7/01/2022

The Dark Highlander by Karen Marie Moning

This series caught my eye years ago. It wasn´t the cheesy German covers that made me read the books; it was the summary of the first one. And after that, I simply had to have and read the other volumes, too. The combination of Highlands, time travel, and fantasy is fascinating and started over twenty years ago with another Highlander series by another author. And Karen Marie Moning gave the Highlander-time-travel twist a dark side without being too dark.

The Dark Highlander

by Karen Marie Moning
Highlander Series #5
Publisher Dell on October 1, 2002
Genre Paranormal-Fantasy
Pages 400
Format Paperback
Source Purchased
Goodreads
✶✶✶✶✶

I am Dageus MacKeltar, a man with one good conscience and thirteen bad ones, driven to sate my darkest desires…

From his penthouse lair high above Manhattan, Dageus looks out over a glittering city that calls to the darkness within him. A sixteenth-century Scot trapped between worlds, he is fighting a losing battle with the thirteen Druids who possess his soul, dooming him to an eternity of sexual pursuit. When Chloe Zanders, a student of antiquities, is drawn into his world, she finds the insatiable alpha male an irresistible lure. Before long, she is caught up in an ancient prophecy that will sweep her back into time to medieval Scotland. Plunged into a world of timeless magic and dark seduction, she will soon face the challenge of a lifetime: fighting thirteen evil spirits for the heart of one irresistible man...

Story

When Chloe meets Dagaeus, she's not exactly in a good position. But she's not easily intimidated, even if it means her life has been turned upside down this time. She literally becomes a modern-day prisoner. Dagaeus cannot escape the attraction Chloe has for him, even if he is not willing to give in to it. Too many demons fight to control him after he broke the most sacred of rules to save his clan's survival. But the dark side of Dagaeus doesn't stop Chloe from falling in love with him, and to his amazement, she agrees to accompany him to Scotland. Her strength and her fearless determination impress him, and Dagaeus believes that he can still defeat the demons in himself and that he can prevent the catastrophe described in legends thousands of years old.

Style

Karen Marie Moning has created a successful novel with partly biting humor, quick-witted dialogues, and incredibly emotional scenes. Clear, full of feeling, and with an unbelievable fascination for the dark side of a human being. The evil staged shadowy and therefore more threatening forms an incredibly attractive contrast to Chloe and the inner struggle that Dagaeus has been waging within and against himself for centuries. Karen Marie Moning manages to playfully increase the tension so that the reader is unsure how this fight will end until the very end.

But as evil, as it gets at times, the author never leaves any doubt that love is the greatest and strongest power that should not be underestimated. In short sequences, the author repeatedly lets it be known that the fairies often underestimate them and usually only set the events in motion through their interventions. Not always to the advantage of the druids and their soulmates.

Characters

As always, the male characters are the purest testosterone hurricane, against which only the right female counterpart knows how to assert themselves in a quick-witted, funny, and clever way.

Chloe is incredibly curious and fascinated by ancient relics, and her scientific urge to get to the bottom of things almost becomes her downfall at times. Small, well-built, and with the courage of a lioness, she ventures into an area that literally challenges everything she has learned and seen up to that point and often pushes her scientific mind to the limit. But what are borders for if not to overcome them? Chloe meets the challenges with the tools at her disposal, a sharp mind, incredible intelligence, and even greater determination. And even if she finally must realize the unbelievable, she does everything to help Dagaeus and protect him. What a protagonist!

Conclusion

Anyone who likes dark romance with a touch of danger and pure passion is well served here. One of the best books of this famous saga. A must for Karen Marie Moning fans!

Happy reading

Karen Marie Moning

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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5/30/2022

Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning

Though this novel contains some parts I really enjoyed reading, most of the story couldn´t convince me. So, no, this one isn´t a book I can recommend. When I read it, it was supposed to be the last book of this series. Well, as we all know, the author changed her mind at some point. Not sure if that was because we reader´s couldn´t accept the end and just wanted more or not.

Shadowfever

by Karen Marie Moning
Fever Series #5
Publisher Ullstein TB on December 9, 2011
Genre Fantasy-Mystery
Pages 656
Format Paperback
Goodreads
✶✶✶½

MacKayla Lane, the hunter of shadows, becomes the hunted. Whom can she still trust? Who is the enemy, who is the friend? In the fight against the dark fairies and on the search for the Sinsar Dubh, Mac finds herself in danger. In the end, she has to make a decision - and in doing so determines not only her own fate but that of all mankind. Will she destroy the world...or save it?

Story

MacKayla relives what it means to lose a loved one - in this case a being. The grief is so intense that she decides to use the Sinsar Dubh to change the world. There should be no more pain, no grief, nothing that could even begin to hurt. A pact with the enemy should help her. But also, the Sinsar Dubh has changed and started a direct fight with Mac. And so, Mac experiences his very brutal cruelty firsthand. But what is an illusion and what is truth? Once again, Mac is faced with an existential decision: follow her longing or her instinct for justice.

Style

The plot continues seamlessly from where the author ended the fourth volume with the shocking cliffhanger. The state of shock that spread through me when I closed part four grabbed me again right at the beginning. Mac's first-person perspective made her feelings for me extremely intense. The emotional rollercoaster of the protagonist also throws the reader into a rollercoaster of emotions. While reading at a fast pace, the main character receives many answers to her thousand questions, but just as many new questions arise for her. Nothing fits, it's very confusing and the feeling of artificial stretching grew stronger and stronger in me. Too much was packed into the pages for me, too much detail went into it – often into superfluous details. The strangely dull tone of voice also irritated me. Although the author lets a complex rain of action pour down on the reader - a lot happens and the plot is broken down into five parts in a very varied way - but I completely missed the magic, the subliminal eroticism of the first four volumes. When Karen Marie Moning then reaches deep into the cliché box at the end and leaves practically nothing out, I'm ambivalent.

Characters

Karen Marie Moning expects a lot from her characters. Pain, anger, hate, desperation, longing, and the greed for absolute power characterize their characters again this time. But there are also many changes in the characters. At almost fourteen, Dani becomes an absolute lone fighter who fights against everything and everyone and has a cruel truth in store for Mac. Unfortunately, at some point, she completely disappears from the scene, and I ended up wondering what became of her. However, the author does not give an answer. On the other hand,  Karen Marie Moning's protagonist turns grief into an ice-cold and calculating avenging angel. She hunts down the Sinsar Dubh and her sister's murderer without mercy. Her heart is like a black hole, her thoughts and actions only revolve around the illusory game that Sinsar Dubh is playing with her. For the reader, this is an absolute treat. Rarely have the characters in this series been more convincing and profound than in this part.

Conclusion

What exactly Karen Marie Moning had as a basic idea with this final volume was not really clear to me. Sure, the novel is heavy stuff, and death is omnipresent - but I was missing that certain something that made the predecessors. And to be honest I'm not quite sure what to think of this volume. Admittedly, it was a varied and often exciting book - but personally, it didn't really knock me out of my seat. Maybe my expectations of the novel were just too high. But one thing I can say for sure: the title is full of incredible imagination. At least on this point, Karen Marie Moning has inspired me again.

Happy reading

Karen Marie Moning

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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5/26/2022

Kiss Of The Highlander by Karen Marie Moning

This novel is one of THE best books I´ve ever read. By the author as well as in the paranormal fantasy genre. And I guess it is no understatement when I say that this book is one of the best of the author´s Highlander series. So, yes, highly recommended.

Kiss Of The Highlander

by Karen Marie Moning
Highlander Series #4
Publisher Dell on September 4, 2001
Genre Paranormal-Fantasy
Pages 432
Format Paperback
Source Purchased
Goodreads
✶✶✶✶✶

A laird trapped between centuries...

Enchanted by a powerful spell, Highland laird Drustan MacKeltar slumbered for nearly five centuries hidden deep in a cave, until an unlikely savior awakened him. The enticing lass who dressed and spoke like no woman he’d ever known was from his distant future, where crumbled ruins were all that remained of his vanished world. Drustan knew he had to return to his own century if he was to save his people from a terrible fate. And he needed the bewitching woman by his side...

A woman changed forever in his arms...

Gwen Cassidy had come to Scotland to shake up her humdrum life and, just maybe, meet a man. How could she have known that a tumble down a Highland ravine would send her plunging into an underground cavern - to land atop the most devastatingly seductive man she’d ever seen? Or that once he’d kissed her, he wouldn’t let her go? Bound to Drustan by a passion stronger than time, Gwen is swept back to sixteenth-century Scotland, where a treacherous enemy plots against them ... and where a warrior with the power to change history will defy time itself for the woman he loves...

Story

While vacationing in Scotland, Gwen falls into a cave and finds herself in more than a precarious position. In disbelief, she must realize that she has landed on a forbidden good-looking, and incredibly tall man, who is lying dead under her. Even as she tries to find a way out of this embarrassing situation, an amazing transformation takes place in the human body beneath her. The giant comes to life. Little by little, Gwen learns to trust the attractive stranger and decides to follow him, even if she doesn't know exactly where she is following him. All she knows is that his mysterious remarks sound so unbelievable that the scientist in her is awakened and wants to get to the bottom of the Drustan phenomenon. An undertaking that proves not to be easy as Gwen suddenly finds herself face to face with a different Drustan and realizes she is in a very different time.

Style

Karen Marie Moning wrote this novel in a hilarious, varied, and full of magic way. Heated battles of words, quick-witted dialogues, colorful scenes, and landscapes make this volume a fantastic experience for the reader. The author sends her characters spinning through time, mixing magic with scenically rugged landscapes and ancient superstitions, and fusing the modern spirit of the present with the millennia-old art of the druids. Karen Marie Moning describes the arguments and fights very vividly and excitingly. Fists and artfully forged swords whiz through the air, the peaceful silence of lonely clearings is broken by the battle roar of two opponents, and mysterious rites and incantatory words of the gypsies permeate man and nature. The reader has no choice but to turn the pages eagerly after what happens next.

Characters

In this novel, characters with very different personalities meet. Gwen, a young woman who wants to have been a virgin for the longest time and chooses a senior tour group in Scotland to do so. Drustan wakes up again in the present after a centuries-long magical sleep and is confronted with a reality that shocks him, there is a clever housekeeper who has worshiped the master of the house for years, and the grizzled master of the house himself.

Drustan and Dagaeus' father is endowed with an incredible charm and even more fascinating knowledge and intelligence that particularly appealed to me. In this volume, the author offers a highly interesting range of very different but always convincing characters that are realistic and lively and make every page a pure pleasure to read.

Conclusion

What a novel! Captivating, full of love and passion, and, by the way, incredibly exciting. Highly recommended!

Happy reading

Karen Marie Moning

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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6/15/2020

Dreamfever by Karen Marie Moning

I am a fan of the author for many years now. But this book was somehow a disappointment for me. Despite the fact, that some scenes were really good and that I found out some very interesting things about Mac and Dani. But the rest? Boring, without any pep and everything I am normally used to get when holding a Karen Marie Moning novel in my hands.  

Dreamfever

by Karen Marie Moning

Fever Series #4

Publisher Bantam Dell on October 26, 2010

Genre Fantasy-Mystery

Pages 528

Format Paperback

Source Publisher* 

Goodreads

✶✶✶ 

MacKayla Lane lies naked on the cold stone floor of a church, at the mercy of the Fae master she once swore to kill. Far from home, unable to control her sexual hungers, MacKayla is now fully under the Lord Master´s spell. He has stolen her past, but MacKayla will never allow her sister´s murderer to take her future. Yet even the uniquely gifted sidhe-seer is no match for the Lord Master, who has unleashed an insatiable sexual craving that consumes Mac´s every thought – and thrusts her into the seductive realm of two very dangerous men, both of whom she desires but dares not trust. As the enigmatic Jericho Barrons and the sensual Fae prince V´lane vie for her body and soul, as cryptic entries from her sister´s diary mysteriously appear and the power of the Dark Book weaves its annihilating path through the city. Mac´s greatest enemy delivers a final challenge. It´s an invitation Mac cannot refuse, one that sends her racing home to Georgia, where an even darker threat awaits. With her parents missing and the lives of her loved ones under siege, Mac is about to come face-to-face with a soul-shattering truth – about herself and her sister, about Jericho Barrons … and about the world, she thought she knew.

Story

The difficult time has come for Mac. Her soul, her whole body scream for sex. She can´t and doesn´t want anything else, and the world and the fight for revenge for her dead sister Alina seem to be in a different universe. Mac, without a will, and with no memories, has become a Pri-ya. A fact that Jericho Barrons uses to the utmost the heal Mac. And his healing methods have it all! Mac is going through a very special change. Although she is still a Pri-ya, she is not one that the world normally knows and perceives. For Rowena, the abbess, this is unfortunately not a good thing, as she still sees the black sheep of the Sidhe-seers in Mac. It was only when the other Sidhe-seers cried out that Rowena and Mac decided to close a kind of ceasefire in the interests of the common cause and fight together, albeit with different methods, to save the world. 

Style

Apart from some fairy beings, Karen Marie Moning has given her characters an absolutely direct and sometimes very obscene language in this volume – even if Mac loses this language for some time. The super-fast redhead Dani gives the reader an extremely interesting and fascinating insight into the plot. Mac is out of action in her lively and cheeky way. I found this extremely refreshing because it gave the plot a different perspective and the reader can see how Mac affects its surroundings. Later in the story, however, the reader also gets to know, again from Mac´s first-person perspective, how she experienced the time when Dani took over the scepter. This brought an interesting and very welcome move to the plot, which in the meantime lost a lot of pace and inventiveness and was unusually boring. The smoldering power struggle between Mac and Rowena, which is almost part of everyday life, is now breaking out completely and the reader is finding out, if only very hesitantly, where it has its roots. 

Dreamfever is divided into three parts. In the first part, the reader sees how Mac experiences her healing in an unusual way, in the second part how she absorbs the changes that have occurred in the meantime and in the third part how she struggles to save her world. 

Characters

This time her characters somehow lack the pep, that certain something. Mac emerges from what she has experienced and suffered stronger and changed, but nothing more. Jericho Barrons is as mysterious and taciturn as ever, the fairy creatures are as merciless, dangerous, and bored as in the other volumes before and even the world doesn´t seem to have really learned anything from what happened. But even if the figures, with the experience of Dani, are missing the icing on the cake, their actions and deeds seem realistic and convincing. Dani is the figure with the best charisma. It enlivens and gives color to the whole, linguistically, and as far as its action is concerned – only the action itself does not really save it. 

Conclusion

A lot happens and yet it doesn´t happen again. A very confusing book that ended up leaving me with a complete mystery and a feeling of amazement (was that all?). Somehow, I had hoped for a lot more of it. Really a shame, especially after the wonderful third volume (both in terms of character and action) of this series. Sad, but no recommendation here.

Happy reading

*I read the German edition published by Ullstein TB on December 2010 

Karen Marie Moning

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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5/22/2020

The Highlander´s Touch by Karen Marie Moning

I don´t know what it is with this saga. But after I had started reading it I wasn´t able to put the books down. And although not every volume could thrill me as much as others of this series were capable of, I had a great time reading this saga. 

The Highlander´s Touch

by Karen Marie Moning
Highlander Series #3
Publisher Dell on November 7, 2000
Genre Paranormal-Fantasy
Pages 356
Format Paperback
Source Purchased
Goodreads
✶✶✶✶ 

He was a mighty Scottish warrior who lived in a world bound by ancient laws and timeless magic. But no immortal powers could prepare the laird of Castle Brodie for the lovely accursed lass who stood before him. A terrible trick of fate had sent her 700 years back in time and into his private chamber to tempt him with her beauty – and seduce him with a desire he could never fulfill. For this woman he burned to possess was also the woman he had foresworn to destroy. When Lisa felt the earth move under her feet, the fiercely independent 21st-century woman never dreamed she was falling… into another century. But the powerful, naked warrior who stood glaring down at her was only too real… and too dangerously arousing. Irresistibly handsome he might be, but Lisa had no intention of remaining in this savage land torn by treachery and war. How could she know that her seductive captor had other plans for her… plans that would save her from a tragic fate? Or that this man who had long ago forsaken love would defy time itself to claim her for his own…

Story

Lisa is taken back 700 years when she picks up a vial in her employer´s office out of curiosity. A vial that has a powerful and coveted content and has been banished by its keeper. With this spell, Lisa lands right in front of Circenn Brody´s eyes and faces an incredible and deadly challenge. He once swore to kill the vial bearer. But how to kill a woman you passionately desire? Who cannot be controlled, has her own stubborn head, and is also caught up in his time? While Lisa leaves no opportunity unused to find a way back into her own time, Circenn recognizes that he never wants to lose her again, but her peculiarities make him want to feel and want to live again, despite his background. He is also aware that his luck with Lisa will not last forever. One day, he suspects, Lisa will have the chance to get back into her own time, the only question is: will she use it?

Style

Although Karen Marie Moning has not changed her writing and language style, the book reads more subdued. The reader knows from the start that Circenn has a dark secret with it and because of this, many things fail. In this way, the author cleverly manages to build up and maintain a dark tension without giving the reader the feeling that there is a danger of delay. The combination of the language of our time and that around 1308 sometimes results in a wonderful situation and gives the novel a wonderful charm. Karen Marie Moning also excellently succeeds in showing the inner conflict of the protagonist Lisa who on the one hand starts to feel good at Circenn, but on the other hand does everything to get back to her time where her terminally ill mother is. Through sometimes almost moody descriptions and scenes, the reader gets a successful insight into the dreamlike landscape and the soul life of the main characters. As exciting and interesting as it was, in some places it was difficult for me to read on. It made me feel too moody, even if this suited the plot and the characters perfectly.

Characters

There is nothing here at first glance. Circenn is an extremely dark, rough, and strong character, under whose surface it starts to boil dangerously when Lisa suddenly stands in front of him. His passion is violent, highly erotic, and plunges him, the always honest and full of principles and rules, into a serious conflict of conscience. He, who always insisted on compliance with the rules, suddenly realizes in what rigidity he has spent the past few years. Even if he is tough on the outside and remains a warrior, he is experiencing a change in the inside that is a real pleasure for the reader. Above all, the fact that he breaks his strictest rule in the frenzy of passion without hesitation impressed me the most. Then the heart, which until then could only be guessed at, suddenly appeared and the ice-cold warrior became a human being made of flesh and blood.

Lisa is a protagonist who makes the reader smile and with her infinite curiosity is always in the greatest trouble, is full of buried dreams and longings, and yet has an almost superhuman inner strength. “I can´t die now, I haven´t even lived.” This shattering sentence, pronounced in an incredibly moving scene between her and Circenn, said more about this character than a long description could ever have. With Lisa, the author has created an expressive, spirited and determined figure, who stands upright despite all the blows of fate and is not only very combative but also accepts challenges and practically “stands her man”.  Her decision when she was faced with the choice of her life on the fairy hill still surprised me very much, even though I could absolutely understand her from the point of view of the figure.

Conclusion

Wonderful reading material for cozy, relaxed reading with the right dose of excitement, passion, and elven magic. A successful continuation of this famous Highlander saga.

Happy reading

Karen Marie Moning

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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5/16/2020

To Tame A Highland Warrior by Karen Marie Moning

I discovered this series some years ago and was already fascinated after reading the summary. The German cover itself couldn´t intrigue me much. But the novel inside – Holy Smokes! The perfect mixture of passion, war, romance, hatred, pain, and a happy end. 

To Tame A Highland Warrior

by Karen Marie Moning

Highlander Series #2

Publisher Dell on December 1, 1999

Genre Paranormal-Fantasy

Pages 366

Format Paperback

Source Purchased 

Goodreads

✶✶✶✶✶ 

Only her love could gently his savage soul. He was born to a clan of warriors of supernatural strength, but Gavrael McIllioch abandoned his name and his Highland castle, determined to escape the dark fate of his ancestors. Hiding his identity from the relentless rival clan that hunted him, he called himself Grimm to protect the people he cared for, vowing never to acknowledge his love for ravishing Jillian St. Clair. Yet even from afar, he watched over her, and when her father sent an urgent summons, “Come for Jillian”, he raced to her side – into a competition to win her hand in marriage. Why had he run from her so many years before? And why return now to see her offered as a prize in her father´s manipulative game? Furious, Jillian vowed never to wed. But Grimm was the man she loved, the one who urged her to marry another. He tried to pretend indifferences as she tempted him, but he could not deny the fierce desires that compelled him to abduct her from the altar. She was the only woman who could tame the beast that raged within him – even as deadly enemies plotted to destroy them both …

Story

Grimm is called to Caithness by his foster father to take care of the daughter of the house, Jillian St. Claire. Grimm only learns that there is something completely different behind the call than in the message itself when he arrives at Caithness. But there is no turning back and so Grimm does what he was asked to do: He watches over Jillian, the love of his life. Unfortunately, he was not the only one called, to keep an eye on daughter and house. An unusual struggle for the beautiful and strong-willed woman breaks out between the opponents called and Grimm would rather do nothing than admit his love to Jillian. But he keeps a gruesome secret and fights against the desire to make Jillian his own because he can´t offer her anything. No house, no peaceful life, and certainly no children. Thank God Jillian has her own head and absolutely doesn´t see why there shouldn´t be a life for her beloved man. And so, Jillian begins to follow her intuition and traces a bloody and brutal legend. A legend that can never be true and yet has an incredible fascination for Jillian. 

Style

A fantastic, extremely soulful, and enchanting story that Karen Marie Moning wrote on paper. And that kept captivating me again and again. The story of Grimm and Jillian begins on Dalkeith-upon-the-Sea, where Grimm is still with Adrienne and Hawk, the two main characters from the first volume of the Highlander saga. Eloquent, versatile, and with an incredible legend as the background for the plot, the author describes a love story that has a variety of elements: tension, passion, war, hatred, loyalty, and truth. The author describes empathetically but also mercilessly and shows in an impressive way human conflicts and the overwhelming desire to protect the person you love. In between, she keeps pushing the legend on which the plot is based, which gives the whole thing an extra kick and skillfully increases the tension.

Characters

The individual figures are very complex and convincing. They look realistic and complement each other perfectly. Even the character of Logan benefits from it, even though he´s an identified villain and vengeful up to that point. But the most impressive thing for me was and still is, the figure of Grimm. His inner struggle, his determination, his tornness, and his desire to control what he is and what defines him with all his might, was an impressive experience. At the same time, this character has shown weakness and vulnerability that I have rarely seen in a character. The combination of weakness and strength is absolutely deadly for anyone who even bends hair to those he loves. At the same time, this interaction of the figure also takes away the sharpness, so that the reader is really fascinated by the figure. 

Conclusion

Wow! Thrilling, passionate, exciting, and brilliantly written. A must-read!

Happy reading

Karen Marie Moning

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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8/25/2018

Beyond The Highland Mist by Karen Marie Moning

One of the very few series´ I bought and read within no time. The summary intrigued me right from the start and reading this time-travel-fantasy series turned out to be one hell of a great ride. I don´t know exactly what made me pay attention, for sure not the cover of the German edition. But somehow, I ended up buying it and spending an afternoon reading and diving into this fascinating world.

Beyond The Highland Mist

by Karen Marie Moning
Highlander Series #1
Publisher Dell on May 29, 2007
Genre Paranormal-Fantasy
Pages 375
Format Paperback
Source Purchased

Goodreads

✶✶✶✶

He would sell his warrior soul to possess her … An alluring laird … He was known throughout the kingdom as Hawk, legendary predator of the battlefield and the boudoir. No woman could refuse his touch, but no woman ever stirred his heart – until a vengeful fairy tumbled Adrienne de Simone out of modern-day Seattle and into medieval Scotland. Captive in a century not her own, entirely too bold, too outspoken, she was an irresistible challenge to the sixteenth-century rogue. Coerced into a marriage with Hawk, Adrienne vowed to keep him at arm´s length – but his sweet seduction played havoc with her resolve. A prisoner in time … She had a perfect “no” on her perfect lips for the notorious laird, but Hawk swore she would whisper his name with desire, begging for the passion he longed to ignite within her. Not even the barriers of time and space would keep him from winning her love. Despite her uncertainty about following the promptings of her own passionate heart, Adrienne´s reservations were no match for Hawk´s determination to keep her by his side …

Story

Adrienne lands from one second to the next in the lap of the brutal lord of the castle, Red Comyn, in Scotland in the 16th century, through a vengeful whim of fairy king Finnbheara. She is forced to marry another lord of the castle, the Hawk. She shows her cold shoulder to the incredulous Hawk and resists his charms, even if her body speaks a completely different language. However, that changes abruptly when she gets unexpectedly promoted back to the 20th century.

Style

The book is initially a somewhat ponderous novel, but then quickly gaining tension and becomes a captivating read. Cleverly describes the author with a very expressive language, the advertising of Hawk to Adrienne and how she reacts. 

In addition to many such scenes, the author also describes in her beautiful language a beautiful colorful landscape and gives the reader insights into the life of yesteryear. The beautiful combination of magic and time creates a rousing and unbelievably beautiful action in front of the reader´s eye, centered on beautifully designed figures. 

Characters

Strongly powerful characters were created by Karen Marie Moning and dominate the plot. The author gives her figures heart, soul, and three-dimensionality, which, together with the story, produce an erotic as well as interesting activities in which faith itself and love play an absolute role. 

The fairies are breathtakingly beautiful people, but they are driven by vengeance, boredom and the knowledge that their strength is superior. The moment, when the fairy king´s fool realizes that one can resist the fairies, was absolutely divine in my eyes.

Conclusion

Those who keep reading beyond the somewhat cumbersome start will soon be rewarded with a rousing and captivating story where you get involved in the danger and thrill of a different time and place. 

Happy reading

Karen Marie Moning

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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4/12/2018

Faefever by Karen Marie Moning

This is one of the very few series, that fascinated me though it wasn´t the kind of genre I used to read back then. But sometimes the Fantasy and Mystery genre has exceptions that you just need to read and get involved with. The Fever series is one of those exceptions.

Faefever

by Karen Marie Moning
Fever Series #3
Publisher Bantam Dell on September 16, 2008
Genre Fantasy-Mystery
Pages 409
Format Paperback
Source Publisher*

Goodreads

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When MacKayla Lane receives a page torn from her dead sister´s journal, she is stunned by Alina´s desperate words. And now MacKayla knows that her sister´s killer is close. But evil is closer. And suddenly the sidhe-seer is on the hunt: For answers. For revenge. And for an ancient book of dark magic so evil that it corrupts anyone who touches it. Mac´s quest for the Sinsar Dubh takes her into the mean, shapeshifting streets of Dublin, with a suspicious cop on her tail. Forced into a dangerous triangle of alliance with V´lane, a lethal Fae prince, and Jericho Barrons, a man of deadly secrets, Mac is soon locked in a battle for her body, mind, and soul.  

Story

Mac continues to search for the Sinsar Dubh, the most powerful of all books, and seek answers to her questions regarding Jericho Barrons. She becomes more and more sophisticated in refining her abilities, even if she has to take one or the other setback through Barrons. She is forced to an alliance with V´lane, hoping to learn more about the events and history of the fairy world. An alliance that is not always easy, the prince´s charisma still represents an absolute sexual challenge for Mac that she does not want and certainly does not want to endure. But Mac must be painfully aware that she did not even have the slightest idea how overwhelming and maddening the fairies can be. 

Style

Karen Marie Moning has remained true to her style. With beautiful visual comparisons, the reader learns more about the characters with whom the protagonist Mac has to do or in what environment she is currently, what she thinks, and feels. 

The story almost seamlessly ties in with the second volume of the Fever series, literally taking the reader into the silence before the storm. A silence that is anything but. It was absolutely clear to me that at some point it must come to a huge event, a storm of special kindness, the plot of the whole book, the whole series, is aiming for it. But what came here was – a hurricane. With brilliant words and very visually stunning, the author has lifted everything off the hook.

Characters

The former southern bleakness is finally a thing of the past. And Mac is clever and at times cunning to achieve what she wants and get where she needs to go. The fairy V´lane comes to the fore and is called by Mac as Death-by-sex fairies.

There is no doubt, that all her figures come from different worlds and that each and every one of them has their very own reason why they act the way they do.

Conclusion

Interesting and fascinating, despite the small weaknesses. I was sometimes a bit irritated, but all in all, I got curious to see how the story about Mac will unfold and if, when, and how she can take revenge for her sister. So, yes, I am going to keep reading this unique series.

Happy reading

*The German edition was published by Ullstein TB on February 1, 2010 

Karen Marie Moning

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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4/06/2018

Bloodfever by Karen Marie Moning

After reading the first book of the authors´ Fever series, you are kind of forced to read the second book and all the others as well *smile* It is THAT GREAT! You get everything: fun, excitement, thrill, tension, and above all the great mystery about Jericho Barrons. What more can a girl or woman wish for? And besides, the chemistry between Mac and Jericho is really one of a kind. So, jump right in and start reading. This series is absolutely worth your time!

Bloodfever*

by Karen Marie Moning
Fever Series #2
Publisher Bantam Dell on August 26, 2008
Genre Fantasy-Mystery
Pages 367
Format Paperback
Source Publisher
Goodreads
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In her fight to stay alive, MacKayla must find the Sinsar Dubh – a million-year-old book of the blackest magic imaginable, which holds the key to power over the worlds of both the Fae and Man. Pursued by assassins, surrounded by mysterious figures she knows she can´t trust, Mac finds herself torn between two deadly and powerful men: V´lane, the immortal Fae Prince, and Jericho Barrons, a man as irresistible as he is dangerous. 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. 

Story

The search for the Sinsar Dubh, the book of black magic, continues. Mac has recovered from her injuries from the fight with Mallucé, Lord Master´s henchman, thanks to the healing skills of Jericho Barrons, and reads through everything she can find to develop her knowledge of vampires and fairies. But she does not have much time. Her enemies are still trying to kill her, and V´lane makes life difficult for her again with his unearthly passion. Jericho Barrons, for whom Mac now works in his bookstore, only gives away as much as he needs to take Mac to the most secret and sinister places to track down fairy artifacts and collect them. Finally, in a cave deep underground, it comes to a fateful and long overdue encounter.

Style

The story seamlessly ties in with the events of book one and is written in the first-person perspective from Mac. As a result, the reader experiences the events more intensively and knows as much or as little as the protagonist herself. This leads to an unfamiliar and exciting perspective during reading. Karen Marie Moning has a very intriguing way to capture the reader´s interest. With visually stunning comparisons, she creates a wonderful atmosphere and forms a fantastic setting and landscape in the reader´s imagination. There isn´t one moment of boredom or where you are at risk to lose your fun while reading the book.

Characters

Jericho Barrons is mysterious and arcane. He only reveals what he thinks necessary and what concerns both Mac and the reader. And yet it is clearly noticeable that Mac is not indifferent to him and that he is by no means the villain that the Sidhe seer Rowena portrays him. The old aged woman Rowena is a mystery to Mac as well as the reader. On the one hand, she leaves Mac several times in the lurch, on the other hand, she tries, by all means, to get Mac under her wing. She shows herself to be as unyielding as she is stubborn when she realizes that Mac can neither be manipulated nor is she cooperative.

The author lets the reader know through her protagonist what the characters and creatures look like, using a few but apt words and the sometimes-disillusioned language of Mac. Mac has changed completely from the naïve Southern beauty to the illusionless fighter who has not only completely changed her appearance, but also her attitude to life and the things in itself.

Conclusion

Once again, Karen Marie Moning has written an exciting and guaranteed captivating vampire novel that easily ties in with the fascination of the first volume. Making the third part literally a must-have for all fans.

Happy reading

*This book was published in the German language by Ullstein on October 1, 2008

Karen Marie Moning

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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3/14/2018

Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

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 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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