[BOOK REVIEW] Bloodfever by Karen Marie Moning

Title:  Bloodfever

Author:  Karen Marie Moning

Genre: Urban Fantasy / Horror / Paranormal Romance

Year Published: 2007

Number of Pages: 349 pages

Date Read:  1/4/2014

Publisher: Dell

Series: Fever #2

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 18+ (Strong Language and Gory Violence)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository

I have noticed that it has been years since I had read Karen Marie Moning’s first novel in her popular “Fever” series “Darkfever.” Now, I am back with a vengeance and I have just recently picked up the second book in the “Fever” series “Bloodfever” and it is as good as the first novel!

MacKayla Lane is back and this time, she and her new brash yet mysterious partner Jericho Barrons are searching for a mysterious book called the Sinsar Dubh which contains the darkest magic imaginable!  But, MacKayla and Jericho are not the only ones after the Sinsar Dubh, as the immortal Fae Prince named V’lane is also after the Sinsar Dubh and he also seems to be after MacKayla’s heart!  Also, to add more load to MacKayla’s life, she ends up meeting with a young sidhe-seer like herself named Dani and MacKayla will soon realize that there are more secrets being hidden from her than she will ever know!

Karen Marie Moning has done it again with her stellar storytelling about a young woman trying to understand her place in this frightening world.  I loved the way that Karen Marie Moning explains this nightmarish universe to the readers as it makes the myths that surround Ireland so much more understandable to me and I cannot help, but be so immersed with the mythos of the Fae and the Sidhe-Seers shown in this world!  I also loved the intensity and frightening moments that Karen Marie Moning brought to this story as I was literally sitting on the edge of my seat wondering how MacKayla was going to make it out of Ireland alive!  But, probably the best parts about this novel were the characters themselves!  MacKayla Lane is probably one of the best heroines I had ever read in any paranormal romance novel!  I loved the fact that we are able to see the world from her point of view and how she is trying to cope with this strange and dangerous world that she was suddenly forced into.  Sure, it may seem like MacKayla is complaining about her new life throughout this novel and that can be pretty annoying, but in this case, I actually sympathize with her frustrations in trying to understand this new and dangerous world. Also, the fact that everyone just refuses to tell MacKayla anything about her duties as the sidhe-seer just makes me sympathize with her even more since I would have been frustrated with people not telling me the things I really need to know.  But, probably my most favorite character in this novel is none other than Jericho Barrons himself!  Jericho Barrons is probably one of the most dangerous and mysterious heroes I had ever read about and I will admit that I tense up whenever he gets mad since he is shown being super strong (which I do wonder about).  But, Jericho Barrons is easily one of the most interesting characters in this book and I loved the fact that he is always described as being extremely strong and muscular (two traits that I seek for in every alpha male hero that I read about in romance novels)!  I also loved the introduction of Dani, the young sidhe-seer in this book as she is not only a perky girl with an attitude, but the fact that there are other sidhe-seers in this world besides MacKayla really has me intrigued to see what Dani and MacKayla’s relationship will be like in future books!

For anyone who does not like strong language, this novel contains strong language (even more so than the first novel) and anyone who feels uncomfortable with the strong language can feel free to skim over these words. Also, this novel has gory violence which involves various creatures getting eaten and we are being told this in graphic detail and that might be unsettling for anyone who does not like gory violence.

Overall, “Bloodfever” is a truly brilliant continuation of Karen Marie Moning’s fantastic “Fever” series and I will definitely be picking up the third book in the “Fever” series “Faefever!”