Review: Dreamfever by Karen Marie Moning

Title: Dreamfever

Author: Karen Marie Moning

Series: Fever #4

Pages: 512

Publisher: Delacorte

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Source: Library

Goodreads Description:

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?

SPOILER ALERT!

This review contains spoilers! If you haven't read this far in the series, continue at your own risk!

This book was definitely best of the series yet! I was so very upset by the last book's ending that I seriously dropped everything in my TBR pile and just picked up Dreamfever. Having been caught by the Lord Master just after the walls between faerie and earth fell, then brutally raped by the Unseelie princes, poor Mac has been left Pri-ya, or sex-drunk. I just couldn't leave Mac in that predicament for any amount of time. Once again, my pity to those of you who had to wait for each book to come out. This is one series I'm super glad that I wasn't on board from the beginning. I don't think I could take that big of a cliffhanger without being turned off from the series forever. That being said, this book started off with Dani saving Mac (who is now a mindless sex slave) and bringing her to the abbey. Since Mac is now lost on a wave of lust, we get to see the story from the point of view of Dani, which I really liked. It's cool to get a glimpse into this totally rocking teen's head.

After a brief stint in Rowena's and the other sidhe-seer's care, Barrons storms the abbey and brings Mac home...and then (forgive my language) he pretty much screws the sense back into her pretty blond head. I'm not going to lie, I had extremely mixed feelings about the two finally bumping uglies. I was so excited that they finally got together! All of that romantic tension, all the tiny implications that Barrons felt more for Mac...I just couldn't wait for them to finally have that magical moment where they fall into each other's arms and it's super hot and sweet at the same time! But then...their moment was tainted by the fact that Mac wasn't herself. She wasn't in her right mind and though eventually Barron's "treatment" pulled her back from the brink of madness, I couldn't help but feel like it was a kind of rape. I will say, the image of polished, upright, Jericho Barrons jumping around singing songs with Mac made the experience so much better. It was through these flashes that we really see how much he does care about her.

It's true that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Mac 4.0 emerges from her experiences with an even harder edge than I would have thought possible. Realizing that she doesn't know anything about anything and has no idea who to trust, she pretty much makes alliances with everyone possible. With Dani's help, she becomes a little closer to the sidhe-seer's, though Rowena is still a huge thorn in her side. I absolutely hate Ro. If I were Mac, I would have trouble not ramming my spear straight through the evil beotch's heart...just saying. I loved the scenes with Dani and Mac fighting the Unseelie together, as well as with Detective Jayne, who I never thought to see again. He and his crew are pretty fantastic and I am glad I got to see more of them around. Several other characters become more important as well, and we see some interesting developments from Kat, Jo, Riordan, and Christian.

I love the idea of the silvers. Their addition was a very nice pick me up to the same old story of "go track the Sinsar-Dubh through Dublin while fighting Unseelie". I love the mystery that seems to be intertwined with the silvers, the Unseelie King, Barrons, etc. I know I said I would stop guessing what/who Barrons is, but...could he be the Unseelie King? I loved the imagery used in the Hall of All Days scene. Everything there was eerily beautiful or devastatingly hideous. I REALLY enjoyed the way that Moning captured all that was going on in these random and creepy worlds that are so unlike our own. I thought the creature that came when Mac used the IYD number on her phone was an excellent touch, though kind of disgusting with all the pissing in circles stuff.

I give this book a 4 out of 5 Keys as I have for the last two of the series. I really want to be completely in love with them, but there is always something nagging at me and keeping me from giving them a 5 star review. Still, I am completely hooked to the series and I can't wait to read the apparently epic conclusion in Shadowfever. All I can say is "Dear god please NO"... Don't let the man that Mac killed at the end be who I think it is...PLEASE NO. Well, that's it for me tonight loveys...I'm SUPER tired so I'll sign off. Have a great weekend and be safe!