TBR Challenge Review: Dreamfever

Dreamfever
Karen Marie Moning
Urban Fantasy
Fever/Book 4
Delacorte Press/August 2009
Purchased

*Spoilers for Books 1-3*
*Highly Recommend Reading In Order*

From the author's website ~

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 the 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 she rallies the sidhe-seers to fight an impossible battle, 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 about the world she thought she knew.

I was going to try and hold off reading Dreamfever until just before Shadowfever's release in January but after reading the latest excerpt of Shadowfever I caved. I bought it shortly after it's release so it certainly hasn't been on my tbr pile that long but it was calling to me and you must go with the book that calls. I'm glad I picked this one because I had forgotten how much I enjoy the world of Mac's Ireland.

The way Faefever left off was horrible and a hell of a cliffhanger. Well, Moning must love cliffhangers because I'll warn you right now, Dreamfever has one too. And I'm surprisingly okay with that. It gave me a whole bunch of stuff for speculating. I even found myself at Moning's message board looking for any clues as to what happened and what might happen in Shadowfever. Yeah, nobody knows, it's all just speculating. It's kind of fun but then it starts getting really hard to follow, the speculating that is, because there are so many possibilities and so much to remember. All those little things that may seem insignificant at the time might have a hidden meaning, or they just might mean exactly what they say. It can really twist your mind up in knots trying to figure it all out.

Dreamfever picks up where Faefever left off - in the church where Mac has been horribly used, abused and raped. Many fans of the series had a hard time with this and it's understandable when a character that we have come to know and care about goes through such a devastating experience. The intensity is fierce and Mac is so not herself. She's become something different altogether. It was hard seeing her become this thing not of her own mind. Do I think it was necessary for the story arc? That's a hard call. When we consider what has happened, in public, with V'lane it's mild compared to what happens to her at the hands of the Fae Princes. V'lane could have turned Mac Pri-ya but for his own reasons he chose not to. Do I think Mac had to hit bottom, this very bottom of loosing herself to make the story that much stronger? Because, really, that's the only reason I can come up with for turning Mac Pri-ya - to make the story, and Mac, stronger. I don't think rape was the answer but that's the way Moning went so I'll just deal with it.

Since Mac is not herself, Dani, who I abso-freaking-lootly adore, takes over narration duties until Mac is, well, Mac again. I like Mac's voice but it was a treat to hear Dani in her very unique Irish teenager 'Fecking A' lingo. She gives her own twist on events and we get to know her better. Dani has a boatload of responsibilities but she's still a teenager with the exuberance of a teen. The idea of her own invincibility is strong in Dani. It's also how she feels about Mac. She's come to rely on Mac and seeing what has happen to Mac shakes Dani, scares her even which is saying something.

Mac's road to recovery is a long, hard one. *rolls eyes* no comments from the peanut gallery 'kay? After Mac is Mac again, more or less, she begins the hunt for the Sinsar Dubh and trying to take back some of Dublin. It's hell out there and the Unseelie are taking advantage of their release into the human realm. There is a lot going on but Moning keeps it on track and once again gives the reader more information on the various players in the search for the Sinsar Dubh. We also get more what I call "potential information if we only knew what it meant" information. Anyone who's read this series knows how for everything you think you know, there's at least two or more things you don't know. Honestly, Shadowfever has a huge responsibility when it comes to tying up all the lose ends and answering the fans number one questions - What the hell is Barrons?

*Just had a very weird experience - while writing this review I'm listen to the radio, oldies station and the Stones "She's a Rainbow" just came on. (cue spooky music)

Dreamfever is another well written, edge of your seat, what the hell just happened addition to the series. I'm not sure how Moning keeps everything straight, serious, serious notes would be my guess. I'm not so patiently waiting for Shadowfever, release date January 18, 2011. It's suppose to be 624 pages, per Amazon. I just hope it's enough!

Rating: B+