Shadowfever: Fever, Book 5

I just finished Shadowfever and...WOW!!! Predictability is not a word you could ever use to describe KMMs' Fever series. In fact, this last book is a doozy. Although, a couple of my theories turned out to be true in the end, it was never a straight and easy path to get from here to there. I can honestly say that there was NEVER a time I had this book completely figured out. Just when I thought I'd gotten close, the story took a sharp turn and completely screwed up my speculations. Duped is a good word to use. I thought I was so smart--had it all figured out--only to discover that I was duped several times by the storyline. And it was refreshing!Shadowfever delivered a fantastic and vividly created world with a suspenseful storyline. The characters are deliciously intriguing and you find yourself getting emotionally invested in them. From Barrons jack-assy men, and headstrong Mac, to the imperious Fae, and many other interesting and new additions, there is no lack in character development. And I was surprised at the amount of humorous situations (most of it dark) and dialogue created in this last book. Although all the books in this series have comical situations blended with interesting dialogue, this one beats the rest hands down.Like I said in my other reviews. This is NOT a sparkly fairy tale about love and tiny beings with gossamer wings and fairy dust. It is a dark story with highly evolved, ancient and otherworldly beings that have been a part of our human world before the record of time itself. Beings so advanced they don't even consider the human race to be sentient. With any story about light and dark, good and evil, you find yourself worrying for the main character in the story. Fearful of where they're going in their journey and what choices they are going to make. Are they damning themselves? Are they being fooled into "batting for the wrong team?" Are good and evil really what they appear to be? And who can they trust? Along with death, acceptance and love, those are some of the many issues Mac is faced with.I have to admit, I got worried a few times in this story. I had REALLY high expectations when I started Shadowfever and sometimes that can totally ruin a book when it doesn't deliver. Some series are great right up to the ending and then fizzle out with a conclusion that leaves you unimpressed. Not so with Shadowfever. It was... satisfying, but over too soon. In fact, I was really saddened when it ended. I wanted more pages to magically appear at the end of the book so I could read it into infinity. But the ending was good. Both closure (to an extent) and... rebirth? And the journey was EPIC!Cons:Yes... I have some. After I finished Shadowfever I waited around a few days to give myself time to come down from my high and really review how I felt. Just in case I might say, Hey, but what about this, that and that other thing? As I suspected, I did just that.There were strings left untied and I didn't get ALL the answers I wanted. If were being perfectly honest here... I felt a little let down, frustrated and perturbed by that fact. I'd waited so long for answers to my many questions only to get some of them answered and many others left dangling.My other beef is... we're supposed to be judging Barrons by his actions during this series and not his past... but he and his men appear to be leaning closer to the evil side of things and that makes it hard for me to justify liking them. Which is hard, because you really DO want to like them. You almost can't help yourself and that makes for some really conflicted feelings. I don't like that KMM has created such intriguing characters and then not given us enough rationale to make them WORTH liking. Just like I feel conflicted for liking Dexter ((who is a serial killer for crying out loud!!!)) I know Karen's goal was to create characters with shades of grey who are neither good or evil, hero or anti-hero. But I still think she could give some rationale to those characters without upsetting that balance and tipping them one way or the other. Right now... they appear to be tipping AWAY from the light. But that's just my opinion. Hopefully she will rectify this.All that aside, KMM did mention that she wanted to leave some things up to the interpretation of the reader. Which drives me nutz! I prefer complete closure. That being said, I realize in order to move on with another 3 book arc in the series--which is what KMM has planned--some things can't be tidied up with complete answers without also giving away your next storyline. I guess I'm okay with that. I originally gave this series 5 stars when I first wrote my review. Even with the issues I have with it I'm only murdering 1 star and I do it with much difficulty because I feel the storytelling, world building, character development, mystery, suspense, and over all epic adventure that it's taken me on make up for the rest of my issues.Pros:Good story telling that captures the imagination is not always neat and tidy. Life is chaotic and does not always provide you with the answers you desire. A book is a success if you find yourself thinking about it hours, days and even weeks after you've finished reading (Obviously, for me, that's the case). And it's a REAL success if you find yourself going back to read it again (And I would do just that). That is exactly what was saving this book from getting a lesser rating from me. The promise of more to come, some possible redemption or rationale for Barrons and his men that would navigate them closer to the middle between good and evil, and the fact that I would reread the whole series all over again.All in all, I REALLY loved this series and it's complexities. It's wonderfully written and proves KMM is an amazing writer. Who else can write a book that has so much mystery, foreshadowing and mirroring going on that it's almost a puzzle for your brain. You can literally reread it and find things you previously missed or took for granted. I highly recommend it to anyone. And, in fact, I challenge you to read the first novel and stop there. I bet you'll find that pretty difficult, if not impossible. It's addictive.*****SPOILER ALERT BELOW THIS POINT**********SPOILER ALERT*****Everyone missing the romance found in Moning's previous series will not be disappointed. Shadowfever delivers. But it's not a delicate, tender romance with chocolate, flowers and pretty rainbows. This is Barrons and Mac we're talking about. The constant Jack-Ass and headstrong glamour girl turned warrior. They're relationship has caused many a reader to toss books across rooms and release breaths of total exasperation. Because Mac and Barrons are stubborn, obstinate characters that refuse to reveal any vulnerability by being the first to admit to having feelings of any kind for each other. As one would expect from a romance between Mac and Barrons, it's... well... frustrating, interesting, wild, dark and crazy EROTIC to the nth degree. A reread of all the good scenes is recommended and HIGHLY unavoidable.Enjoy!

Sidhe-Seer Mac Lane is stuck in the Silvers, her dead protector beast at her feet and this time, this time she may not survive the grief. She's lost the one person - the final person - the only person who she just now realizes she won't live without. Choices, Mac...it's all about choices. And Mac 5.0 is born.This sleeker, smarter, far deadlier MacKayla Lane is released on Dublin as the search for the Sinsar Dubh and the race to save the world rockets towards its final chapters. Through grief, through loss, through torture and pain, through rebirth, with questions - endless questions - and difficult, unbelievable, inconceivable answers, this epic battle between gigantic forces teeters on the fulcrum of the sheer determination of one young woman and the monstrous forces impacting her.Five books. One epic journey. And a conclusion that satisfies beyond my wildest dreams.I don't know that I have the words to express my impressions of  Shadowfever  on its own merits, and I don't know that I should even try, because for me, this isn't about a book, it's about the story that takes place over the arc of all of the books. It's about MacKayla Lane, who I haven't always liked, as she evolves from the bubble-headed Amateur Sleuth Barbie, self absorbed and overly entitled, to Mac Lane-O'Connor, weapon for revenge for her sister's murder and to hell with the world at large, to my favorite incarnation: Just Mac. It's about growing up, making choices, and fighting the good fight. It's about deciding, and acknowledging, who you are and what you really want - and then going out with both hands and grabbing it by the short and curlies until it's yours.It's about life, and responsibility, and love, and hate, and good, and most definitely evil. It's about a book that can unmake the world and the people who join together to fight for that world. It's about picking up the pieces and finding joy in the cracks. It's about stasis. And change.It's about life, death, and everything - absolutely everything in the shadows between.With an indescribable quality of writing, imaginative world building and creation that leaves me in awe, and characters that go beyond three dimensional to that iconic fourth dimension that jettisons them from the page, Karen Marie Moning has created an unforgettable, intensely layered story that will forever hold a place in my heart as one of the best in the genre - ever. And she's done it brilliantly.I'm so glad I went back and re-read the first four books before I started this one, because the depth and texture of the overall experience, fresh in my mind, is something I wouldn't trade for anything. I am, quite simply put, humbled by the breadth and scope of the intricacies and delicacies of the tale, and I'm still shaking at some of the more in-your-face truths and truisms. Moning created this world, this broken, flawed, wrong world, filled it with all the darkness, light, danger, hope, threat, life, debauchery, laughter, murder, rebirth, chaos, and love, and gave it to her readers to embrace. And she did it with exquisite aplomb.When I force myself to take a critical look at the book, examine the pieces and the construction and ignore the heady weight of the story, I can muster some more objective commentary. I freely admit the series in general and this book in particular could have been trimmed a bit here and there. There were times throughout the series when the pacing of the narrative dragged from superlative information dumping, when it crossed that deadly line between brilliant creation and mental overload and the mythos got truly overwhelming. And yeah, twist my arm, I think that the answers to at least some of the questions introduced at the very beginning could've been better seeded throughout the series, instead of slamming them all into this book. It might have made the first four books a bit less frustrating at times. But maybe that would've taken away from some of the intensity of their reveal. I don't know.And if I'm to be completely honest, I wasn't always fond of Mac. In fact, through most of the series - including this book - I didn't like her. I found her immature and purposely obtuse and willfully oblivious, even as late as the middle of this book. Occasionally, she just flat out got on my nerves. I don't know that I would confidently say that I believe her character being the woman I could realistically see the mighty and mysterious Jericho Z. Barrons wanting. But hey, the heart wants what the heart wants, and there are certainly too few rainbows in the Z's past.One true complaint, though, one genuine pea under the princess's bed: Dani. I wasn't a huge fan of her POV in the previous book, but I liked her character and the development that she was afforded. Everything about her in this book, though, I found jarring and unlikable and ultimately, inconsequential. Even her dialogue seemed off. I couldn't wrap my head around why she was in any of the scenes, and didn't like it when she was. I kept expecting there to be some tie-in, some connection to her past, some answers for her tragic childhood, some excuse for her existence. I didn't find any beyond one bizarre thread that came out of nowhere and was never resolved.But even with that, even with the other minor issues, I loved this book and thank Karen Marie Moning from the bottom of my book-loving heart for giving us this series, these characters, and this wild and wicked, and sometimes wonderfully horrifying world that is the Fever series. I don't know where that world goes from here. Frankly, I don't care. If waiting the seemingly interminable wait for  Shadowfever  taught me one thing, it's confidence in Moning as an author and as a purveyor of sheer reading entertainment. I'll keep to the lights until she gives us more. Of whatever it is she's going to give us next.I highly recommend the Fever series to be read in its entirety and in order (Moning's Highlanders are in this book and knowing them from her romance series helps but isn't strictly necessary): Darkfever: The Fever Series Bloodfever: The Fever Series Faefever: The Fever Series Dreamfever: The Fever Series Shadowfever Reviewed for One Good Book Deserves Another.

Karen Moning has written a great series with awesome characters, keeps you riveted!

Li a série toda. Sou apaixonada pelos livros.

まだ邦訳されていないけど、バロンズの正体を知りたかったので先読み。読み進むうち、バロンズどころかマッケイラは何者？の疑問。あの人（？）まで実は…と誰が何者かぎりぎりまでわからないです。

物語は二転三転四転五転…しつつ、ようやくラストに一応の終焉を迎えます。マッケイラが何者なのか、かなり最後の方まで作者に裏切られつつ、アリーナを殺した犯人、バロンズとの関係（これ良かったです❤️）、悪妖精の王と女王とは？シーサドゥーは？など、すべてが一応解き明かされます。複雑に絡み合っていて一気に読むと頭がぐちゃぐちゃになるけど。洋書およそ700ページ。息つく間もなく引き込まれました。

長いこと待ち続けていたフィーバーシリーズ完結編がついに世に出た！前作で、倒れたバロンズを前にしてシルバーの世界の中にただ一人残されてしまったマックは、どのようにして脱出するのか。また、バロンズやヴィレインの真の正体とは、なぜバロンズはBookを探し続けるのか、Macと同様にシルバーの別の世界に放り出されたクリスチャンはどこにいったのか、マックの姉を殺したのは誰か、といった謎がすべて解明される。しかしその答え一つ一つが単純ではなく複雑に絡み合った状況で、それはもう息をもつかせぬ展開となる。さらに、ハイランダーシリーズに登場したマッケルター一族のキアンやダゲウス達と、なんとアダム・ブラックまでもが登場。フィーバーシリーズのどの本でもユーモアがちりばめられているが、特に本編では、相変わらずマックを前にして言い争いをするバロンズとヴィレインの会話に大爆笑。バロンズとマックの、師弟なのか雇用関係なのか、愛し合っているといっていいのかどうかがわからない不確かな関係が、ここでけじめをつけられます。ドキドキハラハラしながら読み進めて、最後にやっとホッとできるようになる本作を読むためには、すべてのフィーバーシリーズをよむ事が必須。日本語版は最初の「妖しき悪魔の抱擁」しか刊行されていないけれど、英語版はそんなに難しくはないのでぜひともトライしてください！