From the Bookshelf of Vampires, Weres and Fae! …

Darkfever (Fever, #1)

Karen Marie Moning

Start date: January 1, 2019

Finish date: January 31, 2019

Discussion: After the Book Discussion

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What Members Thought

Jul 13, 2010 Cindyg rated it it was amazing

I think I'm going to really like this series...this is a easy, fast paced read with a cast of characters and beings I really liked. Mac is one hell of a young woman on one hell of a mission. I still haven't figured out Barrons but at this point I like him but not sure if I should. Ms. Moning does an excellent job of dangling the carrot to keep you pushing forward without really answering a lot of your burning questions. V'lane is someone I'd like to learn more about, what he is capable of is not ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Jun 02, 2012 Carrie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fae, own, urban-fantasy, part-of-a-series, karen-marie-moning, rrrc, ireland, 1st-in-a-series, fever-series, you-want-me-to-read-what

I will admit was a little wary going into it, I had read

Beyond the Highland Mist (Highlander, #1) by Karen Marie Moning

a few years ago and I wasn't a huge fan of it so I didn't know what I was going to be getting with this one.

I was very impressed. Such a great improvement from the other book by her I had read. Really looking forward to reading the second book in this series. I enjoyed it that much I'll probably give her Highlander series another go.

I can't wait to find out more about Jericho Barons. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Dec 11, 2011 Dom rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorites, guilty-pleasures, urban-fantasy, good-m-f-romance

Do you like your urban fantasy action-packed, with a side of chiseled abs and a dollop of smut? Then this series is for you. I didn't even realize I fell into that category of reader but apparently I do, because I found this book incredibly addictive. Guilty pleasure alert!

Also posted a video review here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AypWH7... ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Aug 28, 2009 Louise / BetweenTheCovers MonsterMaX3 / Lou is Cullenized rated it really liked it

Shelves: urban-fantasy

Review courtesy of Louise @ Between the Covers blog: tinyurl.com/62zkxfh

I want to start by saying that I read the first two (2) books in this series, Darkfever and Bloodfever, years ago… Bloodfever had just been released… after reading the author’s Highlander series, and LOVING… (and perhaps lusting)… them! This review is based upon a recent revamp of the books, due to many of my friends reading the series. Though this book is older than most we review here on BtC, the series is ongoing, the la Review courtesy of Louise @ Between the Covers blog: tinyurl.com/62zkxfh

I want to start by saying that I read the first two (2) books in this series, Darkfever and Bloodfever, years ago… Bloodfever had just been released… after reading the author’s Highlander series, and LOVING… (and perhaps lusting)… them! This review is based upon a recent revamp of the books, due to many of my friends reading the series. Though this book is older than most we review here on BtC, the series is ongoing, the latest book having been released earlier this year.

Darkfever is an urban fantasy that tells the story of MacKayla “Mac” Lane, a 22-year-old young woman from Ashford, GA, a small town deep in the Bible Belt. Mac is a bartender at a local bar. She’s in college, but only because her parents require her to be. She’s fortunate enough to live a very happy, carefree life where her biggest concerns are the possibility of her favorite lip gloss or nail polish being discontinued, or her tan being uneven.

But Mac’s happy world implodes one day when she receives a call telling her that her sister, Alina, has been murdered while studying at Trinity University in Dublin, Ireland. Grieving and feeling that the police aren’t trying to solve her sister’s murder, Mac decides to go to Ireland and use the “in your face” method to get them to investigate further. Soon after her arrival, Mac begins seeing strange, unbelievable things. It is in this way, during a scene where Mac is having dinner at a pub, that we are introduced to Moning’s fae. These are not the winged fairies of your childhood, but dark and dangerous beings who use glamour to hunt their prey… humans.

Darkfever is an unusual blend of a novel… an urban fantasy with a mystery woven into it. The supernatural world unfolds as Mac desperately searches for who… or what… killed her sister. Moning keeps us in suspense throughout the book, not revealing Alina’s murderer until the end.

I have to admit that I didn’t feel Mac, at first. She is painted as very shallow, initially. I’m a character driven reader, so this was a major turn off for me. I struggled with the idea of this Georgia peach surviving alone in a foreign country, especially once the supernatural world began to unfurl around her. But Darkfever is a story of self-discovery for Mac. She learns much about herself, including what she is, and the truth of her and her sister’s birth. In the end, Mac won me over. She’s much stronger than we’re led to believe in the initial characterization we’re given. Stronger than she herself knew she could be. She’s sarcastic, witty and I love her “Southern” euphemisms. I think Mac’s momma and my momma would’ve gotten along famously.

We also meet the intriguing Jerricho Barrons in this book. Barrons is the owner of a book store Mac stumbles into. And don’t we all wish we had a Barrons’ Books and Baubles in our neighborhood! At the end of Darkfever, Barrons is still shrouded in mystery. I’m unsure if he’s a good guy or a bad guy using Mac for his own nefarious purposes. But there is an undeniable chemistry between Barrons and Mac… it practically sizzles and scorches the page.

There were some things that caused me to have difficulty getting into this book, and while I’ve recommended the series to many friends over the years, I’ve always done so with a disclaimer that it is hard to get into. You have to be willing to stick with it. Moning’s choice to write in the first person retrospective robs the book of the tension and suspense first person point of view usually provides, and distances the reader from events. Obviously Mac survives, or she couldn’t tell her story. Also, the continual use of names between Mac and Barrons is awkward. It’s not natural in conversation, and disrupts the flow of dialogue.

However, the good points greatly outweigh the bad, and made the book well worth the initial struggle I had. The world Moning has crafted in Darkfever is very visual. There is an atmosphere to the story, and it is in turn horrifying and chilling, inviting and seductive. There are ideas about the abilities of the fae which are different and interesting. There is an ever present air of danger throughout the book.

And underneath the supernatural is a story that will resound with many. Darkfever is a story about dealing with tragedy and coping with grief. Mac's phone calls home are actually painful to read.

Overall, Darkfever is a good read and an interesting beginning to this series. I stand by my oft given disclaimer… you must be willing to give the book a chance. If you do, you will come to love the characters, want to linger in this dark, dangerous and fascinating world.

Rating: 3.5 stars ...more

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Jul 06, 2010 Lori {Romancing the Dark Side} rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: my-ebooks, read-in-2010, fae-fairies, my-favorites

A dark and sexy ride! When I first got into the book I wasn't too sure about my feelings regarding Mac, I really didn't want another whinny heroine in my life but gave her the benefit of the doubt. I have to say she convinced me...maybe it's the mutual the love of pink we share, but as I read on I began to warm up to her more and more. I would be a little feisty too if the world I knew was turned upside down in a matter of weeks and now filled with all kinds of supernatural monsters!

Barrons...wh ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Mar 20, 2011 Stephanie Dalphin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-read-in-2011, books-read-in-2019

AUTHOR: MONING, Karen Marie
TITLE: Darkfever
DATE READ: 3/29/2011
RATING: 5.0
GENRE/PUB DATE/PUBLISHER/# OF Pages: Paranormal Fantasy/2007/Dell/384 Pages
SERIES/STAND ALONE: Fever Series: Book One
TIME/PLACE: Present day/Ireland
CHARACTERS: MacKayla "Mac" Lane, Jericho Barrens
FIRST LINES: My Philosophy is pretty simple - any day nobody's trying to kill me is a good day in my book.
COMMENTS: I got this book because it was offered as one of the Nook Free Fridays books. I had never heard of the series be ...more

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Jun 07, 2011 Gertie rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal, urban-fantasy

Okay, sometimes I really enjoy a good urban fantasy or even paranormal romance (as much as it hurts me to admit the romance bit "out loud"). This book, hell the entire series, has good reviews. (I say anything over 4 stars has a good chance of passing the rotten tomatoes test.)

Some folks loooove fairies. The Fae. The Seelie, the Unseelie. Me, well... eh. But still, I can get into a story of the Fae if the rest is written well.

I could barely finish this story. First I should mention I listened t ...more

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Aug 13, 2010 Nichole ~Bookaholic~ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: z-2014, audio, freebies, pnr-uf, favorites, z-2014-audio-challenge-my-precious

Doing a re-read/listen of this series

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Apr 23, 2009 Delitealex rated it liked it

Shelves: urban-fantasy, fae-fairies

Jul 08, 2009 Renee rated it really liked it

Nov 03, 2009 Yodamom rated it it was amazing

Shelves: owned, reading-again

4 likes · Like

Nov 22, 2009 Jennifer rated it really liked it

Shelves: urban-fantasy

Feb 16, 2010 Melindeeloo rated it really liked it

1 like · Like

Feb 22, 2010 Talin rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Feb 25, 2010 Genevieve rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy

Mar 25, 2010 Jodi Wayman marked it as to-read

Shelves: badboys

Apr 06, 2010 Courtney rated it really liked it

Shelves: fae, favorites, i-am-woman-hear-me-roar, book-husbands

Apr 09, 2010 Ashe rated it really liked it

Shelves: low-priority-books-to-buy

Apr 25, 2010 Tiffany rated it really liked it

Apr 29, 2010 SmittenKitten rated it it was amazing

Shelves: hero-dark-hair, favorite-heros, short-tbr, urban-fantasy, best-reads, hero-dual-identity, dark, gore-violence, favorite-heroines, heroine-blond