Burned

Didn't work for me!

Listened/Read for Fun (Audible/Hardcover)
Overall Rating: 2.50
Story Rating: 2.50
Character Rating: 2.50

Audio Rating: 5.00 (not part of the overall rating)

Read at your own PERIL! I don't think it is spoilery but that might be because I thought it was a bit predictable, rehashing, and well not that much happened (other than Mac whining--in her head and while _______ <---bit spoilery)

First Thought when Finished: I don't even know where to start on how very disappointed I am with Burned by Karen Marie Moning.

I am going to have to write the review later when I have thought about it a bit. The rating might go up to a 3 but it probably won't.

Rating will not be going up! Still extremely disappointed. If this is the book she wanted to write, then good for her for doing her own thing. It didn't work for me but it wasn't written for me. Anytime I don't like a book, the author should not take it personally!

What you should know that impacted my view of the story:



1: I was a fan of Dani. I liked her fire, will to live, and ability to live with her choices. That character is no longer there. I am not saying how she is no longer there but let's just say that the change/disappearance was

a)too contrived
b)a cop-out
c)not the Dani I adore

2: I don't like Mac. I started out the series liking her but by Shadowfever she was one of the most annoying lead females in UF (to me). I read in an interview that KMM said this was a combo Mac/Dani story--that is BS. This is 90% Mac and it is a LOT of back peddling. It annoyed the heck out of me. Seriously the last quarter of the book drove me insane. Really???? Just UGH!

3: I did love the Nine! In fact, if the next book is going to be told from anyone's POV let's just make it theirs. We can have 1/4 of Lor being Lor. 1/4 of R & B just being themselves, and then 1/4 the rest of them (I would like to get to know them better). The last 1/4 can be spent on the gals if you insist unless of course it is all Mac whining about how she is 23 and can't live her normal fantasy life.

4: I did love Kat and Jo so more of them would not be bad at all. In fact, they are a heck of a lot more interesting now.

5: Nothing FECKING happened! This is my biggest complaint! 3/4 of the book nothing happened. Seriously I kept thinking--oh this is going to lead somewhere---hmmmm nope. The last 1/4 of the book stuff happened but it was pretty predictable. Even that end (she usually is the queen of cliffhangers), if she hadn't put that there--I wouldn't have thought that character was gone. (not saying which or how or anything--read it). This was very much filler. Filler that took years to write? Just felt let down!

Final Thought on the book: I really hope the next book is not such a mess. If it is, I might just skim for things that say Lor and read!

Really, the book was meant for fans that hated Dani and loved Mac. It was really for those that wanted Mac/Barrons to be back in the forefront. If you are those fans then you will freaking love it. If you are not, then well grab a glass of wine and read all the Lor parts! They were fantastic!

Audio Thoughts

Narrated By Phil Gigante, Natalie Ross , Length: 13 hrs and 9 mins


NAILED IT! Phil and Natalie just are a rocking team. They are a fantastic duo and can run the gambit of character voices. Just freaking ROCK STARS!

Please don't throw things at me---I just didn't like it

39 of 44 people found this review helpful

Where's Dani?

I loved Iced and couldn't wait for Burned to finally get released. I should have figured something was up when the release date was pushed by several agonizing months. As much as I love Mac, Barons and the entire Fever series I was really looking forward to hearing more from Dani - not Mac (or 6 other POVs). It was a huge let down not to get inside Dani's head again for this one. Even though I enjoyed the overall experience of listening to the book (thanks to Phil and Natalie) I could have left this one off the "must listen to" list. Mega disappointment.

21 of 24 people found this review helpful

Love/Hate relationship with this one

Would you consider the audio edition of Burned to be better than the print version?

Anything Phil Gigante narrates is better than the print version.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Burned?

Lor! Loooove that man! Hope to see more of him in the next books!

Have you listened to any of Phil Gigante and Natalie Ross ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Their narration is flawless.

Any additional comments?

Love the Fever Series! I thoroughly enjoyed this book! New characters, new POV’s, new dangers, new mysteries, new everything!
That being said, another blogger wrote “Burned was not a book she (KMM) wanted to write and you feel it on every single page.” While harsh, I have to agree. This was not KMM’s best work. I’ve read lots of stuff in the past 2-1/2 years saying that KMM is going through a hard time in her life with different personal issues. It definitely shows in her writing style in Burned. There’s just way too much of a “depressing” emotional feel to this book. Mac was portrayed as depressed and weak. Not the version of Mac that we were left with after the 5th (and what we thought was final) book.
In my opinion, where KMM messed up is that she listened way too much to the backlash of Iced and Dani’s age. You can absolutely tell that this version of Burned is not the original Burned that she had intended.
There are GREAT things in this book. (I especially love the scenes with Lor.) The book could’ve been fantastic, but it somehow failed. Over all, KMM let her personal life along with the bloggers backlashing over Iced negatively impact her writing Burned. I’m disappointed with this one. But KMM is an amazing author so I’m praying she will redeem herself.
I hope all the people that bitched about Iced (namely about Dani and her age) got what they were looking for. KMM was able to give you what you wanted, and in doing so disappointed many of her TRUE fans. There was absolutely nothing wrong with Iced to begin with.
I still and always will LOVE KMM and the Fever series. Forever a devoted fan!

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Disappointed

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I'd recommend it to anyone who is following the Fever series but not to anyone else.

Would you ever listen to anything by Karen Marie Moning again?

I'll come back for the next installment but I'm pretty sad about the mess that is Burned.

Have you listened to any of Phil Gigante and Natalie Ross ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Phil and Natalie are great. I'm always happy when they are the readers.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

NO

Any additional comments?

The reviewer who said that Burned was for all the Iced haters has it spot on. I was just SOOO disappointed in how this was handled. KMM is a much better writer than this and her plots are always solid and interesting - its a pity she felt compelled (I'm guessing) to write this story to appease the haters.
When I came to the end it felt like I was half way through an okay book that just suddenly stopped rather than ended. This was NOT a cliffhanger, just a sputter and die. KMM has made my head explode with her cliff hangers so I know she can do this.
I've listened to Iced four times since I got it a year ago. I'm not sure if I'll ever listen to Burned again.

23 of 27 people found this review helpful

This book was for all of the Iced haters

This novel was obviously for all of the ICED haters out there, so if you fall into that category, you’ll probably love BURNED. As for the rest of us, this installment was a tremendous letdown. Karen Marie Moning tried to right the wrongs of book 6 by reshaping several of the characters into more ‘acceptable’ versions of themselves, distracting readers from this story’s numerous plot holes with an outrageous amount of POVs, and taking the easy (predictable) road twist-wise instead of the one less traveled. It wasn’t awful, I still enjoyed the writing, narration, and being back in this world, but the FEVER edge is gone.

I kind of wish that I’d bypassed this audiobook altogether because it completely obliterated the Mac & Barrons of old. Some HEAs should NOT be revisited! Apparently sex has fried Miss Lane’s brain, and she’s now a halfwit unworthy of the nine’s respect more concerned with talking to herself than saving Dublin. Jericho ghosts through this novel, finally avenges his lover, but not really because he doesn’t unleash his beast for her. Their chemistry as a couple is dead, and instead in its wake we’re left with heaps of empty steam. And, the source of this installment’s title was just another log on the fire of LAME.

I don’t have nearly enough fingers to count how many POVs we cycled through. Something definitely needed to be done about Dani’s age in order for this series to continue on its current trajectory, however KMM’s solution was entirely too child-proof. As was her time-saving use of the Sinsar Dubh, and the supposed cliff hanger was a two-bit sneeze in comparison to those from previous books. Ryo underwent a major personality overhaul which so didn’t suit him, and I really wish that the author had built upon the new Unseelie arc. I liked learning more about the nine, Lor’s scenes were fantastic, and Jada showed promise, but they were just duct tape, not a permanent fix.

The narrators were the heart and soul of this audiobook. If I were to rate this listen based wholly on their performances, it would be a resounding five. Phil Gigante’s voice gave me shivers when JZB’s words fell flat, and I loved the subtle variations of his Scottish accents when he was reading the MacKeltars. Natalie Ross did a comparably awesome job of the female characters with her Irish fluctuations, and somehow managed to bring excitement to a story that would have otherwise been boring without her leading the charge. I also appreciated that both narrators gave an echo / cave-like quality to the internal dialogues, it made them easy to spot.

BURNED is an island that would have been better left unexplored in the FEVER realm.

41 of 49 people found this review helpful

Not so Mega! But should not be missed by fans.

As much as I love Mac and Barrons I felt like their story was done. I wanted more Dani with a side of Mac and Barrons. BURNED read like should have come after SHADOWFEVER, IMO. I guess we needed ICED so that we knew more about Dani and to make us care about her.

BURNED read like a filler of sorts. Way too much Mac (never thought I’d say that). I went into ICED wondering if I would like a story from Dani’s POV. I was surprise that I really enjoyed it and I think that’s because we got the Fever world but from other character’s POVs.
Rydon is no Barrons but after listening to BURNED I really like me and see that he is as complex (if not more) than Barrons.

The shockers…

There were a few sprinkled throughout BURNED but honesty they were all predictable, at least to me. Some included some answers to some mysteries in earlier books. Some brought up new questions while one was eye rolling (at least for this reader). In fact the shocker that I guess was supposed to be the biggest is the one I rolled my eyes at. Is the Fever series turning into a daytime soap opera? And that’s the one that kept me from giving BURNED 5 stars. And that cliffhanger was weak by Fever standards.

The 10th...

we've been seeing teasing on KMM's Facebook Page that there would be a 1oth. I had a guess who it would be. But while listening I changed my guess to someone else then I went back to my original guess. But the cliffhanger has me thinking that my two guesses were wrong. But who knows. I don't know enough about this third guess as a character so I'll just wait and see who the 10th is.

BURNED should not be missed by Fever fans. And YES you must read ICED (and all the others) before you read BURNED. It touches on old things from books 1-5 and ICED. Do not read BURNED without being caught up on the series! While I had some issues with BURNED I still enjoyed being back in the Fever world and I can’t wait for the next book.

If you’ve not experience the Fever series on audio you really should! It bring even more richness to Karen’s writing. Phil and Natalie do the Fever characters a great justice.

P.S. Lor was the best part IMO.

P.P.S. As many times as I’ve read/listen to this series BURNED is the first book I’ve reviewed. I plan on going back and reviewing the other books as I do a relisten to them this Fall in preparation for the October release. That is if that release date doesn’t get pushed back by two years.

13 of 15 people found this review helpful

Not a Dani book

I felt Mac and Baron's story was finished with the last Fever book, and "Iced' was to be a spin off series that would wrap around different characters (Dani, Riodan, Dancer, and Christian). I loved "Iced" and developed a big soft spot in my heart for Dani, that I never had in the Fever books. I was disappointed in this book, with the path chosen for Dani and the small part she played. Basically, this was a Mac book (which isn't a bad thing) in itself, but I felt it ruined "Iced", and the kid that stole the show.

12 of 14 people found this review helpful

Sort of Dissapointing

I LOOOOOVE this series and I loved ICED.
I was so excited about this book!

However, I feel like this one undid all the progress made in Iced without advancing the overall story at all.

I did enjoy the idea of Danny's split personality and her being raised specifically by Rowena to be a weapon, but I was really disappointed in the 5 lost years of her life. I loved the developing relationships between Danny, Ryoden and Dancer and this blows them all of the water.

It's not that i was unhappy to revisit Mac and Barrons, I adore them but I was so getting into the story of Danny.

I know she was getting some flack about how young Danny was and this is a way around that but I would have liked more time to get to know her before this time-jump happened.

In the end, i found myself feeling lie nothing really happened. This is the first time i've felt that way about one of KMM's books as she is an amazingly creative, passionate writer.

I'll totally read the next one though, because I'm sure it will be better.

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

Hmmmmm, what happen?

Any additional comments?

After listening to Iced, I kind of thought that KMM was moving pass Mac and onto Dani, but not the case in Burned. This book takes many different roads, it's a lot to take in with no real resolve on any one point. The story is just kind of scattered..... Still love the series but was a little disappointed in this book...

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

So-so

Took awhile to get going and Kinda felt like a filler book. I'd be ok with skipping this one and going straight on to the next.

7 of 8 people found this review helpful