I is for Iced

I’m doing folklore and book review posts to reach and please a larger audience. Previous years have shown select interest in both and to minimise blogging throughout the year, I’m focusing my efforts on April.

Focusing on an A to Z of my TBR (to be read) list, each letter will have books starting with that letter on my list, a book I’ve read and reviewed (with the review!) and one of my books matching the letter with a link about more info about the book.

I chose the books this year quite randomly from my Goodreads Want to Read page. Some are quite creatively added to letters.

If you’d rather check out my folklore post for today, go here.

You can read reviews for from previous years for this letter here, here and here, and my year-end reviews here, here, here, here and, most recently, here and here.

My TBR

About the Book I’ve Read

I’ve been a fan of Karen Marie Moning’s Highlander series and had her Fever series on my TBR for ages. I finally got around to reading it for this challenge.

About the Book

Darkfever (Fever #1) by Karen Marie Moning

“My name is MacKayla, Mac for short. I’m a sidhe-seer, one who sees the Fae, a fact I accepted only recently and very reluctantly.

My philosophy is pretty simple—any day nobody’s trying to kill me is a good day in my book. I haven’t had many good days lately. Not since the walls between Man and Fae came down. But then, there’s not a sidhe-seer alive who’s had a good day since then.”

When MacKayla’s sister was murdered, she left a single clue to her death, a cryptic message on Mac’s cell phone. Journeying to Ireland in search of answers, Mac is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to master a power she had no idea she possessed—a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae.

As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister’s death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysterious Jericho…while at the same time, the ruthless V’lane—an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women—closes in on her. As the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac’s true mission becomes clear: to find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Book—because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control of both worlds in their hands.

Check it out on Goodreads.

My Review

Urban fantasy set in Dublin with dark fae out to destroy the world – and only those who can see their true form know what’s going on and that they need to be stopped.

Mac, seemingly as substantial as candy floss, travels to Ireland to find out who had murdered her sister. She gets embroiled in this hidden world and learns that nothing in her life is as it seems. She shows herself to be made of sterner stuff than her pink nail polish would suggest and joins the fight to save humanity.

“The single greatest advantage anyone can take into any battle is hope. A sidhe-seer without hope, without an unshakable determination to survive, is a dead sidhe-seer. A sidhe-seer who believes herself outgunned, outmanned, may as well point that doubt straight at her temple, pull the trigger, and blow out her own brains. There are really only two positions one can take toward anything in life: hope or fear. Hope strengthens, fear kills.”

A fun read and a great start to the series – what dark fantasy and urban fantasy is all about. (The cover suggests paranormal romance, but this book isn’t close to that.)

About the Book

Bloodfever (Fever #2) by Karen Marie Moning

I used to think my sister and I were just two nice southern girls who’d get married in a few years and settle down to a quiet life. Then I discovered that Alina and I descend, not from good wholesome southern stock, but from an ancient Celtic bloodline of powerful sidhe-seers, people who can see the Fae. Not only can I see the terrifying otherworldly race, but I can sense the sacred Fae relics that hold the deadliest of their magic.

When my sister was found dead in a trash-filled alley in Dublin, I came over to get answers. Now all I want is revenge. And after everything I’ve learned about myself, I know I have the power to get it….

MacKayla Lane’s ordinary life underwent a complete makeover when she landed on Ireland’s shores and was plunged into a world of deadly sorcery and ancient secrets.

In her fight to stay alive, Mac must find the Sinsar Dubh–a million-year-old book of the blackest magic imaginable, which holds the key to power over both the worlds of the Fae and of Man. Pursued by Fae assassins, surrounded by mysterious figures she knows she cannot trust, Mac finds herself torn between two deadly and irresistible men: V’lane, the insatiable Fae who can turn sensual arousal into an obsession for any woman, and the ever-inscrutable Jericho Barrons, a man as alluring as he is mysterious.

For centuries the shadowy realm of the Fae has coexisted with that of humans. Now the walls between the two are coming down, and Mac is the only thing that stands between them.…

Check it out on Goodreads.

My Review

A fast-paced, heart-racing adventure where Mac learns some hard truths, faces scary monsters, and learns that on the board she’s playing on she’s fighting not just the obvious enemies, but shoes who are supposed to be her allies.

Easy to read, glossing over the worst violence, great worldbuilding, and Mac’s relationship with Barrons starts to shift to something more in the realm of romance.

I like that the Druids play a part, too, as the books about the MacKeltars drew me to this series in the first place.

An interesting urban fantasy.

Trigger warning: dubious consent in various matters, rotting monsters, torture, dealing with the death of a loved-one.

About the Book

Faefever (Fever #3) by Karen Marie Moning

The New York Times bestselling author of Darkfever and Bloodfever returns to Dublin’s Fae-infested shores in a bold, sensual new novel. Hurtling us into a realm of seduction and shadows, Karen Marie Moning tells the enthralling tale of a woman who explores the limits of her mysterious powers as she enters a world of ancient sorcery—and confronts an enemy more insidious than she could ever have imagined.

He calls me his Queen of the Night. I’d die for him. I’d kill for him, too. When MacKayla Lane receives a torn page from her dead sister’s journal, she is stunned by Alina’s desperate words. And now MacKayla knows that her sister’s killer is close. But evil is closer. And suddenly the sidhe-seer is on the hunt: For answers. For revenge. And for an ancient book of dark magic so evil, it corrupts anyone who touches it.

Mac’s quest for the Sinsar Dubh takes her into the mean, shape-shifting streets of Dublin, with a suspicious cop on her tail. Forced into a dangerous triangle of alliance with V’lane, an insatiable Fae prince of lethally erotic tastes, and Jericho Barrons, a man of primal desires and untold secrets, Mac is soon locked in a battle for her body, mind, and soul.

As All Hallows’ Eve approaches and the city descends into chaos, as a shocking truth about the Dark Book is uncovered, not even Mac can prevent a deadly race of immortals from shattering the walls between worlds—with devastating consequences.…

Check it out on Goodreads.

My Review

Not much happens… And then Samhain comes and the world explodes.

Trigger warning: the death-by-sex fae get ahold of Mac then the book ends. Also, Voice is used on her earlier in the book to strip her of her will – several times.

This book is so much about the loss of consent over what happens to Mac’s body, it’s a walking trigger for anyone who had ever been in such a situation.

The only good part of the book was learning more about the Beast.

I felt a little ill and very uncomfortable by the end.

About the Book

Dreamfever (Fever #4) by Karen Marie Moning

MacKayla Lane lies naked on the cold stone floor of a church, at the mercy of the erotic Fae master she once swore to kill. Far from home, unable to control her sexual hungers, MacKayla is now fully under the Lord Master’s spell.…In New York Times bestselling author Karen Marie Moning’s stunning new novel, the walls between human and Fae worlds have come crashing down. And as Mac fights for survival on Dublin’s battle-scarred streets, she will embark on the darkest—and most erotically charged—adventure of her life.

He has stolen her past, but MacKayla will never allow her sister’s murderer to take her future. Yet even the uniquely gifted sidhe-seer is no match for the Lord Master, who has unleashed an insatiable sexual craving that consumes Mac’s every thought—and thrusts her into the seductive realm of two very dangerous men, both of whom she desires but dares not trust.

As the enigmatic Jericho Barrons and the sensual Fae prince V’lane vie for her body and soul, as cryptic entries from her sister’s diary mysteriously appear and the power of the Dark Book weaves its annihilating path through the city, Mac’s greatest enemy delivers a final challenge.…

It’s an invitation Mac cannot refuse, one that sends her racing home to Georgia, where an even darker threat awaits. With her parents missing and the lives of her loved ones under siege, Mac is about to come face-to-face with a soul-shattering truth—about herself and her sister, about Jericho Barrons…and about the world she thought she knew.

Check it out on Goodreads.

My Review

It picks up where the last book left off: Mac being raped by 3 Unseelie death-by-sex fae. Dani saves her, Rowena imprisons her, Barrons saves her – in every way he can.

Then a pissed, fully functional Mac takes revenge on all fae for what had happened to her and everyone who had died at the hands of the fae when the walls fell.

Though the book is a trigger for anyone who’d ever been raped, it’s well-written and Mac grows as a person. There’s much more to the worldbuilding and secrets that need unveiling.

I can’t wait to read the next book.

About the Book

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.

Check it out on Goodreads.

My Review

Grief and guilt are the overwhelming emotions as the book starts and continues for a while. Then things shift and the question of who Mac really is becomes the focus of the book.

Intriguing puzzles, answers that make Mac wish she’d never gotten them, a satisfying end to the old hag, and an emotional rollercoaster to the end.

I have a lot of feelings about this series, but this specific story (Mac vs the Beast) has had a satisfying end. It even took on a Beauty and the Beast arc for a while. And the twists? Though I did guess at them (among other possibilities), they were even better than I’d thought when they happened. Especially the Unseelie King…

To get a full sense of the world and characters, one must’ve read the Highlander series before this one, or a lot of the nuances about the MacKeltars will be lost.

Loads of triggers, but if you’ve read the preceding books, you know what you’re in for.

About the Book

Fever Moon: The Fear Dorcha (Fever #5.5) by Karen Marie Moning

An all-new Mac & Barrons story by #1 “New York Times” bestselling author Karen Marie Moning, marvelously adapted into a full-color graphic novel by writer David Lawrence and illustrator Al Rio

In “Fever Moon”, we meet the most ancient and deadly Unseelie ever created, the Fear Dorcha. For eons, he’s traveled worlds with the Unseelie king, leaving behind him a path of mutilation and destruction. Now he’s hunting Dublin, and no one Mac loves is safe.

Dublin is a war zone. The walls between humans and Fae are down. A third of the world s population is dead and chaos reigns. Imprisoned over half a million years ago, the Unseelie are free and each one Mac meets is worse than the last. Human weapons don’t stand a chance against them.

With a blood moon hanging low over the city, something dark and sinister begins to hunt the streets of Temple Bar, choosing its victims by targeting those closest to Mac. Armed only with the Spear of Destiny and Jericho Barrons, she must face her most terrifying enemy yet.

Check it out on Goodreads.

My Review

I’m not a fan of graphic novels in general, but I thought I’d give this one a try. It was okay. I think I would’ve enjoyed a novella more, though. The women all looked like pinup girls with just one body type (even Dani who is hardly a teenager), the Fae all have the Fabio look, and Barrons and the rest of the immortals all look like thugs… Sigh. As for the story itself, the Fear Dorcha is an interesting adversary and I would’ve liked to read more about him in the Fever series before this.

About the Book

Iced (Fever #6) by Karen Marie Moning

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Marie Moning comes the first book in her hotly anticipated new urban paranormal trilogy, set in the world of her blockbuster Fever series.

The year is 1 AWC—After the Wall Crash. The Fae are free and hunting us. It’s a war zone out there, and no two days are alike. I’m Dani O’Malley, the chaos-filled streets of Dublin are my home, and there’s no place I’d rather be.

Dani “Mega” O’Malley plays by her own set of rules—and in a world overrun by Dark Fae, her biggest rule is: Do what it takes to survive. Possessing rare talents and the all-powerful Sword of Light, Dani is more than equipped for the task. In fact, she’s one of the rare humans who can defend themselves against the Unseelie. But now, amid the pandemonium, her greatest gifts have turned into serious liabilities.

Dani’s ex–best friend, MacKayla Lane, wants her dead, the terrifying Unseelie princes have put a price on her head, and Inspector Jayne, the head of the police force, is after her sword and will stop at nothing to get it. What’s more, people are being mysteriously frozen to death all over the city, encased on the spot in sub-zero, icy tableaux.

When Dublin’s most seductive nightclub gets blanketed in hoarfrost, Dani finds herself at the mercy of Ryodan, the club’s ruthless, immortal owner. He needs her quick wit and exceptional skill to figure out what’s freezing Fae and humans dead in their tracks—and Ryodan will do anything to ensure her compliance.

Dodging bullets, fangs, and fists, Dani must strike treacherous bargains and make desperate alliances to save her beloved Dublin—before everything and everyone in it gets iced.

Check it out on Goodreads.

My Review

As long as one keeps in mind that this is urban fantasy (not romance) told from dual POV (Dani and Kat) with occasional commentary from other characters, the overtly sexual scenes become part of the worldbuilding and mystery each has to solve. (Christian is acting creepy as he fights his new role as an Unseelie prince; Ryodan comes from a time where girls Dani’s age have multiple children and are considered grown women.)

I liked the Hoarfrost King and the chaos surrounding it. There’s a lot about it left unexplained, but it adds to the pace Dani has to live at without being able to examine anything too closely.

Three men see Dani as the centre of their worlds. She’s too young to see them as more than protectors, friends and pains-in-the-neck. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

More of Dani’s past is revealed. Rowena, the hag, seems like a saint compared to Dani’s mother.

The cliffhanger ending makes me want to read the next book immediately.

About the Book

Burned (Fever #7) by Karen Marie Moning

It’s easy to walk away from lies. Power is another thing.

MacKayla Lane would do anything to save the home she loves. A gifted sidhe-seer, she’s already fought and defeated the deadly Sinsar Dubh—an ancient book of terrible evil—yet its hold on her has never been stronger.

When the wall that protected humans from the seductive, insatiable Fae was destroyed on Halloween, long-imprisoned immortals ravaged the planet. Now Dublin is a war zone with factions battling for control. As the city heats up and the ice left by the Hoar Frost King melts, tempers flare, passions run red-hot, and dangerous lines get crossed.

Seelie and Unseelie vie for power against nine ancient immortals who have governed Dublin for millennia; a rival band of sidhe-seers invades the city, determined to claim it for their own; Mac’s former protégé and best friend, Dani “Mega” O’Malley, is now her fierce enemy; and even more urgent, Highland druid Christian MacKeltar has been captured by the Crimson Hag and is being driven deeper into Unseelie madness with each passing day. The only one Mac can depend on is the powerful, dangerous immortal Jericho Barrons, but even their fiery bond is tested by betrayal.

It’s a world where staying alive is a constant struggle, the line between good and evil gets blurred, and every alliance comes at a price. In an epic battle against dark forces, Mac must decide who she can trust, and what her survival is ultimately worth.

Check it out on Goodreads.

My Review

Why start the book with a Barrons and Mac sex scene from when they’d met? And the Unseelie King with his musings? The recap to the end of the previous book felt unnecessarily long. I do want to know how Christian will be saved, what the creatures following Mac are, and how Dani’s story will continue – but all this extra stuff feels like it’s detracting from Dani’s story.

And then it turns out to be Mac’s story again (despite what it said on the cover at some point): fighting the Book, spying on everyone, mostly learning secrets about others and herself, and – finally – going on a rescue mission to get Christian back.

Twists upon twists, loads of drama and sidhe-seers who can actually fight.

Some of the Unseelie King’s musings were blasphemous, even more so than some elements of the book, and might leave a sour taste in your mouth.

And Dani aging so much in the Silvers that she’s now all grown up and a match to all around her feels like cheating – like the author realised that it had been a bad idea to have a fourteen-year-old in a book with so much sex and violence and needed to keep an integral character without all the glares from readers…

Need to read the next book as this one feels like an incomplete story (and like the characters might be from an alternate dimension, they’re so out of character).

About the Book

Feverborn (Fever #8) by Karen Marie Moning

In Karen Marie Moning’s latest installment of the epic Fever series, Mac, Barrons, Ryodan, and Jada are back—and the stakes have never been higher or the chemistry hotter. Hurtling us into a realm of labyrinthine intrigue and consummate seduction, Feverborn is a riveting tale of ancient evil, lust, betrayal, forgiveness, and the redemptive power of love.
 
When the immortal Fae destroyed the ancient wall dividing the worlds of Man and Faery, the very fabric of the universe was damaged, and now Earth is vanishing bit by bit. Only the long-lost Song of Making—a haunting, dangerous melody that is the source of life itself—can save the planet.
 
But those who seek the mythic song must contend with old wounds and new enemies, passions that burn hot and hunger for vengeance that runs deep. The challenges are many: the Keltar at war with nine immortals who’ve secretly ruled Dublin for eons, Mac and Jada hunted by the masses, the Seelie queen nowhere to be found, and the most powerful Unseelie prince in all creation determined to rule both Fae and Man. Now the task of solving the ancient riddle of the Song of Making falls to a band of deadly warriors divided among—and within—themselves.
 
Once a normal city possessing a touch of ancient magic, Dublin is now a treacherously magical city with only a touch of normal. And on those war-torn streets, Mac will come face-to-face with her most savage enemy yet: herself.

Check it out on Goodreads.

My Review

Told from various POVs, it’s mainly Mac’s story sprinkled with Dani’s.

The Hunter was probably the best part of the book – and I wonder what had offended it so much at the end? We finally find out who’s behind the Dublin Daily (though I still think it’s Margery) and a couple of interesting things about the roaches. I find the Unseelie Princess interesting and wonder what she has in mind for the fae. Ditto for Christian. (And what’s going on with his inner monologue? What happened to him and Dani being “destined”?)

Mac and Dani/Jada have a lot of things to work out, not just to save their world, but their friendship.

And the Sweeper makes for a deranged enemy they didn’t even know to fear – despite the Unseelie King’s warning.

One thing bothers me: wasn’t Mac worried that Mallucé would’ve cut off her arm to remove the Cuff of Cruce had she worn it a couple of books back, but now it can be easily removed (from Cruce’s arm, Dani’s and Mac’s)? Wouldn’t have bothered me if it hadn’t been integral to the plot…

I mostly enjoyed the story. Interesting worldbuilding. And Ryodan during the fire… Just another reason to like him.

About the Book

Feversong (Fever #9) by Karen Marie Moning

#1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Marie Moning returns with the epic conclusion to her pulse-pounding Fever series, where a world thrown into chaos grows more treacherous at every turn. As Mac, Barrons, Ryodan, and Jada struggle to restore control, enemies become allies, right and wrong cease to exist, and the lines between life and death, lust and love, disappear completely.

Black holes loom menacingly over Dublin, threatening to destroy the Earth. Yet the greatest danger is the one MacKayla Lane has unleashed from within: the Sinsar Dubh—a sentient book of unthinkable evil—has possessed her body and will stop at nothing in its insatiable quest for power.

The fate of Man and Fae rests on destroying the book and recovering the long-lost Song of Making, the sole magic that can repair the fragile fabric of the Earth. But to achieve these aims, sidhe-seers, the Nine, Seelie, and Unseelie must form unlikely alliances and make heart-wrenching choices. For Barrons and Jada, this means finding the Seelie Queen who alone can wield the mysterious song, negotiating with a lethal Unseelie prince hell-bent on ruling the Fae courts, and figuring out how to destroy the Sinsar Dubh while keeping Mac alive.

This time, there’s no gain without sacrifice, no pursuit without risk, no victory without irrevocable loss. In the battle for Mac’s soul, every decision exacts a tremendous price.

Check it out on Goodreads.

My Review

Does the Book need such foul language? Eating people, though, is right up there with Mac eating Unseelie – they’re both psychopaths.

It feels like the author killed off “problematic” characters – especially those readers seem to dislike (I read reviews on the previous books).

The chapters in italics could’ve just been normal font – it’s clear whose POV it is, no need to make it harder to read.

I do appreciate the Celtic fae lore used throughout this series (dolmens, matriarchal fae, Faerie being distant yet part of Earth, etc.).

I found it interesting that the Book, despite being part of the Unseelie King, prefers men (there was a scene it discounted a woman to slake its lust with as she didn’t have the right parts). Make of that what you will.

Oh, way too many pop culture references in this book (and the previous one) regarding magic (Bewitched, Harry Potter, and the Wizard of Oz to name a few).

Mac rehashing everything – again and again! – in her inner monologue made me put the book down around halfway in; seriously considering DNFing the book.

But I continued to read a couple of weeks later, mainly to find out what happens to Shazam.

The obvious things happen (Dani and Dancer; Mac and her inner psychopath; a repeat of the Mac-Cruce-Barrons triangle; the unhinged Unseelie King spouting nonsense) and the universe is saved. Some of these felt like the easy way out (killing characters and aging Dani up just to get to the “good” stuff).

There were good scenes. But there were endless inner monologues, too. The scenes from Dani’s POV were probably the best as she didn’t go on and on about her past, present or probable future.

I’ll continue the series for Dani and Shazam.

Triggers: same stuff from previous books in the series, inner psychopath (the Book) torturing, mutilating and killing horribly.

About the Book

High Voltage (Fever #10) by Karen Marie Moning

There is no action without consequence…

Dani O’Malley was nine years old when the delusional, sadistic Rowena transformed her into a ruthless killer. Years later, she’s tough, hardened, yet achingly vulnerable and fiercely compassionate, living alone by her own exacting code. Despite the scars on her body, driven by deeper ones carved into her soul, no one is more committed to protecting Dublin. By day, she ensures the safety of those she rescues, by night she hunts evil, dispensing justice swiftly and without mercy, determined to give those she cares for the peace she has never known.

There is no power without price…

When the Faerie Queen used the dangerously powerful Song of Making to heal the world from the damage done by the Hoar Frost King, catastrophic magic seeped deep into the earth, giving rise to horrifying, unforeseen consequences–and now deadly enemies plot in the darkness, preparing to enslave the human race and unleash an ancient reign of hell on Earth.

There is no future without sacrifice…

With the lethal, immortal Ryodan at her side, armed with the epic Sword of Light, Dani once again battles to save the world but her past comes back to haunt her with a vengeance, demanding an unspeakable price for the power she needs to save the human race and no one—not even Ryodan who’d move the very stars for her—can save her this time…

Check it out on Goodreads.

My Review

I like that it’s from Dani’s POV.

It’s the best book in the series in a while: well-developed plot, twists on the very nature of characters, new creatures and powers out to destroy the human race, a love story worthy of Dani (especially with the tragedy of her life), and honest emotion without having to rehash whatever had happened before.

Dani and Ryodan finally admit what they feel for each other just as a new threat arrives that wants to steal Dani’s soul. Shazam is adorable – and so much more than he seems. I liked all the little hints throughout of what the end had in store.

An enjoyable book I won’t mind reading again.

Triggers are the same as the rest of the series (blasphemy, rape, murder, etc.).

About the Book

Kingdom of Shadow and Light (Fever #11) by Karen Marie Moning

MacKayla Lane faces the ultimate threat when war breaks out between the kingdoms of shadow and light, as the #1 New York Times bestselling Fever series races to an explosive revelation.

From the moment MacKayla Lane arrived in Dublin to hunt her sister’s murderer, she’s had to fight one dangerous battle after the next: to survive, to secure power, to keep her city safe, to protect the people she loves.

The matter of who’s good and who’s evil can be decided by the answer to a single question: Whose side are you on?

Now, as High Queen of the Fae, Mac faces her greatest challenge yet: ruling the very race she was born to hunt and kill – a race that wants her dead yesterday, so they can put a pure-blooded Fae queen on the throne.

But challenges with her subjects are the least of her concerns when an ancient, deadly foe resurfaces, changing not only the rules of the game but the very game itself, initiating a catastrophic sequence of events that have devastating consequences and leave Mac questioning everything she’s ever learned and everyone she’s ever loved. Now begins an epic battle between Mortal and Fae, Seelie and Unseelie, would-be kings and would-be queens, with possession of the Unseelie King’s virtually unlimited power and the fate of humanity at stake.

From the exquisite, deadly gardens of the High Queen’s court, to long-forgotten truths found in the Sacred Grove of Creation, from the erotic bed of her enigmatic, powerful lover to the darkest, seductive reaches of the Unseelie kingdom, Mac’s final journey takes her places no human has been before, and only one human could possibly survive…One who’s willing to sacrifice everything.

Check it out on Goodreads.

My Review

It took me a while to get through this book. Not because I didn’t like it, but because of its complexity. The book is divided into four parts, each starting with a version of reality that could have been if Mac made a different choice. This, though, isn’t apparent from the start and feels like a jarring preface or something the story will build up to.

I liked that Christian’s story is finally fleshed out and that he has purpose, reason and a tribe – not to mention the right woman.

I also liked that Kat’s story got competed and she got what she’s always wanted.

There are a lot of dark twists, adventures and more in this novel. Great worldbuilding, characters and a lot of emotion. All the things that bothered me from previous books got resolved in a satisfactory way.

A thrilling, captivating end to a rollercoaster series.

Trigger warnings: grooming, imprisonment, abduction, creepy spiderwebs (which are an ingenious fae creation), emotional torture/blackmail.

My Book

A Way Back Into Love (Irascible Immortals #9)

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