Book Review: Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

Summary: 
MacKayla Lane’s life is good. She has great friends, a decent job, and a car that breaks down only every other week or so. In other words, she’s your perfectly ordinary twenty-first-century woman. Or so she thinks…until something extraordinary happens.

When her sister is murdered, leaving a single clue to her death–a cryptic message on Mac’s cell phone–Mac journeys to Ireland in search of answers. The quest to find her sister’s killer draws her into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems, where good and evil wear the same treacherously seductive mask. She is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to learn how to handle a power she had no idea she possessed–a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae….

As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister’s death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysterious Jericho, a man with no past and only mockery for a future. As she begins to close in on the truth, the ruthless Vlane–an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women–closes in on her. And as the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac’s true mission becomes clear: find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Book–because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control of the very fabric of both worlds in their hands….

Review: 
Thank you to The Book Vixen for recommending this series to me!  The only urban fantasy I've ever really liked is Richelle Mead's Dark Swan series (man I can't wait for book three in that series to be released!) so I didn't have super high hopes for Darkfever.  But, I did enjoy this book.

Mac is a typical college girl when all of a sudden her life gets turned upside down by her sister's death.  Her sister, Alina, had been living in Ireland and Mac decides to travel there to uncover the mystery surrounding her death when the police drop the case.  Mac arrives in Ireland only to discover Alina was embroiled in a shadowy, mysterious world of Fae.  Alina could see the Fae, and Mac can too.  As she investigates Alina's death, she meets Jericho Barrons, who on the surface appears to be a bookstore owner but is actually much more than he seems.

As is typical with first-in-a-series books, there was a lot of world-building in Darkfever.  It left me really looking forward to book two and I hear that there is quite the cliffhanger at the end of book four.  I would definitely recommend Darkfever, even though I didn't love it, because I think that this series is going to just keep improving.

Just One Gripe: 
I hate Mac's name.  I've read too many books where a male character is named Mac that it felt so awkward for a female character to be named Mac.  I had to keep reminding myself that Mac is a woman. 

The Best Thing About This Book: 
It was very fast-paced.

Appropriate for a younger audience: 
No!

Score: 
Characters: 3/5
Plot:  3/5
Setting/Imagery: 4/5
Originality: 3/5
Ending: 3/5
Total Score:  16/25





9 comments:

  1. World building can be tedious, but it's great if it's balanced to set up an awesome story! Excellent review! I definitely want to read this one :)

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  2. This sounds good. I always feel for characters that lose a sibling.

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  3. I've so many great things about this series. I think I will wait until the rush to read it is a bit over. The latest book has already 10 holds at my public library! I definitely have it on my tbr pile though. Great review, Kelli!

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  4. I have been wanting to read this for a while now! My grandma loves this series :) Great review!

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  5. I've never heard of this series before. Sounds interesting. I'm intrigued by the Irish setting!

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  6. Hey girlies!! I miss you guys :( Fab review, shame you didn't love it.

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  7. In love with Barrons but will take the Fae guy when I need to whisper his name from my lips... ;)

    Monig older books are good too and remember they have a touch of paranormal with historical romance appeal. The villain I love is Adam Black.

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  8. Nancy loves this series, she is reading the newest one now. I may have to borrow these books from her, soon.

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  9. I didn't 'love' Darkfever either but it's still a good read. Oh, and there's a major cliffhanger at the end of books 3 and 4 (not just 4). Hope you enjoy the rest of the series. Hurry up and read it so we can discuss it!

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