DreamFever (edition 2009)

Definitely my favorite of the series despite some unnecessary parts (read: Dani's). It's just so dark and twisty--I have NO idea what is going to happen! Moning's writing bumped up several notches in this installment. It is no longer as frivolous and annoying (maybe because Mac has changed?). Her strongest work comes in the beginning where she describes Mac's return from being Pri-ya with Barrons. Mac's confusion, overwhelming sexual desires, and Barrons' niceness? are apparent.

I have so many questions that better be answered in Shadowfever (don't pull a Lost on me Moning!), so I'll list them here so I can attempt to keep track of them.
1. who is the fourth person during Mac's rape?
2. what happened to V'lane in the Forbidden Library wards?
3. who was beneath the vulture IYD creature?
4. what is the prophecy?
5. who really killed Alina?
6. what is Barrons? How can he kill Fae? Why is the Sinsah Dubh his "last chance"?
7. why is the Sinsah Dubh attracted to Mac?
8. how is Mac special, according to V'lane who said she did not begin to understand her abilities?
8.6 why did Mac acquire newly powerful abilities after overcoming her Pri-ya-ness?
9. what's up with dreamy-eyed Trinity ALD guy? (Cmon, Moning! he has been consistently..around...since book 1! there's gotta be something there)
10. do i like Barrons? is he working in Mac's self-interest? (I think I do, but he can be so unlikeable! but his work on turning Mac back from Pri-ya...god, I loved those chapters)
11. what's going on in all of Barrons' sad memories? whenever I read them, I feel like I'm reading a book version of Bane (aka evil Marion Cotillard)'s backstory in The Dark Knight Rises
12. what's up with Cruce? So we finally found out he cursed the Unseelie King's mirrors because he didn't want the king to see his concubine because he loved her too, right? I feel like he and the concubine are crucial to the denouement of this story somehow.
13. who is dream lady?
14. SO MANY MORE, mostly about Barrons Barrons Barrons, but I think I'll just go read Shadowfever instead because I can't hang off this cliff much longer! (I have such poor stamina, it's only been 15 minutes since finishing Dreamfever) ( )

3.5 stars

This is the 4th book in the Fever series, with a straight continuation from the 3rd book.
****SPOILERS for previous book****
Mac is in big trouble, but between Dani and Barrons, they are able to help. In this installment of the series, Mac tries to get the rest of the sidhe-seers to work together to fight, despite their leader, Rowena, trying to shield them from what's happening since the walls have broken down, releasing the Unseelie into the world.
****END SPOILERS****

It was good. Once again, it ended on a cliffhanger, as every book in the series has done, so I expected it. Really, the first book in the series was the initial set-up and the rest of the books have mostly been preparation for what I expect to be an action-packed finale. Of course, various bumps happen along the way during this prep-time to keep it interesting. Mac is also able to learn more about everything that's been going on, what she is, what's happening, etc. ( )

This book certainly was hard to put down! Mac's evolvement through her trials and tribulations is something to really taken notice to.

Here we have our heroine, Mac Lane, Rainbow pastel clad we first met turned savage by the events her life has taken her through. In Faefever, we see Halloween night becoming the end-all result of the walls of Faery collapsing and spilling over into the human world. Not only do we see the onslaught of Unseelie come crashing through the gates like a jockey on his horse at the Kentucky Derby, but we also see the destruction of the world's populace in the matter of minutes. It's wasn't so much the thought of Fae or other type creatures destroying the world that's horrific and terrifying to think about; no, what's disturbing is in a matter of minutes, our entire world could, and very well, be destroyed by our own devices. Obviously, in this book it's by mythical creatures but it outlines a grim and macabre future that may very well come to pass by other means. After all, when you lose 2 billion people in the course of a few months, how else is it possible with the expectation that we, ourselves, will destroy the world and bring it to its knees.

Anyway, one of my favorite parts of the book is where Mac tries to save her parents from the Lord Master. Not so much that he is negogiating her help by the use of her parents, but more for the fact that when she is forced to open the sack of stones and is violently thrown through dimensions that no human ever had the business of seeing. The description of the Hall of All Days was amazing, and I imagined what it would be like to be in such a place. Where all mirrors and doors lead to worlds we can't even comprehend or fathom.

Shifting from world to world using the stones to get back home, and hopefully staying far away from the Unseelie prison, we see Mac encounter things we wouldn't even begin to imagine. Fire worlds, ones of water, scorching deserts are just a few of what she encounters until she finally finds a world with oxygen, water and beasts that are beyond her comprehension. When I read about the beast she encounters, and she describes how it has the sack of stones on its horn and her sweater around its ankle, I couldn't help but think that this very creature was Barrons. I was almost certain of it when it began marking its territory around her come nightfall so that she would be protected, not to mention she recognized the baying it displayed as the same noise she heard from beneath Barrons' garage. The fact that she would turn on this creature when Ryodan came to rescue her is a forgivable point. After all, it WAS a beast and SHE is human. Isn't it human nature that we kill the things we are afraid of?

So, needless to really say, I loved this book, this series was most certainly an entertaining experience and I hope to read more from this author. ( )

Okay so... at first I had a really hard time with the beginning of this one. As much as I would've loved Dani being narrator for a while, it simply wasn't what I was used to and it didn't pull me as the other books had.

Also, as exciting as Mac and Barrons was in the beginning, it had this thin layer of sadness over it as well. What happens to Mac at the end of the last book was so awful and it was really quite sad... even if her and Barrons finally being together was GREAT.

What I really missed in this book was the consistent Barrons and Mac interactions! Their conversations were always so entertaining and exciting but they were certainly lacking in this book.

And that ending. What the heck... if I didn't have the 5th book on hand to immediately jump into I would seriously be considering a 3 star rating. lol Fortunately, it's right here... ready for me to start reading. And this is where the review ends. Adieu. :) ( )

WOW, this was a twisted tale! Rowena pisses me off even more than she pisses of Mac, I'm sure of it! Dani is excellent, and Mac keeps getting strongeer, even if a lot of twisted things have to happen for that to happen. And the cliffhanger was killing me... again. ( )