Darkfever (Fever Series, Book 1)

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
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….

Customer Reviews: Read 193 more reviews...

3 out of 5 stars

It started to get better... November 2, 2006
65 out of 82 found this review helpful

...and then it stopped. Literally.

I knew going in that this was a five book series, in her blog Ms. Moning warned us of that fact. I did not realize this would be a classic cliffhanger with a "tune in next time..." last page. If this is the kind of thing that bugs you, as much as it does me, I suggest you wait until all five books are published before you start. In the past the author has taken up to a year or more between books, so it could be a long wait.

Back to our story - as much as was there, in any event. A young college student is murdered in Ireland. The local police are stumped, the family is devastated. A cryptic message from the victim is left on the voice mail of the younger sister's cell phone, and she comes to Ireland to try and find out what happened. The Dark Fae look to be responsible, and our characters need to deal with it. The story twists, turns, starts to come into focus - and then the cliffhanger.

The characters are... okay, awful. The heroine, sister of the murder victim, is supposedly a twenty-two year old sidhe-seer, and most of the time comes across like a twelve year old Junior Miss Pageant winner. She uses the word "pretty" a lot (you will learn to hate the word). She has pretty little tanned legs, pretty blond hair, pretty skin, pretty clothes, pretty little shoes, and (my personal bugaboo) pretty Ice Princess Pink Blush nail polish on her pretty little fingers and toes. Naive and immature doesn't begin to describe MacKayla. We are expected to believe she is a product of her pretty little small town, and over protective background. Not buying it. If you are from a small town, and I am, you will be insulted by the inference. About the time MacKayla starts to mature to about a thirteen year old personality, here comes that cliffhanger.

Our hero, Barron (I think he's the hero, the jury's still out), is dark, brooding, ultra masculine, handsome, rich, patronizing, and somewhat brutal. At first he tries to get rid of MacKayla by physical intimidation, then decides to use her untrained Sidhe-Seer talents to help him fight the Unseelie Sidhe and find their "Dark Book". After awhile, Barron starts to feel some gentler emotions toward MacKayla - and then the cliffhanger.

There is no actual sex in the book, but, be warned, there are some rather brutal almost rape encounters with MacKayla and the Fae. Because MacKayla is so very young and immature mentally, these scenes seem even more horrific than usual.

(Note to the author: If and when, sometime in the next four books, this turns into a romance between the two main characters, which I suspect it will, I sincerely hope you have MacKayla mature a whole lot, or Barron is going to come across as a rather creepy pedophile. At that point, you will lose me as a reader. Some lines can't be crossed.)

Three stars because -Actually, I don't know why. Two are too few and I did finish the book in an evening. Four stars are too generous for a mere chapter in an incomplete story with characters that are less than stellar. I will be reading the next book in the series because...

... oh, hell. because it's a cliffhanger, and I'm weak.

4 out of 5 stars

It isn't romance... yet.... but it is still wonderful!!! November 1, 2006
57 out of 76 found this review helpful

Karen is back! She took her time, paced the book well, it felt GREAT to be reading a book from her again that I REALLY enjoyed!

I am glad that she took into account that we are not stupid people who will be slaves to an overused formula...however successful.

My problems with her last two books was that the story was forced and plagued by scenes that were far too explicit for characters I desperately wanted to be "in love" not "in lust" with each other.

I am not even sure this is a romance novel...at least not yet. The main characters are plagued with obstacles that make romance at this time impossible...But I do like where it is going and the anticipation is spectacular. At the conclusion of the book I am left with tons of questions and I am absolutely going to buy the next in the series. (Even if the bits with V'lane were treading the slippery slope of tastefulness...its briefness made them easier to tolerate.)

I guess in the end if Moning can remember that her previous books were about falling in love and then the great sex will just happen naturally as the story and plot evolves it won't be offensive.

5 out of 5 stars

Kudos to Karen Moning for an enthralling new series November 6, 2006
44 out of 61 found this review helpful

Karen Moning has a rare and perfect gift--the ability to transport me to other worlds and captivate me with every book she writes. In this noisy, hectic world we all live in, I find it very hard to totally lose myself in a book. It takes a special author to guide me on such a mesmerizing journey, and Karen is on a shortlist of authors who always--ALWAYS--make me lose myself in her world. DARKFEVER is no exception. Suspenseful, sensual, and immediate, she weaves her famililar magic in this series launch book, making me want to read more (and stamp my feet and pout until I can get it in my eager hands!)

If you're a fan of Karen Moning--or even if you've never read her other books--this new book is a must read!

2 out of 5 stars

Uncertain about this new series. November 1, 2006
14 out of 19 found this review helpful

I preordered the book, received it yesterday, and read it last night. To be completely honest, had I not seen Ms. Moning's plog, I'm not sure how I would review the book. She's right, it has to be taken on it's own, unrelated to her Highlander series. So, here I go...... Yes, it's well-written. Yes, it's fast-paced. Yes, the characters have some potential and I will probably read at least one more book in the series just to see what develops. However this book, Darkfever, is, in my opinion, derivative. It's not quite science-fiction/fantasy, though it reminds me of a number of science fiction novels I've read, some as recently as this summer. At the same time, it definitely cannot be categorized as a Romance. As a matter of fact, I actually found any sexually charged scenes in the book repelling, not compelling in any way. (Which makes me wonder if that is the author's intent.) The thing I've loved about Karen Marie Moning's books are the appealing characters, the humor in the midst of chaos, and the amazingly well-written romantic scenes. For me, this book contained none of the above. I certainly can understand and appreciate an author's need to tell a new story in a new way. I'm just not sure this particular series is what I want to read when I'm seeking a light-hearted escape from my very stressful, busy home-life/job/multi-tasking existence. I read a lot of books from all genres, and I found Ms. Moning's Highlander series to be a fun, fantastic, sensual vacation from everyday life. Darkfever, rather than allowing me to escape, kind of smacked me in the face with a whole lot of nasty stuff. While Ms. Moning may be onto something with this series, I'm just not sure I'll follow her very far. Sorry . . . . .

1 out of 5 stars

Irritating.... November 5, 2006
12 out of 12 found this review helpful

In first person our only definition of the heroine is through her own eyes. In this case, the heroine is a lazy, self-absorbed 22-year old with no ambition beyond working a part-time fun job, brushing her hair, painting her nails and working on her tan. It's impossible to sympathize with her or identify with her and irritating to read this story unfolding through her juvenile conscience.

My second problem with this book is the price vs. length. At 304 pages of story, it's barely longer than a novella, but the retail price is $20. Although the author states that Mac's story couldn't be told in 500 or even 600 pages, I suspect it could easily be told in a novel of normal length, especially since each new book will contain a recap of previous books, adding to the length, but not the story.

It has been 15 months since her last novel, Spell of the Highlander, was released. At that rate, this series won't be completed until at least 2011. Fifteen months between installments is entirely too long for a cliffhanger series. The books need to be released no more than a couple of months apart.

If the second installment is as irritating and shallow as the first one was I'll be praying for the Shades to get her....

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