Feverborn by Karen Marie Moning

Posted January 22, 2016 by Literati Lovers in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

Feverborn by Karen Marie MoningFeverborn by Karen Marie Moning
Also by this author: ICED, Burned
Series: Fever
Also in this series: ICED, Burned
Published by Random House Publishing Group on January 19th 2016
Genres: Fiction, Fantasy, Paranormal, Urban, Romance
Pages: 512
Format: eBook
ISBN: 9780385344425
Goodreads
three-half-stars
five-flames

In Karen Marie Moning's latest installment of the epic #1 New York Times bestselling Fever series, Mac, Barrons, Ryodan, and Jada are back--and the stakes have never been higher or the chemistry hotter. Hurtling us into a realm of labyrinthine intrigue and consummate seduction, Feverborn is a riveting tale of ancient evil, lust, betrayal, forgiveness, and the redemptive power of love.    When the immortal Fae destroyed the ancient wall dividing the worlds of Man and Faery, the very fabric of the universe was damaged, and now Earth is vanishing bit by bit. Only the long-lost Song of Making--a haunting, dangerous melody that is the source of life itself--can save the planet.   But those who seek the mythic song must contend with old wounds and new enemies, passions that burn hot and hunger for vengeance that runs deep. The challenges are many: the Keltar at war with nine immortals who've secretly ruled Dublin for eons, Mac and Jada hunted by the masses, the Seelie queen nowhere to be found, and the most powerful Unseelie prince in all creation determined to rule both Fae and Man. Now the task of solving the ancient riddle of the Song of Making falls to a band of deadly warriors divided among--and within--themselves.   Once a normal city possessing a touch of ancient magic, Dublin is now a treacherously magical city with only a touch of normal. And on those war-torn streets, Mac will come face-to-face with her most savage enemy yet: herself.   Praise for Karen Marie Moning's Burned   "A masterwork by an incomparable writer, Burned is brilliant, sexy, and dangerous. I adore Moning! No one does it better."--#1 New York Times bestselling author Sylvia Day   "Prepare for a heart-stopping trip into the epic Fever world, filled with gasp-out-loud surprises and sweltering sensuality."--#1 New York Times bestselling author Kresley Cole   "Mac is back! Grab some snacks, something to drink, and settle down for a cover-to-cover read that will likely keep you up all night."--New York Times bestselling author Linda Howard

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Conflicted in Dublin

As I sit amongst the ruins of Barrons Books and Baubles, I feel numb having just turned off my Kindle on Feverborn by Karen Marie Moning.  I have been sitting on this beautiful Chesterfield sofa for almost a decade after I first came to Dublin with MacKayla Lane in Darkfever: Fever Series Book 1.  Mac and I have had a lot of adventures together and I have held her hand after some devastating losses as the walls between Faery and the real world came tumbling down.  I have swooned at the feet of her man of few words, Jericho Barrons.  I’ve been enchanted by a young teen with a mouth that would not stop as she streaked though the days and nights of Dublin.  I have fought the good fight with Ms. Lane and wanted at times to shake the girl and possibly slap her and say “Snap out of it!”; this new world is no longer black and white, it is only shades of grey and not getting killed means you live another day.  The Fever series will always be the premiere urban fantasy series that deals with the fae and magic and the fall out when our reality and the one of the fae collide.  Mac has been the literary everywoman in the series, and I came to experience the world through her eyes as she wasn’t just a girl plopped down in Dublin, but an American southern woman who was trying to navigate through a foreign city even before it got really strange. The world that Mac and company inhabit is a complex one that Moning has spent years and a lot of her readers’ and characters’ blood, sweat, and tears creating.

I waited with baited breath for the newest installment in Mac’s life to come out in the Dani Daily, Jada Journal, or  Moning Mail and life was golden as I turned on my Kindle; all the possibilities of life, love and adventure spread out before me.  I snuggled down into the Chesterfield, had a nice cup of tea at my elbow and my favorite throw across my lap ready to be dazzled by Moning. Now as I sit disheveled and pondering what I just read, my mind harkens back to Shadowfever, the supposed last book in Mac’s story, and I wonder why the world could not have been happy for Mac and Barrons in their bookstore.  Dani was there to step into the fray; it was time for her to rise up.  Dani had the start of her story with Iced: Dani O’Malley Book #1.  It was later repackaged as Fever Book #6 as Mac would return in Burned Fever Book #7 as the main narrator. I still am trying to wrap my head around the why and how we went from a new series start to jumping back to Mac.  I didn’t mind as I thought, honestly, there were enough stories for Mac to continue and Dani to have her own series.  But instead Burned became a mash-up of competing voices as Mac’s point of view was joined by others.  I continued to sit on the Chesterfield in Barrons Books and Baubles, experiencing the evolution of the world that Moning built as she has never let me down.  I figured Burned was a ‘bridge novel’, kinda like Empire Strikes Back was a ‘bridge movie’ for the Star Wars franchise of movies.  So, I was accepting of Burned and where it led.

My bottom is numb and my brain is fried as I come to the end of Feverborn and wonder why one of the best urban fantasy authors of all times has given me a character study but no real story.  I can accept one ‘bridge book’, but two have me baffled. I can’t see how this book moved the series arc forward, nor can I see the point of the story.  I can hear the  crowd outside the store getting ugly but, seriously, tell me how this moved the story forward?  Give me examples of stuff we didn’t already suspect or know from previous books.  Maybe Mac forgot stuff in her year in Dublin, but my almost decade on the Chesterfield had me up to speed with my girls.  Then the varied points of view from everybody and their mothers. . .some points of view were first person and some were third person and it did not seem there was a rhyme or reason for whose point of view was first or third person.  For Jada/Dani not to have a direct voice painted her as an ‘other’ such as Ryokan and Barrons for me.  The girl had a book and now she doesn’t even get a first person point of view!  Maybe the crowd outside the shop didn’t like her voice in Iced, but I can’t see Moning pandering to readers as she is a brilliant writer.  Yes, I can say that Moning is a brilliant writer and not like this book as a story. As I said before it is a character study of Mac, Christian, Lor and even the old ‘god’ character as these characters are given first person point of view narratives.  Moning writes a stunning character study of these individuals, but their thoughts and needs didn’t propel the series any more than Burned; we at least had the Hag in that book.  MacKayla Lane, if the Fae didn’t exist and her sister had not been killed, would have never been in danger or the repository to a book of evil. But then we would not have a series as wonderful as the Fever series in its totality.  Mac, here is a tip; even if your life is an illusion, it’s the only illusion you have, so get on with it.

I have always contended and will continue to contend that Moning is brilliant because she gives you the bones of her world and the characters’ lives and lets her readers draw their own conclusions from what she has written. Whereas other authors will tell why someone is good or bad from their actions, Moning will show me that not everything is cut and dried or black and white. The world that is inhabited by the Fever series is one of varied tonalities of grey.   In the world that Moning created, a world of pure good and evil could not exist as the world has been flooded by the Seelie and UnSeelie Fae, beings that make H.P. Lovecraft’s monsters seem docile in comparison to those that now inhabit Dublin. Creatures that were previously at the forefront of Moning’s tales are only in the last five percent of the book.  Unfortunately, for me, that five percent was not enough to make this a satisfying read.

Plus there are the things that gave me pause. . .

Shazam?

Tribunal?

Mac’s sticky fingers?

Roaches Yucky Yuck Yuck?

Lor and Jo mind palace? If Lor has a mind palace, does that mean Jo is Watson?

Aliana?

The physics of the spheres?

For those of you who want to know, Barrons and his sexy is in full force as he and Mac scorch up the pages of the book. Dani and Ryodan unfortunately don’t have sexy times and neither do Dani and Dancer.  In reality Jada/Dani has just popped back into the world, so any sexy times can wait for her Dublin legs to get back under her.

So, I pick at the leather and the stuffing around me and wonder where will this series go now since this installment ended in a huge cliffhanger.  The finale tally is that if you are invested in the series then you will need this book.

 

 

three-half-stars

About Karen Marie Moning

Karen Marie Moning (rhymes with ‘awning’) is a # 1 New York Times bestselling author of 15 novels, including the RITA award-winning Highlander novels and the internationally bestselling urban fantasy “Fever” series. Her books have been published in nearly 40 languages, and her events draw fans from all over the world.

Moning graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelor’s degree in Society and Law. Before becoming a full-time writer, she worked as a bartender, a computer consultant, and an insurance specialist.

Moning began her career writing paranormal romance set in Scotland but as she became increasingly fascinated with Celtic mythology, she switched genres to Urban Fantasy and location to Dublin, Ireland, so she could focus on the Tuatha de Danann, or Fae–an ancient race of immortal beings who have lived secretly among humans for millennia.

Moning recently completed a graphic novel for Del Rey, featuring an original story about MacKayla Lane and Jericho Barrons, and the first installment in a new Fever World trilogy, ICED. She is under contract with Random House Publishing for two additional books set in the Fever universe.

Photo Credit Brian Braun

Rating Report
Plot
three-stars
Characters
four-stars
Writing
five-stars
Pacing
three-stars
Cover
five-stars
Overall: three-half-stars

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