Review: Dreamfever by Karen Marie Moning

Title: Dreamfever (Fever #4)  

Author: Karen Marie Moning 

Rating: 5/5 Stars

I have reached the conclusion that Karen Marie Moning should probably be tried for cruel and unusual punishment. Seriously, it should be against the law to leave us with a cliffhanger like that. I mean, WHAT? I was going to pick up the next book regardless of whether or not there was a cliffhanger ending! I'm only insanely grateful that I picked up this series after all the books had been published, otherwise, I don't quite know what I would have done. Probably something along the lines of gone insane, taken a plane to Dublin to track down Barrons Books and Baubles, or hunted down Moning herself and begged for answers. That cruel, cruel cliffhanger aside though, Dreamfever is easily my favorite installment in this riveting series and I finished it in a manner of hours, unable to tear my eyes away from the page.

Dreamfever picks up exactly where Faefever leaves off with Mac being gang-raped by the Unseelie Princes. Now, she must undergo her toughest ordeal yet to overcome being made Pri-ya and return to sanity. The world as we know it has toppled over, the walls have come crashing down, and regular humans find themselves painfully aware of the existence of the fae. Meanwhile, the hunt for the Sinsar Dubh never stops and is now more vital than ever as it may contain the only known way to bring the walls back up and save all of humanity from slow - but certain - destruction.

I think the reason why Dreamfever is so much better than its predecessors is because of the profound changes that Mac goes through. In the previous installments, Mac is a woman struggling to evolve and fit into a world where she has no trump cards, no hidden secrets up her sleeves, and seems to be used around by practically everyone. Dreamfever however, opens her eyes to the haunting realities of the world she lives in and Mac is now that much stronger, that much faster, and that much more determined to be her own person and regain control of her life. I loved the person Mac had become, not only because of her strength, courage, and ability to pick herself up even when she had fallen to the lowest possible degree she could imagine, but also because she still managed to retain her true persona underneath that tough exterior. Moning writes Mac's character with such believability that her ordeals rip your heart apart and her triumphs make you want to dance with joy.

Furthermore, I loved how much more of Barrons we were able to see in this novel. Although the snippets of Barron's true life only added to the plethora of questions that can be accumulated from this series, I feel as if they served to change our outlook on his personality. The relationship between Barrons and Mac is precarious in this installment due to Mac's time spent being Pri-ya. If nothing else, it is certainly awkward and both Barrons and Mac remain stubborn, irresolute to make the first move, and doubtful of the other person's true feelings. As much as I love Barrons and Mac, I have to admit that I was a little heartbroken at the way Moning brought them - or rather forced them really - together in this one. However, in hindsight, I think it was one of the only ways in which she could have brought together these two indomitable personalities without deterring from their true selves.

Dreamfever has definitely been my favorite book in this series so far and I can't wait to see where Moning takes this novel in the last book. In all honesty, she has a hell of a lot of questions to answer in a mere 550-600 or so pages, so I'm curious to see how she does it. The world Moning has created continues to become far deeper and more complex than anyone could have initially imagined and I admire her creativity. It is evident from this novel that this is definitely a series that I won't be forgetting - not only because of its intriguing plot, but also because of its terrific cast of characters. Oh, and the cliffhanger endings! I doubt I'll be coming across anything this torturous anytime soon! ;)