The Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning
(Spoiler Free)
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.I started this series reading along with Racquel. While she did enjoy the ones she read, she was far less enthralled. I, however, was utterly addicted. I fell into this world for several weeks and didn't emerge unless it was absolutely necessary.
When her sister is murdered, leaving a single clue to her death–a cryptic message on Mac’s cell phone–Mac journeys to Ireland in search of answers. The quest to find her sister’s killer draws her into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems, where good and evil wear the same treacherously seductive mask. She is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to learn how to handle a power she had no idea she possessed–a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae….
As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister’s death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysterious Jericho, a man with no past and only mockery for a future. And as the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac’s true mission becomes clear: find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Book–because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control of the very fabric of both worlds in their hands….
INDIVIDUAL BOOK FEELINGS:
Darkfever: This was my first non-YA Fae book, and it was such an interesting take! I really liked it. With perspective of reading the series, though, even though it was fantastic and addicting and things actually happened, it was totally like Fever Series 101. Here are the characters (be intrigued, be very intrigued), here is the world (Dublin!), now prepare for me to blow your mind in future books (it will happen).
Bloodfever: This book was definitely darker than the first, but still enjoyable. Mac and Barrons had crazy amounts of chemistry. There were some really interesting story developments!
Faefever: This book had such intriguing story progression! This book had an interesting way of bringing some things around full circle, and it was crazy addicting. But it ended with a huge cliffhanger, so be warned!
Dreamfever It's very difficult to talk about this book without being spoilery. Suffice it to say, it was addicting. I loved it. I grew to like characters I wasn't crazy about before. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT finish this book without Shadowfever sitting next to you, ready to be opened. I have no idea how the people who read this series live did not go completely insane in the wait between these two books.
Shadowfever. You know how we say "ALL THE FEELS" about books all the time? This book makes that look like an understatement. I elated, crushed, enthralled, repulsed, confused, amused, and surprised. I cried both sad and happy tears. Quite the emotional roller coaster, but hands down, my favorite book of the series.
SERIES FEELINGS:
Mac. For one, it was awesome to read about a heroine who is actually my age. Although there were things about her I wasn't crazy about, I really liked the fact that Mac was a pretty realistic character. And she had some great development over the course of the series.
Jericho. Freaking. Barrons. I really have no words. I haven't swooned so hard over a fictional guy in...okay, so I swoon over a lot of fictional guys. But this was different. I can't really explain it unless you've read the books; he was just so mysterious and enigmatic and freaking sexy. I love that he used words like "pernicious" and that he owned a bookstore and that he called Mac "Ms. Lane." And I shipped him and Mac SO HARD, I cannot even put it into words.
The world building was so great! This series was my first introduction to urban fantasy, and it made me see why people like it. I also much prefer Fae stories to vampires/whatever, and I have a mild obsession with Ireland. So, this series was pretty much perfect for me.
The writing style of the series really worked for me. It was different, but enjoyable. Very matter-of-fact and nearly diary-like. I just loved this series overall. There were, of course, some predictable elements. But I was pleasantly surprised by all the total "WTF" moment I had, because I did not see some of the twists coming AT ALL. Basically, it was awesome. I definitely plan to continue with the spin-off series eventually.
Movies tell you what to think. A good book lets you choose a few thoughts for yourself. Movies show you the pink house. A good book tells you there’s a pink house and lets you paint some of the finishing touches, maybe choose the roof style, park your own car out front.
You want to believe in black and white, good and evil, heroes that are truly heroic, and villains that are just plain bad, but I’ve learned in the past year that things are rarely so simple.
Sometimes I worry that there’s not enough room in my brain for both my dreams and reality, that I’m a hard drive with limited gigabytes and one day I won’t be able to maintain the firewall between them. I wonder if that’s what senility is.
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.
