Karen Moning Fever Series
Ene Vinson
This is a post about addiction. Yes, dear ones, I did read book four of the Fever series, DreamFever, by candlelight because the electricity went out the night I got my hands on a copy. I started reading this series in 2006, and had read the Highlander books before that, and after all this time I have high expectations of ShadowFever (which I will be reading on its publication date, Tuesday, January 18th). I want a spectacular ending.
The Fever series books in order are: DarkFever. BloodFever. FaeFever. DreamFever. ShadowFever. This is a series for readers who like fantasy fiction; the fictionalized Irish mythology Ms. Moning has created continues to fascinate me eleven books later.
Our lovely blond babe goes pseudo-Goth, learns to fight, learns she's a sidhe-seer (can see the Fae, unlike most humans) with the ability to sense magical objects, and that she's tougher than she ever imagined. The borderline-TSTL Mac of page one in DarkFever sheds her cluelessness with each fingernail that she breaks, as she battles her way towards learning what happened to her sister and seeks revenge on her killer, and tries to find and contain the Sinsar Dubh.
The walls between the Fae and the human realms are failing and evil is moving into our world. Not all of the Fae are evil, per se, but they are not human and their realm does not belong in our world. Humans and Fae have not proved able to co-exist peacefully in the same place-well, ever.
I have some frustrations, too, the biggest of which is that every book ends on a cliff-hanger. The cliff-hangers ratchet up from, "Mac has a mystery to solve' in the next book, to "someone just died (I think) and I don't know who.' I hate cliff-hangers. They make me frustrated and sometimes I throw the book across the room and refuse to read the next one out of spite. In this case, I'm reading ShadowFever as soon as I can get a copy; I've invested a lot of years in this series. However, the cliff-hanger in FaeFever pissed me off, and in DreamFever I was horrified and then immediately resigned to waiting a year to learn what just happened. This is not a literary device that I like, and interestingly, I've never discussed this series with anyone. (Until now.)
The Fever series is best if readers have already read the Highlander books, but it's not necessary. The world-building, myths, and knowledge about the Fae, the Unseelie, and the Druids are all richly layered book after book. Characters and events from those books are referenced and make cameos throughout the Fever series. I suspect that many of the characters will play a role in how ShadowFever resolves. It's a big investment of a reader's time.
1. What is Barrons? He's more than a garden-variety human. Barrons is feared and/or respected by the Fae and the Unseelie. Some readers have speculated that Barron's is the King of the Unseelie Court. (I don't believe this.) I've seen a tweet where someone posited that he's the son of the Unseelie King. (Interesting thought. I don't believe this, either.) I have no theory of what he is, just a bunch of thoughts on what he is not. After almost five years I'm tired of the endless speculation with no answers. Just tell me already.
2. Does Barrons love Mac, or does he simply need Mac? I want him to love her; I'm a romance reader, after all. I know he needs her. Does Mac love Barrons? Dunno. Sometimes she hates him; she doesn't trust him, though she trusts that he'll keep her alive because he needs her. I really want an HEA for each of them, preferably together. I'm not sure if that they are going to get one.
3. Is Adam Black going to make an appearance in ShadowFever and will Queen Aoibheal turn him back into Fae? In the book, Spell of the Highlander, she hinted that she'll need all of the MacKeltars, maybe Adam, plus one more (Barron's?) to overcome evil.
4. What was Christopher MacKeltar becoming? Whatever he's transforming into is freaky. (This happens in book four. I'm not spoiling anything for those of you who haven't read the books by asking this question.)
The first book Jaclyn can recall reading all by herself was Cinderella (a pink Disney edition) and all these years later she remains an avid reader of fairy tales, myths, and historical romances. Jaclyn's TBR also overflows with science fiction, fantasy, paranormal, urban fantasy, contemporary, thrillers, and mystery. During the workday she can be found navigating the digital transformation at a university press.
I liked this series at first. A lot. But honestly, as the series progressed, I felt like a lot could have been cut out (some things being much too repetitious), and the books combined for a shorter series.
Overall I like the series, though I am resisting making a final decision until after I have read Shadowfever. If Moning ties up the series in a big pink HEA bow as her Maniacs are shouting for then the series will get a big fat D from me. If she stays true to the beginning of the story and ties up all the loose ends with plausible knots then I will probably be in the Bish range.
I did enjoy his chase for Mac in book 5, but it all seemed too abrupt to believe. It might be construed as him being fed up hence all the things he did and said to Mac in the end, but to me it felt more like the writing was being impatient to finish. They have to wrap up the series, so they did.
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Do you want to meet THE. Ultimate. Alpha Male. Character?? Grab yourselves a copy of Darkfever and meet the enigmatic, mysterious, fiercely protective, powerful and dominating Jericho Z Barrons.
All I can say is if you want a completed book series with an incredible plot, a unique world, and vivid, multi-layered characters with deep pasts, where EVERYTHING happens for a reason (having finished them, I realized there was absolutely NO fluff in these series at ALL), and a full-filling, heart-warming HEA, then this is the series for you.
The first 5 books may be read together as a COMPLETED series and should be read in order. It is one continuous story. Each book starts right where the previous one left off. And the SERIES ending is a HEA. The individual books themselves have cliffhangers since the story spans 5 books.
Read the first 5 books in this series and just..WOW. Bizaarly, my mother was also reading the series, neither of knowing the other one was. I was one book ahead of her, and trying to keep it to myself was really hard. Just about to start the Highlander series. Cannot wait x x
Book Review:The first five books of Karen Marie Moning's Fever series were captivating, riveting, and had a clear direction. Even though Burned, didn't have a traditional cohesive plot like the previous books in the series, the non-stop action gave that installment this ... CONTINUE READING
Hey everyone! I'd like you give a warm welcome to my good friend, Eliza. She is going to be joining me from time to time on Reading Books Like a Boss to give us her two cents on books. She and I recently buddy read Iced by Karen Marie Moning in preparation for the highly ... CONTINUE READING
Review:"What are you, Barrons? His answer, on those rare occasions he gave one, was always the same. The one that will never let you die."Tons of books have moments that make you sad; you even cry a little. You may cry a lot. You cry because the author created ... CONTINUE READING
Review:The books in this series get better and better. They're like a drug, addictive and all-consuming. I can't get enough. Thankfully, I had a long weekend and was able to read, read, read. The ending of Faefever was one of the most painful endings of a book I have ... CONTINUE READING
Review:I was warned that this book was the point of no return. That the ending would induce fits of anxiety. That I would need Dreamfever immediately. That the ending was disturbing. I listened to everyone, I did. Really. But nothing that they told me could have ... CONTINUE READING
Review:The Fever series is my new obsession. The characters are addictive and multi-faceted. The story is unique, perfectly-paced, and woven together beautifully. Hello, my name is Megan and I am obsessed with the Fever series.Darkfever introduced you to the Faery ... CONTINUE READING
Review:For months and months, several friends have been pushing me to read the Fever series. "Megan, you've got to read this series! You've got to meet Jericho Barrons." "OMG, Megan! You haven't read this series? I wish I could unread them so that I could experience them ... CONTINUE READING
Some series just drag you in and before you know you are on the third or fourth instalment and all the story behind is just mixed together. That's my experience with the Fever series and it makes it really difficult to distinguish between the books. Still my task is to review Bloodfever, so here it goes.
The second part of the Fever series starts immediately after the end of Darkfever and it makes virtually no sense not to read the books in order. Mac is settling into her new life in Dublin, which consists mainly of hunting for Fae power objects and squabbles with her host Jericho Barrons. She is learning how to deal with the reality of being a sidhe-seer and gathering knowledge about the world on the verge of a war between Fae and Men.
It may sound like a pretty boring story acionwise, but believe me, there are many things happening along the way up to the nerve-racking climax. Karen Moning came up with a complex mythology and discovering her world along Mac proves to be rewarding. As the events unravel, certain details mentioned in the passing, click into place and the reader starts to understand how some things may play out in the future. I know, I sound awfully cryptic, but Bloodfever is a kind of book where secrets are piled up thick and spoilers would just suck the whole fun out.
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