Darkfever

By Karen Marie Moning

Darkfever is the first book in the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning. It is about a 20-something southern girl from Georgia, MacKayla Lane, who one day finds out her older sister was murdered while studying abroad in Dublin. About a month into the mourning and grief period, the family is notified that the police in Dublin have decided to move the case to the unsolved unit due to no new leads or evidence. MacKayla decides to take the murder investigation into her own hands and travels to Dublin to launch her own investigation, against her family’s wishes. She doesn’t receive the most welcoming arrival and the more she tries to figure out what happened to her sister, the more questions she’s left with. Teaming up with Barrons’, an unlikely ally who doesn’t particularly want to help her, MacKayla dives headfirst into an unknown dark world of the Seelie and Unseelie faerie courts that even the citizens of Dublin are unaware of. During her adventures, MacKayla uncovers some unsettling truths about her, her sister, and their family back home in Georgia. As you try to guess what happens next, you’ll be pleased to know the story doesn’t end with this book.

Despite the kind of low rating, I did enjoy reading this book. The storyline was great and I enjoyed the varying personalities of each character. The story is written in a first person narrative that is narrated by MacKayla, which was interesting. However, the blatant and overdone foreshadowing got annoying fast. It got to the point where I would roll my eyes but then keep reading because I was hooked to the story. For that reason, I’m giving it 3 starts. I did like how things didn’t come easy for MacKayla in her search to find out who murdered her sister, it ultimately led her to grow. Throw in the mysterious and rich Barrons in the mix and you’ve got a good story. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

One thing I found funny was that this book was written in 2006 but I read it for the first time in 2020. It was very obvious from the details of the clothes and accessories that MacKayla chooses to wear, that she was very much an “It” girl of that time. I got to relive the fashion of my high school and early college days, which was both cringeworthy and enjoyable.