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Dreamfever Question (Contains Series Spoilers)
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Since she'd priya will I have to read about how much she wants to sex every fae she sees?
JK wrote: "Since she'd priya will I have to read about how much she wants to sex every fae she sees?"(view spoiler)
there is an actual plot after all this.
I would urge you not to give up on the series. There are only 5 books in all, and once you get past those scenes, you will see how there was a reason for them. There is a bigger picture that is much more interesting than just that part of the story. In the very beginning of Dreamfever you will see more of that, but it's not long until the action picks up and the plot moves along.
I finished the series a few days ago... or a week, I can't recall. I'm not seeing this series as grand as everyone else is though. It could have easily been made a trilogy if Moning had focused on the story rather than all the hots boys, how horny Mac was, sex, and rape. =\
Fans of hard or grittier UF aren't going to like Fever as much, but keep in mind that Fever does fit in with the general feel of what today's UF is, so I think you have to take it for what it's meant to be and who the intended/target audience is.Moning was originally a romance writer, so when you compare the Fever series to other books she's written in the past, Fever comes up much heavier on the UF side. Many fans of hers were disappointed that the romance took so long to develop and wished that there had been more heat from the start.
I think that she did an excellent job of combining a great plot arc, and a building sexual tension, as well as throwing in a decent amount of mystery to keep us guessing. Those of us that had to wait a long time to get book 5 in our hands spent months coming up with theories about the beast, the book and the 4th. I give her credit for keeping us on the hook. She managed to transition over from romance to UF with a nice flair and I found it to be successful.
I'll give it to her, she did have some interesting characters and I liked her ideas and world, but... it was just far too much sex for my tastes. I would have probably really enjoyed the series if it weren't for that part of it. I can say I was genuinely never sure who was who or what they were in this series and that's an accomplishment in a genre filled with cliche after cliche. She's even got strong writing to go with that, it's not dumbed down at all. ... it just goes back to preference really and I guess I'm just not part of the target audience with the whole "romance" bit. [i say "romance" because in no way, shape, or form does sex remotely define romance to me]
Chandra wrote: "Chandra wrote: "I agree! :) I enjoyed parts of the books but felt the series def did not need to be 5 books long. Alas, I know we're in the minority on this. :)"It's good to know there's others out there, honestly. I just wish authors would understand that there are those of us who don't need sex in our books every five seconds.
If you think the fever series had a lot of sex than you haven;t seen anything yet, there are other series worse. But honestly it wasn't even that much sex in fever, but that is my opnion. Maybe this series just wasn't for you.
Mariya wrote: "If you think the fever series had a lot of sex than you haven;t seen anything yet, there are other series worse. But honestly it wasn't even that much sex in fever, but that is my opnion. Maybe thi..."
Mariya, I have to agree. I didn't think Fever at a lot of sex at all. Sexual tension was there of course, but not that much compared to other books I've read.
Mariya, I have to agree. I didn't think Fever at a lot of sex at all. Sexual tension was there of course, but not that much compared to other books I've read.
... the last two/three books were absolutely filled with it. Chapters were devoted to characters just having sex over and over and over again. When people weren't having sex it was being talked about constantly. Sure, there's probably series out there with more, but that doesn't mean this didn't have a lot in it. I mean, there's more people in the world than there are living in the US, but that doesn't mean there aren't a hell of a lot of people living here. And yeah, this was definitely not my type of series. I prefer more action/mystery oriented UF to this... smut filled UF. My disliking of it doesn't change the fact that there was a lot in these books either.
And then there's the whole "let's rape to help a rape victim!" bit. It's disgusting. Even if I liked sex filled books that would be disgusting. Seriously. Not to mention the fact that the rapist is the love interest and remains so.
It would take way to long/a lot of typing to say what I have to say, so I'll just I guess the book/series just wasn't for you. 8(
JK wrote: "... the last two/three books were absolutely filled with it. Chapters were devoted to characters just having sex over and over and over again. When people weren't having sex it was being talked abo..."JK, I'm not sure you actually read the same books that we all did. :) I only recall two books having actual sex in them. Sure, Mac thought about sex or sexual thoughts, but only actual sex in two books. And both books only featured *maybe* one chapter of sex. When the book is 400+ pages and only one chapter has sex, my opinion is that is not a PNR book or "smut-filled".
Calling the series "smut-filled" is your prerogative, but I agree with others that this series has nothing - sex-wise - on other "UF" or "PNR" series out there that I've read. Honestly, I'm a little confused as to why you read all five books if you didn't like them because of the perceived sexing.
Oh, well. Agreeing to disagree is one of life's great lessons, right? :)
Theresa wrote: "JK wrote: "... the last two/three books were absolutely filled with it. Chapters were devoted to characters just having sex over and over and over again. When people weren't having sex it was being..."well, said Theresa. I was in class and didn't feel like typing up all the reasons about what the hell is she talking about? I am wondering JK, are you an young adult reader going into adult UF or something...but yes, Theresa is correct. I am also wondering if you were reading the same book we were.
Just as confused here ladies! I can understand if JK just didn't like the book, because that is up to everyone to decide for sure. However, I am really lost on this whole "constant sex and smut" thing. Perhaps, JK, you have never read another book with sex scenes or talk of sex? Maybe that is the problem. To those of us that have read other books with sex in them this book is literally nothing. Everyone's perception of sex is different I guess. And which rapist was the love interest exactly?
She is thinking of Barrons and I think that is insane. he did not rape her. I think you're right Christen, I think Jk maybe not used to adult UF or just adult PNR. I give everyone to have an opnion about a series, but they way you descibed constant sex and smut, there was none. They was one chapter in Dreamfever at the beginning and 1 in Shadowfever. I am just wondering are you just used to reading YA and yes, I agree if you didn't like why did you continue
Like I've said before, Theresa, it's also got to do with how much it was thought about. How many times did we have to read about Mac getting an orgasm because of Vlane? How often did we have to read about Mac wanting to sex some character up or how she would date so and so if it weren't for everything that's happened? There's a lot more to it than just the sex that was in the book, it was the constant referencing and talking about it as well. And there was more than one chapter. It was referenced quite often, so while it wasn't actively happening, we got to read about how it did happen. Or there were visions of it happening - like in the White Mansion.Yes, I know, sex is a part of life and there are people that think about it a heck of a lot, but it seemed excessive in this series. MUCH more so than any other UF I've read.
I read a lot of stuff I don't end up liking. I'm always hoping there's a redeeming quality. That and like I've said, Moning did keep you guessing throughout the thing as to who and what characters were. I was curious about that mostly.
Heh, it sure is. [agreeing to disagree being part of life] I'm not saying anyone is wrong for liking the series, I'm just explaining what I didn't like and why I didn't like it.
Mariya: Nah, I'm just a prude is what I am. :D Don't like excessive sex in my books. I like how it's handled in the Dresden Files - 12 books and numerous short stories and there's one VERY short sex scene in the entire thing so far. Not to mention the fact that the sex wasn't just a result of insatiable lust at the sight of some indescribably attractive person.
Christen wrote: "Just as confused here ladies! I can understand if JK just didn't like the book, because that is up to everyone to decide for sure. However, I am really lost on this whole "constant sex and smut" th..."... I don't see what's hard to understand about what I've wrote. And yes, I've read books with sex in them before. I'm a huge fan of UF, how can I not have? And no it's not because this is my first "adult series."
Obviously Barrons was the rapist love interest. Just because he was justifying sleeping with Mac because he had to break her of being priya doesn't take away the fact that she was not herself when he had sex with her.
Just like how if you're drugged and then a person has sex with you, that's rape. Being under the influence of substances [or in Mac's case, being priya] does not mean consent isn't needed. And yeah, she was crazy about having sex, but she was not herself.
JK wrote: "Like I've said before, Theresa, it's also got to do with how much it was thought about. How many times did we have to read about Mac getting an orgasm because of Vlane? How often did we have to rea..."I would guess that the main difference here is that, like you said, you don't read PNR or books that feature romance/sex as a main topic. I'm going to *guess* that Mariya and others do which is why it seems like there isn't much to us... I know that I read a lot of PNR so the Fever series didn't faze me at all. It is all about what we individually prefer to read, our life experiences, and our personally tolerance levels for different things.
For instance, I do not like horror novels. A year or so ago, there was a discussion on this group where I was saying that I had quit a novel because of the horror element and how horribly descriptive it was. Another member strongly disagreed and said that it wasn't that bad. It is all about our perceptions.
Everyone - please remember that we are all allowed our opinions. It hasn't been an issue yet - in my opinion - in this topic yet, but please don't break out the personal attacks if you disagree with one another. Keep it nice. :)
(Also, JK, I get what you are saying out Mac's constant thoughts about sex ie: Vlane, etc. I misunderstood/misread and thought you meant actual sex scenes. Also, I had forgotten about the memory/experience in the White Mansion... good point about that one.)
First off, thank you very much for actually talking with me about this instead of making assumptions and disregarding what I'm writing. I appreciate a person who can actually discuss things and leave their feelings out of it. I definitely agree with you as well, that what I normally read plays into how I perceived the level of sex in these books. I typically keep to the more action/mystery oriented UF than PNR. It's got nothing to do with reading "adult" series or whatnot, it's just I normally don't read these types of series.
The difference in background [in terms of what's been read] plays a large part in what I noticed and deemed excessive. It's why this whole discussion about the level of sex is futile as it's going to be different for every person.
The horror novel example is a perfect example of what's happening right now.
On top of your reminder, I'd like to remind people to not take a difference in opinion on a book [or anything for that matter] as a personal insult. To not get flustered that someone doesn't like something you love and to just discuss the actual topic. If someone doesn't like what you like, that doesn't change the worth and value it has for you. It doesn't take away from it at all.
So while I may not like the Fever series, that doesn't mean it's terrible or that you are wrong for liking it. It just means that I, personally, do not care for it.
There's a good bit more too, like the pages of Alina's journal that were mentioned a few times. Or the multiple back and forth between Barrons and Mac about her going into his mind and him threatening to take her body for it. That happened on more than one occasion. There were things like that that people who've read more PNR would dismiss, but they popped up on my radar quite loudly.
I believe that what you were reading as me taking personal insult at you disliking the Fever series was really just my confusion about what you were writing. Your reply in message 20 helped to make sense of what you meant. It really does all come back to perception! My friend and I read the series at the same time and all we kept saying to each other was geez when will they finally have sex? And all you were thinking was geez can they stop talking about sex? :)
There is something to be said about how difficult it can sometimes be to understand what people mean over the internet. Typing does lose something for sure and I think we all read into each other's messages with a little insult because our writing lost something over the computer...at least I think thats what happened on my end!
I admit I also didn't understand what you meant til your recent comment.
Would it be a better use of my time just to read some review with spoilers to see what happens? Because really, I don't think I feel like reading another book that gives you one piece of information just so that you can feel like you aren't reading straight up porn.
Is the fourth book just going to be alternating scenes of Mac being raped by Fae princes, her being in a stupid "love" triangle with Barrons and Vlane, and her swooning over the hot boys over at the college all the while talking to herself over and over again about who she can trust?