BURNED (Fever #7) By Karen Marie Moning -- Sarah's Review

*I just have to say, I couldn't wait for this book and while it wasn't my favorite and didn't meet some of my expectations, I still love this series and can't wait for the next one! I don't know much about all the drama behind what KMM plans were, whether they were scrapped altogether or just tweaked a bit but nonetheless this is the book we got and this is the book I will review as honestly as possible as I always try to do! -- S


MY REVIEW:

3.5 stars

Ok so I was really looking forward to this book and it turned out to be not my favorite BUT I'm not going to rant about how KMM ruined my life so stop reading right here if that's what you are looking for.

 
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SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

So I loved Iced and I missed Dani, there is no doubt about that. Its not that I expected the book to just jump ahead 5 years because with the way Iced left off, you kinda knew it would pick up at that point in Burned. Plus, there was the unfinished business with the hag. So I knew a time jump wouldn't work at that point.. going through the silvers accomplished what I wanted it to with her aging, but I can understand fans wanting to have seen a glimpse of what she went through.. point being that Dani's troubles would have been a hell of a lot more interesting than what Mac was doing back home. Which was a whole lotta nothing. I love Mac and Barrons but that first half was BORING for me.. but more on that in a second.

Anyway, while I wouldn't have wanted to see a whole book dedicated to Dani in Hell, I definitely missed her voice because I really found a new appreciation for her in Iced. I do think though that we have to give it time and let KMM tell the story... Dani WILL be back and she WILL unfold her memories of what happened a little at a time. I don't know if it will be Christian, Dancer, Ryodan, or even Mac who brings it out of her, but someone if not all of them will work to get her back and I can trust that we'll find out what happened in Faery. I can't wait for that and it sucks that this was mostly filler, but I believe it will be leading up to something worth it.

So Mac/Barrons.. love them, but I was underwhelmed with them here. For whatever reason, KMM wanted to put Dani in the slow cooker and let Mac take the reins again (maybe to let the reveal about Dani be a shocker?) which is all well and good but there was no movement or good story to back it up! Things got moving in the second half but the first was just her whining about the book again but doing nothing about it. This was why fans wanted to see Dani. I'm all for Dani aging in Faery, but either show us SOME of her pov or you better distract us with one hell of a Mac/B storyline and that just didn't happen for me.

Then there was the stuff I could see coming a mile away with Mac getting all pissy with Barrons about her memories and blah blah. Same old same old. Moving on...

One thing I was surprised about was how much I enjoyed Lor and the side story of Kat/Kasteo. Can't wait to see more of that. I loved seeing more of the Nine and more insight into Ryodan. Mac being invisible was odd but then I just went with it because I realized if that was the only way I was gonna see more Ryo and what his pov was, then so be it.

Jada... I couldn't help but love that scene with her and Ryo in his office. But its clear he wants Dani and only Dani in control. Jada has none of what he adored about Dani but when she finally merges with Jada, thats when she will truly capture his heart and I can't wait to see it. BUT I couldn't help but understand Jada's point when she said Ryodan let Dani down. He may have searched all over town for her, but when he found out she was in Faery he sent everybody else to look for her! Not once did he go try to hunt for her there himself. So I think deep down, Dani will be having issues with that and when she comes back.. I don't think she'll necessarily go running into Ry's arms lol. Which brings me to Christian..

Somehow he found a way to hold onto who he once was and YAY! I knew he still had it in him since he sacrificed himself in Iced. If that one Keltar dude can have 13 druids or whatever living inside him, I think Christian can handle this prince. I think he is truly a contender now for Dani's heart.. though I still think Ry is endgame.

Oh and speaking of Ry again.. I saw some people were upset of how upset he was over Jo/Lor... but seriously.. she made it pretty clear that was about the LYING and the territorial thing. Ry freely admits it wasn't about Jo, he was done with her, but they had a code and Lor broke it plain n' simple. They also acknowledge though that times are changing and they don't just kill females they love anymore. (poor Kasteo!) So I think he will let them be together if that's what they want, but old habits die hard and it was tough for him to see Lor breaking that rule in front of his face no less. But the lying about being pri-ya is what he was most mad at. In any case, I loved seeing more of Lor and learning that there IS some humanness beneath the hard a** facade. And he adored Dani! So cute.

The end was the best part for me because that's where the action was. I was sooo happy to see Dageus (spelling?) was alive and I didn't even read his book!

So while this whole thing was by no means the best book, it certainly doesn't mean I won't read the next one... which please God will hopefully be Dani/Jada's POV. Mac still has the damn book inside her and is still a key player but I really don't see why SHE can't be the one to be the secondary character now that Dani/Jada is back and her secret is out.

So, its over, I feel bad for the peeps who waited 2 years, but I'm looking to the future and hoping the next one can only get better.

PS.. love the guide included to really help jog my memory about the past books and what things were!

MY RATING:  3 book boyfriends