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Fever #4
Dreamfever
MacKayla Lane lies naked on the cold stone floor of a church, at the mercy of the erotic Fae master she once swore to kill. Far from home, unable to control her sexual hungers, MacKayla is now fully under the Lord Master’s spell.…In New York Times bestselling author Karen Marie Moning’s stunning new novel, the walls between human and Fae worlds have come crashing down. And as Mac fights for survival on Dublin’s battle-scarred streets, she will embark on the darkest—and most erotically charged—adventure of her life.
He has stolen her past, but MacKayla will never allow her sister’s murderer to take her future. Yet even the uniquely gifted sidhe-seer is no match for the Lord Master, who has unleashed an insatiable sexual craving that consumes Mac’s every thought—and thrusts her into the seductive realm of two very dangerous men, both of whom she desires but dares not trust.
As the enigmatic Jericho Barrons and the sensual Fae prince V’lane vie for her body and soul, as cryptic entries from her sister’s diary mysteriously appear and the power of the Dark Book weaves its annihilating path through the city, Mac’s greatest enemy delivers a final challenge.…
It’s an invitation Mac cannot refuse, one that sends her racing home to Georgia, where an even darker threat awaits. With her parents missing and the lives of her loved ones under siege, Mac is about to come face-to-face with a soul-shattering truth—about herself and her sister, about Jericho Barrons…and about the world she thought she knew.
He has stolen her past, but MacKayla will never allow her sister’s murderer to take her future. Yet even the uniquely gifted sidhe-seer is no match for the Lord Master, who has unleashed an insatiable sexual craving that consumes Mac’s every thought—and thrusts her into the seductive realm of two very dangerous men, both of whom she desires but dares not trust.
As the enigmatic Jericho Barrons and the sensual Fae prince V’lane vie for her body and soul, as cryptic entries from her sister’s diary mysteriously appear and the power of the Dark Book weaves its annihilating path through the city, Mac’s greatest enemy delivers a final challenge.…
It’s an invitation Mac cannot refuse, one that sends her racing home to Georgia, where an even darker threat awaits. With her parents missing and the lives of her loved ones under siege, Mac is about to come face-to-face with a soul-shattering truth—about herself and her sister, about Jericho Barrons…and about the world she thought she knew.
386 pages, Hardcover
First published August 18, 2009
About the author
Karen Marie Moning
73 books29k followers“The only other calling I ever felt was an irrepressible desire to be Captain of my own Starship. I was born in the wrong century and it wasn’t possible, so I chose to explore the universe by writing fiction instead. Books are doors to endless adventure.” -KMM
Karen Marie Moning is the #1 NYT bestselling author of the Fever Series and Highlander novels.
An alum of the Immaculate Conception Academy, at seventeen she attended Purdue University where she completed a BA in Society & Law, with minors in Philosophy, Creative Writing and Theatre, while working full time as a bartender and computer consultant. She intended to go to law school but after an internship with a firm of Criminal Attorneys, decided against it. For the next decade, she worked in insurance, where she wrote intercompany arbitrations and directed commercial litigation. At the age of thirty, she decided it was time to get serious and do what she’d always wanted to do: write fiction novels.
Beyond the Highland Mist was published in 1999 and nominated for two RITA awards. She then published six more novels in her award-winning HIGHLANDER series, and received the RITA Award in 2001 for The Highlander’s Touch.
In 2004, she began writing the #1 New York Times bestselling FEVER series. The books have been optioned twice for potential franchise development by Twentieth Century Fox and DreamWorks Studios, but the rights are currently held by Moning who has expressed a desire to one day see it as a television series. Her novels have been published in over thirty countries. She divides her time between Ohio and Florida and is working on two future projects for Random House Publishing.
“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.” – Jorge Luis Borges
Karen Marie Moning is the #1 NYT bestselling author of the Fever Series and Highlander novels.
An alum of the Immaculate Conception Academy, at seventeen she attended Purdue University where she completed a BA in Society & Law, with minors in Philosophy, Creative Writing and Theatre, while working full time as a bartender and computer consultant. She intended to go to law school but after an internship with a firm of Criminal Attorneys, decided against it. For the next decade, she worked in insurance, where she wrote intercompany arbitrations and directed commercial litigation. At the age of thirty, she decided it was time to get serious and do what she’d always wanted to do: write fiction novels.
Beyond the Highland Mist was published in 1999 and nominated for two RITA awards. She then published six more novels in her award-winning HIGHLANDER series, and received the RITA Award in 2001 for The Highlander’s Touch.
In 2004, she began writing the #1 New York Times bestselling FEVER series. The books have been optioned twice for potential franchise development by Twentieth Century Fox and DreamWorks Studios, but the rights are currently held by Moning who has expressed a desire to one day see it as a television series. Her novels have been published in over thirty countries. She divides her time between Ohio and Florida and is working on two future projects for Random House Publishing.
“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.” – Jorge Luis Borges
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 5,180 reviews
December 4, 2013
SPOILER FREE - HAPPY DAAAAAAAAAAANCE!!!!
Well, frak me, spank my petunia and call me Susie!! If your Jericho Barrons, that is. He could call me Susie, Fiona, Mac (Miss Lane if your nasty). Whatever the hell he wants to call me.
Gawd, if you thought Barrons was naughtee with double e's in the other books, I'm here to tell you that he is naughteeeeeee with infinite e's in this one!! Seriously, some of the other girls have already agreed with me that we need to find this man and spank him. So, who's with me? SO SAY WE ALL! Sorry, I know I keep throwing Battlestar Galactica references in her but I only because I love these books so much! They are EPIC. Epic like Battlestar.
Oh by the way, Barrons, who's your favorite little rascal?
Is it................ Spanky??
One of my favorite scenes between Barrons and Mac:
He shakes me. "Say my name."
"No."
"Damn it, would you just cooperate."
"I do not know that word, 'cooperate.' "
"Obviously," he growls.
"I think you make up words."
"I do not make up words."
"Do, too."
"Do not."
"Too."
"Not."
I laugh.
"Woman, you make me crazed," he mutters.
A perfect summary of their relationship. Simple, yet intensely complicated.
Okay so I'm not usually a strictly romance or erotic book reader. I like some tenderness to my meatballs. I do NOT like them overdone. This is faaaaar from overdone. There was tons of set-up and build-up before anything close to an explicit scene happens and even THEN, it is still under certain unnamed extenuating circumstances. And the tension and passion is honestly the most intense thing I have yet to read. If you are at all uncomfortable reading about sexual situations, then this is not for you. Not at all. Maybe the first three, but then, by the time you get to this one -- you may be changing your tune.
This woman really knows how to throw spikes at you at exactly the right moment, making you unable to dodge them. She loves her cliffhangers, and I am hanging on every word.
Up until chapter three, I was a little ticked. I did not like the alternate perspective that we were getting. The thoughts were fragmented and childish. I like her as a character but not as a perspective character.
After that, geez, I was going crazy. Barrons is so effing hot. When she describes the sound he makes.... Whew! Anyway..... I think a visual aid is in order.
Hummina, hummina. Humminaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
I'm sorry but I had to post this guy, too. He has the long hair. And look at those eyes.
[image error]
I didn't like it at all when Barrons wasn't around for so long, and that was more often then I had expected. But this whole series moves ridiculously fast, so it doesn't phase me as much as I always think it will. It's the anticipation that keeps me going.
And the ending: WHAT THE EFFING HELL?????? GRUMBLE, GRUMBLE.
A recurring thought seems to be: "How can this possibly get ANY better!" and then it does.
Another recurring thought: "How can this possibly get ANY worse?" and then it does.
I had to start Shadowfever before I wrote this review, because I had to at least know if it was who I thought it was. And that better not be permanent or I will hate KMM forever!
I'm not happy about the ending but I'm happy about the book, and the series, and generally about my love for Barrons!
Well, back to my happy dance. And if you want to be happy too then READ THIS SERIES!!!
I'm doing the happy dance but I'm not happy about it.
Yeah, okay. So this is more of a scared and reserved happy dance but it sums up how I felt at the end.....
My review for the first book, Darkfever. Spoiler FREE.
For the second book, Bloodfever. Spoiler Alert!!!
The third book, Faefever. Spoiler FREE.
The fifth and final book, Shadowfever. Spoiler Alert!!!
Well, frak me, spank my petunia and call me Susie!! If your Jericho Barrons, that is. He could call me Susie, Fiona, Mac (Miss Lane if your nasty). Whatever the hell he wants to call me.
Gawd, if you thought Barrons was naughtee with double e's in the other books, I'm here to tell you that he is naughteeeeeee with infinite e's in this one!! Seriously, some of the other girls have already agreed with me that we need to find this man and spank him. So, who's with me? SO SAY WE ALL! Sorry, I know I keep throwing Battlestar Galactica references in her but I only because I love these books so much! They are EPIC. Epic like Battlestar.
Oh by the way, Barrons, who's your favorite little rascal?
Is it................ Spanky??
One of my favorite scenes between Barrons and Mac:
He shakes me. "Say my name."
"No."
"Damn it, would you just cooperate."
"I do not know that word, 'cooperate.' "
"Obviously," he growls.
"I think you make up words."
"I do not make up words."
"Do, too."
"Do not."
"Too."
"Not."
I laugh.
"Woman, you make me crazed," he mutters.
A perfect summary of their relationship. Simple, yet intensely complicated.
Okay so I'm not usually a strictly romance or erotic book reader. I like some tenderness to my meatballs. I do NOT like them overdone. This is faaaaar from overdone. There was tons of set-up and build-up before anything close to an explicit scene happens and even THEN, it is still under certain unnamed extenuating circumstances. And the tension and passion is honestly the most intense thing I have yet to read. If you are at all uncomfortable reading about sexual situations, then this is not for you. Not at all. Maybe the first three, but then, by the time you get to this one -- you may be changing your tune.
This woman really knows how to throw spikes at you at exactly the right moment, making you unable to dodge them. She loves her cliffhangers, and I am hanging on every word.
Up until chapter three, I was a little ticked. I did not like the alternate perspective that we were getting. The thoughts were fragmented and childish. I like her as a character but not as a perspective character.
After that, geez, I was going crazy. Barrons is so effing hot. When she describes the sound he makes.... Whew! Anyway..... I think a visual aid is in order.
Hummina, hummina. Humminaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
I'm sorry but I had to post this guy, too. He has the long hair. And look at those eyes.
[image error]
I didn't like it at all when Barrons wasn't around for so long, and that was more often then I had expected. But this whole series moves ridiculously fast, so it doesn't phase me as much as I always think it will. It's the anticipation that keeps me going.
And the ending: WHAT THE EFFING HELL?????? GRUMBLE, GRUMBLE.
A recurring thought seems to be: "How can this possibly get ANY better!" and then it does.
Another recurring thought: "How can this possibly get ANY worse?" and then it does.
I had to start Shadowfever before I wrote this review, because I had to at least know if it was who I thought it was. And that better not be permanent or I will hate KMM forever!
I'm not happy about the ending but I'm happy about the book, and the series, and generally about my love for Barrons!
Well, back to my happy dance. And if you want to be happy too then READ THIS SERIES!!!
I'm doing the happy dance but I'm not happy about it.
Yeah, okay. So this is more of a scared and reserved happy dance but it sums up how I felt at the end.....
My review for the first book, Darkfever. Spoiler FREE.
For the second book, Bloodfever. Spoiler Alert!!!
The third book, Faefever. Spoiler FREE.
The fifth and final book, Shadowfever. Spoiler Alert!!!
January 29, 2021
Have I ever read a more wrenching cliffhanger? Don’t think so.
_________
WTH? Who ends books like this? What was the point? As if I wouldn't read Shadowfever without this awful cliffhanger. Dreamfever's cliffhanger ending really touched my nerve. I was barely able to tolerate Faefever's mid-scene cut-off, mainly because I had the next installment readily available to me, but this time I have to wait for almost 6 months to see what happens! Pardon my language, but that's a fecked up thing to do to the readers!
Ok, I am going to calm down now.
Dreamfever starts where Faefever left off. Mac is in the hands of 3 Unseelie Princes and one unknown entity and is being turned Pri-ya. She is almost dead and finally saved by none other than Dani. Soon Barrons shows up to get a hold of his OOP detector and to administer his special Pri-ya "medicine." He succeeds, and Mac emerges after her ordeal, once again, a changed person. What follows is familiar to us non-stop chase for the Book, the Hallows, the answers, only this chase is more urgent because the world is literally crumbling down under the assault of the Unseelie.
Dreamfever is another very readable book full of excellent lore, mysterious characters and adventure.
At the same time this installment caused me more angst than any other book in the Fever series. It is dark, dark, dark. Pri-ya Mac and her "relationship" with Barrons totally depressed me, because I love the two together and simply hated to see them finally get together in such a messed-up way.
My other complaints are in tune with those of other readers:
- Give me some answers finally! I've read 4 books out of 5 and I still have more questions than answers. How can they all be answered in the last book?
- The structure of the last two books in not satisfying. They don't read like separate books and should have been plotted tighter. For instance, Dani's chapters in Dreamfever were totally unnecessary. Too much plodding around and no sufficient build-up to climaxes. And the cliffhangers!
In spite of my complaints, I still enjoyed the book immensely and dying to finally have all my questions answered. I just hope Moning will be able to deliver the ending that will meet all readers' expectations.
P.S. It better NOT be Barrons!
_________
WTH? Who ends books like this? What was the point? As if I wouldn't read Shadowfever without this awful cliffhanger. Dreamfever's cliffhanger ending really touched my nerve. I was barely able to tolerate Faefever's mid-scene cut-off, mainly because I had the next installment readily available to me, but this time I have to wait for almost 6 months to see what happens! Pardon my language, but that's a fecked up thing to do to the readers!
Ok, I am going to calm down now.
Dreamfever starts where Faefever left off. Mac is in the hands of 3 Unseelie Princes and one unknown entity and is being turned Pri-ya. She is almost dead and finally saved by none other than Dani. Soon Barrons shows up to get a hold of his OOP detector and to administer his special Pri-ya "medicine." He succeeds, and Mac emerges after her ordeal, once again, a changed person. What follows is familiar to us non-stop chase for the Book, the Hallows, the answers, only this chase is more urgent because the world is literally crumbling down under the assault of the Unseelie.
Dreamfever is another very readable book full of excellent lore, mysterious characters and adventure.
At the same time this installment caused me more angst than any other book in the Fever series. It is dark, dark, dark. Pri-ya Mac and her "relationship" with Barrons totally depressed me, because I love the two together and simply hated to see them finally get together in such a messed-up way.
My other complaints are in tune with those of other readers:
- Give me some answers finally! I've read 4 books out of 5 and I still have more questions than answers. How can they all be answered in the last book?
- The structure of the last two books in not satisfying. They don't read like separate books and should have been plotted tighter. For instance, Dani's chapters in Dreamfever were totally unnecessary. Too much plodding around and no sufficient build-up to climaxes. And the cliffhangers!
In spite of my complaints, I still enjoyed the book immensely and dying to finally have all my questions answered. I just hope Moning will be able to deliver the ending that will meet all readers' expectations.
P.S. It better NOT be Barrons!
April 6, 2021
I am re-reading the series because the 1st time I obsessed over it and finished the first 5 books in 3 days. Now I am taking it slower, a book every few months. The flaws are more obvious but it still is very addictive. One of the best Urban Fantasy series out there and the best alpha male lead by far although I would run away from him in real life.
The beginning of this volume contains my favorite scenes in the whole series (of the 5 books that i read so far) and I still enjoyed reading it the 2nd time around. This novel was exactly what I needed to get out (hopefully) from a major reading slump. I really needed some lightness and fun in my reading.
****
I believe that a book that makes me to willingly wake up at 7:30 without snooze (not a morning person) and go to sleep at 2 deserves 5 stars. I thought I do not like this kind of books (never read Urban Fantasy/Paranormal romance before) but I was wrong. I will try not to make any more assumptions regarding what I enjoy in the future.
On to the next and final book with Mac as main character. Ok, by the time I write this review I am almost halfway done with it.
The beginning of this volume contains my favorite scenes in the whole series (of the 5 books that i read so far) and I still enjoyed reading it the 2nd time around. This novel was exactly what I needed to get out (hopefully) from a major reading slump. I really needed some lightness and fun in my reading.
****
I believe that a book that makes me to willingly wake up at 7:30 without snooze (not a morning person) and go to sleep at 2 deserves 5 stars. I thought I do not like this kind of books (never read Urban Fantasy/Paranormal romance before) but I was wrong. I will try not to make any more assumptions regarding what I enjoy in the future.
On to the next and final book with Mac as main character. Ok, by the time I write this review I am almost halfway done with it.
December 28, 2010
When I finished this book, I jumped up and down on the bed, tossed junk on the floor and screamed. I pulled at my hair and threw pillows mercilessly at the wall, annoyed that they didn't BREAK the wall and only landed with a less than satisfying thud before tumbling to the ground.
This was an excellent book, as all the others are, with deep and interesting characters, character growth, a brave new world to explore with excellent writing, as I've come to expect from Ms. Moning. Rich in language (though I wish she'd ease up on two words: demarcation and irrevocably (I wish OTHER authors would stop abusing the latter as well but that's a story for another day)).
The book is fast paced, action packed and full of the kind of rich, original and immersive story each of the previous books have enjoyed.
I thoroughly recommend this series.
Except for the freakin' endings! This book has the worst case of cliff-hanger fever I've ever seen! KMM, the last book better wrap up nice and neat or I am seriously going to lose my cool.
This was an excellent book, as all the others are, with deep and interesting characters, character growth, a brave new world to explore with excellent writing, as I've come to expect from Ms. Moning. Rich in language (though I wish she'd ease up on two words: demarcation and irrevocably (I wish OTHER authors would stop abusing the latter as well but that's a story for another day)).
The book is fast paced, action packed and full of the kind of rich, original and immersive story each of the previous books have enjoyed.
I thoroughly recommend this series.
Except for the freakin' endings! This book has the worst case of cliff-hanger fever I've ever seen! KMM, the last book better wrap up nice and neat or I am seriously going to lose my cool.
April 1, 2021
3.5 stars
Everything that I liked in the past books, started to annoy me in this one.
I’ll get to the specifics in a bit but first I have to say that this instalment was probably the most action packed, steamy, crazy and overall faster paced. So why did it grate on my nerves?
Because, for the past 3 books I was okay with slow. I was okay with being in the dark and discovering everything bit by bit along with Mac.
Buuuuuut there’s a limit to how much you can string me along and frustrate me before I’m ready to tap out. It’s not longer fun. It’s exhausting.
There were so many situations in this book which warranted more answers, which perhaps should have been awarded more importance? I’m tired of word games
(which I loved immensely in the first 3 parts). I’m tired of philosophical nuggets, and end of the world epiphanies.
Don’t get me wrong, I still like Mac, I don’t have an issue with her pace of doing things. I’m just frustrated she doesn’t have enough info already. I’m frustrated that everyone wants to use her yet she has to pry her answers to any seemingly inconsequential question. I get why the evasive nature of the characters, but it’s not enough to make me ok with having read 4 books and being none the wiser.
I love this kind of fantasy story which unravels bit by bit, but I don’t like it when I get all my answers at the end. It ends being an enjoyable reading experience and more of a chore to get to the end so that I can know.
Another thing, the author made a big deal about Mac trying to preserve part of her by wearing all the pink she can get and accessorising her outfits to her nail polish BUT I felt like she didn’t deal enough with the situation Mac was in after the end of book 3.
I’m talking about the thing that happened and then what had to happen after in order to get her back from zombieland.
I get that she had priorities and she was also tougher, and it’s not like I’m blaming Barrons but I am saying she should have been the Mac we knew and said and perhaps done more, the way she always did.
To conclude, I also have to confess, that because this book frustrated me so much, I couldn’t help myself. I peaked at some spoilers for the next one and WOW. I didn’t really expect that.
Still can’t wait to read the next, mostly because I know everything is gonna be wrapped up and revealed.
Everything that I liked in the past books, started to annoy me in this one.
I’ll get to the specifics in a bit but first I have to say that this instalment was probably the most action packed, steamy, crazy and overall faster paced. So why did it grate on my nerves?
Because, for the past 3 books I was okay with slow. I was okay with being in the dark and discovering everything bit by bit along with Mac.
Buuuuuut there’s a limit to how much you can string me along and frustrate me before I’m ready to tap out. It’s not longer fun. It’s exhausting.
There were so many situations in this book which warranted more answers, which perhaps should have been awarded more importance? I’m tired of word games
(which I loved immensely in the first 3 parts). I’m tired of philosophical nuggets, and end of the world epiphanies.
Don’t get me wrong, I still like Mac, I don’t have an issue with her pace of doing things. I’m just frustrated she doesn’t have enough info already. I’m frustrated that everyone wants to use her yet she has to pry her answers to any seemingly inconsequential question. I get why the evasive nature of the characters, but it’s not enough to make me ok with having read 4 books and being none the wiser.
I love this kind of fantasy story which unravels bit by bit, but I don’t like it when I get all my answers at the end. It ends being an enjoyable reading experience and more of a chore to get to the end so that I can know.
Another thing, the author made a big deal about Mac trying to preserve part of her by wearing all the pink she can get and accessorising her outfits to her nail polish BUT I felt like she didn’t deal enough with the situation Mac was in after the end of book 3.
I’m talking about the thing that happened and then what had to happen after in order to get her back from zombieland.
I get that she had priorities and she was also tougher, and it’s not like I’m blaming Barrons but I am saying she should have been the Mac we knew and said and perhaps done more, the way she always did.
To conclude, I also have to confess, that because this book frustrated me so much, I couldn’t help myself. I peaked at some spoilers for the next one and WOW. I didn’t really expect that.
Still can’t wait to read the next, mostly because I know everything is gonna be wrapped up and revealed.
December 4, 2013
In my experience, sensory discordance has almost always been limited to audio/visual. For example, seeing Orlando Bloom and Viggo Mortensen (Legolas and Aragorn, to the uninformed---I weep for you) standing next to Peter Jackson. Or maybe drifting off to sleep to the soothing sound of a solo violin, only to be blasted awake by the some angry riffs of Japanese hair metal that for some fucking reason I idiotically decided I want included in my "sleepytime" playlist a few days back.
I didn't know that I could be so rudely jolted out of a reverie while reading a book until I read the opening chapters of Dreamfever. We start with Mac, who is not Mac, who is Pri-ya, and being raped by the Four Unseelie Princes. She is incoherent with unwanted lust, her mind wrestling with the horrifying effects of fae glamour. Her mind, her body is being violated, she can barely remember who she is.
And then---like a hopelessly lost marching band that has somehow wandered into a Rachmaninoff concerto, Dani appears. Well, feck me! How diddly ho, dudes! We're gonna fecking hunt us some fecking fey right fecking NOW with my supercool supersword!!
As I said. Discordance. 10 pages later, I'd had it. It was only after a friend told me that Dani was only the narrator for the first few chapters that I picked it up again. My god, Ms. Moning, I don't know whether to hate you or to congratulate you on the fact that you wrote a character so convincingly annoying that I wanted to strangle her on the spot. Did I ever hate Mac for using petunias and daisies as swear words? I take it back. Fecking this and fecking that takes the fucking cake for pissing me off every time.
I question the presence and the age of Dani in the novel, I really do. Was it so necessary to make her 13 years old? Was it so necessary to insert a girl who is little more than a child into a book that is so utterly adult in its darkness, in its intensity, in its sexuality? Was it so necessary to make her so utterly immature and at the same time, so completely competent in her capabilities and super(ha!)natural abilities? I understand that Mac needs someone to care for, that she needs someone relatively uncomplicated (because Barrons and V'lane is more than any woman can simultaneously handle) to look after, to be an alternate sibling. I understand that Dani's shell is a cover, in parts, for her dark past, for being forced to grow old before her time.
But 13 year old Dani, really? I would raise an eyebrow at the insertion of a 16-year old companion to Mac. But a 13 years old...and such a caricature of an annoying, overly sexual teenager. It is just too much, and I don't know if I can handle the next book if there is more of Dani, in the role of narrator, in it.
I really don't know how to feel about this book, and maybe that is part of the series' charms. I absolutely loved the first 50% of the book, I absolutely hated the utter pointlessness of the Silver in the last 25%.
I loved Mac and her bravery, I was there with her as she struggles with herself, her distant, vague recollections, her struggles with memory, her amnesia, her inexplicable distress at hearing the word "sister." I was intrigued when observing black Mac, Mac 4.0. I enjoyed seeing her wrestle, often with futility, verbally and physically (and sexually) with Barrons. I cheered when Mac returned to us. I always love it when I see my heroine snap out of a "state," be it comatose, be it grieef, be it amnesia. That moment when she wakes up, and gets ready to kick some fucking ass is a thing of beauty.
I had hoped that this would be the book that settled it once and for all: is Khanh on Team Barrons? Nope, he's still a complex douchebag to me. If anything I'm even MORE confused on how I feel towards him. On the one hand, he did something pretty despicable in my eyes: he sleeps with Mac, without her consent. It was Mac, but it was not Mac. Mac was under a spell, she was Pri-ya, driven almost insane by the fae, and is now in a desperate state of lust. Mac has amnesia, she does not remember anything. It took Barrons weeks to reteach her English. Yet he has sex with her anyway.
The last half of this book was a letdown. It felt random as hell, and I felt there was no point to plopping Mac smack in the middle of another realm. She also made a pretty dumb decision that I thought was more Mac 1.0 than Mac 4.0, she knows how valuable she is, she knows the Lord Master is baiting her, and she decides to take the bait because of her chivalrous need to save her parents. I want Mac 3.0 back.
Is it wrong of me to want more destruction? The world is in pieces, but it never felt like it. I wanted more descriptions of the horror. I wanted more blood, more death. Instead, I got a freaking World After scenario in the Aerie with freaking human girl groupies waiting to pleasure the fucking (I keep wanting to say fecking now, thanks a lot, Dani) Fae. The destruction of the world never felt enough, it never felt completely urgent, it never felt horrifying to me. Maybe I'm just immune to violence now, but I wanted more of it.
It was still a good book, but I feel very let down by the actions of the characters of whom I had grown fond.
I didn't know that I could be so rudely jolted out of a reverie while reading a book until I read the opening chapters of Dreamfever. We start with Mac, who is not Mac, who is Pri-ya, and being raped by the Four Unseelie Princes. She is incoherent with unwanted lust, her mind wrestling with the horrifying effects of fae glamour. Her mind, her body is being violated, she can barely remember who she is.
Who the fuck are you?The situation is appalling, and I an rather outraged at myself for loving her inner monologue in this moment, but it can't be helped. Mac's voice, her inner thoughts, are so beautifully written that I am at doubts with myself.
Here on the floor, in my final moments—MacKayla Lane’s last grand hurrah—I see that the answer is all I’ve ever been.
I’m nobody.
And then---like a hopelessly lost marching band that has somehow wandered into a Rachmaninoff concerto, Dani appears. Well, feck me! How diddly ho, dudes! We're gonna fecking hunt us some fecking fey right fecking NOW with my supercool supersword!!
As I said. Discordance. 10 pages later, I'd had it. It was only after a friend told me that Dani was only the narrator for the first few chapters that I picked it up again. My god, Ms. Moning, I don't know whether to hate you or to congratulate you on the fact that you wrote a character so convincingly annoying that I wanted to strangle her on the spot. Did I ever hate Mac for using petunias and daisies as swear words? I take it back. Fecking this and fecking that takes the fucking cake for pissing me off every time.
I question the presence and the age of Dani in the novel, I really do. Was it so necessary to make her 13 years old? Was it so necessary to insert a girl who is little more than a child into a book that is so utterly adult in its darkness, in its intensity, in its sexuality? Was it so necessary to make her so utterly immature and at the same time, so completely competent in her capabilities and super(ha!)natural abilities? I understand that Mac needs someone to care for, that she needs someone relatively uncomplicated (because Barrons and V'lane is more than any woman can simultaneously handle) to look after, to be an alternate sibling. I understand that Dani's shell is a cover, in parts, for her dark past, for being forced to grow old before her time.
But 13 year old Dani, really? I would raise an eyebrow at the insertion of a 16-year old companion to Mac. But a 13 years old...and such a caricature of an annoying, overly sexual teenager. It is just too much, and I don't know if I can handle the next book if there is more of Dani, in the role of narrator, in it.
I really don't know how to feel about this book, and maybe that is part of the series' charms. I absolutely loved the first 50% of the book, I absolutely hated the utter pointlessness of the Silver in the last 25%.
I loved Mac and her bravery, I was there with her as she struggles with herself, her distant, vague recollections, her struggles with memory, her amnesia, her inexplicable distress at hearing the word "sister." I was intrigued when observing black Mac, Mac 4.0. I enjoyed seeing her wrestle, often with futility, verbally and physically (and sexually) with Barrons. I cheered when Mac returned to us. I always love it when I see my heroine snap out of a "state," be it comatose, be it grieef, be it amnesia. That moment when she wakes up, and gets ready to kick some fucking ass is a thing of beauty.
With an explosive inhalation, I snap upright in bed, and my eyes fly open—like coming alive after being dead and interred in a coffin.And she is pissed. Understandably so. Fucking Barrons. Fucking V'lane. Fucking useless, the lot of them. One of the rare moments in which I actually agreed with Dani is her observation of how completely fucking useless Barrons had been in protecting Mac.
I am Mac.
And I’m back.
And Barrons—what’s his deal? Doesn’t he want her alive? Why have they all abandoned her when she needs ‘em the most?
Men.
Dude, they suck.
I had hoped that this would be the book that settled it once and for all: is Khanh on Team Barrons? Nope, he's still a complex douchebag to me. If anything I'm even MORE confused on how I feel towards him. On the one hand, he did something pretty despicable in my eyes: he sleeps with Mac, without her consent. It was Mac, but it was not Mac. Mac was under a spell, she was Pri-ya, driven almost insane by the fae, and is now in a desperate state of lust. Mac has amnesia, she does not remember anything. It took Barrons weeks to reteach her English. Yet he has sex with her anyway.
“I was out of my mind. I’d never have done it otherwise.”I agree with her. One may argue that it's pretty hard to resist a naked girl who's crawling around begging to be fucked, but this is Jericho fucking Barrons; I expect better of him, I have higher expectations of him. He had never crossed that line with Mac before, and he let me down by doing so now, and I think I hate him more as a result. Yes, what he did to help Mac recover her memories was pretty sweet, he painted her nails, he replicated her room, etc. It's not enough. He didn't have to screw Mac without her conscious consent.
Really, his dark eyes mocked, and in them I was demanding more, telling him I wanted it to always be this way.
I remembered what he’d replied: that one day I would wonder if it was possible to hate him more.
“I had no awareness. No choice.” I searched for words to drive my point home. “It was every bit as much rape as what the Unseelie Princes did to me.”
The last half of this book was a letdown. It felt random as hell, and I felt there was no point to plopping Mac smack in the middle of another realm. She also made a pretty dumb decision that I thought was more Mac 1.0 than Mac 4.0, she knows how valuable she is, she knows the Lord Master is baiting her, and she decides to take the bait because of her chivalrous need to save her parents. I want Mac 3.0 back.
Is it wrong of me to want more destruction? The world is in pieces, but it never felt like it. I wanted more descriptions of the horror. I wanted more blood, more death. Instead, I got a freaking World After scenario in the Aerie with freaking human girl groupies waiting to pleasure the fucking (I keep wanting to say fecking now, thanks a lot, Dani) Fae. The destruction of the world never felt enough, it never felt completely urgent, it never felt horrifying to me. Maybe I'm just immune to violence now, but I wanted more of it.
It was still a good book, but I feel very let down by the actions of the characters of whom I had grown fond.
January 29, 2018
Maybe in the moment of being born and the moment of dying, we're nearer to pure. Maybe it's the only time we're ever still enough to feel that there's something bigger than us; something that defeats entropy; that has always been and will always be. A thing that cant be flipped. Call it what you will.
I only know it's divine.
"Divine" sums up my opinion of this series pretty well. Every installment only gets more fascinating, more convoluted, more addicting. I have no idea how I managed to wait several months for the release of book 5 the first time I read the series.
As for the cliffhanger -
November 13, 2013
4.5 stars
WOW, great start to this one.
BARRONS
MAC
I always wanted to own a bookshop when I was younger. I was raised on books, no ipods, mac books, ipads, PCs, kindles for lil’ ol’ me. It was Enid Blyton all the way.
Doubt if many bookstores like this even exist anymore, the chains have taken over, the Chapters, the Waterstones, the Easons, the Barnes and Nobles.
I felt kinda sorry for the monster who had protected her...
Where in God’s name was she?
ANYONE coming to the rescue, anytime soon?
The first part of the book was great, it kind of waned a bit in the middle before we got to an explosive ending…
Off to start …
WOW, great start to this one.
BARRONS
MAC
I always wanted to own a bookshop when I was younger. I was raised on books, no ipods, mac books, ipads, PCs, kindles for lil’ ol’ me. It was Enid Blyton all the way.
Doubt if many bookstores like this even exist anymore, the chains have taken over, the Chapters, the Waterstones, the Easons, the Barnes and Nobles.
“Our sex is fierce. We will both be bruised.
"I want it to always be like this," I tell him.
"Try holding onto that thought."
"I do not need to try. I will never feel differently."
His laughter is as dark and cold as the place of which I dream, "One day you will wonder if it's possible to hate me more.”
“He shakes me.
"Say my name."
"No."
"Damn it,would you just cooperate?"
"I do not know that word, 'cooperate.'"
"Obviously," he growls.
"I think you make up words."
"I do not make up words."
"Do,too."
"Do not."
"Too."
"Not."
I laugh ….
"Woman you make me crazed," he mutters.
We do this often.
Get into childish arguments.
He is stubborn,my beast.”
I FELT AS IF I’d SLIPPED DOWN ONE OF ALICE’s HOLES
Yes, I was feeling sorry for myself. Fecking A, as Dani would say, who wouldn’t at this point?
PAIN PLEASURE DELIGHT TORTURE LOVE HATE LAUGHTER DESPAIR BEAUTY HORROR HOPE GRIEF
I felt kinda sorry for the monster who had protected her...
Where in God’s name was she?
ANYONE coming to the rescue, anytime soon?
The first part of the book was great, it kind of waned a bit in the middle before we got to an explosive ending…
Off to start …
October 14, 2010
I don't get it. Why does it always seem so essential that strong,independent heroines must be treated to a life-altering,almost always traumatic experience in order to come into full bloom? Is it not possible that strength of character is naturally-occuring,not forced out by necessity? Must it always come down to something? It is something I have encountered in one too many books lately.
That's what really bothered me in Dreamfever.I absolutely love the Fever series and had grown extremely fond of Mac and her gradual coming of age,of strenghts.A painful,humiliating incident takes that slow and realistic development and turns into a full 180-degree turn.It's cliched.It's redundant.
I am not okay with sexual abuse in books, but that is a personal preference and I don't consider it a minus of the novel. What I am not okay with is when it is used so readily as a plot and character device. Mac not only loses her mind,she suffers a complete and utter tranformation. She is now a "badass", a sarcastic, leather-clad, cynical chick.I do not understand why such a change would need to occur in the first place,but even so, the manner of it was downright insulting to me.
That said, have another confession.I really hate Jericho Barrons.::ducks for cover:: I know,I know,I'm probably the only one but I cant' help it.The guy just pisses me off.I swear a part of me kept screaming "Just pound his dark-eyed,high-cheekboned,fully-lipped face in!*Not* a time to be an adult!" Yes, throughout the series we are treated into tantalising little insights to his character and his true feelings,and I have to admit that Jericho is indeed a most intriguing and thorough creation.But I absolutely don't consider him a good romantic interest. He is harsh, cruel and outright abusive to Mac. The mocking comments about Mac's gang rape and her subsequent loss of self? I was horrified. Horrified. I get where he's coming from,but that is no excuse.
I used to love these books, I really did,and perhaps that's why this installment disappointed me so much. Then again, it's just my opinion. :)
That's what really bothered me in Dreamfever.I absolutely love the Fever series and had grown extremely fond of Mac and her gradual coming of age,of strenghts.A painful,humiliating incident takes that slow and realistic development and turns into a full 180-degree turn.It's cliched.It's redundant.
I am not okay with sexual abuse in books, but that is a personal preference and I don't consider it a minus of the novel. What I am not okay with is when it is used so readily as a plot and character device. Mac not only loses her mind,she suffers a complete and utter tranformation. She is now a "badass", a sarcastic, leather-clad, cynical chick.I do not understand why such a change would need to occur in the first place,but even so, the manner of it was downright insulting to me.
That said, have another confession.I really hate Jericho Barrons.::ducks for cover:: I know,I know,I'm probably the only one but I cant' help it.The guy just pisses me off.I swear a part of me kept screaming "Just pound his dark-eyed,high-cheekboned,fully-lipped face in!*Not* a time to be an adult!" Yes, throughout the series we are treated into tantalising little insights to his character and his true feelings,and I have to admit that Jericho is indeed a most intriguing and thorough creation.But I absolutely don't consider him a good romantic interest. He is harsh, cruel and outright abusive to Mac. The mocking comments about Mac's gang rape and her subsequent loss of self? I was horrified. Horrified. I get where he's coming from,but that is no excuse.
I used to love these books, I really did,and perhaps that's why this installment disappointed me so much. Then again, it's just my opinion. :)
December 4, 2013
For those who don't have Facebook and didn't see this . . .
Moning posted a deleted scene from Dreamfever on her Facebook page on 4/21/13. Here it is in full, but be warned, it is spoilery unless you've read all of Dreamfever:
Deleted Scene/DREAMFEVER
“You’re not the only fucking one that got branded!” Barrons slammed his fist into the wall behind my head. Bits of plaster dusted my shoulders.
Oh, really? I wasn’t the only one walking around with a mark on me I didn’t want? Our gazes locked and I jerked. Was he letting me see this, or had intimacy given me a window into his soul. As if he had one. He deserved no less. He hadn’t done it to save me. He’d had sex with me because it was the only way he could continue using me. He’d had sex with me to steal my services back from his enemies at Camp Pri-ya.
And for the first time since the morning he’d gotten up and walked out, leaving me painfully, horrifically aware of both who I was and where I was—in Jericho Barron’s lust-drenched bed on the verge of begging him not to leave me while in full possession of my senses--I could see that it hadn’t left him nearly as untouched as I’d thought. As he’d led me to think.
I searched his face. Beneath his left eye, a tiny muscle contracted, smoothed, contracted again. That minute betrayal was Barron’s equivalent of a normal person having a full-blown hissy fit. Oh, no, far from untouched. Had he stood outside my door as I’d stood outside his, fists at his sides, lips drawn back? Did it have him as bad as it had me? Was it eating at him, gnawing at him with the same sharp vicious little teeth that wouldn’t let me sleep?
Yes, it was. I could see the rage of insatiable, uninvited lust in every line of that dark, stoic face that had once been too subtly etched for me to read. I wasn’t the only one lying awake at night, fevered with memories, tossing, turning, soaking my sheets, burning up--not for Fae sex, but him, damn it all to hell, him.
Remembering being too naked in body and soul, trembling with need. Backing to him, a wild animal. Later, straddling him, holding him down and demanding more and more because Jericho Barrons couldn‘t be depleted. Of anything. Whatever he was. He was without limit.
He hadn’t erased the Fae Princes’ marks--he’d burned his own into them until I could no longer discern the shape of the marks they‘d left. He‘d scarred their scars out of me with a bigger scar. The bastard. And if I’d managed to carve up some part of him in return—
“Good,” I said, hard and low. “Welcome to my world, Barrons. I hope it hurts like hell.”
His hand was on my throat and my back was to the wall. I couldn’t breathe. I didn’t need to. He was touching me. Two enormous magnets, repelling and attracting; a manifest of nature, not a matter of will at all. The air between us crackled with energy. Did I smell flesh burning?
“Good?” he said softly, and staring into those black eyes was like staring down the shadowy, demon-littered corridor of the Unseelie mirror in his study. “You think it’s good to have something like me obsessed with you? My dear, dear, bloody idiotic, suicidal Ms. Lane, you have no fucking idea what’s gotten the scent of you in its nostrils, what has the taste of you in its blood, or you’d run. You’d run for what little remains of what you think of as your life.”
He whirled, long black coat fluttering, was out the door, and gone.
I stared into the deepening twilight into which he’d disappeared. Nightfall was painting the stone walkway one of those new Fae shades that hadn’t existed before the walls had come crashing down around our ears; a dreamy silvery-violet, spider-webbed with moonbeams that was eerily beautiful. I shivered. I hated the new colors. They were….somehow just…wrong.
I shook it off.
Obsessed, Barrons had said.
I smiled. Good.
Okay, and this was deleted why?! It's fecking awesome and HOT!
Original review:
Behold, I give to you my reaction to the first 50 pages of Dreamfever:
#*$@%*%@$@&$*(@!>?<#&WTF?*faints*#**&^@!$%^#%^7053 .........................!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
More on that later.
Remember when I said in my review for Darkfever that I wasn't
as batshit crazy over Barrons as most people but that I eventually would be? That day has come, my friend. With each book I've grown to love him more and more. I've slowly learned how he operates and slowly become used to his ways of doing things. And let me tell you, they're anything but conventional. Barrons isn't like any leading male character that you will encounter in any genre. Simply put, he's one of a kind. Barrons is the type of character where you have to stay very open minded upon meeting him else you'll be offended almost immediately. I almost was, myself. But patience and keeping an open mind will pay off.
The thing about Barrons is, most of the time, he's rude, insensitive, stoic, and, at times, barbaric. But despite all of this he's become one of my very favorite male characters. If Ms. Moning ever chose to write a story solely about him, I'd be the first person at the bookstore to buy it.
Mac's character continues to surprise me and she'll always be a favorite of mine. The only idiotic err she made in this was at the end. How could she NOT know that he was the beast? I mean, come on! I started to figure that out in book 1! I thought that that was a simple 2 + 2 = 4 equation, but apparently I was wrong. I don't know what Mac was thinking.
Since reading Darkfever I've been thinking that it's Barrons keeping his and Mac's nonexistent relationship from ever becoming something more. I was wrong. Dreamfever shows you something else. In Dreamfever we see that while Barrons is often times aloof and hard for Mac to understand, he's been wanting Mac for quite some time. You see that if Mac would just take her foot out of her ass and take what she really wants (let's be honest with ourselves, she wants Barrons -- Who in their right mind doesn't, anyway?) she'd be a hell of a lot happier and less confused. Besides the beginning that I dare you to only read once, there're quite a few luscious little moments between these two that I really enjoyed. One of them was this:
"I'll snoop anywhere I damned well please, Ms. Lane. I'll
snoop inside your skin if I feel like it."
"You just try," I said, eyes narrowing.
He moved forward in one swift, violent lunge but caught him-
self and locked down hard.
I mirrored the move, without conscious thought at all, as if our
bodies were connected by puppet strings. Lunged forward, froze.
Fisted my hands at my sides. They wanted to touch him. I looked
down. His hands were fisted, too.
I uncurled my hands and crossed my arms.
He crossed his at exactly the same moment.
We both practically flung them down at our sides.
We stared at each other.
The silence lengthened.
You could cut the sexual tension with a knife. I found that scene to be both adorable and frustrating.
Dreamfever is easily my favorite of the series thus far because even though it's not under the circumstances I would've liked, Barrons and Mac finally get intimate. And, all jokes aside, I cried during parts of those scenes. This is one of the parts that really got to me:
He touches my face.
There is something different in his touch. It feels like he's saying good-bye, and I know a moment of panic. But my dream sky darkens and sleep's moon fills the horizon.
"Don't leave me." I thrash in the sheets.
"I'm not, Mac."
I know I am dreaming then, because dreams are home to the absurd and what he says next is beyond absurd.
"You're leaving me, Rainbow Girl."
If you've read this then you know what that is referring to and you
know what it means for Barrons to say something like that.
Yep, I'm a complete sap and I'm not afraid to admit it; I went from
having totally inappropriate/appropriate feelings while reading that
scene to crying to the point where I could no longer make out the
words on the page.
Any author that can make me feel such contrary emotions juxtaposing within the same scene is at the top tier in my opinion.
Bottom line, Dreamfever is fantastic, this whole series is fantastic, and Ms. Moning herself is one fantastic writer.
Here's to hoping that Shadowfever won't disappoint. Cheers, fellow Fever fans!
Moning posted a deleted scene from Dreamfever on her Facebook page on 4/21/13. Here it is in full, but be warned, it is spoilery unless you've read all of Dreamfever:
Deleted Scene/DREAMFEVER
“You’re not the only fucking one that got branded!” Barrons slammed his fist into the wall behind my head. Bits of plaster dusted my shoulders.
Oh, really? I wasn’t the only one walking around with a mark on me I didn’t want? Our gazes locked and I jerked. Was he letting me see this, or had intimacy given me a window into his soul. As if he had one. He deserved no less. He hadn’t done it to save me. He’d had sex with me because it was the only way he could continue using me. He’d had sex with me to steal my services back from his enemies at Camp Pri-ya.
And for the first time since the morning he’d gotten up and walked out, leaving me painfully, horrifically aware of both who I was and where I was—in Jericho Barron’s lust-drenched bed on the verge of begging him not to leave me while in full possession of my senses--I could see that it hadn’t left him nearly as untouched as I’d thought. As he’d led me to think.
I searched his face. Beneath his left eye, a tiny muscle contracted, smoothed, contracted again. That minute betrayal was Barron’s equivalent of a normal person having a full-blown hissy fit. Oh, no, far from untouched. Had he stood outside my door as I’d stood outside his, fists at his sides, lips drawn back? Did it have him as bad as it had me? Was it eating at him, gnawing at him with the same sharp vicious little teeth that wouldn’t let me sleep?
Yes, it was. I could see the rage of insatiable, uninvited lust in every line of that dark, stoic face that had once been too subtly etched for me to read. I wasn’t the only one lying awake at night, fevered with memories, tossing, turning, soaking my sheets, burning up--not for Fae sex, but him, damn it all to hell, him.
Remembering being too naked in body and soul, trembling with need. Backing to him, a wild animal. Later, straddling him, holding him down and demanding more and more because Jericho Barrons couldn‘t be depleted. Of anything. Whatever he was. He was without limit.
He hadn’t erased the Fae Princes’ marks--he’d burned his own into them until I could no longer discern the shape of the marks they‘d left. He‘d scarred their scars out of me with a bigger scar. The bastard. And if I’d managed to carve up some part of him in return—
“Good,” I said, hard and low. “Welcome to my world, Barrons. I hope it hurts like hell.”
His hand was on my throat and my back was to the wall. I couldn’t breathe. I didn’t need to. He was touching me. Two enormous magnets, repelling and attracting; a manifest of nature, not a matter of will at all. The air between us crackled with energy. Did I smell flesh burning?
“Good?” he said softly, and staring into those black eyes was like staring down the shadowy, demon-littered corridor of the Unseelie mirror in his study. “You think it’s good to have something like me obsessed with you? My dear, dear, bloody idiotic, suicidal Ms. Lane, you have no fucking idea what’s gotten the scent of you in its nostrils, what has the taste of you in its blood, or you’d run. You’d run for what little remains of what you think of as your life.”
He whirled, long black coat fluttering, was out the door, and gone.
I stared into the deepening twilight into which he’d disappeared. Nightfall was painting the stone walkway one of those new Fae shades that hadn’t existed before the walls had come crashing down around our ears; a dreamy silvery-violet, spider-webbed with moonbeams that was eerily beautiful. I shivered. I hated the new colors. They were….somehow just…wrong.
I shook it off.
Obsessed, Barrons had said.
I smiled. Good.
Okay, and this was deleted why?! It's fecking awesome and HOT!
Original review:
Behold, I give to you my reaction to the first 50 pages of Dreamfever:
#*$@%*%@$@&$*(@!>?<#&WTF?*faints*#**&^@!$%^#%^7053 .........................!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
More on that later.
Remember when I said in my review for Darkfever that I wasn't
as batshit crazy over Barrons as most people but that I eventually would be? That day has come, my friend. With each book I've grown to love him more and more. I've slowly learned how he operates and slowly become used to his ways of doing things. And let me tell you, they're anything but conventional. Barrons isn't like any leading male character that you will encounter in any genre. Simply put, he's one of a kind. Barrons is the type of character where you have to stay very open minded upon meeting him else you'll be offended almost immediately. I almost was, myself. But patience and keeping an open mind will pay off.
The thing about Barrons is, most of the time, he's rude, insensitive, stoic, and, at times, barbaric. But despite all of this he's become one of my very favorite male characters. If Ms. Moning ever chose to write a story solely about him, I'd be the first person at the bookstore to buy it.
Mac's character continues to surprise me and she'll always be a favorite of mine. The only idiotic err she made in this was at the end. How could she NOT know that he was the beast? I mean, come on! I started to figure that out in book 1! I thought that that was a simple 2 + 2 = 4 equation, but apparently I was wrong. I don't know what Mac was thinking.
Since reading Darkfever I've been thinking that it's Barrons keeping his and Mac's nonexistent relationship from ever becoming something more. I was wrong. Dreamfever shows you something else. In Dreamfever we see that while Barrons is often times aloof and hard for Mac to understand, he's been wanting Mac for quite some time. You see that if Mac would just take her foot out of her ass and take what she really wants (let's be honest with ourselves, she wants Barrons -- Who in their right mind doesn't, anyway?) she'd be a hell of a lot happier and less confused. Besides the beginning that I dare you to only read once, there're quite a few luscious little moments between these two that I really enjoyed. One of them was this:
"I'll snoop anywhere I damned well please, Ms. Lane. I'll
snoop inside your skin if I feel like it."
"You just try," I said, eyes narrowing.
He moved forward in one swift, violent lunge but caught him-
self and locked down hard.
I mirrored the move, without conscious thought at all, as if our
bodies were connected by puppet strings. Lunged forward, froze.
Fisted my hands at my sides. They wanted to touch him. I looked
down. His hands were fisted, too.
I uncurled my hands and crossed my arms.
He crossed his at exactly the same moment.
We both practically flung them down at our sides.
We stared at each other.
The silence lengthened.
You could cut the sexual tension with a knife. I found that scene to be both adorable and frustrating.
Dreamfever is easily my favorite of the series thus far because even though it's not under the circumstances I would've liked, Barrons and Mac finally get intimate. And, all jokes aside, I cried during parts of those scenes. This is one of the parts that really got to me:
He touches my face.
There is something different in his touch. It feels like he's saying good-bye, and I know a moment of panic. But my dream sky darkens and sleep's moon fills the horizon.
"Don't leave me." I thrash in the sheets.
"I'm not, Mac."
I know I am dreaming then, because dreams are home to the absurd and what he says next is beyond absurd.
"You're leaving me, Rainbow Girl."
If you've read this then you know what that is referring to and you
know what it means for Barrons to say something like that.
Yep, I'm a complete sap and I'm not afraid to admit it; I went from
having totally inappropriate/appropriate feelings while reading that
scene to crying to the point where I could no longer make out the
words on the page.
Any author that can make me feel such contrary emotions juxtaposing within the same scene is at the top tier in my opinion.
Bottom line, Dreamfever is fantastic, this whole series is fantastic, and Ms. Moning herself is one fantastic writer.
Here's to hoping that Shadowfever won't disappoint. Cheers, fellow Fever fans!
February 12, 2016
You tried, you really did. You thought that it would be enough, prayed that it would be enough. But it wasn’t. The four horsemen have come, the world as you know it is over and you had a front row seat for its demise.
But don’t worry, it gets worse. Your will has been stripped from you, you’ve been violated on every conceivable level, your enemies have turned you into a mindless slave and you’re totally and completely alone.
…or so you think.
What would you do in this situation? With the fate of the world resting on your shoulders would you curl up and die? Go quietly into the night because it’s easier? Surely someone else can fix it.
Or would you rage against death? Would you claw and scrape your way back to yourself, evolve into a creature that could stand on its own two feet, look the monsters in the eye and roar at them in defiance?
In Dreamfever we learn Mac’s answers to these questions. We see her fight her way back from the oblivion that is Priya with the aid of a man she never thought she could trust. What emerges from the cocoon they create is a creature we’ve only caught glimpses of before.
Savage Mac is here. And she hates pink.
In the early books Mac devoted massive amounts of time to painting her nails, matching accessories to rainbow colored outfits and spewing sunshine and flowers from her mouth. Always the optimist, never willing to let anyone’s cynicism browbeat her into frowning, Mac was a happy person, even while her life was going to hell. Now…not so much.
Now she chooses to wear uninterrupted black leather because it’s easy to sponge someone else’s death off the material and blood stains don’t show on it. Her accessories come in the form of automatic weapons and hard steel and she goes from spouting charming southern anecdotes to this:
“I could trust no one. Rely on nothing but myself.”
“I would never count on him again but I would use him if I could.”
This book is non-stop from the opening to the gut-wrenching cliffhanger it ends with. It doesn’t give you a single moment to just stop and take a fecking breath. It’s gritty, it’s sexy, it’s ugly, it’s funny, it’s infuriating. It answers none of your questions and leaves you yearning for even more answers than before. You’ll get them in the next book.
And your mind will be blown.
But don’t worry, it gets worse. Your will has been stripped from you, you’ve been violated on every conceivable level, your enemies have turned you into a mindless slave and you’re totally and completely alone.
…or so you think.
What would you do in this situation? With the fate of the world resting on your shoulders would you curl up and die? Go quietly into the night because it’s easier? Surely someone else can fix it.
Or would you rage against death? Would you claw and scrape your way back to yourself, evolve into a creature that could stand on its own two feet, look the monsters in the eye and roar at them in defiance?
In Dreamfever we learn Mac’s answers to these questions. We see her fight her way back from the oblivion that is Priya with the aid of a man she never thought she could trust. What emerges from the cocoon they create is a creature we’ve only caught glimpses of before.
Savage Mac is here. And she hates pink.
In the early books Mac devoted massive amounts of time to painting her nails, matching accessories to rainbow colored outfits and spewing sunshine and flowers from her mouth. Always the optimist, never willing to let anyone’s cynicism browbeat her into frowning, Mac was a happy person, even while her life was going to hell. Now…not so much.
Now she chooses to wear uninterrupted black leather because it’s easy to sponge someone else’s death off the material and blood stains don’t show on it. Her accessories come in the form of automatic weapons and hard steel and she goes from spouting charming southern anecdotes to this:
“I could trust no one. Rely on nothing but myself.”
“I would never count on him again but I would use him if I could.”
This book is non-stop from the opening to the gut-wrenching cliffhanger it ends with. It doesn’t give you a single moment to just stop and take a fecking breath. It’s gritty, it’s sexy, it’s ugly, it’s funny, it’s infuriating. It answers none of your questions and leaves you yearning for even more answers than before. You’ll get them in the next book.
And your mind will be blown.
July 24, 2018
Confirmado! A la Moning le gusta hacernos sufrir.... Y de qué manera! La conde'a... jaja
February 4, 2016
First reread with my girl Tanya, January 2015.
Think you'll be getting another review out of me after this reread? Think again. I don't have time for this. A dead beast awaits .
********
Original review: November 2014
Out of control buddy read with my MacHalo girls starting November, 24 2014.
Up until a few weeks ago, my life had been pretty much gif-less. I've always been one for words, not for silly images. I'm no longer 15 for God's sake! Well, that's what I was telling myself anyway. Then our insaneJZB Fever BR happened.
Hello. My name is Sarah and I'm a Fever Freak.
This will not be a very informative review. Nor will it be coherent. You have been warned. Abandon all sanity ye who enter here.
Fact #1: Mac kicks butt.
As some of you know, Mac has been public enemy #1 for me since Darkfever. Too much pink, too much silliness, too irritating, not enough badass. Well hallelujah because black is the new pink. Meet Mac 4.0, she kicks ass.
Fact #2: Chapter 4 & 5
Do we really have to go into this here?
Life will never be the same.
Fact #3: JZB
Because, you know, JZB.
Fact #4: V'Lane
No more bra on bra off games? Nooooooooooo!!!!! Whyyyyyyyyyyyyy?????????
Fact #5: Dani
I like you but will you please refrain from saying "fecking" and "dude" every two seconds?
Thank you.
Fact #6: the whole freaking book
Fact #7: All Hail the Mother of All Cliffhangers
Fact #8: love my Crazy Fever Freaks
Just do yourself a favour and read this series.
Think you'll be getting another review out of me after this reread? Think again. I don't have time for this. A dead beast awaits .
********
Original review: November 2014
Out of control buddy read with my MacHalo girls starting November, 24 2014.
Up until a few weeks ago, my life had been pretty much gif-less. I've always been one for words, not for silly images. I'm no longer 15 for God's sake! Well, that's what I was telling myself anyway. Then our insane
Hello. My name is Sarah and I'm a Fever Freak.
This will not be a very informative review. Nor will it be coherent. You have been warned. Abandon all sanity ye who enter here.
Fact #1: Mac kicks butt.
As some of you know, Mac has been public enemy #1 for me since Darkfever. Too much pink, too much silliness, too irritating, not enough badass. Well hallelujah because black is the new pink. Meet Mac 4.0, she kicks ass.
Fact #2: Chapter 4 & 5
Do we really have to go into this here?
Life will never be the same.
Fact #3: JZB
Because, you know, JZB.
Fact #4: V'Lane
No more bra on bra off games? Nooooooooooo!!!!! Whyyyyyyyyyyyyy?????????
Fact #5: Dani
I like you but will you please refrain from saying "fecking" and "dude" every two seconds?
Thank you.
Fact #6: the whole freaking book
Fact #7: All Hail the Mother of All Cliffhangers
Fact #8: love my Crazy Fever Freaks
Just do yourself a favour and read this series.
June 22, 2017
ARE YOU KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW?!
This book was fantastic. The beginning had me like...
Then, there was a lot of this...
And, I'm left with this holy-crap-on-a-cracker kind of ending?! Once again, I'm so glad I have the next book in this series ready to go. I am stunned.
And, because I refuse... REFUSE to accept that ending...
I'm off to read the next book in this series pronto.
This book was fantastic. The beginning had me like...
Then, there was a lot of this...
And, I'm left with this holy-crap-on-a-cracker kind of ending?! Once again, I'm so glad I have the next book in this series ready to go. I am stunned.
And, because I refuse... REFUSE to accept that ending...
I'm off to read the next book in this series pronto.
September 12, 2016
"I STILL HATE IT
BUT I GET IT NOW"
from Mac's Journal............I am so enthralled by Mac and the world she has discovered never existed in her previous life and I follow her wherever she goes.
I am so immersed in this series…..just can’t get enough!!!!!
After being left breathless…again…by the cliffhanger in Faefever…see my review http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/71... I needed to find out what happens Mac…what could possibly be worse than her experience with the Unseelie Princes?? Suddenly realizing I did not have a copy of Dreamfever….OMG….i wanted it now….i spent a day trying to find a copy…yes….it was sold out at most of the bookshops…I even tried secondhand shops..no luck. Eventually I was told 1 copy was available at a bookshop which is miles away from my home…but did that stop me????? Absolutely not……….dashed off and that night I again found myself in Dublin and in Mac, Barrons and the Fever World!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Couldn’t stop turning the pages…and my love for Mac & Barron kept growing as I continued spending time in their world.
Mac’s journey is going through some dark moments but she’s stronger than she was before..and it is this inner strength of hers that she is able to survive being turned Pri-ya (sex slave) by the Unseelie Princes.
Having been rescued by Dani (so happy to hear that she’s going to have her own story) and taken to the abbey, where she is imprisoned by the wicked Rowena – she’s definitely hiding something – before Mac is rescued by Barrons. The rescue scene is really touching….confirms how much he cares for her.
Mac’s sex addiction is complete and Barrons does everything for her to try and come back from the hell she is at. They are growing closer to each other and to finding the darn book of evil!!!!!!!!!!
The human world is quickly being overtaken by the dark Fae….and Mac, as she comes out of her addiction, discovers more of her powers and is prepared, even more so now, that no one and nothing will step on her quest to attain her quest.
There are still so many questions left at the end of this book…..Who and what is Barron’s? Why is he feared so much…even by V’lane…who is more than what he appears to me….he has some agenda that I feel is going to surprise us.
The Lord Master is determined to get something from Mac and even kidnaps her parents to force her hand. What does Mac have that everyone wants it? Who is she really???? I think more than what we are led to believe…more than just a sidhe-seer. She is the catalyst to either the saving or destruction of the human world..and perhaps even the fae as well.
The cliffhanger in this book devastated me……..if I for one moment thought the previous cliffhangers stunned me……..this one shocked, angered, saddened me.
I wanted to scream at the betrayal and lies that caused such pain to Mac. No, this cannot happen I said to myself. Why???? For what reason????? Why didn’t Mac trust Barrons?????
The last sentence had me in tears……..”For a time, I have no idea where he ends and I begin”.
I wish I had the next book, Shadowfever…but the hardcover is sold out and I will have to wait for the paperback edition, which I hope will be soon. I know that it will be an incredible ride and finally have the answers to all our questions in Mac’s story.
Fever Series is an EPIC fantasy journey and I urge anyone who loves urban fantasy to read this series. You will love it as much as I do.
BUT I GET IT NOW"
from Mac's Journal............I am so enthralled by Mac and the world she has discovered never existed in her previous life and I follow her wherever she goes.
I am so immersed in this series…..just can’t get enough!!!!!
After being left breathless…again…by the cliffhanger in Faefever…see my review http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/71... I needed to find out what happens Mac…what could possibly be worse than her experience with the Unseelie Princes?? Suddenly realizing I did not have a copy of Dreamfever….OMG….i wanted it now….i spent a day trying to find a copy…yes….it was sold out at most of the bookshops…I even tried secondhand shops..no luck. Eventually I was told 1 copy was available at a bookshop which is miles away from my home…but did that stop me????? Absolutely not……….dashed off and that night I again found myself in Dublin and in Mac, Barrons and the Fever World!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Couldn’t stop turning the pages…and my love for Mac & Barron kept growing as I continued spending time in their world.
Mac’s journey is going through some dark moments but she’s stronger than she was before..and it is this inner strength of hers that she is able to survive being turned Pri-ya (sex slave) by the Unseelie Princes.
Having been rescued by Dani (so happy to hear that she’s going to have her own story) and taken to the abbey, where she is imprisoned by the wicked Rowena – she’s definitely hiding something – before Mac is rescued by Barrons. The rescue scene is really touching….confirms how much he cares for her.
Mac’s sex addiction is complete and Barrons does everything for her to try and come back from the hell she is at. They are growing closer to each other and to finding the darn book of evil!!!!!!!!!!
The human world is quickly being overtaken by the dark Fae….and Mac, as she comes out of her addiction, discovers more of her powers and is prepared, even more so now, that no one and nothing will step on her quest to attain her quest.
There are still so many questions left at the end of this book…..Who and what is Barron’s? Why is he feared so much…even by V’lane…who is more than what he appears to me….he has some agenda that I feel is going to surprise us.
The Lord Master is determined to get something from Mac and even kidnaps her parents to force her hand. What does Mac have that everyone wants it? Who is she really???? I think more than what we are led to believe…more than just a sidhe-seer. She is the catalyst to either the saving or destruction of the human world..and perhaps even the fae as well.
The cliffhanger in this book devastated me……..if I for one moment thought the previous cliffhangers stunned me……..this one shocked, angered, saddened me.
I wanted to scream at the betrayal and lies that caused such pain to Mac. No, this cannot happen I said to myself. Why???? For what reason????? Why didn’t Mac trust Barrons?????
The last sentence had me in tears……..”For a time, I have no idea where he ends and I begin”.
I wish I had the next book, Shadowfever…but the hardcover is sold out and I will have to wait for the paperback edition, which I hope will be soon. I know that it will be an incredible ride and finally have the answers to all our questions in Mac’s story.
Fever Series is an EPIC fantasy journey and I urge anyone who loves urban fantasy to read this series. You will love it as much as I do.
July 12, 2015
[4.5 Stars]
OMG THAT ENDING THOUGH
OMG THAT ENDING THOUGH
October 10, 2014
*5 Fecking Stars*
After the way the last book ended I had to go immediately into this one and let me tell you…it was intense, action packed and oh so sexy.
Mac has been turned Pri-ya after the brutal ending of the last book. There is only one who can save her and bring her back and oh friends he sure does!
” “Our sex is fierce. We will both be bruised.
"I want it to always be like this," I tell him.
"Try holding onto that thought."
"I do not need to try. I will never feel differently."
Embarrassment, duty and unanswered questions has Mac still doubting her allies once the spell is broken and she’s all about kicking ass and saving the world. She has some new added powers and only trusts Dani, who is in herself a great character. Mac keeps her guys at arm’s length while going forward for the majority of this book.
”Go to hell, both of you ! New world. New rules. New me. Don’t call me. I’ll call you.”
Have no fear friends Barrons and the sexy fae prince can't stay away from her.
Mac may know all the players now in this game but their actions and plays are completely unpredictable. The way in which this book ended left me in shock and I am so grateful to have the next book because that just can’t be! Please tell me it’s not so!
Once again, my MacHalo is in place, extra batteries are packed, I still refuse to eat what’s in the baby food jars but I have a sword and I'm not afraid to use it.
After the way the last book ended I had to go immediately into this one and let me tell you…it was intense, action packed and oh so sexy.
Mac has been turned Pri-ya after the brutal ending of the last book. There is only one who can save her and bring her back and oh friends he sure does!
” “Our sex is fierce. We will both be bruised.
"I want it to always be like this," I tell him.
"Try holding onto that thought."
"I do not need to try. I will never feel differently."
Embarrassment, duty and unanswered questions has Mac still doubting her allies once the spell is broken and she’s all about kicking ass and saving the world. She has some new added powers and only trusts Dani, who is in herself a great character. Mac keeps her guys at arm’s length while going forward for the majority of this book.
”Go to hell, both of you ! New world. New rules. New me. Don’t call me. I’ll call you.”
Have no fear friends Barrons and the sexy fae prince can't stay away from her.
Mac may know all the players now in this game but their actions and plays are completely unpredictable. The way in which this book ended left me in shock and I am so grateful to have the next book because that just can’t be! Please tell me it’s not so!
Once again, my MacHalo is in place, extra batteries are packed, I still refuse to eat what’s in the baby food jars but I have a sword and I'm not afraid to use it.
July 25, 2017
4 Stars
Well that was an
Dreamfever is both my favourite AND least favourite book in this series, thus far. How is that a thing, you ask? I DON’T KNOW!!
This is a story of hells and heavens, lies and truths, reality and surrealism. I am well aware I make no sense right now.
“You're leaving me, Rainbow Girl.”
And I mourn that loss, even as I know that the world needs you. The world needs you back, healthy, strong. You thought you had broken before, when you lost Alina, but there are so many more ways to break.
I don’t relish in destroying that flighty little twit in pink who first walked into my shop, although I’m sure you think I do. This world is dangerous and the only way you are going to be able to survive it is if you break all those pretty layers down and become the weapon. That is the only opinion, and for that I am truly sorry.
“Open your eyes and say my name.”
Jericho Z. Barrons
Well that was an
Dreamfever is both my favourite AND least favourite book in this series, thus far. How is that a thing, you ask? I DON’T KNOW!!
This is a story of hells and heavens, lies and truths, reality and surrealism. I am well aware I make no sense right now.
“You're leaving me, Rainbow Girl.”
And I mourn that loss, even as I know that the world needs you. The world needs you back, healthy, strong. You thought you had broken before, when you lost Alina, but there are so many more ways to break.
I don’t relish in destroying that flighty little twit in pink who first walked into my shop, although I’m sure you think I do. This world is dangerous and the only way you are going to be able to survive it is if you break all those pretty layers down and become the weapon. That is the only opinion, and for that I am truly sorry.
“Open your eyes and say my name.”
Jericho Z. Barrons
July 18, 2015
Pre-review:I am still not sure if I want to read this sequel, after suffering three books, I think I have had enough.
And today I read this review:
Guess what? I don't have much problem with sexual violence in novels, but I'm absolutely sicked of those women have to get raped first before they become badasses cheap plot device and character development (if you can call it that...).
Plus, have anyone ever noticed that throughout the first three books of the series, no one seems to show much sympathy nor concern toward those Pri-ya, female fey-seers who are addicted to sex with the feys. You know, feys can use seduction to force themselves on mortals, whether the mortals want it or not. So why shouldn't those Pri-ya be viewed as victims instead of SLUTS who asked for it?
So, don't ask me to feel sorry for Mac when none of the characters seems to feel sorry for those Pri-ya in the first three books. No one seems to care that they might just be as helpless and victimized as poor Super Special Innocent Snowflake Mac. Those nameless, faceless Pri-ya do not deserve to be sympathized because they are not Mac, you know.
But of coruse, God forbid that sympathy and care to be showed among women, that's how things usually go in this Fever series, women can only hate, slut-shame, be jealous of, try to control each other instead of showing sisterly concern and sympathy, and it sucks.
Edited@25/06/2015
Actual review starts here:
Looking for great urban fantasy novel series with strong heroine, realistic characters, heart-stopping suspense, brave men and women going up against truly horrible situations, and great battles between good and evil? Well, please look somewhere else, you are not going to find any of these within Dreamfever, book 4 of the best selling Fever series.
Yes, right. It's the fourth book already and guess what? Things still aren't getting better. Arguably, it gets worse.
Okay...to be fair, the world building and the setting about the deadly Fae and their supernatural realms are still doing great, and this book really isn't as awful as the previous book: Faefever, mostly because there are a decent amount of battle scenes and action scenes with this fourth book (Faefever had even failed to provide us this, nothing happens in Faefever), plus it's nice to see Mac finally taking matter into her own hands. Still Dreamfever continues to be marred by the same old flaws which plagued the previous three books. To make matter worse, new flaws can also be found, such as:
Warning: There are unmarked spoilers for the previous book and its ending in the follow part:
(1) How rape is handled in the story:
You think you are going to read about a heroine surviving the traumatic experience of sexual violence and violation against her free will and body, and rape will be addressed in a meaningful way? Sorry, you had picked up the wrong book.
By the end of the previous book, Mac, the main character, was raped by three Unseelie princes and lost her mind. She became addicted to sex with the deadly Fae and became mentally enslaved. Then the Male Lead of this series, the What Is His Name Dangerous Sexy Alpha Male Bad Boy (see? I'm still not going to dignify this guy by remembering his name) came to her rescue and helped restoring Mac to her sanity by...having countless of monkey sex with her until she slowly came to her sense months later.
To tell the truth, I'm not against this particulate plot development, but I do know many readers are upset that What's His Name did it with Mac when she lost her mind, which made the guy as much a rapist as those Fae princes who gang raped her. And I fully understand why people are upset about it. However, I still found the scenes with Mac and What's His Name together and how things go between them to be satisfyingly written (especially the nice things What's His Names had done for Mac). I also found Mac a great deal more tolerable when she was crazy and had nothing but sex in her mind. I mean, it's still better than her hateful, judgmental old self (am I a horrible person for saying that?)
Then, let me tell you what I truly have problem with. It takes place after Mac came to her sense, then she faced What's His Name once more, only to have the guy insulted her over the fact of her being gang raped. He also went out of his way to remind her *repeatedly* how she had just been recently raped. Not only this, the guy also threw rape jokes at Mac's face, for more than once.
(Link: http://www.jpopasia.com/forums/posts-...)
Oh, my goodness. As much as I hate Mac and want a monster to eat her, Mac still doesn't deserve this. It also makes me wonder: is that really the kind of guy whom women from both within and outside of the book are wetting their underpants for? A guy who insults women for being raped? A guy who says BS that basically telling the raped victim: "You had been careless and unwise, you brought it upon yourself"?
(Link: http://kathy-kyuhyun.deviantart.com/j...)
Not only this, who can forget Kat, a female character's loving remark of "she (Mac) asked for it"?
Hell, to the no.
(2) Too Stupid To Live characters (and Mac is not the only one)
By the middle part of the book, Mac and Dani, the two main female characters had done a couple of dumb things, rushing headfirst into dangerous situations without checking and thinking about it first for too many times, it makes me wonder why they still hadn't gotten killed yet.
And they are not the only ones. The other sidhe-seers, who hidden themselves in a 'heavily guarded abbey' to avoid the evil Fae and other monsters, are no better. Not only Mac can just went to the abbey, firing a burst of bullets at the handle of the front door and then kicked the door in and then walked into the abbey, simply because those stupid bitch sidhe-seers were so stupid that they just left the front door unguarded and unwatched.
Later on, they also just left the side door unguarded so Dani could just slip back in.
Later on, Mac, What's His Name and the Fae Prince (I also have no desire to recall his name) had a fight on the hallway, and none of those stupid-bitch sidhe-seers heard anything and came to check on them.
That's ridiculous.
(3) A lot of stupid things just...happen.
I wonder had the author of this book even paused and thought about what she was writing when she created this book? I have a good guess that she hadn't because a lot of stupid things just happen in the story and characters are making some really stupid choices.
For example, Mac kept on calling the guy who killed her sister 'LM', short for Lord Master. *facepalms*
For example, Mac did not hesitate from drinking a cup of coffee handed to her bythe Lord Master LM, a.k.a the evil guy whom arranged for her to be raped and whom she believed had murdered her sister.
For example, Mac and Dani repeatedly and publicly disobeyed Rowena, the leader of the sidhe-seers, even stealing important Hallow Objects from her, but they never had to face any consequence.
For example, no one seems to suspect
For example, Mac became finer shaped and able to kick asses right after she snapped out of her sex-crazed trance. During said trance, she wanted nothing but sex, she didn't even want to eat food. But obviously tons of sex with What's His Name keep her body in shape and better than before.
Ladies, let's find a Big Strong Guy and have tons of monkey sex with him! it will make your bodies more healthy and better shaped!
(Link: https://www.tumblr.com/search/yamamur...)
(4) Mac is the most Super Special Innocent Snowflake Mary Sue ever.
It's an old problem actually, but by now Mac is so special there is a prophecy about her.
Give me a break.
(5) The ending.
Mac was finally going to face theLord Master LM and save her parents!
Seriously, what kind of author does this kind of thing by the ending of her book?
Whoever had claimed the latter books of the series are better, now I'm holding you responsible for the loss of my time and the death of my brain cells.
And today I read this review:
Guess what? I don't have much problem with sexual violence in novels, but I'm absolutely sicked of those women have to get raped first before they become badasses cheap plot device and character development (if you can call it that...).
Plus, have anyone ever noticed that throughout the first three books of the series, no one seems to show much sympathy nor concern toward those Pri-ya, female fey-seers who are addicted to sex with the feys. You know, feys can use seduction to force themselves on mortals, whether the mortals want it or not. So why shouldn't those Pri-ya be viewed as victims instead of SLUTS who asked for it?
So, don't ask me to feel sorry for Mac when none of the characters seems to feel sorry for those Pri-ya in the first three books. No one seems to care that they might just be as helpless and victimized as poor Super Special Innocent Snowflake Mac. Those nameless, faceless Pri-ya do not deserve to be sympathized because they are not Mac, you know.
But of coruse, God forbid that sympathy and care to be showed among women, that's how things usually go in this Fever series, women can only hate, slut-shame, be jealous of, try to control each other instead of showing sisterly concern and sympathy, and it sucks.
Edited@25/06/2015
Actual review starts here:
Looking for great urban fantasy novel series with strong heroine, realistic characters, heart-stopping suspense, brave men and women going up against truly horrible situations, and great battles between good and evil? Well, please look somewhere else, you are not going to find any of these within Dreamfever, book 4 of the best selling Fever series.
Yes, right. It's the fourth book already and guess what? Things still aren't getting better. Arguably, it gets worse.
Okay...to be fair, the world building and the setting about the deadly Fae and their supernatural realms are still doing great, and this book really isn't as awful as the previous book: Faefever, mostly because there are a decent amount of battle scenes and action scenes with this fourth book (Faefever had even failed to provide us this, nothing happens in Faefever), plus it's nice to see Mac finally taking matter into her own hands. Still Dreamfever continues to be marred by the same old flaws which plagued the previous three books. To make matter worse, new flaws can also be found, such as:
Warning: There are unmarked spoilers for the previous book and its ending in the follow part:
(1) How rape is handled in the story:
You think you are going to read about a heroine surviving the traumatic experience of sexual violence and violation against her free will and body, and rape will be addressed in a meaningful way? Sorry, you had picked up the wrong book.
By the end of the previous book, Mac, the main character, was raped by three Unseelie princes and lost her mind. She became addicted to sex with the deadly Fae and became mentally enslaved. Then the Male Lead of this series, the What Is His Name Dangerous Sexy Alpha Male Bad Boy (see? I'm still not going to dignify this guy by remembering his name) came to her rescue and helped restoring Mac to her sanity by...having countless of monkey sex with her until she slowly came to her sense months later.
To tell the truth, I'm not against this particulate plot development, but I do know many readers are upset that What's His Name did it with Mac when she lost her mind, which made the guy as much a rapist as those Fae princes who gang raped her. And I fully understand why people are upset about it. However, I still found the scenes with Mac and What's His Name together and how things go between them to be satisfyingly written (especially the nice things What's His Names had done for Mac). I also found Mac a great deal more tolerable when she was crazy and had nothing but sex in her mind. I mean, it's still better than her hateful, judgmental old self (am I a horrible person for saying that?)
Then, let me tell you what I truly have problem with. It takes place after Mac came to her sense, then she faced What's His Name once more, only to have the guy insulted her over the fact of her being gang raped. He also went out of his way to remind her *repeatedly* how she had just been recently raped. Not only this, the guy also threw rape jokes at Mac's face, for more than once.
(Link: http://www.jpopasia.com/forums/posts-...)
Oh, my goodness. As much as I hate Mac and want a monster to eat her, Mac still doesn't deserve this. It also makes me wonder: is that really the kind of guy whom women from both within and outside of the book are wetting their underpants for? A guy who insults women for being raped? A guy who says BS that basically telling the raped victim: "You had been careless and unwise, you brought it upon yourself"?
(Link: http://kathy-kyuhyun.deviantart.com/j...)
Not only this, who can forget Kat, a female character's loving remark of "she (Mac) asked for it"?
Hell, to the no.
(2) Too Stupid To Live characters (and Mac is not the only one)
By the middle part of the book, Mac and Dani, the two main female characters had done a couple of dumb things, rushing headfirst into dangerous situations without checking and thinking about it first for too many times, it makes me wonder why they still hadn't gotten killed yet.
And they are not the only ones. The other sidhe-seers, who hidden themselves in a 'heavily guarded abbey' to avoid the evil Fae and other monsters, are no better. Not only Mac can just went to the abbey, firing a burst of bullets at the handle of the front door and then kicked the door in and then walked into the abbey, simply because those stupid bitch sidhe-seers were so stupid that they just left the front door unguarded and unwatched.
Later on, they also just left the side door unguarded so Dani could just slip back in.
Later on, Mac, What's His Name and the Fae Prince (I also have no desire to recall his name) had a fight on the hallway, and none of those stupid-bitch sidhe-seers heard anything and came to check on them.
That's ridiculous.
(3) A lot of stupid things just...happen.
I wonder had the author of this book even paused and thought about what she was writing when she created this book? I have a good guess that she hadn't because a lot of stupid things just happen in the story and characters are making some really stupid choices.
For example, Mac kept on calling the guy who killed her sister 'LM', short for Lord Master. *facepalms*
For example, Mac did not hesitate from drinking a cup of coffee handed to her by
For example, Mac and Dani repeatedly and publicly disobeyed Rowena, the leader of the sidhe-seers, even stealing important Hallow Objects from her, but they never had to face any consequence.
For example, no one seems to suspect
For example, Mac became finer shaped and able to kick asses right after she snapped out of her sex-crazed trance. During said trance, she wanted nothing but sex, she didn't even want to eat food. But obviously tons of sex with What's His Name keep her body in shape and better than before.
Ladies, let's find a Big Strong Guy and have tons of monkey sex with him! it will make your bodies more healthy and better shaped!
(Link: https://www.tumblr.com/search/yamamur...)
(4) Mac is the most Super Special Innocent Snowflake Mary Sue ever.
It's an old problem actually, but by now Mac is so special there is a prophecy about her.
Give me a break.
(5) The ending.
Mac was finally going to face the
Seriously, what kind of author does this kind of thing by the ending of her book?
Whoever had claimed the latter books of the series are better, now I'm holding you responsible for the loss of my time and the death of my brain cells.
December 5, 2013
5 and then some millions Petunia-kicking and FECKing amazing Stars
We’re taking back the night!
I am Mac. And I‘m back...
Sisters.... after THAT ending I am starting the next and when my heart starts slowing down and I am sure that I won't die, I am promising you one HELL of a review deserving of this tremendously amazing book!
We’re taking back the night!
I am Mac. And I‘m back...
Sisters.... after THAT ending I am starting the next and when my heart starts slowing down and I am sure that I won't die, I am promising you one HELL of a review deserving of this tremendously amazing book!
Jericho, MY LOVE, what the HELL??
June 9, 2018
Re-read 09.06.2018
Wow, Wow, Wow.
It doesn’t stop!!!
How much longer will the awesomeness continue?
Wow, Wow, Wow.
It doesn’t stop!!!
How much longer will the awesomeness continue?
March 30, 2021
Trivago reklamlarından daha acı verici birşey varsa o da bu serideki sonlardır. Bu kitabı zamanında okuyup 5. kitap için bekleyen kişiler gözümde kutsaldır. Zira ben şu an yorum yaparken bile hemen diğer kitabı düşünmeye başladım. Dünya üzerinde kitap okurken orgazm olunsaydı şüphesiz bu seri beni öldürmüştü. Şerefsizim ağlamamak için kendimi zor tutuyorum.
P.S. Official olarak açıklıyorum ki Jericho Barrons bütün karakterleri ezmiştir. 1 numaradır. Ne olduğunu bilmesem de adamın dibidir. *inşallah ters köşe olmam* Her haliyle kabulümdür.
2. kez okuma sonrası: Ben bu kadar ruh halimi değiştiren bu kitabı kutsalım sayarım. Bir bakmış azgınsın, bi bakmışsın kıyamet kopmuş, bi bakmışsın isyan başlatmak üzeresin, bi bakmışsın yine birilerini kaybetmişsin... Geç aynalar içinden, bul beni be Barrons :( Pandemi ortası evde oturacağıma İrlanda’da kelle koltukta yaşayıp Faeler ile uğraşmayı tercih ederim.
P.S. Official olarak açıklıyorum ki Jericho Barrons bütün karakterleri ezmiştir. 1 numaradır. Ne olduğunu bilmesem de adamın dibidir. *inşallah ters köşe olmam* Her haliyle kabulümdür.
2. kez okuma sonrası: Ben bu kadar ruh halimi değiştiren bu kitabı kutsalım sayarım. Bir bakmış azgınsın, bi bakmışsın kıyamet kopmuş, bi bakmışsın isyan başlatmak üzeresin, bi bakmışsın yine birilerini kaybetmişsin... Geç aynalar içinden, bul beni be Barrons :( Pandemi ortası evde oturacağıma İrlanda’da kelle koltukta yaşayıp Faeler ile uğraşmayı tercih ederim.
December 4, 2013
Whew! What a fecken rush!! Just finished it!
(NO SPOILERS, just my thoughts.)
Love the series and this book! Despite it being nearly midnight here, I don't think I'll be able to sleep for several hours as I need to clear my mind and decrease my heart rate. If you've already read this book, you know how hard that is going to be!
The paranormal elements of the series is really starting to intensify, with more creatures, magic, danger and worldly realms. I am completed sucked into this world.
The story picks up were we left off in Faefever, so these books absolutely need to be read in order. (I think you could start with Faefever as that book provided a lot of backstory, but Dreamfever just jumps into the continuation and assumes the reader already knows quite a bit.)
In Dreamfever you will get a lot of answers to many earlier questions, and you will form new theories and opinions as to who/what everyone is and what they really want. But you will also be left with a large handful of new questions to ponder for the next book! Oh man!
SO am I sorry that I didn't wait until all books were published before reading the series? Heck no!! It's a great series, and its fun guessing and forming theories. After reading Faefever I was 99% certain who/what Barron's is, and after this book I am now 99.99% certain.
(NO SPOILERS, just my thoughts.)
Love the series and this book! Despite it being nearly midnight here, I don't think I'll be able to sleep for several hours as I need to clear my mind and decrease my heart rate. If you've already read this book, you know how hard that is going to be!
The paranormal elements of the series is really starting to intensify, with more creatures, magic, danger and worldly realms. I am completed sucked into this world.
The story picks up were we left off in Faefever, so these books absolutely need to be read in order. (I think you could start with Faefever as that book provided a lot of backstory, but Dreamfever just jumps into the continuation and assumes the reader already knows quite a bit.)
In Dreamfever you will get a lot of answers to many earlier questions, and you will form new theories and opinions as to who/what everyone is and what they really want. But you will also be left with a large handful of new questions to ponder for the next book! Oh man!
SO am I sorry that I didn't wait until all books were published before reading the series? Heck no!! It's a great series, and its fun guessing and forming theories. After reading Faefever I was 99% certain who/what Barron's is, and after this book I am now 99.99% certain.
December 29, 2015
If you couldn't already tell, I'm infatuated with this series. Not only will I re-read all the books over and over again, but Barrons has taken top spot as the literary man of my dreams (sorry Atticus Finch) - and I still have one book to go, which I am not ready for because good things can't and shouldn't end.
Dreamfever is, for lack of better words, fucking AWESOME. Stuff finally happens. Questions are finally answered. Mac is the fiery and fierce heroine I've come to lurve and Barrons just does things to my low region that makes me go woah hey what WHAT IS THIS. Nice.
I have a love/hate relationship with KMM. Just when you think you're going to find something out, she revokes that privilege. She makes you work for your answers till the very last page, and you still end up with a steaming mug of WTF. But I forgive because she gives you a naked Barrons. Yaaaaaaas.
"You are the most beautiful man I have ever seen," I tell him. "You are perfect."
AH.
Excuse me while I play Tubthumping and re-read chapter four because I do what I want when I want.
Dreamfever is, for lack of better words, fucking AWESOME. Stuff finally happens. Questions are finally answered. Mac is the fiery and fierce heroine I've come to lurve and Barrons just does things to my low region that makes me go woah hey what WHAT IS THIS. Nice.
I have a love/hate relationship with KMM. Just when you think you're going to find something out, she revokes that privilege. She makes you work for your answers till the very last page, and you still end up with a steaming mug of WTF. But I forgive because she gives you a naked Barrons. Yaaaaaaas.
"You are the most beautiful man I have ever seen," I tell him. "You are perfect."
AH.
Excuse me while I play Tubthumping and re-read chapter four because I do what I want when I want.
January 1, 2016
I'm dying inside.
This is such an epic fucking STORY.
Like in the same way that Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones is a story.
They all take storytelling to its most fundamental and beautiful form.
This author is telling something, not a ego-filled conceptualization of their own fantasies filled with melodrama to cushion the lack of true plot. THERE IS ACTUALLY A STORY TO TELL.
And holy fuck does Karen Marie Moning have stuff to say.
Super recommend.
December 24, 2012
Posted on Under the Covers
MONING KNOWS HOW TO FUCK WITH ME!
She expertly teases you to the point of sobbing, until you’re dying from anticipation. When you think you know what to expect, she completely turns you for a loop and you are left feeling exasperated. But even when you don’t think you can handle anymore, her writing gnaws at you until you give in to your next fix.
I’ve grown mad over this series and I wouldn’t have it any other way!!
DREAMFEVER was my favourite of the Fever series. Reading about Mac again was such a thrilling ride! She’s definitely one of my favourite heroines in UF. After the ending in Faefever, I nearly lost it. I sprinted to my shelves to grab Dreamfever and read the first two chapters. The emotions rolled through me but still, I found I way to stop myself. I purposely waited until the release of Shadowfever so that I wouldn’t have to wait such a long period between books.With how Dreamfever ended, I’m sooo damn glad I waited this long! Shadowfever is patiently waiting on my ereader at the moment and I am so eager to devour it next!
Mac is such a fierce heroine! I absolutely loved reading from her POV. I loved the differences in writing style when she was Pri-ya and then later on for the rest of the book. I don’t think I can rave about her enough! Love her!
Then there’s Dani whom I fecking adore! I seriously love this kid. She has some of the best lines in the book. Here’s one of my favourites:
"I been wearing sandals a lot, even though it's cold. What a way to go: death-by-shoe Shade. I grin. I have a black sense of humor. You try living my life, see what color yours turns."
The fact that some of the early chapters are from her POV was great! I can’t get enough of her!
Barrons aka the love of my life - I never thought I would be so infatuated with a fictional character like him, but I am. You can probably guess which my favourite scenes with him were. Probably the most interesting thing was when Mac got glimpses into Barrons mind. So worth reading the series just for those little moments.
I could go on forever. Seriously. But I’ll stop for now.
Shadowfever...YOU’RE MINE!!
Favourite Quote:
“I was talking to V’lane, old woman, not you.”
“He doesn’t answer to you.”
“Really?” I laughed. “You think he answers to you?” Only a fool would think a Fae Prince answered to anyone. Especially when one needed one.
“Are you fighting over me, MacKayla? I find this...attractive.” V’lane tossed his golden head. “I have seen this in humans before. It is called jealousy.”
“If that’s what you think, you have a problem interpreting subtle human emotions. It’s not called jealously. It’s called ‘you’re pissing me off’”
“Possessiveness.”
“My ass.”
“Is far more shapely than last I saw it.”
“She’s been working out,” Dani snickered.
“You have no business at it,” I said.
“But Barrons does?” The temperature in the room dropped sharply.
MONING KNOWS HOW TO FUCK WITH ME!
She expertly teases you to the point of sobbing, until you’re dying from anticipation. When you think you know what to expect, she completely turns you for a loop and you are left feeling exasperated. But even when you don’t think you can handle anymore, her writing gnaws at you until you give in to your next fix.
I’ve grown mad over this series and I wouldn’t have it any other way!!
DREAMFEVER was my favourite of the Fever series. Reading about Mac again was such a thrilling ride! She’s definitely one of my favourite heroines in UF. After the ending in Faefever, I nearly lost it. I sprinted to my shelves to grab Dreamfever and read the first two chapters. The emotions rolled through me but still, I found I way to stop myself. I purposely waited until the release of Shadowfever so that I wouldn’t have to wait such a long period between books.With how Dreamfever ended, I’m sooo damn glad I waited this long! Shadowfever is patiently waiting on my ereader at the moment and I am so eager to devour it next!
Mac is such a fierce heroine! I absolutely loved reading from her POV. I loved the differences in writing style when she was Pri-ya and then later on for the rest of the book. I don’t think I can rave about her enough! Love her!
Then there’s Dani whom I fecking adore! I seriously love this kid. She has some of the best lines in the book. Here’s one of my favourites:
"I been wearing sandals a lot, even though it's cold. What a way to go: death-by-shoe Shade. I grin. I have a black sense of humor. You try living my life, see what color yours turns."
The fact that some of the early chapters are from her POV was great! I can’t get enough of her!
Barrons aka the love of my life - I never thought I would be so infatuated with a fictional character like him, but I am. You can probably guess which my favourite scenes with him were. Probably the most interesting thing was when Mac got glimpses into Barrons mind. So worth reading the series just for those little moments.
I could go on forever. Seriously. But I’ll stop for now.
Shadowfever...YOU’RE MINE!!
Favourite Quote:
“I was talking to V’lane, old woman, not you.”
“He doesn’t answer to you.”
“Really?” I laughed. “You think he answers to you?” Only a fool would think a Fae Prince answered to anyone. Especially when one needed one.
“Are you fighting over me, MacKayla? I find this...attractive.” V’lane tossed his golden head. “I have seen this in humans before. It is called jealousy.”
“If that’s what you think, you have a problem interpreting subtle human emotions. It’s not called jealously. It’s called ‘you’re pissing me off’”
“Possessiveness.”
“My ass.”
“Is far more shapely than last I saw it.”
“She’s been working out,” Dani snickered.
“You have no business at it,” I said.
“But Barrons does?” The temperature in the room dropped sharply.
December 20, 2016
A Priya and Barrons are getting intimate, learning each other in the beginning of the book.
Barrons is Barrons because he told her that it is his name.
The Priya is Mac because he told her that it is her name.
If you don’t know what a priya is, you have started reading the series from the wrong book. Start again, trying another book first.
When Mac and Barrons are having sex together finally, it will be fantastic but it will also be bitter. Because it is not a matter of a mutual decision or because they realize that they love each other. It will be mainly a matter of survival.
This is the book where all the major players of the series are finally brought together.
All the enemies, friends and lovers (hard to tell who is what still): Barrons and his team (yes, there are a lot like him), Ryodan, Mac, V’lane, Derek O'Bannion, Christian MacKeltar, Rowena, Dani, Kat, the three Unseelie Princes, a strange monster who will have a strange ending and who may be someone we know.
This is a fast paced, excellent written, smoothly executed, originality oozed book. Everything and everyone matter in this book.
Most of the scenes are worth mentioning. I am picking the most heartbreaking one:
He touches my face.
There is something different in his touch. It feels like he’s saying good-bye, and I know a moment of panic.
But my dream sky darkens and sleep’s moon fills the horizon.
“Don’t leave me.” I thrash in the sheets.
“I’m not, Mac.”
I know I am dreaming then, because dreams are home to the absurd and what he says next is beyond absurd.
“You’re leaving me, Rainbow Girl.”
Barrons is Barrons because he told her that it is his name.
The Priya is Mac because he told her that it is her name.
If you don’t know what a priya is, you have started reading the series from the wrong book. Start again, trying another book first.
When Mac and Barrons are having sex together finally, it will be fantastic but it will also be bitter. Because it is not a matter of a mutual decision or because they realize that they love each other. It will be mainly a matter of survival.
This is the book where all the major players of the series are finally brought together.
All the enemies, friends and lovers (hard to tell who is what still): Barrons and his team (yes, there are a lot like him), Ryodan, Mac, V’lane, Derek O'Bannion, Christian MacKeltar, Rowena, Dani, Kat, the three Unseelie Princes, a strange monster who will have a strange ending and who may be someone we know.
This is a fast paced, excellent written, smoothly executed, originality oozed book. Everything and everyone matter in this book.
Most of the scenes are worth mentioning. I am picking the most heartbreaking one:
He touches my face.
There is something different in his touch. It feels like he’s saying good-bye, and I know a moment of panic.
But my dream sky darkens and sleep’s moon fills the horizon.
“Don’t leave me.” I thrash in the sheets.
“I’m not, Mac.”
I know I am dreaming then, because dreams are home to the absurd and what he says next is beyond absurd.
“You’re leaving me, Rainbow Girl.”
January 6, 2015
2014 re-read
I think it's safe to say that this was THE best Fever installment. I know this was the book that cemented me as a Fever Fanatic.
Barrons.
Barrons .
Barrons dances around the room naked...'n other stuff.
And Mac?
Well...
Barbie ain't here no more, bitch.
And then there's the CLIFFHANGER.
Yeah, I know you think you've read books with cliffhanger endings before, but none of them compare to this one.
None. Of. Them.
Those of you who've read this are nodding along with me.
And those of you who haven't?
I...I just want to cry for you.
This was my 3d time reading Dreamfever, and I still love it.
Still Love It!
Original 2009 review:
Whoa! I lovelovelove this series! The only thing that would make it an ever better series is if Ms. Moning WOULD HURRY UP AND GIVE US THE LAST BOOK! Seriously, the suspense is killing me.
On a side note, I may be in love with Barrons.
I think it's safe to say that this was THE best Fever installment. I know this was the book that cemented me as a Fever Fanatic.
Barrons.
Barrons .
Barrons dances around the room naked...'n other stuff.
And Mac?
Well...
Barbie ain't here no more, bitch.
And then there's the CLIFFHANGER.
Yeah, I know you think you've read books with cliffhanger endings before, but none of them compare to this one.
None. Of. Them.
Those of you who've read this are nodding along with me.
And those of you who haven't?
I...I just want to cry for you.
This was my 3d time reading Dreamfever, and I still love it.
Still Love It!
Original 2009 review:
Whoa! I lovelovelove this series! The only thing that would make it an ever better series is if Ms. Moning WOULD HURRY UP AND GIVE US THE LAST BOOK! Seriously, the suspense is killing me.
On a side note, I may be in love with Barrons.
January 30, 2018
So I actually threw this book across the room when I finished it. I was frustrated and upset and god dammit, I needed more except there wasn't any more to be had. Cliffhanger City. Again! AAARGH!!!
It's a good thing my husband is a sound sleeper, although it did startle both the cats (who've started sleeping with us again now that it's getting chilly at night). And after recovering from my childish burst of emotion, I had to heave my big, pregnant belly out of bed, waddle across the room, bend over (which is soooo awkward that I normally try to avoid it as much as possible these days), pick it up and then crawl back into bed so I could reread the last chapter for clues about what the hell just happened. I wound up rereading that chapter four times in a row and I'm not any closer to knowing than I was after the first time. I have some theories but can just as easily talk myself out of them as I can talk myself into them.
This was the fourth installment in a series of what will be five and just like last summer after the third came out, I'm left feeling a little strung out.
Anyway, no "real" review from me and no spoilers. I can't recommend this series (and this author) enough to anyone who's a fan of any of the following: paranormal romance, dark urban fantasy and fairies.
This series is so addictive. I love it!
It's a good thing my husband is a sound sleeper, although it did startle both the cats (who've started sleeping with us again now that it's getting chilly at night). And after recovering from my childish burst of emotion, I had to heave my big, pregnant belly out of bed, waddle across the room, bend over (which is soooo awkward that I normally try to avoid it as much as possible these days), pick it up and then crawl back into bed so I could reread the last chapter for clues about what the hell just happened. I wound up rereading that chapter four times in a row and I'm not any closer to knowing than I was after the first time. I have some theories but can just as easily talk myself out of them as I can talk myself into them.
This was the fourth installment in a series of what will be five and just like last summer after the third came out, I'm left feeling a little strung out.
Anyway, no "real" review from me and no spoilers. I can't recommend this series (and this author) enough to anyone who's a fan of any of the following: paranormal romance, dark urban fantasy and fairies.
This series is so addictive. I love it!
June 11, 2014
Because I only give one star reviews to books I didn't finish. More review to follow.
Lots of spoilers below.
ETA: Okay, so. Let me preface this whole review with a general statement that I feel about Goodreads ratings. I have no cares about what other people rate their books. It's nobody's business why OR how you rate things the way you do, and it's certainly not my place to call people stupid or say they have no taste for how they rate things. The entire star rating system is based on whatever YOU choose to make it, and I am totally cool with that. (Although I do admit it stinks to hate a book that has a really high rating, simply because I go into it with such high expectations.)
Now what I DO have a problem with, is people finding abusive, vile love interest characters sexy. A prime example is Fifty Shades of Grey. Honestly, I could not give two shits if you love that series. Doesn't bother me at all. People have different tastes, and it isn't my place to tell you what to enjoy or not enjoy. Just the idea of me issuing a decree about what people should and shouldn't like is complete and total bullshit because art is art, whether I think that art is stupid and ridiculous or not. But the people who think that Christian Grey / Jericho Barrons is/are the hottest men ever? That women say they swoon for this abusive, disgusting asshole to be their lover? That reviews go on and on about how these men are the perfect men? NO. Nope. Nope nopity nope no no.
It's not that it just makes me mad. It makes me SAD. It is utterly depressing to me that this many women read these books, see a 100% abusive relationship, and think, "This is what I want. This is so sexy." THIS IS A PROBLEM. If your friend came to you and told you word-for-word the exact scenarios that happened in these books, you would tell her to GET OUT. Because this is ABUSE. It's very, very bothersome that this many people aren't recognizing what an abusive relationship looks like, and it worries me to think that there are a ton of women out there in relationships like this, making excuses for their abusive SO's behavior.
Now that that particular rant is over, let's move on.
Rape. There is a lot of rape, attempted rape, and mind rape in this series (so far). Personally, I don't think this author could handle the subjects she was trying to talk about at all. She brushed them under the rug, which means that all of her characters also brushed them under the rug. The male love interest REGULARLY MOCKS THE WOMAN HE "LOVES" ABOUT BEING GANG RAPED. This is the man the ladies are pining after. He tells her it was her fault for not calling for help, he jokes that she shouldn't be kissing a Fae because she's had enough Fae in her mouth recently (when she was gang raped), he says that she seems perfectly fine for having been gang raped recently, he continues to humiliate her by bringing up all the times they had sex together when she was basically drugged. When she tells him that he raped her too (WHICH HE DID) (THE EQUIVALENT OF ROOFIES), he tells her that it wasn't rape because she didn't crawl away, she walked away.
You guys, that is fucking disgusting. THESE are the things we talk about when we call out rape culture. THESE are the things that happen IN REAL LIFE and it isn't quite so fucking sexy when a 15 year old girl is being told that she can't have been raped because she was drinking / seemed like she wanted it / seems perfectly fine now / didn't call for help enough. THIS IS A FUCKING PROBLEM.
It also bothers me GREATLY that a gang rape was used to *change* the main character. This is a thing that seems to always have to happen to female characters. Heaven forbid they be strong women just because. Nope, something terrible and sexual has to happen to them to make them better. And in the case of the gang rape, Mac LITERALLY gets superpowers. V'Lane even tells her that the rape was probably a GOOD thing and wouldn't she do it all again if she could? She is raped so much that all she does is have sex for months, and the first time she sees anyone since the gang rape, they all tell her how amazing she looks. Do I need to go on? I think I've maybe touched all the nasty shit that happens in this book at this point.
The good stuff: At the end, when Mac was battling through the Silvers, I forgot for a minute about all this shit and just enjoyed the ride.
This series should have been all about Inspector Jayne. It would have been a vast improvement.
Lots of spoilers below.
ETA: Okay, so. Let me preface this whole review with a general statement that I feel about Goodreads ratings. I have no cares about what other people rate their books. It's nobody's business why OR how you rate things the way you do, and it's certainly not my place to call people stupid or say they have no taste for how they rate things. The entire star rating system is based on whatever YOU choose to make it, and I am totally cool with that. (Although I do admit it stinks to hate a book that has a really high rating, simply because I go into it with such high expectations.)
Now what I DO have a problem with, is people finding abusive, vile love interest characters sexy. A prime example is Fifty Shades of Grey. Honestly, I could not give two shits if you love that series. Doesn't bother me at all. People have different tastes, and it isn't my place to tell you what to enjoy or not enjoy. Just the idea of me issuing a decree about what people should and shouldn't like is complete and total bullshit because art is art, whether I think that art is stupid and ridiculous or not. But the people who think that Christian Grey / Jericho Barrons is/are the hottest men ever? That women say they swoon for this abusive, disgusting asshole to be their lover? That reviews go on and on about how these men are the perfect men? NO. Nope. Nope nopity nope no no.
It's not that it just makes me mad. It makes me SAD. It is utterly depressing to me that this many women read these books, see a 100% abusive relationship, and think, "This is what I want. This is so sexy." THIS IS A PROBLEM. If your friend came to you and told you word-for-word the exact scenarios that happened in these books, you would tell her to GET OUT. Because this is ABUSE. It's very, very bothersome that this many people aren't recognizing what an abusive relationship looks like, and it worries me to think that there are a ton of women out there in relationships like this, making excuses for their abusive SO's behavior.
Now that that particular rant is over, let's move on.
Rape. There is a lot of rape, attempted rape, and mind rape in this series (so far). Personally, I don't think this author could handle the subjects she was trying to talk about at all. She brushed them under the rug, which means that all of her characters also brushed them under the rug. The male love interest REGULARLY MOCKS THE WOMAN HE "LOVES" ABOUT BEING GANG RAPED. This is the man the ladies are pining after. He tells her it was her fault for not calling for help, he jokes that she shouldn't be kissing a Fae because she's had enough Fae in her mouth recently (when she was gang raped), he says that she seems perfectly fine for having been gang raped recently, he continues to humiliate her by bringing up all the times they had sex together when she was basically drugged. When she tells him that he raped her too (WHICH HE DID) (THE EQUIVALENT OF ROOFIES), he tells her that it wasn't rape because she didn't crawl away, she walked away.
You guys, that is fucking disgusting. THESE are the things we talk about when we call out rape culture. THESE are the things that happen IN REAL LIFE and it isn't quite so fucking sexy when a 15 year old girl is being told that she can't have been raped because she was drinking / seemed like she wanted it / seems perfectly fine now / didn't call for help enough. THIS IS A FUCKING PROBLEM.
It also bothers me GREATLY that a gang rape was used to *change* the main character. This is a thing that seems to always have to happen to female characters. Heaven forbid they be strong women just because. Nope, something terrible and sexual has to happen to them to make them better. And in the case of the gang rape, Mac LITERALLY gets superpowers. V'Lane even tells her that the rape was probably a GOOD thing and wouldn't she do it all again if she could? She is raped so much that all she does is have sex for months, and the first time she sees anyone since the gang rape, they all tell her how amazing she looks. Do I need to go on? I think I've maybe touched all the nasty shit that happens in this book at this point.
The good stuff: At the end, when Mac was battling through the Silvers, I forgot for a minute about all this shit and just enjoyed the ride.
This series should have been all about Inspector Jayne. It would have been a vast improvement.
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