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

Guilty Pleasure #9 - Boom Socks!

There are a few other bloggers that are doing these Guilty Pleasure posts as well. It all started with C.J. Duggan and if you want a bunch of smiles, circle back to her site and see the comments to read other pleasures.

Currently in Canada it is summer. It is sweltering hot and we are setting record high temperatures daily. It's hot here dammit! Hot I tell ya. Hot! However even though our grass is brown and our lakes feel like bath water, my feet refuse to believe I am not walking on ice. Ever since I was a little kid my feet have been cold. I do however have a cure of my feet of ice. Oh yes! My Guilty Pleasure this week are Boom Socks!

Ok, you're probably asking yourself, 'what the hell are Boom socks'. Well allow me to elaborate. The name Boom socks goes back a few years so I'm trying to remember correctly how it all came about. 

I have a bunch of wonderful on-line friends. Really the best friends a girl could ever ask for. When we first met each other on-line we had long secretive screen names. You can never be sure who you're going to  meet on the other end so nobody used their real name on-line. Well this one friend had a very long screen name, so we shortened it to Boom. 

For Christmas one year, she bought a bunch of us these amazing socks from Bath & Body Works. At the time my town in Canada didn't have a Bath & Body Works and we certainly never had these amazing Aloe filled soft bundles of warmth. When I tried on my first pair, my feet had thought they had died and gone to foot heaven. Going forward those amazing Bath & Body Works socks affectionately became known as Boom socks. So much so, I haven't a clue what they are really called. 

Fast forward a few years and a half dozen of these beauties later, our town finally opened a Bath & Body Works. I rushed right in, ignored the coco-nutty scents calling me from all the corners and I immediately walked up to a sales lady and breathlessly asked, "Oh do you sell Boom socks?"

She promptly told me, "ah no" but I had seen them just passed her shoulder and pointed with my finger and exclaimed in some sort of outrage that she was keeping me from my Boom socks and yelled, "RIGHT THERE!"

See the thing is, I was so used to calling them Boom socks, I completely forgot what they were actually called and acted all mortified that the Bath & Body Works staff had never heard of Boom socks. 

I realized the error of my ways (as I seen her back slowly away from me) and apologized. I bought a few pairs and left quickly. Incidentally the real name for these socks are 'Fragrance & Shea-Infused Lounge socks'. I just looked it up. Yeah I agree, Boom socks are totally a better name. 

Here is a snap shot of my various Boom socks and a few of my Betty socks added in for good measure. Ah Betty, she could be another Guilty Pleasure post but we shall leave that for another day. 

Have you tried these Boom socks from Bath & Body Works or a store like that? Will you start to call them Boom socks now too? Does your feet have a love affair with warm and fuzzy socks? 

Teaser Tuesday - DarkFever by Karen Marie Moning

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 

DARKFEVER is a first time read for me. 

Since DARKFEVER is such a well known series, for those who have read it, I want to remind them of  Jericho Barrons from the beginning. For those who haven't read it, what are you waiting for? 

Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

Around three o'clock in the morning, I woke up strangely on edge. I pulled the drape aside and looked out. Jericho Barrons was on the sidewalk in front of The Clarin House, leaning back, his arms folded over his chest, staring up at the inn. He wore a long dark coat that went nearly to his ankles, a shirt of shimmering blood-red, and dark pants. He dripped casual European elegance and arrogance. His hair fell forward to just below his jaw. 

Page 87, Karen Marie Moning, DARKFEVER (book 1)

I know that was more than 2 sentences but they were all linked. Aren't you just dying to know what happened next?