{Review} "Iced" by Karen Marie Moning

Title:  Iced
Author: Karen Marie Moning
Publisher:  Delacorte Press
Publication Date: October 30, 2012
Genre: Paranormal Adult
Format:  Hardcover 512 pages  |  Kindle 2142 KB

Buy this book on Amazon:  Hardcover  |  Kindle Edition
Author's Website: http://www.karenmoning.com/kmm/
Author's Goodreads Profile:  Karen Marie Moning 

Synopsis from Goodreads: 

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.

Diving in...

I am not going to talk about the plot of this at all, I don't want to post any spoilers so I am just going to tell you what I think of the story overall.  Here is the trailer for the book.

I have to say right off the bat that Dani was not one of my favorite characters in the Fever series.  I found her to be very grating most of the time.  I know that not much time has passed but it does seem like she has grown up quite a bit.  Her whole speech pattern is very annoying to me still, but I know that underneath it is a bright girl that is completely capable of speaking intelligently.  I kind of think it's her way of hanging on to what little bit of childhood she still has.  She has had to more or less be a grown up for so long so I think it's how she expresses herself.

Ms. Moning can write a great story, there is no doubt about that.  I didn't think that I would like a series set in this world that didn't have Mac and Jericho as the main characters, but I was wrong.  It is totally possible for this part of the series to be every bit as good.  I should stress that although Dani is only 14, this is NOT a YA book.  This book is most definitely an adult read.  It has about the same content as the first Fever book did.

I was always a big fan of Christian in the Fever series and I was really anxious to see his story progress in this series.  I have to say that I love him even more now, even with all of his Unseelie Prince "gifts".  I know that Dani thinks he's kind of creepy, but I think as she gets older she will start to see him in a whole new light.  It's clear he feels connected to her and lucky for her, really, otherwise she would get into all kinds of trouble.  He watches out for her even though she doesn't really think she needs it.

I loved getting to know Ryodan better in this book.  He is really similar to Jericho, but honestly, I find him less severe.  Especially in his treatment of Dani.  It could be that it just seems less severe because she's still a child and he treats her as such.  Jericho treated Mac much the same way, but it seemed worse since she was an adult.

I know that Dani doesn't see it this way but I think Ryodan almost treats her like she's his child.  It's weird because sometimes he looks at her like he's attracted to her (or the woman he knows she will be someday), but deep down he really wants to protect her.  He knows that this will just piss her off so he tries to disguise it.  It's clear that he cares about her though.  I absolutely think he is capable of love just as Jericho was/is.

I hope that in the coming books we get to see more of Ryodan's men, especially Lor.  He is definitely my favorite and I think we were just getting to see his true character toward the end of the book.

Overall, I think that Dani feels like she doesn't get the respect that she deserves because people look at her and see a kid.  I think she will grow into this role pretty well over the course of her story.  Christian and Ryodan are right, though, she is going to be a hell of a woman when she is all grown up.

I really did like this story.  The Fever series is one of my all time favorite series to read over and over again.  I was not disappointed in this book at all.