. Not to mention, it's annoying as feck inside Dani's head.
2. The Gimmicks - The Dani Daily, the quotes and song lyrics before every "part", the conversations with the Sinsar Dubh, switching of perspectives. Once again, KMM is better than this. And if all these things are so important to the mythology of the series, where were they in all the previous books? Why fling these on us now? We didn't need them. All it did was take away from time I'd rather be spending with our main characters.
3. The info dumps and recaps - By the halfway point, I felt like almost nothing had happened. So much time was spent rehashing past events and reintroducing red herrings and 'clues'. This was happening much more often than was necessary. Along with tons of internal dialogue and speculation. Am I this? Am I that? Is he this or that? Blah blah blah. Just get to the action.
5. Lovetastic Endless Forever Love - Yes, its what we've always wished for! But as soon as Barrons and Mac got together and (sort of) declared their love, I was bored. I know that's childish of me but I wanted hate sex! Not loooooove sex. Boring! I know that once again I'm being melodramatic but KMM basically turned us into Pavlov's dogs, training us to drool every time Barrons acted animalistic. And she did it with good reason. I felt the scenes thereafter were a little too cheesealicious. And apparently,
Oh damn, I'm drooling again... MEEEEEE-YOW!
4. And the thing that pisses me off the most - I still don't know what the feck Barrons is! I mean, I know "what" he is, but I don't know why or what the hell it has to do with the rest of the story. It's like she took two completely unrelated stories and mythologies and meshed them together. It frustrates me quite a bit. But do I care? A little. Would I take any of it back? Hell no.
The way I see it is: it's about the journey not the destination.
Much the way I felt at the end of Lost -
What the faaaaaa?
What the batman was the smoke monster? Maybe it was Batman! The effing writers don't even know!!
And Battlestar Galactica -
Why the frak?
I still don't know what the bejesus Starbuck was? Was she Jesus?? Hell if I know! Hell if she knows!
Sure, I was disappointed that I didn't get the exact answers that I wanted. I'm not always sure if I got ANY answers (mainly with Lost). But regardless - the journey was incredible, intense, and inspiring. If I had been hung up on the answers, I never would have been able to feel the full range of the emotions of the characters. I wouldn't have been able to vicariously live out adventures through the people in the book or on the screen. If I only focused on the logic and found myself unable to suspend my disbelief, I'd have the emotional range of a robot (well, these days that might be becoming less and less limited but you get what I'm saying, I hope.)
Maybe life isn't always about the answers, maybe it's about the search.
I love it when you get inside a book. You become the book - flowing out of and into it like some sort of monster, helplessly attached. KMM's books are the Sinsar Dubh and I am the Beast.
Overall, I was consumed by these books. I loved the series, the story arch and the characters. What an amazing journey! I feel like dancing around throwing confetti, riding a magic carpet through the sky while singing, and slathering my face with birthday cake!!
DOUBLE DREAM HANDS EXTREEEEEEEEME!!!
I don't know what to do with myself now. I'm going to have to revert to the hermit version of myself, who can only be consoled by eating peanut butter and apple slices while watching Buffy or Battlestar reruns and is only truly happy while watching and singing along to the Buffy Musical "Once More with Feeling."
We've all talked before about who should play the characters in a movie, but I've changed my mind -- I don't want a movie. I WANT A FECKIN TV SHOW!!!! I want to see Barrons every damn week. Not just two hours of glorious hotness and beauty in one year. I want twenty-two hours!! For years to come. Don't you want to see someone who looks similar to this on TV?
Seriously. With the mega success of shows like the Vampire Dairies and True Blood, why hasn't someone come up with something to compete or stand on the same level but from a different mythology. With the right people at the helm, this could. This could surpass it. Not to mention, I would love to see Kristen Bell on a series again and she's perfect for Mac. God knows it would be difficult to find a man hot enough to play Barrons, but it would be so worth it when they did. I'm actually getting goosebumps talking about seeing him on my TV every week.
Really, only in a TV show, could the characters fully be explored and fleshed out. Only then could we really experience their changes. Shadowfever was the #1 NYT Bestseller. That HAS to speak for the power of it's reach and it's fans.
I know nothing about websites or blogs but pleeeeeeease - if there is anyone reading who does, start some sort or petition for a TV show based on the Fever series. Or a twitter campaign or a facebook page. Hell - do them all! And post a link HERE and everyone sign up!! I will post a link on my review and anywhere else I can!
Gorgeous! Just perfect.
My review for the first book, Darkfever. Spoiler FREE.
For the second book, Bloodfever. Spoiler Alert!!!
The third book, Faefever. Spoiler FREE.
The fourth book, Dreamfever. Spoiler FREE.
Shoulder. Chin. Shoulder, shoulder, shoulder. DOUBLE DREAM HANDS!!!!
There may be minor spoilers in this review. They are mainly just spoilers about the general feeling of the end result, definitely not about any specifics or plot twists. I don't think it's any big spoiler to say that by the end of this book, the Unseelie are mostly wiped out of Dublin. Most people probably assumed that would happen or at least hoped.
As I sit here wearing my "Dublin rocks" t-shirt (I'm not exaggerating), pondering and daydreaming, I have come across a great revelation.
I am ruined. I am ruined for every single other urban fantasy. I am ruined for every other paranormal romance. Hell, I'm ruined for every other book EVER. How could I go back to YA after this? How can I go on in urban fantasy when I started at the top? How can I ever read another book again?!?! Of course, I'm being melodramatic but somewhere inside, I feel it's true. I know I'll get over it. Eventually.
While I loved it, I had quite a few issues with this book, so here we go:
1. The Dani Perspective - Dani is a relentless spitfire. Unfortunately that means what often spews forth from her is fire and it's painful. It burns my eyes and my brain. I love Dani but enough with the rambling, woman! I felt like every time we were dumped into Dani's head, it was tedious and unnessecary. A technique that is used by writers of lesser talent to rachett up the tension between the scenes that you actually want to be in. KMM is better than that. She doesn't need to use this ploy. Not to mention, it's annoying as feck inside Dani's head.
2. The Gimmicks - The Dani Daily, the quotes and song lyrics before every "part", the conversations with the Sinsar Dubh, switching of perspectives. Once again, KMM is better than this. And if all these things are so important to the mythology of the series, where were they in all the previous books? Why fling these on us now? We didn't need them. All it did was take away from time I'd rather be spending with our main characters.
3. The info dumps and recaps - By the halfway point, I felt like almost nothing had happened. So much time was spent rehashing past events and reintroducing red herrings and 'clues'. This was happening much more often than was necessary. Along with tons of internal dialogue and speculation. Am I this? Am I that? Is he this or that? Blah blah blah. Just get to the action.
5. Lovetastic Endless Forever Love - Yes, its what we've always wished for! But as soon as Barrons and Mac got together and (sort of) declared their love, I was bored. I know that's childish of me but I wanted hate sex! Not loooooove sex. Boring! I know that once again I'm being melodramatic but KMM basically turned us into Pavlov's dogs, training us to drool every time Barrons acted animalistic. And she did it with good reason. I felt the scenes thereafter were a little too cheesealicious. And apparently,
Oh damn, I'm drooling again... MEEEEEE-YOW!
4. And the thing that pisses me off the most - I still don't know what the feck Barrons is! I mean, I know "what" he is, but I don't know why or what the hell it has to do with the rest of the story. It's like she took two completely unrelated stories and mythologies and meshed them together. It frustrates me quite a bit. But do I care? A little. Would I take any of it back? Hell no.
The way I see it is: it's about the journey not the destination.
Much the way I felt at the end of Lost -
What the faaaaaa?
What the batman was the smoke monster? Maybe it was Batman! The effing writers don't even know!!
And Battlestar Galactica -
Why the frak?
I still don't know what the bejesus Starbuck was? Was she Jesus?? Hell if I know! Hell if she knows!
Sure, I was disappointed that I didn't get the exact answers that I wanted. I'm not always sure if I got ANY answers (mainly with Lost). But regardless - the journey was incredible, intense, and inspiring. If I had been hung up on the answers, I never would have been able to feel the full range of the emotions of the characters. I wouldn't have been able to vicariously live out adventures through the people in the book or on the screen. If I only focused on the logic and found myself unable to suspend my disbelief, I'd have the emotional range of a robot (well, these days that might be becoming less and less limited but you get what I'm saying, I hope.)
Maybe life isn't always about the answers, maybe it's about the search.
I love it when you get inside a book. You become the book - flowing out of and into it like some sort of monster, helplessly attached. KMM's books are the Sinsar Dubh and I am the Beast.
Overall, I was consumed by these books. I loved the series, the story arch and the characters. What an amazing journey! I feel like dancing around throwing confetti, riding a magic carpet through the sky while singing, and slathering my face with birthday cake!!
DOUBLE DREAM HANDS EXTREEEEEEEEME!!!
I don't know what to do with myself now. I'm going to have to revert to the hermit version of myself, who can only be consoled by eating peanut butter and apple slices while watching Buffy or Battlestar reruns and is only truly happy while watching and singing along to the Buffy Musical "Once More with Feeling."
We've all talked before about who should play the characters in a movie, but I've changed my mind -- I don't want a movie. I WANT A FECKIN TV SHOW!!!! I want to see Barrons every damn week. Not just two hours of glorious hotness and beauty in one year. I want twenty-two hours!! For years to come. Don't you want to see someone who looks similar to this on TV?
Seriously. With the mega success of shows like the Vampire Dairies and True Blood, why hasn't someone come up with something to compete or stand on the same level but from a different mythology. With the right people at the helm, this could. This could surpass it. Not to mention, I would love to see Kristen Bell on a series again and she's perfect for Mac. God knows it would be difficult to find a man hot enough to play Barrons, but it would be so worth it when they did. I'm actually getting goosebumps talking about seeing him on my TV every week.
Really, only in a TV show, could the characters fully be explored and fleshed out. Only then could we really experience their changes. Shadowfever was the #1 NYT Bestseller. That HAS to speak for the power of it's reach and it's fans.
I know nothing about websites or blogs but pleeeeeeease - if there is anyone reading who does, start some sort or petition for a TV show based on the Fever series. Or a twitter campaign or a facebook page. Hell - do them all! And post a link HERE and everyone sign up!! I will post a link on my review and anywhere else I can!
Gorgeous! Just perfect.
My review for the first book, Darkfever. Spoiler FREE.
For the second book, Bloodfever. Spoiler Alert!!!
The third book, Faefever. Spoiler FREE.
The fourth book, Dreamfever. Spoiler FREE.
July 14, 2020
I cannot believe it’s over.
I am still stunned by all the information we were given, all the revelations...It is so much to process.
Yet, I revel in every thought and feeling that assaults my body, and trust me, there are many.
Absolutely Astonishing!
Breathtaking.
Mind bending.
Heart-wrenching.
I was right. I was wrong. I was stupefied.
I want more. I need more.
I must read it again. Slowly. Savoring every bit over and over.
My chest hurts, my brain spins, and all I want to do is hug this book and dive right back in.
I am ADDICTED and will never get enough!
--Orig. post:
I'm not sure I can wait any longer. The theories and questions running rampant in my mind are going to drive me insane.
However, I just know this book will be amazing...I can feel it in my bones!
I am still stunned by all the information we were given, all the revelations...It is so much to process.
Yet, I revel in every thought and feeling that assaults my body, and trust me, there are many.
Absolutely Astonishing!
Breathtaking.
Mind bending.
Heart-wrenching.
I was right. I was wrong. I was stupefied.
I want more. I need more.
I must read it again. Slowly. Savoring every bit over and over.
My chest hurts, my brain spins, and all I want to do is hug this book and dive right back in.
I am ADDICTED and will never get enough!
--Orig. post:
I'm not sure I can wait any longer. The theories and questions running rampant in my mind are going to drive me insane.
However, I just know this book will be amazing...I can feel it in my bones!
November 16, 2013
Well after that marathon reading session I am exhausted.
Started the first book about a week ago and could not stop. It was intriguing. I loved it and I usually do not read fantasy, paranormal, call it what you will.
”Bloody hell, Ms Lane, you drive me bloody fucking crazy.”
I THOUGHT I’D LOST EVERYTHING.
HOW IGNORANT I WAS.
HE WARNED ME.
I HAD SO MUCH MORE TO LOSE.
I WANT TO DIE.
This review will be mostly visual
“Some people bring out the worst in you, others bring out the best, and then there are those remarkably rare, addictive ones who just bring out the most. Of everything.
They make you feel so alive that you'd follow them straight into hell, just to keep getting your fix.”
It was great that it was set in Ireland and even set in places very near to where I grew up in the West of Irealnd.
“The moment I laid eyes on you, I knew you were trouble."
"Ditto."
"I wanted to drag you between the shelves, fuck you senseless, and send you home."
"If you'd done that, I never would have left."
"You're still here anyway."
"You don't have to sound so sour about it."
"You're upsetting my entire existence."
"Fine, I'll leave."
"Try and I'll chain you up.”
”You mind-fuck with me again, I’ll fuck you back. But it won’t be with my mind.”
I LOVED Jericho Barrons, yes Irene, you were right.
I LOVED Barrons and Mac together eventhough I felt they were not together enough
MAC
Seelies/Unseelies/Faes
If you are looking for a book with hot, erotic sex scenes …. Well …
All the men in the book were droolworthy, definitely don’t see men like that when I go back to Ireland on holidays
I felt like crying. The day I set foot in the Emereld Isle, the slow erosion of me had begun
V’lane
“I didn’t ask. Some things are better left unsaid.
He looked at me and I shivered. I never get enough of him.
Never will.
He lives.
I breathe.
I want. Him. Always.
Fire to my ice. Ice to my fever.
Later we would go to bed, and when he rose over me, dark and vast and eternal, I’d know joy.”
ROWENA
RYODAN
... maybe not ALL the men are drool-worthy!
DARROC
”Why does it always take you so long to tell me the important things?”
DANI
I LOVED DANI, WITH HER FECKING FECKERS!
“Love knows no right or wrong.
Love is. Only is.”
THERE WERE WORSE WAYS TO BE TORTURED THAN WITH A VISION OF JERICHO BARRONS NAKED
You’re leaving me, Rainbow Girl
...
The first part and the last part of the book were exciting, did not know what to expect, I felt it was just a tad bit drawn out in the middle but the author is a suckler for detail so I suppose she had to include EVERYTHING
LIKE A MOTH TO A FLAME, I FOLLOWED
Keep your friends close … and your enemies closer
Will I give fantasy/paranormal another shot? Well, I think I am signed up for a BR of the BDB on Monday so the answer is YES
Yes, I will admit throughout most of this series I was …
so I think I have to go find me a nice little hot book now!
April 15, 2018
I’ve fucking done it. I’ve re-read this series and reviewed all of them in some semblance of a calm and rational manner. But this fucking book…
Where do I go from here? What do I read?!
What is this world we live in? It fucking SUCKS compared to the one I just left!
I haven’t seen my friends or family in a fucking WEEK. But you know what?
Because I want more.
Jericho Barrons.
Jericho. Barrons.
JERICHO. BARRONS.
*flails*
Oh, Mac’s okay too…I guess.
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Where do I go from here? What do I read?!
What is this world we live in? It fucking SUCKS compared to the one I just left!
I haven’t seen my friends or family in a fucking WEEK. But you know what?
Because I want more.
Jericho Barrons.
Jericho. Barrons.
JERICHO. BARRONS.
*flails*
Oh, Mac’s okay too…I guess.
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January 28, 2011
*This is more of an opinion of the Fever series as a whole, but most of my thoughts evolved after reading Shadowfever*
One of the biggest series to hit the Paranormal, Romance, and I guess the Urban Fantasy genre is Karen Marie Moning’s Fever series. I’ve enjoyed Karen’s book in the past since they were straight up romance with larger than life heroes (Lusty Scots who reminded me of Jamie from the Outlander series. Och) and the heroines who think they’re lacking in redeeming qualities, but are adored and thought to be perfect by these lusty gimme an Och burly heroes that any women would tear off their kilts to get a taste of what they don’t wear underneath them.
When I heard Karen was going to start a new series that wasn’t a romance, but more along the lines of a paranormal mystery about a young woman who goes in search of her sister’s killer, I wasn’t interested in reading. When Darkfever came out, I didn’t pay much mind. But then as more books were published and the ultimate cliffhanger with Faefever and the electric Chapter 4 in Dreamfever, including the elusive, mysterious and cocky character of Barrons, that’s when I started to change my mind. When so many are so far gone over a series of books and the word “crack” is used, I think of JR Ward’s BDB series, which is my crack. So, two weeks before Shadowfever was published I started reading the first four books so by the time Shadowfever came out I’d be caught up on everything.
I’m warning all the Fever and Barrons fans that this post isn’t going to praise these books. So, if you are a hardcore lover of these books, you may want to stop reading here and move onto another blog that has big accolades of the Fever series. I’m in the minority because on a whole the Fever series was a big disappointment for me.
*waits as Bieber Fever girls.. oops I mean Barrons Fever girls leave to sigh over le Douche…*
Yes, that’s right, my nickname for Jericho Barrons is le Douche. When did I come to the conclusion that Barrons is a douche? Pretty much by the second book. But before I go on with my rant about Barrons le Douche, let’s start at the beginning with MacKayla Lane. MacKayla, who everyone calls Mac, lives in Ashford, Georgia with her parents. The twenty-two year old spends her days bartending, tanning hanging out with friends and is a proud girly-girl who has a pink fetish, loves doing her hair and nails and has no qualms that she’s beautiful. Her older sister Alina is in Dublin, Ireland studying at Trinity College. Mac’s entire world is about to go to hell in a hand basket one hot summer day when she finds out Alina has been killed. No one knows why Alina was murdered, and the authorities in Dublin pretty much close the case even before they can start to investigate. Mac refuses to let this be, especially since Alina left a frightened message on her cell phone a few hours before she was killed. Mac takes it upon herself to go over to Dublin and get answers. She owes it to Alina and herself to find out what happened.
Mac goes to Dublin without any real plan. The police can’t or won’t answers her questions and Alina’s teachers and fellow students have no clue about her whereabouts or who she hung out with because she began to cut class and became secretive. Alina had a lover named Darroc who has the power of the persuasive voice behind him. Mac believes Darroc (A character who has appeared in Moning's Highlander series) knows what may have happened to Alina, or he kiled her, but doesn’t want to be found. Mac is basically backed into a corner and it looks like Alina’s murder will never get solved. But then Mac starts seeing things that are not normal. Very freaky OMGWTFBBQ things.
Cutting to the chase here- Mac has the ability to see the Fae because she’s a sidhe-seer, from an ancient Celtic blood-line who can see the Fae. The Fae uses illusions, and there are different types, a cast system or sorts from the Seelie to the Unseelie and a whole bunch more that would take an entire semester of history class to understand. The wall between Man and Faery is coming down and Mac will be the one to stop it as she continues to find her sister’s killer and hunt a book called the Sinsar Dubh, a Fae relic that can possess humans. Mac meets Jericho Barrons, who runs Barrons Books and Baubles. Barrons doesn’t like Mac at all and keeps it just business between them by calling her Ms. Lane while she calls him Barrons. I call him Le Douche. Douche needs Mac because she’s the only one who can locate the Sinsar Dubh. Most of the action are these two searching for the demon book and Mac opening her eyes to the Fae around her, such as V’lane the prince of the Tuath De’ Danaan, a fine specimen of Fae who can literally kill you through too many orgasms during sex. Mac and V’lane become friends in a strange way while Barrons is always there taunting Mac and NEVER ANSWERING ANY QUESTIONS SHE HAS. Mac gets frustrated by Barrons’s aloofness and cruel demeanor while she fantasizes about his body, tattoos and his fast cars and bookstore she lusts after as much as she lust after him, but doesn't want the scary thing hiding under his garage that Barrons won’t say what it is because BARRONS DOESN’T ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS MAC ASKS HIM.
Slowly… oh so very slowly, Mac gets closer to the truth as she goes from cutesy Barbie doll Legally Blonde Elle Woods to black wearing, I’m going to kick some ass ala Linda Hamilton from Terminator 2. All the while she lusts after Barrons, who acts like Batman, appearing for short amounts of time to act snarky and rude to Mac knowing she’s practically in heat for him. I guess his snappish insults are like foreplay for them both.
I have three big issues why the Fever series didn’t work. The fact that Barrons le Douche refuses to answer any questions thrown his way by Mac is a poor attempt to keep the tension alive. It’s a throwback plot device that doesn’t work and is a weakness on the part of the author to keep the reader invested in finding the answers. Having Barrons act like a petulant spoiled boy, much like a douche, by refusing to give up anything is almost insulting. Also the screen time with Barrons is very minimal if you think of it. He comes and goes with no real purpose and I wonder if Karen’s original plans for Barrons wasn’t as important to the overall story arc who was transformed into a more important role based on readers’ reactions.
I had a big issue with Mac’s constant internalization. Shadowfever is very guilty of this. Mac is a wonderful character who grows in every single book even with the long winded inner monologues, while Barrons is stagnant. The excuse could be is because Barrons is thousands upon thousands of years old, but you think he’d have some therapeutic change based on Mac being in his life. I was waiting for that moment where Barrons does have that light bulb moment with Mac. Sorry, by him accepting Mac as his lover and showing through hot sex that she’s the one for him, is not good enough for me.
Finally, The Fever series as a whole is very watered down. I can appreciate the mythology of it all, but at times I felt this was very surface type reading. It may just be me, but I like more descriptive explanations and much of the action was glossed over. I had problems trying to get a handle on things and what was going on. I also felt poor Mac was being thrown in every which direction for no purpose (this happens a great deal in Shadowfever). And destroying a character’s psyche and spirit by constantly throwing horrible things at them such as a death of a loved one, being threatened, brutally raped and then being insulted left and right, is not a good enough or valid reason to show how your main character, such as Mac, can walk though the fires, be burned to a crisp and come out stronger than ever.
The Fever series just didn’t work for me. I could continue to go on with other reasons, including why I think Barrons is the perfect example of an abusive, manipulative emotionally stunted jerk, but that would take a whole other post. For what it’s worth, I do have to mention how the tone of Feminism is very strong in this series. At no point does Mac rely on a man to save her. Barrons doesn’t really come to her rescue at any point, unless you count the one time when he helps her bring her out of her Py’ra, the almost death by Fae sex (Which I kept thinking of She-Ra). But the again, it wasn’t a totally unselfish move on Barrons part either. Karen does make a great case for “Girl Power” in the form of Mac and the thirteen year old Dani who becomes Mac’s backup and her new found sister and sidhe warrior in arms.
How I wished I could have enjoyed these books, but they fell so flat for me. Also, this could have worked better as a trilogy than over five books. Bloodfever, book #2, doesn’t bring anything worthwhile to the series. I will say this, Karen does sure know how to write some great one-liners and dialogue. What may be the most effective line from all these books still sticks with me. It was first mentioned by Barrons in Dreamfever and brought up by Mac again toward the end of Shadowfever where Mac and Barrons finally are completely honest with one another. Barrons tells Mac she’ll find a man who will kiss her until she can’t breathe, where she’ll realize she doesn’t need air. Mac has found that with Barrons, and since the Fever series isn’t technically a romance, their HEA is the least likely normal one that should be expected, even if their road to their HEA was less than ideal for me.
For this reader, I very much had my breath the entire time while reading the Fever series and didn’t lose my breath once because of the overall lacking enjoyment I found as I read.
One of the biggest series to hit the Paranormal, Romance, and I guess the Urban Fantasy genre is Karen Marie Moning’s Fever series. I’ve enjoyed Karen’s book in the past since they were straight up romance with larger than life heroes (Lusty Scots who reminded me of Jamie from the Outlander series. Och) and the heroines who think they’re lacking in redeeming qualities, but are adored and thought to be perfect by these lusty gimme an Och burly heroes that any women would tear off their kilts to get a taste of what they don’t wear underneath them.
When I heard Karen was going to start a new series that wasn’t a romance, but more along the lines of a paranormal mystery about a young woman who goes in search of her sister’s killer, I wasn’t interested in reading. When Darkfever came out, I didn’t pay much mind. But then as more books were published and the ultimate cliffhanger with Faefever and the electric Chapter 4 in Dreamfever, including the elusive, mysterious and cocky character of Barrons, that’s when I started to change my mind. When so many are so far gone over a series of books and the word “crack” is used, I think of JR Ward’s BDB series, which is my crack. So, two weeks before Shadowfever was published I started reading the first four books so by the time Shadowfever came out I’d be caught up on everything.
I’m warning all the Fever and Barrons fans that this post isn’t going to praise these books. So, if you are a hardcore lover of these books, you may want to stop reading here and move onto another blog that has big accolades of the Fever series. I’m in the minority because on a whole the Fever series was a big disappointment for me.
*waits as Bieber Fever girls.. oops I mean Barrons Fever girls leave to sigh over le Douche…*
Yes, that’s right, my nickname for Jericho Barrons is le Douche. When did I come to the conclusion that Barrons is a douche? Pretty much by the second book. But before I go on with my rant about Barrons le Douche, let’s start at the beginning with MacKayla Lane. MacKayla, who everyone calls Mac, lives in Ashford, Georgia with her parents. The twenty-two year old spends her days bartending, tanning hanging out with friends and is a proud girly-girl who has a pink fetish, loves doing her hair and nails and has no qualms that she’s beautiful. Her older sister Alina is in Dublin, Ireland studying at Trinity College. Mac’s entire world is about to go to hell in a hand basket one hot summer day when she finds out Alina has been killed. No one knows why Alina was murdered, and the authorities in Dublin pretty much close the case even before they can start to investigate. Mac refuses to let this be, especially since Alina left a frightened message on her cell phone a few hours before she was killed. Mac takes it upon herself to go over to Dublin and get answers. She owes it to Alina and herself to find out what happened.
Mac goes to Dublin without any real plan. The police can’t or won’t answers her questions and Alina’s teachers and fellow students have no clue about her whereabouts or who she hung out with because she began to cut class and became secretive. Alina had a lover named Darroc who has the power of the persuasive voice behind him. Mac believes Darroc (A character who has appeared in Moning's Highlander series) knows what may have happened to Alina, or he kiled her, but doesn’t want to be found. Mac is basically backed into a corner and it looks like Alina’s murder will never get solved. But then Mac starts seeing things that are not normal. Very freaky OMGWTFBBQ things.
Cutting to the chase here- Mac has the ability to see the Fae because she’s a sidhe-seer, from an ancient Celtic blood-line who can see the Fae. The Fae uses illusions, and there are different types, a cast system or sorts from the Seelie to the Unseelie and a whole bunch more that would take an entire semester of history class to understand. The wall between Man and Faery is coming down and Mac will be the one to stop it as she continues to find her sister’s killer and hunt a book called the Sinsar Dubh, a Fae relic that can possess humans. Mac meets Jericho Barrons, who runs Barrons Books and Baubles. Barrons doesn’t like Mac at all and keeps it just business between them by calling her Ms. Lane while she calls him Barrons. I call him Le Douche. Douche needs Mac because she’s the only one who can locate the Sinsar Dubh. Most of the action are these two searching for the demon book and Mac opening her eyes to the Fae around her, such as V’lane the prince of the Tuath De’ Danaan, a fine specimen of Fae who can literally kill you through too many orgasms during sex. Mac and V’lane become friends in a strange way while Barrons is always there taunting Mac and NEVER ANSWERING ANY QUESTIONS SHE HAS. Mac gets frustrated by Barrons’s aloofness and cruel demeanor while she fantasizes about his body, tattoos and his fast cars and bookstore she lusts after as much as she lust after him, but doesn't want the scary thing hiding under his garage that Barrons won’t say what it is because BARRONS DOESN’T ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS MAC ASKS HIM.
Slowly… oh so very slowly, Mac gets closer to the truth as she goes from cutesy Barbie doll Legally Blonde Elle Woods to black wearing, I’m going to kick some ass ala Linda Hamilton from Terminator 2. All the while she lusts after Barrons, who acts like Batman, appearing for short amounts of time to act snarky and rude to Mac knowing she’s practically in heat for him. I guess his snappish insults are like foreplay for them both.
I have three big issues why the Fever series didn’t work. The fact that Barrons le Douche refuses to answer any questions thrown his way by Mac is a poor attempt to keep the tension alive. It’s a throwback plot device that doesn’t work and is a weakness on the part of the author to keep the reader invested in finding the answers. Having Barrons act like a petulant spoiled boy, much like a douche, by refusing to give up anything is almost insulting. Also the screen time with Barrons is very minimal if you think of it. He comes and goes with no real purpose and I wonder if Karen’s original plans for Barrons wasn’t as important to the overall story arc who was transformed into a more important role based on readers’ reactions.
I had a big issue with Mac’s constant internalization. Shadowfever is very guilty of this. Mac is a wonderful character who grows in every single book even with the long winded inner monologues, while Barrons is stagnant. The excuse could be is because Barrons is thousands upon thousands of years old, but you think he’d have some therapeutic change based on Mac being in his life. I was waiting for that moment where Barrons does have that light bulb moment with Mac. Sorry, by him accepting Mac as his lover and showing through hot sex that she’s the one for him, is not good enough for me.
Finally, The Fever series as a whole is very watered down. I can appreciate the mythology of it all, but at times I felt this was very surface type reading. It may just be me, but I like more descriptive explanations and much of the action was glossed over. I had problems trying to get a handle on things and what was going on. I also felt poor Mac was being thrown in every which direction for no purpose (this happens a great deal in Shadowfever). And destroying a character’s psyche and spirit by constantly throwing horrible things at them such as a death of a loved one, being threatened, brutally raped and then being insulted left and right, is not a good enough or valid reason to show how your main character, such as Mac, can walk though the fires, be burned to a crisp and come out stronger than ever.
The Fever series just didn’t work for me. I could continue to go on with other reasons, including why I think Barrons is the perfect example of an abusive, manipulative emotionally stunted jerk, but that would take a whole other post. For what it’s worth, I do have to mention how the tone of Feminism is very strong in this series. At no point does Mac rely on a man to save her. Barrons doesn’t really come to her rescue at any point, unless you count the one time when he helps her bring her out of her Py’ra, the almost death by Fae sex (Which I kept thinking of She-Ra). But the again, it wasn’t a totally unselfish move on Barrons part either. Karen does make a great case for “Girl Power” in the form of Mac and the thirteen year old Dani who becomes Mac’s backup and her new found sister and sidhe warrior in arms.
How I wished I could have enjoyed these books, but they fell so flat for me. Also, this could have worked better as a trilogy than over five books. Bloodfever, book #2, doesn’t bring anything worthwhile to the series. I will say this, Karen does sure know how to write some great one-liners and dialogue. What may be the most effective line from all these books still sticks with me. It was first mentioned by Barrons in Dreamfever and brought up by Mac again toward the end of Shadowfever where Mac and Barrons finally are completely honest with one another. Barrons tells Mac she’ll find a man who will kiss her until she can’t breathe, where she’ll realize she doesn’t need air. Mac has found that with Barrons, and since the Fever series isn’t technically a romance, their HEA is the least likely normal one that should be expected, even if their road to their HEA was less than ideal for me.
For this reader, I very much had my breath the entire time while reading the Fever series and didn’t lose my breath once because of the overall lacking enjoyment I found as I read.
May 30, 2022
First read: 5 stars
Second read: 5 stars
I have been putting off posting this review for the past 4 months. My reasoning: this is without a doubt one of my most favourite fantasy series ever. Which probably makes little sense... but gatekeeping already ancient, popular books is a thing okay😡
This is more of a review for the series as a whole, so here's a visual representation of what reading each book felt like:
🛑ALL THE SPOILERS ARE HIDDEN IN TAGS🛑
📖 Immaculate lyrical writing that sucks you into every page. 📖
📖 A layered heroine. The breaker of all stereotypes. 📖
Mac is unapologetically:
shallow
selfish
arrogant
spoiled
adores pink
breathes fashion
vain since the day she was born
looks like a barbie
wears tees that spell JUICY on them
fully understands she might not be the wisest person in the room.
But Mac is also:
smarter than she looks
loyal to a fault
protective
SHE WILL beat a bitch up
stubborn in the best (and worst) ways
will slaughter for you
die for you
rearrange the entire world for you
okay fine not you, but for Jericho Barrons (H)💯
I won't deny Mac could really annoy the fuck out of you sometimes. She is a very flawed character and will never be perfect. It's why I don't hate on her as much as many people do. Some seem to forget that she was thrown into absolute insanity only 2 months ago . In that time she has gone through a WORLD of change. Had I been in her position, I don't think I would've done a thing differently. With that being said, from a reader's POV, she did act a lil dumb a time or two, but she always comes around.
📖 The slowest of slow burns. 📖
Frustratingly slow. Like MZ has nothing on this evil woman. It was so painful yet so good��😩. There came a point where I would openly salivate at any crumb of intimacy between the two.
Barrons: shows even the tiniest, most irrelevant hint of jealousy towards Mac.
Me:
Did I want more romance? Yes.
Was I mad that there wasn't more romance? NO.
Did I really really need more smut?
I don't know what the hell happened to me in the two years since I first read this....but back then I was completely content with the amount of raunchiness Karen provided. Now I have turned into an insatiable monster who feeds on smut for sustenance. Although Moning is the QUEEN of vague (but still hot) sex scenes. She is also a queen of sexual-tension-induced blue balls. Kid you not....I've had DREAMS about some of these scenes.
📖 Unpredictable plot with twists and turns you'll have a hard ass time predicting 📖 (mostly in the 5th book)
There were so many crazy moments where my jaw dropped in astonishment with questions like: Did the author really just do that!? and How the fuck are the characters going to get out of these situations??? Karen spared me no chaos and left not a nerve intact.
📖 The most eloquent world-building I've read in a while. 📖
Just the complexity of it all. The unveiling of the world was done so fucking well. You learn something new in each book and would never be left without guessing.
These visuals and the art>>>>>>>
❗A PENIS AHEAD❗ you've been warned, don't report my review<3
📖 random humour thrown in, which lights your mood instantly amongst all the darkness and unknown. 📖
The undiluted joy I'd feel every time I saw either of the MCs be happy?? Unparalleled.
These books are deeply atmospheric in a gothic/bleary type of way, almost like a fever dream (and the titles make sense now). Couple that with all the crazy shit blasting from every corner, the characters barely ever had the time to just be. So when they did, my ass sat there like:
But it was also the moments I knew for sure I'll never forget.
It's rare for me to write reviews where 99% of it is actually positive. Raving about books is so much harder, how do y'all do it😫. The strain of keeping all that negative energy at bay is getting to me. I really turned into a whole ass different bitch out here. I call that character development💅
I hope I shall not be back to my usual complaining ways when I continue on with the rest of the series.
PS: you do not need to read further than book 5, since there is a satisfying ending in Shadowfever. BUT the story does continue and not everyone says it's good, hence my hesitance to finish.
Overall: My love for the fever world is irrational and I probably overhyped it waaay too much. Karen, write another series plz so I have a reason to be nice again.
Links to my random, separate thoughts on each book:
Darkfever [1] 4.5 stars
Bloodfever [2] - 4 stars
Faefever [3] - 4.5 stars
Dreamfever [4] - 5 stars
Shadowfever [5] - 5 stars
Fever Moon [5.5] - 3.5 stars
Second read: 5 stars
I have been putting off posting this review for the past 4 months. My reasoning: this is without a doubt one of my most favourite fantasy series ever. Which probably makes little sense... but gatekeeping already ancient, popular books is a thing okay😡
This is more of a review for the series as a whole, so here's a visual representation of what reading each book felt like:
🛑ALL THE SPOILERS ARE HIDDEN IN TAGS🛑
📖 Immaculate lyrical writing that sucks you into every page. 📖
“Most people are good and occasionally do something they know is bad. Some people are bad and struggle every day to keep it under control. Others are corrupt to the core and don’t give a damn, as long as they don’t get caught. But evil is a completely different creature, Mac. Evil is bad that believes it’s good.
📖 A layered heroine. The breaker of all stereotypes. 📖
Mac is unapologetically:
shallow
selfish
arrogant
spoiled
adores pink
breathes fashion
vain since the day she was born
looks like a barbie
wears tees that spell JUICY on them
fully understands she might not be the wisest person in the room.
But Mac is also:
smarter than she looks
loyal to a fault
protective
SHE WILL beat a bitch up
stubborn in the best (and worst) ways
will slaughter for you
die for you
rearrange the entire world for you
okay fine not you, but for Jericho Barrons (H)💯
I won't deny Mac could really annoy the fuck out of you sometimes. She is a very flawed character and will never be perfect. It's why I don't hate on her as much as many people do. Some seem to forget that she was thrown into absolute insanity only 2 months ago . In that time she has gone through a WORLD of change. Had I been in her position, I don't think I would've done a thing differently. With that being said, from a reader's POV, she did act a lil dumb a time or two, but she always comes around.
📖 The slowest of slow burns. 📖
Frustratingly slow. Like MZ has nothing on this evil woman. It was so painful yet so good��😩. There came a point where I would openly salivate at any crumb of intimacy between the two.
Barrons: shows even the tiniest, most irrelevant hint of jealousy towards Mac.
Me:
“You can’t protect me forever.”
He gave me a look that said, Are you crazy? Of course I could
Did I want more romance? Yes.
Was I mad that there wasn't more romance? NO.
Did I really really need more smut?
I don't know what the hell happened to me in the two years since I first read this....but back then I was completely content with the amount of raunchiness Karen provided. Now I have turned into an insatiable monster who feeds on smut for sustenance. Although Moning is the QUEEN of vague (but still hot) sex scenes. She is also a queen of sexual-tension-induced blue balls. Kid you not....I've had DREAMS about some of these scenes.
📖 Unpredictable plot with twists and turns you'll have a hard ass time predicting 📖 (mostly in the 5th book)
There were so many crazy moments where my jaw dropped in astonishment with questions like: Did the author really just do that!? and How the fuck are the characters going to get out of these situations??? Karen spared me no chaos and left not a nerve intact.
📖 The most eloquent world-building I've read in a while. 📖
Just the complexity of it all. The unveiling of the world was done so fucking well. You learn something new in each book and would never be left without guessing.
These visuals and the art>>>>>>>
Where Seelie feet touch the earth, the snow melts with a hiss. Steam rises and flowers push up through cracks, blooming brilliantly, anointing the air with the scents of jasmine and sandalwood. The Seelie end of the street is bathed in golden light.
Where my army’s hooves and scaled bellies pass over the stones, a crust of black ice forms. The night embraces us; stealthy shadows, we ooze forward from the blackness.
❗A PENIS AHEAD❗ you've been warned, don't report my review<3
📖 random humour thrown in, which lights your mood instantly amongst all the darkness and unknown. 📖
The undiluted joy I'd feel every time I saw either of the MCs be happy?? Unparalleled.
These books are deeply atmospheric in a gothic/bleary type of way, almost like a fever dream (and the titles make sense now). Couple that with all the crazy shit blasting from every corner, the characters barely ever had the time to just be. So when they did, my ass sat there like:
But it was also the moments I knew for sure I'll never forget.
It's rare for me to write reviews where 99% of it is actually positive. Raving about books is so much harder, how do y'all do it😫. The strain of keeping all that negative energy at bay is getting to me. I really turned into a whole ass different bitch out here. I call that character development💅
I hope I shall not be back to my usual complaining ways when I continue on with the rest of the series.
PS: you do not need to read further than book 5, since there is a satisfying ending in Shadowfever. BUT the story does continue and not everyone says it's good, hence my hesitance to finish.
Overall: My love for the fever world is irrational and I probably overhyped it waaay too much. Karen, write another series plz so I have a reason to be nice again.
Links to my random, separate thoughts on each book:
Darkfever [1] 4.5 stars
Bloodfever [2] - 4 stars
Faefever [3] - 4.5 stars
Dreamfever [4] - 5 stars
Shadowfever [5] - 5 stars
Fever Moon [5.5] - 3.5 stars
Want to read
August 11, 2017Oh my god.
I just can't do this right now the first four were so good but this installment is drowning me in angst. I'm drowning, literally. There's no reason for Mac to be acting this damn sad & I despise reading from Dani's perspective...
Maybe later... but also maybe not since I've heard awful things about the later books in this series. :(
I just can't do this right now the first four were so good but this installment is drowning me in angst. I'm drowning, literally. There's no reason for Mac to be acting this damn sad & I despise reading from Dani's perspective...
Maybe later... but also maybe not since I've heard awful things about the later books in this series. :(
April 6, 2011
It was okay. -ish.
Not trying to be all judge-y but I'm slightly disturbed that no one (besides ME) seems to have issues with this book. I mean, HELLO! IT IS CHALK FULL OF EVERY HEINOUS SIN COMMITTED BY AUTHORS TODAY.
-Super Rape-y, emotionally constipated (sometimes violent) love interest(s). Check.
-PLOT HOLES. Check.
-Plot devices. Check.
-No resolution to certain important things EVEN THOUGH THIS IS THE LAST BOOK IN THE SERIES. Check.
-SET UP FOR ANOTHER SPIN-OFF SERIES. Check.
-WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too long! CHECK! It needs to be said: SO MUCH OF THIS BOOK COULD HAVE BEEN DELETED (*cough* the majority of the first half of this book as it has nothing to do with the last half of this book)
-Three Words: deus ex machina(s). CHECK. Check. Check.
-Disturbing prelude to sex. Check.
-Inappropriate and/or ridiculous conversations DURING sex. Check.
-total ruination of much liked characters for no apparent reason whatsoever (*cough*Christian*cough*DANI*cough*) Check.
-Whoring out another series by unnecessarily shoehorning in EVERY MAJOR CHARACTER FROM THAT OTHER SERIES. CHECK! (Dear Moning, you did your best trying to sell your Highlander series, but guess what? I'm still not going to read your Highlander series. Yeah, trashy romances don't do it for me. By the way, really disappointed that you turned THIS series into a trashy romance.)
Not trying to be all judge-y but I'm slightly disturbed that no one (besides ME) seems to have issues with this book. I mean, HELLO! IT IS CHALK FULL OF EVERY HEINOUS SIN COMMITTED BY AUTHORS TODAY.
-Super Rape-y, emotionally constipated (sometimes violent) love interest(s). Check.
-PLOT HOLES. Check.
-Plot devices. Check.
-No resolution to certain important things EVEN THOUGH THIS IS THE LAST BOOK IN THE SERIES. Check.
-SET UP FOR ANOTHER SPIN-OFF SERIES. Check.
-WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too long! CHECK! It needs to be said: SO MUCH OF THIS BOOK COULD HAVE BEEN DELETED (*cough* the majority of the first half of this book as it has nothing to do with the last half of this book)
-Three Words: deus ex machina(s). CHECK. Check. Check.
-Disturbing prelude to sex. Check.
-Inappropriate and/or ridiculous conversations DURING sex. Check.
-total ruination of much liked characters for no apparent reason whatsoever (*cough*Christian*cough*DANI*cough*) Check.
-Whoring out another series by unnecessarily shoehorning in EVERY MAJOR CHARACTER FROM THAT OTHER SERIES. CHECK! (Dear Moning, you did your best trying to sell your Highlander series, but guess what? I'm still not going to read your Highlander series. Yeah, trashy romances don't do it for me. By the way, really disappointed that you turned THIS series into a trashy romance.)
December 11, 2013
★★★★★ 5+ EPIC, ONE OF A KIND, MIND-BLOWING STARS.
"Evil is bad that believes it's good."
Exciting, exhilirating, intense, powerful, highly unique, nerve-wracking, unputdownable, emotional and unforgettable.
This series is an absolute must read!
"The good guys and bad guys aren't as easy to tell apart as I used to think they were. You can't look at someone with your eyes and take their measure.
You have to look with the heart."
In this final installment of the intoxicating and mind-boggling Fever-series by Karen Marie Moning, MacKayla Lane will have to fight the final battle. Everything and everyone will come together in a final attempt to hunt and catch the Sinsar Dubh and save the world from being destroyed with evil and darkness. Good and evil are even more difficult to tell part this time around. Mac discovers that nothing is as it seems and that she has to rely on no one but herself to overcome the ultimate evil, hiding in the deepest and darkest shadows of Dublin.
"Some things are sacred. Until you act like they're not. Then you lose them."
Shadowfever started out with an unexpected event that left Mac (and me) heartbroken. Overcome with grief, she's even willing to (temporarily) switch sides and team up with her allegedly number one enemy, Barroc. But then, new secrets and proficies are revealed that once again, turn her entire world upside down. Mac has no idea who or what she is anymore and no-one seems to be able to provide her with an answer. But the battle must go on and together with allies she's determined to make the world a better place once again.
Mac Lane is by far one of the strongest, most heroic female leads I've ever come across. Time and again, she gets knocked down by the ones she hates, sometimes by the one's she moves and trusted and mostly by life itself. Bureauchef time, she gets back up and is determined to fitgh until the bitter end. The transformation she's undergone since the first time she sat foot in Dublin, is starting and impressive. She's gone from Rainbow Girl to OOP detector and sidhe-seer to a grown-up, mature woman willing to fight for the one's she moves.
All of this, of course, she wouldn't have been able to achieve without the help of everpresent, charismatic force that is Jericho Barrons. He's the ultimate alpha male and my new favorite book boyfriend. Seriously. That man is indestrutable. He's a force of nature, overcome by animalistic strength and confidence. He's the one that "will never let her die" . And when he gives his word, he always makes sure to keep it. In this final part we finally discover what he's been hiding about himself all this time and what him become the person he is today, all of which made me love him even more than I already did.
"Fire to his chill. Ice to her flame."
All in all, this series turned out to be one of the best series I've read this year/ever. Going through Mac's eventful, action-filled, utterly fascinating journey was an amazing reading experience that will definitely stay with me for a very long time. I loved all the fantastic characters, but of course Mac and Barrons were my favorite ones. They've been through so much to get where they are now and in my opinion, they couldn't have gotten a better HEA (for now) than the one they now have. KMM is a brilliant and very talented writer and I can't wait to continue with the rest of this series (with hopefully much more of these characters and their crazy adventures!).
"You're Mac," he says. "and I'm Jericho. And nothing else matters. Never will. You exist in a place that is beyond all rules for me. Do you understand that?"
I do.
Jericho Barrons just told me he loves me.
August 29, 2017
Re-read 2015
4 stars
Yep. I knocked off a star after I did a re-read.
Why?
You know, when I originally read this, I'd mostly just drooled all over the book in my haste to find out if any of my theories were right.
I'd also not been exposed to Iced, so I didn't know that Moning was capable of writing a total turd.
There were three main things that stood out to me this time around, that Ioverlooked hadn't noticed the first time.
One, the pace was a bit too frenetic. I almost can't tell you what happened in the book, because Too Much Happened. This would have almost been better off as two books.
Does that make sense?
Not a deal-breaker for me, though.
So...
Two, Dani is a HORRIBLE character with no redeeming qualities.
Yeah, I know she got on my nerves when I originally read the story, but that was before Iced, so I had no idea that Moning had such a gaping blind-spot where she was concerned.
Every time I had to read that STUPID Dani Daily report, it was like someone raking their nails down a chalkboard.
KILL HER! KILL HER WITH FIRE!!!!!
Third thing that brought the rating down was the annoyingly juvenile OVER-use of acronyms.
Sure, I get that Mac loves to give things goofy acronyms.
OOPS, IFP, etc..
It's sort of her thing, and I didn't have a serious problem with her doing it occasionally.
Occasionally.
But.
Eventually, my nerves wore thin.
I think I finally snapped when Mac called the 'Dreamy Eyed Guy' DEG, and he called her BG...which stands for Beautiful Girl.
What?!
Nobody does that! Nobody!
That is so stupid, I don't even have words for it...
FAIL!
Still, this was an awesome ending to the original Fever series, and I'd recommend these to anyone who loves a good urban fantasy.
Besides, you know this had to be good if even Dani can't kill my love for it!
Original (long-winded and spoilery) 5 star review: 2011
4 stars
Yep. I knocked off a star after I did a re-read.
Why?
You know, when I originally read this, I'd mostly just drooled all over the book in my haste to find out if any of my theories were right.
I'd also not been exposed to Iced, so I didn't know that Moning was capable of writing a total turd.
There were three main things that stood out to me this time around, that I
One, the pace was a bit too frenetic. I almost can't tell you what happened in the book, because Too Much Happened. This would have almost been better off as two books.
Does that make sense?
Not a deal-breaker for me, though.
So...
Two, Dani is a HORRIBLE character with no redeeming qualities.
Yeah, I know she got on my nerves when I originally read the story, but that was before Iced, so I had no idea that Moning had such a gaping blind-spot where she was concerned.
Every time I had to read that STUPID Dani Daily report, it was like someone raking their nails down a chalkboard.
KILL HER! KILL HER WITH FIRE!!!!!
Third thing that brought the rating down was the annoyingly juvenile OVER-use of acronyms.
Sure, I get that Mac loves to give things goofy acronyms.
OOPS, IFP, etc..
It's sort of her thing, and I didn't have a serious problem with her doing it occasionally.
Occasionally.
But.
Eventually, my nerves wore thin.
I think I finally snapped when Mac called the 'Dreamy Eyed Guy' DEG, and he called her BG...which stands for Beautiful Girl.
What?!
Nobody does that! Nobody!
That is so stupid, I don't even have words for it...
FAIL!
Still, this was an awesome ending to the original Fever series, and I'd recommend these to anyone who loves a good urban fantasy.
Besides, you know this had to be good if even Dani can't kill my love for it!
Original (long-winded and spoilery) 5 star review: 2011
July 24, 2018
Sencillamente, perfecto! Me ha encantado.
November 27, 2018
First reread with my girl Tanya, January 2015.
Think you'll be getting another review from me after this reread? Nope. Why? Burned. Tomorrow. Freaking out. Review. Write. Can't.
This one? As. Awesome. As. Ever.
Original review: November 2014
Mother of all buddy reads starting December, 1 2014.
Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to this brand new episode of the Fever Freak's Facts of Life.
A quick reminder before we begin: this is not actually me writing this review, it's the 15 year old fangirl who possessed my body when I started reading this series.
Fact #1: KMM is insane
Reading this book makes you feel like:
And a bit like:
And a lot like:
Fact #2: Long gone is Rainbow Girl, meet Mac 5.0
Mac is angry. Mac is fierce. Mac is, hum, slightly bipolar.
Mac is suffering from hormone overload. She's got it bad. Really bad. Can't say I blame her though.
Fact #3: JZB
Do we really have to go into this again? Seriously? This really is exhausting. Why JZB? Because, you know, JZB.
Get it? No? How about this:
Still not getting it? Forget it, you're obviously hopeless.
Fact #4: Hallelujah for the deed is finally done!!
Well, technically it was already done but this here is just... Hey, is it really hot in here all of a sudden or is it just me?
Fact #5: V'Lane
Just because we all need a little V'Lane in our lives.
That's V'Lane in a nutshell for you.
Fact #6: Dani
I used to like Dani. Really I did. Maybe if she dropped the "feck" and "dude" and "mega" and "super" everything she might get back in my good graces. Maybe. Not sure. Dreading Iced right now.
Fact #7: The Nine are yummy bastards
Assholes? Definitely. Oozing hotness? You bet.
Fact #8: The whole freaking book
Fact #9: As always, love my Crazy Fever Freaks!
Think you'll be getting another review from me after this reread? Nope. Why? Burned. Tomorrow. Freaking out. Review. Write. Can't.
This one? As. Awesome. As. Ever.
Original review: November 2014
Mother of all buddy reads starting December, 1 2014.
Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to this brand new episode of the Fever Freak's Facts of Life.
A quick reminder before we begin: this is not actually me writing this review, it's the 15 year old fangirl who possessed my body when I started reading this series.
Fact #1: KMM is insane
Reading this book makes you feel like:
And a bit like:
And a lot like:
Fact #2: Long gone is Rainbow Girl, meet Mac 5.0
Mac is angry. Mac is fierce. Mac is, hum, slightly bipolar.
Mac is suffering from hormone overload. She's got it bad. Really bad. Can't say I blame her though.
Fact #3: JZB
Do we really have to go into this again? Seriously? This really is exhausting. Why JZB? Because, you know, JZB.
Get it? No? How about this:
Still not getting it? Forget it, you're obviously hopeless.
Fact #4: Hallelujah for the deed is finally done!!
Well, technically it was already done but this here is just... Hey, is it really hot in here all of a sudden or is it just me?
Fact #5: V'Lane
Just because we all need a little V'Lane in our lives.
That's V'Lane in a nutshell for you.
Fact #6: Dani
I used to like Dani. Really I did. Maybe if she dropped the "feck" and "dude" and "mega" and "super" everything she might get back in my good graces. Maybe. Not sure. Dreading Iced right now.
Fact #7: The Nine are yummy bastards
Assholes? Definitely. Oozing hotness? You bet.
Fact #8: The whole freaking book
Fact #9: As always, love my Crazy Fever Freaks!
February 24, 2013
Finally , we got our answers!
And it was awesome to know the truth.
Mac
The previous book was a total cliffhanger and when this one started I was so curious to read about how she managed to save herself from the beast but instead of that she was babbling .
And then.....
In her desperation she becomes Darroc's ally and someone gets really pissed with her actions.
Mac in this book learned the truth about her past and she was proved to be very strong and like always she was such a badass.
J. Barrons
Sexy beast
Just in case you dont know him Barrons is not the guy who will bring you chocolates and flowers on the Valentine's day.
Enough with the eyecandy.
Well in this book we finally learn what he is.Personally I didnt expect him to be what he was .I had other theories but I loved this explanation a lot. He has also secrets and he must find the book in order to make his life easier.
V'lane
Fucking traitor , that's all I have to say.
Dani
Gosh seriously??? I didnt see that coming. Learning the truth about Dani was heartbreaking. I dont know how I should feel about her.I loved her but what she did made me feel weird while I was reading about her.
Something that I loved about this book
This book is disturbing in a good way. The moment when we get our answers something else happens and the story becomes more and more interesting.
I swear you will love the last chapters .
“Love knows no right or wrong.
Love is.Only is.”
Favorite quote
March 9, 2014
5 Best/Awesomest Series Stars
Shadows are wonderful things. They hide pain and conceal motives.[...] The good guys and bad guys aren’t as easy to tell apart as I used to think they were. You can’t look at someone with your eyes and take their measure. You have to look with the heart.
A book consuming your soul, whispering seductive secrets in your ears. Haunting your days and dreams. A book about strength and wisdom. Yes, it could be the sought after Sinsar Dubh or it could easily be this bloody fantastic series...
Mac, the girl that went through hell and emerged a fighter.
Jericho, the man that cared too much to admit all his secrets.
“You’re Mac,” he says.
Do you understand that?”
Who cares now about damned Fae, the walls, layers of secrets and betrayals woven into the fabric of worlds, revelations that blew my mind and shattered all my hopes, only to build them again a tiny morsel at the time. From despair at the beginning, to depression; from excitement and sheer joy, to agony and frustration; from arousal and joy, to sadness and confusion, to relief and love and unforgettable endings that are only new beginnings. A whole specter of emotions for a story that changed they way I will read paranormal books.
Answers you ask? Oh, yes I got them... The best kind actually.
You know, the best kind of answers are the ones you come up with, when you close the book after finishing it and stare at the ceiling, in awe of what you have experienced and feeling like you left a part of your heart inside.
"The only question of any significant emotive content is: Can you live without it?”
Sad to leave Mac and Jericho, Ryordan and Dani, Sidhe-seers and parents ready to lay the world at their children's feet, V'lane and fairies, Druids and what-the-hell-the-nine-are, Existence after Death and K'Vruck, Seelie and Unseelie, Lovers and Sisters.
Happy for the wild ride they took me through Dublin, Faery, time and dimensions, Illusions and Reality. But that's the story with the best books; you don't want them to end, but they do and you lose a friend.
Shadows are wonderful things. They hide pain and conceal motives.[...] The good guys and bad guys aren’t as easy to tell apart as I used to think they were. You can’t look at someone with your eyes and take their measure. You have to look with the heart.
A book consuming your soul, whispering seductive secrets in your ears. Haunting your days and dreams. A book about strength and wisdom. Yes, it could be the sought after Sinsar Dubh or it could easily be this bloody fantastic series...
Mac, the girl that went through hell and emerged a fighter.
Jericho, the man that cared too much to admit all his secrets.
“You’re Mac,” he says.
Do you understand that?”
Who cares now about damned Fae, the walls, layers of secrets and betrayals woven into the fabric of worlds, revelations that blew my mind and shattered all my hopes, only to build them again a tiny morsel at the time. From despair at the beginning, to depression; from excitement and sheer joy, to agony and frustration; from arousal and joy, to sadness and confusion, to relief and love and unforgettable endings that are only new beginnings. A whole specter of emotions for a story that changed they way I will read paranormal books.
Answers you ask? Oh, yes I got them... The best kind actually.
You know, the best kind of answers are the ones you come up with, when you close the book after finishing it and stare at the ceiling, in awe of what you have experienced and feeling like you left a part of your heart inside.
"The only question of any significant emotive content is: Can you live without it?”
Sad to leave Mac and Jericho, Ryordan and Dani, Sidhe-seers and parents ready to lay the world at their children's feet, V'lane and fairies, Druids and what-the-hell-the-nine-are, Existence after Death and K'Vruck, Seelie and Unseelie, Lovers and Sisters.
Happy for the wild ride they took me through Dublin, Faery, time and dimensions, Illusions and Reality. But that's the story with the best books; you don't want them to end, but they do and you lose a friend.
January 2, 2017
I've finished this book an hour before midnight, going into 2017 with a fuck off curled in my belly. It's a good thing I don't care about new year and don't believe in the "rest of the year will go how you start it" stuff or I would have gone cuntzilla on the author for shatting on my whole year.
Last book has ended with a cruel cliffhanger and this one picks up from there. It all goes great, high strung emotions with good writing. The moment hope blossoms, Moning kills it and then starts pissing on it. We wade trough pages after pages of Mac's inner monologue and "special moments" from the first 4 book. I don't hate flashbacks or remembering important moments, but if you have to do it, give us something new besides it, make it original and keep it short for fucks sake. Don't try to boost the volume of your book -which is already too long- with fuckload of rehashing.
I said bye felicia to my hopes and kept reading. Then finally came the moment I've been waiting for 4 fucking long books! Mac called herself on her denials, made decisions *even if they were prompted with death cliche, I overlooked that shitty plot liner completely*. She found a second chance, gathered her lady balls and at last we are about to get our Barrons and Mac coupling... What do you think happened? She realized her balls and spine are actually an illusion and pulled a Joffrey.
At that point I carefully lowered my tablet -least I break it and screamed inside!
I seriously considered DNFing right there, but I had gotten this far and at least wanted to have some questions answered. After everything happened, Mac reverted her cunty little pissant self. Again we got pages upon pages her whiny inner monologue. As if that wasn't enough we got to hear Dani's emo teenager inner monologue.
Mac found out an information about herself so we had to hear it in circles. Same shit argued, monologued, written into the dairy and after more pages yet again same information... Denied, considered. And old shit heated up and fed to us.
get to the point already rainbow girl! *that's how I picture Mac*
If I had the paperback copy of this book, I would have torn off the unnecessary pages as I went to see how many essential ones I'm left with at the end. This drag assed book is 608 pages and if she had a decent editor, it would be 250 pages at most. And that's me being bloody generous! While the way she tied up the story could have been enjoyable, all I was feeling was a deep seated anger so I'm giving only 1 star for the story.
The other star is for Barrons. By some miracle, she didn't fuck him up as I feared. He did not turn into sappy git. He was a beast and kept his assholishness till the bitter end. It just became woven with his love/madness. Even tough, I am done with this series due to anger issues, I don't regret reading it. Because Barrons is and probably will be my favourite hot jerk of all time. As for Mac...
Last book has ended with a cruel cliffhanger and this one picks up from there. It all goes great, high strung emotions with good writing. The moment hope blossoms, Moning kills it and then starts pissing on it. We wade trough pages after pages of Mac's inner monologue and "special moments" from the first 4 book. I don't hate flashbacks or remembering important moments, but if you have to do it, give us something new besides it, make it original and keep it short for fucks sake. Don't try to boost the volume of your book -which is already too long- with fuckload of rehashing.
I said bye felicia to my hopes and kept reading. Then finally came the moment I've been waiting for 4 fucking long books! Mac called herself on her denials, made decisions *even if they were prompted with death cliche, I overlooked that shitty plot liner completely*. She found a second chance, gathered her lady balls and at last we are about to get our Barrons and Mac coupling... What do you think happened? She realized her balls and spine are actually an illusion and pulled a Joffrey.
At that point I carefully lowered my tablet -least I break it and screamed inside!
I seriously considered DNFing right there, but I had gotten this far and at least wanted to have some questions answered. After everything happened, Mac reverted her cunty little pissant self. Again we got pages upon pages her whiny inner monologue. As if that wasn't enough we got to hear Dani's emo teenager inner monologue.
Mac found out an information about herself so we had to hear it in circles. Same shit argued, monologued, written into the dairy and after more pages yet again same information... Denied, considered. And old shit heated up and fed to us.
get to the point already rainbow girl! *that's how I picture Mac*
If I had the paperback copy of this book, I would have torn off the unnecessary pages as I went to see how many essential ones I'm left with at the end. This drag assed book is 608 pages and if she had a decent editor, it would be 250 pages at most. And that's me being bloody generous! While the way she tied up the story could have been enjoyable, all I was feeling was a deep seated anger so I'm giving only 1 star for the story.
The other star is for Barrons. By some miracle, she didn't fuck him up as I feared. He did not turn into sappy git. He was a beast and kept his assholishness till the bitter end. It just became woven with his love/madness. Even tough, I am done with this series due to anger issues, I don't regret reading it. Because Barrons is and probably will be my favourite hot jerk of all time. As for Mac...
October 10, 2014
"You’re Mac, he says. “And I’m Jericho.”
How did fans live so long with book 4 ending like it did and then the wait for this book? The prior book had a brutal cliffhanger but Karen Marie Moning more than made up for that heart stopping ending with this book.
The Sinsar Dubh, everyone wants this damn book! Mac can feel it and can hunt it and so she is very useful to every being who yearns for it. Whether they want to use it for themselves or place it back under lock and key Mac is the girl everyone needs.
Our rainbow girl has grown through this series and totally kicks ass, plays the players and still is stuck.
”The truth was I was standing in the middle of so many lies – some of them hundreds of thousands of years old – that I didn’t know where to begin trying to untangle them.”
Mac finds out all of Barrons secrets and it is about damn time! Mac’s background is revealed and then re-revealed several times during this story. Mac and Barrons finally come clean.
”One of us is going to have to trust the other…”
Barrons was wonderful in this book he shows all he is and in turn they finally are at the stage where readers had wanted them to be since the first book.
”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.”
Overall, this story is hard to review without ruining any of the twists and turns but I love everyone good or evil in this story!
”He lives.
I breathe.
I want. Him. Always.
Fire to my ice. Ice to my fever.”
How did fans live so long with book 4 ending like it did and then the wait for this book? The prior book had a brutal cliffhanger but Karen Marie Moning more than made up for that heart stopping ending with this book.
The Sinsar Dubh, everyone wants this damn book! Mac can feel it and can hunt it and so she is very useful to every being who yearns for it. Whether they want to use it for themselves or place it back under lock and key Mac is the girl everyone needs.
Our rainbow girl has grown through this series and totally kicks ass, plays the players and still is stuck.
”The truth was I was standing in the middle of so many lies – some of them hundreds of thousands of years old – that I didn’t know where to begin trying to untangle them.”
Mac finds out all of Barrons secrets and it is about damn time! Mac’s background is revealed and then re-revealed several times during this story. Mac and Barrons finally come clean.
”One of us is going to have to trust the other…”
Barrons was wonderful in this book he shows all he is and in turn they finally are at the stage where readers had wanted them to be since the first book.
”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.”
Overall, this story is hard to review without ruining any of the twists and turns but I love everyone good or evil in this story!
”He lives.
I breathe.
I want. Him. Always.
Fire to my ice. Ice to my fever.”
March 4, 2024
Second Re-read: January 2018
First Re-read: December 2014
Actual Rating: All the Bloody Stars
Intensely Masculine
Fucking Cataclysm
Constant Jackass
Tireless Lover
Without Limit
Stormy Night
Absolute
Jericho
Sexual
Winter
Carnal
JZB
He exists in a place that is beyond all rules for me.
This series is so good I actually had to clean my schedule to re-read it.
It consumes your time, life and soul.
You don't exist anymore.
Somewhere along book #2 or #3 you stop being a serious, respectable and admirable woman. You give yourself to the biggest jackass in the history of UF and you enjoy very single second of it.
What can I say to convince you to read this book I haven't already said?
In my first read, I was so obsessed by the question what is Barrons? I couldn't properly appreciate the compelling writing, the amazing world-building and KMM's great execution. This time, I relaxed and enjoyed the view. And by view, I mean Barrons.
The best part of this Re-read, and I completely mean it, is the Best Fever Buddy Read in the history and an amazing bunch of new friends I found there. Things got pretty crazy over there. One minute we were discussing the how's and why's and then BAM! the next thing you know we've got a whole thread reserved for Barron's hotness only ^^
We're reading Iced on Dec 22. I'm ready for some Dani and Ryodan!
______________________________________
First Read: November 2013
*Spoiler Free*
This is a note for everybody out there who hasn't read this series yet:
First of all, how dare you?
You know, there's a moment in life when you find the best series you've read so far. And you can't let it go without freaking out, big time. You find people as crazy as you, you look for more reading material and even faint with the news of TWO more books. I should know, it happened to me. I've just found THE BEST FREAKING UF SERIES I'VE EVER READ and for that I'll always worship KMM. I will because reasons.
And no, the reason is not Barrons. I won't lose the respect I've earn among GR's friends just saying that Barrons' body is the reason for 5 stars. I won't even mention that since I started this series I've been having this crazy dreams that always begins with Barrons saying "Hello, Miss Liz. Who am I?". Stop thinking I've been googling my personal Barrons in the web frustrated because they are not dark enough, intense enough, flawless enough. And if by some chance I'd have finally found my Barrons I wouldn't admit anything about my mobile's wallpaper.
I guess I'm trying to say that there are more than just one reason this series is so epic. And that's KMM. She is a freaking genius that planned the whole series before she even began to write it, unlike some others writers. You can tell they were just improvising there.
"Hell, let's kill the MC in the most anticlimactic way ever just to see what happens! The plot? ...right, I'll figure it out later!"
"I wrote a fanfic a while ago. Fuck it, I'm using it for an ENDLESS series. There could be a prequel, a sequel and a sequel's prequel!"
While reading this series I knew I'd have to re-read it as soon as possible because obviously KMM was a teaser, an evil woman who enjoyed watching me in pain and when all hope was lost, when all the lights had faded she gave me +500 pages of delicious ambrosia and I loved every. Single. Moment. Of it.
First Re-read: December 2014
Actual Rating: All the Bloody Stars
Intensely Masculine
Fucking Cataclysm
Constant Jackass
Tireless Lover
Without Limit
Stormy Night
Absolute
Jericho
Sexual
Winter
Carnal
JZB
He exists in a place that is beyond all rules for me.
This series is so good I actually had to clean my schedule to re-read it.
It consumes your time, life and soul.
You don't exist anymore.
Somewhere along book #2 or #3 you stop being a serious, respectable and admirable woman. You give yourself to the biggest jackass in the history of UF and you enjoy very single second of it.
What can I say to convince you to read this book I haven't already said?
In my first read, I was so obsessed by the question what is Barrons? I couldn't properly appreciate the compelling writing, the amazing world-building and KMM's great execution. This time, I relaxed and enjoyed the view. And by view, I mean Barrons.
The best part of this Re-read, and I completely mean it, is the Best Fever Buddy Read in the history and an amazing bunch of new friends I found there. Things got pretty crazy over there. One minute we were discussing the how's and why's and then BAM! the next thing you know we've got a whole thread reserved for Barron's hotness only ^^
We're reading Iced on Dec 22. I'm ready for some Dani and Ryodan!
______________________________________
First Read: November 2013
*Spoiler Free*
This is a note for everybody out there who hasn't read this series yet:
First of all, how dare you?
You know, there's a moment in life when you find the best series you've read so far. And you can't let it go without freaking out, big time. You find people as crazy as you, you look for more reading material and even faint with the news of TWO more books. I should know, it happened to me. I've just found THE BEST FREAKING UF SERIES I'VE EVER READ and for that I'll always worship KMM. I will because reasons.
And no, the reason is not Barrons. I won't lose the respect I've earn among GR's friends just saying that Barrons' body is the reason for 5 stars. I won't even mention that since I started this series I've been having this crazy dreams that always begins with Barrons saying "Hello, Miss Liz. Who am I?". Stop thinking I've been googling my personal Barrons in the web frustrated because they are not dark enough, intense enough, flawless enough. And if by some chance I'd have finally found my Barrons I wouldn't admit anything about my mobile's wallpaper.
I guess I'm trying to say that there are more than just one reason this series is so epic. And that's KMM. She is a freaking genius that planned the whole series before she even began to write it, unlike some others writers. You can tell they were just improvising there.
"Hell, let's kill the MC in the most anticlimactic way ever just to see what happens! The plot? ...right, I'll figure it out later!"
"I wrote a fanfic a while ago. Fuck it, I'm using it for an ENDLESS series. There could be a prequel, a sequel and a sequel's prequel!"
While reading this series I knew I'd have to re-read it as soon as possible because obviously KMM was a teaser, an evil woman who enjoyed watching me in pain and when all hope was lost, when all the lights had faded she gave me +500 pages of delicious ambrosia and I loved every. Single. Moment. Of it.
June 27, 2019
Wait. Am I dumb? Why don’t I understand the ending?
Eh, whatever. I wasn’t reading for the plot anyway. 😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏
However, I will say (in a non-spoilery way) it was clear to me this entire series that Moning was writing by the seat of her pants without any clear direction of where she was going. For example, it wasn’t until this book that Mac mentioned feeling bipolar her entire life (I won’t get into the gross misuse of that term). She kept saying that she always felt like she had split personalities in high school, which is maybe why *insert one of Mac’s several theories about the Book here.* Yet, Mac had never mentioned feeling bipolar in any of the other books. The bipolar thing was necessary for the plot of book 5 though, so it felt like Moning just threw it in and we were suppose to just accept that Mac had been struggling with this all along.
Another thing that irritated me was the sudden epiphanies Mac would have. They would come out of nowhere. Suddenly she knew all of the answers.
Literally no one:
Mac: Omg. Now I know who I am and what Barrons is and the motivations of the Fae and Unseelie and why the Book taunts me and the meaning of life.
It was lazy writing. Very Gossip Girl-esque (that show ALWAYS did the epiphany thing).
But, I watched every damn season of GG and enjoyed the hell out of it. Same goes for this series.
Because, once again, I wasn’t reading for plot (😏) and, therefore, was not expecting a literary masterpiece. I find that approach makes fluff much more entertaining. 😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏
Eh, whatever. I wasn’t reading for the plot anyway. 😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏
However, I will say (in a non-spoilery way) it was clear to me this entire series that Moning was writing by the seat of her pants without any clear direction of where she was going. For example, it wasn’t until this book that Mac mentioned feeling bipolar her entire life (I won’t get into the gross misuse of that term). She kept saying that she always felt like she had split personalities in high school, which is maybe why *insert one of Mac’s several theories about the Book here.* Yet, Mac had never mentioned feeling bipolar in any of the other books. The bipolar thing was necessary for the plot of book 5 though, so it felt like Moning just threw it in and we were suppose to just accept that Mac had been struggling with this all along.
Another thing that irritated me was the sudden epiphanies Mac would have. They would come out of nowhere. Suddenly she knew all of the answers.
Literally no one:
Mac: Omg. Now I know who I am and what Barrons is and the motivations of the Fae and Unseelie and why the Book taunts me and the meaning of life.
It was lazy writing. Very Gossip Girl-esque (that show ALWAYS did the epiphany thing).
But, I watched every damn season of GG and enjoyed the hell out of it. Same goes for this series.
Because, once again, I wasn’t reading for plot (😏) and, therefore, was not expecting a literary masterpiece. I find that approach makes fluff much more entertaining. 😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏
December 21, 2015
How fucking awesome. And Jericho Fucking Barrons. I get it now. Totally mindblown.
This is me right now.
This is me right now.
July 30, 2012
Originally read from January 19 - 22, 2011
*FAVORITE BOOK OF 2011*
I've been asked many times what my favorite book is, but I don't think I've ever answered that question adequately enough. After reading this book, though, I think I finally have my answer: Shadowfever is the best book I've ever read.
The book starts off exactly where the previous one left off, with Mac stunned after killing the beast. The first 5 or so chapters are heart-wrenching to read because KMM is such an awesome writer. I love how tangible Mac's pain is, it almost made me cry myself. But among the bleakness comes a certain chapter from a certain other character, and I swear, my heart sang, I was so happy. After that, no situation was enough to get me down for the rest of the book.
About the characters: Mac is freakin' amazing! I can't believe how well she dealt with whatever was thrown her way, when I know I would have committed suicide just a few chapters in. But she kept at it, and eventually developed into the second-strongest heroine I've ever come across in my novels.
Dani is also pretty awesome in her own right. I see lots of potential in her, and I loved the chapters from her perspective. A huge twist regarding her, but I have my fingers crossed for a spin-off series featuring her and Christian.
And Barrons...*sigh*, where to start? There's way too much to say about this complex man, but suffice it to say that after reading about him, all other heroes fall miserable short of accomplishing the "Tall, Dark, and Handsome" persona.
The plot was epic. I think in the ten-or-so plot twists in this book, I only foresaw about one. Which is HUGE and half the reason I love this series so much.
The ending left me speechless, ecstatic, and about a million types of happy. It was an open ending, the kind that wraps up the plot but still leaves lots of stuff for us imaginative types to go on. For all of you who have read the previous books in the series and can't imagine a HEA ending whatsoever: it's true what Mac said in the beginning, she does hold a lot of joy by the end. So keep reading, because it's worth every second!
And for the rest of you who haven't even started this series: READ IT!!!
*FAVORITE BOOK OF 2011*
"She warms his frost. He cools her fever."
I've been asked many times what my favorite book is, but I don't think I've ever answered that question adequately enough. After reading this book, though, I think I finally have my answer: Shadowfever is the best book I've ever read.
The book starts off exactly where the previous one left off, with Mac stunned after killing the beast. The first 5 or so chapters are heart-wrenching to read because KMM is such an awesome writer. I love how tangible Mac's pain is, it almost made me cry myself. But among the bleakness comes a certain chapter from a certain other character, and I swear, my heart sang, I was so happy. After that, no situation was enough to get me down for the rest of the book.
About the characters: Mac is freakin' amazing! I can't believe how well she dealt with whatever was thrown her way, when I know I would have committed suicide just a few chapters in. But she kept at it, and eventually developed into the second-strongest heroine I've ever come across in my novels.
Dani is also pretty awesome in her own right. I see lots of potential in her, and I loved the chapters from her perspective. A huge twist regarding her, but I have my fingers crossed for a spin-off series featuring her and Christian.
And Barrons...*sigh*, where to start? There's way too much to say about this complex man, but suffice it to say that after reading about him, all other heroes fall miserable short of accomplishing the "Tall, Dark, and Handsome" persona.
"Dying is overrated. Human sentimentality has twisted it into the ultimate act of love. Biggest load of bullshit in the world. Dying for someone isn’t the hard thing. The man that dies escapes. Plain and simple. Game over. End of pain. Alina was the lucky one. Try living for someone. Through it all—good, bad, thick, thin, joy, suffering. That’s the hard thing."
The plot was epic. I think in the ten-or-so plot twists in this book, I only foresaw about one. Which is HUGE and half the reason I love this series so much.
The ending left me speechless, ecstatic, and about a million types of happy. It was an open ending, the kind that wraps up the plot but still leaves lots of stuff for us imaginative types to go on. For all of you who have read the previous books in the series and can't imagine a HEA ending whatsoever: it's true what Mac said in the beginning, she does hold a lot of joy by the end. So keep reading, because it's worth every second!
And for the rest of you who haven't even started this series: READ IT!!!
December 21, 2016
After the overwhelming beginning of Dreamfever, you may think that Mac had enough – at least at her personal life.
The world goes to hell anyway.
So at least now Mac will be content about everything she has succeeded so far, there will be a new start in her relationship with Barrons and she will defeat the bad guys and avenge her sister.
Wrong!
Firstly, Shadowfever starts with Mac feeling greatly guilty about what she thinks she has done. She is going nuts about the man/monster she thinks that she has killed.
Secondly, the relationship that she has with Barrons will drive you crazy. One time they are hot together. Other times you feel that you are back at book 1 and they are tiptoeing around each other.
Thirdly, what bad guys? Who is the enemy?
There are so many twists and turns in this book, that you will feel a headache before you finish it. It has been a complex story from book 1, anyway.
Trust me, in Shadowfever you will keep guessing until the very end.
Possibly you may want to go back and reread the books, because NOW YOU KNOW.
The good thing is that there is not a cliffhanger in this book.
Nevertheless, it does not provide a “Happily Ever After”.
The ending is more like a “Happy For Now” for the main characters.
And the most evil/devious character has a “Not Happy For Now” ending.
I haven’t read book 9 “Feversong” yet, but I have a strange feeling that he will be back.
Advice: Keep you schedule clear when you start the book! You will not let it go from your hands until it is finished.
Favorite quote: “Some people bring out the worst in you, others bring out the best, and then there are those remarkably rare, addictive ones who just bring out the most. Of everything.
They make you feel so alive that you'd follow them straight into hell, just to keep getting your fix.”
The world goes to hell anyway.
So at least now Mac will be content about everything she has succeeded so far, there will be a new start in her relationship with Barrons and she will defeat the bad guys and avenge her sister.
Wrong!
Firstly, Shadowfever starts with Mac feeling greatly guilty about what she thinks she has done. She is going nuts about the man/monster she thinks that she has killed.
Secondly, the relationship that she has with Barrons will drive you crazy. One time they are hot together. Other times you feel that you are back at book 1 and they are tiptoeing around each other.
Thirdly, what bad guys? Who is the enemy?
There are so many twists and turns in this book, that you will feel a headache before you finish it. It has been a complex story from book 1, anyway.
Trust me, in Shadowfever you will keep guessing until the very end.
Possibly you may want to go back and reread the books, because NOW YOU KNOW.
The good thing is that there is not a cliffhanger in this book.
Nevertheless, it does not provide a “Happily Ever After”.
The ending is more like a “Happy For Now” for the main characters.
And the most evil/devious character has a “Not Happy For Now” ending.
I haven’t read book 9 “Feversong” yet, but I have a strange feeling that he will be back.
Advice: Keep you schedule clear when you start the book! You will not let it go from your hands until it is finished.
Favorite quote: “Some people bring out the worst in you, others bring out the best, and then there are those remarkably rare, addictive ones who just bring out the most. Of everything.
They make you feel so alive that you'd follow them straight into hell, just to keep getting your fix.”
January 26, 2011
Was it everything I wanted it to be? Was I satisfied with the book?
For all of those who know me and have been following my reviews, you know this series is my top fav and an absolute obsession! I have read so many books, specially paranormal and UF! And this is still my fav of them all. I have adored this series since book 1. I'm ashamed to admit I was terrified I wouldn't like this book for several reasons, specially because Barrons could not be much in it.I don't wanna write any spoilers so all I can say is that this book was everything I wanted it to be, but what I liked the most was that it kept real to what the other books had been. There was not a freaking lame ending, things ended just exactly how they had to. What I adored the most about this series was the way the books were written, KMM has such an amazing and unique style and you just can't help to love it. Now that I am finally done with the series I can say it is still my top fav and I adored every page in every book. For all of those who have been waiting for book 5 to get released before starting the series, start right away because you're gonna adore it.
Am I sad because it's over?
Hell yeah, but at the same time I love an author who knows when to finish a series. I hate when series go on and on and you know they should have finished so many books ago. This was the perfect ending and KMM did it with style, she created a piece of art. This series is just too good to be true, she created a new world because it's so much more than books!
For all of those who know me and have been following my reviews, you know this series is my top fav and an absolute obsession! I have read so many books, specially paranormal and UF! And this is still my fav of them all. I have adored this series since book 1. I'm ashamed to admit I was terrified I wouldn't like this book for several reasons, specially because Barrons could not be much in it.I don't wanna write any spoilers so all I can say is that this book was everything I wanted it to be, but what I liked the most was that it kept real to what the other books had been. There was not a freaking lame ending, things ended just exactly how they had to. What I adored the most about this series was the way the books were written, KMM has such an amazing and unique style and you just can't help to love it. Now that I am finally done with the series I can say it is still my top fav and I adored every page in every book. For all of those who have been waiting for book 5 to get released before starting the series, start right away because you're gonna adore it.
Am I sad because it's over?
Hell yeah, but at the same time I love an author who knows when to finish a series. I hate when series go on and on and you know they should have finished so many books ago. This was the perfect ending and KMM did it with style, she created a piece of art. This series is just too good to be true, she created a new world because it's so much more than books!
February 24, 2011
I have an urge to shout "You're killin' me Smalls!!" I also love anyone who understands that reference. In any case, I am extremely excited and impatiently awaiting this book. I wish I had known before hand what kind of crazy a** ending Dreamfever was going to have and then I would have waited to read it--scratch that, I should have waited for the whole series. On the other hand, it is rather interesting to develop my own alternate endings for the series. Does anyone else do this?
Also, I'm tempted to read KMM's Highlander series but to be honest, they sound kind of .... boring when I read their synopsis. So if anyone who loved the Faefever series likes them, let me know and I'll work on getting over my prejudice.
Also, I'm tempted to read KMM's Highlander series but to be honest, they sound kind of .... boring when I read their synopsis. So if anyone who loved the Faefever series likes them, let me know and I'll work on getting over my prejudice.
February 26, 2016
A thrilling, huge, conclusion to this series. So many questions were finally answered from the beginning of the series that I loved discovering everything as things were slowly making sense and the twists were amazing, and I'm so happy I read this series this month. It was exactly what I wanted to read when I didn't know what to read.
December 1, 2017
Wow what a great ending!! Very unexpected!
February 3, 2019
THIS BOOK IS AMAZING. THIS SERIES IS AMAZING. KMM doesn't disappoint with this final book. She manages to answer every (well almost every) unanswered question. SHADOWFEVER ENDED WITH A HUGE BANG OF A BANG (if you're mind went to the gutter, perfect!).
And we finally get actual Jericho time and I see why everyone loves him so much. So fineeeeeee.
And we finally get actual Jericho time and I see why everyone loves him so much. So fineeeeeee.
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