Review: Burned - Karen Marie Moning

MacKayla Lane would do anything to save the home she loves. A gifted sidhe-seer, she's already fought and defeated the deadly Sinsar Dubh - an ancient book of terrible evil - yet its hold on her has never been stronger.

When the wall that protected humans from the seductive, insatiable Fae was destroyed, long-imprisoned immortals ravaged the planet. Now Dublin is a war zone, with factions battling for control and passions running red-hot. Seelie and Unseelie vie for power; a rival band of sidhe-seers invades the city; Mac's former protégé and best friend, Dani "Mega" O'Malley, is now her fierce enemy; and, even more urgent, Highland druid Christian MacKeltar has been captured and is being driven deeper into Unseelie madness. The only one Mac can depend on is the powerful, dangerous Jericho Barrons, but even their fiery bond is tested by betrayal. In an epic battle against dark forces, Mac must decide who she can trust, and what her survival is ultimately worth.

Fever Series:
Darkfever
Bloodfever
Faefever
Dreamfever
Shadowfever
Fever Moon: The Fear Dorcha (Graphic Novel)
Iced
Burned
Feverborn

Visit Karen Marie Moning's website for more information

Review:
Warning, this review will contain spoilers for Burned. I've tried and tried to write a review without any but it's just impossible to talk about it properly without at least touching on some major events in the book. I'll try to keep it to a minimum but read on at your own risk.

I have such mixed feelings about this book and that's one of the main reasons it's taken me such a ridiculously long time to write this review. Going into Iced I had incredibly low expectations because so many people hated it but after surprising myself and enjoying it I was then expecting even bigger and better things from Burned. And in some ways it delivered them: I got answers to a lot of questions I had, Ryodan went a long way towards redeeming himself, I got to spend more time with Mac and Barrons and the issue of Dani's age was resolved.

All those things should instantly make it a favourite book but unfortunately the way these things happened also came with negatives. Ryodan went a little too far towards redemption and lost a lot of his roguish charm, I'm glad he was able to justify some of his actions in Iced but I don't want to suddenly see him as a perfect guy. The best thing about him was the fact that he was an unapologetic arse! Yes, we spent more time with Mac and Barrons but they're far from the couple we fell in love with in the first book - Mac is a shadow of herself (even worse than Mac 1.0!) and the closeness they'd built up to is pretty much gone. Barrons seems to have lost all respect for Mac and since Mac is acting like a child all of the other characters start to treat her like one. There is an interesting twist with Mac and the Sinsar Dubh though and she did start acting a little more like herself by the end of the book so I'm hoping she'll work out eventually.

Then you have Dani, I've always loved her character, as irritating as she could be she always felt like a realistic teenager. I wanted to see her grow up and become a woman but that's exactly the problem here. I wanted to see it. I wanted to watch the changes with my own two eyes not have her disappear into the Silvers and have her magically come back 6 years older and a completely different person! In some ways that plot device is genius and I actually kind of like the disconnect between Dani and Jada, it even explains a few things about her past and it added a whole new layer of complexity to her character, I just don't like the fact that the Dani I know and love has vanished. I guess all I can hope for now is that KMM will find a way to merge the two sides of her character into someone who is recognisable as Dani but an older, more experienced Dani who is more in charge of her own life.

This book is a perfect example of the phrase "Be careful what you wish for", it totally feels like KMM took on board what a lot of fans complained about after the release of Iced and wrote the Burned to appease them. That's all well and good in some ways but in others it feels like a bit of a cop out, like she gave up on her own plans for the series because fans complained too loudly about the way she had handled certain things. For those of us who actually enjoyed Iced it was an extra kick in the teeth because she took away all the things that made it great. I'm actually disappointed that the additional trilogy that was supposed to be Dani's story was taken away from her and given back to Mac and Barrons, especially since I feel like their story has already been told and they don't have a lot to add.

It's not all bad though and there were some things I really enjoyed about the story. I actually liked Jada as a character (I just wanted to see how Dani went from being the girl we knew to being a warrior like Jada) and I think she's going to have an interesting impact on the Sidhe Seers. I loved the scenes from Lor's point of view, he outshone both Ryodan and Barrons in this book I think so I hope we see a lot more of him in the next book. I already mentioned an interesting twist with the Sinsar Dubh but we also get to see more of the Unseelie King and the Concubine which was brilliant and I loved the addition of the Unseelie Princess.

So I didn't hate Burned but I didn't love it either and I just have this nagging feeling that it could have been so much better. Will KMM get things back on track in Feverborn? I honestly don't know. I kind of hope she does but I no longer have that desperate urge to read it and find out. Will I get to it at some point? I'm sure I will, in fact, finally sitting down and writing this review (nearly 5 months after I read the book!) is kind of making me want to pick it up now, but there's another wary part of me that thinks it's probably best to wait until the entire series is finished before going back there. Then I can read all the remaining books together and be done with it once and for all.

Source: Purchased

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Paperback / Kindle:

Review: Iced - Karen Marie Moning

For years, MacKayla Lane has battled against the Dark Fae, but now it's Dani "Mega" O'Malley's turn to fight. Dani has always played by her own set of rules, and now her biggest rule is: Do what it takes to survive. Possessing rare talents and the all-powerful Sword of Light, Dani is one of the few humans who can defend themselves against the Unseelie. But now, people are being mysteriously frozen to death all over the city, encased on the spot in sub-zero, icy tableaux.

When Dublin's most seductive nightclub gets blanketed in hoarfrost, Dani finds herself at the mercy of Ryodan the club's immortal owner. He needs her quick wit to figure out what's freezing Fae and humans dead in their tracks - and Ryodan will do anything to ensure her compliance. Dodging bullets, fangs, and fists, Dani must strike treacherous bargains and make desperate alliances to save her beloved Dublin - before everything and everyone in it gets iced.

Fever Series:
Darkfever
Bloodfever
Faefever
Dreamfever
Shadowfever
Fever Moon: The Fear Dorcha (Graphic Novel)
Iced
Burned
Feverborn

Visit Karen Marie Moning's website for more information

Review:
I put off reading Iced for the longest time because of the negative reaction so many of my friends had to the story. In fact, I don't think I'd have EVER got around to reading it if it wasn't for the group read with some of my friends on Goodreads so thanks for the encouragement girls! Anyway, you can probably guess I went into this story with extremely low expectations, I fully expected to hate it and I half expected not to even be able to make it to the end so you can imagine how surprised I was to find myself enjoying the story. A lot. Yes, consider me completely shocked!

I've liked Dani from the beginning, I know she used to get on a lot of people's nerves during the rest of the series but I've always had a soft spot for her. She's just this spunky kid who has grown up under the worst circumstances, she has all these special abilities and has been mercilessly used by Rowena since she was about eight years old. Dani has seen and done things that no child should ever experience and it's given her quite the attitude. She thinks she's older and more sophisticated than she actually is (but didn't we all as teenagers?) and the fact that she has her superspeed and strength has given her quite a large ego but deep down she's just a lonely child looking to be loved and she brings out all of my protective instincts.

I absolutely loved the character progression we seen her go through and in Iced we really get to see just how intelligent she is underneath all that bluster. Dani is clever and when she boldly claims to be the smartest person she knows she isn't just being big headed she's stating a fact. She sees things that nobody else (except for perhaps Dancer) does and she has a way of looking at the world that helps her puzzle things out faster than anyone around her. Like a lot of teens Dani is full of contradictions: she's super smart but also incredibly naive; she's extremely confident but she's also desperately looking for approval; she thinks she knows everything but she completely misses some things that are staring her right in the face; she acts like a grown up one minute and a confused child the next; she acts independant and says she doesn't need anyone but she spends a lot of time looking for love. It's these contradictions that make her feel so much more realistic and they left me desperately wanting to take care of her.

The characters around her I had a lot more trouble with but in spite of the fact that I found myself wanting to punch nearly every other character I still loved this book. Christian has changed completely from the first book and he is probably the character who disturbed me the most, it didn't help that we got to spend some time inside his head and boy is that a creepy place to be. I think KMM did a wonderful job of showing how alien he is becoming and I loved watching that progression in his character. I can completely understand why people who were big fans of his aren't happy though, I was pretty ambivalent towards him before this book so I don't mind that he's now a character I love to hate but if he was someone I'd been crushing on I'd have been devastated.

I'm not too sure how I feel about Ryodan, I think the fact that we don't get to see what he's thinking is something that goes in his favour because I'm sure if I knew what was going on inside his head I'd want to batter him even more than I already do. I hated the way he bullied Dani, he deliberately went out of his way to hurt her and make her uncomfortable and he never once offered her help even when she desperately needed it and pretty much begged him for it. I really disliked the way he constantly played on her emotions to get what he wanted and then turned around and blamed her for the nasty things he did to her. There is no getting around the fact that he used her mercilessly and he didn't give her anything back for it. Barrons was always a mystery, I often questioned his motives and wondered what he had planned but no matter how aggressive he acted or how hard he pushed Mac you always knew he had her back and that he wouldn't let any harm come to her. I wish I could say the same thing about Ryodan and Dani but that just isn't the case and it makes it very hard for me to like his character. I never really got the creepy perv vibes from him that a lot of people did, but I also never pegged him as a protector or someone who would look out for her and that's what Dani desperately needed.

Dancer was by far my favourite character alongside Dani, I loved the friendship that the two of them have and the way he was always there for her even though she is so much stronger than he is. Dancer is the one who has her back and who doesn't patronise her, he treats her like the intelligent young woman that she is and he never pushes her for anything. He is the only one who currently isn't trying to use her for his own means so I really, really hope that he is who he says he is. Unfortunately I have a terrible feeling that he's keeping secrets and I just hope they're not secrets that will break Dani when she finds out about them.

Now we get to the women of the series, I'm going to keep this fairly brief because I've already written far too much but I'm disappointed by the fact that we have lost all of the strong, capable women of the earlier books. Mac was pretty much absent and it broke my heart seeing how much Dani misses her. Dani is convinced that Mac will kill her for the part she played in Alina's murder but I'm really, REALLY hoping that Mac doesn't hold it against her considering she knows that it was completely out of Dani's control and that Rowena is really the one to blame. I'm not sure how likely that is looking considering the ending of this book but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Kat was someone I always respected before and I thought she'd be much more capable of guiding the sidhe-seers than Rowena but with Cruce messing around inside her head she's failing pretty spectacularly. She does make a big decision towards the end of the book that left me feeling hopeful though so I'm holding off my judgement on her until the next book. The character who disappointed me the most was Jo, she went from smart and capable sidhe-seer, to someone being held hostage as a way for Ryodan to keep Dani under control to basically Ryodan's sex slave. She stopped caring about Dani or any of the others and all she was interested in was sex, Ryodan only had to look at her and she dropped her knickers even knowing that he had no real interest in a long term relationship with her. I really disliked the two of them together, I lost respect for Jo because she let him walk all over her and I hated Ryodan even more for the way he used her just to get at Dani.

I did enjoy the mystery of the iced scenes that they kept discovering though and it was fun to see Dani investigating. She got to show how smart she was (although the fact that Ryodan and the rest of the Nine were completely incapable of solving things without her didn't really reflect well on them!) and I liked seeing how she put all the clues together. I can totally understand why this was such a polarising book, everyone I know seems to either love it or hate it and I can see and relate to the reasoning behind all the different arguments. The fact of the matter is that I was completely gripped from beginning to end, there were things I hated about the book but other things I loved but I think that going in with such low expectations really worked in my favour because I was pleasantly surprised rather that terribly disappointed. I was dreading reading Iced but now I'm excited to read Burned and I'm very curious to see where KMM takes the series from here.

Source: Purchased

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Paperback / Kindle:

Review: Fever Moon: The Fear Dorcha - Karen Marie Moning

An all-new Mac & Barrons story by #1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Marie Moning, marvelously adapted into a full-color graphic novel by writer David Lawrence and illustrators Al Rio and Cliff Richards.

In Fever Moon, we meet the most ancient and deadly Unseelie ever created, the Fear Dorcha. For eons, he’s traveled worlds with the Unseelie king, leaving behind him a path of mutilation and destruction. Now he’s hunting Dublin, and no one Mac loves is safe.

Dublin is a war zone. The walls between humans and Fae are down. A third of the world’s population is dead and chaos reigns. Imprisoned over half a million years ago, the Unseelie are free and each one Mac meets is worse than the last. Human weapons don’t stand a chance against them.

With a blood moon hanging low over the city, something dark and sinister begins to hunt the streets of Temple Bar, choosing its victims by targeting those closest to Mac. Armed only with the Spear of Destiny and Jericho Barrons, she must face her most terrifying enemy yet.

Fever Series:
Darkfever
Bloodfever
Faefever
Dreamfever
Shadowfever
Fever Moon: The Fear Dorcha (Graphic Novel)
Iced
Burned
Feverborn

Visit Karen Marie Moning's website for more information

Review:
I actually bought this book over 2 years ago because I completely love the Fever series and had to have every possible story available but since I've never really been a big fan of graphic novels I kind of stuck it on a shelf and never got around to reading it. Then recently friends introduced me to Saga (amazing graphic novel series BTW!) and I realised that I do quite like GNs after all, add that in with a Fever series reread and of course I had to FINALLY read Fever Moon.

I'm going to admit that it took me a little while to get used to the artist's idea of Mac and Barrons, they just aren't how I pictured them but that's the trouble when you go from a normal book series where you've spent years filling in the blanks with your own imagination to a graphic novel set in the same world where you're forced to accept the artist's impression. It's a little bit jarring at first (well it was in my case anyway) but there is no denying how beautiful the artwork is in Fever Moon and the characters quickly grew on me. It's not going to change the way I see everyone when I read the main novels but I the cartoon versions are easily recognisable and it was fun spotting so many of the character's I already love.

It's hard to decide exactly where this story fits into the Fever world timeline but it must happen sometime in the middle of events in Shadowfever so I would highly recommend waiting until you've finished that book before picking this up. If you have read Shadowfever you'll recognise the Fear Dorcha that Mac met at the bar in Chester's when she was having a conversation with the dreamy eyed guy and I thought that was a really nice way to tie the two stories together. The Fear Dorcha was a truly creepy villain so I'm glad we got a chance to find out more about him and it was interesting to see the way Mac handled coming so close to losing the people she cared about.

While I wouldn't say it's essential to read this story it is a really nice extra that I'm sure most fans will enjoy. The artwork is fabulous, the story was interesting and fit the graphic novel format really well and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

Source: Purchased

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Hardback / Kindle:

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Series I Want To Read in 2016

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week has a different theme & you can find all the details about how to join in HERE.

Today's topic is Top Ten Resolutions We Have For 2016. This year I want to focus on reading some of those books and series that I've been meaning to catch up with for years.

My top ten series I want to catch up with in 2016:

1. Mercy Thompson and Alpha & Omega series by Patricia Briggs - Patricia Briggs is one of my favourite urban fantasy authors and I absolutely adore the Mercy Thompson world. It's one of my go to series for when I need something that I know is going to be amazing and I recently started rereading it (for the third time!) with a friend in preparation for the newest book, Dead Heat, in March.
2. Fever series by Karen Marie Moning - I absolutely loved the first five books in the Fever series but was too scared to read Iced and Burned after seeing so many negative reviews for them. Anyway, I've been rereading the series with a group of friends in preparation for the release of Feverborn, we've finished the original five books so I'm finally going to get to read the later books for the first time!
3. Dark-Hunters and Chronicles of Nick by Sherrilyn Kenyon - I started reading the Dark-Hunters series a couple of years ago now and it's one I've been wanting to catch up with for a long time now so I'm determined that 2016 is going to be the year I FINALLY catch up with the rest of the world!
4. Immortals After Dark by Kresley Cole - This is another series that I'm part way through but have never quite managed to catch up with so it's also on the list.
5. Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R. Ward - I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the BDB, the earlier books were AMAZING but the series lost it's way a bit and I kind of lost interest in it. I took a 2 year break though and last year I really enjoyed Lover Unleashed so I'm going to give the series another chance.
6. Weather Warden Series & Outcast Season by Rachel Caine - This series is another old favourite, in fact I read the earlier books before I even started blogging (so over 6 years ago now). It's been one I've wanted to go back to for a while now but then Rachel Caine launched her kickstarter campaign and is now writing a new book set in that world so I HAVE to reread the rest of the books before the new one is published.
7. Darkest London series by Kristen Callihan - Another series that I love but have fallen woefully behind on so it's beyond time for a catch up.
8. Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich - I read about 16 books in this series 6 or 7 years ago and loved them but it's been a long time so I've forgotten all the details. I'm rereading the series with some friends, we're reading one book a month so it's going to take us about 2 years to catch up but I want to make sure I stay on track with this group read.
9. Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson - This is an absolutely ginormous series - 14 books and most of them are over 700 pages long! - but it's one I've had so many people recommend to me. I've always been a bit too intimidated to start it but another group of friends (I love my Goodreads reading buddies!!) have decided to read the series one book a month for the next 14 months. I'm only part way through the first book but I already love it so I'm definitely planning on keeping up with this group read too. Having people to hold my hands is going to help keep me motivated I think :o)
10. In Death by J.D. Robb - I've wanted to try this series for absolutely ages so I'm making it a personal goal to start it in 2016. I'm reading this series by myself (unless anyone wants to join me?!) but as long as I enjoy the first book I'm planning on reading at least one a month until I'm caught up. There are over 30 books available already so this is another very long ongoing project but we'll see how far I manage to get with it!

So what are your reading resolutions for 2016? Do you have certain books or series that you want to get through or have you set completely different kinds of goals? If anyone is interested in joining the buddy reads I'm taking part in you're very welcome - I'm part of a great group on Goodreads & we have a lot of fun reading together and chatting about the books along the way :o)

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Urban Fantasy Series

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week has a different theme & you can find all the details about how to join in HERE.

Today's topic is a Halloween Freebie so I've decided to talk about my Top Ten Urban Fantasy Series. These are all adult series so most of them won't be suitable for younger readers but they're all fantastic and books I'm happy to shout from the rooftops recommending. It was actually REALLY hard to narrow this list down to just 10 series so I may have sneaked a few extra in there! All links below will take you to my reviews the different series mentioned.

1. My absolute favourite urban fantasy writers would have to be Ilona and Gordon Andrews, their most well known series is about Kate Daniels, a sword wielding, totally kick arse heroine who has a great deal of power and is half of one of my favourite fictional couples. I just have one word for you - Curran. I LOVE him and that's all you need to know! These books are full of action and danger, have a great supporting cast of characters and just never fail to make me smile. You can find my reviews of the Kate Daniel's series here but I'd highly recommend EVERYTHING by these authors including their Edge series and Innkeeper Chronicles and their most recent Hidden Legacy series which I'm desperately waiting for the next instalment of. Ilona and Gordon are undoubtedly the Queen and King of urban fantasy so if you've not read any of their books you're definitely missing out.

2. Nalini Singh is another author that I absolutely adore. I'm kind of cheating with this one because her Guild Hunter series definitely straddles the line between urban fantasy and paranormal romance but it's absolutely excellent so I had to include it. The series follows vampire hunter Elena as she hunts rogue vampires to keep humanity safe. This is a world where angels are in control, they're powerful and often terrifying creatures and they rule over humanity with an iron fist. The world is divided into territories, each controlled by an Archangel and Elena catches the attention of Raphael, the Archangel who runs New York. While many of the books in this series focus on Elena and Raphael and are definitely what I would consider urban fantasy (with a fairly high level of romance!) there are some books that feature other couples and are probably more paranormal romance. The world building is very strong in the whole series though and there is an incredibly likeable cast of secondary characters who all have major roles to play. If you enjoy Nalini's writing then it would be well worth checking out Nalini's Psy-Changeling series too, it's definitely PNR but also has very strong world building, wonderful characters and a lot of action. Nalini is an auto-buy author for me and I've yet to read a book by her that I didn't love.

3. I recently reread Rachel Vincent's Shifters series and I loved it just as much the second time around. The main character of this series is Faythe Sanders, a twenty something cat shifter and her family. The Shifters world is very male oriented and Faythe struggles to make some of the old fashioned council members take her seriously because she's a woman but she's stubborn, intelligent and stands up for what she believes in so she refuses to back down. This series can be quite dark in places and there were a few parts that absolutely broke my heart but I love it.

4. Another series I absolutely adore is Rachel Caine's Weather Warden and the spin off Outcast Season. It's been a long time since I read these books, in fact I read most of the series before I started blogging so it would have been about 6 or 7 years ago, but I love them. I was incredibly excited when Rachel Caine recently announced that she is going to revisit this world and I'm planning on rereading and reviewing the entire series before the new book releases next summer. These books are about humans who have the ability to control the weather and the Djinn they use to help them, the series is very different to anything else I've read and I'm looking forward to revisiting it.

5. You can't really talk about urban fantasy and not mention Patricia Briggs and her Mercy Thompson series (or the spin off Alpha & Omega books!). This is a series full of werewolves, vampires and fae and Mercy Thompson is the only known coyote shifter. She is less powerful than the other supernatural creatures around her but that never stops her for standing up for what she believes in no matter what it costs her. I love Mercy, she's one of the bravest characters you'll ever meet and I've been rooting for her from the beginning. The spin off series allows us to spend time with werewolf couple Anna and Charles and lets us explore more of the world that Patricia Briggs has created. There is always so much going on in these books and I just wish we didn't have to wait so long for new instalments!

6. So I've already included series with shifters, angels, vampires and even humans with magical abilities but the fantastic Katherine "Kitty" Katt series by Gini Koch is a little different because it's all about aliens. Kitty's whole life is turned upside down when she discovers not only that aliens exist but that they're living among us and hiding in plain sight. Not all of the aliens are benign though and when she manages to kill one of the monsters using just a pen from the bottom of her handbag Kitty is recruited to fight alongside the good aliens to protect humanity. This series is absolutely hilarious and never fails to make me laugh out loud, the characters are brilliant, the antics are madcap, the plotting is superb and I guarantee you'll never know what's coming next.

7. There is a reason that Karen Marie Moning's Fever series is such an incredibly popular one and it's a series that I'm going to be rereading over the next few weeks. Mac isn't your typical urban fantasy heroine, in fact at the very beginning I wasn't sure if I was going to like her much because she comes across as quite weak, but she goes through a baptism of fire and we really get to see what she's made of throughout the series. I ended up absolutely loving Mac but even if I hadn't these books would be worth reading just for Barrons. He's a totally mysterious, unapologetic alpha arse and I just can't resist his charms!

8. Another one of my favourite authors is Keri Arthur, she writes brilliant paranormal romances as well as urban fantasy but my favourite is her Riley Jenson series and the spin off Dark Angel books. Riley is a half werewolf- half vampire hybrid and alongside her twin brother Rhoan she works for the Directorate of Other Races, an organisation that is tasked with keeping humans safe from the huge variety of supernatural creatures that are wandering around. Life isn't easy for Riley, she is often forced into difficult situations because of her job but she always comes out fighting and I love her for that. This is a vast world and has a great range of characters and I loved meeting the next generation in the Dark Angels spin off, I keep hoping that Keri Arthur will revisit some of the other side characters in the future but I've not seen any indication that it will actually happen.

9. If you love vampires you should definitely check out Chloe Neill's Chicagoland Vampires series, Merit never asked to be a vampire but she was turned by Master Ethan when he found her badly injured after she had been attacked. He may have saved her life but he also turned it upside down at the same time and now she has to find a way to come to terms with what happened and rebuild a new life for herself with the vampires of Cadogan House. I love this series, Merit is brilliant and there are some great side characters, the series has plenty of humour but also plenty of danger, there's magic, sorcery, shapeshifters and interesting vampire politics, not to mention a brilliant romance.

10. I can't compile a list of my favourite urban fantasy series without including the Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost. I discovered this series back in 2010 when it was recommended to me by several UK bloggers and I've been hooked ever since. Cat Crawford is a half vampire who was born after her mother was attacked by a vampire. She has dedicated her life to killing every vampire she meets believing them all to be evil but then she meets Bones and he makes her realise that not all vampires are monsters. Cat is kick arse, Bones is hot and I absolutely love them as a couple. It's been a long time since I read these books but it's still a favourite series and I think I might be due a reread soon!

Honourable mentions:

So those are my top urban fantasy series but I feel like there are a lot of other series that also deserve some love, these are mostly (but not all) newer series so haven't quite earned such a huge place in my heart (yet!) but they're definitely ones I'm excited to continue and worth giving a try!

1. The Hollows series by Kim Harrison: I started this series before I was a blogger so I've not reviewed any of the books but I remember loving the world Kim has created and it's a series that I'm planning on starting again next year.
2. Cassandra Palmer & Dorina Basarab series by Karen Chance: Two more series that I started years ago and haven't reviewed, I love Karen's writing and really want to catch up with these books.
3. Weird Girls - Cecy Robson: This series is about four sisters, each with their own unusual magical ability thanks to a curse that was placed upon them when they were children. The curse backfired and left them extremely powerful but it also placed a target on their backs and now they're trying to deal with the aftermath.
4. The Colbana Files - J.C. Daniels: Kit is a warrior born and bread and she is incredibly skilled with weapons of all kinds. She was raised to be an assassin but escaped from her family and now works as a PI trying to help people in need.
5. The Veil - Pippa DaCosta: Muse is half human and half demon, she was raised in the hell where she suffered horrific torture until she was able to escape and make it to the human realm. Her whole life has been about survival and now she just wants to live a quiet life but with the veil between the worlds starting to fail and old enemies looking to catch up with her Muse is going to have to choose which side of the upcoming war to fight for.
6. Fallen Siren series by S.J. Harper: This series is all about a siren who was cursed by Greek Goddess Demeter and it's quickly becoming a favourite, Emma is an FBI agent who specialises in tracking down kidnapping victims and her partner at the agency is a werewolf.
7. Monster Haven series by R.L. Naquin: The Monster Haven books are really light hearted and very funny reads, the author includes a huge amount of different supernatural creatures and they cause all sorts of mischief for the main character, Zoey, to deal with.

So those are my favourite urban fantasy series! Do any of them make your top ten? Have I missed any series that you love? Urban fantasy is definitely one of my favourite genres so I'd love some new recommendations :o)

Review: Shadowfever - Karen Marie Moning

MacKayla Lane was just a child when she and her sister, Alina, were given up for adoption and banished from Ireland forever.

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 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.

Fever Series:
Darkfever
Bloodfever
Faefever
Dreamfever
Shadowfever
Fever Moon: The Fear Dorcha (Graphic Novel)
Iced
Burned
Feverborn

Visit Karen Marie Moning's website for more information

Review:
Please bear in mind that Shadowfever is the fifth (and currently the last although I know Karen Marie Moning plans to come back to this world after writing the spin off trilogy about Dani) book in the Fever series. I have really enjoyed all of these books and would highly recommend them but you need to read the books in order starting with Darkfever, if you're not up to date with the series then you should stop reading this review now in case of spoilers.

Mac's story continues immediately after events in Dreamfever but I don't really want to go into details about the plot because I'd hate to spoil it for anyone. I will say it is packed with action, full of shocking twists and turns and will answer nearly all of the questions that we've had throughout the series. We finally find out what Barrons is and what he needs the book for, Mac finds out who was behind her sister's murder and the truth about her family and we discover how the Sinsar Dubh managed to escape from the Sidhe Seers in the first place. There really is so much going on that although this is a long book (671 pages in my paperback version) I still whizzed through it and didn't want to put it down for a second.

It's been a while since I discovered a series where each of the books are so consistently good and I thought Shadowfever was a fantastic ending to Mac's journey. I loved the way she has changed so much throughout the series, everything she has been through in such a short period of time has impacted dramatically on her and the changes continued in this book. Her grief makes her even harder than she was before, she will do whatever it takes to get her hands on the book so she can use it for her own agenda. It has been fun watching her go from a pink wearing, beach loving party girl to a fierce warrior in black leather and full of attitude. I'm pleased that she hasn't completely lost her inner girlie side though.

I absolutely love the way things ended between Mac and Barrons, I have been a massive Barrons fan since the first book and their relationship has been an intense (if sometimes frustrating) ride! As much as I'm looking forward to the spin off series about Dani I am really pleased that the author is planning on writing more books about Mac & Barrons in the future. I'm not ready to say goodbye to the couple yet so as much as their story has reached a satisfying conclusion for now I just want more!

Karen Marie Moning has definitely been added to my list of auto-buy authors, I can't wait to read Iced but I'm also very pleased to have her Highlander books to work my way through in the meantime. I've already ordered a copy of Beyond the Highland Mist!

Source: Purchased

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Paperback / Kindle:

Review: Dreamfever - Karen Marie Moning

They may have stolen my past, but I'll never let them have 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?

Fever Series:
Darkfever
Bloodfever
Faefever
Dreamfever
Shadowfever
Fever Moon: The Fear Dorcha (Graphic Novel)
Iced
Burned
Feverborn

Visit Karen Marie Moning's website for more information

Review:
Bloodfever is the fourth book in Karen Marie Moning's Fever series starring Sidhe-Seer MacKayla Lane so this review may contain spoilers for the previous books. The story picks up right after the ending of Faefever - the walls between the Fae and mortal realms have failed allowing the unseelie prisoners to escape and leaving Dublin under attack. Worse still Mac has been turned pri-ya by the unseelie princes and has become completely obsessed with her physical needs not even able to remember her own name. Can she come back from the brink of madness to help put a stop to the Lord Master's plans?

I've been really enjoying the Fever series but I have to say I think Dreamfever was my favourite instalment yet. I'm so relieved that I already have my copy of Shadowfever though because the cliffhanger would probably have killed me if I had to wait a year for it! Poor Mac has been through so much since she arrived in Dublin and that pretty, sun loving, pink wearing & flirty young girl is no more - she has had to toughen up to cope with everything that life has thrown at her and she is now all black leather and sharp edges. You have to admire her just for surviving - I don't think many people would have the strength of character to go through everything she has and come out the other side with her sanity intact (well almost anyway lol).

It is so hard for her to know who to trust, she is afraid to even trust her own instincts any more. She feels that both Barrons and V'lane let her down by not coming to her rescue before the princes captured her and she is determined never to allow herself to rely on anyone again. I can completely understand why she feels like that but sometimes I do find myself wishing she would let people help her a bit more. I'm still desperate to find out more about Barrons - what the heck is he? - and I loved the way things played out between him and Mac in this book (particularly at the beginning of the story - I feel like I've waited FOREVER for that!).

It's been really interesting watching how things have played out with the Sidhe-Seers - I really can't stand Rowena and there were times I wanted to reach into the book and slap her but to give the wily old bird her dues she certainly knows how to play the political game and get people on her side! It was great to see the friendship between Mac and Dani grow though and I enjoyed seeing things from Dani's point of view for a few chapters at the beginning - that has made me excited about the spin off series staring her that comes out later this year (starting with Iced). I'm hoping we get to see Mac and Dani team up more in Shadowfever because I think they work so well together.

The story has been getting darker and darker with every instalment which makes for very intense reading. It's going to be very interesting to see how Karen Marie Moning finishes this part of the series - I'm really hoping that Mac gets to have some kind of happiness by the end because I think she's earned at least a bit of a break!

Source: Purchased

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Paperback / Kindle:

Review: Faefever - Karen Marie Moning

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

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.

Fever Series:
Darkfever
Bloodfever
Faefever
Dreamfever
Shadowfever
Fever Moon: The Fear Dorcha (Graphic Novel)
Iced
Burned
Feverborn

Visit Karen Marie Moning's website for more information

Review:
Faefever is the third book in Karen Marie Moning's Fever series starring Sidhe-Seer MacKayla Lane. The story picks up right after the ending of Bloodfever - Mac is still searching for the Sinsar Dubh (an ancient book that is supposed to contain Fae secrets) although that is proving difficult when getting anywhere near it causes her incredible pain. She is also determined to track down her sister's murderer and figure out who has Alina's missing journal and why they are sending random pages to her. As Samhain approaches and the walls between the Fae and human realms get ever weaker Mac must decide who she can trust to help her stop them falling completely.

This series seems to get more and more addictive with every book I read. The cliffhangers also seem to get worse and worse with every book though so I'm very glad I waited until all 5 books were already available before I started reading them - if I had to wait a whole year for the next book I might have started screaming when I reached the end of Faefever!

This series definitely falls on the darker side of urban fantasy, the things that Mac has been through (and continues to go through) don't always make for comfortable reading. She has grown up a lot since the first book though and you have to admire her for her determination to not just survive but also to protect innocents and to get vengeance for her sister. She has proved to be a lot tougher than I ever thought she would be considering how girlie she was at the start of the series. I do like the fact that she still has that softer side though, the side that likes to dress in pretty clothes and flirt with handsome men - Mac proves that women don't have to act like men all of the time to be kick ass.

I also like the fact that she no longer blindly trusts anyone, given her history with Barrons, V'lane and even her fellow Sidhe-Seers she has learnt to always look for hidden motives in people's actions. Talking of the other characters I still can't get enough of Barrons, yes he can be a bit of a bastard at times but there is still something about him that just leaves you begging for more. I love the intensity of the relationship between him and Mac and although they are keeping me waiting I know they will be an explosive combination when they finally give into their mutual lust! V'lane is another interesting character and one who I find myself liking a little more with each book, I still don't trust him (I don't actually trust Barrons either) but I do think that most of the time he is looking out for Mac's best interests. It was great to see more of Christian MacKeltar, we had met him briefly in the previous book but I'm even more intrigued now I know a bit more about him and his family. Fingers crossed they have a part in the next book too.

I know I had been warned that this series had killer cliffhangers but OMG that was worse than anything I could have expected! Karen Marie Moning managed to shock the heck out of me and has left me desperate to find out what happens next. Thankfully I already have the last two books sitting on my shelves so I'm off to start reading Dreamfever!

Source: Purchased

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Paperback / Kindle:

Review: Bloodfever - Karen Marie Moning

I used to be your average, everyday girl, but all that changed one night in Dublin when I saw my first Fae and got dragged into a world of deadly immortals and ancient secrets . . .

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 one thing that stands between them.

Fever Series:
Darkfever
Bloodfever
Faefever
Dreamfever
Shadowfever
Fever Moon: The Fear Dorcha (Graphic Novel)
Iced
Burned
Feverborn

Visit Karen Marie Moning's website for more information

Review:
Bloodfever is the second book in Karen Marie Moning's Fever series starring Sidhe-Seer MacKayla Lane. The story picks up right after the ending of Darkfever - Mac is staying with Barrons as she recovers from her injuries and has agreed to help him search for the Sinsar Dubh (an ancient book that is supposed to contain Fae secrets). She now knows who was behind her sister's murder and is determined to track them down and make them pay. With the number of Unseelie Fae on the streets of Dublin increasing daily and the interest she has attracted from the Seelie prince V'lane it isn't going to be easy for Mac to keep her head down and stay out of trouble. Especially when an old enemy comes out of the woodwork looking to get revenge against her. Add in the Sidhe-Seer organisation that want her to join them and things are about to get complicated.

I'm making it my mission this year to finally finish reading all those series that I started, bought the whole series after enjoying the first book and then never got around to finishing and the Fever series is first on my list. I really enjoyed the first book when I read it last year and I have no idea why I never got around to finishing it, perhaps afterwards I'll finally get around to trying Karen Marie Moning's Highlander series too!

Mac isn't your typical urban fantasy heroine, she is much more girlie than most - she loves to dress up in fun flirty colours and was quite a pool bunny before she left her home in Georgia to track down her sister's killer in Dublin. Having said that she is also smart and stubborn and she is learning to kick ass when she needs to. She may not be the strongest character physically but she has determination and she is able to stand on her own two feet emotionally. I love the fact that Mac still has that flirty side to her but it was nice to see that she has started to grow up too.

My favourite thing about this series so far has to be Mac's developing relationship with Barrons. I love the banter between them, every single scene with the two of them in it has me on the edge of my seat waiting to see how things play out. They have such a love / hate relationship right now but I know exactly which way I want to see things go as the series continues. Barrons is a complete mystery man and I'm dying to start uncovering some of his secrets. He can be evasive and often comes across as uncaring and emotionless but every so often you get a glimpse of something more to him and those instances have me hooked. Barrons is definitely the kind of guy that leaves you wanting more. The chemistry between him and Mac is intense and I can't wait to see that spark finally ignite -- I have a feeling that when it does the outcome is going to be an inferno!

I'm still curious about the death-by-sex fae prince V'lane too, I wouldn't trust him as far as I can throw him but I don't think he is all bad. I have a feeling that he could end up being someone that Mac has to rely on in the future and it will be interesting to see if he ends up betraying her or if he'll actually be someone she can trust to support her. Bloodfever had a darker story line than Darkfever and I was actually shocked at the things that Mac has to go through so early in the series. It just goes to prove that she is a lot stronger than most people give her credit for though and it made me look at her with a new respect too. These are the kind of books that you want to make sure you have time to devour in one sitting, I found it impossible to put down once I'd started and I'm itching to pick up the next book. Luckily I have the rest of the series sitting on my shelves and I'm determined that it won't be another year before I pick up the next one!

Source: Purchased

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Paperback / Kindle:

Review: Darkfever - Karen Marie Moning

My name is MacKayla, Mac for short. I'm a sidhe-seer, one who sees the Fae, a fact I accepted only recently and very reluctantly.

My philosophy is pretty simple - any day nobody's trying to kill me is a good day in my book. I haven't had many good days lately. Not since the walls between Man and Fae came down. But then, there's not a sidhe-seer alive who's had a good day since then.

When MacKayla's sister was murdered, she left a single clue to her death - a cryptic message on Mac's cell phone. Journeying to Ireland in search of answers, Mac is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to master 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...while at the same time, the ruthless V'lane - an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women - closes in on her. As the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac's true mission becomes clear: to find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Book - because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control of both worlds in their hands....

Fever Series:
Darkfever
Bloodfever
Faefever
Dreamfever
Shadowfever
Fever Moon: The Fear Dorcha (Graphic Novel)
Iced
Burned
Feverborn

Visit Karen Marie Moning's website for more information

Review:
MacKayla is happy with small town life, she doesn't have much ambition and enjoys working evenings in a bar so she can spend her days topping up her tan. She is definitely a girly girl who likes pretty clothes and make up and the only reason she is even attending college part time is to keep her parents happy. It seems like Alina is the only sister with any get up and go in their family. That is until Alina is brutally murdered while studying abroad in Ireland. The police have no clues to go on and have closed the murder investigation which incenses Mac. While her parents fall appart with grief Mac is determined to get justice for her sister and track down the killer. With the only clue a mysterious answer phone message that Alina left before she died Mac uses all her savings to get to Ireland with the sole aim of forcing the police to reopen the investigation. However, after arriving in Ireland she finds herself thrown in at the deep end, into a world full of terrifying Fae creatures that only she seems to be able to see. Has she been driven mad by grief or are these monsters really walking amongst us? She is going to need the help of her new acquaintance Barrons if she wants to survive amongst the Fae but can she really trust him when she knows he is keeping secrets from her?

I have heard so many good things about the Fever series that I've been wanting to start reading it for a while now but after hearing about the killer cliffhangers (particularly in the later books) I decided to wait until the entire series was available. I have to confess I'm glad I waited because before I'd even finished reading Darkfever I had placed an order for all of the other books and I'm looking forward to getting stuck into them. This was a great start to an urban fantasy series, I loved the world building and am looking forward to spending more time with the characters.

At first I wasn't at all sure I was going to like Mac - she seemed far too Barbie like for me, completely obsessed with her looks - but once the going gets tough you really start to see a change in her. Yes she still loves pink and likes to have her nails done but underneath that there is a steely determination to find out what happened to her sister, and to make the killer pay. I still think Mac has a lot of growing to do but I was left wanting to see her take that journey.

While there is no romance in the first book in Darkfever (I'm hoping there will be more in the rest of the series!) there is definitely some serious chemistry between Mac and Barrons. Watching the banter between them gives you a feel for the love/hate relationship they have started to develop and it should be fun to see which side the coin eventually falls on. I would have liked to find out a bit more about Barrons but in a way I think the mystery is one of the main things that draws me to him, I just HAVE to get to know him & I know he's got some good stories to tell! Another character I want to see more of is V'lane who Mac dubbed a death-by-sex-Fae. Admittedly he didn't do anything in this book to make me like him (in fact it was quite the opposite) but I can't help thinking there is more to him than meets the eye. I'm curious to find out if he is actually a friend or an enemy!

This is the first book I've read my Karen Marie Moning but it won't be the last, her writing style is gripping and makes it very hard for you to put the book down once you've started. I enjoyed the mythology and want to find out more about the Fae and Mac's abilities. This was a good start to the series and I would definitely recommend it to urban fantasy fans.

Source: Purchased

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.