Review of DREAMFEVER by Karen Marie Moning

Review of DREAMFEVER by Karen Marie Moning (see her website)

Fever Series

Delacourt, August 2008

MacKayla (Mac) Lane has been captured by the unseelie and transformed into a sex-obsessed anima. The Sidhe-seers don't have much use for Mac, but they desperately need the spear she took into battle with her and Mac does have one friend among the Seers, a teenage girl with attitude and the ability to move faster than sight. Dani rescues Mac despite the wishes of the other Seers, but Mac is truly stuck. Nobody has ever recovered from rape by the unseelie princes.

There wouldn't of course, be much of a story if Mac didn't recover and she eventually does, with some very peculiar but useful help. With the barrier between the worlds down, Earth has been overrun by the unseelie, and the human population is in fast decline. Mac and Dani conspire to bring the Seers into the fight...and look for ways to put their enemies on the defensive. Because Mac and Dani own the only two weapons capable of actually killing the Sidhe, the war depends on them. Unfortunately, too many people know Mac's weakness.

Author Karen Marie Moning (see more BooksForABuck.com reviews of fantasy by Moning) continues her Fever series with Mac having left much of her innocence behind (she thinks of her former self as the pink Mac while her present self is the black and red Mac). She's still conflicted about the males in her life, has trouble getting along with her supposed allies, and still hasn't found out the whole story behind her sister's death...a death that started the entire cycle that has led us to this point.

Moning's writing is professional, drawing the reader into the story, making her fantasy version of a destroyed Dublin (complete with bubbles of other universes floating around) compelling. Without going into detail, Moning also keeps the story super-sexy... and having a host of hot males for Mac to simultaneously lust after and be angry with adds sexual tension.

There were times when I did want to shake Mac and tell her to follow up on her questions. So, Barrons didn't rescue her as he'd promised he would. Don't let him get away with 'I'm busy.' Find out what kept him busy. And then there's the prophesy(ies). How about following up with that and finding out the whole secret? Finally, the cliff-hanger ending is a bit much. When I read a novel, I want a resolution of sorts, not to be left hanging in anticipation.

Although there are some frustrating elements in DREAMFEVER, overall, it was a highly readable and enjoyable novel. If you've been keeping up with the series, you won't want to miss this one. If you're new to the series, DREAMFEVER provides the background information you'll need to catch up.

Four Stars

Reviewed 7/04/10

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Buy the eBook version from Fictionwise.com

Too generous? Too stingy. Or did I miss the whole point? Send your comments to publisher@booksforabuck.com. I'll publish the best letters I get so let me know if I can use your name.

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