READING: Burned (Fever #7) by Karen Marie Moning

Publication date: January 20 2015
Published by: Delacorte Press
Genre: Adult, Romance, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Fae, Mystery, Suspense
Rating: 

MacKayla Lane would do anything to save the home she loves. A gifted sidhe-seer, she’s already fought and defeated the deadly Sinsar Dubh—an ancient book of terrible evil—yet its hold on her has never been stronger.

When the wall that protected humans from the seductive, insatiable Fae was destroyed on Halloween, long-imprisoned immortals ravaged the planet. Now Dublin is a war zone with factions battling for control. As the city heats up and the ice left by the Hoar Frost King melts, tempers flare, passions run red-hot, and dangerous lines get crossed. 

It’s a world where staying alive is a constant struggle, the line between good and evil gets blurred, and every alliance comes at a price. In an epic battle against dark forces, Mac must decide who she can trust, and what her survival is ultimately worth.

Burned was a huge let down, simple as that. 3 stars are given just because I still love the series that Fever once was.

Plot: really, what was the meaning of Burned? Just a rehash of what happened in previous books, but worse. Only actual plot was the introduction of Jada, which was really shocking and sooo cool, and the attempt to save Christian in the last 50 pages or so. And those were the only 2 good elements of the book, I'm afraid. 
I mean ↓

what happened to the black hole at the bottom of Chester's? What happened to the Unseelie Princess? What is happening with Cruce and the Shidhe Seers(not enough said about it

The rest of the book had no structure, which ultimately, led to characters doing stupid, silly and offensive things, because what else is there to do? There was no story! Oh, and a lot of fucking inner dialogue! Mac wasn't a big conversationalist in this one, and she only interacted with very few people. As a result, we kept reading over and over again how horny she was, among other silliness of that level. Score!
Characters: the story around Lor, Ryodan and Jo was simply inane, didn't belong in Fever books. The whole Ryodan-Jo situation was bad enough to begin with, imo.
Also, what happened to Mac? How did she become such a whiny, mopey little girl? She used to be a strong, opinionated, female warrior and now what? Just casually hanging around at BB&B, doing nothing? The only thing she actually did was↓

save Christian at the end and that's because she was invisible! Which, was the stupidest trope ever. For one, because Buffy did it first and much better, and two because it considerably weakened her character. Like all she cared about was admiring how sexy Ryodan was when invisible, spying on him and Barrons while invisible, again, basking in their sexuality. WE GET IT! They are animalistically sexual, it has been mentioned like a million times. Fever books used to be way more than sex. What happened? I wanted to yell at her to grab her sword and just wreak havoc on the Fae, Sinsar Dubh be damned. That's what Jada did when she got it. I think Mac is getting too comfortable and complacent, especially with the Nine coming to her rescue all the time.

Speaking of sex...

was Barrons's scene at the beginning supposed to be sexy? I hope not, because it wasn't. I can't say that he raped Mac, but he definitely took advantage of her grieving state, violated and abused her. Erasing her memory was sick, and that he had the nerve to act annoyed after Mac found out, was just unbelievable. And Mac let it go waaaay too easily, if you ask me. I mean, how can you trust a person like that? She knew what and how Barrons is, sure, but her accepting this, made me feel like Barrons is no different than any other fucking creep out there. And I was not ready to think of him that way, nor did I want to. Moning is way, way better than this. She managed 4 books with no Mac-Barrons sex (I don't count the Priya ones which were addmittedly awesome) and it was still full of sexual tension where it needed to be, and it was perfect. Why resort to cheap tricks now?

In a nutshell, Burned was a huge disappointment, and I am legit scared of what's to come. I'm afraid Moning is taking the series on another path that I am not seeing myself being a fan of.
Taking a break now, and resuming with the next 3 on a later date.

READING: Iced (Fever #6) by Karen Marie Moning

Publication date: October 30 2012
Published by: Delacorte Press
Genre: Adult, Urban Fantasy, Romance, Mystery, Suspense, Fae, Paranormal
Rating:  ⃠⃠⃠ NO RATING

Dani “Mega” O’Malley plays by her own set of rules—and in a world overrun by Dark Fae, her biggest rule is: Do what it takes to survive. Possessing rare talents and the all-powerful Sword of Light, Dani is more than equipped for the task. In fact, she’s one of the rare humans who can defend themselves against the Unseelie. But now, amid the pandemonium, her greatest gifts have turned into serious liabilities.
Dani’s ex–best friend, MacKayla Lane, wants her dead, the terrifying Unseelie princes have put a price on her head, and Inspector Jayne, the head of the police force, is after her sword and will stop at nothing to get it. What’s more, people are being mysteriously frozen to death all over the city, encased on the spot in sub-zero, icy tableaux. 

When Dublin’s most seductive nightclub gets blanketed in hoarfrost, Dani finds herself at the mercy of Ryodan, the club’s ruthless, immortal owner. He needs her quick wit and exceptional skill to figure out what’s freezing Fae and humans dead in their tracks—and Ryodan will do anything to ensure her compliance.
Dodging bullets, fangs, and fists, Dani must strike treacherous bargains and make desperate alliances to save her beloved Dublin—before everything and everyone in it gets iced.

I can't believe Dani was not my biggest problem in Iced. Who would have thought? I actually have a new appreciation for the kid. 
In my opinion, Iced is one of Moning's best. She manages to morph an unbelievably annoying and unlikable character, into someone you feel and care deeply for, because of the way she grew up, because of her incredibly sad story, because, at 14 years old, she wants to do what's right for everyone, because she wants to save the world. Dani touched my heart in Iced and I hope when Mac comes back as the lead, she doesn't turn into an abnoxious brat again. 
All of Kat scenes were my absolute favourites. Her voice is so lyrical-almost haunted-and I can just imagine her traipsing around the abbey, it's almost she was from another era. Her encounter with Ryodan at Chester's, is one of my top favourite scenes in all Fever books, pure gold.

However! As much as I loved Iced, I cannot and will not get past the overt sexualisation of a 14 year old girl. Some things just ain't right.
You have to wonder why; why would Moning ever create an underage female lead character in such an indecent, X-rated, oversexualised world such as the Feververse? What did she possibly stand to gain from that? 
Honestly? No idea. 
She actually lost someone, Christian, who was so messed up, I just wanted him to die to be put out of his misery. I really liked him in previous Fever books, he was an OK bloke. But in Iced, his character got ripped to shreds, both metaphorically and literally! Every time he appeared, I inwardly cringed. Unless he gets the Unseelie out of him, I hope he doesn't come back. 

And then we have Ryodan, the Cool guy.
Is he though? 
First half of the book he is described as this creep who has his eye on a 14 year old waiting for her to become "acceptably" older - even though he blatantly said that in other worlds girls her age wed and start families...- having constant pissing contests with Christian, who is obviously losing his marbles, and Dancer, another human kid! 
Second half, you see him having a relationship with someone else, which I am not buying for a second, and being all father figure to Dani. I mean, I much prefer that side of him, but I still don't know what to think. Is he the anti hero turned hero? Highly doubt it. He's definitely intriguing, if, again, Dani was older. But she isn't. So, he just looks like an overly pushy and obsessive creep. Even if he tries to care for her and be the dad she never had, parents don't act like that towards their children. At least, oh my God, they shouldn't. 

I don't know if in Burned Mac and Barrons will be leads again and all Iced characters are going to play second fiddle,but I really hope not. As long as Ryodan doesn't creep out on me, or Christian stays where he is (or isn't) I'll be fine.

Stray observations:
-Very sad to read about Chester's, knowing where the name came from.
-Fun fact: a huuuge presence and alleged influencer on GoodReads (with 5,000 followers, #1 reviewer rank etc.) has said about C. S. Pacat's Captive Prince II, a fantasy MM adult romance book, that it focused too much on men's genitals and that she was fed up with their over exposure. Whatever that means.

However, she didn't blink an eye when Christian got hard just by looking at Dani, a 14 year old girl, or that Ryodan was fighting with Christian over who will fuck her first. There was no actual sex or kissing, so all good.

Hm, interesting.😐

READING: The Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning

Fever series by Karen Marie Moning

Published by: Delacorte Press

Book 1: Darkfever

Book 2: Bloodfever

Book 3: Faefever

Book 4: DreamFever

Book 5: ShadowFever

I only finished reading ShadowFever last night but alas!The emotional roller coster that is the Fever series has come to an end.

For almost a week I lived and breathed Fever.Anyone that knows me was painfully aware of that!

To say that I completely and utterly adore this series, would be a colossal understatement!

Although I was kinda hesitant at first, seeing that the Urban Fantasy genre is not my scene, I soon came to realize that the Fevers, as I call them, are nothing but the finest example of excellent writing and brilliant story weaving.

From Barrons's enigmatic existence and Mac's unfathomable compassion, to V'lane's majestic composure, each and every one of the characters is created so meticulously and with so much care, that make Moning's excellent writing skills and unbounded imagination, a thing of beauty!

I am not gonna dwell on each book separately, that would take ages!However, I would like to express some thoughts about the last book, Shadowfever.

*SPOILER ZONE FOR ALL 5 BOOKS:YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!*

- Barron's identity is not exactly defined in the last book, and I know that it pissed a lot of people off.

Me?I couldn't care less!Why put a name on it?We learn so much stuff about him that I really don't feel the need to label what Barrons is or isn't.Some things are just meant to remain a mystery and left to the imagination.

- Shadowfever exhausted me.It just mentally drained me.There was such an enormous flow of information in SF that you had to fight tooth and nail to stay clear headed and grasp everything that was going on.Why did Moning choose to do it this way?Honestly, I don't know.I believe that if this book was divided into books 5 and 6, it would be so much easier to get into and not constantly feel like SF is literally sucking on your brain, tormenting moment after tormenting moment.

How many different personalities did Mac change in Shadowfever?Hm can't remember. And there's a reason for that!

I am the concubine, I am the Unseelie King, I am Mac, I am the Unseelie King again...There was really no need for all that.It almost made ME feel bi-polar by the end of the book!

- Oh my God,Mac!Seriously?You want to change the whole world for Barrons one minute(let's not forget that such thought never crossed her mind when she lost her sister) and say that you don't trust him the next?Come on!

- After everything that has happened, and you know that soooo many things went down(I had to keep notes at some point!), the ending for me was, I don't wanna use the word easy but I will.It was easy and somewhat convenient.All hell breaks loose, half of world's population eradicated:call me crazy but I expected a huge bang at the end and I only got a teeny tiny one.Granted, surprises never cease until the very end but those too I found unnecessary. Why did V'lane had to be Cruce?I know he was not a completely likeable character but his sudden change into the BIG BAD with only 20 pages or so left, was not something I particularly enjoyed.

- Speaking of convenient-at-the-last-minute solutions, what the hell was Barron's son's death all about?Barrons, one of the most powerful creatures in all creation, who's lived for thousands and thousands of years and has searched all his life for a way to end his and his son's suffering but to no avail suddenly, but not surprisingly, Mac has an idea and his son dies just like that?5 lines, a paragraph was all it took?

Well, OK.Not my thing.

- Lastly, the only thing I am not gonna be able to forgive the Fevers was Dani's absolution.NO WAY I am gonna sit back and accept that Mac just forgave Dani for killing her sister, calling her her new sister and saying that Alina would understand, of all things!I just can't accept that.I am not saying she should hunt Dani down and kill her, no. But I am not gonna accept that she calls her sister's murderer her sister, either.Some things cannot be forgiven.

Last but certainly not least!

My objections about Shadowfever aside, the first thing that comes to mind whenever I think about the Fevers now or will think in the future, is chapter 4 in DreamFever.For those of you who can't remember that specific chapter, which I honestly think is impossible, chapter 4 is the one in which Barrons tends to Mac after she has become Pri-ya at the end of FaeFever.For me, that particular scene has rightfully earned its place amongst the all-time best scenes ever written in a paranormal book.And that's an undeniable fact!

*END OF SPOILER ZONE*

I could go on and on and on and on about the Fevers and things I loved and didn't love, things that made me mad as hell and things that made me laugh like crazy.The scale of humation emotions is vast and believe me, these books will stir up each and every one of them!

I absolutely, completely, totally recommend them!!