Burned

Burned by KMM

I liked this book much more than I wanted to. I've been a fan of KMM since her Highlander series. Kiss of the Highlander was my first highlander book and remains one of my all time favorites. And the original 5 book Fever series was fantastic. Dark, twisted, at times both hard to read and impossible to put down.

And now here we are, Fever 7. Mac is back. Dani is back-seated. The story is engaging from the start. Drew me right in. I needed to know what happened to all my favorite characters. I needed to know if they were getting any closer to fixing their world. I was excited. And if it wasn't for the assault on feminism that is Mac and Barrons, I would have given this book a much better rating. Mac should be a strong woman, she's certainly a capable woman. But it's growing more obvious to me that she's also an abused woman. And it makes me mad. I read a blog post just today defending romance against the claim that it teaches women that being abused by the alpha male is ok. I don't buy that for one second. But I also can see that Mac and Barrons don't exactly send the best message. This is not a relationship of equals. If you follow KMM, you'll know that this is completely intentional. Mac is not equal to Barrons, and won't be until she suffers some more. A big part of me hopes Mac comes to her senses, drops Barrons (no matter how hot the sex is) and finds herself an honorable MacKeltar to settle down with.

So I guess my advice to readers is this. If you are fans of the Fever series, you'll probably like the story. But if you're like me, you'll also be angry and disappointed.

Well. That was surprising. Part I of the book was kind of boring, and I had resigned myself to Burned being a disappointing instalment in the series.

And then.

I should have seen it coming. I should have guessed. In hindsight, it could have been nothing else, no one else. All the signs were there, but I missed them. And it changed everything.

Parts II and III were so good! I'm still grinning. I love invisible Mac. I mean, I thought it was a creative and really funny way to finally, finally give us some answers.. I especially enjoyed going behind the scenes at Chester's and being privy to the private interactions of the Nine. And holy moly has Dani turned into something, eh? I hope she doesn't stay Jada forever, but wow, what a fierce, powerful being. It's amazing to see how she has realised some of her potential. I think Dani's lust for life is important to make her whole, though, so I hope the fractured can be made whole again. Also, I had thought that the Highlander series was completely separate from this one, but upon reading the guide at the end, it appears there's a connection after all; so now I want to read that one, too.

Despite the darkness, there was much more humour in this story than I was expecting, and the execution was really enjoyable. It flowed smoothly with no jarring bits. Lots of fun and a great addition to the series.

As always, Karen M. Moning does not disappoint.
Another thrilling book to fill the hole Mac and Barrons have left behind since Shadowfever.

These books are such fast reads and I just can't put them down!
Maybe it's because of the first-person PoV, but you just can't help floundering behind Mac, as she tries to navigate this complicated world, where nothing is as it seems, and no one ever tells you everything.
She is always just catching up to what's really going on, and so are you.

I recommend this series to everyone looking for a great Urban Fantasy story.