Burgundy

Freedom at last.

The biggest issue of this book is its length. The first half of this installment could easily be skipped or at least skimmed. Especially the first chapters were pure agony.
Also the Fever series as a whole could be a trilogy by omitting the second and the third book.

Given my dislike towards the fourth book, I began reading this big finale without any expectations or interest in any particular character (by the end of book 4 I basically disliked them all); I just wanted the damn answers and hop off the Fever train as quickly as possible.

In the second half of the book the answers gradually came. Although I disagreed with some aspects of this book, I thought it went pretty well until I read the last page.

[Spoilers are hidden]

My issue with this book lies in the fact that Shadowfever only partially answered my questions and succeeded to add a bunch of new questions to the pile. It messes with my brain and I don’t like that.

This book also contains too much useless/newly introduced information. Like I don't understand why Adam Black necessarily has to make an appearance.

First of all, could somebody explain me what or who exactly J. Barrons is? I’m all ears.
And here is the big anticlimax again I mentioned in my review of Darkfever. Suddenly this book gave him a less important position in the whole story. All my hypotheses about J.B. were one by one beaten to a pulp. The readers couldn’t possibly guess what he really was because the existence of his kind was never mentioned before.
The more I think about it, the more I turn into MacKayla and ask myself billions of questions.
And I didn't even start about Christian's situation in this book.

And the easy wrap up around the issue about his son is on the verge of ridiculous. We don’t even know where he came from. Who and what was his mother? Assuming the turning into a prehistoric animal is the dominant gene. But hey, J.B. has been hunting the Sinsar Dubh for years so if we just cunningly introduce a monster named K’vruck who very coincidentally meets MacKayla and by chance can kill all living beings because he’s more final then death. Yeah, that sounds plausible. Well, that sounds too much as deus ex machina to me. It should have been mentioned earlier.

One last thing about J.Barrons. He represents all the characteristics I hate in men, just one big arrogant misogynist. Sure arrogant characters can be endearing (ex. Curran) but J.B. is going over the top and I would gladly kick him square in the nuts and hope he might grow impotent. I think I would do a huge favour to the female population. I’m sorry ladies but it’s all for your own good.

I don’t know why MacKayla puts up so long with him given that he’s so insensible towards her traumatism. She should have put J.B. in his place a long time ago. I also have an issue with their relationship based on sex. That might hold a few years but given that they are basically immortal I have my doubts about their future. Yes, they indirectly confessed their love but I just didn’t feel that connection. And please just call wordless conversations telepathy. The supposedly steamy sex scene was a turn off, emotionless. I thought we were back to Mac being pri-ya scenes again. The most hysterical part is when MacKayla thinks of him as a hero who saved her from being pri-ya. Actually Dani saved her, and J.B. just had to come by afterwards and take the flowers.

Another thing I went ballistic about; MacKayla’s identity crisis. She just tossed us around. I was getting dizzy right here. I’m the concubine, no the Unseelie King (that would be completely wicked) , maybe Fae, Seelie or Unseelie, I have a mother named Isla, I don’t have a mother named Isla, actually I never existed, and I’m back again being the daughter of Isla, and so on. And after one illusion after another, I was done and couldn’t care less about what she was. After all I was going to be disappointed and I was: ‘touched’ by the Sinsar Dubh, the Unseelie King is indirectly my father … Well one thing is for sure, I didn’t see that coming.

The only closure that was satisfactory was chapter V'lane. He wanted it so much more than the rest and in the end I just rooted for him because he gave me the answers I was begging to hear. He was the engine of the train; the others were just cumbersome wagons.

I will close this review with the Unseelie King. He's so selfish. I have my concubine so you can all drop dead now because I couldn’t care less about the protective walls between the two worlds. And I don’t care about the balance of the worlds and all that either so the Seelie court has to do it without a queen. I thought at this point they would seek cooperation, guess not. Half of the world population has been eradicated but who cares huh. I mean the Unseelie King now knows that his concubine’s memory has been erased and she’s been coerced by Cruce but hey he still made king daddy so proud. And I don’t know why but MacKayla may not kill him to have her justice.

That and the loose ends were frustrating. I know there’s a spin-off series but I’ve been agonizing enough with these five books, so I will pass. That’s why the ending words (the end… for now) annoyed me. Might tricked my once but you won’t trick me twice.

So, I will stick to K. Moning’s smexy highlanders and in the future not engage myself with her paranormal series. And hope it will spare me the disappointment.