Sign in with Facebook
Zala's Reviews > Darkfever
Darkfever (Fever, #1)
by
by
Zala's review
bookshelves: urban-fantasy, mystery, romance
Mar 31, 2015
bookshelves: urban-fantasy, mystery, romance
Read 2 times. Last read May 27, 2022 to May 29, 2022.
Re-read this to see how it holds up, and it did not hold up well.
Some highlights (with spoilers):
Mac likes most all seasons and climes. “I can get into an overcast drizzly autumn day—great for curling up with a good book—every bit as much as a cloudless blue summer sky, but I’ve never cared much for snow and ice. I don’t know how northerners put up with it. Or why. But I guess it’s a good thing they do, otherwise they’d all be down here crowding us out.� Gee, Mac, I'm so glad you told us this on page one.
Mac loves to eat. “Fortunately, it doesn’t show. I’m healthy through the bust and bottom, but slim through the waist and thighs.�
Mac's modern gadgets. “I’m not one of those plugged-in people who are always hooked up to the latest greatest find-me service. The idea of being found so easily creeps me out a little. I don’t have a camera phone or text-messaging capability. I don’t have Internet service or satellite radio, just your basic account, thank you.�
The first person Mac meets in Dublin looks like a leprechaun. “With his snowy hair, neatly trimmed beard, sparkling eyes behind round, rimless glasses, and oddly small ears, he actually looked like a merry leprechaun from the fabled Land o� Green.�
Jericho's mysterious heritage. Mac really wants to know; she speculates he's “some kind of European crossed with Old World Mediterranean or maybe an ancestor with dark Gypsy blood.�
Jericho attempts a lunge. Taxi driver interrupts him, but he does find out where Mac is staying and shows up at her hotel room the next day to give her some bruises. Mac, you really are in over your head.
Mac is not Barbie. She might be blonde, “easy on the eyes,� and has slept with guys since she was twelve (wait, is that a Barbie thing?) but she never even liked Ken, y'all. More specifically, she “had never been turned on by the Ken doll.�
Mac's Razzle-Dazzle-Hot-Pink-Twist manicure and pedicure. It's important for us to know her toes look fabulous, too.
Mac's excellent reasoning. “He’d left me alive, and by my reasoning, that meant he would continue to do so. He might bully and threaten me, even bruise me, but he wouldn’t kill me.�
Acorns. Mac finds this gem of a sentence while researching druids: “Druids performed human sacrifices and ate acorns to prepare for prophecy.� What do you even say to that?
The important questions. Mac isn't playing around anymore and asks Jericho about his ambiguous heritage. He reveals it's “Basque and Celt, Pict to be precise.� Mac characterizes both as “criminals and barbarians,� and follows up with “I didn’t think there could be a more primitive pairing of genes.�
Jericho's take on beautiful women. “I suspect most kill themselves. Beautiful women rarely possess sufficient depth of character to survive without their pretty feathers.�
Extraterrestrials. Jericho reveals the fae are aliens that came to Earth eons ago. “You didn’t think they were natives, did you?�
Womanly clothes. According to Jericho, pink blouses aren't “grown up� or “wdzԱ� enough. He suggests black catsuits instead.
Mac is au naturel. Surprisingly enough, she lets us know that she doesn't “understand a thing about the artful application of makeup.�
Barrons' weird punches. “Barrons wrapped an arm around my shoulder and I instantly shivered, just as I had last night when he’d touched me. The man packed a seriously weird physical punch.� Wait, physical punch?
The harmful effects of Jean-Paul Sartre. Mac describes how trying to read one of his books caused her to develop “an unshakable case of narcolepsy that attacked every two to three paragraphs, resulting in deep, coma-like fits of sleep.� I think she should see a doctor about that.
Plot twist, she's adopted. “I could deal with fairies and vampires and I could live with blood on my hands, so long as I could stand and proudly say, I’m MacKayla Lane, you know, from the Frye-Lanes in Ashford, Georgia? And I follow the same genetic recipe as everyone else in my family.� Really? You could??
Alina's killer. “I stared in disbelief and confusion at Alina’s boyfriend, the Lord Master. The leader of the Unseelie wasn’t even Fae! Even Barrons looked a little thrown.� Thrown by how out of the blue and anticlimactic this was, yes.
Jericho gives Mac a manicure. Because discovering a portal to the Unseelie prison and almost dying leaves you in dire need of a manicure. “Suck it up, Barrons. The least you can do is paint my nails while my arm’s broken.�
Now, I know I haven't mentioned V'lane at all; he had only two appearances, and neither of them made the cut.
And there it is, a quote I actually like: “Don’t celebrate yet, Ms. Lane. Don’t believe anything dead until you’ve burned it, poked around in its ashes, and then waited a day or two to see if anything rises from them.�
Darkfever was easy to get through (this is one of those "trashy but fun" types of books), and I did still like its setting, but it was lacking in execution and surprisingly not lacking in casual racism. (previous rating: 3 stars)
Some highlights (with spoilers):
Mac likes most all seasons and climes. “I can get into an overcast drizzly autumn day—great for curling up with a good book—every bit as much as a cloudless blue summer sky, but I’ve never cared much for snow and ice. I don’t know how northerners put up with it. Or why. But I guess it’s a good thing they do, otherwise they’d all be down here crowding us out.� Gee, Mac, I'm so glad you told us this on page one.
Mac loves to eat. “Fortunately, it doesn’t show. I’m healthy through the bust and bottom, but slim through the waist and thighs.�
Mac's modern gadgets. “I’m not one of those plugged-in people who are always hooked up to the latest greatest find-me service. The idea of being found so easily creeps me out a little. I don’t have a camera phone or text-messaging capability. I don’t have Internet service or satellite radio, just your basic account, thank you.�
The first person Mac meets in Dublin looks like a leprechaun. “With his snowy hair, neatly trimmed beard, sparkling eyes behind round, rimless glasses, and oddly small ears, he actually looked like a merry leprechaun from the fabled Land o� Green.�
Jericho's mysterious heritage. Mac really wants to know; she speculates he's “some kind of European crossed with Old World Mediterranean or maybe an ancestor with dark Gypsy blood.�
Jericho attempts a lunge. Taxi driver interrupts him, but he does find out where Mac is staying and shows up at her hotel room the next day to give her some bruises. Mac, you really are in over your head.
Mac is not Barbie. She might be blonde, “easy on the eyes,� and has slept with guys since she was twelve (wait, is that a Barbie thing?) but she never even liked Ken, y'all. More specifically, she “had never been turned on by the Ken doll.�
Mac's Razzle-Dazzle-Hot-Pink-Twist manicure and pedicure. It's important for us to know her toes look fabulous, too.
Mac's excellent reasoning. “He’d left me alive, and by my reasoning, that meant he would continue to do so. He might bully and threaten me, even bruise me, but he wouldn’t kill me.�
Acorns. Mac finds this gem of a sentence while researching druids: “Druids performed human sacrifices and ate acorns to prepare for prophecy.� What do you even say to that?
The important questions. Mac isn't playing around anymore and asks Jericho about his ambiguous heritage. He reveals it's “Basque and Celt, Pict to be precise.� Mac characterizes both as “criminals and barbarians,� and follows up with “I didn’t think there could be a more primitive pairing of genes.�
Jericho's take on beautiful women. “I suspect most kill themselves. Beautiful women rarely possess sufficient depth of character to survive without their pretty feathers.�
Extraterrestrials. Jericho reveals the fae are aliens that came to Earth eons ago. “You didn’t think they were natives, did you?�
Womanly clothes. According to Jericho, pink blouses aren't “grown up� or “wdzԱ� enough. He suggests black catsuits instead.
Mac is au naturel. Surprisingly enough, she lets us know that she doesn't “understand a thing about the artful application of makeup.�
Barrons' weird punches. “Barrons wrapped an arm around my shoulder and I instantly shivered, just as I had last night when he’d touched me. The man packed a seriously weird physical punch.� Wait, physical punch?
The harmful effects of Jean-Paul Sartre. Mac describes how trying to read one of his books caused her to develop “an unshakable case of narcolepsy that attacked every two to three paragraphs, resulting in deep, coma-like fits of sleep.� I think she should see a doctor about that.
Plot twist, she's adopted. “I could deal with fairies and vampires and I could live with blood on my hands, so long as I could stand and proudly say, I’m MacKayla Lane, you know, from the Frye-Lanes in Ashford, Georgia? And I follow the same genetic recipe as everyone else in my family.� Really? You could??
Alina's killer. “I stared in disbelief and confusion at Alina’s boyfriend, the Lord Master. The leader of the Unseelie wasn’t even Fae! Even Barrons looked a little thrown.� Thrown by how out of the blue and anticlimactic this was, yes.
Jericho gives Mac a manicure. Because discovering a portal to the Unseelie prison and almost dying leaves you in dire need of a manicure. “Suck it up, Barrons. The least you can do is paint my nails while my arm’s broken.�
Now, I know I haven't mentioned V'lane at all; he had only two appearances, and neither of them made the cut.
And there it is, a quote I actually like: “Don’t celebrate yet, Ms. Lane. Don’t believe anything dead until you’ve burned it, poked around in its ashes, and then waited a day or two to see if anything rises from them.�
Darkfever was easy to get through (this is one of those "trashy but fun" types of books), and I did still like its setting, but it was lacking in execution and surprisingly not lacking in casual racism. (previous rating: 3 stars)
Sign into ŷ to see if any of your friends have read
Darkfever.
Sign In »
Reading Progress
March 31, 2015
– Shelved as:
to-read
March 31, 2015
– Shelved
May 12, 2015
– Shelved as:
put-on-hold
May 15, 2015
– Shelved as:
waiting-list
May 15, 2015
– Shelved as:
warteliste
May 18, 2015
–
Started Reading
May 18, 2015
–
1.94%
""I love to eat. Fortunately, it doesn't show". - that's like describing myself. i think i have quite a few similarities with this MC. except that she loves pink, the only colour i loathe..."
page
6
May 19, 2015
–
17.15%
"Barrons Books and Baubles -- I love books, by the way, way more than movies. Movies tell you what to think. Agood book lets you choose a few thoughts for yourself. -- She looked beyond me, over my shoulder, and uttered a single word like a benediction. "Jericho.""
page
53
May 19, 2015
–
22.65%
"The Light Hallows were the stone, the spear, the sword, and the cauldron. The Dark were the mirror, the box, the amulet, and thebook (Sinsar Dubh)."
page
70
May 19, 2015
–
25.89%
"When I get mad I have imaginary conversations in my head—you know, the kind where you say that really smart thing you always wish you'd think of at the time but never do—and sometimes I get so wrapped up in my little chats that I end up oblivious to everything around me."
page
80
May 19, 2015
–
33.01%
" "Listen to me and learn, and I will help you." "Why would you do that?" I scoffed. "You're hardly the Good Samaritan type. In fact, I think the word 'mercenary' has a little picture of you beside it in the dictionary. "
page
102
May 19, 2015
–
36.89%
"(I adore fries, by the way, or I used to, anyway; I'd heavily salt and pepper the ketchup, then slather them with it and eat them slowly, one at a time, after everything else was gone) -- Oh, I normally eat them first, so they don't get cold..."
page
114
May 19, 2015
–
40.78%
"I hammered him with my fists. He just stood and took it, his hands clamped on my shoulders, his dark eyes fixed on my face. Don't get me wrong, he didn't suffer graciously, he looked pissed off to no end. But he let me hit him. And he didn't hit me back. Which was, I suspected, a pretty major concession from Jericho Barrons."
page
126
May 19, 2015
–
43.04%
""Oh, you just suck." He shrugged. "I call it like I see it. Get used to it. Stick around long enough and you might learn to appreciate it." He stood up and began walking toward the back of the store."
page
133
May 19, 2015
–
45.31%
"Fae: a.k.a. the Tuatha Dé Danaan. Divided into two courts: the Seelie or Light Court, and the Unseelie or Dark Court. Both courts have different castes of Fae, with the four royal houses occupying thehighest caste of each. The Seelie Queen and her chosen consort rule the Light Court. The Unseelie King and his current concubine govern the Dark."
page
140
May 19, 2015
–
57.61%
"These folks seemed to think leeching the world of all color was cool. I decided they all must be deeply depressed."
page
178
May 19, 2015
–
58.9%
""If you treat me like one of your skanks again tonight, Barrons, you can just forget about our little arrangement. You need me as much as I need you. That makes us equal partners in my book." "Well, your book is just wrong," he said flatly. "No, yours is,""
page
182
May 19, 2015
–
59.22%
"You mean they can just think themselves somewhere and that's how instantly it happens? They just want to be someplace—and then there they are? Barrons nodded."
page
183
May 19, 2015
–
62.46%
""Mallucé asshole," he repeated. "And here I thought your last name was 'fashion nightmare." Score one for Barrons, I thought."
page
193
May 19, 2015
–
63.11%
"Everyone's a fashion critic. I knew which song he meant: "She's a Rainbow." Whenever I listened to it on my iPod, I would close my eyes and spin around, pretending I was in a sun-dappled clearing, with my arms spread wide and my head thrown back, while colors of every hue sprayed from my fingertipslike brilliant little airbrush guns, painting trees, birds, bees, and flowers, even the sun in the sky, glorious shades."
page
195
May 20, 2015
–
64.08%
""There are three floors beneath the garage? Why on earth?" Barrons locked his jaw, as if he regretted the admission. "
page
198
May 20, 2015
–
72.49%
" "The right to kill me?" I snapped. Was that what they'd thought of my sister, the ones who'd murdered her? That they'd had the right? It studied me. "Not that any of us would." Yeah, right—and piranhas were vegetarians. ------------- I was beginning to think it might be easier to start tallying everyone I knew in Dublin that didn't want the Sinsar Dubh. Gee, that would be nobody. "
page
224
May 22, 2015
–
82.52%
"I'd snorted. Cities don't just lose entire neighborhoods. That's impossible. He'd smiled faintly. In time, Ms. Lane, you will cease using that word. ------------------- "Amusing, Ms. Lane." Barrons could not have looked more unamused. "Now move.""
page
255
May 22, 2015
–
93.53%
""My obsession with finding Alina's journal was shaping what and how I chose to write in my own: about everything, and in great detail." -- that, my dear, is not a good idea. it never ends well when someone stores an awful lot of significant (personal) information in a place such as a diary/journal..."
page
289
May 23, 2015
–
76.05%
"Why should I care? It was in Dublin, not Georgia! It was Ireland's problem. They could handle their own troubles. --------- "You can call me Mac, er� Jericho. And thanks for saving me." One dark brow rose and he looked amused. "Stick with Barrons, Ms. Lane," he said dryly. "
page
235
May 23, 2015
–
76.38%
"the voice of something larger than life, an archangel, perhaps—the one that fell. --------- dormant is just another word for "liable to explode at any moment,""
page
236
May 23, 2015
–
80.91%
""Don't believe anything dead until you've burned it, poked around in its ashes, and then waited a day or two to see if anything rises from them." --------------------- But if there's one thing I've learned in life it's this: assume makes an ass out of 'u' and 'me'."
page
250
May 24, 2015
–
Finished Reading
September 1, 2019
– Shelved as:
urban-fantasy
November 26, 2019
– Shelved as:
mystery
May 27, 2022
–
Started Reading
May 29, 2022
–
Finished Reading
October 27, 2024
– Shelved as:
romance
Comments Showing 1-22 of 22 (22 new)
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Mizuki
(new)
-
rated it 2 stars
May 31, 2015 07:54AM
It's very kind to give it three stars. I feel just the same about this book...and the sequels.
reply
|
flag
Yes, I have no clue why so many people laud it...while I didn't hate it, there was nothing that special about it and it didn't live up to my expectations. I hope the next one is better (although judging from the ratings it's the least favoured of the series)
Zala wrote: "Yes, I have no clue why so many people laud it...while I didn't hate it, there was nothing that special about it and it didn't live up to my expectations. I hope the next one is better (although ju..."You're very kind, I hate this series with a passion, the awful, selfish MC and the doughbag male lead totally done me in.
How I feel about Mac:
It's one thing to be selfish, but it's not okay to calling other people selfish whilst Mac is as selfish as any one of them.
It's one thing to be vain and caring about your appearance, but it's not okay to badmouth other women for their looks and age.
And do you notice not once has Mac ever felt sorry for those Pri-ya (women who are addicted to fae)?
Now that you mention it. She didn't even bother to talk to that lady who definitely knows much more about sidhe-seers than her. But she's just too stubborn to accept help. Yup, and she's vain, totally vain. Thanks, you've added another bad trait I can apply to Mac. :D
Zala wrote: "Now that you mention it. She didn't even bother to talk to that lady who definitely knows much more about sidhe-seers than her. But she's just too stubborn to accept help. Yup, and she's vain, tot..."
Sure as hell Mac is not going to accept help from this sidhe-seer, because according to Mac, that sidhe-seer is a mean old woman.
And I hate her for badmouthing the female assistant of the Male Lead, of course this woman is also an mean spirited old woman as well.
God, the woman on woman hating is just endless, and I can tell you it doesn't get better in the sequels.
That happens in so many books, too many books.The heroines can't handle any real competition. Only fake, vain and vengeful women (bee-otch).
And writers either can't develop characters at all or won't because then we'd see that the MC has no respect for fellow women.
So they make the female side characters bad and with that justify the MC's acting.
Zala wrote: "That happens in so many books, too many books.The heroines can't handle any real competition. Only fake, vain and vengeful women (bee-otch).
Yes, yes. You're correct!
So they make the female side characters bad and with that justify the MC's acting. "
It feels like it's one of Cassandra Clare's books all over again!
I haven't read any of Cassandra Clare's books, yet. But my friends are nagging me to finally read one of her books.Though, I'm still contemplating if I should read City of Bones or Clockwork Angel first.
Which would you recommend?
Zala wrote: "I haven't read any of Cassandra Clare's books, yet. But my friends are nagging me to finally read one of her books.Though, I'm still contemplating if I should read City of Bones or Clockwork Angel..."
I will not recommend any of this woman's book to anyone, expect my enemies.
That's nice of you :) I'll still read at least the first one so I can finally see what everyone is fussing about and tell them my opinion -- since I can't judge it if I haven't read it.
Zala wrote: "That's nice of you :) I'll still read at least the first one so I can finally see what everyone is fussing about and tell them my opinion -- since I can't judge it if I haven't read it."
Read Clockwork Angel then, I dare you to read it and still have your brain cells intact by the time you finish it.
I wish you luck, see you on the other side of the tunnel.
There's a big revealing on the killer's identity? I don't recall it. The ending is just a guy suddenly pops up at the very end and "HAHAHA! I'm the murderer who killed Mac's sister!"That's it.
Yes and it's so stupid. Why have a random guy be the evil one. Couldn't we get to know more people and than *BAM* the one we'd trust the most would turn out to be the killer. Sadly, he doesn't get much development in the sequels. He's just there and manages the others who do bad things to Mac and the world. But he himself is just there behind the sceenes.
Zala wrote: "Yes and it's so stupid. Why have a random guy be the evil one. Couldn't we get to know more people and than *BAM* the one we'd trust the most would turn out to be the killer. Sadly, he doesn't get..."
I agree with you.I am pissed that 3 books go by, we still know nothing about this murderer.
I agree with you, this book is a bad but hilarious type for sure. I read it a very long time ago and enjoyed it. I wonder if I would feel the same about it if I picked it up now (maybe I wouldn't even get through it) ;)
Բ� (Ichigo Version) [Waiting for 2025] wrote: "I agree with you, this book is a bad but hilarious type for sure. I read it a very long time ago and enjoyed it. I wonder if I would feel the same about it if I picked it up now (maybe I wouldn't e..."Haha maybe! That's why I'm always a tiny bit worried even when rereading books I loved
Gosh, I read this series years ago and still remember it. I was sucked into it and remember the barbecue at the end and thinking� what the actual f@*%. It definitely had a dark side. Wonder how I’d feel about it now too????
Jennifer wrote: "Gosh, I read this series years ago and still remember it. I was sucked into it and remember the barbecue at the end and thinking� what the actual f@*%. It definitely had a dark side. Wonder how I’d..."For sure, it gets pretty dark!
omg, I was so here for this review. Your quotes perfect capture the inherent -ism in this childish mentality.
She's definitely got that manic-pixie-dream-girl vibe (what makeup? eyeroll).
carol. wrote: "She's definitely got that manic-pixie-dream-girl vibe (what makeup? eyeroll)."lol oh that explains it!
