Friday, February 11, 2011

Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning



 Book description

“Evil is a completely different creature, Mac. Evil is bad that believes it’s good.”

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

Karen Marie Moning is a master of Urban Fantasy. When I started Shadowfever, within four pages I could tell that the book was going to be something great. This is one series I recommend to everyone. A series that I suggest to people I want to get addicted to the genre like I am. Even though I'm sure it's possible, I can't conceptualize someone who likes the genre, not liking this series. For me this is a series where I want every book in hardcover. I want the books to last a long time. 

I had the book ready to read for over a week before I actually read it. I was super excited but I couldn't bring myself to read it because I knew that as soon as I did, I would no longer have it to look forward to and that first time read experience would be over. Eventually though, my anticipation couldn’t wait any longer and I devoured it in one day and one sleepless night.  I then proceeded to wish I hadn’t read it so quickly and savored it instead. After I finished it, I also didn’t want to read anything for the next few days day because I didn’t want whatever I read to pale in comparison. Of course, this all shows, how tragically emotionally involved I get when I find a series I love. 

So, do I think there is anything that could have been improved….um no. No way. Not in any of the books.  It was awesome. Change one thing and the whole feel of the book or series could come crashing down like a house of cards. Sometimes bits you may not like have to be there. I think Shadowfever is one of the most satisfying endings to a series I ever read. It was complex, engaging and emotional. It wasn’t rushed, it tied into the previous books, it explained all the loose ends, it didn’t end abruptly and by the end I was smiling like an idiot. 

How did this book in particular stand up to others in the series? Fantastically. The book is dramatically written, with inspired statements about life, love and pain. It uses heaps of descriptors in an effort to convey the feelings and experiences of Mac’s journey. 

Sometimes things that are said within the book are confusing, but that’s part of the charm. It leaves you wanting to know what was meant, to know all the secrets and find the hidden meanings. It gives you hints of information that you can use to formulate your own ideas. Ideas I’m never sure about because the books are in no way predictable. This book brings up a new question, what is Mac?
  
I hope I successfully conveyed how awesome I thought this book and this series was. Now the question is: how long should I wait until I read the series all over again?

5/5+


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