Review: Dark Seeker by Taryn Browning

Dark Seeker
Taryn Browning
Released September 27th, 2011

Goodreads / Purchase

For 17-year-old Seeker, Janie Grey, ridding the Baltimore streets of the undead is an inherited duty passed down from her Cherokee ancestors. Seeker Training Lesson #1: Never trust the undead. After her father’s tragic death, Janie creates her own life lesson: Love isn’t worth the risk. Both lessons are easy to follow until she encounters the flawed Kai Sterdam. At first, she believes he is the hybrid she is trained to hunt. But, when he has human traits, she determines she doesn’t know what he is. As Janie’s intrigue over who Kai is pushes her deeper into his mysterious past, she discovers a shocking truth that is even more harrowing than the evil they are up against. It’s a secret Kai wants to keep hidden, especially from Janie.

*A copy was provided by Taryn Browning for review purposes* 

When I first glimpsed at this cover I was sure it was an adult UF book. It's not. However, it would appeal to the older YA readers. You will find intelligent characters, engaging storylines and strong world building in Taryn's Dark Seeker.

In the world that Taryn has built, we have Vampires, and these are not sparkly, dancing vampires either. They're mean and they WILL bite you! We also have Daychildren which are demons turned to vampires (I know, right? Like, totally awesome!). As for Seekers, that's what Janie is - our protagonist. Basically, if you're dead and you're still walking - Janie will kill you! She's good at it too! Janie is a wonderful protagonist. She's tough and she's stubborn; she has known loss and is afraid to love. She's a well rounded character with flaws and insecurities that make her incredibly likeable as well as realistic.

Kai is introduced shortly after the start of the book and he is one heck of a sexy male! He's mysterious, protective and often irritating. I love the guy! He's the perfect supporting character and fits really well with Janie's personality. We do have a bit of a love triangle, however it's not a typical "Oh my, who will I ever choose" triangle. It's original and has a great twist to it that I really enjoyed.

Imaginative and well thought out, the world building in Dark Seeker is deeply satisfying, if a bit complicated at first. Entering a new world with new rules and new lore is often hard to grasp. I had difficulty differentiating between the Vampires and Daychildren at the start. Not what they were per say, but which was more evil, which wanted to rule over the other - those kinds of details always seemed to slip my mind. Fortunately, the politics of the world building are well spread out throughout the book so I was able to get a clear picture of it all fairly quickly. I was also happy to uncover that this first book in the series is most definitely NOT just a set up. It has a great plot, an exciting climactic ending and a glimpse of what is to come. All in all Dark Seeker is fantastic start to a very promising series that will adhere to fans of The Mortal Instruments series.

4 Hot Espressos

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Review: Dreamfever by Karen Marie Moning

Dreamfever
(Fever, #4)
Karen Marie Moning
Released August 18th, 2009
by Delacorte Press

Goodreads / Purchase

They may have stolen my past, but I’ll never let them take my future.

When the walls between Man and Fae come crashing down, freeing the insatiable, immortal Unseelie from their icy prison, MacKayla Lane is caught in a deadly trap. Captured by the Fae Lord Master, she is left with no memory of who or what she is: the only sidhe-seer alive who can track the Sinsar Dubh, a book of arcane black magic that holds the key to controlling both worlds.

Clawing her way back from oblivion is only the first step Mac must take down a perilous path, from the battle-filled streets of Dublin to the treacherous politics of an ancient, secret sect, through the tangled lies of men who claim to be her allies into the illusory world of the Fae themselves, where nothing is as it seems—and Mac is forced to face a soul-shattering truth.

Who do you trust when you can’t even trust yourself?

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT? If I didn't have book #5 I would be FURIOUS. She can't leave us hanging like THAT!! Mean, mean woman!

Oh my god. This book ends on a Huge cliffhanger so beware! In this 4th instalment, all hell has broken loose and Mac has been through worse than hell. Or maybe not? I'm not sure. It didn't seem so bad, right? o_O  The novel starts strong and keeps going with tons of energy. But, not surprisingly, the questions are still piling up. We got a teasing glance in Barrons' past, but other than that, book 5 has to be packed full of answers - or I may harm somebody.

The characters have changed in big ways, in this book especially, and I love how Moning has voiced them. It's not enough to tell us that Mac is different, she took her character and showed us. It was amazing to be in her head while she was being "cured" and see the raw animalism that makes a person pra-ya. It makes us understand the fae world that she has built. World building is definitely not overlooked in this series: One of the best I've ever read.

Dani was also much more present in this one and actually had a few chapters in her POV. Dani is 13 years old, and you could tell! Moning wrote her nonchalance and teenage behaviour wonderfully. It served well to differentiate the characters and mindsets. I've read lots of books where there are multiple POVs but they all sort of blend in together. So props to fantastic writing.

At this point in the game there is nothing much else to say. This series is definitely a drug. I LOVE the anticipation and mystery regardless of how much it pisses me off. :) 

*Note: This review was originally written in September, 2011*

5 Hot Espressos

Previous reviews in the Fever series:
1. Darkfever
2. Bloodfever
3. Faefever

Review: Faefever by Karen Marie Moning

Faefever (Fever, #3)
Karen Marie Moning
Released September, 2008
by Random House Publishing Group

He calls me his Queen of the Night. I'd die for him. I'd kill for him, too.

When MacKayla Lane receives a torn page 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, it corrupts anyone who touches it.

Mac's quest for the Sinsar Dubh takes her into the mean, shape-shifting streets of Dublin, with a suspicious cop on her tail. Forced into a dangerous triangle of alliance with V'lane, an insatiable Fae prince of lethally erotic tastes, and Jericho Barrons, a man of primal desires and untold secrets, Mac is soon locked in a battle for her body, mind, and soul.

As All Hallows' Eve approaches and the city descends into chaos, as a shocking truth about the Dark Book is uncovered, not even Mac can prevent a deadly race of immortals from shattering the walls between worlds-with devastating consequences...

This was one hell of a ride! This series does have a rough start in the first book but I am now 100% addicted and in love with it!

I'm beginning to really adore Mac. She's grown into this very strong woman who can be badass when she wants. She's starting to really question Barrons and stops allowing him to push her around - as much. Plus I love her MacHalo invention, especially the fact that it's hot pink! :D But it was well thought out, you gotta give her that.

Barrons is pretty much the same. The enigma. I have a million theories about him, but the one I'm sticking with is that he's the Unseelie king. If he's not, though, I think it's who he's keeping under his garage. Dunno, I'll see in the last book, so I'm told. The anticipation and mystery behind Barrons are actually very fun to analyse. I do think - or hope - that he's not a villain.

V'lain is probably my favourite of all the male characters (I do love Barrons but we know nothing about him, so at this moment V'lain is much more interesting). He gives her Mexico and massages! *Swoon*

So far this book is the one with the most action and plot in the series. Halloween is just around the corner and that's the day that the walls are either coming down, or getting put back up. It's really gloomy, especially the last half. And it ends in a huge cliffhanger. So I'm very happy that I hooked myself up with the whole series before even starting it.

Probably what I enjoy most about this series is that they're not anticlimactic. The peak doesn't just fizzle out. It's exciting and full of suspense. I often don't enjoy cliffhangers because usually it just feels as if the book is missing the last chapter, it wasn't the case with Faefever. The cliffhanger makes sense and it feels like the end of this chapter in Mac's life. A whole new story is going to develop out of this. So yeah... I loved the ending. I had no idea what she was going to run into, but I had an idea Who she was going to see. He did warn her!

Teehee *happy dance*- so excited for the next book!!

5 Hot Espressos

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Previous installments (click on images for my review):

   

 

Review: Bloodfever by Karen Marie Moning

Bloodfever (Fever #2)
Karen Marie Moning
First published October 4th, 2007

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.

Ok ok… I'm starting to get it. This second instalment was Much better than the first. It has lots of action and with all the mayhem it gets pretty hard to put down. The mystery, though, is still there picking away at my brain cells. We got no real answers in this one, especially from Barrons. Only more questions. Which ended up being ok because the book is fully loaded and it couldn't possibly all fit in here. Plus the anticipation is kind of fun.

Mac is becoming more independent and grown up which is great. I think she kind of has to with this new world she's been thrown in. I like how she herself knows there are "two" Macs and she refers to them both. She acknowledges that her Barbie doll side does not mix well with the Unseelie and especially not Barrons. And talking about the devil… what can I say Barrons? I love you! You are probably the most antagonizing son of a bitch I have ever encountered. There are so many questions about this guy that it's almost a torture. Damn you Karen!

There are also new characters added to the storyline - but who cares about them? Moving on..

Like any other UF novel, there are a few twists, and most of them just add to the questions already in the air. I didn't see them coming either. Although who/what the spectre was did cross my mind, but even the small stuff all went over my head. It may just be because I was too busy inside the story to ponder anything. But I never figured out what was eating the Rhino-boys, or Mallucé's power source. Even though we aren't given answers to any of the big mysteries, we do find out little snippets. Just enough to keep us fed and craving for more.

I did enjoy the plot quite a bit. I like lots of action, I like mystery and I love a well built world, and this novel delivers. The world building was formed in the first book, but it's deepened and I enjoy the vivid descriptions and depictions of everything. It's all pretty nerve wracking. There is quite a bit of gore but there is also humour thrown in there to balance it out a bit. I especially liked when the Shade flipped Mac off. Lol. So all in all the writing is pretty good, I would even say improved from book #1. I think the constant and sometimes weird metaphors could be cut out. But that and maybe a few little quirks here and there can be overlooked if you even notice at all.

4/5 hot espressos

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Review: Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

Darkfever (Fever #1)
Karen Marie Moning
First published October 31st, 2006 

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….

After seeing several references to Barrons and V'lane and other characters/events in this series, my curiosity took over and I just had to read it. Darkfever is the first book in the Fever series, an urban fantasy about fairies. 

We've got Mac - the very girly, pink and nail polish, girl - as our protagonist. After her sister is found murdered in Dublin, where she went for college, Mac hops on a plane to try to find out what happened. Once she gets there she finds out she can see the fae. Ok- fae are scary!! None of this twinkly Tinkerbell stuff. These are horrid. Next time I trip on my feet you will see me running like hell away from there! 

The first part of the book is definitely "first book"ish. Not a lot happening plot-wise. Very slow moving. Just a lot of world building and character development/introductions. Mac meets some deeply interesting and sexy characters that even though they're jerks now, I have it on good authority that it's all a facade ;) . Still, Barrons… fascinating, but not very nice ARROGANT!! Ugh! He wouldn't answer any questions, and he was Rude. Plus: leather pants? Eww! Although he did paint her nails - so that counts for a little something. Now V'lane. What can I say about V'lane? He's very… unique? I like V'lane! Teehee. 

It did get a lot more interesting towards the middle/end. We see where this is all going and we get more intrigue. I'm very interested in what powers the characters have (Barrons) or what parts they're going to play (V'lane). As for Mac, there are signs that Southern Barbie Doll will get stronger and wiser. I didn't dislike her but my eyes did roll a few times at all the clothing descriptions and her obediency; She was basically Barrons' lapdog. However, I wouldn't want her to change too much. The lipgloss and short skirt references actually became sort of amusing. But a little more badassness wouldn't hurt. Mac 3.0? 

The writing itself is good. The story has a lot of clichés and the dialogues could use some work, but It's still engaging. I found most of it was pretty fun, even when it felt slow. Her world building was very nicely executed. I was creeped out by the faeries and engrossed by the mystery/lore behind them, and It wasn't overly done; it had a nice flow without being confusing. 

As a start, it's promising, but I'm still not sure why everyone is orgasming about this series. I'll be continuing it - actually I'm starting #2 right now - to wait and hopefully understand what all the fuss is really about. 

3/5 hot espressos

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