Archive for the ‘Karen Marie Moning’ Category

QUICK WARNING: As usual, proceed with caution! All the good parts that I will be discussing in this book are pretty much spoilers for the book before it.

Book#4 – The latest but not last book in MacKayla’s world (one more expected this year), was my absolute favorite of the lot. Not only do we get to see a completely different version of MacKayla, but we experience a very changed world through her eyes, and even get some special one on one time with Barrons. What did I not like? The cliffhanger!! Well actually, I LOVED it (brilliant!), I just didn’t like that I couldn’t immediately continue onto the next book and get relief.

I was told by many that Karen Marie Moning is the “queen of cliffhangers”. It was recommended that, to avoid suffering, I should wait until the fifth and final installment was released, and read the entire series at once, without having to experience the horrid “cliffhanger” panic. I intended to do that. I really did.

There are two things I hate most when reading a new book. Spoilers (I don’t wanna know until it’s time – I LOVE surprises!), and cliffhangers (I wanna know what happens right NOW – I HATE surprises!). But my fellow Twitter/Blogger friends insisted on discussing the series amongst each other with glee, and it sounded soooooo good! So, I decided I could not wait, I had to see what all the fuss was about. I don’t regret it…the series is fantastic. It teased me, excited me, and REFUSED to give me everything I ever wanted, keeping me coming back for more…But I will admit, I internally screamed in agony at the ending (had I let loose, I would have totally freaked out my dogs – and who needs their incessant barking at a time like this!?). I even had to endure mindless TV shows to keep my thoughts from overly obsessing about the ending.

I think I’m better now. I think I’m ready to talk about it. So here goes…

The last book ended with, essentially, the end of the world as we know it. The walls came down, the UnSeelie were highly organized, lights went out all over the city, and humans were lead into Shade territory in droves (and Shades essentially took over all of Dublin). Looting, fighting, panicking and death. All hell had broken loose. Mac, alone in the heart of it, unable to reach Barrons or V’lane, obliged to take refuge in a church, was discovered by the UnSeelie Princes and turned Pri-ya…cliffhanger!

Dreamfever not only eased my cliffhanger pain (since I already had it on hand),  but the whole first part of it eased a whole lot more than that! Mac’s favorite sidhe-seer sister Dani (and a few other of the sidhe-seer team) managed to find and take Mac back to the Abbey with them before the Lord Master took her away with him.

Thing I really want to know is: Where the feck is V’lane? Why hasn’t he come for Mac? Why didn’t he stop the UnSeelie Princes from raping her? I call for him as I dart around the countryside, but if he hears me yelling, he doesn’t answer to me. Guess not to Mac anymore, either.

And Barrons – what’s his deal? Doesn’t he want her alive? Why have they all abandoned her when she needs ‘em the most?

Men.

In turn, Barrons (with his team of eight very similar men) eventually manages to get her back from the Abbey. Mac, unable to comprehend what is going on around her, inherently recognizes Barrons, on a primitive level.

Something looms over me. It is dark and powerful. It is electric. It is lust. It is not one of my princes, but my body arches and steams. Yes, yes, yes, you are what I need!

It touches me. I am on fire! I weep with relief. It holds me to its body, crushes me to its skin. We sizzle. It speaks but I do not understand its language. I am in a place beyond words. There is only skin and flesh and need.

Dealing with a Pri-ya isn’t easy. Mac had been turned into a mindless sex slave (well, not really mindless, more like focused on only ONE need, with the inability to concentrate on anything else). Pooooor Barrons, was forced to use all means necessary to bring her back to humanity. Old photographs, sex, memories, sex, nail polish, sex, music, sex sex, sex sex sex sex sex….Oh, and eventually, a Christmas tree…and sex.

He stares.

He curses. “No, Mac,” he says.

I do not know what “Mac” means.

But I know what “no” means.

And I do not like it.

I pout. But it quickly curves into a smile. I know a secret. For a beast of such power, his self-control with me is weak. I have learned this in our time together. I wet my lips, give him a look, and he makes that raw, angry-sounding noise deep in his throat that makes my blood hot, hot, hot, because every time he makes it I know he’s just about to give me what I want.

He cannot resist me. It bothers him. He is an odd animal.

That whole section (and there is MUCH more to it than the excerpts I quoted here) is worth re-reading over and over and over again. LOL! Not just for the sex, get your mind out of the gutter! We finally get a deeper glimpse into who Barrons is (well, not WHAT he is, but his softer side…if you can call it that).

“I want it to always be like this,” I tell him.

His nostrils flare, obsidian eyes mock. “Try holding on to that thought.”

“I do not need to try. I will never feel differently.”

“Ah, Mac,” he says, and his laughter is as dark and cold as the place of which I dream. “one day you will wonder if it’s possible to hate me more.”

Barrons works hard, patiently trying to teach Mac about language, the need for clothes, humanity and it’s celebrations. He places photos of her family in her surroundings, plays her favorite music, puts her favorite outfits together, and even does her nails. While she resists almost everything he tries to teach her (key word is “almost”…there is one thing from Barrons that she NEVER resists), she slowly learns and begins remembering. They eventually get so cozy together, that even he opens up, and dances and sings with her, naked! I wonder if they’ll use that in the movie

Ok, not to be a party-pooper, but I’ll admit, I was a bit taken by surprise that Barrons would have sex with her, while she was essentially out of her mind. Thinking about it though, I guess it *might* make sense that being in close proximity for two months with someone out of her mind with desire for sex, might have made it tough on him…and well, you’ll see – Mac was very insistent…

He often speaks nonsense.  I ignore it. I shut his mouth with mine. Or with my breasts, or other parts. It works every time.

Okayyyyy….that cinches it. I take my party-pooper opinion back..

A bittersweet moment when Mac begins showing signs of her humanity again, and remembering who she is…

He touches my face.

There is something different in his touch. It feels like he’s saying good-bye, and I know a moment of panic. But my dream sky darkens and sleep’s moon fills the horizon.

“Don’t leave me.” I thrash in the sheets.

“I’m not, Mac.”

I know I am dreaming then, because dreams are home to the absurd and what he says next is beyond absurd.

“You’re leaving me, Rainbow Girl.”

That one clenched my heart tight…

So, MacKayla comes around. Unfortunately, while I’m sure Barrons *might* have stuck to his sweetness with her, she decides to embrace her independent bad-ass self, and leave him (just as he expected).

You told me I was your world.

“It wasn’t me. I was an animal.” My heart pounded. My cheeks burned.

You never wanted it to end.

Did you hear that? That was the sound of his heart locking itself back in. Why Mac? WHY????? He finally opened up (well… as much as inhumanly possible for him), and now you just revert back to the old Mac and Barrons?

Back to the expressions of impassivity, snide remarks, and sarcastic quips. Why? Oh…I know why. Because readers like me LOVE head-games! I get it… give the reader an inch (or *ahem*…anyway) and then take it ALL back!

Aaaannnnnddd we’re back….a little moment of fantasy, and now we’re in hell. A huge chunk of humanity has been exterminated, Earth now has these eerie “Interdimensional Fairy Potholes” that one can be lost in, all of Dublin is a Dark Zone, and the “out-of-the-closet” Fae now openly walk the earth. Mac’s out, trying to work with the sidhe-seers, V’lane, Barrons, and everyone that she can help solve the issues. The cast of characters continues to grow, and each one brings a special power to the mix. This installment allows us to get to know each one a little better. You’ll even find yourself wondering about the Lord Master himself…he’s quite insistent that he did not kill Alina, and in fact seems to have loved her. V’lane, Barrons, Inspector Jayne, the Lord Master and even the sidhe-seers continue to vie for Mac’s allegiance. Flitting from one to the next, desperate to find a solution, she continues to question who/what Barrons is, what they all truly want with the book, and what the Dark Book wants with her (and it definitely wants her).

Ok another of my favorite moments (I refuse to leave out the wonderful V’lane):

“Get your things,” Barrons said. “Let’s go. Now.”

“MacKayla comes with me,” said V’lane. “You cannot protect her parents. You cannot sift. She will not choose you.”

There was enough testosterone in the room for an entire army of men, and I wasn’t immune to it. Even without glamour, V’lane was more seductive than any human male alive. And Barrons – well, the body remembered and reveled in every moment of it. The two of them turning it up at the same time made it a little hard to breathe.

Lucky girl! Two unbelievably sexy men fighting for her, and you’ll see, V’lane continues to raise the bar in his absolute sweetness…

Really, not too many spoilers to give, since nothing has actually been answered. Little teasers all the way through, tidbits of information that we can try to puzzle together, but mostly, the hints serve to simply befuddle us more.

Lots of great action in this one. In fact, a very exciting and terrifying ending that had me gripping my e-book and gave me hand cramps! This series is NOT to be missed.

Okay first – LOVED this book too. This series is most definitely one of my favorites. Second – I don’t think I’ve “spoiled” anything in this review, but this series is hard to review without revealing some info. Proceed with care. Third, my review doesn’t even begin to include all of the intricate details, and mind blowing revelations that make this story so interesting. All I can say is you have to read it to “get” why so many people love this series.

Each book in this series leads us deeper into more dangerous territory expanding on how dire the world’s situation really is. While each installment presents us a new danger/adventure that Mac has to face, this book in particular cumulates the past events and lessons that Mac has learned, and thrusts the reality of it all right back in her face. She quickly realizes that everything she has learned and experienced in her short stay in Dublin doesn’t begin to prepare her (and the readers) for the impending disaster if they do not succeed in keeping the “wall” up between the worlds. Nothing like real-world experience to drive a lesson home…

As the days lead to the upcoming fateful Halloween Night (where it is said, that the walls between the worlds are the thinnest), they scramble to find a solution. She quickly learns that the Head Mistress of the Abbey (the main headquarters for hundred’s of Sidhe-seers) seems to detest Mac (for what reason?), and seems to have her own ulterior motives. She also discovers that the slew of murders in Dublin are associated with the “Dark Book” (the Sinsar Dubh). In case I have not mentioned it before, this book was created by the UnSeelie King (and holds all of his magical secrets) and whoever has it (along with certain artifacts that help control it) will potentially hold the power to both worlds.

While she is the only one who can sense it’s whereabouts (making her highly important to all who hunt it), they have just realized that it travels, essentially, on it’s own. The slew of murders and self-suicides occurring in droves through Dublin are because the book possesses whoever touches it.

We’d been so wrong, Barrons and I!

We’d believed the Sinsar Dubh was in the possession of someone with a cogent plan who was transporting it from place to place with a purpose, someone who was either using it to accomplish certain goals or guarding it, trying to keep it from falling into the wrong hands.

But it wasn’t in the possession of anyone with a plan, cogent or otherwise, and it wasn’t being moved.

It was moving.

Passing from one set of hands to the next, transforming each of its victims into a weapon of violence and destruction. Barrons had told me that Fae relics had a tendency to take on a life and purpose of their own in time. The Dark Book was a million years old. That was a lot of time. It had certainly taken on some kind of life.

After the recent and mysterious murder of Inspector O’Duffy (who was working closely with Mac at the time), his brother-in-law, also a law enforcer for the “Garda” (Inspector Jayne) continues to interrogate and suspect Mac of foul play. However, he quickly discovers O’Duffy’s mysterious “Dark Zone” maps and unfinished investigation. Following up, he notices the slew of abandoned cars, wallets, even clothing, and in similar fashion, surmises that Mac knows more than she is letting on.

“Can you think of anything that might explain what you found?”

A muscle worked in his jaw. “No.”

“Then what do you expect me to tell you? That evil creatures of the night have taken over Dublin? That they’re right down there” – I flung my arm out to the right – “and they’re eating people and leaving the parts they don’t like behind? That they’ve claimed certain territories as their own, and if you’re stupid enough to walk or drive into one after dark, you’ll die?” There, that was as close to warning him as I could get.

“Don’t be a fool, Ms. Lane.”

“Ditto, Inspector,” I said sharply. “You want my advice? Stay out of places you can’t find on maps. Now go away.” I turned my back on him.

Knowing that seeing is believing and seizing the opportunity to garner more support on her side, she feeds Inspector Jayne some “special” sandwiches (ground-up UnSeelie flesh), that will allow him the opportunity to see what is taking over Dublin (while also giving him that power-boost he needs to help protect himself).

Still not knowing who to trust amongst those she associates with (the mystery of Barrons continues to unfold, as she grapples with each sinister revelation, and V’lane with the simple fact that he is Fae, forces her to question his true motives), she decides to cover all of her bases, by acquiring one more ally on her team.

I left Jayne at the Garda station on Pearse Street, assuring him his vision would wear off soon. As we parted, I saw the same hollow expression in his eyes I sometimes glimpsed in my own.

I felt sorry for him.

But I needed someone on the inside at the Garda, and now I had him.

Mac continues to gather bits and pieces about Irish lore, from those around her. Since she is unable to get the whole truth from Barrons, she is forced to take each bit of information and reconstruct it into something that makes sense, and might explain her role in the upcoming catastrophe. She amasses information ranging from the pact between the Fae and humans, the Unseelie King’s original motives for his now highly destructive magic, her sidhe-seer origins, and about a Druid clan that helps protect the humans by performing a ritual, each Halloween, to maintain the walls that keep the evil Fae (UnSeelies) at bay. In fact, another one of her new “friends”, the handsomely rugged Christian, is one of those Druids.

Deciding that the only team she is on is “Team Mac”, she devises her own scheme of give and take with the information she collects, and negotiates private deals with each of her “suitors” (providing the reader with a ton of exhilarating drama).

I needed all the edges I could get. I knew V’lane didn’t really consider humans viable life forms, and I had no more reason to trust him than I did Barrons. V’lane might be Seelie, and Barrons might keep saving my life but I had far too many unanswered questions about them both.

Hrrmmm…I dunno….this little game you’re playing MacKayla, might just come back to bite you in the ass.

Okay so one more bit of information, and I’m leaving the rest of the discovery to you. The all to quickly approaching Halloween is literally a do or die situation. The black magic that has been persistently distressing the “walls” between the worlds has weakened them significantly, and the Druids fear that their ritual will not be enough this year. Once the walls are down, all hell will break loose, as the strongest of the UnSeelie will break free of their prison, potentially overrunning our world. Strange alliances are forged, but will it be enough to combat the evil that tries to infiltrate every strained facet of their world?

Ok, a few of my “non-spoiler-ish” favorite parts:

This one makes Barrons REALLY mad! He says it’s not jealousy, but I like to think it is. The undeniably seductive V’lane, anxious that he has missed a few opportunities to protect Mac, provides her with a means to contact him at any time:

“A kiss? Oh, please! I’m not that – “

“My name on your tongue. I cannot teach you to say it. Humans do not possess the ability to form such sounds. But I can give it to you. With my mouth, I can place it on your tongue. Then you have but to release my name to the wind, and I will appear.”

Mmmmm…that is a sweet moment. I still heart V’lane. The amazing trust and effort he puts into making her happy…*sigh*

Unfortunately (or fortunately for my squealing delight), Barrons just happened to see it happen (and responded in a  typical “Barrons way”):

“His tongue was halfway to China and you were still taking it.”

“Jealous?”

“Implies emotional investment. The only investment I have in you is my time, and I’m expecting a big payoff.”

Don’t get me wrong. I heart Barrons just as much as V’lane. His insistence on unemotional ties, make the tiny moments of humanity (anger, jealousy) that peep through, that much more meaningful.

“You stand there all tan and glowing and wonder why I use Voice on you?” he bellowed. “Where the hell do you get off? You’ve been with V’lane again. How many slaps in the face do you think I’m going to take, Ms. Lane?

The unshakeable, all powerful, un-breakable Barrons with a *smidge* of vulnerability? Sexy beyond belief! I know, I know, he doesn’t sound so vulnerable here. But he is…I know it (and in the next book, you get to see it…woooooo-hooooooo. Too hot to hold!)

I am already on book four, and have conveniently found every excuse in the "book" to plow through the series, shunning my dutiful side. I’ve been ignoring the voice in the back of my head, reminding me that I should be reviewing as I read. It seems all responsibility goes out the window, with me, when it comes to more potential time with Barrons!

Ok so book #2….hrmmm…lotsa stuff happened… book was great! Ok off I go to finish book four, BYE! (haha!) Good joke huh!?

Mac continues to live and assist Barrons in his endeavors (and he helps protect her from those that pursue her). While she feels a slight attraction to him, his overbearing and serious nature keeps any stray thoughts at bay. I love her description of him:

Beneath the expensive clothes, unplaceable accent, the cultured veneer, there’s something that never crawled all the way out of the swamp. It didn’t want to. It likes it there.

In fact, she continues to mistrust him and his intentions for the ever important book, the "Sinsar Dubh" (one that everyone, Fae, artifact collector and mercenary alike, are after). The fact that she is the only one who can sense when it is in proximity, makes her a very valuable asset to those searching for it.

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.

Feeling guilty over her potential role in the death of numerous hit men (that were actually coming to kill her and Barrons), she suspects her conscience is playing tricks on her, when she spots a "Grim Reaper" following around. Despite all of the supernatural that has been occurring, she concludes that the Grim Reaper is a figment of her imagination, considering nobody else can see him, and she can throw things right through him.

While she contends with the true evil in Dublin (including her sister’s ex, and probable murderer, the "Lord Master"), the police officer (Inspector O’Duffy) that was assigned to her sister’s murder case realizes that Dublin’s maps have changed significantly in the last few years. Streets, and neighborhoods once tended by the city, no longer appear on recent maps, as if they’ve suddenly just disappeared. While these issues have never been addressed in the past, the truth is, the streets do still exist, but essentially as "ghost towns". Bit by bit, as the city lights burn out in certain areas, they are taken over by the most primitive of Fae (the "Shades"), who devour anyone to enter their "zone" during the dark night. For some "magical" reason, nobody notices, and the city drops the streets from their maintenance schedule. Finally realizing that there is more to Mac’s story about her sister, and suspicious about these "Dark Zones", the officer confronts her.

"I thought there might be something else you wanted to tell me, Ms. Lane. Something that might sound…a bit…unusual?"

I saw it then, in his eyes. Something had happened to the inspector recently that had drastically changed his paradigm. I had no idea what had shaken the hard-boiled, overworked, fact-finding detective from his pragmatic view of the world but he, too, was now thinking outside the box.

I needed him inside his box – ASAP. Outside the box in this city was a dangerous place to be.

Her relationship with V’lane (a "good" Seelie Prince, aka "death-by-sex-fae") takes an interesting turn, as he saves her from a deliberate attempt on her life (someone shut all the lights off in and around the bookstore, and opened a window), allowing the "Shades" to enter her abode. To thank him, she promises him an hour of her time. In that "hour", V’lane presents her with a gift, an afternoon with her sister, on a beautiful beach. Playing volleyball, and knowing that what she sees should not be believed, she appreciates his attempt at easing her pain.

One of the sweetest and saddest moments in the book:

I rolled over and looked at her. "Is this a dream, Alina"

She turned toward me and smiled. "No."

"Is it real?"

She smiled again, sadly. "No."

"Then what is this?"

She bit her lip. "Don’t ask me, just enjoy the day."

"I need to know."

"It’s a gift from V’lane. A day on the beach with me."

Unfortunately, upon her return to the bookstore, a furious Barrons is awaiting for her, having turned the bookstore and her room in shambles. While it felt like a simple afternoon to her, in human time, she has been missing for over a month.

As she continues to struggle with her trust issues between V’lane and Barron, and tries to balance out where her loyalties lie with either of them (they can’t stand each other)…

"You seem to have done well enough on your own. You had your new friend, V’lane, to assist you." He said the name in a way that made the prince sound like a prancy little fairy, not the lethally seductive Fae he was.

…she also learns about her true lineage (great story line here), her loving family, more Irish lore, and the other sidhe -seers that she is inherently connected to.

I couldn’t believe I’d so completely lost track of time, but I’d had mosters to fight, a police interrogation to deal with, a graveyard to search, my dad to send home, a mobster’s brother’s death to avert, a new job to learn, and an illegal auction to end.

Oh and by the way…what is Barrons, really? While in a past review, I mentioned he was also a sidhe -seer, Mac learns something new, while she talks to a fellow sidhe -seer:

"Mac," she shot over her shoulder, "one more thing, and if you tell Rowena I told you, I’ll lie. But you need to know. There are no males among us. Never have been. Whatever your employer is, he’s not one of us."

Who to trust? Dependant on re-discovering the truth about herself through strangers, who is lying, and who is out to hurt her? Grappling with her unstable new world, she is suddenly kidnapped.

And this is where my synopsis of this book will end. Anything more, from her time in captivity will prove to spoil the story, and there is MUCH to learn about the Fae, their power, Mac’s character, and that of those she tries to trust. It is downright scary, exhilarating, and a twisted fun time!

As of this book, I was still undecided about which male I had a bigger crush on. Did I prefer V’lane, the gorgeous, sexual, powerful yet emotionally accessible Fae prince,

"Can I leave?"

"Yes."

"Could I choose to stay?"

"And have anything you ever wanted, MacKayla. Forever."

or did I like the shrewd, brooding, sexy, indestructible and emotionally INaccessible Barrons?

"Yes I have loved, Ms. Lane, and although it’s none of your business, I have lost. Many things. And no, I am not like any other player in this game and I will never be like V’lane, and I get a hard-on a great deal more often than occasionally." He leaned fully against me and I gasped. "Sometimes it’s over a spoiled little girl, not a woman at all. And yes, I trashed the bookstore when I couldn’t find you."

The author does well as she strings us along between the two. And again, in a different way, I get my beloved "angst-y triangle". While romantic tension abounds throughout the series, we are only granted just a split-second of passion. You’ll find yourself just as grateful for it, as if it was an intensely lascivious love scene.

Well now, that was exciting! No romance (well, not yet anyway) but a great intro into what I’m sure will prove to be an edge of your seat, nail-biting joy ride. As I was describing this book to my husband, I explained it to him as part “National Treasure”, part “Stargate” (ok, this is pushing it a bit), and part “Buffy” (well the *feel* of it, anyway). The book is narrated by the “future version” of the main character, reflecting on her intro to this paranormal world.

It is about a Georgia raised, all American pretty girl (MacKayla Lane). Of a bubbly nature, her cheery life revolves around her appearance and the love of her family. Surrounded by a close-knit community, she has always felt secure in her skin, and carefree in what her future holds. While not as motivated as her slightly older sister Alina, she plans on returning to school with her, when Alina gets back from Ireland.

Unfortunately, her outlook on life changes drastically. She receives a call from abroad, about the murder of her sister. Frustrated by the lack of police interest in solving the crime, she heads to Ireland to do some investigating of her own. Listening to a voice message left by her sister just hours before her death, she hopes to find clues and explanations as to the terms of the cryptic message her panicked sister left her.

Once in Ireland, Mac experiences strange reactions by some of the locals to her presence. She also thinks she is “seeing things” when some of the almost ethereal gorgeousness of some local men fall away, revealing monstrous entities of sorts, if she stares at them too intently. Confused, she loses herself in an eerie almost deserted part of town. To her relief, she locates a bookstore and while awaiting a cab, decides to discuss some of her sister’s unfamiliar terminology with the librarian, hoping to uncover their meaning.

This is where Mac’s future will forever change, and uproot her whole perspective on life.

She uncovers that her sister was involved in something “otherworldly” while in Ireland. Through these discoveries, Mac’s own true abilities and nature are revealed (one being that she is a “sidhe -seer”). With the reluctant help of “Jerricho Barrons” (another sidhe -seer), Mac learns that Ireland is being inundated by the “Seelie” and “Unseelie” (different species of Fae), and that sidhe -seer’s can see Fae, resist their magic, and each sidhe -seer has their own unique “gift” to bring to the table.

“You, Ms. Lane, are a sidhe -seer.”

“Huh?” What was a she-seer.

“A sidhe -seer. You see the Fae.”

I burst out laughing.

“This is no laughing matter,” he said roughly. “This is about life and death, you imbecile.”

“I laughed harder. “What, some pesky little fairy’s going to get me?”

Realizing that she is one of a few rare humans that are able to see and potentially fight the Fae, she is forced to partner with the rather abrupt and domineering Barrons. Struggling with her own disillusioned reality, and wondering who, if anyone, can be trusted, Mac realizes that she has been drawn too deeply into this new world to ever be able to escape back to her old illusions, alive.

Secrets. Everyone had secrets. Alina had taken hers to the grave. I had no doubt that trying to ask V’lane questions when I saw the Fae again – I wasn’t stupid enough to think it was done with me – would be an exercise in futility. The alleged prince might answer me, but I was only an OOP-detector, not a lie detector. And Barrons was no better. As Fiona’s little dispute with him revealed, he was keeping secrets, too, and I was somehow in even more danger than I already knew.

Begrudging her sister, Barrons, and her own sheltered deception of a childhood for possibly leading her into this unwanted reality, she fights for her life.

Please make it go all away. I want my sister back and I want to go home and forget that I ever came here. I want to never have met you. I want my life back just the way it was.

“Sometimes, Ms. Lane,” he said, one must break with one’s past to embrace one’s future. It is never an easy thing to do. It is one of the distinguishing characteristics between survivors and victims. Letting go of what was, to survive what is.”

While she still intends on uncovering and exacting revenge on her sister’s killer, Mac’s world proves unrelenting in unwanted action and danger, when she assists Barron’s in a few “recon” missions for a specific book, and other important Fae relics.

Barrons wasn’t turning out to be a good influence on me at all. In a single night he’d gotten me to dress like a floozy, burgle like a common thief, and now he had me cussing like a sailor as I seconded his opinion.

My thoughts? It was fun and held my attention. While I did not stay up all night to finish it, I did enjoy recounting the details to my husband, so I knew I liked it. I specifically LOVED “Mac” and her silly, colorful personality. I enjoyed her sweet and almost prudish ways, and her need to respect her mom’s ideals (ie: she rarely curses, and chooses to use other words to color her outbursts).

You always wonder how you’ll handle a moment of crisis; if you’ve got what it takes to fight or if you’ve just been deluding yourself all along that somewhere deep inside you there’s steel beneath the magnolia. Now I knew the truth. There wasn’t. I was all petals and pollen. Good for attracting the procreators who could ensure the survival of our species, but not a survivor myself. I was Barbie after all.

As for Barrons, I  know from all of the swooning of fellow readers and bloggers, that he will most certainly prove to be  heartbreaker. In this book, however handsome he might be, his irritated mannerisms and somewhat hostile nature do not have my heart fluttering as of yet.

One of my favorite scenes (actually all of my favorite scenes) involve “V’lane (a Seelie Prince) that Mac refers to as “Death-By-Sex”. His presence alone elicits the absolute need to….ummm…do “IT“… (Mac puts this a little better herself), and Mac’s reactions to him are absolutely hilarious. Losing one’s undergarments (by their very own hand) in the presence of a “Death-By-Sex” Fae is apparently a normal, albeit alarming, occurrence.

While Mac was perusing artifacts in a museum…

I’d nearly given up hope of encountering anything of interest when my gaze was drawn to a scrap of pink silk and lace lying on the floor a few feet away to my left, back in the direction from which I’d come.

I couldn’t help but think how pretty it was and walked back over to it, to see what it was.

My cheeks flamed. Of course I’d liked it.

It was my panties.

I snatched them up and performed a hasty inventory of myself.

Skirt, check. Shirt, check. Bra on, good. Thank you, God. Apart from the draft on my bare bottom, and the excruciatingly painful state of arousal I was in, I seemed to be okay. Apparently I’d gone straight to the panties, reached beneath my skirt, slipped them off, and continued walking without even noticing.

Yes, come to think of it, for those scenes alone, I LOVE this book!

• Darkfever (Fever Series, Book 1)
• Bloodfever
• Faefever
• Dreamfever
• Shadowfever (release date: TBA)