Gwen’s review of Faefever (Fever, Book 3) by Karen Marie Moning
Urban Fantasy hardcover released by Delacorte Press 16 Sep 08

When I first started reading it, I thought this series was kind of YA.  I mean, the heroine rarely cussed (“petunia” is “ass” in her personal vocabulary), there was no sexxoring, and it was really rather mild fantasy with fae and seers and the like.  Then things started getting darker with the end of that book and into the next.  Now, here in the third book of the series, I can safely say that Moning’s earlier YA tendencies have been left in the dust. 

I loved this entry in the Fever series.  The various storylines still haven’t progressed very far, but we know a lot more about everything that is going on.  Plus it’s just plain good story-telling.  The pisser of these Fever books is they’re so good, I normally suck them down like a crack addict sucks down a rock.

The story begins with Mac being pissed off at being a victim.  She shakes off the negative, decides to take charge, and suits up for a date in her old GRITS uniform of “fully done” hair, face, clothes, jewelry, and shoes.  Then her real life intervenes and leaves her quite literally in the gutter, puking her guts up, hair/makeup/clothes fully trashed.  The end of the book has a similar only different outcome (you’ll have to read the book to figure that one out) that shakes Mac’s world up, once again.

At the end of this book I still know very little about Barrons, except that I want that manly man to do his manly thing all over me.  He’s still tall, dark, handsome, and oh-so-mysterious.  Luscious like Belgian chocolate and equally bad for a woman if she partakes too much – just ask his ex, who happens to be consorting with the bad guys now. We get a few tantalizing details – enough to tell us both the bad guys and the good guys fear him and give him a wide berth.

I LOVED this entry.  It’s frustrating as hell that the storyline(s) still haven’t been tied off, but this book ends with a bang.  Literally.  I am panting for the next entry, Dreamfever.  Moning’s challenges with chronic Lyme Disease makes her ability to get any books written a very real miracle, so I’ll be patient – sort of (yes, I’m screaming in my head “but what happens next??!! write it already!!”).

I highly recommend this book to anyone following the series. While it COULD standalone, I recommend reading the other entries to get the full flavor and to experience the frustration with the rest of us fans.  If you’re looking for a new urban fantasy series to read, this is an excellent one to try.

Grade: A

Read reviews and info about this series by following its tag.

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.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in the series (mass market paperback release linked where available):

and Shadowfever, Book 5 (release TBD)