Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Fever... you give me fever... Karen Marie Moning

You give me fever,
When you kiss me,
Fever when you hold me tight.
Fever! In the morning,
Fever all through the night.


This post has lots of spoilers in it. I just could not write my thoughts on this fantastic series otherwise. You'll also have to deal with my fevered stream of consciousness that will only make sense to anyone who has read this series, I apologize in advance

Has it really been less than two weeks since I first started reading Darkfever? I feel like I've been sleepwalking through my life, just living to read, read, read. I haven't been so engrossed in a new series since the first time I read Outlander And you know what that led to!


BLOODFEVER

Book Description:
I used to think my sister and I were just two nice southern girls who’d get married in a few years and settle down to a quiet life. Then I discovered that Alina and I descend, not from good wholesome southern stock, but from an ancient Celtic bloodline of powerful sidhe-seers, people who can see the Fae. Not only can I see the terrifying otherworldly race, but I can sense the sacred Fae relics that hold the deadliest of their magic.

When my sister was found dead in a trash-filled alley in Dublin, I came over to get answers. Now all I want is revenge. And after everything I’ve learned about myself, I know I have the power to get it….

MacKayla Lane’s ordinary life underwent a complete makeover when she landed on Ireland’s shores and was plunged into a world of deadly sorcery and ancient secrets.

In her fight to stay alive, Mac must find the Sinsar Dubh–a million-year-old book of the blackest magic imaginable, which holds the key to power over both the worlds of the Fae and of Man. Pursued by Fae assassins, surrounded by mysterious figures she knows she cannot trust, Mac finds herself torn between two deadly and irresistible men: V’lane, the insatiable Fae who can turn sensual arousal into an obsession for any woman, and the ever-inscrutable Jericho Barrons, a man as alluring as he is mysterious. For centuries the shadowy realm of the Fae has coexisted with that of humans. Now the walls between the two are coming down, and Mac is the only thing that stands between them.…


Bloodfever is the 2nd in the Fever series, and continues the tale of Mac and the mysterious and handsome to die for Barrons. I'm developing a major colossal crush on him. I'd say I'm falling for this man - but... I don't know if he's a man or not! Whatever he is - I want him. Mac undergoes her first transformation in this book, she nearly dies and when all is lost, it seems like this is it, she figures out that if she eats Unseelie, she will not die and gets better - and guess who feeds it to her? Uh.. yeah. I don't know what he is, but I want one of my own. Crazy as it might seem, I keep thinking Barrons is what Mr. Darcy would be like in the this crazy, paranormal fae universe. Is it no wonder I'm hot as anything for this guy in leather with his dark handsome good looks. Just the thought of riding around on his silent Harley, turning corners and holding on for dear life - gaaah! (as in a cross between a gasp and "aaah")

Bloodfever wasn't as good to me as Darkfever, but I'm still lovin' it! It's grittier, life is getting tougher, the Unseelie are pouring in, Mac is losing her innocence fast. I'm glad the vampire is out of the picture now, though, and loved that one hot moment between Mac and Barrons - such a teasing duo!

Onto the next...

4/5



FAEFEVER

Book Description:

"He calls me his Queen of the Night. I'd die for him. I'd kill for him, too." When MacKayla Lane receives a torn page from her dead sister's journal, she is stunned by Alina's desperate words. And now MacKayla knows that her sister's killer is close. But evil is closer. And suddenly the sidhe-seer is on the hunt: For answers. For revenge. And for an ancient book of dark magic so evil, it corrupts anyone who touches it.

Mac's quest for the Sinsar Dubh takes her into the mean, shape-shifting streets of Dublin, with a suspicious cop on her tail. Forced into a dangerous triangle of alliance with V'lane, an insatiable Fae prince of lethally erotic tastes, and Jericho Barrons, a man of primal desires and untold secrets, Mac is soon locked in a battle for her body, mind, and soul.

As All Hallows' Eve approaches and the city descends into chaos, as a shocking truth about the Dark Book is uncovered, not even Mac can prevent a deadly race of immortals from shattering the walls between worlds - with devastating consequences...


What a bloody cliffhanger! How did everybody last until the next book came out? All I can say is, I'm glad I didn't have to wait! I liked Faefever better than Bloodfever. Even though things are getting steadily worse and worse I could not stop reading, I'm addicted.

Am I the only one that thinks the sidhe-seers are whiny? I find Dani annoying too, but maybe that's just because I happen to live with a teenager right now. I have to keep telling myself, she's only thirteen.

I'm liking V'lane more and more, but I just don't trust him. Still...

Sorry, not much of a review, I sort of have lumped Bloodfever and Faefever together, though I liked Faefever more. I'm just bowled over how good this is - all the details and characters and weapons and villains and wondering what's what and who's who? It's mind boggling and so clever!! This just blows away her Highlander series!

4.5/5


Never know how much I love you,
Never know how much I care.
When you put your arms around me,
I get a fever that's so hard to bear.


DREAMFEVER

Book Description:

He has stolen her past, but MacKayla will never allow her sister's murderer to take her future. Yet even the uniquely gifted sidhe-seer is no match for the Lord Master, who has unleashed an insatiable sexual craving that consumes Mac's every thought-and thrusts her into the seductive realm of two very dangerous men, both of whom she desires but dares not trust.

As the enigmatic Jericho Barrons and the sensual Fae prince V'lane vie for her body and soul, as cryptic entries from her sister's diary mysteriously appear and the power of the Dark Book weaves its annihilating path through the city, Mac's greatest enemy delivers a final challenge...

It's an invitation Mac cannot refuse, one that sends her racing home to Georgia, where an even darker threat awaits. With her parents missing and the lives of her loved ones under siege, Mac is about to come face-to-face with a soul-shattering truth-about herself and her sister, about Jericho Barrons...and about the world she thought she knew.


Oh God, there was just so much in this book that was hard to take in...

*choke*

O ye of little faith... you didn't even try.

Noooooo! Barrons, Barrons - thank you for saving Mac, but... but... yes, I was so hoping he'd rescue her, but not like this, not this way! To think that they are having non-stop sex over and over again, but she's all Pri-ya and screwed up! It's too fast, it's rushed, it's not slow and sexy! Where's their moment in the sun? Where's their moment to fall in love? Where's that penultimate moment that we've all been waiting for? Instead we're bombarded with sex, sex, sex, but it's not real - although, some things were pretty damn hot - but it has no deep, inner meaning, he's saving her, he's rescuing her. Neither wants to admit there's more to it than that. I want romance, I wanted to slap the two of them up against the head and tell them to say "I love you!" in the abbey! I wanted Mac to go back with him, and V'lane jumping in and interrupting them - aargh! What a choice to make - though I'd choose Barrons any day - still! It's driving me crazy!

*pout*

Still... it's bloody brilliant!

Did I mention how much I loved the description of Barrons and sex, he's amazing! All night long? Never gets tired? Always hard? Gulp! A woman's dream!

I still find Dani annoying, but she did save Mac, and for that I'll be grateful. I know there's more to her than we know, I guess I'm looking forward to her growing up. I am afraid the Unseelie Princes are going to get to her.

I got a little lost in all the cosmic Silvers going from realm to realm and stones and seeing Christian and then losing Christian (!) parts. The inter dimensional explanations of what could be happening - well, you lost me there, though I'm in awe of how KMM can write all this stuff!

Now for the end! Okay, the whole time Mac was being protected by the IYD "thing" monster I kept thinking "It's really Barrons." So? Is it? What do you all think? It just can't be - or if it is, she feeds him that last little piece of Unseelie (I'm not sure she even still has it). He can't be dead! And what happened to V'lane? I'm just so amazed at KMM's imagination! Really, really amazing stuff, I always liked her writing and loved her Highlander series before this, but this just puts her in a whole new class for me - this is really good! Or is it this fever I'm experiencing and I'm just .... uh, forgot what I'm talking about, I'm still in such a daze...

I don't know how in the world I'm going to be able to wait for Shadowfever! And it's been optioned with 20th Century Fox - whoah! But I know that nothing can come of it, Outlander has been optioned a few times with nothing coming of it, so who knows...

Still! It would be awesome!

*I don't even want to think about what Mac as Pri-ya and Barrons bringing her back would be like! Definitely would have to be on cable...*

Out of all the books, I loved Darkfever the best, since that was my intro, but I thought Dreamfever was the most compelling and imaginative of them so far and very, very well done. Brava!

4.5/5

Overall rating of Series: 5/5

Update: November 2, 2010

I've now listened to the whole series on audio now and loved it.  Funnily enough Dreamfever was much easier to listen to than read in print.  I understood it better and loved the sultry masculine voice of Phil Gigante, although I missed the strong Southern accent of Mac as narrated by Joyce Bean.   Dreamfever's new female narrator, Natalie Ross is fine and she sounded like she was in her early twenties, more so than Bean in the earlier books.

11 comments:

Erotic Horizon said...

love how you gave your sum up on all the book...

I have never read Moning - but I just might break down and shove alot of book off by must read list...

Love this post..

E.H>

Patti (@TheLoveJunkee) said...

I love this series! Yes, book 2 had that hot scene but it was just a tease...Book 3 had a lot going on and Book 4 - OMG! I loved the scenes where he was bringing her back from Pri-ya - and the fact that he wouldn't let one of the other ?soilders? beings? Rhyodan? do it for him - he really cares about her, I think more than just as an OOP detector. Christian is my other favorite character, I hope he's okay.

Julie at Outlandish Dreaming said...

EH - yes, def. read it - don't delay - you'll love it too!

Patti - oh yes, I loved the scenes with Barrons - esp. the idea of them dancing nude together happily locked up in that room! Bruce Springsteen no less (I Came For You! - love that song btw) and they were so carefree. I'm glad they're still together, even back to the Ms. Lane and Barrons formality - I know one day they'll have their time again - he better not be the IYD monster!

Mandi said...

Oh this series is amazing!!!

Barrons in Dreamfever - I'm still having hot flashes..but I soooo want them to fall in love. Do you think it will happen in the last book? They still have so far to go.

Who the heck is the beast at the end? It has to be Barron's right? There is no way he is dead...I don't know. I kept thinking - if Barrons is IYD, and he is the beast, how would the beast help Mac if she was in a car accident or something? Yes, the beast helps her in this situation, but he wouldn't be able to help her in ALL situations..know what I mean?

This cliff hanger is not quite as bad as FF, but still..I don't want to wait a year!

And Christian..where is he? Is Ryordan really dead? Is he a traitor?

Nice wrap up!

Julie at Outlandish Dreaming said...

Mandi - yes, yes yes! I agree - I'm so ga-ga over Barrons now! My only doubt about Barrons being the beast is when they were in the garage together - she heard the baying of the beast underneath and Barrons was with her at the time! So, who is really the beast?

I doubt Ryodan is dead, something tells me he survived, we never saw his dead body - too much of a loose end...

I was reading at KMM's site, and she mentioned Darroc (LM) is in other books, I don't remember who he was in the Highlander series, I'm def re-reading everything now!

Patti (@TheLoveJunkee) said...

Oh, yes, Darroc was in the Highlander books, that's when he went from fae to human. I can't remember whose story it was though, maybe Adam's?

Penelope said...

Julie...great reviews of this incredible series. I am staggered by KMM's writing talent. I can't believe that the same woman who wrote the Highlander series wrote the Fever series. Both are awesome, but this new one is just spectacular. (Although I will always have a soft spot for Kiss of the Highlander...I freakin' love the scene where Drustan is locked up and starts screaming "Gwen-do-lynn!" Love that book!) Anyway, one of my favorite things in the last book was the rip in the "space-time" continuum that has fairy-ville and the real world bleeding into each other. So cool, it reminded me of that awesome Stephen King story The Langoliers. I wonder if Stephen King has read this series because I think he would totally dig it. Maybe I'll email him and tell him! (hee hee!).

Julie at Outlandish Dreaming said...

Penelope - I love "Kiss" to it's my favorite of the Highlander books, though I really loved the last one too (though that was probably because it was on audio and I totally fell for Phil Gigante's voice). I now to want to get all the books on audio and listen to them over, including Dreamfever. Getting back to Kiss - I loved the "kiss" in the dressing room! *swoon* and the whole idea that they have to have two courtships and build ups to when they finally get together!

Yes, I wonder about Stephen King, the only other kind of book I've read that was close to this was a Stephen King book, though I much prefer KMM's (not as scary and more sexuality). I've read parts of King's Dark Tower Series but lost interest on the 5th book. Time ripping happened a lot in that series, as well as in The Talisman - have you read that?

Anyway, if I see you this weekend (and I hope I do!) we can talk more! LOL!

Penelope said...

Loved Talisman. I stopped reading Stephen King a long time ago, because I became I big wuss. Can't even stomach most mysteries anymore. Looking forward to the conference! Maybe we can sneak you into the party on Sat night! Are there any specific authors you want to meet?

Julie at Outlandish Dreaming said...

Sounds like a plan! LOL! (email me) I'd love to see some other authors, but most of the ones on the list I saw that would be there I haven't read! (But, I'm open to suggestions!) I'm still relatively new in the romance world, believe it or not!

Anonymous said...

I also just read it (a little late but I hadn't an earlier chance to).
I liked it a lot and can say that I like the situaiton between Mac and Barrons a lot. I mean, they are even reacting the same way!!! It's so amazing and now he seems a little to open hiself to her.

@Mandi: I also thought about the beast a lot and when I read the title of the book and the scene when Barrons ans Mac are talking about the mirrors and the lands behind it, I get the idea on my mind, that she might be in this dreamworld, so she problably is most afraid of seeing Barrons or her sister or someonelse dead. I guess there's a lot of forshadowing in the book and I realy think, she is in the dreamworld and doesn't know it. I don't realy think, she reached Barrons or Ryoden or IYD. When she tried it earlier, she hadn't been connected.
Though I realy think it's the dreamworld. Otherwise has Karen Marie Moning promissed to make a "happy end", like I read in another discussion.

I like the series and I will get the last book in english either. I'm realy looking foraward to it.

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