Book #5 - Shadowfever (Fever #5)

Shadowfever (Fever #5), Karen Marie Moning
594 pages
UF
Started 1/8/12
Finished 1/14/12
3.5 STARS

I waited a few days after finishing this book to write about it. This was one of those books that you have to absorb and process for awhile before forming some semblance of an official opinion about them. To be honest, I'm still not sure where I stand with it. Let's try the old "Pros" and "Cons" columns to see which one wins out, shall we? (Beware of spoilers - don't say I didn't warn you.)

PROS:
1. Mac and Barrons get together - FINALLY! It doesn't happen until, like, page 450, but it does happen, at long last.
2. Lots of plot twists. I like it when a book surprises me. I read often enough, that it doesn't happen a lot. And, there were many surprises in this book, which was very refreshing. Other authors, take note. We avid readers like to raise our eyebrows and go, "Huh. Didn't see that one coming!"
3. The witch gets what's coming to her. I don't want to say too much, but it is always nice when a baddie gets her comeuppance.

CONS:
1. I'm not feelin' the love. Mac and Barrons may have gotten together, but, to me, it just seemed like hot, steamy sex. Don't get me wrong - that has its place. But, after 5 books of these two exuding sexual tension, I really wanted more than just bow chicka wow wow. I wanted an expression of feelings - a declaration of love. It wasn't there.
2. What's with the loose ends? This is the last book! Questions should be answered; new ones should not be made. Not now. Dani and Mac have a falling out. Dani was a major character in this book, and in the end she's just a postscript. No reconciliation. No mention of where she went. And, the book was destroyed, but not. The world was not put right. This was... unexpected. And, unfulfilling.
3. Too much info dump. I get that you need to do back story. But, sheesh. You had four other books in which to spread it out. It became a bit tedious.
4. Use of the f-word, ad nauseam. Really? I'm not a shrinking violet, but c'mon. Is it really necessary to blow massive holes in a book with excessive f-bombs? The answer is, no.

So, where does that leave me? Three pros and four cons. Although the beginning was slow, it did pick up about two-thirds of the way through. There were lots of elements of this entire series that were really cool. Others, not so much. So, I'm landing somewhere in the middle. Once you've invested the time involved in a five-book series, one would hope you'd end up further right than that.