Review: Bloodfever by Karen Marie Moning

Title: Bloodfever
Author: Karen Marie Moning
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Release Date: 08/26/08
Summary:

Mackayla Lane's ordinary life underwent a complete makeover when she landed on Ireland's shores and was plunged into a dark, deadly realm unlike any she ever imagined. In her fight to stay alive, Mac must find the Sinsar Dubh -- a million-year old book of the blackest magic imaginable that holds the key to power over both the worlds of Fae and 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.

Plot: 4 Stars
Bloodfever was a fantastic second book for this series. Often, I find that second books tend to fall flat since the world and characters are no longer new. First books are almost always my favorite because I like being introduced to new worlds and characters. I can't really say which of the two I liked more, and I hope the next book is just as great. There were definitely some interesting twists in this novel that I did not see coming, and a character or two that I hadn't expected to see again. I was glad to see more OOPs (objects of power) thrown into the mix as well.

Pace: 4.5 Stars
This novel flowed even better than its predecessor Darkfever. There was never really a point in which the plot wavered or slowed down. It was constant action, and had less information crammed between scenes since book one already introduced us to the world and its players. There were a few points where Mac's inner dialogue got to be a touch wordy, but right when I'd start to feel this way something bad jumped out of a corner and threw her world upside-down.

Characters: 3.5 Stars
My one complaint about this novel is that there wasn't as much character development as I expected after the first book. Mac continued to grow and transform throughout the story, but there wasn't much growth or exploration for the other characters. Barrons continued to be quite frustrating as he consistantly did not answer any of Mac's questions. V'lane continued to play his games, although he did prove helpful at some moments. I wish Mac could've found out a little more about Alina's murder. I felt like she hadn't learned much more than what she knew at the end of book one. But there were a couple of characters introduced throughout the novel that I hope will become bigger characters in the future books because they intrigued me.

Cover: 4 Stars
I said it in my Darkfever review, and I'll say it again... These re-released covers are fabulous. Since this novel has blood in the cover, I'm glad they picked a pinkish, reddish hue for this cover. The actual image on this cover is my least favorite of the four paperbacks because it has a bit less detail than the others, but it's still very interesting. The image has a very bleak feeling to it, with the cover model standing all alone under the moon. This reflects Mac's emotions in this novel very well, without being too straight-forward.

Overall: 4 Stars

Disclosure: I bought this book for my own enjoyment.