Bloodfever
Karen Marie Moning
Reviewed by Celeste Bradley
BLOODFEVER, the second book of Karen Marie Moning's MacKayla Lane series, begins with what has to be the most well-written "catch-you-up" prologue I have ever read. Not only did I immediately grasp the personality of our heroine, MacKayla Lane, but I was entirely current on a complicated and intense world. After I took a moment to applaud such mastery, I dove into the story.
By the end of chapter one, I was utterly hooked.
Once a shopaholic Southern belle, MacKayla Lane has now learned she is a Sidhe-seer, one of the only humans who can see past the veil between the worlds and spot the Fae all around us. She has other abilities as well, like being able to sense magical objects and use them. Now she is in Ireland, searching for the supernatural killer of her sister, Alina.
Having recently been healed after a near-deadly bout with Malluce, a vampire minion of the Lord Master--i.e., evil numero uno--she's hiding out in Barrons Books and Baubles, owned by her mysterious and ill-understood ally, Jericho Barrons, a brooding sexy "book collector" who needs Mac to help him find an ancient Faery text called the Sinsar Dubh.
Through battles, rivals and allies, Mac learns more about herself, her powers, her destiny and the enigmatic man she has tied herself to, Barrons--who by the way is ssssmokin' hot! Move over, Joe Morelli, there's a new sheriff in town!
KMM's writing style is hurried and chatty, yet has moments of lyrically beautiful emotion when dealing with the loss of Mac's beloved sister. The story unravels at a breakneck pace--seriously, there were moments when I realized that I was actually holding my breath!--and twines through KMM's complicated melding of urban legend and Celtic myth. Despite the large cast of evil characters (there is a slight flavor of monster-of-the-week) the tale never released my riveted attention until the end.
On the whole, I enjoyed it immensely. I intend to buy DARKFEVER and find out more about Mac's arrival in Ireland and her original meet-up with Barrons and I happily anticipate reading more about their adventures in future books.
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About the Reviewer:
Celeste Bradley is the bestselling historical romance author of the Liar's Club and Royal Four series and the new "Heiress Brides" trilogy that is being released back-to-back in March, April and May of '08. Having spent her life pursuing all the wrong creative careers--singing, acting, art--before turning to writing, Celeste is trying to catch up by writing several books a year.
Celeste lives in Northern California with her family and most days can found sitting at her computer in flannel jammies and fuzzy slippers. She invites you to visit her online at www.celestebradley.com.
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