Review: Fever- Lauren DeStefano

Running away brings Rhine and Gabriel right into a trap, in the form of a twisted carnival whose ringmistress keeps watch over a menagerie of girls. Just as Rhine uncovers what plans await her, her fortune turns again. With Gabriel at her side, Rhine travels through an environment as grim as the one she left a year ago - surroundings that mirror her own feelings of fear and hopelessness.

The two are determined to get to Manhattan, to relative safety with Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan. But the road there is long and perilous - and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and young men die at twenty-five, time is precious. Worse still, they can’t seem to elude Rhine’s father-in-law, Vaughn, who is determined to bring Rhine back to the mansion...by any means necessary.

My thoughts:

I can't even snark that much as nothing happened in this book, and people were drugged much of it too. Hug disappointment.

But first, really..really?! She ends up in a brothel. But does she get sold to the next costumer. Oh no, of course not, instead she gets put on display. Now that is just bad business. If the girl is that damn pretty and special then sell her body. But we can't have that happen to our heroine. So do not let her end up there then. It set the tone for the book and I did not like it. This is supposed to be a horrible future and she *big eye roll*. Lame.

The other problem with the book was that I did not care. Book was tough provoking, here I did not care either way. Women dying at 20,whatever. Women sold to slavery, yawn. Yes you can see my problem. The whole book suffered for it. Nothing happened, she talked with Gabriel (did I feel they were in love..no.) Scary evil father-in law, well ok he was good, cos he was actually evil. The only good thing is the mad scientist.

Conclusion:

And how is this series gonna end. Oh I am sure she is the cure for it all. Did this book made me want to read the next? No thanks. I mean, it was still ok, cos I finished it in no time. It was simple.

Cover

Nice

Series: The Chemical Garden #2
Genre: YA/dystopia
Pages: 341
Published: 2012 by Simon & Schuster
Source: Library

Review: Bloodfever - Karen Marie Moning

Series: Fever #2

Genre: Urban Fantasy/paranormal romance

Published: Oct 13, 2011 (2007)

Publisher: Gollancz

Source: For review

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:

I can't say that a lot happened in this book, well ok things happened, but not in the aspect that we got to know any big secrets. Moning is holding on to those for sure, but then there are more books in this series.

I liked Mac more in this one, she was starting to hold her own. But then she did go from sunloving beach girl to trying to find her sister's killer. And I do like that she has not let go of it completely either. The love for sun and colors is still there. 

Barrons then, I actually did not think he was that big an ass this time around. I do not know, he just has his own agenda and goes for that. He does try to protect her, sure the chemistry I can't see, but yes I kind of...like, no, approve of him. 

The OOP being hunted here is an amulet. And she will also deal with the repercussions from the last book. There are people who are not happy, and the bad guy, yes a very gross bad guy. The Unseelie Fae are also shown a lot and there is this scary vibe over it all. You really feel how Dublin is falling deeper into darkness. 

What did I think then, I do not trust those Fae seers, they have their goal and no I can'r trust them. V'Lane is his usual death by sex self (a little toned done though) and I sure do not trust him. That leaves Barrons and his secrets that I just want! 

It is those secrets that make me want more. So it was a good thing that Moning leaves a tiny clue that is really nothing. She makes me want more. 

And again I feel that this book is not straight up UF, sure there is really no romance around but I will still call it UPR. Because there is really not that much ass-kicking around either. It is an interesting mix all together. 

Conclusion:

It is a Dublin I would not want to visit, but a Dublin that is great to read about. Dark, twisted, scary and no idea of whom to trust.

Cover:

I like the landscape

Review: Darkfever - Karen Marie Moning

Series: fever #1
Genre: (as I felt it) Urban Fantasy romance hybrid
Pages: 336
Published: September 8, 2011 (2006)
Publisher: Gollancz
Source: For review

MacKayla Lane’s life is good. She has great friends, a decent job, and a car that breaks down only every other week or so. In other words, she’s your perfectly ordinary twenty-first-century woman.  Or so she thinks…until something extraordinary happens. 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…

My thoughts:

I have heard a lot about these books, and then I mean a lot. It was all Barrons this and Barrons that. And now I finally got the chance to try it out for myself. 

Mac leaves for Ireland to investigate since she feels that the cops are not doing enough to solve a case. Let's just say that I would have left it for the cops to handle. There she meets a mystery man called Barrons and is soon neck deep in fae and magical objects. 

Now did I see the attraction between Mac and Barrons? Nope, not at all, I guess that comes later. Did I think Barrons is an ass, yes! There you have it, I join that little minority that does not like Barrons. I know others like him even though he is a jerk, but I just do not like guys like that (think Ethan in the Chicagoland vampires series). Was I still interested in Barrons? YES. Arghh, it drove me freaking insane! He is someone, Fae seem to be weary of him, but what and who is he? Do I get answers? No no, I am sure that will take the entire series. And I want to know now.

There is also this question what this book is. I do not want to call it urban fantasy cos honestly there was no asskicking at all, well a tiny amount. And there is no real romance either. So you know what, I am just calling this a urban fantasy romance since it to me feels like a hybrid. And I do like it as the hybrid I feel it is. 

Ok yes I know I said no romance, but there is lust. One sexy as hell scene, but which also was very creepy. The person that is lust and sex and orgasm by death is V'Lane and you will know when you meet him. 

What I am left with at the end is answers I really want to find. So the book did not rock my world at once, but neither did the Kate Daniel book. It took book 2 to get me from like to addiction. And this one does have that certain something that might make that happen.

It is a good book and it made me want more. And considering how crazy people are about this series I guess it gets better and better. And I think I could get quite addicted. It is the questions, they just suck you in. 

Conclusion:

It was a good start to this series and an introduction to strange new world. And the Fae has never been nastier.

Rating:

Nice

Cover:

I like the stones