Category Archives: 5 Flames

SHADOWFEVER
Fever #5
Author: Karen Marie Moning
Source: Gifted from Kelly

Hardcover: 608 pages
Publisher: Delacorte Press (January 18, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0385341679
ISBN-13: 978-0385341677

SUMMARY:

“Evil is a completely different creature, Mac. Evil is bad that believes it’s good.”

Twenty years later, Alina is dead and Mac has returned to the country that expelled them to hunt her sister’s murderer. But after discovering that she descends from a bloodline both gifted and cursed, Mac is plunged into a secret history: an ancient conflict between humans and immortals who have lived concealed among us for thousands of years.

What follows is a shocking chain of events with devastating consequences, and now Mac struggles to cope with grief while continuing her mission to acquire and control the Sinsar Dubh—a book of dark, forbidden magic scribed by the mythical Unseelie King, containing the power to create and destroy worlds.

In an epic battle between humans and Fae, the hunter becomes the hunted when the Sinsar Dubh turns on Mac and begins mowing a deadly path through those she loves.
Who can she turn to? Who can she trust? Who is the woman haunting her dreams? More important, who is Mac herself and what is the destiny she glimpses in the black and crimson designs of an ancient tarot card?

From the luxury of the Lord Master’s penthouse to the sordid depths of an Unseelie nightclub, from the erotic bed of her lover to the terrifying bed of the Unseelie King, Mac’s journey will force her to face the truth of her exile, and to make a choice that will either save the world . . . or destroy it. 

MY THOUGHTS:

I am going to start this review with three little words. OH. MY. GOD!  Those three little words sum up my whole experience with not only this book but the whole series!  Before the Fever series, I was never one to venture into the world of Urban Fantasy.  I like my books to have lots of romance and sexiness to them.  Yet, after hearing Smexy Books and Fiction Vixen rave about them, I decided to dive in to the genre I was reluctant to swim in.

The book starts out with a grieving Mac who is in disbelief of who she just has killed at the end of Dreamfever.  Even though as the reader, we didn’t know who she had killed at the end, we all thought we knew.  When it is revealed who it is, I was at a loss for words.  I was crying and yelling at the author for putting us through this journey to just turn around and kill this person!  I actually wanted to stop reading the series at this point. After complaining about it to my online friends, they kept telling me to read more.  They said it will get better and I needed to start looking past that point in the book and have faith in the author.  I am so glad I listened!

I am not going to tell you who it was, but if you have read other reviews and noticed spoilers before, then you already have a clue to who it is.  All I can say is it does turn around and you will have your faith restored in the author.  This also means to be prepared for even more shocks to come.  I felt myself saying on many occasions that the author can’t be doing this to me!  She can’t do that!  Why must you torture us?  Why can’t you quit playing with my emotions?  Yet, as the story progresses, you will find strength in Mac and she has grown into a fierce and vengeful person.  She has her reasons for doing things, and boy do they push her to the limit.

For the romance readers out there, be prepared for the sexiness to heat up and you will be looking at different characters through different eyes by the end of the book.  You will see that all of those small players from previous books actually have important and critical roles in the whole scheme of the Fever series.  I was entranced with the Highlanders, in awe of Barrons and his men, captivated by the Fae, and strengthened by Mac’s determination.  No one is what you think, and the end was perfect.You will not expect the ending that the author delivers!

If you have not read this series yet, what the hell are you waiting for? As Fiction Vixen told me before, “Best UF series evah!”  I agree and will definitely be reading this series over and over again!


FAVORITE QUOTES:

“I don’t have any idea what to wear anymore, so I tried to cover all bases.”
“Try skin.”
“Little chilly for that.”
We looked at each other across the coffee table.
His eyes didn’t say, I’d heat you up, and mine didn’t say What are you waiting for? He didn’t reply, Fuck if I’m making the first move, so I was careful not to say, I wish you would, because I can’t, because I’m… and he didn’t snap …choking on your pride?!
“As if you aren’t.”
“Excuse me?”
“Really Barrons,” I said drily. “I’m not the only one who didn’t just not have that conversation, and you know it.”
There was the faint, sexy lift of his lip. “You’re a piece of work, Ms. Lane.”
“Right back at you.” 

“God Said: Let there be light!
I said: Say please.” 

I think I’m under control, that I’ve stripped away all weaknesses. That committing to my mission has made me impervious. I’m wrong. The thought of Barrons smiling brings other thoughts.
Barrons naked.
Dancing.
Dark head thrown back.
Laughing.
The image doesn’t “gently swim up in my mind” in a dreamy sort of way, like I’ve seen in movies. No, this one slams into my head like a nuclear
missile, exploding in my brain in graphic detail. I suffocate in a mushroom cloud of pain.
I can’t breathe. I squeeze my eyes shut.
White teeth flashing in his dark face: I get knocked down but I get up again. You’re never gonna keep me down.
I stagger.
But he didn’t get up, the bastard. He stayed down.

“When you know who I am. Let me be your man.” 

“V’lane: Are you busy tomorrow MacKayla ?
Barrons: She’s working on old texts with me.
V’lane: Ah. Old texts. A banner day at the bookstore.
Barrons: We’re translating Kama Sutra…with interactive aids.”

“What part of ‘directly’ didn’t you understand?”
“Same part of ‘play well with others’ you never understand, O cantankerous one,” I muttered.
He laughed, surprising me […] “I’d be a lot less cantankerous if you admitted you wanted to fuck me and we got down to it.”

He strips his shirt over his head and I catch my breath, watching those long hard muscles ripple. I know how his shoulders look, bunched, when he’s on top of me, how his face gets tight with lust, as he eases inside me. “Who am I?”
“Jericho”
“Who are you?” He kicks off his boots, steps out of his pants. He’s commando tonight.
My breath whooshes out of me in a run-on word: “Whogivesafuck?”

MY RATING:

Outstanding Book That Will Stay On My Bookshelf
For Rereading! 5 STARS

DREAMFEVER
Fever #4
Author: Karen Marie Moning
Source: Library

Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Delacorte Press; 1 edition (August 18, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0385341652
ISBN-13: 978-0385341653

SUMMARY:

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.

MY THOUGHTS:

I think that this book in the series just might be my favorite so far. Maybe it is because Barrons and Mac FINALLY do some sexy, even if she is not in her right mind, or maybe it is just because Mac is actually becoming a stronger person throughout all of the evil.  I am not sure, but I do know that the writing is better and the story is really heating up!


When Barrons returns with Mac, she is now Pri-Ya.  She is reduced to being addicted to sex and that is the only thing her body can think about.  With Barrons help, he brings Mac back from the Pri-Ya state, but she has also evolved into a much stronger and more determined Mac.


The author has also developed her secondary characters in this book to the point to where we know they are going to be major players in the final book.  Everyone and every clue is starting to come together, but if I know this author after 4 books, nothing is going to be so easy to figure out.  I know she is going to have plenty of plot twists that are simply going to leave your jaw dropping and and our heads swimming in shock! As it was, I was NOT expecting the ending of this book to be what it was.  I couldn’t believe the author would do this to us!  Without even telling you who the beast is, you just know!  Only one person could have brought that much fear to Mac when she realized who it is and the reader has not. 


Overall, one of the best books in the series so far!  I look forward to the final installment in this series and seeing what the author can shock me with next!  Bring on the fever!


FAVORITE QUOTES:

“Don’t leave me.” I thrash in the sheets.
“I’m not, Mac.”
I know I am dreaming then, because dreams are home to the absurd and what he says next is beyond absurd.
“You’re leaving me, Rainbow Girl.”
page 45

“Are you fighting over me, MacKayla?  I find this…attractive.” V’lane tossed his golden head. “I have seen this in humans before.  It is called jealousy.”
“If that’s what you think, you have a problem interpreting subtle human emotions.  It’s not called jealousy.  It’s called ‘you’re pissing me off.’ “
“Possessiveness.”
“My ass.”
“Is far more shapely than last I saw it.”
“She’s been working out.” Dani snickered.
 page 88

MY RATING:

Outstanding Book That Will Stay On My Bookshelf
For Rereading! 5 STARS

WITHER
Chemical Garden #1
Author: Lauren DeStefano
Source: Publisher
* I received this ARC free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing; 1 edition (March 22, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1442409053
ISBN-13: 978-1442409057

SUMMARY:

Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb—males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.

But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden’s eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limited time she has left.

MY THOUGHTS:

When I received this book for review, I was excited because I was hearing so many wonderful things about it.  Yes the cover is gorgeous, and after you read the book, you realize there is symbolism in it as well. I think the main reason I hesitated in reading this book was because of the hype and the fact that I was afraid that it wouldn’t live up to all the praise it had received.  Boy, was I wrong.


While I was not a big fan of men having more than one wife–which is just selfish in my book–the reason behind the many wives is warranted I guess with the dystopia theme of the book.  When Rhine is chosen to be one of the brides for the wealthy Linden Ashby, I felt her pain and the anger she goes through knowing that she will have a hard time making it back to her twin brother.  I felt Rhine was a strong and determined character in the book.  She was focused on trying to find a way out of her prison of a marriage to get back to her twin brother who she knows is out there trying to find her.


Once Rhine finds out that Linden isn’t the one orchestrating the life she is now in, I felt the author redeemed him in my eyes.  Once I knew that,  Linden Ashby became a man in my eyes. I felt he truly came to care for Rhine and the other sister wives.  Though I didn’t agree with some of his actions towards them, I understood him a little more with his background story that he shares. This brings me to Gabriel.


Sweet and caring Gabriel was one of my favorites of the book.  I felt he was a better match for Rhine in the love department.  Even though he was only a servant, I felt him to be the better man of the two.  My only problem with Gabriel is the fact that he wasn’t around for much of the book.  I craved more of his tenderness and humor. 


While some of the story is still unresolved at the end, romance and plot/story both, I feel the ending was perfect for a first book in a series.  It satisfied the reader just enough, but left me wishing for more of it.  A perfect balance like that is hard to do and the author pulled that off wonderfully. The ending was told in such a way that it is also a beautiful beginning to the next book. 


I will warn readers that I feel this book should be for the older teens and adults.  It does have subjects in it such as polygamy, sex, underage pregnancy and death.  By no means is this book a cheery and happy book.  It is gritty, dark and only some parts lightness.  


Overall the book was amazing.  If the subjects above are not a problem for you to read about, then I am sure you will fall in love with this book as much as I have. An amazing story of hope, life and love that will leave you thinking about what you would do as well!


MY RATING:

Outstanding Book That Will Stay On My Bookshelf
For Rereading! 5 STARS

BLOODFEVER
Fever Series #2
Author: Karen Marie Moning
Source: Purchased

Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Dell; Reprint edition (August 26, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0440240999
ISBN-13: 978-0440240990

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….

MY THOUGHTS:

Yes, I caught the Fever! I read the first in the series quickly, and book two was devoured even quicker!  In Bloodfever, the search for the Sinsar Dubh is still going strong.  There is so much going on in these books that I had to take my time with this one and try to absorb it all.

Barrons is still on my radar as a sexy something, V’lane is still as sexual as he was in the first book, Mac is still trying to figure it all out, and the author keeps throwing more surprises and tension at you with this one!  Can I just say that my heart almost broke in the cave after Malluce pummeled Mac! I wept for her and then Barrons came along and squeezed my heart even more. *sigh* Tender moments for Barrons is too far and too few, but when he does have one it makes me melt along with Mac. 

page 95:
MAC:I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand at the memory. “It was like being owned.”
BARRONS: “Some women like that.”
MAC: “Not me.”
BARRONS: “Perhaps it depends on the man doing the owning.”
MAC: “I doubt it.  I couldn’t breathe with him kissing me.”
BARRONS: “One day you may kiss a man you can’t breathe without, and find breath is of little consequence.”

The hunt is still on for the book and I keep picking up on certain clues just like Mac does.  Just when you think one player of the game is on her side, the rug slips out from her and everything changes.  Like Mac, I am wondering which players on the board will be the ones to trust and which ones are stabbing her in the back. 

The witty humor between Barrons and Mac is written wonderfully.  I love how Mac is starting to get a backbone now and she is willing to smart off to Barrons when he needs it. 

 page 166:
“I couldn’t tell the difference between the two of you anymore!” he roared.
I smashed my fist into his face. Lies roll off us.  It’s the truths we work hardest to silence. “Then you weren’t looking hard enough! I’m the one with boobs!”
“I know you’re the one with boobs! They’re in my fucking face every fucking time I turn around!”
“Maybe you need to get a grip on your libido, Barrons!”
“Fuck you, Ms. Lane!”
“You just try.  I’ll kick the shit out of you!”
“You think you could?”
“Bring it on.”
He grabbed a fistful of my T-shirt, and dragged me up against him until our noses touched.  “I’ll bring it on Ms. Lane.  But remember you asked for it.  So don’t even think about trying to tap out on the mat and quit the fight.”

Overall a great book that is keeping my fever high and about to reach critical levels soon! The tension between Barrons and Mac is getting high and looking for release that I hope is coming soon in future books.  I need more of the series and I can’t wait to start the next book!

MY RATING:

Outstanding Book That Will Stay On My Bookshelf
For Rereading! 5 STARS

FINS ARE FOREVER
Fins #2
Author: Tera Lynn Childs
Source: Around the World Tours

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (June 28, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0061914681
ISBN-13: 978-0061914683

SUMMARY:

On Lily Sanderson’s eighteenth birthday she’ll become just a girl—still a mer girl, true, but signing the renunciation paperwork will ink Princess Waterlily of Thalassinia out of existence. That leaves plain old Lily living on land, dating the boy she loves, and trying to master this being human thing once and for all.

The seafoam on the surf comes when a merboy from Lily’s past shows up. Tellin asks Lily for something that clouds her view of the horizon. There’s a future with Quince on land, her loyalty to the kingdom in the sea, and Lily tossing on the waves in the middle. Will she find a way to reconcile her love, her duty, and her dreams?

MY THOUGHTS:

I just love it when a sequel can live up to the expectations that a reader has after reading the first book in a series!  With Fins Are Forever, the author did an amazing job of making the second book just a fabulous as the first!


Lily is getting ready to turn eighteen and give up her place as future Queen of Thalassinia.  She loves the human world and is looking forward to a future with Quince on land.  She thought she just had problems with trying to figure out the answers to the SAT questions, but little does she know that bigger problems are about to arrive in the form of her cousin Doe.  After Doe is exiled from Thalassinia, she must live with Lily on land and learn to accept humans.  Doe loathes humans since the death of her parents a while back and can’t stand anything about them.  This all starts to change though when Doe meets Brody, Lily’s previous crush. 


Without getting into too many spoilers, I will say that some of the antics that Doe initiates was hilarious and typical of her spoiled brat personality.  I could feel the frustration that Lily was going through in dealing with Doe on land.  Even though this is a young adult paranormal read involving an underwater kingdom, the author makes the characters feel like regular humans with ordinary teen problems.  Okay, well sometimes they are ordinary teen problems and sometimes they are mermaid problems!  


Another amazing and fun book written by a fabulous author!  Fins Are Forever is a wonderful follow-up sequel to Forgive My Fins and it definitely did not disappoint! 


MY RATING:

Outstanding Book That Will Stay On My Bookshelf
For Rereading! 5 STARS