Book Review – Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning

Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning

Published by Victor Gollancz Limited on January 1st 2012
Pages: 671
Series: Fever

“Evil is a completely different creature, Mac. Evil is bad that believes it’s good.”

MacKayla Lane was just a child when she and her sister, Alina, were given up for adoption and banished from Ireland forever.

Twenty years later, Alina is dead and Mac has returned to the country that expelled them to hunt her sister’s murderer. But after discovering that she descends from a bloodline both gifted and cursed, Mac is plunged into a secret history: an ancient conflict between humans and immortals who have lived concealed among us for thousands of years.

What follows is a shocking chain of events with devastating consequences, and now Mac struggles to cope with grief while continuing her mission to acquire and control the Sinsar Dubh—a book of dark, forbidden magic scribed by the mythical Unseelie King, containing the power to create and destroy worlds.

In an epic battle between humans and Fae, the hunter becomes the hunted when the Sinsar Dubh turns on Mac and begins mowing a deadly path through those she loves.
Who can she turn to? Who can she trust? Who is the woman haunting her dreams? More important, who is Mac herself and what is the destiny she glimpses in the black and crimson designs of an ancient tarot card?

From the luxury of the Lord Master’s penthouse to the sordid depths of an Unseelie nightclub, from the erotic bed of her lover to the terrifying bed of the Unseelie King, Mac’s journey will force her to face the truth of her exile, and to make a choice that will either save the world . . . or destroy it.

Wow!! Just….wow!! Shadowfever is the most enthralling book in the Fever Series to date, abducting me as though it were the Sinsar Dubh, merging with every tiny molecule of my being. Karen Marie Moning has taken me on an adventure through the streets of Dublin, through Faery, and back to the comfort of my own home with so much emotion.

Buy it at Amazon
5+++++ stars

Fire to my ice. Ice to my fever.

For the first several pages of this book, my fears from the cliffhanger of Dreamfever came to be and the tears rolled….and rolled…and rolled. From the first page, this book was so difficult to put down, keeping me reading until 3 and 4 in the morning….still wanting to go on, but the length of the book and the need for sleep wouldn’t let me continue reading, no matter how much I wanted to go on. I’m only human, after all. :wink:

“You’re the wild card, Mac. I’ve thought that since the beginning. This thing thinks you’re epic. So do I.”

The transition from each book is seamless, and the emotions from the last installment in the series were still very raw when I began reading Shadowfever, making for an even more responsive experience. I could tell from the beginning that I was in for a roller coaster ride and that I was unprepared for the twists, betrayals, lies, and the answers that would be revealed.

You’re leaving me, Rainbow Girl.

I am still in awe at Karen Marie Moning’s ability to take a simple dream and weave a tale with so much depth and like an onion, so many layers that are peeled back one book at time…one chapter at a time. Like in the other installments, each chapter ends with an angst-ridden question left in the reader’s mind. I was speculating throughout much of the book as the question of “what is Barrons” quickly became “what is Mac?”

My whole life, I’ve secretly been afraid that beneath my fiercely focused grooming and accessorizing, I’m, well … psychotic. Never underestimate a well-dressed bimbo.

A lot of times in books, I’ve found myself so eager to just get to the answer already because of lack of patience. That isn’t the case with this series. I really didn’t want this book to end. After the plot began to unfold and so much was revealed, I thought I had all the answers I needed…I was SO wrong. It was only an illusion. Another layer would appear leading to more speculation and an insatiable need for answers to questions I didn’t know I had.

**“Evil is a completely different creature, Mac. Evil is bad that believes it’s good.”**

Mac’s power is amplified even more in Shadowfever, and she suffers throughout much of the novel. Whether that suffering be from grief, fear, or identity crisis, she handles it the same as she always has…making mistake after mistake. To Mac’s credit, she begins to understand Barrons and his teachings, putting them to use in her quest to save the world…and herself .

Dani plays a pivotal role in this installment as she becomes even more cocky as the Mega, yet she also shows that rarely seen tender youth that remains hidden behind the tormented, rough, and hardened exterior. My heart went out even more to Dani. The secret she is hiding…that I didn’t know she was hiding…had me gasping with my mouth hanging open in disbelief. Complete. Shock.

JZB. *swoon* As if this man couldn’t be more swoonworthy. I am completely in love with this consistent, powerful, brooding, alpha male. Much is revealed regarding Jericho Barrons and his past. He still remains a dark and dangerous mystery in many respects, but that is part of the attraction. I saw a humane side to Barrons, the man who doesn’t show emotion…except when engaged in sex that is. Sex is the only means for Barrons to convey what he is feeling, and even then, he is consistent and exudes power and danger, always in control.

“I’m not the hero, Mac. Never have been. Never will be. Let us be perfectly clear: I’m not the antihero, either, so quit waiting to discover my hidden potential. There’s nothing to redeem me.”

All of the players are present for the game of capturing the Sinsar Dubh and saving the world. Twists, turns, betrayals, and lies are exposed, identities are revealed, and several tender moments take the reader’s heart captive as all things are finally said. Shadowfever is an adventure that I place my highest recommendation and stamp of approval on with insistence that the books in the series be read in order. I love the cast and plot so much that I purchased a copy of Iced before ever finishing Shadowfever. I can’t get enough of the cast and the plot that Karen Marie Moning brings to the reader, and I look forward to continuing my journey with Mac, Barrons, Dani, and the rest of the players in an attempt to restore order and peace in Dublin/the world.