Tag: Magic/Supernatural (Page 13 of 29)

BOOK REVIEW – Faefever (Fever #3) by Karen Marie Moning

BOOK REVIEW – Faefever (Fever #3) by Karen Marie MoningFaefever (Fever #3)
by Karen Marie Moning
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

He calls me his Queen of the Night. I’d die for him. I’d kill for him, too.

When MacKayla Lane receives a page torn from her dead sister’s journal, she is stunned by Alina’s desperate words. And now MacKayla knows that her sister’s killer is close. But evil is closer. And suddenly the sidhe-seer is on the hunt: For answers. For revenge. And for an ancient book of dark magic so evil that it corrupts anyone who touches it.

Mac’s quest for the Sinsar Dubh takes her into the mean, shapeshifting streets of Dublin, with a suspicious cop on her tail. Forced into a dangerous triangle of alliance with V’lane, a lethal Fae prince, and Jericho Barrons, a man of deadly secrets, Mac is soon locked in a battle for her body, mind, and soul.

Review:

*Spoilers for Fever #1 & #2*

Addictive?  Yes!  Infuriating?  Yes!  Will I continue on?  Of course!

Faefever was intense, action-packed and I tore through the pages as fast as possible!  As in the past, we finally get to learn a little bit more about some of the questions that are unanswered.  History and a few tidbits for some of the characters, finally have some light shed on them.  Thank goodness!  I soaked up every single tiny detail that was delivered, but ultimately I felt as though I was lost in the dark.  I still only have a handful of puzzle pieces laid out in front of me.  And in all honesty, I’m not entirely sure they are even correct.  Learning who characters are inside and out is shockingly not something that is going to happen to you by the third book.  My list of questions continues to grow exponentially and it’s kind of driving me insane.  I want to know exactly who each character is and what they stand for!  But as I was nearing the end of the book, those annoyances got blown far from my mind with that ending.  Twenty-four hours later and I am still terrified to open up the 4th book, Dreamfever!  Deep breaths!  I’m going to need them!

Nobody looks good in their darkest hour.  But it’s those hours that make us what we are.  We stand strong, or we cower.  We emerge victorious, tempered by our trials, or fractured by a permanent, damning fault line.

Mac is on her way to meet Christian MacKeltar.  He claims to have known her sister, and Mac is thrilled with the possibility of learning anything she can.  But on her way to meet him, she crosses  paths with the Sinsar Dubh.  Horrifyingly, she watches and learns what the book truly is.  From here, you get taken on a wild ride of  lies, threats, deceit, hotness and of course more ass kicking!

When Barrons looks at me like that, it rattles me.  Lust, in those ancient, obsidian eyes, offers no trace of humanity.  Doesn’t even bother trying. Savage Mac wants to invite it to come out and play, I think she’s nuts. Nuts, I tell you.

I still love Mac, but you know what I’ve come to realize?  She’s a little crazy.  Hmmm, actually she’s ferociously brave.  Let’s go with both.  I love that Mac is a crazy, ferociously brave woman!  The things she did SHOCKED me.  They were ingenious moves on her part that I never once saw coming.  Whether she realizes it or not, she is becoming a powerful, manipulative, controlling being like Barrons.  It’s funny because I can rationalize every which way for all of Mac’s actions.  But when Barrons does the exact same thing, I just call him an ass.

Why, oh why, do we find the most dangerous, forbidden men the most irresistible?

Barron is still a sexy, mysterious man that runs from hot to cold in the blink of an eye.  V’lane is still a sexy, mysterious man errr Faery that runs from hot to cold in the blink of an eye.  Ha!  They do have more distinctions and differences, but for now that is how I am going to view both of them.  While I’m not falling for any of V’lane’s little tricks or lies YAY, I no longer feel guilty for liking Barrons BOO.  The boo exists because I don’t like his barbaric actions and I still want to punch him in the face.

If you enjoyed the two previous books, you can easily count on being entertained in this one as well.  Mac continues to be our favorite kick-ass heroine and Barrons is still a sexy, brutal, jerk (that may be too kind of a word) that keeps racking up even more questions.  Fingers crossed I’ll learn some more answers in Dreamfever.  Now don’t mind me as I go hold my breath and wish that I could just close my eyes and skim over the first few pages or chapter in the next book!

P.S. I LOVE the View Spoiler »

Reading Order & Links:
Amazon (click on covers), iBooks (click on titles) & Book Depository (click on book #)
karen marin moning darkfever
Darkfever #1
Reviews:

Jen

Chelsea
bloodfever karen marie moning
Bloodfever #2

Reviews:
faefever karen marie moning
Faefever #3
Reviews:

Jen

Anna
dreamfever karen marie moning
Dreamfever #4
Reviews:

Jen
Anna
karen marie moning shadowfever
Shadowfever #5
Reviews:

Jen
Chelsea

Anna

Iced #6

Burned #7

Feverborn #8

Save

BOOK REVIEW – Bloodfever (Fever #2) by Karen Marie Moning

BOOK REVIEW – Bloodfever (Fever #2) by Karen Marie MoningBloodfever (Fever #2)
by Karen Marie Moning
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

I used to be your average, everyday girl but all that changed one night in Dublin when I saw my first Fae, and got dragged into a world of deadly immortals and ancient secrets. . . .

In her fight to stay alive, MacKayla must find the Sinsar Dubh—a million-year-old book of the blackest magic imaginable, which holds the key to power over the worlds of both the Fae and Man. Pursued by assassins, surrounded by mysterious figures she knows she can’t trust, Mac finds herself torn between two deadly and powerful men: V’lane, the immortal Fae Prince, and Jericho Barrons, a man as irresistible as he is dangerous.

For centuries the shadowy realm of the Fae has coexisted with that of humans. Now the walls between the two are coming down, and Mac is the only thing that stands between them.

Review:

*spoilers for Darkfever (Fever #1)*

Bloodfever slowly morphed into a phenomenal second installment in the Fever Series, and I can’t wait to see where it goes!  I was reading along, enjoying the ride and somewhere past the 50% mark I transitioned from like to love!  Bloodfever sunk it’s claws deep into me.  It stole my breath, it was impossible to put down, the tension and unknowns were through the roof and the peril was fantastic.  When I reached the final page I screamed NO at my kindle because I knew I would take a little break to write out my thoughts.  I am counting the minutes until I can start the third book in the series, Faefever.

In one short month I’ve managed to piss off virtually every being with magical power in this city.  Half of those I’ve encountered want me dead; the other half want to use me to find the deadly, coveted Sinsar Dubh.
I could run home, I suppose.  Try to forget.  Try to hide.
Then I think of Alina, and how she died.

Mac finally has a face and a name to whom she believed killed her sister.  Retribution has to be hers!  Well, that is once she heals.  After barely surviving a battle with the Lord Master and his minions, Mac is recuperating back at the bookstore.  And she has Barrons to thank for saving her life. With the target in mind, Mac is even more determined to acquire the Sinsur Debar and finish what her sister had tried to start!

I wanted to stab every one of them with my spear as I walked by, but I refrained.  I’m not in this for the little battles.  I’m here for the war.

After being put through an endless supply of trials and tribulations, Mac is officially kick-ass in my eyes!  I love her!  She threatens others who try to destroy her, she puts up phenomenal fights, and she’s not afraid to take calculated risks.  It is almost as though she has slowly been gathering all of Barrons good qualities and making them her own!  Barrons and good qualities in the same sentence together?  I know, shoot me now, but I kind of like him.

For a moment there he hadn’t looked dark, forbidding, and cold, but dark, forbidding, and …. warm.  In fact, when he’d laughed he’d looked … well … kind of hot. I grimaced.  Obviously I’d eaten something bad for lunch.

I feel guilty for liking Barrons!  Is he controlling?  Yes!  Is he manipulative?  Yes!  Does he keep Mac in the dark and still use her as his personal OOP sniffer?  Yes again.  But we seem to be getting some glimpses beneath that exterior of his, and not only is he hot, but he does have a heart after all!  Who would have thought?!  The tenderness he displayed to Mac for 2.2 seconds at the end of Darkfever could not be forgotten.  He cares for Mac.  He values her safety and life.  Or maybe I’m just reading into it too much?  I don’t know and I don’t care because I need to have a little bit of romance and stolen touches and moments here and there in my books.  It’s a weakness.  But I think there may just be a future for Mac and Barrons in the upcoming books!  Fingers crossed!

He brushed a curl from my forehead and I shivered.  Barrons had strong hands with long, beautiful fingers, and I think he carries some kind of electrical charge because every time he touches me it shoots an unwelcome thrill through my body, I took the keys from his hand, being careful not to make contact with skin.  If he noticed, he let it pass unremarked.

Bloodfever was a fun and fast paced read!  I love who Mac and Barrons are turning into and the direction the story is taking.  I love how my questions are slowly being answered……although not the main ones I’m desperately seeking answers for!  And I’m looking forward to following Mac’s adventure and slowly taking on the world with her one puzzle piece at a time!

Reading Order & Links:
Amazon (click on covers), iBooks (click on titles) & Book Depository (click on book #)
karen marin moning darkfever
Darkfever #1
Reviews:

Jen

Chelsea
bloodfever karen marie moning
Bloodfever #2

Reviews:
faefever karen marie moning
Faefever #3
Reviews:

Jen

Anna
dreamfever karen marie moning
Dreamfever #4
Reviews:

Jen
Anna
karen marie moning shadowfever
Shadowfever #5
Reviews:

Jen
Chelsea

Anna

Iced #6

Burned #7

Feverborn #8

Save

BOOK REVIEW – Darkfever (Fever #1) by Karen Marie Moning

BOOK REVIEW – Darkfever (Fever #1) by Karen Marie MoningDarkfever (Fever #1)
by Karen Marie Moning
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

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:

There is a good chance that I may become slightly obsessed with this series. Why? Because of our protagonist, Mac, and the intricate story that unfolds. Mac has this way of slowly reeling you into caring for her. Before I knew it, I was right alongside her feeling every bit as anxious and confused while the craziness swam around us. Because what started out as a trip to discover who murdered Mac’s sister, turned into a story that was filled with rich history and mysteries at every turn. Be careful, because before you know it, Darkfever’s suspenseful, sarcastic, page-turning story could suck you right in too!

Before, I thought I knew everything. I thought I knew who I was, where I fit, and exactly what my future would bring. Before, I thought I knew I had a future. After, I began to discover that I’d never really known anything at all.

The story starts out with Mac receiving a call that her sister has been murdered while studying abroad in Ireland. Upon facing the horrors of having to identify her mutilated body, Mac is convinced that she has to set matters right. She will go to Irelend and push the police to solve her sisters murder. But upon arrival, “things” keep interfering with her ability to move ahead. She starts to see evil, disgusting creatures that were just human a second ago, she hears words she doesn’t understand, she finally discovers a horrifying message from her sister on her phone, and she meets a man that pulls her deeper into the twisted world of the Fae. Or as I like to put it….the story becomes more and more addicting as we discover random pieces of the puzzle.

“I tend bar. I like music. My sister was murdered recently. I seem to have gone insane since then,” I added this last almost conversationally.

Mac is, ha, well, Mac is someone you would not expect. She is a 22 year old girl who loves her pink fingernail and toenail polish, dressing stylish and keeping herself bronzed and beautiful. YET the internal Mac is the polar opposite. She is sarcastic. She is witty. And most importantly she is determined! As each chapter progressed and the more I learned about Mac, I shockingly went from meh to I-love-this-girl! It also helped that she tries her damnedest to stand up to Barrons. Because she was 100% correct when she said he was a dickhead!

He just didn’t look like the kind of creep that would messily murder a woman in her hotel room; he looked like the kind of creep that would line her up in the sights of his assassin’s rifle without a shred of emotion.

Jericho Barrons, aka Barrons, is an ass. He is not what I wanted for the main male, but shoot me now…..I like trying to hate him! I know, so, so, so wrong! As I was saying, he is an ass, his proper talk is annoying as hell, his lack of compassion makes me want to cause him physical harm and I loath how he calls Mac Ms. Lane. Yet……and I hate this yet……..he is perfect for this book. I liked that he tries to help Mac find her sister’s murderer, despite his screwed up ways and selfish reasons. I loved how Barrons is a huge mystery since we don’t really know who and what he is. I have three guesses, but it’s driving me crazy that I can’t solidify any one of my theories!

You want to believe in black and white, good and evil, heroes that are truly heroic, and villains that are just plain bad, but I’ve learned in the past year that things are rarely so simple. The good guys can do some truly awful things, and the bad guys can sometimes surprise the heck out of you.

Although I was a little slow to warm up to Darkfever, I can’t wait to fly through the rest of this series. I’m hoping that an element that is introduced to us in the first book continues! Mac talks to us and she would point out something that would affect her later on, or explain how she was oblivious to the current situation. I loved how that read and how that pulled me into the story even more! But I I do have one small issue with this book and that is in regards to V’lane, an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction to human women, and the scenes that contain him and Mac. They rubbed me the wrong way View Spoiler » and I’m hoping that will somehow become resolved in future books or my mind.

Reading Order & Links:
Amazon (click on covers), iBooks (click on titles) & Book Depository (click on book #)
karen marin moning darkfever
Darkfever #1
Reviews:

Jen

Chelsea
bloodfever karen marie moning
Bloodfever #2

Reviews:
faefever karen marie moning
Faefever #3
Reviews:

Jen

Anna
dreamfever karen marie moning
Dreamfever #4
Reviews:

Jen
Anna
karen marie moning shadowfever
Shadowfever #5
Reviews:

Jen
Chelsea

Anna

Iced #6

Burned #7

Feverborn #8

BOOK REVIEW – Of Beast and Beauty by Stacey Jay

BOOK REVIEW – Of Beast and Beauty by Stacey JayOf Beast and Beauty by Stacey Jay
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

In the beginning was the darkness, and in the darkness was a girl, and in the girl was a secret...

In the domed city of Yuan, the blind Princess Isra, a Smooth Skin, is raised to be a human sacrifice whose death will ensure her city’s vitality. In the desert outside Yuan, Gem, a mutant beast, fights to save his people, the Monstrous, from starvation. Neither dreams that together, they could return balance to both their worlds.

Isra wants to help the city’s Banished people, second-class citizens despised for possessing Monstrous traits. But after she enlists the aid of her prisoner, Gem, who has been captured while trying to steal Yuan’s enchanted roses, she begins to care for him, and to question everything she has been brought up to believe.

As secrets are revealed and Isra’s sight, which vanished during her childhood, returned, Isra will have to choose between duty to her people and the beast she has come to love.

Review:

This was the first book I’ve read that is a retelling of a fairy tale. Truthfully, I was nervous to read a story that held hints of Beauty and the Beast laced throughout the pages. Because whenever my mind thinks about that particular story, I always envision the movie by Disney. The one that filled with me with hope, love, faith that there will always be a bad guy that can be defeated and happily ever afters. And well, could I get those same feelings from this book too? I know that’s a lot to expect, and maybe even wrong to think those thoughts. But, I’m pleasantly surprised to say that I did fall for this “Beauty” and “Beast” book. It was a charming story that was filled with true love, deceit, magic, bad guys, and a world that was at times twisted and sinister. It was a lot of fun to read!

Great men aren’t afraid to do dangerous things to tip the hand of fate in their favor.

On another planet, people have been relegated to specific lifestyles. The smooth-skins live within domed cities. Their harvest, water and lifestyles are all maintained at the cost of the life of the queen or princess. Their sacrifice must be made throughout the years to pay for their safety and lifestyle within the dome. Isra is a blind Princess, whose fate has always been to be the sacrificial one. Outside of the domes, the land is in ruins. Resources are scarce and the creatures that live there are called the Monstrous. They are mutated beasts, and Gem is one of them. Gem has set out on a plan to save his kind from starvation, but in the process he is caught by the blind princess. Isra holds Gem prisoner, but as time passes, truths became known and slowly their world transitions from black and white to grey.

“You seem curious about what will happen when you die,” I whisper. “Maybe it’s time for your curiosity to be satisfied.” – Gem

Isra is not what you would expect a blind princess to be. While she is at times subdued and allows others to make choices for her, she takes risks (risks that shocked me!), she “sees” more than others give her credit, and when backed into a corner she becomes a fighter. What I loved most about Isra was how she treated others and of course her ability to get past what others couldn’t. Her interactions with Gem warmed my heart. And speaking of Gem, I loved him! I don’t care if he was a feral mutated beast, he won me over! He was bold, calculating, manipulative and his inner turmoil of struggling with what was right and wrong weighed on me and made me care for him that much deeper.

No matter how well we’ve been getting along, or how much more human Gem is than I could have dreamed a monstrous would be, it was stupid to start confessing things to him. He’s not my friend; he’s my prisoner. – Isra

Of Beast and Beauty was an entertaining page turner that I definitely recommend. The hints of the original Beauty and the Beast story were perfectly intertwined with this tale. But keep in mind that this fairy tale was so vastly different from the original, that it is impossible to compare the two. There is so much more depth to this story than I have even started to explain. The side characters are entertaining, the plot is interesting and the twist, even though I figured it out, was still exciting because of the chain events that were caused. I love that lies were spun, secrets were hidden, wrongs became rights and in the end a beautiful story was born.

BOOK REVIEW – Unravel Me (Shatter Me #2) by Tahereh Mafi

BOOK REVIEW – Unravel Me (Shatter Me #2) by Tahereh MafiUnravel Me (Shatter Me #2)
by Tahereh Mafi
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

tick
tick
tick
tick
tick
it's almost
time for war.

Juliette has escaped to Omega Point. It is a place for people like her—people with gifts—and it is also the headquarters of the rebel resistance.

She's finally free from The Reestablishment, free from their plan to use her as a weapon, and free to love Adam. But Juliette will never be free from her lethal touch.

Or from Warner, who wants Juliette more than she ever thought possible.

In this exhilarating sequel to Shatter Me, Juliette has to make life-changing decisions between what she wants and what she thinks is right. Decisions that might involve choosing between her heart—and Adam's life.

Review:

What was once an inquisitive story that I was enthralled with, turned into something that was frustratingly difficult to finish. I’m still in shock that I went from not being able to put the book down, to forcing myself to pick it back up. My problem with Unravel Me began when some of the characters started to change. Their demeanor became foreign and honestly, I stopped caring for them. They weren’t who I knew and loved. I could no longer understand or connect to them. They turned into strangers, and I am saddened over how they were altered.

You know how your favorite books feel as though the characters are real and that they are the ones driving the book forward? Each and every choice or action, whether you agree or not, are theirs and they own it. THIS was one of the many things I loved about Shatter Me. Adam, Juliette and Warner were each distinct and their decisions felt real. But somewhere during the pages of Unravel Me, that all changed. It felt as though the characters were transformed to MAKE the story lead in a certain direction. And I can’t be OK with that. I LOVED Adam, and he became someone I disliked. He became angry, distant and desperate. My heart hurt watching him morph into a man I didn’t even recognize. And Juliette became someone who was indecisive and wouldn’t stop toying with others emotions. She would throw Adam away only to reel him back in part way and then throw him back out all over again. I started to dislike Juliette. Maybe even hate. And Warner was such an amazing villain. He was dark, twisted and someone I loved to hate. But he became the misunderstood one. The one whose past is so horrible, that he just needs love and his secret actions are meant to warm your heart. I. Just. Can’t.

So it’s safe to say, I will not be continuing on with this series.

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2025

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑