Hello, my name is Victoria Miller, and I am a Moning Maniac. If you think this is a fanbase of tweens and teens, you're in the wrong place. While some teens do read the books, I wouldn't recommend allowing anyone under the age of 18 to do so due to adult content, eroticism, and all that other good stuff you get with an R rating on television and in the movies.

Based on the fact so many articles have been published in relation to Variety's announcement of Dreamworks purchasing the the rights to make feature films based on the five book series (which is one continuous story split into five parts, not a book with four sequels, FYI.) it seems as though the lack of knowledge in the non-book communities has caused a trend of misinformation. While it is an epic story, comparing the series to Harry Potter, Twilight, and The Hunger Games is unfair in that, while those young adult series are all great in their own right, and Harry Potter is, well, it's Harry Potter...., the Fever series is an adult urban fantasy that has little to do with any of the aforementioned teen franchises.

I am going to take this opportunity to enlighten those who are unfamiliar with the story without giving away too much. Probably my favorite thing about this series (aside from my infamous literary love affair with V'lane) is Karen Marie Moning's use of foreshadowing. The major things may or may not be obvious as you read it and think "oh yeah, back when ____happened...," but if you re-read the books you will find you knew something, or something was referenced, from the very beginning. Even from the prologue of the first book. So, avoiding spoiling the really good stuff, this is what you need to know:

The story is told through the eyes of MacKayla Lane. Raised in  the fictional town of Ashford, Georgia, Mac begins her story appearing to be a blond "Barbie" type who cares little for much outside of glamour, boys...and fast cars.  By the end of the last book we will find Mac has changed so much in so little time that you almost feel sad she had to mature so fast in the ways she was forced to do so (but don't worry, the character development is done VERY well)...if that made sense...my eyes just crossed re-reading that sentence. When her sister Alina is murdered in Ireland, Mac's only clue to what happened is left in a cell phone voice mail. Mac travels to Dublin to solve the murder herself (and seek revenge on Alina's killer) when the investigators close the case.

Upon her arrival, Mac runs into a enigmatic bookstore owner, Jericho Barrons, at  Barrons Books and Baubles. Not only does he have the information to help her locate (and learn about) the Sinsar Dubh, an evil book of dark magic created over a million years ago by the Unseelie King himself that is responsible for a slew of violent murders and suicides across Dublin, but Barrons also informs Mac that she is a Sidhe-seer; someone who can see through Fae glamour and, in Mac's case, have other extraordinary gifts.

Together they hunt for OOPs (Fae Objects of Power), which leads to Mac's possession of one of the only two weapons known to be able to kill the Fae: The Spear of Destiny. As Mac learns more about her heritage, upon learning she and her sister were adopted, Mac meets other Sidhe-seers, including  Dani (the ONLY teenage character in the books and is too feckin' awesome to be censored into a PG movie) who has superspeed and other enhanced senses, and often wields the other weapon: The Sword of Light. Together they kick so much Faery ass that they eventually lose count.
Mac is  not the only person who is seeking the Sinsar Dubh. Barrons wants it for his own reasons, but he isn't one to share secrets willingly. Then there is V'lane, sent, he says, by the Seelie Queen to use the book to restore the falling walls between the Fae and Human realms. He's lethally seductive, so much so that sex with him could turn a woman "Pri-ya" (someone so addicted to Fae sex that it becomes their only function) or could kill them from the pleasure of it. Then there is Darroc, the Lord Master. A former Fae (who's fall is witnessed in The Immortal Highlander, by Karen Marie Moning. Part of the Highlander romance series which introduced the Fae and preceded Charlaine Harris' introduction of fae into the Sookie Stackhouse (TrueBlood)  novels; I am looking at you those people about to compare those Fae to Karen's! Don't do it!) who seeks to free the Unseelie from their prison and make the Fae gods among the humans. Christian MacKeltar, part of a highland clan of Druids who seek to keep the walls from falling and forcing Fae and Human realms to collide. And the Sidhe-seers, who may have actually been the reason the book has gone missing in the first place.

Over the course of the books, Mac learns more about the history of the Tuatha De Danann, the beautiful, elitist Seelie and the abominations known as the Unseelie. She must battle the Shades: creatures of no physical form that dwell in true darkness and cannot enter the light. They instantly devour anything living, leaving only a dried up husk behind. Royal Hunters: Dragon-like creatures that look like the classic depiction of the devil, and were responsible for hunting and slaugtering the sidhe-seers before the compact between Man and Fae existed. The Gray Man, an Unseelie so ugly that he steals the beauty of others, leaving them either rotting away or dead when he is through. Malluce, born the son of a wealthy family and claiming to be a real life vampire, but appearances are often deceiving. (please note...Malluce is a very MINOR character with only a small pivotal role in two of the books)

Throughout her journey, Mac steals from Irish mobsters, is tortured and brutalized, lost within the Fae realms, has really, really epic sex, loses everything and more than she thought she had to lose, and may or may not be the key to saving the world from a slightly insane being seeking the ultimate power: the Sinsar Dubh.

And if that isn't enough to keep you glued to your chair while reading, there is always the mystery of Barrons and the eight others like him; what are they? How did they get that way? What is Barrons up to? What the hell does Ryodan look like anyway? What is V'lane or Darroc or the Sidhe-Seers really up to for that matter? Who is responsible for Alina's murder? What happens to Mac in her darkest hour? Who does Mac find herself responsible for killing? What the K'Vruck is a K'Vruck? What happens if she presses IYD (If You're Dying) on the phone Barrons gave her?And finally, just where is the elusive Unseelie King whose book is the cause of everything that is going on?

Want to find out? Catch the fever!

Book 1: Darkfever
Book 2: Bloodfever
Book 3: Faefever
Book 4: Dreamfever
Book 5: Shadowfever

visit karen's message boards at her website for in dept book discussions and more: http://www.karenmoning.com/

Like the fever series, don't miss the two official soundtracks
BloodRush and Shadowsong

and last but not least, please keep major spoilers out of the comments should you reply so those who have yet to read can enjoy the fun of finding out on their own. Thank you!