DARKFEVER by Karen Marie Moning

DARKFEVER

by Karen Marie Moning

Book Blurb:

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….

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. As she begins to close in on the truth, the ruthless Vlane–an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women–closes in on her. 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…

I've got to do this review before I start the next book BlOODFEVER.  I don't want to confuse the story lines at all. 

I have two friends that are die hard fans for this "Fever" series by Moning. I do love a good series and particularly love when a series is well underway. That way I can read the books back to back uninterrupted. So the "Fever" series is perfect in that respect. I was pretty confident I was going to like all the books so I just went ahead and purchased them all. 

I have to say that I enjoyed the first book DARKFEVER but I didn't LOVE it. I think that this series must get better and better  with each book. I am guessing that once I invest more into the characters I will be obsessed as everyone else. I can feel the pull. 

Lets talk about the characters for a bit. I really like MacKayla Lane. She kinda reminds me of me. Okay so not the beautiful, blonde, skinny part but more the wanting to paint the world in colours, loving her nails  polished and just being a girlie girl. Yet at the same time, stubborn and refusing to believe what is happening to her even though it is right in front of her eyes. She is also brave as she walked into the Dark Zone. Okay, maybe I wouldn't have done that. My heart was breaking for the devastation she felt with her sister's murder. (That's not a spoiler because it happens practically on the first few pages.) 

Jericho Barrons is a very mysterious character indeed. I can't quite put my finger on him. Yes he is masculine, rich and down right handsome but I can't figure him out. I kinda felt like that author Moning didn't quite know what to do with him yet. There really wasn't a draw to him. *ducks from flying objects from the Barrons lovers* Okay come on! Admit it. You didn't love him first book did you? Really?  

V'lane - okay there is a character I want to learn more about. Super curious. I can't wait to read more about his role as Prince and his special powers. 

What was really missing from DARKFEVER for me was a sexual sort of chemistry between MacKayla and Barrons. Aside of admiration for each other's bodies I wouldn't even say there is a friendship there yet.  It's like they could barely stand each other yet alone trust each other. However if the author was just doing a stand alone book, that lack of chemistry would have failed miserably for me. BUT (a big BUT here) since this is a series, it turns out to be a genius move by the author Moning because there is potential there and a faithful book reader loves angsty potential in characters. Barrons and Mac have a huge following so I'm all game to dive right into BLOODFEVER book 2. 

Now let me move away from the characters and focus on the story. That I LOVED. It was beyond interesting and I stayed up until I finished DARKFEVER. I would say that DARKFEVER is an excellent "set up" book.  It was perfect for having the readers commit to this Fae & human world. I loved that Moning didn't just try and jam all of the DARKFEVER history into a few crammed chapters and confuse the heck out of me. I am glad she is taking her time with the character development and the set up of the different artifacts, villains and pending war.  

So out the gate, I'm going to give DARKFEVER a strong 4 hearts with the anticipation that the other books will jump to the 5 heart rating. On to BLOODFEVER now.


Teasers - Barrons Books and Baubles, journals, creepy creatures,  spear