Review: Faefever by Karen Marie Moning

Title: Faefever
Author: Karen Marie Moning
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Release Date: 09/16/08
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Summary:

"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.

Plot: 3 Stars
Where most series stall a bit in the second book, this series seems to hit a wall in book three. There just didn't seem to be as much progression in the storyline for the first two-thirds of the book. There was a lot of talking about events, planning how to deal with events, wondering how to deal with events, etc. but not much actually handling said events until the very end. The crazy events at the end make up for the lack of events throughout the novel though. Everything that has happened up until now was building towards the events of All Hallows Eve. It took me by complete surprise, and took the series in a direction I wasn't expecting. The events that unfolded as the novel was drawing to a close, have me reaching for the next novel in the series.

Pace: 3 Stars
This installment of the Fever series involved a bit too much inner monologue from Mac. There seemed to be more time in between the important scenes in which she tried to put the always increasing amount of pieces in the puzzle together. Maybe it seemed this way because I listened to this book, instead of reading it in print (it was my first audiobook adventure). Listening to Mac walk herself through these events and try to figure out what to do next, instead of reading them, could have made some of these seem more drawn out. And the ending! I'm not sure if I would consider it a cliffhanger perse, but it definitely wasn't the ideal scene to end the novel. I'm definitely glad I waited to read this series until all of the books had been released, especially since I've heard the next book will have a cliffhanger that's even more frustrating.

Characters: 3.5 Stars
A number of characters that were mentioned, but not elaborated on too much, in the second novel came back to become major players in this novel. It was great to learn more about the other sidhe-seers and Christian MacAllister, especially since Barrons seemed a little distant for a good portion of the novel. Even when he was helping Mac learn to fight against Voice, he seems preoccupied. I hope the next novel will shed some light what has been going on with him. There has been a bit of foreshadowing about what he is and how he fits into this fight, and I'm ready to find out. Mac continued to grow in this novel, and continued to learn more about the situation surrounding her sister's death. She also became more confident and self-sufficient. She still needed her allies, but she wasn't as dependent on them and started making more decisions for herself, instead of Barrons or V'lane.

Cover: 4 Stars
I know I sound like a broken record, but these new covers are to die for. The purple of this cover was very bright and eye catching. I love how the purple fades into the title. The image on the cover is a great choice. Although I'm not sure which building it is portraying, Mac did venture out to a few new locations throughout this installment that could easily be the beautiful building captured on the cover. My favorite part is how the covers continue to keep the cover model very small. I like the lack of detail in the small image, so that I can imagine Mac looking how I interpret the descriptions, and also because it really fits the mood of the series. Mac is in over her head in Ireland, and the composition of the cover model makes that very clear.

Overall: 3.5 Stars

Disclosure: I listened to this novel using an audiobook I borrowed from my local library, but also bought a copy of this novel for my own reading pleasure.