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Darkfever (Fever #1)

4.19 of 5 stars 4.19 · rating details · 56,203 ratings · 4,571 reviews

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 Irela...more

Hardcover, 309 pages

Published October 31st 2006 by Delacorte Press (first published October 1st 2006)

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Oct 14, 2011 Kat Kennedy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: kat-s-book-reviews, favorites

Series Overview

Click here if you can't help your attraction to me. That or, you know, you want to watch my video review.

Mr. Kennedy's thoughts on the Fever series (Please note, there will be spoilers):

Mr. Kennedy is standing around shirtless, wanting to discuss some of the aspects of the Fever series. I find it hard to concentrate.

Tatum Channing

For goodness sake, Mr Kennedy! Take those sunglasses out of your mouth! I can't hear what you're saying!

Me: So what's your favourite part of the Fever series so far (H...more

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Aug 19, 2011 The Holy Terror rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: owned, color-red, fairies, vampires, urban-fantasy, dumb-females, hated-this-book, hate-this-series, forgot-to-drink-the-kool-aid, 2010

The only thing saving this from a 1 star rating was the world-building. Moning has created a fascinating new world for her characters to play in. Unfortunately it's those characters that really brought down this novel for me.

MacKayla Lane's life is turned upside down the day she finds out that her sister Alina, who had been studying abroad in Ireland, has been murdered. The police have no leads and her case gets filed away as unsolved. MacKayla can't stomach the thought of her sister's killer g...more

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Sep 07, 2012 Tatiana rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: urban fantasy fans

Recommended to Tatiana by: Kat Kennedy

Shelves: 2010, urban-fantasy, 2011, favorites, series-finished-good, 2012

Updated 1/23/2011
If you haven't been coerced/begged by me into reading this series yet, IDK where you were last month (maybe away from Goodreads?). If you still don't know that these books are awesome and totally worth your time, this is my last attempted to lure you into giving them a chance. However the main purpose of this update is just to follow up on the outcome of this particular series. So many crash and burn in the process, lose their steam and become a waste of time. Not so here. Fever...more

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May 21, 2011 Elizabeth rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Meredith

Recommended to Elizabeth by: Ceridwen, Jenn, Michelle, Kat...

Shelves: 2011, in-by-of-the-americas, books-about-books, fantasy-sci-fi, irish, reviewed, vamps-and-other-mythical-beasts, fey

Yes, it was peer pressure that got me to read this book. There's something to be said for peer pressure, sometimes. It's not all about hanging out with the cool kids by taking up smoking and shoplifting, although considering that I put aside some good-for-the-brain books for this one, maybe it is like smoking and shoplifting. I liked it and, like any addiction, all I want is more! More! More!

I want more of this narrator, which is fascinating to me because everyone (and I mean each of the six fri...more Yes, it was peer pressure that got me to read this book. There's something to be said for peer pressure, sometimes. It's not all about hanging out with the cool kids by taking up smoking and shoplifting, although considering that I put aside some good-for-the-brain books for this one, maybe it is like smoking and shoplifting. I liked it and, like any addiction, all I want is more! More! More!

I want more of this narrator, which is fascinating to me because everyone (and I mean each of the six friends who recommended this book to me) mentioned how annoying she is. I can see it. She's blond, she's buxom, she's obsessed with product-name-dropping (her Bose sound dock and band names and makes of cars. I supposed if Stephenie Meyer says it's okay, every author should do it). It reminded me of Pretty Woman. Remember Julia Roberts, that Southern Belle who ran away to the big city, loves serious cars, and rocks out to Prince's Kiss on her Sony Discman in the tub? Yeah, that's Mac (only the central conflict involves fairies and not sex for money). Mac also reminded me of Sookie in Dead Until Dark, only a lot less stupid, just as naive; smarter, once she got going that is. (I noticed Charlaine Harris blurbed the book).

They are both variations on Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. I'm not talking about the cool, edgy one in the WB series; I mean the original valley girl cheerleader from the movie. She's Cher in Clueless, who is, of course (you knew it was coming) a variation on Emma.

We've got a long and, for me, valued history in women's fiction of the young woman, forced from home (or her otherwise comfortable life and assumptions), into a big, bad world in which she is not the center of the universe and her education, such as it was, proves to be even more lacking than she ever realized. I love this type of book. I love the type of woman who learns from her mistakes. Every time I pick up one of these, I hope she's going to grow up without losing herself entirely in the process. I'm not talking about whether or not her nails are still pink by book five (although I hope they are) but if she's still the type of woman who loves so strongly that she would get on a plane to investigate her sister's death because other people weren't doing enough and her sister deserves better. That's a character that has depth and what Moning did well was give me enough character development that at the end of the book I believed her to be that kind of person, even if I didn't at the beginning.

That Barbie walks softly and carries a big stick (e.g. shining, Roman, fairy spear), is kind of fascinating to me, too. I hope she succeeds because, as much as I hate to admit it, I'm Barbie, or at least I've got Barbie-like-tendencies, and I want to succeed. I want those girls to find whatever it is they're looking for and kick some serious ass while doing it. (less)

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Mar 27, 2011 Ceridwen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: america-and-environs, daddy-drinks-because-you-cry, faeries, for-teh-ladies, insomnia, celts, necrophilia, omg-were-all-going-to-die

My new resolution is always to read books on the romance novel end of things while suffering from insomnia. I started this one in the bright light of day, and I thought the narrative voice was awful. I mean, I totally wanted to punch every single word I read. Holy shit, did this book just say, "Not!" Like:

Using crispy dated 90isms totally gives your first person narrator a sheen of verisimilitude.
Not!

Then there's endless descriptions of clothes, hair and make-up, stupid names, and Southern-fried...more My new resolution is always to read books on the romance novel end of things while suffering from insomnia. I started this one in the bright light of day, and I thought the narrative voice was awful. I mean, I totally wanted to punch every single word I read. Holy shit, did this book just say, "Not!" Like:

Using crispy dated 90isms totally gives your first person narrator a sheen of verisimilitude.
Not!

Then there's endless descriptions of clothes, hair and make-up, stupid names, and Southern-fried chickenisms that made me feel like I was swimming in mint julep. While I like the idea of mint juleps, I am no fan. If I wanted green shit in my teeth, I would simply put green shit in my teeth. Folksy characterizations are the green shit in my teeth.

But then I got the stomach flu and couldn't sleep. And I knocked this one back like crazy. Turns out that the main character, Mac, was supposed to be annoying in the first section, and throughout - Southern Barbie whose eyes sparkle when you shine a light in her ears - and then later events wise her ass up. She gets the call that her sister who is on study in Ireland has been murdered, and all of the pointless sunbathing of her life falls apart. She ends up grief-stricken in Dublin, incompetently trying to solve the murder. And then things get weird.

I'm always a fan of this sort of paranormal hokum that's wrapped around real traumas and emotions. It is no spoiler to say that the weird hinges on fairies - there's a clunky prologue to that end - man, I really hate prologues - and it's pretty deft and wonderful to externalize all of this grief and trauma into these inhuman beings who do not care about humanity, who use us. Death uses us, our griefs can rule us, the death of a loved one can leave us groping through the foreign city of loss, all of the accents incomprehensible and strange. I don't know for sure, because I was too sleepy to chart this exactly, but I'm willing to bet Mac's emotional reactions to learning about the Fae roughly follows the Kübler-Ross stages of grieving: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. That's just great.

Then, well, this is on the romance novel side of things, so there's a growl and a half Hottie McBlackpants who growls and whirls around, and he was pretty fun to watch. I could do without the roughly 7,590,000 bazillion descriptions of his outfits - seriously, I get he wears a lot of black - but their attraction/repulsion was snappy. He's a pretty big dick, but he is called on his dickishness and not swooned over for it by Mac. The readers can do the swooning, thank you. And that may be the thing about this book I liked best: the romance angle was not foreground, but interstitial; the real plot was managing grief. Mac is as much getting to know herself as getting to know Capt. Tightpants, so it really worked for me that their relationship was so slow to develop.

The ending sucks a bit, not the ending of the action, but the denouement that's a total set up for the next book, with no real attempt to tie things off. I do not like when writers expect you to commit to an entire series. I might even go so far as to resent it. I have some other minor bitches about this book - the persona of the main character slips sometimes into sounding too old, especially a mini-lecture about the Entitlement Generation that had me texting LOL WTF? to my bff - but it's surprisingly meaty & dark for a pop fiction book about fairies. (less)

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Mar 30, 2012 Emily May rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal-uf, 2011

I finished this book with two clear ambitions in mind:

1. I wanted to jump on the next flight to Dublin.
2. I wanted to sandwich myself between Jericho Barrons & V'lane (preferably naked).

Let's just say that this is one of the most addictive stories I've read in a long time; even as I write this review, the second in the series is on it's way to me courtesy of Amazon.

It just has... everything. A crime mystery, a fantasy world steeped in history and folklore, and the kind of men that you would...more

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Jan 06, 2011 Lady Danielle aka The Book Huntress rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Fans of faerie fiction

Recommended to Lady Danielle aka The Book Huntress by: Most of my GRs friends!

Shelves: urban-fantasy, faerie, part-of-a-series, favorite-or-autobuy-author, favorites, kickbutt-heroine, fashionista, scary-sexy-cool-dangerous-hero, hero-to-die-for, very-dark-read, set-in-ireland, antihero, heroine-i-adore, owned-copy

Darkfever took me on a very dark ride, but I enjoyed myself immensely. Ms. Moning delivers with her concept of the Fae, and with this story of the inception of a young woman's crusade to find out who murdered her sister and why. Along with Mac, I was thrown to the wolves, exposed to the cruel, ruthless, and extremely scary nature of the Fae. I am very interested in stories that show Faeries not as the cute, glittery sprites that dance around flowers and giggle in high-pitched voices, but the oth...more Darkfever took me on a very dark ride, but I enjoyed myself immensely. Ms. Moning delivers with her concept of the Fae, and with this story of the inception of a young woman's crusade to find out who murdered her sister and why. Along with Mac, I was thrown to the wolves, exposed to the cruel, ruthless, and extremely scary nature of the Fae. I am very interested in stories that show Faeries not as the cute, glittery sprites that dance around flowers and giggle in high-pitched voices, but the otherworldly type, who view humans as objects to be used and discarded, when they aren't ignored as beneath their notice. Call me weird, I guess. If I am, then Ms. Moning and I am on the same wavelength here.

Mac was a very interesting character. She seemed shallow and immature, but she wasn't. I saw her evolve very quickly as a person, and show that underneath the pink nails, perfect blonde hair, and always coordinated fashions, there was a strong woman who could hold her own. I am very close to my sister, and this book hit home with me. I can't imagine how Mac would have felt, and I don't want to. Having your sister be alive and then the next, horribly murdered. That is an awful place to be in. And to find out about your hidden heritage as a sidhe-seer, and that the Fae are ruthless, cruel and dangerous beings, and you might be one of the few who can stand against them if they decide to take over the world. Wow! Just wow! I'd say she stood up great under all that pressure.

And Barrons. I had heard about the guy. He was even better than I expected. Erudite, cultured, dangerously intelligent, powerful, good-looking, and with a hidden agenda and nature that kept me intrigued. He's manipulative and cuttingly sarcastic, but he saves Mac's life and gives her shelter, and even better, helps her to find the means to survive in a world that doesn't make a bit of sense, and to come into her destiny as a power sidhe-seer. Oh, and he owns a bookstore, a really nice one. That's another plus. I was thinking he was like Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, with a little bad boy thrown in for flavor. But my mother nailed it, as she often does! He's actually like Wesley, well Bad Wesley (after he betrays Angel and gets his throat cut). She is so right, and I loved the comparison, since I adore Wesley (good/nerdy and Bad/dangerous Wesley both). Anyway, Barrons....Loved him! I thought that there was a great dynamic between Barrons and Mac, sort of a sensei/student, sidekick, antagonistic partner/frenemies, and could be something more (with the tons of sexual chemistry between them).

I've been a fan of Ms. Moning for years, since I've read most of her Highlander books, but I have to say that this book really cements my admiration for her. She writes the Fae very, very well (beautiful/ugly, otherworldly, and very dangerous), and she managed to write a story that engaged me on many levels. There were the dark elements, the humor, the appeal of an ancient, foreign city that was so exquisitely described in the narrative, a likeable heroine who had depths, and I was able to see evolve in a good way over the course of the book, a fantastic antihero, bad boy like Barrons calling my name, and very scary, intense adversaries. This book was primo. I have definitely gotten the Fever, and I want more! (less)

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Jan 23, 2011 Kim rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy, paranormal-romance, read-in-2011, favorites

My apologies to Olivia, I know you weren't blown away by Action Barbie and her gang of new friends, but OMG I loved this.

Another one of those books I can't read in public. Not because it's full of smut, but because I constantly feel like making out with my Kindle. That's how much I loved reading this book. I was constantly grumpy for the past few days, without having a real reason.

Conversations with me pretty much went like this:

Person: Kim?
Me: WHAT?

So after having to reanimate a few of those pe...more

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Mar 30, 2011 Lyndsey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: about-faerie-fey-folk, genre-urban-fantasy, reviewed-2011, reviewed-4-stars, my-top-urban-fantasy

The beginning of this book reminded me so much of Veronica Mars, in fact, I even pictured Kristen Bell as the main character.

Mac is on a mission to find her sister's killer, much like Veronica's quest to find her best friends killer. Her sister Alina was a young woman who found herself in a dangerous situation and relationship, believing she was in love with a man who she knew mostly nothing about. But that is where most of the similarities end. Unless there was an alternate season on VM where...more

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May 30, 2011 The Flooze rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to The Flooze by: Laura Lulu

Shelves: urban-fantasy-paranormal, owned, vanquished_2011, glutton_for_punishment

E.T.A. Having now read the whole series, I can't say I'd recommend it. I never grew to like Mac, and though the twists were interesting at times the pay-off didn't outweigh the frustration.
____________________________________________

**2.5?**

It’s a long one, folks. The gist of it is: An interesting set-up in terms of world-building, but I’m not attached to the characters in the slightest. Why? Read on…
____________________________________________

MacKayla Lane. Ohhh, how you irk me. Your obsessi...more

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Jul 20, 2012 Dija rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2007, uf-or-pnr, read-in-2012, my-harem, my-reviews, reread-worthy, first-in-series

A million times better the second time around!

Honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect because I've never reread a series before and was afraid it'd end up being boring or uninteresting. Nothing could have been farther from the truth. Not only did I enjoy reading Darkfever again, I loved it a lot more because I started appreciating the details I was too confused to notice the first time I read this series. If Darkfever is any indication, this reread is going to be an unforgettable experience.

I fin...more

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Jun 28, 2011 Lora rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people still waiting to reading it

Recommended to Lora by: it would be faster for me to tell you who hasn't recommended it to me

Shelves: urban-fantasy

Well, I think it's official: I'm the last woman on the planet to read this. Seriously, this book/series is EVERYWHERE. I've got the covers of these books popping up in my sleep. So, I figured I should ~~meet Barrons~~ try them.

I had a bad experience with an Urban Fantasy novel a while back and decided to judge all novels of this genre accordingly. But, after reading this, I'm beginning to think that maybe I need to give this genre another try. Because if there's any other Urban Fantasy series this g...more

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Jan 20, 2011 ~Tina~ rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-2011, fey-folk, urban_fantasy, adults, own, favorites

I've never been one for UF reads and I'm actually very picky when it comes to Fey books. But in all honesty, this one was actually pretty good.

I guess I like Mac just fine, she has a very 'Alicia Silverstoneish' vibe that I'm still trying to get over. At first she took a lot of things very lightly, almost like a cosmic joke, which I thought was pretty realistic if I was in her shoes, but in the end I liked her spunk and stubbornness and her 'take me as I am or leave me' attitude.
Now, Barrons on...more

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Mar 23, 2011 Janina rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy, on-my-shelf, read-in-2011, unputdownable, better-than-expected, adult-fiction, series-lost-interest

Could someone please hit me? Why didn’t I read this book sooner?

Why??

Yes, I might very well be the last person on earth to read Darkfever. Okay, maybe not the very last, but you get the point. I feel like the bandwagon has long moved on and I am a little sad I waited so long. It would have been even more fun to read these books together with my Goodreads friends.
But I was sceptical. Almost everyone seemed to go crazy over Barrons and Mac, joking around about having caught ‘The Fever’ and devour...more Could someone please hit me? Why didn’t I read this book sooner?

Why??

Yes, I might very well be the last person on earth to read Darkfever. Okay, maybe not the very last, but you get the point. I feel like the bandwagon has long moved on and I am a little sad I waited so long. It would have been even more fun to read these books together with my Goodreads friends.
But I was sceptical. Almost everyone seemed to go crazy over Barrons and Mac, joking around about having caught ‘The Fever’ and devouring the five books in this series in the shortest amount of time possible. But from what I’d heard, I wasn’t sure if I would like the books – in fact, I was almost convinced that I wouldn’t like them …
What did I expect? First of all, Action Barbie. Let me tell you, I despise – yes, despise – the colour pink and I certainly don’t understand any nail polish obsession there can possibly be – so how on earth should I be able to realate to girly Mac?
Then, that jerk Barrons with his silk shirts? Death-by-sex Fae? Only had me laughing.
Well, I think sometimes I shouldn’t think too much about whether I’d like a book or not and just give it a try! If it’s crap, I can still get rid of it somehow afterwards …

Yes, I soon came to realise that – despite the fact that Mac doesn’t fit in a drawer with my favourite characters – I really liked reading from her point of view. We might not agree on fashion, but hey, who cares? There was the occasional scene where I felt like hitting her over the head with a heavy object for being so straight-forward and not listening to someone who clearly knew more about the Fae than her, but I get why she behaved the way she did. I mean, if I had been told what to do by a rather impolite jerk whom I didn’t fully trust – sorry Barrons, I’m not completely feeling the love yet ;) – I might have reacted the same way.
Yes, Barrons. I can definitely say that he is an intriguing character with a lot of potential. I am not that satisfied with how Karen Marie Moning describes him, though. I mean, he is supposed to look dangerous and alluring, yet he wears silk shirts (!) and his long (!!) black hair slicked back (!!!)? Eew. (Thanks a lot to my friend Jessica for the lovely pictures to accompany this description.) I might just have stick to my own picture of him …

All in all, although there were some small things that didn’t sit too well with me or that I found unrealistic (view spoiler) I loved the atmosphere – the dark, forgotten parts of Dublin, the vibe of the city itself and the suspense. I can definitely say that I felt entertained and actually even creeped out when Mac wandered the streets alone or went ‘on tour’ with Barrons. The mystery and the characters kept me interested the whole time (this was one of those books where I always told myself: “only one more chapter and then I’ll go to bed” but that I ended up finishing really fast and without taking one more look at the clock) and I can’t wait to find out more about the death of Mac’s sister, the Sinsar Dubh, Barrons and the Fae in general. This book clearly is only an introduction to the whole story, and it doesn’t give closure in any way. I wish it would have stood on its own and actually revealed a bit more about the world of the Fae and the mystery surrounding the Dark Book, but well … Book two is on its way :).
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Jul 21, 2012 Anzu The Great Destroyer rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: brave people

Recommended to Anzu by: the headless dude in the back of the room

Shelves: zomg-i-must-have-him, paranormal-fix, the-fantasy-of-urbans, i-am-stalking-you, a-bit-of-mush, absolute-madness, dark-so-dark, buddy-or-group-read, reviewed-2012, well-arent-you-mister-popularity

Abandon Hope, All Ye Who Enter Here.

First I was like “Fever re-read huh? I’m gonna combine-read it with some other book because I’m that cool.”

And then I was like “Fuck this shit it’s Fever were talking about. My mind can handle only one load of awesomeness at a time.”

The first time I’ve read Darkfever I didn’t like Mac much. The reasons are obvious. She’s a weakling pretty little blond spoiled brat. However, now I can’t help but love the woman because of what she became throughout the series....more

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Feb 02, 2011 Jessica rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 21-urban-fantasy, 24-ebooks

EDIT: I will leave this review as it is and I won’t change my rating but there’s one thing I want you to know before reading my review: This is the first book of a series of five and even if I only rated this 3.5 stars and my review doesn’t make it sound all that good I have to tell you that I am absolutely in love with this series now, so please don’t let my review discourage you. Even if you didn’t like book 1 that much I can only recommend you to give book 2 a shot before you give up on this...more

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Oct 25, 2012 Aestas Book Blog rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, book-1-of-my-fav-series

This is a spoiler-free mini-review for the SERIES, not just this book:

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.

“He didn't just occupy space; he saturated it. The room had been full of books before, now it was full of him.”

All I can say is if you want a completed book series with an incredible plot, a unique world, and vivid, multi-layere...more

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Aug 08, 2011 Joel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Joel by: Ceridwen

Shelves: 2011, read-while-in-a-foreign-land

I read this because Ceridwen mailed it to me. She read it while incapacitated by the flu. I read it while roughly 60 percent awake on a three-leg international travel jag. Either is probably what I'd consider an ideal circumstance: your brain wants amusement, distraction, titillation... but certainly not a challenge.

And since I am apparently the only boy to ever, ever read it, I thought, why not pause my vacation for a quick review?

So this book reminded me a lot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, if B...more

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Jul 19, 2012 Alkyoni rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Alkyoni by: Kat's Review

Shelves: urban-fantasy, if-i-were-stuck-on-a-desert-island, series-completed, pan-s-labyrinth, say-anything

Original review, September 2011

Writing down what I liked about this series is gonna take forever, so instead I’m gonna say the things that I didn’t like.

I didn’t like sleeping 3 hours a day for a week, because I couldn’t put it down. Someone should have warned me about that.

I didn’t like the fact that I didn’t see my friends and family for a week, for the same reason, or the fact that I was so busy reading that I couldn’t spend some time with my boyfriend.

I don’t like the fact that it has turned...more

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Jan 30, 2011 Leah rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Leah by: Suzanne, Laurie, Annie, Sam (S1), Rhonda, Angela, Alli

Shelves: by-george-thats-awesome, king-of-the-harem, in-my-harem, love-triangles-can-kiss-my-booty, scars-and-tats-and-piercings-oh-my, happy-slapsgiving, 4-stars, recommendations, its-all-in-the-accent, loaned, bad-boy-take-me-away

You know, I've heard about this series for a while now and never made any moves to actually read it, aside from adding it to my "to-read" shelf. I wasn't really motivated to start the series until a couple of weeks ago when everyone-and I mean everyone-was reading Shadowfever. I figured, "Why the hell not?" So here I am, lying around in my bedroom on a Saturday night, reading this book, annnnnddd...I loved it. I didn't think I would love it as much as I did as I have never really liked anything...more You know, I've heard about this series for a while now and never made any moves to actually read it, aside from adding it to my "to-read" shelf. I wasn't really motivated to start the series until a couple of weeks ago when everyone-and I mean everyone-was reading Shadowfever. I figured, "Why the hell not?" So here I am, lying around in my bedroom on a Saturday night, reading this book, annnnnddd...I loved it. I didn't think I would love it as much as I did as I have never really liked anything I've read about the Fae, and it's in first person, but I'll get to that later. But yeah, it was really good and I can't wait to read the rest of the series. And I'm really glad I waited to start it until the last book was out.

Normally, I really hate books that are in the first person. I hate just reading the POV of one person; I love getting to see a situation from at least two POVs. This is the reason I rarely read Urban Fantasy. However, I actually liked it with this series. Mac had some hilarious thoughts and I didn't mind seeing the world through her mind's eye. Although, it might have been interesting to see some of the things from Barron's POV. (I'll return to that sexalicious hunk in a bit.)

I really liked MacKayla. It's true that, in the beginning, she is rather naive and takes things for granted, but you can't really blame her since she comes from a small town in Georgia. Essentially, that fact could have really made me hate her. If she had stayed that way throughout the entire novel. However, she didn't. She changed, adapted her world view, albeit reluctantly, and matured. By the end of the book she was no longer that butterflies and rainbows girl from a hobunk town. Finally, I was glad that she ultimately accepted that the battle with the Fae was her war to fight as a sidhe-seer. I look forward to seeing how she continues to develop in the rest of the series.

Now...Barrons. Oh, Barrons...I am completely and utterly in love with him. Barrons is a high-handed asshole and I love it. He was just so cute. And so funny too. If unintentionally. He constantly had me smiling like a idiot because I just loved him so much. And when he called her "Mac" after she was thrown across the room towards the end? Awwwww. And then he took care of her. If that didn't prove how awesome and lovable he was, what does? And he's totally sexalicious, as I mentioned above. I was constantly wishing that Barrons and Mac would have sex so that I could live vicariously through her and imagine it was me having sex with Barrons! Of course, though, there is the linger question of..."What the fuck is he?!" He's got superhuman strength, the Shades left him alone, he dropped thirty feet without a rope, dropped from the roof of a two-story building, and all this without dying or being injured! What in the fuck is this guy?! Naturally my curious mind is at work trying to come up with something and I am thoroughly pissed that I don't have the rest of the books on hand to read the series straight-through.

I absolutely did not like V'lane in this one. True, he only showed up twice, and I've been told that I will come to love him in the next book, but I just didn't like him. And it had almost everything to do with the museum scene. That just pissed me off to no end. Black! Plus, I think I just loved Barrons so much that it made me automatically dislike V'lane, which is weird yet not. And this is another reason I don't often read Urban Fantasy. There is the potential for an extended love triangle or a constant back and forth in the relationships! Ahhhh, nooooo! So that was another reason V'lane drove me nuts. But yeah, it was mostly because of the museum thing.

Again, I absolutely loved this book and I'm so glad that I finally took the initiative to start reading this series. I can't wait to read the rest!

4.5 stars(less)

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Jun 08, 2012 Sercan Vatansever rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantast, faeries, adult, paranormal

Kitabın konusuna değinmeyeceğim zaten diğer arkadaşlar değinmiş, onlardan bakabilir okumayı düşünenler. Ben kitapta çok güldüğüm bir sahneyi ve kendi yorumumu paylaşacağım :)

Kitap gerçekten iyiydi ve kurgu harikaydı ama yer yer sıktı kitap beni. Mac kendi kendine çok konuşuyor, oradan oraya atlıyor. Jericho Barrons ise ne sinir bir adam yahu. Kitap boyunca ser verdi sır vermedi. Kimdir, nedir, ne yer, ne içer bilmiyoruz. Ve kitap boyunca sadece 'Bayan Lane' demesi beni delirtti. Her dediğinde g...more

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Dec 26, 2010 Quinn rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: library-book, urban-fantasy, i-own

Darkfever is a perfect example of why I seldom DNF a book, even using the ‘100 page rule’.

I love Karen Marie Moning’s Highlander series, so I was really looking forward to finally starting her Fever series, particularly after seeing all the positive talk and reviews over the years. So imagine my surprise to find this, the first installment in the Fever series, less than enjoyable - at least to start with.

Being Urban Fantasy – and this is definitely not Paranormal Romance - Darkfever is written i...more

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Jan 09, 2011 FlibBityFLooB rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2010, fae-or-elves, loved-the-audiobook-narration, witty-i-am-not, read-in-2011, read-more-than-once, husband-enjoyed-book, vampires, urban-fantasy-or-paranormal, zzauthor-moning-km

Re-read 2011: I re-read in anticipation of reading the final book in the series. Still a five star book to me. Original Review 2010: This was my first book by Karen Marie Moning, but it definitely will not be my last. I found this book to be a fabulous read, full of action and intrigue. The world building that took place I found to be interesting without being overdone. The pacing seemed to unfold things nicely without leaving me feeling confused about what was happening. The story kept me inte...more Re-read 2011: I re-read in anticipation of reading the final book in the series. Still a five star book to me. Original Review 2010: This was my first book by Karen Marie Moning, but it definitely will not be my last. I found this book to be a fabulous read, full of action and intrigue. The world building that took place I found to be interesting without being overdone. The pacing seemed to unfold things nicely without leaving me feeling confused about what was happening. The story kept me interested to the very end. I’ve heard that the books in this series are notorious for having cliff-hanger endings, so I have acquired the next three books that are out so I can read them in rapid succession one after the other.

I loved how the character of Barrons addressed Mac (the heroine) as “Ms. Lane”. It kept his character feeling polished and professional, a nice contrast to the young naïveté of Mac. I also loved how Barrons was a mystery throughout the book (even after the book ended). Just what is Barrons? Is he really human? Is he fae? Is he really good? Is he bad? I love a good mystery man in my books. hehehe.

If I had only one complaint, it would be the few pages of whining that Mac did mid-book when she came to understand her family history from her dad. (Don’t want to spoil the plot if you haven’t read it, so I will leave it as “family history”). It just seemed really silly to me to be so whiny about it. Then again, it didn’t last long and the action immediately picked back up. I suppose I could blame the whining on Mac being 22 years old. Sometimes I wish authors would let the characters be older, or at least more mature. Then again, part of the interest in this story was likely how you were left feeling as in-the-dark about the unfolding story as Mac. I think the first person point-of-view in this book actually helped with the plot in that respect and contributed well to the mystery of it all.

Enough babbling! I found the book to be a fun read, and I recommend it to fans of Urban Fantasy and those who like to read about things that go bump in the night. If you’re a hardcore horror fan, be aware that this book will not be scary, even with all the monsters and things found throughout. The scariest thing about it is probably just trying to pronounce the Irish/Gaelic words found in it correctly. Hehehehe. (less)

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Dec 31, 2010 Jillian -always aspiring- rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: People looking for a more adult Faery tale

Recommended to Jillian -always aspiring- by: The ladies of the Fever Water Cooler

Shelves: surprisingly-liked, amazing-storytelling, paranormal-supernatural-books, couldn-t-stop-reading-it, best-characters, wowed-me, soared-above-and-beyond, glad-i-gave-it-a-chance, exceeded-my-expectations, heroines-i-love-and-or-admire, went-out-of-my-box-to-read, wish-i-could-write-a-book-like-this, 2010-reads, reviewed

Darkfever was the last book I read in 2010 -- and what a way to end the year! I mean that, of course, with all respect and praise. I came into this book with mixed expectations due to the following the Fever series has among my Goodreads friends, and I didn't know if I would see the allure of the story as others have.

But I did. I so did.

Now, I'm not a fan of adult urban fantasy. Why? I don't like the explicit sexcapades. Yes, my reason is as shallow/deep/immature as that. I'm the type of girl wh...more Darkfever was the last book I read in 2010 -- and what a way to end the year! I mean that, of course, with all respect and praise. I came into this book with mixed expectations due to the following the Fever series has among my Goodreads friends, and I didn't know if I would see the allure of the story as others have.

But I did. I so did.

Now, I'm not a fan of adult urban fantasy. Why? I don't like the explicit sexcapades. Yes, my reason is as shallow/deep/immature as that. I'm the type of girl who gets embarrassed easily, and sex scenes raise me to the height of embarrassment. The color of my face can often tell you if I'm reading a romantic scene and how 'in depth' it is. And I know that adult urban fantasy is notorious for the sex scenes (need I even bring up the infamous Anita Blake books I have heard so much about?). Thus, I stay away.

For some reason, though, my resolve chipped away with the Fever series. I don't exactly know why. I think my Goodreads friends chatting about it quite a bit had an effect on me, causing me to think, "These women have good taste in what they read. I enjoy their reviews. We share similar opinions on various books. Who's to say I won't feel similar about this series?" So I dove into Darkfever. . .and I'm so glad I did.

If I could compare Darkfever to three things, what would I compare it to? Oddly enough, my comparisons are TV shows: one part Buffy the Vampire Slayer and one part True Blood mixed with a dash of Supernatural. That's how this book felt to me -- and it wasn't a bad thing. It's not supposed to be great innovative literature or a heavily thought-provoking book. It's entertainment -- and a bit of a guilty pleasure, I might add. But there's depth to it where it's not mindless fluff. Take, for instance, the Fae mythology in this book: it's creepy yet mysterious. I am very impressed with the way Moning has crafted the world in this book, and I look forward to how it will grow and develop in the sequels.

Also, the characters are not the cardboard cut-outs one might expect: Mac is feminine but also independent and fierce in her own way, Barrons is arrogant yet oddly protective, and V'lane is. . .well, I'll be honest, he scares me very much. (I couldn't help but laugh each time Mac crossed paths with V'lane. Poor Mac!) I was definitely impressed with the characters, and I can't wait to meet more of Moning's cast.

All in all, I was simply very impressed overall. The writing was solid, the characters were interesting, and the plot kept my attention. I'm very glad that I had enough intuition to pick up the second book, Bloodfever, so now I won't have to wait to delve deeper into more of Mac's tale. Here's hoping the series will continue to deliver until the very end. (less)

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Jun 04, 2011 Sparrow rated it 2 of 5 stars

Recommended to Sparrow by: flannery and aileen

Shelves: reviewed, monsters

The thing I never get over, no matter how much I dye my hair, is how it changes my personality every time. When my hair was its natural brown, I was innocent and pious. When my hair was purple, I forgot all about my upbringing and became angsty and wild. When I shaved my head, I became a lesbian. When I went back to brown hair, I became bookish and respectable. Then, when I was blond, I mostly thought about clothes and sex with men. Somebody should do some kind of test on the physiological reaso...more

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Jan 07, 2011 Flannery rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: swords-and-lasers, read-in-2011, read-on-kindle, paranormal, i-want-to-go-to-there, reviewed-2011

I started this book to see what all the hoopla was about on Goodreads. People are crazy for it! After reading the first installment, I can totally see why that is. I fell into the storyline extremely quickly and devoured the book in two days. (I would've read it in one sitting if I'd had the time!)

While I thoroughly enjoy most urban fantasy-type books (I don't want to pigeonhole this book into any one category--it truly has a lot of...well, a lot of genres:)), I found it refreshing that Karen Ma ...more I started this book to see what all the hoopla was about on Goodreads. People are crazy for it! After reading the first installment, I can totally see why that is. I fell into the storyline extremely quickly and devoured the book in two days. (I would've read it in one sitting if I'd had the time!)

While I thoroughly enjoy most urban fantasy-type books (I don't want to pigeonhole this book into any one category--it truly has a lot of...well, a lot of genres:)), I found it refreshing that Karen Marie Moning left out most of the fluff. I'm sick of reading about "nice vampires" and romantic interludes with all sorts of supernatural beings. This book has a little romance but, for the most part, those storylines are left open for the later books in the series. At least, I hope they are played out later. *crosses fingers*

And don't get me wrong, Moning definitely leaves in some fluffier elements. MacKayla Lane is a girly-girl to the max but I also found that refreshing considering the number of kickass-perfect-at-everything-and-not-concerned-with-looks heroines in urban fantasy books. I found her less annoying than Sookie Stackhouse and, while they both make tons of ridiculous decisions, I didn't mind Mac's because they led to such well-written fight scenes and descriptions of crazy-ass monsters. Speaking of the monsters and the entire cast of characters, I wish this book series was a TV show or movie--I'd love to see an imagining of this world!

Anyway, I don't want to beat a dead horse--there are tons of good reviews already for this book and now you know I feel pretty much the same way as the majority. And you spent 30 seconds figuring that out:)

On to the next! (which I have on hold at the library:) Yay!)

P.S. Once upon a time, an idiotic American girl went to Ireland. (Don't get your panties in a bunch, the girl is me, not Mac) Upon arrival with her friends, she left her purse in a taxi cab with lots of money and her passport. (Yes, I am that stupid). At the hostel, the front desk people were adamant that the driver would bring it back. Wha-wha-wha-whaaaat? And you know what? HE DID at the end of his shift. (I know, right?) Anyway, the point of this is that I did not believe all these meanies were running around Ireland. From my trips there, I can tell you that everyone is beyond nice!(less)

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Feb 05, 2011 Mel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'd never had any desire to save the world. Decorate it? Yes. Save it? No. Until a short time ago, I'd been a small-town girl with small-town dreams and perfectly content with my lot in life. Then someone had crapped on my world and forced me out of my happy little hole..

A lot of Goodreads friends have been urging me to read this for ages. "It's a wonderful series!" they exclaimed. "You'll love it!". Besides that I heard a lot about those excruciating cliffhangers and that sexy Barrons guy (who...more I'd never had any desire to save the world. Decorate it? Yes. Save it? No. Until a short time ago, I'd been a small-town girl with small-town dreams and perfectly content with my lot in life. Then someone had crapped on my world and forced me out of my happy little hole..

A lot of Goodreads friends have been urging me to read this for ages. "It's a wonderful series!" they exclaimed. "You'll love it!". Besides that I heard a lot about those excruciating cliffhangers and that sexy Barrons guy (who I was to imagine as David Gandy , well sure: anything for the happiness of my GR friends).
As I was getting closer to actually starting the series people started to back out a little. "The first book isn't the best of the series" I was told and "Mac might get on your nerves". Many apparently didn't start liking Mac until (much) later on in the series and chances were that I might find her really annoying, dense and the pinnacle of an ignorant American in Europe.
Safe to say I started this book with reservations. I was expecting to vehemently hate Mac, to roll my eyes at almost everything she'd say or do and to rant about it all along the way.

No such thing.

I was pleasantly surprised with the story. Darkfever is a very decent UF novel and a good start for the series. Moning's writing style is smart and engaging. The plot pretty much was an introduction to the world but it flowed well and was captivating. The world building was interesting and I'm very much intrigued (and attracted) by Barrons.
But most important of all: I didn't hate Mac. It would be a stretch to say I love her, but I'm liking her. Sure she's vain and sure I was rolling my eyes at the descriptions of her 'long blond hair' and her 'sunkissed legs' and 'firm breasts' and all that pink. And sure she didn't always do the most smart thing imaginable. But what redeemed her in my eyes is that she owned up to it all. How to chastise a girl for being conceited and ignorant if she admits to it herself?

There were a few things I wasn't too happy with. Parts of the story were very cliché, what with the cryptic messages and the hidden clues and all. It didn't start annoying me until the very ending in a scene that I couldn't help visualize as anything but a sequence from a children's fantasy movie. The ending overall felt rushed and all over the place which I thought was a waste.

That being said: this book left me wanting more and promises the high quality excitement my GR peeps have been raving about all along. I’m curious to find out more about Barrons, to see how Mac version 2.0 handles herself and to see what the story will bring.

A very promising start to a series: 3,5 stars.
(less)

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Jan 20, 2011 Lady Valee rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy, favorites

I can't believed I waited this long to read this book. I loved it. Really. I never expected to enjoy it this much, if I would've known how good it was I would have started it sooner. So for everyone with this series in the TBR pile, I must say: Start it now.

I loved everithing about this book. I can't wait to read the next.

The only thing that got me really frustrated was the V'lane issue. I hated it. It was so lame... I mean death for being horny? seriosuly? I wish this character wouldn't even ha...more

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Aug 30, 2011 Giselle rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ebook, adult, paranormal

After seeing several references to Barrons and V'lane and other characters/events in this series, my curiosity took over and I just had to read it. Darkfever is the first book in the Fever series, an urban fantasy about fae (view spoiler).

We've got Mac - the very girly, pink and nail polish, girl - as our protagonist. After her sister is found murdered in Dublin, where she went for college, Mac hops on a plane to try to find out what happened. Once she gets there she...more After seeing several references to Barrons and V'lane and other characters/events in this series, my curiosity took over and I just had to read it. Darkfever is the first book in the Fever series, an urban fantasy about fae (view spoiler).

We've got Mac - the very girly, pink and nail polish, girl - as our protagonist. After her sister is found murdered in Dublin, where she went for college, Mac hops on a plane to try to find out what happened. Once she gets there she finds out she can see the fae. Ok- fae are scary!! None of this twinkly Tinkerbell shit. These are horrid. Next time I trip on my feet you will see me running like hell away from there!

The first part of the book is definitely "first book"ish. Not a lot happening plot-wise. Very slow moving. Just a lot of world building and character development/introductions. Mac meets some deeply interesting and sexy characters that even though they're jerks now, I have it on good authority that it's all a facade ;) . Still, Barrons… fascinating, but ~~not very nice~~ ARROGANT!! Ugh! He wouldn't answer any questions, and he was Rude. Plus: leather pants? Eww! Although he did paint her nails - so that counts for a little something. Now V'lane. What can I say about V'lane? He's very… unique? I like V'lane! Teehee.

It did get a lot more interesting towards the middle/end. We see where this is all going and we get more intrigue. I'm very interested in what powers the characters have (Barrons) or what parts they're going to play (V'lane). As for Mac, there are signs that Southern Barbie Doll will get stronger and wiser. I didn't dislike her but my eyes did roll a few times at all the clothing descriptions and her obediency; She was basically Barrons' lapdog. However, I wouldn't want her to change too much. The lipgloss and short skirt references actually became sort of amusing. But a little more badassness wouldn't hurt. Mac 3.0?

The writing itself is good. The story has a lot of clichés and the dialogues could use some work, but It's still engaging. I found most of it was pretty fun, even when it felt slow. Her world building was very nicely executed. I was creeped out by the faeries and engrossed by the mystery/lore behind them, and It wasn't overly done; it had a nice flow without being confusing.

As a start, it's promising, but I'm still not sure why everyone is orgasming about this series. I'll be continuing it - actually I'm starting #2 right now - to wait and hopefully understand what all the fuss is really about.
(less)

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Oct 24, 2012 JennyJen rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone.

Recommended to JennyJen by: By my own amazing self.

Shelves: can-t-get-enough, faeries, deliciously-gut-wrenching, author-can-do-no-wrong, an-all-nighter, gritty, fun-times, hero-whose-ass-i-wanna-tap, favorites, fave-authors, now-i-need-a-cold-shower, oh-how-fun-wheeee, read-2010, kickass, solid-series-start, series, she-is-not-just-a-pretty-face, the-bestest-sidekick, riveting, uf, worthy-of-all-the-hype, re-read, reviewed, be-still-my-heart, even-better-the-2nd-time, fave-fictional-couples-evaaar, give-all-the-stars, romance-sans-the-cheese, sisters, yum, read-2012

July 2010 ★★★★★

Loooove this series. Fast paced and action-packed. Filled with a slew of interesting creatures and characters. Love, love, love it.

October 2012 ★★★★★

I'm not going to review in depth. I'll just toss out a few things.

Reading this again was like coming home. Amazing world-building is one of Moning's strengths. I know that Mac's world isn't a pleasant one, but I love it. I like the threat of danger, the rich descriptions of Dublin, & ~~my lover~~ the enigmatic Barrons.

Moning reall...more

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About Karen Marie Moning

Karen Marie Moning (rhymes with 'awning') is the # 1 New York Times bestselling author of 12 novels, including the Rita-award winning Highlander novels and the internationally bestselling urban fantasy Fever series. Her books have been published in 21 languages, and her events draw fans from all over the world.

She divides her time between the mountains of Georgia and the beaches of Florida.
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Quotes from Darkfever

“I love books, by the way, way more than movies. 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. My imagination has always topped anything a movie could come up with. Case in point, those darned Harry Potter movies. That was so not what that part-Veela-chick, Fleur Delacour, looked like.” — 1,884 people liked it

“Last night you said you wanted to know what to expect so you could better select your attire. I told you we were going to visit a vampire in a Goth-den tonight. Why, then, Ms. Lane, do you look like a perky rainbow?” — 412 people liked it

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