Tag: Fae (Page 4 of 8)

BOOK REVIEW – Flicker (Flicker #1) by Kaye Thornbrugh

BOOK REVIEW – Flicker (Flicker #1) by Kaye ThornbrughFlicker (Flicker #1)
by Kaye Thornbrugh
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Lee Capren’s life is perfectly ordinary, thank you very much—right up until she’s spirited away by faeries and forced to serve them as a portrait artist. She escapes with the help of Nasser, a human boy whose magic has always been more of a curse than a gift. But what felt like a night in Faerie spanned years in the human world, and Lee returns only to find that her old life is gone.

Now living above a shop that caters to the city’s beguiling magical crowd, Lee doesn’t think her life can get more complicated. Then again, she never expected clashes with Filo, her prickly new roommate and unwilling magic tutor, her growing feelings for Nasser—or the cunning faerie bent on dragging her back to the world she just escaped.

Review:

Oh no.  This book was not for me.  The premise was interesting, the world building was fun, but the characters and I did not hit it off.  At all.  And for me?  That’s one of my favorite parts of a book.  To feel everything they are going through.  To hold my breath, to smile, to cry, to be nervous right along with them.  Not only then do I became lost in the pages, but I truly feel immersed in the story.  Sadly, that did not happen with Flicker.  I became adrift, confused and could not find a way to care about any of the characters.

But at first, I was completely intrigued in chapter one.  The story started off with Lee and her best friend at a house party.  What seemed normal, quickly escalated into something else when Lee would catch a glimpse of an image that truly could not be there.  A girl with green hair and black spines growing from her back, a girl with pointed ears, a boy with a snout and wolf’s ears….but when she would take a second glance, they were just normal teenagers.  When things started to become too uncomfortable for Lee, she escaped the party and ended up in the land of the Fey.  Where she stayed for the next 7 years (not by choice)!  At this point, I was SO intrigued.  I was nervous about what was going to happen to Lee and I couldn’t wait to see how she was going to escape.

In the next chapter, everything seemed to change.  We were introduced to two boys, Filo and Nasser, but I quickly became lost.  We would spend a few pages with one of them and then quickly switch to the other.  Then after only a few pages with that one, then we would go back to the other character.  While the switching between characters did eventually become more spaced out, I could never feel attached to any of them.  To know Lee, Nasser or any of the other characters inside out.  Or at the very least to understand their voices.  And with each switch, a lot of times I felt discombobulated.  I never really knew who we were starting out with.  Their voices blended together and felt blurred to me.

I also struggled with the introduction of so many characters within the first few chapters.  We meet Lee, Alice, Morgan, Newman, Jason, a hob, a dryad, Rodney and a lot of names from the Summer Court.  Oh my goodness, I became so confused.  Honestly, it took me close to 32% to have a  good grasp on who was who without having to look at my highlighted notes.  Usually the characters I read about became vivid in my mind and I can visualize every detail about them.  But in Flicker,  I wasn’t able to do that.  Their descriptions became long forgotten.  Especially since I struggled with just keeping up with who was who.

So unfortunately, Flicker was not for me.  While the premise was definitely interesting, I struggled with the changes of viewpoints and the influx of characters.  What connection I had initially made, became disjointed and then lost.  So suffice to say, I will not be continuing on with this series.

***ARC was kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review***

BOOK REVIEW – Shadowfever (Fever #5) by Karen Marie Moning

BOOK REVIEW – Shadowfever (Fever #5) by Karen Marie MoningShadowfever (Fever #5)
by Karen Marie Moning
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

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 herself 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.

Review:

*Spoilers for the previous books in the series*

Shadowfever was rich, imaginative and perfectly wove characters and questions, from the four previous books, throughout.  At nearly 700 pages, this book was excruciatingly painful to put down!  The trials they faced are always taken to that next level, leaving you on the edge of your seat. The mystery completely inundates your senses.  And the Mac that unfolds in front of our eyes is horrifying and enticing all at the same time.  How could we ever expect her to be the same after what she did?  We can’t.

Every time I think I’m getting wiser, more in control of my actions, I go slamming into a situation that makes me excruciatingly aware that all I’ve succeeded in doing is swapping one set of delusions for a more elaborate, attractive set of delusions – that’s me, the Queen of Self-Deception.

She did it.  She killed Barrons.  Her protector.  The one who would never let her die.  And she has no one to blame but herself.  Mac has to leave Barrons’ body.  The GM is on the hunt for her and she has to figure out how to get back to her world and find the Sinsar Dubh.  But along the way, she keeps coming across situations, places and even people that she knows.  Yet as far as she can recall, she’s never been there or met them in the past.  How is that possible?  And as Barron once asked, who is she really?

Call me anything you like-I sleep fine at night.  But you will look at me when you say it.  Or I’ll get so far in your face you’ll be seeing me with your eyes closed.  You’ll be seeing me in your nightmares.  I’ll scorch myself on the backs of your eyelids.  Get off my back and stay off it.  I’m not the woman I used to be.  If you want a war with me, you’ll get one.  Just try me.  Give me an excuse to go play in that dark place inside my head.

Mac is cold, deadly and she has a plan.  Nothing and no one is going to get in her way.  The risks she takes and the games she plays are phenomenal.  She was fascinating and so much fun to watch!  And then when something humongous happens….Oh. My. Gosh!  I’m going to put the next section in a spoiler, so please don’t peek if you haven’t read Shadowfever yet, because it’s a HUGE spoiler!!

With Barrons, you aren’t sure if you’re going to get fucked or turned inside out and left a new, unrecognizable person, adrift with no moorings, on a sea with no bottom and no rules.
I was never immune to him.  There were merely degrees of denial.
View Spoiler »
There was something very cold inside of me.  Always had been.  I wanted to welcome it now.  Let it chill my blood and frost my emotions until there was nothing left in me that was haunted because there was nothing left of me.

Betrayals, lies, secrets and an unstoppable amount of action made for an epic book!  AND I am beyond overjoyed that the majority of my questions got answered!  Each time I reached another page that checked off one of my previous questions, I was elated.  I was not going to be left in the dark!  I still can not believe how much I enjoyed this series, how much I fell for the characters and how my mind is already working on all of the possibilities of what can happen in the future books.  I will definitely be finishing this series, but most likely when the remaining books are all released because her cliffhangers are amazing and torturous.   For now, Shadowfever leaves you at a place where you can step away and not be struggling to breathe.  It’s a perfect place to stop and take a break before you continue on with the series. I am so happy that my lovely friend got me addicted to this series and I can’t wait to read the remaining books in the future!

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 – Dreamfever (Fever #4) by Karen Marie Moning

BOOK REVIEW – Dreamfever (Fever #4) by Karen Marie MoningDreamfever (Fever #4)
by Karen Marie Moning
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

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.

Review:

No, no, no, no, NO!  That did NOT just happen!  I started the book sobbing, and well now the same can be said about the end.  Here I thought the beginning was petrifying and that nothing could be more devastating and crushing.  I was wrong, SO unbelievably wrong.  Ironically after everything I’ve been put through, I finally get the obsession.  Through all of the tears, sweaty palms, smiles and laughter, I finally transitioned from like to love.  And now, I’m beyond terrified that I could lose that foothold in Shadowfever.  But rest assured, the majority of this book was a lot of fun to read!  Be prepared for a whole lot of craziness, gasping out loud, and being crushed into the ground while reading Dreamfever.

Who’d’ve thought destruction could be so beautiful?  Seductive.  Consuming.

I don’t want to revisit the beginning of Dreamfever.  It’s just too depressing.  How about I touch on my favorite things instead?  Yes?  Ok, here we go…..

★ Barrons.  THIS is the Barrons I have been begging to see.  I was driven insane with torturous hints and glances of his caring side in the previous books.  Lucky for us, many of his inhibitions and dickheadedness (Yes, I swear that is a word when one is talking about Barrons!) are down for a period of time.  Happy Barrons, silly Barrons, sexy Barrons…..Yes please!  I want and need more!  I don’t believe that he’s just trying to find a means to an end. View Spoiler »  Barrons has a heart, I just know it has to be true!

★Who Mac becomes.  As I’ve said, she is kick ass, ferocious, and powerful.  I loved that about her. But what she becomes in Dreamfever is even more than that.  Knowing what to sacrifice, how to gain exactly what she wants, and how to control are now tools that she uses with ease.  She is magnificent, beyond brave and bold.  Mac is a sight to see and a truly terrifying opponent for her enemies.

★Dani.  Shockingly, she’s in this list.  We get to be in her head for some of the chapters and my goodness, Dani is immature, naive, crass and would do actions without thinking of what the ramifications could be.  Of course she annoyed me.  BUT, when I tore off my annoyances for 2  seconds, I realized that the girl isn’t even 14 years old.  If I think back to how I was at that age, she is doing a hell of a lot better than I ever would have been able to do!  Dani then became funny, a tremendous amount of help and a good friend to Mac.  She became like the little annoying sister that I never had and couldn’t help love.

★The peril!  It was shocking and nothing could strip me away from these pages. I was terrified, fascinated and then overwhelmed. It was perfection. It was everything I was desperately hoping to find in the first three books. And I’m so glad it finally made an appearance in this series!

And I had to wonder: Was this the whole point?  Was it about taking everything from me there was to take?  Was that what life did?  Made you lose everything you cared about and believed in, then killed you?

Truly beautiful things can come out of such horrific situations.  Mac is one of the lucky ones.  So keep continuing on with this series.  Even though you may go through the emotional wringer and have a huge long list of questions, it is more than worth it.

P.S. I was beyond ecstatic when  View Spoiler »

P.P.S. After sleeping on that ending, I woke up in the morning with a HUGE realization.  I think that 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

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

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