The cover of the German edition caught my interest about ten years ago. Oh yes, it´s that long that I´ve read this series *smile* It was dark, mysterious, promising, and arcane - all at once. You can see it at the end of my review. With her Fever series, the author brings you close to a world in which elements are the most important thing. And with Dublin as the center, this novel shows you a world of beauty, darkness, and danger that isn´t visible to all of us.


Darkfever*
by Karen Marie Moning
Fever Series #1
Publisher Bantam Dell on August 26, 2008
Genre Fantasy-Mystery
Pages 347
Format Paperback
Source Publisher
Goodreads

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When her sister is murdered, leaving a single clue to her death – a cryptic message on Mac´s cell phone – Mac journeys to Ireland in search of answers. The quest to find her sister´s killer draws her into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems, where good and evil wear the same treacherously seductive mask. She is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to learn how to handle a power she had no idea she possessed – a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae. As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister´s death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysterious Jericho, a man with no past and only mockery for a future. As she begins to close in on the truth, the ruthless Vlane – an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women – closes in on her. And as the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac´s true mission becomes clear: find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Book – because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control of the very fabric of both worlds in their hands.
Story
MacKayla Lane enjoys the poolside as she learns of the brutal murder of her older sister Alina in Dublin. A shock that turns her whole life upside down and confronts her with things she would never have thought possible. But that´s not the worst. Mac must learn that her sister must have been in Ireland a completely different person from the one Mac knew in the US. And to top that, that Alina was obviously a Sidhe-seer who made a discovery she paid with life. Stunned and shocked, Mac must realize that she too is a Sidhe-seer and that the strange creatures she sees through this ability are real and do not exist for ordinary people, at least not in the way they do for MacKayla.

Style
The author tells the story from the first-person perspective of MacKayla, making the happenings around the protagonist extremely real and impressive. Alone the scene in the museum, where she is seized by a painful supernatural excitement and passion and tries to fight it through the painful loss of her sister Alina and the resulting anger, is so impressively portrayed, that the embarrassing situation that arises from it also affects the reader.

Most of the characters are mysteriously created and it is very difficult to make them transparent to the reader. Which gives the plot an exciting touch and virtually pre-programmed the curiosity for the sequel. My thumbs up for the authors´ ability to keep me close to the story.

I don´t know exactly HOW the author does it, but for some reason, Karen Marie Moning knows the right way to bring a dark plot in the setting of Ireland alive without letting her novel drift into a too dark one. It might sound weird, but the hope is always there, you can literally feel it while reading. Even in the very dark scenes, this feeling is there.

Characters
On the one hand, you as a reader are not quite smart about the motives of Jericho Barron´s or on which side he really stands, but on the other hand, it is also clear that he pursues a goal and Mac´s ability comes extremely close to achieving this goal, though it means that she messes up his life in a totally new way.

But even Mac itself is undergoing a serious development and turns from the protected naïve Southern Girl to a combative adult woman with no illusions and who knows only one goal: to find the murderer of her sister and kill him.


Conclusion
A somewhat unusual novel that captivates in a strange way and makes you want more. I read this book many, many years ago, and still, I am fascinated by the plot, the figures, and the writing style the author has. The mixture of fantasy, mystery, and vampire genre give this series a very unique touch and make you yearn for the next book. So, if you´re not familiar with this series yet, get your hands on it and start reading!



Happy reading













*The German edition was published by Ullstein TB in October 2007


Karen Marie Moning
Karen Marie Moning ©Jonathan Gibson






Karen Marie Moning is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Fever series, featuring MacKayla Lane, and the award-winning Highlander series. She has a bachelor´s degree in society and law from Purdue University. 

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2 comments:

  1. I just adore this series! I've actually read it twice. ;) Hope you enjoy Bloodfever just as much!

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    Replies
    1. I´ve read Bloodfever some years ago, and was thrilled. Unfortunately, Shadowfever was the last book that got published in Germany, so I am not up to date with this series *sigh* Thanks for your visit, Jenea!

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