Possible minor spoilers if you haven't read the first book and if any of my random ramblings turn out to be true...

At the beginning of the book, we join Mac just after she finds out that she was adopted. Immediately, she begins to act like her parents just dropped off the face of the earth, and she starts referring to her sister as her only real family. Her attitude instantly turned ungrateful. Yes, she was just being a drama queen, but I know for a fact that you can love someone who isn't related to you just as much as someone who is. The fact that she is not technically related to them doesn't mean that they are no longer her family. That's really my only gripe about Mac in this book. I still think she kicks ass, just give your parents some credit! She actually had the guts to say "He was lucky I was even calling him Dad at all!" Really? At least she recanted it fairly quickly when he shows up all worried about her. After that, she seems mostly back to normal with them again.

I'm starting to feel bad for Mac, though. I mean she's been mystically undressed and nearly performing involuntary sex acts in public (who hasn't?), rape-kissed by a drunken Irish man (uh, ditto), hit on by two seemingly normal history nerds (I persist, who hasn't?) and she's also teased inexorably, and now kissed and dry-humped, by the hot man she spends 90% of her time with (who wouldn't want to be?) yet she STILL isn't getting any.

I'll warn you now that when i start to think about Jericho, my mind goes into a mixed state of paranoia and reckless abandon. It's no secret how I feel about Barron's name. But the way I feel in general about Jericho Zigor Barrons, or as I like to call him, J-Ziggy, is best summed up with this redonkulously articulate rant: love love loooooove adore gaaaaawd hellaluyah ahgagwhjrhfjfjkd mothreffenyes ahhhhhhhh!! !#%@?!/%#+!)$: *confetti popping out of head*

Barrons is standoff-ish, confident and snarky, yet endlessly intriguing. He is the kind of guy who can make you feel everything and nothing at the same damn time. Not to mention, he likes to chain up women while they are wearing skimpy bikinis. Cough*jabbathehutt*Cough. Except, I probably wouldn't mind being chained up by him. Barrons, I mean, not Jabba. Obviously.

Oh shiz! Why does Barrons have chains readily available in his basement???? For chaining up people as he feeds on them? For chaining up the Seelie? What-the-fa??? Fuuuuuudgin Fudge! He's Unseelie, isn't he?!?! It's a rhetorical question! Dang it! I don't want to know, wait, yeah I do. No. No, I don't.

Yeah, I'm going crazy and I tried to warn you. Uh. Now I'm freaked out. Anyway, sooooo, I was thinking about who could pull off playing him in a movie. It would have to be someone very good with the eyes. Jeric-- er, Barrons uses a lot of non-verbal communication, which I find very sexy. So it would have to be someone like Ian Somerhalder AKA 'Smolder'holder. He is really very good with the "looks" but I'm not sure he could pull off the really long hair that Barrons has. And he's awfully pale, so not necessarily him. Ideas, anyone? Ah who cares, I just wanted to think about him. *sigh*

I also have to give a big "hell yeah" to Mac for not caving to the demands of any of the several groups of people vying for her servitude. She refuses to take the easy way out and be ordered around blindly for each one's "higher" purpose. Not even with Barrons. Proudly and unbiasedly, she chooses her own higher purpose, and I have to applaud her for that. Like she herself says, she is no one's puppet, which cannot be said for many heroes or heroines in fantasy novels. Normally, someone discovers them, tells them about their abilities, teaches them to harness their powers, and then tells them exactly what to do with them. She does her best to not let that happen and chooses what she thinks is best, not what the others tell her is.

The author's knack for introducing small amounts of information at a time, interspersed amongst the action, leads to a captivating experience. Too much information is never given up. We the readers, like Mac, have to earn the privilege of learning more about this strange world. There are no info-dumps in this series. And I appreciate it.

In short, I loved it. And Eeeep! There's the next one sitting on my shelf!! This one ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, so I think I have to go now... Can't wait to get back to Barrons. *sigh*

My review for the first book, Darkfever. Spoiler FREE.

For the third book, Faefever. Spoiler FREE.

The fourth book, Dreamfever. Spoiler FREE.

The fifth and final book, Shadowfever. Spoiler alert!!!