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A review by squibblesreads
Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning
2.0
(Very mild spoilers ahead!)
Thank you, April Sarah on YT for being my companion through my journey in the world of the Fae. I couldn't have asked for a more knowledgeable, honest, and reflective person to accompany me!
While this book had its strong points, there were some flaws I could not overlook.
First of all, for a book about the Fae, regarding the hierarchy of beings we could encounter, the book did a good job of laying them out and defining them in a way that was easily digestible. Unfortunately, that's where my praises stop. I felt dissatisfied with the superficial nature with which these beings are described. I do understand that some are all-powerful and dangerous, and that they are important to destroy within their world; however, it seemed solely based on semantics. Why are they REALLY important, apart from their usefulness for gaining power? Why is power even important? The only wisp of humanity that I found relatable was Mac's determination to solve her sister's murder but that seemed paltry and secondary during the middle 60% of the book to the other characters' agendas, even when more was revealed later on. It was too little, too late for me.
Secondly, I do not see why Jericho Barrons is sexy to some. I found him cold and mechanical. He used Mac's keen intuition, skills as a sidhe-seer, and strategizing as a tool to pursue his goals and I could not pick up any scent of appreciation or gratitude. Even when he would speak to her and utter the words, because Moning used no prose to convey any gratitude as Mac again and again used her skills, it came across as insincere. He cared more about power, rigidity, and task completion than Mac as a living being. Not sexy.
As a feminist, I did not see the point of making Mac change her clothes in order to complete a task. A girl can wear a fucking rainbow ass dress and get shit done. Don't inflict shame on victims for what they wear. I understand that this was a fantasy world, and really anything goes, but there was excessive credence and extensive elaboration on how "girly" Mac was and how extravagant and "inappropriate" her clothes were that did not seem to add to what could have been a rich history of the Fae or Mac's own character arc. Let the girl wear her sparkly dress and be a badass. I maintain that a woman's success should not be contingent on what she wears.
Lastly, this is my personal taste, but having a man use sex as a weapon whose primary purpose is control was, in my opinion, distasteful and campy, and again, served no purpose in the grand scheme of things. I felt that he was just used to insert something sex-related and it made me uncomfortable to read. I am NOT a person who gets uncomfortable when reading about sex, nor am I a prude. I read a good amount of NA and erotica and I am a sex-positive human being. But he made me uncomfortable, because whether I choose to have sex or act on my arousal is my personal choice. When I read about a being who has someone else's arousal entirely in their control, when clearly Mac experienced some mental struggle and hesitation towards it, it's a turn off. It's not sexy. Do not ever tell a woman she "wanted it" with a fucking smirk. That's rape. Disgusting.
Also personal taste, but I also did not enjoy Moning's writing style. Her strengths lie in action scenes and dialogue, but I got bored with the repetitive sentence structure. I'm looking for something that will blow me out of the water, and this was just mediocre.
Two stars, and I won't be continuing on with the series.
Thank you, April Sarah on YT for being my companion through my journey in the world of the Fae. I couldn't have asked for a more knowledgeable, honest, and reflective person to accompany me!
While this book had its strong points, there were some flaws I could not overlook.
First of all, for a book about the Fae, regarding the hierarchy of beings we could encounter, the book did a good job of laying them out and defining them in a way that was easily digestible. Unfortunately, that's where my praises stop. I felt dissatisfied with the superficial nature with which these beings are described. I do understand that some are all-powerful and dangerous, and that they are important to destroy within their world; however, it seemed solely based on semantics. Why are they REALLY important, apart from their usefulness for gaining power? Why is power even important? The only wisp of humanity that I found relatable was Mac's determination to solve her sister's murder but that seemed paltry and secondary during the middle 60% of the book to the other characters' agendas, even when more was revealed later on. It was too little, too late for me.
Secondly, I do not see why Jericho Barrons is sexy to some. I found him cold and mechanical. He used Mac's keen intuition, skills as a sidhe-seer, and strategizing as a tool to pursue his goals and I could not pick up any scent of appreciation or gratitude. Even when he would speak to her and utter the words, because Moning used no prose to convey any gratitude as Mac again and again used her skills, it came across as insincere. He cared more about power, rigidity, and task completion than Mac as a living being. Not sexy.
As a feminist, I did not see the point of making Mac change her clothes in order to complete a task. A girl can wear a fucking rainbow ass dress and get shit done. Don't inflict shame on victims for what they wear. I understand that this was a fantasy world, and really anything goes, but there was excessive credence and extensive elaboration on how "girly" Mac was and how extravagant and "inappropriate" her clothes were that did not seem to add to what could have been a rich history of the Fae or Mac's own character arc. Let the girl wear her sparkly dress and be a badass. I maintain that a woman's success should not be contingent on what she wears.
Lastly, this is my personal taste, but having a man use sex as a weapon whose primary purpose is control was, in my opinion, distasteful and campy, and again, served no purpose in the grand scheme of things. I felt that he was just used to insert something sex-related and it made me uncomfortable to read. I am NOT a person who gets uncomfortable when reading about sex, nor am I a prude. I read a good amount of NA and erotica and I am a sex-positive human being. But he made me uncomfortable, because whether I choose to have sex or act on my arousal is my personal choice. When I read about a being who has someone else's arousal entirely in their control, when clearly Mac experienced some mental struggle and hesitation towards it, it's a turn off. It's not sexy. Do not ever tell a woman she "wanted it" with a fucking smirk. That's rape. Disgusting.
Also personal taste, but I also did not enjoy Moning's writing style. Her strengths lie in action scenes and dialogue, but I got bored with the repetitive sentence structure. I'm looking for something that will blow me out of the water, and this was just mediocre.
Two stars, and I won't be continuing on with the series.