Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Kiss my petunia! REVIEW of "Darkfever" by Karen Marie Moning

Darkfever (Fever Series, Book 1) First up, enter my contest for a copy of "Insight" by Jamie Magee! Link in the righthand side bar. =) Or just click HERE.
Why this book?: Started a Paranormal Book Club for the patrons at work (library!) - "Darkfever" was chosen as book 1.

Disclaimer: I actually won my copy of "Darkfever" eons ago in a contest. So while I did get it for free, it was not given to me in exchange for a review by the publisher/author/etc.

Type: Urban Fantasy, Series, Fae, Sidhe, Unseelies everywhere - oh my!, Glamour, That guy totally needs to loosen up, Series has potential, IRELAND!

About the book: Mac's sister is dead, and the Irish police haven't caught the killer. When the authorities inform Mac's family that they are sending the case to their cold case division, Mac takes it upon herself to fly to Ireland, and she'll make sure she hounds the police until her sister's murder is solved. But things aren't that simple, and Mac finds herself on a search for an ancient text as well. There are creatures in Dublin that not everyone can see, unfortunately Mac can, and it's making her sick. So she turns to the one person that has the information and skills that she needs to find her sister's murdered and the book, Barrons. But there's something not quite right about him...

Review: "Darkfever" was an interesting read, and the beginning of a series that people refer to as crack. Essentially, this means that not only is it a much loved series that people will defend to the death, but it is epic as well as addicting. I did enjoy Mac's character, I like to see characters break out of the regular stereotypes I see a lot of in urban fantasy - most of the female characters are tough, in charge, and never really bother with their hair or nails. Mac cares a lot about what she wears, what she looks like, and disdains dark colors - she'd rather be in bright pink and rainbow colors than dressed in all black leather. And along with all the pink, she has some brains as well. She's incredibly inexperienced when it comes to the magical world she's thrown into, but she's smart enough to learn and develop the skills she needs to survive.

Fans of the book, or at least a lot of female fans of the book, swoon over Barrons. I didn't really understand that obsession. Frankly, I found Barrons incredibly uptight and extremely aggravating, I wanted to tell him to pull the stick from his rear end and loosen up a little. However, he was redeemed a little, at least in my eyes, near the end of the book. I saw some development there, and I hope to see that continue in the future books, and then maybe he will achieve swoon levels.

All in all, the book was alright, and I enjoyed it enough to finish it, and I do plan to continue reading the series. I saw a lot of potential in this first book, and everyone speaks to highly of the Fever series, I want to know why! So if you're a fan, feel free to follow my progress as I move on to the next book. You know, as soon as I get to it.

Cover Loving: My cover is different than the one Amazon has. However, I like both. I'm not sure which I like better, actually. Mine has lightning though - lightning is pretty cool.

Recommendation: This book was enjoyable enough, and I'm recommending to myself that I need to read the rest of the series. I'd say fans of fae myth and urban fantasy will enjoy "Darkfever."

Final Rating: I'm giving "Darkfever" by Karen Marie Moning a THREE out of FIVE (3/5). It certainly wasn't bad, but it wasn't something I instantly fell in love with. In fact, it took me until near the end before I couldn't bear to part with it. But I saw some things I liked, so I do plan to continue with the series.

Have you read "Darkfever" and/or the rest of the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning? Or how about her Highlander series? What are your thoughts? Please share them in the comments. Want to pick up a copy of "Darkfever" - get it from Amazon.com via the link to the left.

Happy Reading!
~!~ Amanda ~!~

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