Feverborn by Karen Marie Moning
Narrator: Luke Daniels, Jill Redfield
Series: Fever #8
Published by Brilliance Audio
Published on: January 19, 2016
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Length: 12 hours & 41 mins
Format: Audiobook
Source: Borrowed
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In Karen Marie Moning's latest installment of the epic number one New York Times best-selling Fever series, Mac, Barrons, Ryodan, and Jada are back - and the stakes have never been higher and the chemistry has never been 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.
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I loved the first six books, but then BURNED happened, and I started to ask myself whether I should quit while the going was good. Turns out the answer was yes. I had to pause FEVERBORN for about a week, and listen to another title that just so happened to be narrated by the brilliant Luke Daniels as well on account of the controversy surrounding the previous male narrator of this series: Phil Gigante. Or, more specifically how Karen Marie Moning handled it. I found it impossible to concentrate on the story, and lost a lot of respect for her as an author.
Anyway, the goal of this review isn’t to bash peoples’ poor decisions; however, I felt that it was worth mentioning given how these events had a huge bearing on my opinion of this audio. The novel wasn’t abysmal which is why I still gave it 3-stars. The chemistry between Mac & Barrons continues to be smokin’, although I do feel that their time has past, and that this volume should have been about Dani. The POVs weren’t as all over the map as the previous installment, so that was a big plus, and I enjoyed the weirdness of the new character, Shazam.
We got some much needed background on how Jada came to be, and despite the fact that I wasn’t wholly sold on Moning’s explanation nor on the revamped identity of this on-again-off-again heroine, it was something at least. I wish that we’d gotten more of Christian and Ryodan, and less of Mac & Barrons because again—been there, done that. I’m not sure how I feel about the Alina development either… I mean, this girl’s been in the ground since DARKFEVER, so why oh why dredge her up after eight books??
There’s been a massive amount of outrage from audiophiles about the switch from Phil Gigante and Natalie Ross to Luke Daniels and Jill Redfield which is hugely disappointing because I’ve listened to other series that the latter have narrated, and they are both incredibly gifted performers. Granted, they had big shoes to fill; however, they were more than up to the task! The range of voices Daniels pulled off for this title’s characters was astounding, and Redfield’s impressive resume certainly helped with all facets of this tale. They deserve mad props!
FEVERBORN will be it for me. I can’t in good conscience support KMM or her writing any longer. Yes, she retracted her initial stance, but as an author with a law degree she should never have taken it in the first place.
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Owner, designer and main blogger behind Rabid Reads. Avid book reader, snowboard bunny, video gamer and Supernatural fan. I love all things paranormal, werewolves especially. Oh, and I’m Canadian, eh!
I still have ICED and BURNED to listen to before I get to this one. I like Luke Daniels so at least it changed to someone decent.
I’m so sad about what happened but I’m with you, Carmel, in not wanting to support KMM anymore. I’m glad you gave this one a go so you could make an ‘informed’ decision on giving up the series. And I’m happy the narrators did well. It’s just too bad – this series was one of my first UF reads ever and I loved it so much.
So… I read Iced and was dying to get my hands on Burned but when the time came I was all meh and I was waiting for your review for this one to see if I should try to get my enthusiasm back but… well, clearly I give up.
Pili recently posted…Mark These Books Monday: I’ll Give You The Sun & Carry On!!!
Nope, not for me
I have lost my interest in this series. After the fifth book, I just had to stop. I just couldn’t love this series like I did her highlander series. But the whole blowout with Phil Gigante made me lose much respect for her. Although I do feel like the narrators she changed to are FABULOUS!!!! I think I have always enjoyed Luke Daniels more anyway. I am curious to see if other authors will use him too.
I’ve heard of the PG issue, not sure what KMM’s stance on it was. I saw a brief explanation on why the narrators changed and didn’t see anything specific to Gigante’s case.
It’s a little perverted, but I loved ICED. Sure Dani is 14 and Ryordan is old, but I can’t get super uptight about that because it could be worse and I’ve read and enjoyed far worse than a teen and a dude having the hots for each other. ThenBurned got super predictable, I saw Jada coming from the beginning and it just went downhill for me. I wish KMM just stuck to her guns and continued with Iced’s direction. She shouldn’t have listened to her critics much. Then again this is just my opinion. That said, I’m not rushing to read this
Braine recently posted…Liked It: Find Me, Remember Me, and Keep Me by @MichelleMankin #rockstar #romance
Yea, I had a problem with the way she handled the situation as well. I knew it would affect me and how I see the work. Still, I’m behind on this series and may have to still catch up with what I have in my possession. Not sure if I’ll continue, especially since people haven’t been happy with the direction things have been going from before the controversy. I still would love to see how Luke Daniels handles things. He is fantastic!
Melissa (Books and Things) recently posted…Revenge and the Wild by Michelle Modesto
I stopped after Shadowfever. Glad I did.
Melanie recently posted…Review: The Talon of the Hawk by Jeffe Kennedy (@mlsimmons, @jeffekennedy, @Kensington)
I read and enjoyed the first 6 books and for now have decided to stop there, from what I heard of book 7 and now 8 as well isn’t as good as the first 6 books and I don’t want to ruin my image of this series by continuing. I am glad to hear it wasn’t a bad book, but it sure doesn’t sound as good as the first 6 books. Great review!
Lola recently posted…Review: February by Audrey Carlan
I don’t think I’ll bother with Feverborn after your review, Carmel. I was so disappointed in the last book and how they handled Dani’s dilemma, that I had absolutely no desire to read more. KMM should have stopped on Shadowfever, and started working on new projects. Everything after it went to sh*t 🙁