DemonessTenebrae

"I have no desire to sleep with you. I want to fuck you. And there is no such thing as perfectly good sex. If it's perfectly good," I mock in falsetto, "he should be shot in the head and put out of everyone's misery. Sex either blows your fucking mind or it's not good enough. You want me to blow your fucking mind, Ms. Lane? Come on. Do it. Be a big girl."

And there it is, the great Karen Marie Moning back in full glory. Oh, how I anticipated this moment. Similar to Barrons, this book blew my mind. Just like "Darkfever" once did. I didn't believe it possible, to come back from that "Iced" fiasco but here it is. Almost a masterpiece. 

MacKayla Lane is back. Oh yes, that hello kitty gone dark southern rainbow girl is a million times better choice than the fecking feck fourteen year old Dani. Mac makes me feel nostalgic and exhilarated at the same time. She has a knack for pissing me off but she also feels more real and more involved in the story and with the rest of the characters. Dani seemed so out of place and outside of the known characters' circle, plus her butchering of the English language almost caused my mental breakdown.

This book is a perfect transition book. Namely, this book serves as a regroup spot for all of the characters. Every single one of the most known characters develops its progress and story in this book. Unlike "Iced" (which I wish never existed) here we actually experience the story from multiple points of view at once. 

Mac is the narrator throughout most of the book. It feels so nice having her back in the story. I missed her blonde hair and pink nails following the unbreakable sexy beast called Jericho Barrons. She has the ominous book Sinsar Dubh inside her and the book is fighting for the control. She is unable to kill anyone or anything in fear that she will lose control over herself (she knows from the experience). Which makes her a passive target unable to do anything relevant. It also pisses Barrons off...

"Do you think I can't protect you should you persist with your idiotic passivity?

Idiotic passivity, my ass. As today proved, activity is far more idiotic, and deadly. Is that why he arranged this meeting? To force me to be involved? "Of course not." I change the subject.

It's time. He says his next words aloud and there's a gentleness to them that undoes me. "You're not living anymore, Rainbow Girl."

When I read that passage, I shivered and felt tears filling my eyes. Literally. That sentence is one of the most powerful sentences in the book. I might put it on my wall. Barrons is so stoic and removed from everything but when he does slip up he does it so emotionally, I feel like my walls are breaking. I can only imagine how Mac feels... Barrons also plays a big role in this book as a part of the Nine and as Mac's better half (:p). He is unbelievably enticing and lethal as ever. Irresistible... 

You might ask yourself, what happened to Dani and this being her story. Well, thankfully, the focus isn't on her this time but she's there. In the beginning she is the same old Dani, as annoying as ever. But she bickers with Mac, acts like a child and runs away into the Silvers. And disappears for weeks. During which time we get to see what everyone else does. When she does return to the story, she is - such a large plot twist that I don't even want to put it under the spoiler. The point is, she does return but never again the words fecking or dude are spoken out of her mouth so it's safe to read her passages without pulling your hair out.

Ryodan. The leader of the Nine. The man in charge of Chester's. The man who kept Dani alive during her childhood and her teens. The man who is so deliciously mysterious, sexy, menacing and powerful that you can't help but drool over him... He is a very important part of the story. Perhaps that comes from his major role in all the important events or from his connection with Dani (which we noticed in the previous book, goes way deeper than one would think, and even deeper than that as this book proves it).  He is frantically searching for the missing Dani while dealing with his other plots. He helps Kat achieve something she didn't even know she was missing. He intermediates between the Princes, Princesses, humans, Fae and sidhe-seers along with other creatures not belonging in these categories. It's not enough to say that he has his hands full. No. He is drowning in all of the tasks he needs to do. Mac and Ryodan were never friends, and that relationship hasn't improved. They are still in each others hair all the time. But when push comes to shove, Barrons shines as always.

"What I know, brother, is you break every goddamned rule for Mac."

"Back at you, Ry. Difference is, I'll help you do it."

"Lor has never been Pri-ya." Ryodan shakes his head in disgust. "The princess can't turn us. Son of a bitch, Mac's ass is ---"

"Mine," Barrons says flatly. "You will never go there. You have a problem with Mac, you work it out with me. I am her shield, I am her second fucking skin."

Shivers. Shivers down my spine. Brrrr.... So, back to the point. Ryodan is the man in this book. Oh, yeah. He is... like Barrons but still not fully released. I expect that in the next book. And that book couldn't come sooner.

Christian. The handsome highlander turned Unseelie Prince was captured at the end of the last book and taken captive. He actually gave himself up to help Dani because he likes her on some unexplainable level. Well, he's still suffering chained to a cliff. His insides are taken out every day and every day he dies only to repeat the torture all over again when his flesh grows back. He is slowly losing his mind and there is no telling what will happen if he's ever released considering his unbalanced mental state from before.

Kat. The leader of the sidhe-seers is having problems on two different levels. First, the love plan. Her lover Sean has suddenly withdrawn from her after working at Chester's. She doesn't know what happened. But she does know that she has no time to investigate it thoroughly. Because problem number two, she needs more power or to use her own power more efficiently. She leads but knows she isn't made for it. When she seeks help from Ryodan and ends up working with Kasteo (one of the Nine, the one who doesn't speak) her leadership role at the Abbey is snatched from an unknown outside group of sidhe-seers.

Lor. One of the Nine who loves banging platinum blonde easy chicks with huge tits. So far, that was all he was known for. And now he has the opportunity to do nothing but fuck for two weeks straight. Namely, he was under the spell of the Unseelie Princess and everyone thought he went Pri-ya, only Mac (and consequently Barrons) knew he wasn't. Mac made a deal with him and backed up his story with Ryodan. Who gave him private chambers and ordered blonde busty females to fuck him 24/7 to help him with his Pri-ya state. Jo, the sidhe-seer who hooked up with Ryodan for some time finally acknowledged the truth, he will never love her, so she broke up with him. And he was waiting for her to do that so she'll move on. The problem is Mac wanted to hurt Ryodan for what he has done to Jo so she told her that Lor was Pri-ya and she should go fuck him because that's the easiest way to mend a broken heart. And as everyone knows, people who turned Pri-ya are mindless sex slaves so Lor won't remember anything. Jo mustered up the courage and under false beliefs went to Lor. He usually doesn't do petite brunettes but this one was impossible to refuse. When all of the misunderstanding and lies cleared out, one big surprise revealed itself. Lor feels something for Jo? Woohoo, next book please !

"Fade, get your ass down to Lor's room an untie Jo." He's silent for a moment. "It's none of your fucking business why Jo's tied up there. Just do it. And I don't care what that woman says or does, I don't care if she's suddenly snatched up by a tornado and dropped straight on your dick, you will not fuck her." Another silence. "Yes, she's naked. No, that's not cool. Fuck you, Fade. Forget it. Take one of the waitresses down. You will remain outside the door while she goes in and unties her. Then tell Jo's she's fired." Silence. "I don't care what the waitress thinks. Fire her, too."

One of the characters that weren't common so far is the Unseelie King who lost his mind after losing his mistress, the Seelie Queen. He appeared on occasion as the Dreamy Eyed Guy (as Mac called him) to observe the situation. Now, he has his mistress back, but since she drank from the Cauldron and forgot everything, she is like a different person. And for the King who has long surpassed his role and became God, that isn't enough. She tries to make him save the world but without her memories and with his his mental instability, it results to nothing and the world is heading straight to oblivion...

So many bad boys in here. Damn, I would even go with the end of the world plan, only to participate in it with all of them. I didn't even get to the two Highlanders who will cooperate with Mac, Barrons, Ryodan and Jada for a time. 

This book has it all. Action, mystery, plot twists, love, passion, lethal menace, end of the world setting... So many hot guys, your nose will start bleeding. Woman are also well represented. Not only are they beautiful but also dangerous and kick-ass fabulous. Fae add a variety and complexity to this book which would be a degree less entertaining without them. 

One of the reasons why I love KMM's books in Fever Series so much is the unknown that keeps you on the edge. By that I mean, Barrons and the Nine. We are in the seventh book but I still can't say what they are exactly. I can vaguely describe it but nothing in particular. They are a mystery. The dark unknown. A sexy-as-hell menace. Despite being the main characters and the ones who will most make your heart race, you just don't know them and when you think you do, they'll prove you wrong. It's amazing. It's rare for the authors to leave such a mystery for so long. Because it's risky. But KMM does it masterfully. She engages us in a story and leaves no room for the doubt. Without giving too much detail, she engages us emotionally and doesn't let anyone stray from the story.

If I could, I would give this book ten stars. It's an invigorating read that made me starving for more and more and more !!!

"Temptation isn’t a vice you triumph over once, completely, and then you’re free. Temptation slips into bed with you each night and helps you say prayers. It wakes you in the morning with a friendly cup of coffee, and knows just the way you take it, heavy on the sin."