Guest Review: Shadowfever *Karen Marie Moning*

Synopsis: MacKayla Lane was just a child when she and her sister, Alina, were given up for adoption and banished from Ireland forever. Twenty years later, Alina is dead and Mac has returned to the country that expelled them to hunt her sister’s murderer. But after discovering that she descends from a bloodline both gifted and cursed, Mac is plunged into a secret history: an ancient conflict between humans and immortals who have lived concealed among us for thousands of years.

What follows is a shocking chain of events with devastating consequences, and now Mac struggles to cope with grief while continuing her mission to acquire and control the Sinsar Dubh — a book of dark, forbidden magic scribed by the mythical Unseelie King, containing the power to create and destroy worlds. In an epic battle between humans and Fae, the hunter becomes the hunted when the Sinsar Dubh turns on Mac and begins mowing a deadly path through those she loves.

Who can she turn to? Who can she trust? Who is the woman haunting her dreams? More important, who is Mac and what is the destiny she glimpses in the black and crimson designs of an ancient tarot card? From the luxury of the Lord Master’s penthouse to the sordid depths of an Unseelie nightclub, from the erotic bed of her lover to the terrifying bed of the Unseelie King, Mac’s journey will force her to face the truth of her exile, and to make a choice that will either save the world... or destroy it

A much anticipated book review from Stacey Agdern aka @nystacey

How I got this book: I work in a bookstore in New York City. I have made no secret of my unabashed enjoyment of this series to the representative from the publisher. As a result, I’d been on the list to receive a copy since the release date was first announced…before then even. It was to my complete shock that a package for me from the publisher arrived when it did…and contained this book. It has not been out of my hands since I received it, and because it was free from the publisher, no money was exchanged.

When authorial innovation clashes with reader expectations, the fallout annoys the authors and has readers breaking up with series once considered favorites. And with recent examples growing more prominent, a reader is left wondering of they can trust an author who seems to be going in a different direction. With absolutely no reservations, I can tell you that when Karen Marie Moning says ‘trust me’, you can believe her.

Shadowfever is the fifth and final book of Moning’s ‘Fever’ series. But I’ve always considered this series one book that has been cut into five pieces, detailing MacKayla Lane’s epic journey to find out who killed her sister, and deal with the events that murder set into play. Inevitably, by the time Shadowfever begins, there are many (and I do mean many) questions left unanswered.

What is Barrons, the dark and dangerous man who’s been a mentor/protector to MacKayla through this journey, and did he survive the events of Dreamfever? Who killed Mac’s sister? What is the leader of the sidhe-seers up to? Who is Mac herself? Is she the Seelie King reincarnated? Is she his concubine reincarnated? Why is the Sinisar Dubh so ‘attracted’ to her? What is V’lane’s real agenda?

In Shadowfever, all of these questions…and more are answered. And for that, I give Moning a great deal of credit. Because it tells the reader she’s accomplished what she set out to: to tell Mac’s story from beginning to end. She also takes the time to give other characters in the series a point of view; both Dani (who has a great deal more story left to tell) and Barrons get chapters and sequences in their perspective. It allows the reader to understand these characters, and their motivations, a great deal better than they would otherwise. And no, for anybody who asks, even though there were things that could have been cut, I didn’t feel as if there was any info dumping that took place.

One of the other things that I, as a reader of Moning’s earlier books adored about this one, are the glimpses of some of the characters that populated some of these earlier books. Drustan, Daegus, Cian and even my favorite, Mr. Adam Black, each make their appearances in ways that help move the story forward, yet at the same time demonstrate continuity in Moning’s world building. It’s not a spoiler that rereads of both Immortal Highlander and Spell of the Highlander immediately followed my read of this book. During the rereads, I discovered that moments in both of these books, either deliberately or not, foreshadowed events in Shadowfever. However, after reading Shadowfever, I have a feeling it was a deliberate motion by Moning.

Over all, Shadowfever was the perfect conclusion to the Fever series, and at the end, showing the emotion and giving the pure, simple calm that both reader (and these characters) had been denied through the journey. The darkest period is just before dawn, and what a dawn it is.

Thank you to Karen Marie Moning, for proving that in a world of uncertainty, a long-time reader can still trust you to deliver the magic. (Delacorte Press)

Final Grade: A-

And for those of you looking for something special, I figured I’d throw in something special:

“Never. I’m the one who will always watch over you. Always be there to fuck you back to your senses when you need it; the one who will never let you die.’

KB pops in- I adore Mac, but Barrons is the ultimate douche... reason why and my thoughts on the entire fever series to come...