Genre: Urban Fantasy
POV: 1st Person (narrated by the heroine)
Senusality: Hot
Violence: Not for the faint of heart!
My Grade: B+
Dreamfever is the fourth installment in Karen Marie Moning’s addictive Fever series. It’s nearly impossible to write a review of this book without spoiling the first three in the series. Be warned: there are some spoilers in this review!
Dreamfever picks up where Faefever left off. After a horrific attack by the Lord Master and several Unseelie princes, Mac Lane has been turned pri-ya, or sex-mad. When she’s finally rescued by Dani, the thirteen-year-old sidhe-seer and Mac’s friend, Mac is brought to the Abbey where the Grand Mistress, Rowena, and her fellow sidhe-seers reside. Realizing that Rowena is not overly concerned with ensuring Mac’s recovery, Dani is only too willing to assist Jericho Barrons when he arrives at the Abbey to retrieve Mac.
Using an unusual method, Barrons succeeds in reversing Mac’s pri-ya status, but she’s never going to be the same as she was before the attack. The new Mac is tougher and more than ready for the fight which lies ahead. The realms of the fae have merged with those of the humans and chaos reigns. Billions of people have been killed by the voracious Unseelie. It’s up to Mac to find the elusive book of black magic known as the sinsar dubh and restore order on Earth. Still unsure whether Barrons is good or evil, Mac joins forces with Dani and some of the other sidhe-seers to fight the fae.
The Fever series is my new crack. It’s sort of a guilty pleasure as there’s much to criticize, yet my overall impression of the books is that they leave me craving more. I can overlook the inaccuracies in Moning’s portrayal of Ireland and the Irish because this is a fantasy series. I’m choosing to suspend disbelief.
Moning excels at creating convincing characters her readers root for. I love to hate Jerricho Barrons. Although I wish there had been just a bit more development of his relationship with Mac in this installment, I’m still hoping they end up together by the end of Book 5. I appreciate the development of Mac’s character. She’s changed considerably since Book 1 but she had to in order to fulfil her role. Dani is another strong character. I’m not usually a fan of children or teenagers in books but Dani is a brilliant addition to the cast.
The world-building is quite complex. One criticism I have of this book is that while a couple of questions I had were answered, yet more questions were posed. Given that this is to be the penultimate volume in the series, I have no idea how the author will manage resolve all the threads in the final book.
Dreamfever ends on an even more dramatic cliffhanger than Faefever did. How am I going to wait a year before finding out what happens next?
Despite its flaws, I found Dreamfever to be an entertaining and compulsive read. I literally couldn’t put it down while I was reading it, and a few days after finishing it, I’m still thinking about it. As such, I can’t grade it any lower than a B+.
Also Reviewed in this Series:
Darkfever (2006) – My Grade: B
Bloodfever (2007) – My Grade: B+
Faefever (2008) – My Grade: B
Other Reviews of Dreamfever:
Lurv à la Mode – 2.5 to 3 scoops out of 5
Romance Rookie - A
Leontine’s Book Realm – 4 out of 5 stars
Smexybooks – 4 out of 5 stars
Smokin’ Hot Books – No grade but very positive review
{ 5 comments }
You hit my two points exactly – I wish Mac and Barron had progressed with their trust issues more, and I have not idea how she is going to fit everything into the final book. M and B still have so far to go in my opinion…and I assume they will end up together (they better!!).
Skimmed the review since I haven’t read #3 or this one yet. I’m all in knots over these books, completely obsessed with what’s going to happen. I will probably cave and read them before too much longer. Just can’t hold out til book 5!
@Mandi: They most certainly better end up together or KMM will have a lot of weeping fans!
@Stacy ~: I was so hoping a release date for Shadowfever would be announced before I read this book! Now I’m assuming we’ll have to wait until 2011.
She said she is aiming for a fall 2010 release
@Mandi: Fingers crossed! I need to know if…well, you know what I need to know!
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