For more reviews, see: Fantasy is More Fun As a continuation of the Fever series, the first book in the Dani O'Malley trilogy was a bit disappointing. I think this may simply be because I read it directly after finishing Shadowfever, easily one of the most intense books I've ever read; Iced had big shoes to fill and it just couldn't. And I mean it when I say COULDN'T, because I don't see how Moning could have made as exciting and intense of a novel with a 14-year-old protagonist. I enjoy young adult literature, but this was not young adult. It was a young adult in a very adult setting. She didn't have the environment and challenges you need to make a young adult book really good and she didn't have the maturity to make the adult environment and challenges she did face truly great either. I say all this adoring Dani as a character and really wanting to love the book. The banter that I loved from Mac and Barrons is replaced by some creepy fascination that adult men have for a 14 year old girl - When they seem fatherly it's great (and an angle I think she should have exploited more) but when it drifts into sexual fantasy it's just creepy (though perhaps that's the idea - maybe we're seeing a character descend and that's just one aspect of it). And while Dani's POV was a welcome addition to the Fever books, the transitions to Christian and Kat felt jilting; they didn't really add to the story in an enjoyable way for me. I didn't love it, but I did enjoy it. This book has the thrilling mystery that I've come to expect from Moning. I loved seeing what makes Dani tick and I'm excited for the next one. I also look forward to seeing more of Mac and Barrons (even if from Dani's point of view) something the next books in the series promise to include. And once Dani grows up a bit, which I hear she will do in the next book, I think it will be much better. Overall a bit disappointing, but still enjoyable and worth reading if you're committed to the Fever series like I am.
