#AllHallowsWeek Review - Bloodfever by Karen Marie Moning

Series: Fever #2

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Age Group: Adult

Source: Library

Ebook - 337 pgs

Delacorte Press (2007) 

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Rating: 4/5

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

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

The jump in quality between books one and two is incredible. We delve a lot deeper into the world of Fae and learn more about Mac’s abilities. The story arc was a lot stronger and overall the book didn’t have the slow start that Darkfever did. Personally, I found the description a little misleading. I do not find the sexual assault, V'lane, attractive at all and his presence in this pseudo-love-triangle is something I could dump from this series all together.

Though I still don’t approve of Mac’s self deprecating tone either, she takes less crap from Barrons and works more independently in this book. Mac’s journey is somehow even darker in this book and she has to face consequences from her choices in book one. Moning does a good job of almost answering my questions and keeping me on the edge of my seat.

On an amusing note. At the beginning of this book I finally realized Jericho Barrons has dark hair. For some reason this has increased my opinion of him by more than is reasonable. He does improve a little in this novel, but I'm hoping there is some reason for his tortured exterior. There usually is. Book three is already downloaded and I'm ready to keep rolling though this series. (After I finish Stranger Things)

My Review of Darkfever 

#AllHallowsWeek Review - Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

Series: Fever #1

Genre: Paranormal 

Age Group: Adult

Source: Library ebook

Ebook - 382 pgs

Delacorte Press (2006) 

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3/5

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

When her sister is murdered, leaving a single clue to her death–a cryptic message on Mac’s cell phone–Mac journeys to Ireland in search of answers. The quest to find her sister’s killer draws her into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems, where good and evil wear the same treacherously seductive mask. She is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to learn how to handle a power she had no idea she possessed–a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae….

Trigger Warning: Sexual Assault

Looking back at this book I’m not sure how I made it through the first half, but I’m glad I stuck it out.

The first half of Darkfever is slow and Mac makes some dumb decisions. Until the fantasy side of the story introduced, the story just dragged. If you can get through this section the second half of the book is really exciting and things improve a lot in book two. I feel like I say this about every paranormal series I read, but that is a discussion for another day.

Throughout the book Mac from the future breaks the fourth wall to talk to the reader and I was frustrated Future Mac talked so poorly about Current Mac. It sets a tone for the reader that we shouldn't like this version of the character. Several of the characters also comment on how Mac's attire and style is a reflection of how soft and silly she is which was simply overdone. Mac can kick butt in a pink skirt if she wants to! Moning's writing style just isn't my favorite. In between action scenes she repeats herself a lot and described things in a lot of detail.

However, I did enjoy the ending of this. Mac really starts to become an active participant in her own story. At that point I was invested and I loved how she took the reins to start directing her own fate. It just took her a long time! The action really picked up, so the writing was better, and I was intrigued enough to pick up book two. 

#FridayReads October 20, 2017

Happy Friday! This week I've been trying to fit in some creepier reads and these two have fit the bill. Darkfever is a urban fantasy focused on the fae and so far all of the fae have been horribly inhuman and twisted. It definitely falls on the darker side of urban fantasy and I'm enjoying it even though it is a little slow. Crimson Peak on the other hand is really ramping up the action as I read the end of the book. I only have two hours left in this audiobook and I'm very anxious to reach the end of the gothic thriller. Though this is a little predictable, it is very atmospheric and creepy. A young bride follows her new husband to his historic estate in England, but the home is falling apart and there is something watching her. It is delightfully creepy.

 

What are you reading this weekend?