Mandi: Let me quickly recap. The first five Fever books are my everything. Iced was amazing. Burned – eh – I didn’t love it. It felt like a filler book. I was disappointed with Jada and Mac and Barrons drama. (Previous reviews)
Feverborn – more of the same disappointment. Where are we going in this story? What are we heading to? Did anything really happen in this book?? Sheena and I are going to break it down.
Please be aware there are SPOILERS below.
Mac/Barrons:
Mandi: Correct me if I’m wrong, but weren’t Mac and Barrons on bad terms at the end of Burned, because she found out about that night (back in book 1) where he had sex with her and took her memories? (Am I remembering this correctly?) In this book, it’s not even mentioned. Which – I guess is good because I don’t want conflict between Mac and Barrons – but it’s still odd that it became a thing in Burned, and totally ignored in Feverborn. I wish Mac and Barrons were in the background. Give the point of view to Jada so her story can move forward!!
Sheena: Yawn. I am so over Mac & Barrons I could cry. I loved them for 5 books. I reached optimal zen levels of peace with their hard won HEA. I appreciated the peripheral view of them in Iced and now it has just all become too much. Leave me with my memories of Mac and her ingenious pink MacHalo and my favorite ever: Black Mac. Her evolution does not have to stop but it needs a rest from being so focal. I grow weary folks. That does not mean there isn’t some good Mac stuff in Feverborn. There is, it is just absolutely belaboured. I found that Barrons was nearly a shadow of himself. Still fiercely protective and in love with Mac but he is definitely not as grisly as he was in earlier books. I’d call him sweet even- but he’d likely kick my ass. They really have a nice partnership at this stage. He gives her a lot of leeway, yet he is not shy about stepping in when he feels necessary. This is a dramatic improvement over the Barrons who would step in on his own whim, his own desires acting as his only barometer. Annnd yes, incase you were wondering, he still thinks Mac is a great lay and they are still as sexually charged as ever.
I don’t dare not fuck this man frequently…Sex with him is the closest thing to holy I’ve ever known. Barrons is my church. Every caress, each kiss, a hallelujah.
Burn me in Hell if you have a problem with that.
He’ll be there with me.
We won’t care.
Given how the book ends, I am concerned that too much time (again) will be devoted to Barrons trying to save Mac from herself (again). My solemn wish is that KMM stops putting Ryo and Dani on the shelf in favor of more Barrons/Mac/Sinsar Dubh drama. Their moment has passed and they are solid (Obviously! Right Mandi, their spat in Burned is totally forgiven and forgotten *smirk*). Please stop overworking Mac & Barrons, they are practically bucking at the seams from the forced efforts! If this is going to continue to be the Mac show, then be ballsy and just package it that way! Stop dangling a fraudulent “Dani” in my face and on the cover to assuage any guilt from knowing the Dani O’Malley series got the shaft. Which brings us to….
Jada/Ryo:
Mandi: Soooooo….what’s going on with these two. Will they ever take that step into romance? Let’s go already. I love Ryoden – his sarcasm, his bad-assness – I want him to be a star in this series, and not a supporting character.
Sheena: So much untapped potential with these two and it drives me batshit cray that KMM refuses to commit and go there in a substantial way. Forget baby steps, the tadpoles are still in the fallopian tubes when it comes to these two! I am beyond ready for Dani (Yea, no…I’m still not on board with “Jada”) and Ryo to really get things in motion. And I’m not talking (just) sex, I’m talking about their complex coupling. Ryo is there, I love his character- he saves her life in such dramatic fashion that it only endeared me to him more. Dani needs to show up (figuratively and literally)- and pronto. I do not like it when the hero is practically standing under a neon sign with lights flashing that he could be all in and the heroine is all indignant and nursing old suspicions and self-preservation tactics to her own detriment. I especially did not like the idea that said heroine is working an angle and is attempting to use the hero for her own means. Tattooing her with his tat was huge for Ryo, it meant so much more and went beyond the primary function of the tat (being able to locate her anywhere). The suggestion that Jada had unsavory motives when he was being so raw really pissed me off. It made things feel tainted between them and the sooner it is crystal clear that she is not plotting on Ryo, the better I’ll feel about their situation. In Feverborn, Ryo shows fissures of vulnerability and Jada is less psychopathic than she was in the previous novel. More human- less cyborg-bitch with red hair. Ultimately, It is disingenuous to even consider Ryo embarking on a HEA with a fractured Dani. And frankly, I don’t want to wait until the final book in the series- the last chapter and final scene where suddenly there is this great emo reveal and they realize they love one another. What kind of pay-off is that? KMM is so great at feely dialogue- I mean magnificently talented in world building and characterization. One of these days, I sincerely hope to witness Ryodan and Dani deal with their emotional and sensual tension head on.
Shazam:
Mandi: If we’ve gotten to the point in this series where a “Shazam” exists – please help me universe I don’t want to continue. Shazam most likely a stuffed animal that Jada thinks is real. I get it – the Silvers were tough. Dani was 14 when she entered. Hell, I’d grab onto a stuffed animal too! But – come on.
Sheena: “Who the hell was Shazam?” My sentiments exactly. If this wasn’t the most awkward, haphazard “character introduction” I don’t know what is. Its weird. And silly. And that says a lot given the fantasy world building that this book encompasses. Jada morphs from an unfeeling, single- minded focused bitch on wheels to suddenly having a psychotic break over a stuffed animal who embodies her imaginary friend? I swear I could hear the collective “what???” when Shazam hit the scene in concert with the dead fish Jada “fed” him. Shazam single-handedly made Jada the most unreliable point of view. Is Shazam real, is he not real? Who knows. A better question is who cares? And better yet…what???
Christian/Dageus
Mandi: If this book was a pure Ryoden/Jada book, then I would say – please, please, please let the next book/series be about Christian. He is so interesting! I love his transformation into this Unseelie Prince. How he is learning to hold back his fury and think things through. Not sure that I love Chloe in mourning – can we move that along? But I like this storyline…want more of it! (plus what is this tribunal??)
Sheena: By far and uncontested, Christian is the most intriguing character in Feverborn. I thoroughly enjoyed every one of his scenes. I like his reasoning and inner dialogues. Dageus- poor dude has a tough road ahead of him. He did not get near as much page time as he should have given how Burned ended on the back of his transformation. I think it was a miss to have his storyline hang in the balance. I echo you Mandi. Once (read: if we ever) get a Dani/Ryo HEA, Christian soooo needs his own book/series, something! There is something amazingly special about Christian.
Alina:
Mandi: Alina better be dead. That’s all I’m saying. Kind of over this.
Sheena: Some character deaths should be encased in impenetrable stone. When they come back it throws everything off kilter and makes any personal character gains seem all for nothing- marginalized and fraudulent. The spiral that Alina’s death sent Mac on, how it drove her and shaped her decisions should not be messed around with. Not cool. I did think it fitting that she chose Dani over Alina in the grand scheme of things.
Black holes/Cruce:
Mandi: So there might be black holes coming to swallow the entire Earth. This is – a big deal. Cruce is setting up ice fire to break out of his prison. Big deal. Is this where this entire series arc is going? If so, okay but I wish there was more focus on it. Instead – they stood around and talked about it. I liked the fact that Mac, Barrons, Ryoden, Jada and Christian were going to attempt to work together to solve this – but as with everything else in the book, no progress is made.
Sheena: Black holes provided the vehicle Ryo needed to set things in motion regarding his decision to turn Dageus. Big plot development, but not nearly as captivating as the Hoar frost king or Crimson Hag. Both threats were dynamic and took on a life of their own. Cruce….meh, another one of the bloated storylines that lead nowhere. Besides, I miss V’lane. Not unlike Dani, I too am bummed he never got a shot at my virginity. *sigh*
The end/The book
Mandi: The book has a hold of Mac. I love when KMM writes about Mac diving into her lake – the way she sets up the book inside of Mac is fascinating to me. Now that the book has her in its grip – is this going to be major?? Or is Mac going to escape within the first few pages of the next book? I don’t know – I’m not sure which scenario I prefer.
Feverborn had a lot of potential – but it was unfocused. We get the start of about twenty different things, that all could have been awesome, but we end up with nothing. KMM writes the best characters – her voice is amazing, which is why I get so upset when I don’t like one of her books. I’m so invested in this world – I care about this world – but I was a little bored by Feverborn. It needed direction and a purpose. This is two books in a row that for me, were average. Iced was amazing – and now I feel like the story is going nowhere.
Sheena: Feverborn was a melting pot of too many ideas and the result is a mushy stew where nothing is really clear besides the general flavor, which is really unfocused and hard to identify. Some seriously interesting things are going down and the disparate gang of characters have to find ways to move beyond their mistrust and work together. Even with their tenuous truces, there was no real forward progression. Besides that fact that the Nine have some sort of tribunal that they are beholden to, Feverborn is not a book where revelations are abound and storylines are resolved. Scenes bleed into one another when they are not abruptly cut off and abandoned for chapters on end. It is frenetic in a bad way. What is to become of It/Alina? Dani? Degeus? I get it, cliffhangers are KMM’s medium, but if I must hang, I’d rather have one specific cliff to dangle from. Leaving so much stagnant and unresolved makes Feverborn feel lost and unfinished. Its as if the author hasn’t made up her mind what will happen either so she is throwing everything she’s got at the wall and seeing what sticks. A lot of it was oddly boring. The great dialogue and compelling scenes were too far and few in between. I started, skimmed, abandoned, and then set in and finally read Feverborn in it’s entirety. Precarious at best. Which totally bums me out because I root for this series as it is one of my most favorite worlds. I’m sad that I am not anxious to see what happens next. I used to be so anxious for these books. These days I am definitely more pensive with a more apprehensive outlook. Feverborn was a miss for me, I hope Feversong is a more focused effort.
your first little paragraph just killed me :[ aww man! I wanted you to say OH MY GOOOOOD IT WAS AMAAAAAZING. I will read it anyway. I owe it to Dani.
You guys are awesome. I haven’t read the book and have been wavering on whether I will. Ok, I’ll read it at some point but who knows when that will be. That makes me sad because when Shadowfever came out, I was on it like a fly on poop.
The one thought I keep coming back to is I’m over KMM screwing with my perfect HEA’s. I just might start to pretend this series ended three books ago.
this review is EXACTLY how I felt. I should have known after Iced and Burned that–ugh–wheels were spinning for no reason in the plot, but I bought it anyway (I’d kinda like my $14 back). I wish it had just ended after the rooftop BBQ and we only every saw M&B in passing (though to be fair Ryo and Dani/Jada do nothing for me, so I probably wouldn’t have read those anyway).
“I wish it had just ended after the rooftop BBQ and we only every saw M&B in passing”
This.
Honestly, I’m not going to bother. Like with the Charley Davidson series, I’m just over it. I’m tired of series that do not advance. I’m tired of multiple book long series that just go on and on. There are entirely too many books to read when I have a baby and limited time. I know these books are their author’s babies and they can only write what their muse allows, but it just isn’t worth my time to read something with no progression. It’s so disappointing. I sure wish the focus was back on Dani :(
Really if you don’t have time to read then don’t, I am pretty sure Karen writes for people who want to read. Your time is your own but blaming her because you have to take care of your baby is just wrong…oh here’s a thought listen to the books maybe on audio.
No do not listen to the audio on this book ” Feverborn” the male narrator is the worst I have ever heard. I will have to read this one to keep my interest. I absolutely loved the voice of Phil Gigante.
Meh. I’m so tired of the “muse” being blamed for lackluster writing, overstretched plotlines, and tired characters. The series should have ended with one book after Shadowfever to tie it all together and wrap it up. Burned, Iced, ect…could have waited or been written as extensions of the world rather than continuations. Morning is milking this for all it’s worth but unfortunately, it’s not interesting enough for me to continue
This is the exact same place I abandoned the original Fever series was the third book in, Faefever. I remember a review from that book (before I borrowed it from the library)complaining that “nothing” happens to move the story along. This is a huge issue for me when your asking hardcover price for filler work.
Yes – it’s not worth the $$
At this point i don’t see myself ever reading this second series. I liked the first series but I was under the impression that this one was Dani’s series. Clearly its not and since I like where Mac and Barron where when I last read them I have no motivation to go further.
I do feel for the hardcore fans of this series.
I didn’t care for this book. Like Mandi said, I LOVED the Fever series. I’ve read and obsessed over it and felt like a part of myself died when it was over. This new series was originally marketed as a Dani series. I will admit even though most people will gasp, I wasn’t a huge fan of Dani. Just something about her personality. But I read Iced anyways to give it a chance. And then because of the way it ended, I read Burned. And because Burned had more of a feel of the original Fever series, I was sucked in even more and then was really looking forward to Feverborn. But UGH this book went nowhere! Unlike Mandi and Sheena, I don’t have an issue with continuing to make Mac/Barrons a main feature – I mean seriously, Mac has the book inside of her so how is this series really going to continue on with trying to save the world without Mac as a focal point? I just think that the way they were written were boooorrrrinngg. They both have so much more potential than that. Jada/Dani and Ryo aren’t even close to being ready to be a couple because of what she’s going through, so I’d rather that KMM not even go there at all right now. This whole sexual tension, longing, pining, will they won’t they reads like a cheesy romance novel. Don’t get my wrong, I like cheesy romance novels, but this series is not one of them. I also don’t mind several loose ends being left in a book in the middle of the series, as long as some really juice ends get tied up. Nothing got tied up. At all. Just a lot of fails in this book overall. If KMM wants to write filler books to continue the series, great. But don’t release them and then have us wait forever again for the next book that actually moved the plot along.
” I also don’t mind several loose ends being left in a book in the middle of the series, as long as some really juice ends get tied up. Nothing got tied up. At all. Just a lot of fails in this book overall. ”
This exactly. I don’t mind a lot of stuff going on, as this is a very complicated world…but NOTHING gets tied up or advanced.
I was really hoping for more information on what happened to Dani in the Silvers. Little hints here and there just made me annoyed. I get the feeling, once Mac/Barron’s story is over (AGAIN!) KMM will most likely write a short novella of Dani’s “ACTUAL” story. To me, her progress was the most interesting. I skimmed through a lot of Mac’s BSC because it was getting old. I will say, bringing Alina back was something I didn’t really picture happening. I was kind of wanting more from Christian but like Dani, he was kind of put on the back burner even though he just went through something pretty traumatic.
Pros of the book: Dani is no longer a robot but has feelings….for a little stuffed animal but hey! It’s progress.
Cons: I would have liked a better intro to the POV of each character when it changed from chapter to chaptee. That got old FAST.
Side note: Dancer….WTF!? I need more of this mysterious, geek like God. Please do us a favor and finally give us his back story. KMM, you’re driving me nuts.
Overall it’s not a bad book but Mac just brought it down for me. I was sad when Dani’s story got put on the back burner….maybe it’ll get better.
I forgot to even mention Dancer! Again, he intrigued me…but – we didn’t get enough of him
Okay sadly I did actually like this book better that BURNED which I really hated. At least Feverborn was not as MAC centric. BUT…when Mac commented it was thte one year anniversary of when she arrived in DUBLIN. Nooooooooooooo I’m absolutely certain John and Jackie where waltzing in the White House when she got off the plane. I am so sick of her inner sex dialogue. Jeez we get it..Barrons is hung like a giant ancient beast. His double jointed spine can really really grind forever & nothing rocks the bed, wall, doorway, floor like giant teeth & knobby head horns. I totally prefer RYO because BARRONS HAS BEEN TOTALLY IRRESITABLE FOR like 20000 billion years and he picked MAC. Oh Barrons I’m not sure I believe your prowess.
So is jada/dani two personalities or is she just really mad at RYO?
Thanks for letting me vent
Dani and Jada are one in the same. She didn’t change her name to piss of Ryo, I think she wanted to be the mature warrior he always saw and being Dani wasn’t gonna cut it. Being Dani, her POV was that Ryo never took her seriously and didn’t really trust her. She became Jada, again this is a best guess theory here, to show that she had become the warrior and being someone else, maybe he would take her seriously and not treat her as the “Kid/Dani” but treat her as the “Warrior/Jada.”
“Jeez we get it..Barrons is hung like a giant ancient beast. His double jointed spine can really really grind forever & nothing rocks the bed, wall, doorway, floor like giant teeth & knobby head horns. ”
I’m DYING OF LOL. omg.
Seriously? Have you even read the first books? Let it go then and let the rest of us enjoy the finale. Some people don’t get FeverWorld — one of the best series ever. Moning is brilliant — and these books rock. Can’t wait for the last one. Don’t trash the series — she has a huge fan base and it’s a shame you don’t get it but that’s okay – so, ladies, let it go. I don’t expect to read your review next time.
The Fever series is an absolute all time favorite series of mine.
We are all allowed our own opinion – just because I adored books 1-6 doesn’t mean I have to love the next book out.
I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Too bad with KMM’s support of Gigante, I probably won’t read the next one anyway.
I abhor fans that are such “stans” that they can’t even read an opinion opposite of theirs. Differing opinions help build a more complete perspective. I love Karen but I appreciated reading your opinion of her book.
I don’t keep notes when I read these books, but didn’t it seem like all they did was go to meetings? Thinking about the meeting, travelling to the meeting, attending the meeting, interrupting the meeting. Maybe that’s why it took work to make it all the way through.
I felt like they gathered and discussed stuff a lot in this one. I liked the idea that Barrons, Ryo, Mac, Jada etc would have to work together to face these issues and it was hard for them to all be in the same room. I wish they had stuck together more
After Iced, she really ought to have stuck with Dani’s POV. I disliked Burned with a passion. Disliked what she had done with Dani/Jada, with Mac/Barrons in the beginning, mostly everything (I liked Lor though!) Feverborn was an improvement, but no way near as good as the first five books and Iced.
Agree – I think she had something really good going with Dani’s POV in Iced. Wish she would have stuck with it.
And what about the damn music box??? Really??? She just forgot to tell Barron’s or ANYBODY about it? How does this girl just ignore important stuff left and right? Even those wraits or whatever they were called that were following her around. Ok. As much as Barron’s protects her he never once looked into what those things were or she didn’t even look into the sweeper after the hunter told her about him?
Alina. She sees her and just decides to forget she saw her because you know, that would like totally take up to many brain molecules for rainbow Mac right? Like she’s her old self again. What happened to brave and moving fourth mac?? Why doesn’t she fully investigate ANYTHING?? Who is writing the fucking daily? Nothing. We get absolutely nothing!! I can’t stop thinking about the stupid music box in the floor board. Omg!!!
And that was not even a cliff hanger. So what the book consumed her. Finally! It went and happened and now Mac can stop having thirty million conversations in her head about what will happen if the book consumes her. Now we will at least find out what happens. Maybe.
And then I think…would I ever stop reading these books? Hell no. They are like relatives. They confuse the crap out of you and you dislike them half the time and you can’t understand where they are headed in their lives….but you still adore them :)
I’ve been on the fever train much too long to jump off now.
Right – the music box! That was weird that it was mentioned – it must play a role in the next book
Mac did tell Barrons about the music box. She tells him via their ‘telepathy/eye’ speak that she’s hidden something she needs to show him that might help with the black holes, hidden with her diaries. This is when she sits in the cell at Chesters with Barrons & Royden before she tries to access the Sinsar Dubh for the second time. She does it in case something goes wrong.
Also, the impression I got was that Cruce’s accomplice Toc was printing the Dailies, as Cruce chats to the Papa Roach character about getting the papers printed & distributed as instructed prior to him setting off the icefire.
I imagine all of this stuff will be pulled together in the final book, & personally I cannot wait.
I’m especially hoping to read more about Kat & her training with Kasteo. I thought that was intriguing… :)
Ok. I liked the book. Loved how it gave just enough. I was disappointed that dancer was human and that we still don’t know what is up with Kat.
I figured out that Shazam was the personality Dani but thought he was just seen by Jada, not an actual stuffed animal. I fought back tears when Mac told jada “I see yi-yi”. I mean we knew it was tough silverside and she had to find some way to cope. Knowing that she waited day after day to be saved, well, something had to make her get her ass in gear. I keep reading the last line over and over and it gives me chills. I was litteraly afraid for Mac. I loved the first 5 books. The next 3 are what they are. The first 5 books were very focused on keeping the walls up. The next 3 books are very much “the walls fell, now what”? Do we morn the earth before or try to live in the new earth? Will there be an earth if we don’t stop the black holes ? The first 5 books climaxed in a big way. But, much is left undone. These books remind me of the Merry Genrty series; there’s nothing super climatic, just a good read
I waited until I finished listening to this book before reading your review and the comments.
First, I missed Phil Gigante’s voice on the audiobook. It just wasn’t the same without him.
Second, I had to laugh when I read your comment “she better be dead” about Alina; I feel the same way.
Third, Shazam was the literary equivalent of jumping the shark on television.
In summary, when Mac yells at Dani to “run” at the end, I have to wonder if we should all take that advice.
I could not agree more about the narrator voice. I listened to all the books on audible.com and this is the third time they’ve changed. The second set of narrators were amazing and I sure wish they would have stayed with them it’s so completely disconcerting when you fall in love with characters and all the sudden it’s a different voice.
Also I’m about a third of the way through the book and completely lost. It’s describing an event that I don’t remember reading about, so much so I had to go back and read the end of Burned to see if I miss something. I am not yet done with the book but I still have no idea what a sweeper is or how Dani and Mac got into the situation they did where Mac would have even been tempted to pull a spell from the book. I swear this better resolve itself or I will never read another one of her books again. Either that or something was wrong with my last audible book and I’m missing a huge chunk of content. I already restarted the audiobook wants to see if I missed something. This is nuts
Ugh. Sorry to hear
Did we read the same book? I found Iced dull, that was my least fave of the series, but I thought this was AWESOME! Sure, I didnt like the Dani/Jada idea whatsoever, and Shazam is a bit…eh (but it must have got to me, I spent the night after I finished reading it hearing ‘I see you Yi Yi’ in my dreams) but I am a Mac/Barrons fan, I dont think Dani should get her own series. Yes, I wanted more but isnt that on purpose, so we buy the next book? I loved it, just re-read the Highlander series and am starting the Fever series again while I wait for January for the final book!
Just did a marathon 3 book catch up. Stopped reading at book 5 years ago, had my fill of Mac and Barron’s. Came back for Dani. Iced was amazing! I dived back in gleefully. Then Feverborn. Disappointed. Give. Me. My. Dani. Back! Waaahhh.
“Give me my Dani Back” is pretty much all I say when I read these! :/