Darkfever [ABRIDGED] [AUDIOBOOK] [CD] (Audio CD)

by Karen Marie Moning (Author), Joyce Bean (Reader)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Drawing on elements from the paranormal world that bestseller Moning (Spell of the Highlander) created in her earlier romances, this suspense novel takes readers on a darker journey, one dominated by the search for a powerful Faery magic and bereft of the romantic magic Moning's fans have come to expect. When MacKayla Lane, an ordinary young woman, travels to Ireland to track down her sister's murderer, she is sucked into an extraordinary world filled with ancient secrets, vampires, assorted Fae nasties and other tough-to-kill beings. In the process, Mac learns of her own unusual talents and finds an unlikely mentor in the wealthy and mysterious Jericho Barrons. Moning's newest foray contains suspense and plenty of setup. Indeed, this reads like a fragment of a larger story, an introduction to character and place that, while entertaining, skims the surface. But it's a compelling world filled with mystery and vivid characters, and this, combined with the hint of sparks between Jericho and Mac, will stoke readers' fervor for Bloodfever, the next installment. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist
MacKayla "Mac" Lane is a small-town southern girl living a life of suntans and shopping. All that changes when her sister dies in Ireland and a cryptic message on Mac's cell phone raises disturbing questions about the nature of her sister's death. Mac follows the lead to Dublin and the strange life her sister led, on to the darkly dangerous book-dealer Jericho Barrons, and a burgeoning war with deadly Fae that humankind doesn't even realize has begun. Time-travel-romance maven Moning reshapes her Celtic lore for a radically different and engaging new dark fantasy series. Mac's first-person narrative is more than point of view; it's a true recounting of how a sheltered young girl grows to accept the role fate has dealt her. And while moments of sexual awareness hint that a relationship between Mac and Jericho could complicate matters in the future, wisely there is no full-blown romance here to distract from the complex introduction to Moning's new world. Nina Davis
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio on CD; Abridged edition (October 31, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 142331977X
• ISBN-13: 978-1423319771
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 5.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (224 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,097,257 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 1 in The Fever Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

106 of 125 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It started to get better..., November 2, 2006

By	Wooddavis (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Darkfever (Fever Series, Book 1) (Hardcover)

...and then it stopped. Literally.

I knew going in that this was a five book series, in her blog Ms. Moning warned us of that fact. I did not realize this would be a classic cliffhanger with a "tune in next time..." last page. If this is the kind of thing that bugs you, as much as it does me, I suggest you wait until all five books are published before you start. In the past the author has taken up to a year or more between books, so it could be a long wait.

Back to our story - as much as was there, in any event. A young college student is murdered in Ireland. The local police are stumped, the family is devastated. A cryptic message from the victim is left on the voice mail of the younger sister's cell phone, and she comes to Ireland to try and find out what happened. The Dark Fae look to be responsible, and our characters need to deal with it. The story twists, turns, starts to come into focus - and then the cliffhanger.

The characters are... okay, awful. The heroine, sister of the murder victim, is supposedly a twenty-two year old sidhe-seer, and most of the time comes across like a twelve year old Junior Miss Pageant winner. She uses the word "pretty" a lot (you will learn to hate the word). She has pretty little tanned legs, pretty blond hair, pretty skin, pretty clothes, pretty little shoes, and (my personal bugaboo) pretty Ice Princess Pink Blush nail polish on her pretty little fingers and toes. Naïve and immature doesn't begin to describe MacKayla. We are expected to believe she is a product of her pretty little small town, and over protective background. Not buying it. If you are from a small town, and I am, you will be insulted by the inference. About the time MacKayla starts to mature to about a thirteen year old personality, here comes that cliffhanger.

Our hero, Barron (I think he's the hero, the jury's still out), is dark, brooding, ultra masculine, handsome, rich, patronizing, and somewhat brutal. At first he tries to get rid of MacKayla by physical intimidation, then decides to use her untrained Sidhe-Seer talents to help him fight the Unseelie Sidhe and find their "Dark Book". After awhile, Barron starts to feel some gentler emotions toward MacKayla - and then the cliffhanger.

There is no actual sex in the book, but, be warned, there are some rather brutal almost rape encounters with MacKayla and the Fae. Because MacKayla is so very young and immature mentally, these scenes seem even more horrific than usual.

(Note to the author: If and when, sometime in the next four books, this turns into a romance between the two main characters, which I suspect it will, I sincerely hope you have MacKayla mature a whole lot, or Barron is going to come across as a rather creepy pedophile. At that point, you will lose me as a reader. Some lines can't be crossed.)

Three stars because -Actually, I don't know why. Two are too few and I did finish the book in an evening. Four stars are too generous for a mere chapter in an incomplete story with characters that are less than stellar. I will be reading the next book in the series because...

... oh, hell. because it's a cliffhanger, and I'm weak.

60 of 80 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It isn't romance... yet.... but it is still wonderful!!!, November 1, 2006

By	Nicole Wagner (California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Darkfever (Fever Series, Book 1) (Hardcover)

Karen is back! She took her time, paced the book well, it felt GREAT to be reading a book from her again that I REALLY enjoyed!

I am glad that she took into account that we are not stupid people who will be slaves to an overused formula...however successful.

My problems with her last two books was that the story was forced and plagued by scenes that were far too explicit for characters I desperately wanted to be "in love" not "in lust" with each other.

I am not even sure this is a romance novel...at least not yet. The main characters are plagued with obstacles that make romance at this time impossible...But I do like where it is going and the anticipation is spectacular. At the conclusion of the book I am left with tons of questions and I am absolutely going to buy the next in the series. (Even if the bits with V'lane were treading the slippery slope of tastefulness...its briefness made them easier to tolerate.)

I guess in the end if Moning can remember that her previous books were about falling in love and then the great sex will just happen naturally as the story and plot evolves it won't be offensive.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Something new at least!, September 20, 2007

By	Emmie Post "Em" (LA, California, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Darkfever (Fever Series, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

The first book in Ms Moning's new Fever series is a breath of fresh air, even if it isn't romance thus far. Personally, I'm tired of paying upwards of $6.99 for books that are poorly plotted, have poor characterization and while there are a couple of the mandatory steamy sex scenes, the relationship between the two main characters isn't fully developed or is unconvincing. The formula doesn't always work, and since I love to read paranormals, I've come across more and more books that just fall flat. Even though I can't quite figure out where Moning is going with this sidhe-seer series, it's showing signs of promise. It's not *all* good, but it kept me guessing and I'm excited to read Bloodfever as soon as it comes out.

MacKayla Lane does undergo a transformation (physical, mental and emotional) from the first chapter to the last. When she arrives in Ireland following her sister's death, she's a naive, annoying and immature blonde who thinks the gardia (police) can gelp her get justice for Alina's murder. By the end of this book, she's learned that there's more to the world than she ever knew - including who she is and what she's capable of - and that she's become part of a war she had no idea existed. I'd like to think she's a work in progress, changing in order to stay alive. Character development is always a good thing, IMHO. Hopefully the Mac of the final book will be a character I can relate to and like a little more. Fingers crossed!

Now, I wonder if Jericho Barrons and Mac are going to become more than just allies? Right now, I cannot tell, but I think it would be genius if the author took a couple of books to build that relationship into something solid before she throws romance into the mix. All I know is that Jericho manages to be an enigmatic alpha without falling into any of the typical romance stereotypes and pitfalls.. so there's a lot of potential, but whether or not the author intends to fulfil it.. I have no problem waiting for relationships to develop and plots to play out, providing the story is well written and conceived. I didn't quite feel like I got enough out of Darkfever (I felt like there should have been a just little more to the Mac/Jerricho thing to hold us over to the next book) but on the whole, I was hooked and there's a lot to look forward to in this series. Nicely done!