Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dark, violent but still imaginative and compelling writing., 23 Oct 2008
Back Cover:
He calls me his Queen of the Night. I'd die for him. I'd kill for him, too. When MacKayla Lane receives a torn page from her dead sister's journal, she is stunned by Alina's desperate words. And now MacKayla knows that her sister's killer is close. But evil is closer. And suddenly the sidhe-seer is on the hunt: For answers. For revenge. And for an ancient book of dark magic so evil, it corrupts anyone who touches it.
Mac's quest for the Sinsar Dubh takes her into the mean, shape-shifting streets of Dublin, with a suspicious cop on her tail. Forced into a dangerous triangle of alliance with V'lane, an insatiable Fae prince of lethally erotic tastes, and Jericho Barrons, a man of primal desires and untold secrets, Mac is soon locked in a battle for her body, mind, and soul.
As All Hallows Eve approaches and the city descends into chaos, as a shocking truth about the Dark Book is uncovered, not even Mac can prevent a deadly race of immortals from shattering the walls between worlds with devastating consequences.
Review:
The first hundred or so pages felt like dredging through mud as a lot of repetitive information is thrown at the reader. I remembered this also being a part of Bloodfever but this time it felt like torture of going through it all again and it bordered to becoming irritating. The pace fell flat with just a tiny morsel here and there of new information which kept me invested in Mac and her adventures by a thread. It was sheer stubbornness on my part that kept me going, until V'Lane and Barrons got more entangled into the storyline and spitting out some much needed information.
I've said it once, I've said it twice and I'll say it again, Karen Moning knows how to portray exceptionally fascinating characters that speaks to the imagination. Her world is dark, it is crowded with Fae, Druids, Sidhe Seers and it is a feast for the Urban Fantasy reader to dwell in. I feel that there is one downside though, the plot is slow, almost too slow, and while the second half of this story definitely picked up on speed it somewhat diminished the overall joy in reading this tale. The second half is where the information starts to flow and feels like Karen Moning is up to her usual moving writing style. Things start to happen and I got intrigued to see alliances shift and other ones align, but by then I was already a 125 pages into the story of the 300 it counts. It is like watching a chess game where characters make choices and travel a road less traveled to encounter unexpected oponents. With the main players a cloak of mystery is still surrounding them and I'm not saying many answers are provided but what is revealed definitely stirred my heart rate as to where this is all is going.
Mac is still clinging on to a shred of the fun loving, sun worshipping, southern belle she once was. She is in Dublin roaming its streets, requiring pieces of information and she has to make decisions. In essence she remains the same gal I met in Darkfever and Bloodfever, thrown in a world she still has to completely discover. Yet, Mac is also learning as she goes while 3 men have a greater effect on her with each passing event. Written from the first person it gave me a very intimate connection with Mac and this made the last few chapters all the more poignant. I could sympathize with Mac in her need to figure things out, the fear she felt or sometimes just flat out wanted to strangle Barrons for keeping such an aloof way of conduct.
Mac is the centre of Faefever but there are some memorable secondary characters surrounding her. I got to know V'Lane, the death-by-sex-fae better and perceived him from another perspective. Barrons, well, that man irks the life out of me. He is mysterious, dark, exudes an old world charm with lethal danger and oh, did I already mention he is mysterious. That man is more tight lipped about his past and who he is than an oyster is to reveal its pearl! I love him, I hate him and can't go without him in a Fever novel. And then there is he-who-shall-not-be-named. Due to spoilerish nature I will not say his name but he and his background become more important and I just loved it, loved him and hope his part in the overall story becomes even bigger.
There is also the tribe of Sidhe Seers that contribute to this tale and I can't figure out where they stand, especially the matron of the bunch feels like she has ulterior motives yet to be explained. In the end the plot bolts into a higher gear and had a few `jump of the pages' moments that had me succumbed to those last few chapters. If you want a sense of completion than don't pick up Faefever for it will leave you hanging with the singular desire for the next episode in the Fever Chronicles. The brutal and apocalyptic ending made me want just one more chapter, one more page, and in the end, one more sentence would've done the trick.
To leave it like this and to have to wait for another year, well, I can keep myself occupied with other books and let the desire for Dreamfever go dormant until a month before its release date. But for those who want the full and complete story wait until they are all released and then start reading them in one sitting.
What started out slow and slightly annoying became an engaging read that spiraled to a heart rendering cliff hanger!
reviewed by Leontine
Courtesy of Realms On Our Bookshelves
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Faefever (possible spoilers) , 20 Sep 2008
Karen Marie Moning is one of my favourite authors, and when Darkfever was released we were invited into a dark world full of murder, evil fae and a very mysterious book store owner! I really enjoyed this installment, and I think KMM has a great story telling talent - I could not put the book down. We learn more of the Seelie/Unseelie world, meet some more sidhe-seers and spend alot of time with V'Lane.
This isn't an easy read, there are some parts in which some readers will be disturbed, but this is only book three of a five part series, so please don't expect a happy ending and all the answers just yet. I was right there with Mac all the way, and the ending had me crying at what she had become. I have faith in the author that Mac will shine through the dark and be a stronger person for all that she has to go through, terrible as it is. I am invested in these characters and I look forward to the next installment. KMM is a very clever writer, I applaud her for writing something darker than her romances, and she continues to be one of my favourites.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Third in great series but rather weak on its own, 10 Nov 2008
'Bloodfever' and 'Darkfever' were excellent reads, introducing us to bubbly Georgian MacKayla Lane who, when investigating her sister's death in Dublin, Ireland, finds herself thrust into the middle of a whole new world. Mac has a special talent, she's a Sidhe-seer (one who can see the Sidhe); however she is more powerful that most sidhe-seers as she can also detect special fae objects and more. She's found herself working alongside the enigmatic Jericho Barrens, as well as trying to avoid the impossibly sexy fae Prince V'Lane, as she searches for a special dark Book, one that she can sense and one that Barrons wants.
'Faefever' starts where the previous story left off, with a quick summary of previous events for the new reader. However there's an awful lot of history and terminology in the previous books and I doubt that a new reader to this one would be able to work out what's going on. The book then continues but I found, after finishing it, that not a lot really happened. There were some interesting scenes between Barrons and Mac and V'Lane and Mac; there are some further developments with regard to the baddies, Barrons' and V'Lane's powers; but until the last chapter nothing overly significant to the plot occurred. The last chapter was very exciting with a new direction to the plot but all the content of the book prior to that felt rather transitional and not particularly necessary.
Karen Marie Moning's writing style is very good. She has a real way with words, her prose is well crafted and the interactions between Mac and the various other characters are good fun. However the fairly dark tone of this book, and its lack of significant plot development before the very end, meant that it was less enjoyable a read. It also ends on a real cliffhanger after a rather upsetting scene and so once again feels very transitional. Some readers may mistakenly think that this series is paranormal romance; it isn't, the romance element is minimal, but the plot and characterisation are very good. However for this reader 'Faefever' was a disappointment and I hope that the next book wraps up some of the plot threads and is less dark in tone.
Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2008
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