Shadowfever (Fever, #5)

by Karen Marie Moning

“Evil is a completely different creature, Mac. Evil is bad that believes it’s good.”
 
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 herself 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.

• ISBN13: 9780385341677
• Publish Date: 18 January 2011 (first published 1 January 2011)
• Publish Status: Remaindered
• Out of Print: 11 August 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group
• Imprint: Image Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 594
• Language: English

Reviews

[verkaskodova]

První kniha v této sérii, které dávám 5 hvězdiček, zcela zaslouženě.

Nechápu, jak Moning dokázala to vražedné tempo udržet po téměř šílených 700 stran, kdy se neustále něco dělo, nechápu, jak na čtenáře zvládla přichystat tolik překvapení a přitom udržet atmosféru a humor pro její tvorbu tak charakteristický. Wow.


Also, jedna z perliček, které jsem v noci poslala kamarádce:

"Když je tam Mac a Barrons, tak furt chtějí mít sex, nebo kolem sebe krouží a předstírají, že nechtějí mít sex, anebo se pokoušejí mít sex, ale nějaká mrcha jim to vždycky překazí, protože surprise, svět je opět v prdeli, we need you."

[scarr]

This was an addictive series, although I am underwhelmed by it as a whole. *shrug

[Chelsea]

I was hoping that this series would get better towards the end and I think it succeeded. I was mostly only staying because I wanted Barron's story and was a little underwhelmed with it. I do kinda like how this ending turned out (even though there's more books sorta?) but I never really fell in love with Mac as much as I wanted to. For some reason I couldn't really connect with her.

[mitabird]

3.5 stars

What a ride this series was, though at times, it was slow moving and bumpy. I found the ending satisfying, though I'm not still not convinced that it's love between Mac & Barrons. One time Mac mentioned seeing lust and fury in Barrons' eyes and that sums up their relationship to me. I think my problem was that I was doing what Barrons told Fiona and Mac not to do, romanticize him. When Barrons says this to Mac near the end of the book, I realized that I needed to do the same.

“I’m not the hero, Mac. Never have been. Never will be. Let us be perfectly clear: I’m not the antihero, either, so quit waiting to discover my hidden potential. There’s nothing to redeem me.”

So while I don't think it's a love match, they are right for each other.

The twist and turns in this book astounded me; I didn't see them coming and I couldn't believe them either. The truth about the Seelie Queen and especially, V'lane, blew my mind. I wanted to kill him. I wanted Mac and Barrons to destroy him. He put her through so much hell. The kicker is that I liked him before this. I didn't want V'lane and Mac together, but I was hoping they could remain friends. Ha!

If it wasn't for my emotional investment in Mac, I probably wouldn't have continued reading this series. Many times I felt it was moving too slow, talking about unimportant details. A lot of the plot was dragged on, IMO. Sometimes I felt like I was watching Lost all over again. So while it wasn't the best series I've ever read, my feelings for the characters will stay with me.

ETA: One thing I wanted to mention and I forgot. The main thing that pissed me off about Barrons was how he didn't want to answer ANY of Mac's questions! Not one, as if she didn't have a right to know. She definitely did. A lot of the grief she suffered was due to lack of knowledge that Barrons' could have provided. Plus, he was just a jackass to her all the time.

[tellemonstar]

Well holy cow! Shadowfever definitely packed several punches. Actually it packed all of the punches, and all of the feels! This review is not as in depth as some, because if you haven’t read it, it’s too hard to give away major plot spoilers.Talk about a twisty-turny plot though. I mean, I literally had all of the feelings! There was some crazy happenings in this books, and some surprises that whilst reading the book I didn’t really see coming. Upon further reflection I can now see quite a few hints and things scattered throughout Faefever and Dreamfever particularly that pointed to some of the events and revelations that occurred throughout Shadowfever.

We had interesting and game-changing things revealed about several characters – some for the good, and some for the bad. Mac grew herself an entire backbone and got majorly pissed off enough to kick some butt, and make some decisions that probably seemed out of place to those who knew her, but whom she didn’t let in on her plans.

The plot twists were handled quite well. There was a few I didn’t see coming during the reading, although now I can see where I was tipped off about some of them. Some you saw part of what was coming, but not the whole thing, which was good because it still left you trying to figure things out before they were revealed.

I can’t say much more about it without spoiling the book if you haven’t read it, so I’m not going to. But if you have enjoyed the last four, then you definitely have to read this one, and experience all of the feelings – anger, sorrow, happiness, lust, shock that Mac (and some of the others) experienced throughout Shadowfever.

[Berls]

For more reviews, see: Fantasy is More Fun

What an incredible end to a captivating series (though the world continues with Iced this book wraps up the current story line). I think the last three books in the series (so Faefever, Dreamfever, and Shadowfever) are some of the most intense books I've read, and this one takes the cake! So much happens. I don't think I can even exaggerate the number of twists and turns, conflicts and resolutions, questions and answers that present themselves in this book.

My most nagging question at the start of the book was who was it on that cliff? I had my guesses, as I'm sure you had yours... and I was still stunned. As is Mac. The shock in the first few chapters is amazingly written and the subsequent transformation that Mac goes through is the most intense one yet. Dani is also going through some amazing transformations - I love the person she's turning into and I LOVE that her and Mac have grown close.

In this book you will have all your questions answered, finally! (at least I did - maybe you're a deeper thinker than I am?) While I think you may have figured out some of them already - the most pressing ones remained obscure for me at the start of the book. In no particular order: What is Barron's BIG secret? Who exactly is Mac? Who is the Dark King? Who was Alina's killer? For me all those questions, once answered, shocked the pants off me - so enjoy!

The surprises and twists keep you guessing all the way to the unexpected finale. See Barrons, Mac, Dani, V'Lane, and well, everyone in new, exciting scenarios and revealing details. A fantastic read!

[Angie]

Proceed With Caution:

This book contains death, violence, gore, thoughts of suicide, and mentions of rape.

The Basics:

Shadowfever is the fifth book of the Fever series, and yes, you need to read them all in order. And you'll want to. Need to. This one picks up right where the fourth left off, which was the steepest cliffhanger of all time.

My Thoughts:

The only downside to reading Shadowfever was that I already knew who Mac killed, so that emotional punch was gone. But I was still fully invested because I remembered exactly zero other events! Part One holds no punches as this new Mac emerges. Rainbow Girl is truly gone and is teaming up with her mortal enemy?! What?! Don't do it Mac! But also, yes do it, because I need to know more about them! The first quarter was a lot of introspection on Mac's part, and a lot of learning about her enemy, who might actually not be so bad. I feel dirty thinking that, but it's true. Things are truly never black or white in this new world.

Part two starts with a Christmas miracle! Well, it's February, but it's all that Mac ever wanted! Kind of. This is the longest section of Shadowfever at about one-third of the total book. It's long and kind of slow but there's no time to get bored! It's jam-packed with information! We get to know the characters better, there's world-building, Fae history and lore, plus everyone finally puts together a cohesive plan to trap the Sinsar Dubh! See what happens when you work together and share the knowledge?! There's so much going on, and so much that can go wrong in the final third of the book.

Once you make it to part three of Shadowfever, things really take off! Little bits and pieces from all of the previous books starting coming together. The picture is nowhere near clear, but something is starting to form. Mac accepts who she is, or rather, who she never was. Barrons is...well, he's Barrons, and it's effing epic. Chapter 43 is still my favorite thing ever, and we get to stay there for quite some time before reentering the real world. Or at least what's been left of it.

And part four is where things get real. All is revealed and my head was spinning! I can't believe that I didn't remember any of this, or put it together myself. Shadowfever is simply bonkers. It's so detailed and mind-boggling. But don't expect everything to wrap up with a nice, pretty bow. It's all too messed up for that. Even with the adorable final chapters of part five we're left with this sense of more to come. Mac's adventures are far from over.

[Amanda]

Actual rating 3.5

Original review: http://onabookbender.com/2011/09/28/review-shadowfever-by-karen-marie-moning/

Though I felt these last two books were better than the previous two, I find it hard to reconcile Darkfever with Shadowfever. Or is it the other way around? Shadowfever is so incredibly different than how the series began. I liked Darkfever and it remains my favorite book of the series. However, as the series progressed, it got further away from what it was in Darkfever. Things got too absurd and messed up for me to want anything other than a resolution. I felt like every possible twist that you could think of was thrown at Mac, and eventually I stopped feeling like it was a plausible story. It’s the author’s responsibility to make me believe that whatever happens in the book is possible, no matter how absurd or strange it is. It did not happen for me here.

Shadowfever dragged on for what felt like forever. It was a total roller-coaster of finally loving the series, only to have that dashed when the latest turn of events annoyed me, or having the pace of the book slow to the point that I just wanted to yell at it to hurry up. I remember being at 90% thinking, the book is almost over FINALLY, when another twist was thrown in, and I just wanted to groan. Shadowfever was equal parts “I CAN’T PUT IT DOWN” and “JUST FINISH THE STORY, ALREADY!” but the latter sticks with me as an overall impression rather than the former.

I’m also torn about the characters. I loved Mac at the beginning, but the more she started questioning herself and spinning herself around in circles, the more confused I felt, and the more it made me want a quick resolution to the story. And Barrons… I liked knowing less about him, oddly enough. Learning about him in this book ruined his mysterious nature, the same that I fell in love with in Darkfever. It was the side characters that really came through in this book, though it would have been nicer to see more of them sooner. It felt as though everything worth knowing was saved for this last book, when these bits of information could have been sprinkled throughout the previous books to culminate in Shadowfever.

At least there wasn’t a cliffhanger? (maybe that should have been my in six words)

[Hixxup]

awesome book, totally the best of the series it's sad to series end, when I feel it could have gone at least another book with Dani missing and all that but that's just me it was great I'm so giddy with it I'm like yeah awesome lol.

[Linda]

This book left me with a taste of "more-ish" eventhough it was excellent. A lot of things were resolved, but I really missed especially one scene. I would have loved to read about Mac talking to Dani and telling Dani she has been forgiven.
I hope Ms. Moning will revisit this series in the future! I want to know what Mac and Barrons will do next, I want to know if the fairy Queen and King will be reunited. And I just really don't want it to be over...
AndI totally loved it when Mac saw through Ro's / the beast's illusion, and killed Ro! Rowena seems to have been in it only for the power from the very beginning - there has to have been a reason why the Haven actually created a secret Haven on the outside in order to be able to hide stuff rom her!
And I also really want to sit in on the conversation between Mac and Tellie!