Shadowfever Review
The day I received Shadowfever was, luckily for me, my day off work. It landed on my doorstop around lunch time, so after forcing myself to do all the tiny jobs I’d saved up for my time off, I finally settled down around 2pm and informed everyone in my tiny world that I wouldn’t be answering phone calls, texts, Facebook messages or even answering the door. And then, after seventeen months of waiting, I finally, finally cracked it.
And I devoured it for going on twelve hours straight. I didn’t put it down, even at the dinner table. I didn’t want to. I wanted my answers. I wanted the ending to my story. I wanted Mac to win.
I was already 80% sure that the “monster” Mac had killed at the end of book four was Barrons. When Mac talked about how she’d now lost everything, there wasn’t a great number of people it could be. And I figured there was only one character she would feel that strongly about and that had to be the one that had, in many ways, become her everything in Dublin.
As a reader I obviously knew that Moning clearly hadn’t killed Barrons off for good. I think both she and the readers knew that the story would have been unsalvageable if that were the case. Still, Moning managed to nail Mac’s sense of grief and hopelessness so perfectly that for a little while it really did feel like he was gone. I wholeheartedly believed the transformation that Mac went through after his death, because for her she really had lost everything, not just her sister and not just Barrons as a man and potential lover, but her guide, her ally, her mentor, the only person she could “trust” to help her.
What I liked most about her transition here, choosing to ally herself with her enemy, Darroc, was that once again she was saving herself instead of waiting around for someone to do it for her. This is what I love about Mac - never once, not even when she’s a bumbling Barbie in the first book, does she play the damsel in distress. She’s resourceful, practical, and though she may fight herself over the decisions she makes, she knows that 99% of the time it’s better to be alive to make those decisions than at the mercy of the Fae or even just flat-out dead.
In every book Mac changes in some way. While I’ve heard other people say that Moning’s Fever series is bloated with too much of Mac’s thoughts and feelings, her vying back-and-forth over her choices, and the repeated information dumps, I never really had a problem with it. I liked following her shifts in perspective, her inner musings. I liked hearing her mind stumble with new revelations, liked experiencing how she adapted and changed.
Because I like Mac so much as a character, I really didn’t mind being in her brain for the majority of this series. I can see why others might have, but for me it was never a problem. Moning broke this story into five parts for a reason. At the end of every book, something significant has happened to Mac in some way and she’s no longer the girl she was in the book before that. To have merged books to make it a shorter series, to have more than one of these significant shifts occur within the same book, would have made her character growth seem rushed to me.
Quite simply, I enjoyed the structure and balance in this book, the same way I did in all the other books. It’s very clear from the story and the tiny hints dropped throughout the series that Moning had a firm grasp of the tale she wanted to tell. There were very few moments in the book that felt like they’d been retconned. For almost everything there are clues in previous books that support the answers she provides us in the final instalment.
The only thing I felt had been squeezed in without any previous mention of it was Mac’s feelings of being bipolar, sensing a darkness within her. I think that the “dark lake” within Mac, the lake that has been referred to throughout the series, would have been enough to support the revelation of the Book being a part of her. As it was, Mac suddenly went from being this genuinely happy, superficial young woman that we thought she was in the beginning, to secretly having been conflicted and dogged by an unknown darkness.
There were other small things that didn’t quite sit right for me, not enough to ruin my enjoyment of the book or the story as a whole, but just a few things that I thought were tied up a little too neatly. I felt that the story of Barrons’ son, while told very well, was over too quickly and conveniently. I understand why he was necessary to the story - there had to be a reason Barrons’ was so ruthlessly searching for the Book, so ruthlessly using Mac. There had to be some sort of tragedy in his past for him to have become the man he was. I also understand why Moning resolved his story the way she did - the tale of Mac and Barrons is over now and to have Barrons still haunted by his son’s curse would have tinged the happily ever after this saga deserved.
Another thing I didn’t like was how Rowena turned into a typical, two-dimensional villain by the end of the book. Though I know she was never meant to be a clear-cut good guy, I never thought that Moning would resort to making her a clear-cut bad guy. Her treatment of Mac and her constant inaction with regards to the Fae, the walls falling down and the Book itself made her more hateable than evil, in my opinion.
The revelation that Dani was actually Alina’s killer would have had more of an impact if knowledge of Rowena’s power - mental coercion - had been hinted at or revealed sooner. It was quite obvious why Dani had done it once that had become clear and I guess for me the whole thing felt rushed, from the very moment Mac put two and two together to the full realisation of Rowena’s gift. I would have found it more believable if they’d been more evidence of Rowena’s power throughout the series. I would guess that she used it to cow her flock of sidhe-seers, but I feel there could have been a few odd moments here and there that hinted at something a little sinister under the surface at the Abbey.
Speaking of Dani… my God do I hate her voice. I hate it when Moning writes from her perspective because her thought processes and inner musings are aggravating as hell. If what Moning hinted at at the end of the book is true, that there will be more to come in this particular world she’s created, then I hope she tones Dani down a bit, because I wouldn’t be able to handle a full book in which Dani jackhammers through the story like Tigger on crack.
Another thing I didn’t understand was why, if Dani had Alina’s diary, she only posted a few pages to Mac. Wasn’t that a little bit cruel? Why not leave the whole diary for her to find? It’s not like it would have revealed Dani as her killer - Alina knew nothing about the other sidhe-seers. And I’m sure that journal would have been useful in someway, would have told Mac more about Alina’s time with Darroc etc. Mac never does get to read her journal and for me that was a loose end that really needed addressing.
Other things that went unresolved… who was the woman in Barrons’ memory that Mac experienced? The one he and his brethren had loved above all others? That was never explained. Neither was the reason for why they had been turned into beasts. This didn’t bother me all that much overall because I have a feeling these are things that will be explained in further books, which will probably follow the others (no doubt Ryodan, if the rumours are to be trusted).
All these things did nothing to ruin my thorough enjoyment of his final instalment. There were many things I loved about it. It was well-paced and well-balanced, mixing the right amount of adventure, action, suspense, drama and humour. I found the shift in Mac and Barrons’ relationship believable. It was as tense, as dark, as edgy as ever, and though there was a significant change in the tone of their interactions, it never fell into the trap of sentimentality. It never got too mushy. I liked that neither Mac nor Barrons really compromised themselves to take that next step in their relationship. I love Barrons as a character. I find him utterly fascinating. He’s not easily labelled. He’s not, as he says, the hero or even the anti-hero. Moning never allows us to pretend he’s the bad boy with the heart of gold, because he isn’t. He never will be. But despite the way he pushes and pulls at Mac, especially in this book, he never lies to her, never tries to make her less than she is, and in this final book you can sense something give a little in him, and you know that Mac is the reason for it.
Other things I loved was the appearance of the King, finally! I knew he’d pop up somewhere. I must admit that I believed Mac to be the King after V’Lane revealed he would take several human forms due to his sheer power (though that theory was squished as soon as it was considered on the page), but even if she was, I was still waiting for the arrival of her counterparts. It seems like I’ve been waiting for the King for the entire series and I knew it would be someone who had been sitting under our noses the whole time. And it was!
I must say I enjoyed his few scenes. I’ve always been fascinated by his character and even back at the beginning of the series I wanted to know more about the King, his time at the court, how he met his concubine, how he became the Unseelie King, everything. Though we’re never really told more than we already knew in this book, we’re still given some interesting insights into the King himself.
I’m not sure if I fully comprehend why Moning went with the whole Concubine/Seelie Queen storyline. Why didn’t Cruce just simply kill her? Was it because, like it was hinted at during Mac’s “vision” at the White Mansion, Cruce actually cared for the Concubine? Was it because he didn’t want to hurt her, just punish his King?
I actually liked the idea that someone could become Fae, given the right circumstances. It was an interesting twist, considering that the King had created the Unseelie in his attempt to turn his Concubine Fae, not realising that somehow, someway, with or without his help, she became Fae, anyway.
I’m intrigued by Christian MacKeltar and what he’s becoming. I hope he’s a predominant character in whatever new series Moning chooses to write. It will be interesting to follow his evolution and what it will mean for him and the MacKeltar clan. I really feel that Moning touched on a great idea when it was suggested that Barrons and V’Lane could have become something else entirely, that in the grand hierarchy of the Fae, roles need to be cast, gaps need to be filled. If Cruce had become King, what would have become of the King? Who would have become Cruce? And in all of this, where will Christian end up?
I appreciated that the arrival of the King didn’t suddenly render the whole plot pointless, that it didn’t void the multiple conflicts of the story and solve every problem in the blink of an eye. Yes, he could have stepped in at any time, but he, too, was fairly useless in regards to the Book. He couldn’t destroy it, either. No one really could, because like the Book says… you can’t destroy essential self. He may have imprisoned Cruce, but the Book is still the Book, no matter the vessel, and the risk is still very much real.
There was one thing I did read that unsettled me a little. Moning discusses V’Lane and the revelation that he was in actual fact Cruce all along. As she talks about it, she places his actions in such a context that suggests maybe, in some dark way, V’Lane/Cruce was the hero of the story, the Unseelie Prince who just wanted his King to free his kind, to care for them, to show them the same love and adoration he did his Concubine. I can maybe see her point, except for one thing… V’Lance/Cruce was the fourth Unseelie Prince, one of the four who raped her, the one who gave her the elixir that made her immortal. His plan was to keep her in that state always and for me that made him undeniably Evil, no question about it.
I was never really comfortable with V’Lane’s character. As I mentioned in previous reviews, he represented a cold, unnatural kind of sexuality that was nothing resembling romantic or sexy. The way he treats Mac when he first meets her, the way he uses her body against her and then claims he didn’t understand that he was violating her in the worst way possible, always stuck in my head. I never forgot that, even when he and Mac seemed to be growing closer, even when it seemed like he was beginning to care for her. So for me, finding out he was the villain of the piece didn’t bother me, not as much as it did those who viewed V’Lane as a potential love interest for Mac.
It did come as a surprise that he was behind it all, though. I guess I had started to buy that something in V’Lane was changing because of Mac. I did start to believe that maybe he was beginning to care. I felt a little bit sick on Mac’s behalf when she found out he was the fourth in the church, mostly because I was remembering events afterwards, the moments they shared, the conversations they had, the kisses that Mac seemed to enjoy without torment or doubt. I was very much in her shoes when all was revealed and I was angry that despite a shaky start, she had maybe learned to trust in V’Lane a little. Maybe not his motivations, but in his oath that he would protect her. And during the scene where he basically asks her to choose between him and Barrons, I found myself tricked into believing he was sincere.
But Moning knew what she was doing. All the way through the series Moning has made it clear that Fae aren’t all necessarily inherently good or inherently evil. Their morality, or lack thereof, is beyond us, and this is made very clear from the start. The King himself committed irredeemable acts in the name of love, but somehow, someway, he was able to recognise what he had become. Cruce faked the death of the Concubine, killed the real V’Lane and raped Mac, and yet, in small moments, it was hinted that he may have cared for the Concubine, maybe even Mac.
He is not, in my eyes, the hero, the anti-hero, or even the bad boy with the heart of gold. No matter his motivations or his intentions, there is no way to excuse or justify what he did to Mac.
The King is not a hero, either. Or an anti-hero. Or even the bad boy with the heart of gold. But there are shades of grey and in this, Cruce casts a darker shadow.
I could say so much more about this book but I’ve rambled for long enough. I was satisfied with how it ended, no doubt. I think I always secretly wanted Mac and Barrons to end up together, but I know I wanted Mac to come completely into her own before they did. And she totally does. And Barrons finally, finally gives a little.
I wanted a happy ending for these two. Maybe not a perfect one, but something approaching a peaceful one. Because Mac deserved that, and after what we learn about Barrons, I think he did, too.
It’s true that not many dark stories can pull off happy endings, but readers can’t say that it wasn’t expected. The whole series, no matter how dark, is a story of hope, the light at the end of the tunnel, and all the way through Mac talks back on the events of the books with the steadfast knowledge that it’s always darkest before the dawn. Don’t forget, the way these books are written… Mac has already lived the story. And she survived it. And there’s always an optimistic tone to her musings when she mentions this fact.
So for me, a happy ending - or a peaceful one, if that’s the way you want to look at it - was the only option in regards to the series. And I found it fitting. There’s nothing flowery and perfumed about the ending. Alina is still dead, Mac is immortal and she makes it very, very clear that she doesn’t want to be (and I was thrown by how some readers thought making her immortal was a cheap cop-out on Moning’s behalf; Mac doesn’t relish the idea of being able to live out lifetimes upon lifetimes, even with the prospect of having Barrons by her side), a third of the world’s population has been annihilated, her beautiful city is in ruins, the Seelie and Unseelie are still running loose in her world and once she has a moment to breathe, she has the full consequences of the entire series of events to consider, accept and adapt to.
No, the only “quick-fix” here was the way Barrons’ son was laid to rest.
I’m sure that if Moning does write a series set in this world again, we will find ourselves thrown into the chaos of the aftermath. There’s so much more to learn, about the Fae, about Barrons and his men, about the sidhe-seers and their history, about the King and the Concubine. And let’s not forget the most important character of the series… Dublin. I’ve never been (though I could quite easily get there) but like Mac, I’ve fallen in love with the city thanks to Moning, and I want to see more of it.
And so, if there is another book, even another series, I will definitely be in the bookshop the day it’s released.
Unless Dani’s narrating, of course.