Review--Shadowfever by 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 between humans and immortals who have lived concealed 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 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.

Wow. Wow. Wow. That is what I have to say about Karen Marie Moning's Shadowfever! It was super long, but didn't really drag out at all. Every moment was intense! I hated stopping for trivial things such as meals! But I finished it today and was eating it up over the last pages. I kept thinking it was almost over, but realized there was still more to happen!

I will try to keep this review short. And it will most definitely be SPOILER FREE. Hence the shortness because the more I talk about it, the more I might let something slip. But I won't let it happen! I will diligently look over each sentence after I type it.

Moving on...so as many might know since the first two chapters were posted online, the book immediately picks up where we left off in Dreamfever. And I finally did get around to reading it. Like 2 hours before Borders opened and then I was left waiting for over half the time afterward. And OMG was my heart pounding just from that. I was right in my guess of who the monster creature was.

Nothing is ever at it seems in this world. Of course that is basically the rule of the Fae and it's hard to remember that throughout all the different Fae books there are! And boy was there plenty of surprises. I was continually blown away again and again. 

This was probably one of the BEST books I read with a character going through self-discovery. There are have been really good books and GREAT books with heroines finding who they are, but seriously, Shadowfever blows them all out of the water. In my opinion, from the books I've read! Needless to say, Mac goes through a lot and she goes to different limits to get what she wants in the end. And I loved her for it. Mac is the urban fantasy heroine that I truly love. She isn't necessarily your leather wearing kick ass chick--although she does eventually wear leather and kick ass, but she didn't start out that way. This is Mac 5.0 and she is so far gone from her Barbie persona of Mac 1.0 in Darkfever as Mac herself points out.

So the tension and suspense were really thick here and really drags you into the story. I mean I was shocked with all that happen just in the first part of the novel--it's divided into 4. And seriously, there were a lot of interesting surprises and revelations in this one. And pretty much every mystery Mac has come across is answered. Every mystery.

The ending was satisfying as well, I thought. It leaves enough to make you satisfied that the story is over. But I won't lie. There was something that Karen says that makes you think otherwise, but who knows. Totally loved this book and wish I could say more on it, but it would weave in spoilers and I won't go there.

So to be mathematically correct, I give this one 5/5 stars...you know instead of 1,000/5 or some other such improper fraction. Always hated math! :P