Tori's Review: Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

MM Paperback - 384 pages
Price: $7.99
ISBN 10: 0440240980
ISBN 13: 978-0440240983
Released: August 28, 2007

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Obtained: Bought 
Genre: Urban Fantasy 
Series: Fever Series
1. Darkfever
2. Bloodfever (book review)
3. Faefever (book review)
4. Dreamfever (book review)
5. Shadowfever (book review)

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...

My Rating:

My Opinion:
I'm not entirely sure how this book managed to sink its claws into me, but it did, and I almost squealed when I finished reading DARKFEVER because of that cliffhanger. Now, I finally understand why it was SUCH a good idea to wait for all five books to came out before starting this series. I have a feeling the upcoming week will be less about revising my story, and more about finally reading. It's about damn time I willingly read some books.

So many people squeal about Barrons, and I used to wonder: geez, he's just a book character (it was my first mistake). What on earth could be so damn appealing about him that he would make 99% of the female population want to fling off their panties after hearing his name alone?

I think I'm starting to understand why, and I know this understanding will only evolve with each book. First, the way he speaks is just so infuriatingly sexy. Second, while I hate alpha males in real life, this guy is like... the epitome of arrogant, alpha, sexy, cocky, omfg-if-I-saw-you-in-real-life-I'd-want-to-claw-your-eyes-out, holy-shitaki-mushrooms-I-want-to-do-you-on-the-kitchen-floor. Third, he's mysterious. Mystery totally makes him that much more alluring. Fourth, he is a walking sex on a stick. I think he totally made the book for me by the end. You know, when he was doing that thing on the rooftop with Mac? Seriously, I think that scene will be forever imprinted on my mind.

Some of the descriptions came off as rambling to me, but I enjoyed them nonetheless, for they offered a new insight into Mac's character. They offered glimpses of a more mature, intelligent young woman. Mac was an interesting character, albeit, an immature one. It will be interesting following her development throughout the next four books.

I wouldn't say that this book is my favorite, because the beginning was somewhat slow for me (and I ended up stopping early on for a few months to attend to other review books), but the ending totally... I'm not sure what it did--got me addicted?  Well, whatever it did, it did it well, and I want to read the next book NOW.

As of right now, I have no idea how this series will end. Jess Haines has been telling me she wants to cry a lot while reading SHADOWFEVER... so I'm a bit scared to continue. I will say this: if you're looking for a unique urban fantasy (that has a Buffy the Vampire Slayer feel), with a heroine who is not afraid to speak her mind and who won't piss you off, then DARKFEVER is the UF for you. While part of me wishes I'd started this series earlier, I'm glad I waited.