Darkfever

Fever, Book 1

By: Karen Marie Moning

Narrated by: Joyce Bean

Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

MacKayla Lane's life is good. She has great friends, a decent job, and a car that breaks down only every other week or so. In other words, she's your perfectly ordinary 21st-century woman.

Or so she thinks...until something extraordinary happens.

When her sister is murdered, leaving a single clue to her death - a cryptic message on Mac's cell phone - Mac journeys to Ireland in search of answers.

The quest to find her sister's killer draws her into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems, where good and evil wear the same treacherously seductive mask. She is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to learn how to handle 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, a man with no past and only mockery for a future. As she begins to close in on the truth, the ruthless Vlane - an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women - closes in on her. And as the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac's true mission becomes clear: 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 the very fabric of both worlds.

Listen to more hot titles in Karen Marie Moning's Fever series.

©2006 Karen Marie Moning (P)2006 Brilliance Audio

Critic reviews

"It's a compelling world filled with mystery and vivid characters, and this, combined with the hint of sparks between Jericho and Mac, will stoke readers' fervor." ( Publishers Weekly)
"Joyce Bean captures the beauty, fear, and otherworldliness of Moning's characters." ( AudioFile)

Why is that the voice she chose for Jericho?

She makes him sound like an old Irish troll that I don’t think I can keep listening. Which is a bummer bc I really like the book.

Interesting Story

I found the story to be an interesting one, but the narrator was extremely weak. Her attempt at different accents was painful, and greatly detracted from my enjoyment of the audiobook. I'd like to listen to other books in this series, but will probably pass if this narrator is attached.

Narrator Ruins it.

What did you like best about Darkfever? What did you like least?

I think the story is solid but I couldn't get past the narrator. Her fake "southern" accent sounds like she is just out of breath the entire time and is distracting BEYOND belief. I wish I would have read this one myself since I am so fed up with it I can't even finish the series. The characters are all annoying and I know its not the authors fault. Maybe after some time I will be able to get the narrator out of my head and pick the series back up.

Would you be willing to try another book from Karen Marie Moning? Why or why not?

I would! She is a solid storyteller.

Great!

Wow, great read. This is my first time reading Karen Moning and I loved this first installment of the fever books. I absorbed it in 2 days and just have downloaded the 2nd book. The narrator was also great; she doesn't sound like she's 21 like the character in the book but I like her voice alot and she made this fantasy world come to life.

Dark Adventure

I was suprised at how much I liked this. I was expecting a romance and it wasn't. It is a dark adventure that sucked me in and I had to hear all three volumes. I can hardly wait for the fourth to see how the last cliff hanger ends.

riveting and unexpected

Wow. This is a review of the entire series, more than just this book.

Story wise, I would have thought from descriptions of the plot that I would hate it. Seriously, she gets away with some awful cliches. She pulled them off. I bought 'em. I LOVED them. And her language is lush, and her characters are larger than life but still manage to be human, too. I loved the overall message of shades of grey. We have sympathy for characters who are beyond redemption, we have a male love interest who is actually quite monstrous, and we have a heroine who is, honestly, insufferable at the beginning transformed into a serious bad-ass by the ending. I honestly could not stop listening until the end, even staying up until 4 am once I got into the final book.

It has flaws, but the overall story and the terrific narration makes them bearable. Totally worth the money I spent devouring these audiobooks! The abrupt switch in narrators for books 4 and 5 was weird at first, but I thought both female narrators did an excellent job, and the addition of Phil Gigante bumped this audio production from really good to absolutely superb. He has a truly swoonworthy voice, and doesn't stint in using it.

Honestly, Mac improves as a character over time. She is pretty awful in book 1 and 2, and even at the end she has some real face-palming moments, but overall she improves as she grows. Barrons...well, never really mellows even as he opens up, so if you hate him in the first book you probably will find him just as abrasive in the last one.

If you love a good, sexy urban fantasy, check this series out. I am also a fan of Kim Harrison, Ilona Andrews, Patricia Briggs, and Jim Butcher, and I have to say my love of this series is about equal. If you're curious about the level of sex, there are only three drawn-out actual sex scenes in the whole series. There are a few other sexy encounters here and there, but without actual intercourse. Mostly the story is plot-driven, dripping with unrequited attraction, just how I like it.

One of my favorite series :)

Would you consider the audio edition of Darkfever to be better than the print version?

I really enjoyed this series! I have them both through audible and on my kindle fire.

Who was your favorite character and why?

tough choice between Mac and Jerricho.. the narrator does a very good job.. but books 4 and 5 actually have a female and male voice and I liked that a lot better.

Which character – as performed by Joyce Bean – was your favorite?

Mac.. she really did good with the southern accent

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Jerricho showed up at the warehouse

Any additional comments?

some people have said the first book isn't very good.. and if you are having the same thoughts please keep listening! It really is a great series and you will not be able to stop once it really gets going.. In my opinion- better then twilight :) (And I am a Twihard)

not sure at first but so glad I kept going-love it

If you could sum up Darkfever in three words, what would they be?

3 + 1/2---It's a great one

What other book might you compare Darkfever to and why?

The closest I can get is Discovery of Witches. Some mystery, some syfi and some romance all in one package.

What about Joyce Bean???s performance did you like?

The reader was excellent

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not at first, but that is exactly what I ended up doing all night long....Work the next day was ummm interesting, then I started on the next book in the series.couldn't make all nighters two days in a row but I wanted to.

Any additional comments?

So when is the next one out? And we could all use some more Dani...

Excellent Story!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I absolutely love this story. I have read the whole series a few times before I bought it to listen to. I enjoy audiobooks, but sometimes the performers are off putting. This one is a little off putting. I just think she sounds a lot older than Mac should sound. I love it enough to listen anyway!

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Joyce Bean?

I don't know of someone in particular, but definitely someone who sounds younger.

Narrator is fantastic -- y'all are bannanas

I really don't understand the negative reviews for the narrator. She's truly great, imo. I believe her Southern accent is an affectation, or else her standard Midwestern is, but she sounds just like my 'Bama relatives; she didn't drop many R's like folks who don't know present-day southern accents do.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to miss her as I move into the 4th book. I'm not fond of dual narration, especially when the book isn't specifically structured with that in mind. And really, books that are structured to suit Audible aren't usually very good.

I've listened to the first three books. Fantastic story. I'm glad the author chose to reflect the true threat and deadliness of the Old Ones as they did in actual myth.

Barrons was getting a bit too angsty and "ancient tortured soul" (*yawn*) by the end of book 3 though. No one with that much money, power, knowledge and experience has a right to so much pity and self-loathing. Truly eye-rolling, considering what an arse and a chauvinist he often is. He reaps what he sows. Boo-hoo.

Otherwise, characterization is pretty good. I've never "appropriately" absorbed the socialization women are meant to, to gladly take whatever crap men dish out, so I often marvel at just how much shite Mac will take before getting angry or appropriately violent. But the author more or less makes it clear that Mac learned those social expectations perfectly, so it's logical, if irritating.

Overall, worth the credits.