Review: The Alpha Alternative

The Alpha Alternative by Karen Marie Moning
Series: Fever (#1.5)
Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

Bonus sex scene from Barrons’ POV found on Karen Marie Moning’s website.

SPOILERS for Darkfever through Burned possible.

RANT commencing.

You’ve been warned.

Book 1: Darkfever

I just re-read this (online) here. It’s missing some stuff that I remember in the original (which I have on my computer at home and will check tonight). Specifically the very last paragraph from Barrons talking directly to KMM. But since this was made canon in Burned, I guess that last paragraph is pointless. Which makes me rage beyond all levels of rage.

Serious spoilers to come. Read no further if you haven’t at least read through Chapter 3 of Darkfever and/or read this scene.

 

 

 

Before I get into the issues I have with this being reality, let me just talk about the snippet’s worth without that baggage. This is supposed to be a ‘bonus sex scene from JZB’s POV.’ Well, it succeeds in one aspect. It’s in Barrons’ POV. Sex scene? Not so much. It’s a rehash of the conversation that Barrons and Mac have at the Clarin House, with loads of Barrons internalizing. Then there’s mention of an awesome 4 hours of sex, every-which-way you can imagine, but no details. Kind of boring, honestly. And then we’re done.

Meh. I was hoping for something a little closer to Book 4, Chapter 4…that maybe took place after Shadowfever. That would have been epic.

Okay, so now onto my issues about changing the story here to suit this “bonus” scene. First, in the original version, Barrons says to KMM something along the lines of ‘there. you got the sex scene you wanted. now you have to decide if it’s true or a lie. Words. You’re always wanting them.’ I chose to believe that it was something made up, because of a variety of reasons.

Supposedly all this stuff happens, then Barrons realizes that Mac wasn’t ready and will blame him, hate herself, and never accept it, so he ERASES HER MEMORY OF IT. WTF?! Seriously, what.the.fuck? Look, I know Barrons is a HUGE DOUCHE. He’s a fucking asshole. If I met him in real life I would kick him in the balls, knee him in the face and run away. Fast and far. However, he’s the asshole that I love in the books. This scene…he crossed a line. Before, he’d steered Mac where he thought she needed to go, he’d done things for her protection without her permission, he’d goaded, and tested, and trained her. He wasn’t particularly nice about it. But he never took her choices from her. She always, always, ALWAYS had the power of choice. Period. And this erased ALL OF THAT. Fuck that.

Problem Number 2: Details don’t match up. The conversation couldn’t even be kept the same. Seriously, KMM? You couldn’t go back to Darkfever and ensure that you had them saying the same words to each other in the same order? But that’s not the worst of it – the worst is that at the end of the scene in Darkfever, Mac is bruised from his arms around her ribs (and that’s all she speaks when she mentions her injuries), but at the end of The Alpha Alternative, she’s apparently bruised in other places because of how he grabs and holds onto her during their no-holds-barred sex marathon. *rolls eyes* That means it didn’t happen. There’s the fact that Barrons rips a button off her jeans (something I’m sure she’d notice in her limited wardrobe, but it’s never mentioned in Darkfever). Didn’t happen. There’s the fact that at the end of The Alpha Alternative, Mac is wrapped in a sheet when Barrons erases her memory and lets her remember only the conversation and threat….but in Darkfever she doesn’t mention (with alarm) suddenly being naked in his presence. Did.Not.Happen.

A fun scene that was Barrons fucking with us – I could have gotten behind that. A scene that was completely made up. Sold. But no, KMM wasn’t happy with that. She had to go and make it ‘real.’ Burned indicates that this actually happened and Mac gets back the memory at some point. It’s manufactured drama. What a load of bullshit.

That’s right, I’m calling bullshit.

Now, looking back, I think this is the beginning of the downhill slide that became Icedand Burned. KMM stopped writing the story that she had planned out, started writing bullshit for the fans, and everything got all fucked up. Once upon a time she said that the Fever series came to her in one long stream, complete and ready to be told. All she had to do was transcribe it. I believe it, because the first five books (Darkfever, Bloodfever, Faefever, Dreamfever, and Shadowfever) are masterful and there’s not a single contradiction in them. Then we get to this, to Iced, to Burned and it all goes out the fucking window. Nothing we knew is true anymore.

*throws book* Fuck this.

 

 

This is why I honestly choose to believe that The Alpha Alternative, Iced, and Burned are fan-fiction (written by the author, but still). I hope, with everything in me, that she manages to turn it around in Feverborn, though I’m not holding my breath.