Shadowfever ★★★★

Shadowfever (Fever, #5) - Karen Marie Moning ★★★★ 594 pages

Book four of the Fever series ends with a huge a cliffhanger. The walls between the Fae and human worlds have come crashing down, Fae are loose in the streets killing humans, her parents were being ransomed and MacKayla has found herself thrust into a realm with little to no hope of escaping. While being rescued something happens that "shattered her world. " Something extreme, seeing the state her world is currently in. Now, in book five, Mac must deal with what she's done. She has to decide to allow herself to be broken, or to get up and fight to right her world in her most epic battle so far. Between prophecies from the past, struggling to find out who or what she is, and struggling with the lose of those she loved most, Mac has to figure out who to trust, or if she can even trust herself.

Okay, so the summary is vague at best. It's that way for a reason. Giving anything away will spoil this book for anyone looking to read it. (Be wary of reading reviews on this one. Part of the fun is that you really have no clue what's going on. Don't let someone spoil it for you.) I will say that you find Moning puts you out of your misery and lets you know who the beast is early on. Mac changes in the beginning of this book. She hardens and FINALLY quits whining. As the story progresses she softens a bit and her personality becomes more balanced.

After having read the other books, most people had a ton of predictions coming into this new one. Some of the questions we had were fairly obvious and easy to answer, but there were several things that I don't think anyone saw coming. As the events play out, predictions change frequently. Every time you think you've figured something out you'll be confronted with a contradictory fact that destroys your hypothesis. While everything in the book unfolds quickly, Moning paces the discoveries so that your questions get answered throughout the course of the book, but she saves the biggest ones for the end: Who killed Alina? Who or what is Mac? Why is she able to feel the book and why is it playing with her? Who set all these events rolling? Where have the Unseelie King and the Seelie Queen been since the Fae have begun to take over the human world? Will Mac pick a man?

This series was a surprise for me. After reading the first book I couldn't understand why everyone was in love with the series. Each book got better. It's not the best written series out there, but there's something about the epic way in which the world is being destroyed and the cliffhangers that keep you reading even when you're not sure if you should. I'm glad I stuck with the stories against my better judgement. The last three books in the series have been fun reads. Plus, male chauvinistic, conceited Barrons and V'laine are worth taking the time to read about. =)

Iron Queen ★★★★

Iron Queen - Julie Kagawa ★★★★ 368 pgs

After being exiled from Faery, Meghan just wants to go home. To bad she and Ash have to many enemies for her to risk drawing them to her family. Now homeless, with the Iron Fey out to get her, she has to stop the false king in order to not only ensure her safety, but that of the Summer and Winter Courts. In order to do so, Meghan must come to terms with who she is and the powers she carries within her. However, having both Iron and Summer powers are making it impossible for her to use glamour without hurting herself. She's not ready, but it doesn't matter. An oracle predicts a future of pain for Meghan and those closest to her. Can she change her path to get the happily ever after she longs for? Or will she and her friends suffer extreme losses?

First, I'd like to say that all the books in this series are beautiful. I love that the team responsible for putting this book, and the previous ones together added a design to give the series some personality. I've always enjoyed this series, but for some reason it took me a few pages before I would get interested in the earlier books. That's not the case here. I was able to pick up the story with Ash and Meghan right away. The fact that they have been exiled from Faery just made me want to know what they were going to do next and what enemies would come after them now that neither of them had the support of the Summer or Winter Courts.

In The Iron King I worried about Ash and Meghan's relationship. There was something artifical and forced about the way they got together. That doesn't hold true with this book. Meghan and Ash are settling into their relationship and their fears and emotions feel much more realistic. Kagawa has tapped into her inner teenager and done an excellent job of weaving rational and irrational issues together to create drama for the characters to either run from, or learn and build a stronger relationship. She definately managed to get me emotionally involved in the story.

Meghan's character has grown so much over the course of the series. She's finally confronting who she is, her strenghts and her weaknesses. Meghan's growth is what made this book special and took this series from a "library" read to something I will actually spend money on in the future. Her and her boys make sacrifices and risk their lives. Their ride is extremely emotional and managed to illicit some tears out of me.

Outside In ★★★★

Outside In - Maria V. Snyder ★★★★ 320 pgs

Snyder has another hit. Trella and the crew have overthrown their oppressors, leaving a power vacuum Inside. The new government isn't working, society is still segregated, and people are starting to give up hope that things will change for the better. Trella, the leader of the rebellion, has stepped back and allowed others to lead. She's still young and unsure of her ability to lead, but when someone starts sabotaging their home, Trella has to find out who it is before everyone is in danger. There is a new peril in every chapter. Someone is out to neutralize the new council's effectiveness and people are getting hurt. There's just one problem... Trella doesn't know who to trust. She can't figure out whether the danger is coming from Outside or Inside.

In Outside In, Snyder has upped her game. There's more drama and danger, making this installment of the series even better than the last. The mix of political, societal, and personal coming of age issues are what makes this a wonderful recommendation for teens, or YA readers. Unlike the weak, fluffy YA books that are flooding the market at the moment, readers of Outside In can take away lessons on human nature. Everyone needs to feel like there's an opportunity for things to get better, or that they're at least apart of something greater than themselves. When that's taken from someone, people can become desperate. While some may wallow in the lose of hope, others stand up and fight. That's what was makes Trella such a wonderful character. She may not want to step up and be a leader, but she's willing to put her life on the line to help those in needs when it counts. The problem is, in this book, Trella and the gang might not make it out alive.

This book will be available for purchase on March 1, 2011. It's worth purchasing.