Bloodfever is the second installment in Karen Marie Moning’s Fever series. I described the prequel as Urban Fantasy Lite with romantic elements. This book is much darker in tone than the first and I’m curious to see how this develops over the five books in the series. Bloodfever follows directly on from where Darkfever finished, so I would recommend reading them in order.
At the opening of Bloodfever, Mac Lane is reeling from the events of the previous few weeks. Following the murder of her sister Alina, Mac travelled from Georgia to Dublin, Ireland. Within a few days, she discovered she was a sidhe-seer (a human who can see fae), and joined forces with the enigmatic bookseller, Jerricho Barrons, in the hunt for the elusive sinsar dubh (a book of fae dark magic).
Pursued by fae assassins, a mysterious old woman, a policeman with a grudge, and an assortment of other villains, Mac’s life is far from the carefree existence she enjoyed in Georgia. Her relationship with Barrons is fraught with tension and distrust. The charismatic fae prince V’lane is also interested in forming an alliance with Mac, but at what price?
In the midst of Mac’s personal chaos, the barrier between the realms of the fae and the world as she knows it are eroding, allowing all manner of evil to enter the human world…
It is very difficult to describe the story in Bloodfever without revealing series spoilers. As the stories are so tightly connected, they are essentially a continuation of the same book. Karen Marie Moning does a decent job of summarizing the important events from book one in the first couple of chapters of Bloodfever. As I had recently finished Darkfever, I found myself skimming these parts, but I realize they serve their purpose for readers who had waited a year between book releases.
Despite the odd anachronism, Karen Marie Moning writes compelling page-turners. She’s adept at cliffhangers and leaving her readers clamouring for more. As indicated above, the books appear to be growing steadily darker. Some of what occurs in Bloodfever is definitely not for the faint of heart.
I was pleased with the manner in which Moning developed Mac’s character, but Barrons is my absolute favourite. His moral ambiguity reminds me of some of Anne Stuart’s darker heroes. He’s definitely not a good man but he’s appealing nonetheless. I feel confident that whatever else occurs, Barrons will protect Mac.
I’m trying to space the four books currently available until the fifth comes out next summer. As I have very little willpower when it comes to books, watch this space! Grade: B+
Also Reviewed:
Darkfever (2006) by Karen Marie Moning (Book One in the Fever series)
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I have a few of Stuarts Ice series…eyeing them with more interest. I am addicted to dark heroes
I admire your patience in trying to spread them out until last release. I devour them as soon as I get copy *blush*
Leontine, If you like dark heroes then you definitely have to read Anne Stuart. Her books got me hooked on them. I think the first is Black Ice, but check her website to be sure.
Sarah – Yes, you will find that the books do quite a bit of recapping. I think it is most prominent in the third book, Faefever. So if you can, wait at least a month before you start reading that one.
Yes, I read DF, BF and FF back to back and was like – enough with the recap!! But then a year later when Dreamfever came out I was so happy for it:)
Glad you are enjoying this series – can’t wait to hear your thoughts on FF!!
@Leontine I second Jill’s recommendation of the Ice series. Stuart excels at writing dark heroes. Black Ice is my favourite, closely followed by Cold as Ice. I think you’ll enjoy them.
@Jill D. @Mandi
I see the point of the recaps, especially for readers who are waiting a year between books. When I was following the Harry Potter series, I always had to re-read the preceding book just before the next one was released in order to refresh my memory of all the plot details.
I’m probably going to have to read this at some point. *sigh*
Good luck on the pacing! I did an epic fail on that.
I read the first four books back to back, for some reason the recaps didn’t bother me. I actually enjoyed reading them. I usually get bored pretty fast with recaps but not with series.
I know what you mean about Barrons, his character is so dark and complex – that’s what I love about him.
@heidenkind Are you a fan of urban fantasy/paranormal?
@Donna (Fantasy Dreamer) Barrons is an excellent character. I hope KMM doesn’t redeem him *too* much as the series progresses!
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