Chelsea S. (PengQueen) reviewed on 6/14/2010 + 114 more book reviews

These books pretty much defy reasonable description. For some reason I love them. I ended up giving this one 4.5 stars for shear entertainment value.

If you aren't already familier with the series, I strongly suggest starting from the beginning with Darkfever--I don't think any of these books stand alone well at all. Assuming, that you have read the first two I'll skip right past the basic description of plot and try to explain what I felt this book was about. Basically, Mac is conflicted and alone. She is no longer sure if she can trust anyone. From Barrons, the enigmatic book store owner, to V'Lane the Seelie prince, to Dani and she other sidhe-seers, everyone wants Mac's help and on some level, want to control her. But Mac has developed self-sufficiency, maturity, and the ability to keep her own council--basically she's loyal only to herself and her cause. That is, she wants to protect the human population from a mass Unseelie invasion, and she wants revenge for her sister. When she learns that on Halloween, the walls of the Unseelie prison will be in very serious danger of falling and allowing all of them to enter the human world, she takes some pretty extreme measures to survive.

To me this book really showed how Mac has grown and, well, darkened as a person. From shifting loyalties and morals, to her struggle to hold onto whateve small color and happiness she can find, it's impossible not to like her. The cast of characters around her, few of whom are clearly good or evil, are varied, complex, and fascinating. The world that Moning has build is fascinating and bone chillingly creepy. The little touches of humor don't hurt either. With rainy Dublin as a backdrop, the plot races along to a most unexpected end.

Now, the book ends on a monumental cliff-hanger, of the everything going to hell in a hand-basket variety. How you feel about it will probably depend on taste (I know some people hate any cliff-hanger at all). And yes, frankly, having the book end with a climax rather then a resolution is a bit off putting. That's probably my most pressing criticism for this book. But it served it's purpose for me--I can't wait to read the next book.

If you like dark urban fantasy, I highly recommend this series.

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