Review: Bloodfever

To see my review of Darkfever, the first book, click here.

Title: Bloodfever

Author: Karen Marie Moning

Rating: 3/5 stars

Part of a Series?: Second in series

Goodreads Summary:

I used to think my sister and I were just two nice southern girls who'd get married in a few years and settle down to a quiet life. Then I discovered that Alina and I descend, not from good wholesome southern stock, but from an ancient Celtic bloodline of powerful sidhe-seers, people who can see the Fae. Not only can I see the terrifying otherworldly race, but I can sense the sacred Fae relics that hold the deadliest of their magic. 

When my sister was found dead in a trash-filled alley in Dublin, I came over to get answers. Now all I want is revenge. And after everything I've learned about myself, I know I have the power to get it.... 

MacKayla Lane's ordinary life underwent a complete makeover when she landed on Ireland's shores and was plunged into a world of deadly sorcery and ancient secrets.

In her fight to stay alive, Mac must find the Sinsar Dubh-a million-year-old book of the blackest magic imaginable, which holds the key to power over both the worlds of the Fae and of Man. Pursued by Fae assassins, surrounded by mysterious figures she knows she cannot trust, Mac finds herself torn between two deadly and irresistible men: V'lane, the insatiable Fae who can turn sensual arousal into an obsession for any woman, and the ever-inscrutable Jericho Barrons, a man as alluring as he is mysterious.

For centuries the shadowy realm of the Fae has coexisted with that of humans. Now the walls between the two are coming down, and Mac is the only thing that stands between them...

Review: 

*Slow claps* Better, Moning. Much better. It's still not quite up to the level I expected, but I'm optimistic that this series now has somewhere to go from this point on. This book wasn't perfect--it wasn't even close--but it certainly was a giant improvement from its predecessor. Bloodfever is more coherent, intriguing, and generally less annoying. 

Moning's first book in the Fever series, Darkfever, suffered from first-book-itis. While its world building was impeccable, the characters pissed me off to the point where I had this permanent frown etched onto my face while I read. With no incentive to go forward (e.g. no past books to maintain my hopes for a better future for the series), I seriously considered dropping the book right then and there. My main complaint was Mac. She was the most frustrating character in the book. She constantly put herself in the damsel-in-distress situation while simultaneously complaining about how uncouth Dublin was in comparison to the genteel South. It grated my nerves. 

But Bloodfever stepped everything up to a new level. Barrons and Mac continue their search for the Sinsar Dubh. And this time, Mac is no greenhorn with a manicure. She carries her spear (which now is pretty badass, I admit) in a cool holster and knows enough about Faeries to act appropriately (e.g. She doesn't freak out and lose her cool when the hallway outside her bedroom becomes infested by Shades and Barrons isn't around to save her butt). Her character development was the greatest part about reading this. And keeping with the first book, Bloodfeverdoesn't really have the individual book plot that supplements the series--think Harry Potter. So, I did find this book to be a little slow going. It continues to add onto the mysteries established at the beginning of Darkfever, like who is the Lord Master, who is the cranky old lady, and how Unseelie can break into the human world. Since Mac isn't filling up each page with stupidity, I could actually enjoy the story. Still, there was just something missing. Even though I could enjoy the book more than I did last time I picked up Moning's series, I still felt sort of detached from everything that happened.

So yeah, I'm starting to enjoy this story, but it still has a long way to go to get up to the 5 star rating I was expecting.

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