Iced [Moning]

Book: Iced [Fever #6]
Author: Karen Marie Moning

Review: 
From the publisher:
The year is 1 AWC—After the Wall Crash. The Fae are free and hunting us. It’s a war zone out there, and no two days are alike. I’m Dani O’Malley, the chaos-filled streets of Dublin are my home, and there’s no place I’d rather be. 
 
Dani “Mega” O’Malley plays by her own set of rules—and in a world overrun by Dark Fae, her biggest rule is: Do what it takes to survive. Possessing rare talents and the all-powerful Sword of Light, Dani is more than equipped for the task. In fact, she’s one of the rare humans who can defend themselves against the Unseelie. But now, amid the pandemonium, her greatest gifts have turned into serious liabilities.
 
Dani’s ex–best friend, MacKayla Lane, wants her dead, the terrifying Unseelie princes have put a price on her head, and Inspector Jayne, the head of the police force, is after her sword and will stop at nothing to get it. What’s more, people are being mysteriously frozen to death all over the city, encased on the spot in sub-zero, icy tableaux. 
 
When Dublin’s most seductive nightclub gets blanketed in hoarfrost, Dani finds herself at the mercy of Ryodan, the club’s ruthless, immortal owner. He needs her quick wit and exceptional skill to figure out what’s freezing Fae and humans dead in their tracks—and Ryodan will do anything to ensure her compliance.
 
Dodging bullets, fangs, and fists, Dani must strike treacherous bargains and make desperate alliances to save her beloved Dublin—before everything and everyone in it gets iced.

I read this book on our drive back from Thanksgiving (Miami to Houston, it was a long journey with 2 kids and the dog). First off, this is the ONLY book I have ever read in the car in my many years of reading and car travel. This was probably my most anticipated read of 2012 and I've waited a month to review it because I am so conflicted about the book. I LOVE the Fever series and I recommend it to almost all of my friends. Barrons is one of my favorite male characters of all time. However, Dani's POV sections in the Fever series were grating. Luckily, Moning did a good job making Dani's voice more tolerable this time around. She is still a very immature 14-year old though and reading this book in one or two sittings will probably result in readers becoming very annoyed with the Mega. 

What did I love about this book? We finally learn about Dancer's background and he is a great secondary character. In fact, I think he would make a great addition at my husband's engineering lab! :) Christian takes a drastic turn in this book and I'm excited to see where Moning goes with the character. There were a few sections written from his POV and I think the main point was to explain his attraction (as well as Ryodan's) to Dani and make it seem less pervy. It was explained more that they were attracted to the woman she would become. I'm okay with the explanation but I can still see why people will still view it as gross due to the age differences. One of my favorite things about the first 5 Fever books were the perfect balance between mystery, sci-fi and romance. I don't see how she will be able to incorporate any true romance involving Dani due to her age but I'll be interested to see what she has planned. I also enjoyed Ryodan and the unknown surrounding him-is he good or bad? I want to know!

What I didn't like: I couldn't get into the ice mystery, which was the core plot of the book. The inclusion of Mac's parents seemed a little ridiculous.

What I'm unsure about: Dani herself. Moning is such a skilled writer she really nails Dani as a 14-year old. However, who wants to read about 400+ pages of non-YA book from the perspective of a young, immature teenager? I'm still not sure if I like Dani or not. I'm hoping she matures a little in the next book. There were also several chapters written from the POV of Cat, who took over Rowena's position with the sidhe-seers. Her sections brought a sexual element to the book that definitely ensured it wasn't YA and they were somewhat repetitive. I may be over thinking it, but I'm thinking she could be a potential love interest for Christian (since he is a living lie detector test and she is an empath, seems like they could end up being a good match...depending on where Christian's character goes). 

I've wavered between giving this a 3 or 4, but I'm going with a 4 since I did read it in the car which is a historic moment for me. And even though I was annoyed with Dani at times and the ice mystery-I didn't put the book down. Obviously, any fan of the Fever series will need to read this one and although there are only a few mentions and sightings of Mac and Barrons, the next book promises to bring Mac and Dani together again in some form. 

Grade: 4/5