Novella Reviews: A Family Affair & Shadowland

A Family Affair (Cassie Palmer #4.1) 

Karen Chance

Kindle Book

Both A Family Affair and it’s sequel short story, Shadowland are free on Karen Chances website – and before I catch up with Cassie Palmer and the going-ons in Las Vegas, I thought these would remind me of the world!

Both these stories are told from John Pritkins point of view. John was always one of the most intriguing characters in the series – a mage bodyguard to Cassie Palmer as the Pythia, the top clairvoyant in the world and part incubus, he has cast a long shadow over the series and it is good to see how much he has come to care for Cassie. In fact the torch he holds for Cassie is very sweet and gives some nice colour to the usually glowering figure.

In A Family Affair, John’s father promises to stop trying to kill Cassie if John will recapture an escaped demoness from hell...unfortunately his father may take advantage of John’s absence to get rid of Cassie in the meantime. This was a nice exploration of the demon realms and some of John’s past. However, the character that stands out the most is Cassanova – the combination of a vampire possessed by an succubus spirit is interesting but it’s Cassanova’s complete disregard for anyone by himself and his willing to say anything is great fun – think Cordelia from Buffy! Overall, this is a nice gift from Karen exploring part of ‘normal’ life for Cassie and John now.

Recommended for fans of Patricia Briggs and Ilona Andrews. 7 out of 10

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Shadowland (Cassie Palmer #4.2)

Karen Chance

Kindle Book

This is pretty much a direct sequel to A Family Affair. When one of the Pythia’s presents turns out to be a bomb, John Pritkins jumps into one of the demonlands in order for revenge. However, all is not what it seems back at Cassanova’s hotel in Vegas...

This is a much simpler story and as such is much more fun. The split again between action in Dante’s Hell on the strip and the actual Shadowlands is a nice contrast – and there is less difference between them than you would expect! John’s reaction to the bomb is so heart-felt and moving. Cassanova is as fun as before – definitely one of my favourite characters. However, my favourite part of the story is the ending – which manages to surprise John and leave a smile on your face!

Overall, these have both been good reminders of Cassie’s world and Karen Chance’s writing. It’s made me really excited to pick up Hunt the Moon, Cassie’s fifth book!

Recommended for fans of Ann Aguirre and Jacqueline Carey. 8 out of 10.

Guest Review: Touch The Dark

There are lots of books I read and loved before I started blogging that I can't review - at least not reading them for the first time! Luckily I have my very own guest reviewer, Sarah to review these types of books...

Touch The Dark

- Karen Chance

Publisher: UK - Penguin

Like any sensible girl, Cassie tries to avoid vampires. But when the bloodsucking Mafioso she escaped three years ago finds Cassie again with revenge in mind, she's forced to turn to the vampire Senate for protection.The undead senators won't help her for nothing, and Cassie finds herself working with one of their most powerful members, a dangerously seductive master vampire- and the price he demands may be more than Cassie is willing to pay.

Now, Mel was more than happy for me to review this book, as she read it long before her blogging days and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Touch the Dark stars Cassie, a clairvoyant fighting against the oppression of seemingly every supernatural (predominantly vampire) that she meets.  Her powers are growing, and with it other’s desire to own her, or kill her.

From the moment Cassie reads her own obituary at the beginning of the novel, through the vast amounts of running and fighting that follow, to a conclusion that is merely only a pause in the story, this is one hell of a thrill ride.  I love the fact that we - the reader - are as totally in the dark as Cassie is regarding literally everything that is going on around her, and have to stumble through the plot as she does, creating ideas, supposition and leaps of faith as she (and we) go.  This does, however, lead to us getting a lot of wordy explanations from other characters, and you REALLY need to be paying attention.  The few times I got distracted I’d be only a page further on, and have absolutely no idea what was happening! 

There is a large ensemble cast, but Karen Chance shows great skill in making sure they all get some, if not plenty, of characterization.  I was particularly intrigued by the ghost Billy Joe, who provided a lot of the humour, but without turning into a shallow, comedy character.  The novel also has a decent size dollop of erotica in, but to my surprise Karen Chance manages where plenty of other fantasy books have failed, and actually makes it sexy, without resorting to debauchery or baseness.

A cracking debut novel that has definitely encouraged me to read on in the series, hopefully without quite so much ‘infodump’ to keep Cassie (and the reader) informed.  One for those who like Carrie Vaughan’s Kitty, and Rachel Vincent’s Faythe Sander’s series, 8 out of 10.

Death's Mistress Review

Death’s Mistress (Dorina Basarab 2)

-          Karen Chance

Publisher: UK – Penguin

Dorina Basarab is a dhampir - half-human, half-vampire - and the only way she can stay sane is by unleashing her sometimes uncontrollable rage on demons and vampires that deserve killing. After the fortunate demise of her insane uncle Dracula, Dory is back home in Brooklyn, hoping that life will calm down for a while. But then two visitors arrive: her friend Claire, asking for Dory's help in finding a magical Fey relic, and the gorgeous master vampire Louis-Cesare, desperate to find his former mistress, a vampire named Christine. Dory and Louis-Cesare soon discover their problems may be connected: the same master vampire Christine is bound to is also rumored to be in possession of the relic. But they soon realize there's more at stake when Christine's master turns up dead. Someone is killing vampire Senate members, and if Dory and Louis-Cesare can't stop the murderer, they may be next . . .

The second Dory book, a spin-off series set in the same universe as Karen Chance’s Cassie Palmer series, continues to take the half vampire, half human off-spring of Vampire Senator, Mircea into the depths of vampire and fay politics. Dory rarely stops in this fast paced adventure as she rushes around trying to locate the missing fay rune, Louis-Cesare and how to save those closest to her. But it’s not just action – there’s plenty of character development with Dory’s relationships to the men in her life deepening. She learns more about her father and why he keeps his distance as well as drawing closer to Louis-Cesare.

I really enjoyed this book. As with the first Dory book, Midnight’s Daughter (reviewed here), there is a more linear plot than with the Cassie Palmer books which are more like chapters of a longer story. This means that there is a satisfying beginning, middle and end to the book which makes a nice change from many series which have so many ongoing plot points you start to think the author has no idea how to end it. There is action, there is romance, there is a mystery regarding who stole the rune that keeps you guessing pretty much until the last page. The pace just picks you up and carries along and it is a fun. I’m looking forward to more adventures with Dory and Louis-Cesare.

Recommended for fans of Cassie Palmer and Devon Monk. 9 out of 10.

Midnight's Daughter Review

Midnight’s Daughter (Dorina Basarab 1)

- Karen Chance

Puiblisher: UK – Penguin

Dorina Basarab is a dhampir, the daughter of a vampire and a human woman. Subject to uncontrollable rages, most dhampirs are born barking mad and live very short, very violent lives. So for five hundred years, Dory has been fighting to maintain her sanity by unleashing her homicidal tendencies on those demons and vampires who deserve killing. But now Dory’s vampire father has come back into her life. Her uncle Dracula, notorious even among vampires for his cruelty and murderous ways, has escaped from prison, and her father wants Dory to work with the gorgeous vampire dueling champion Louis-Cesare to put him back there. Vampires and dhampirs are mortal enemies, and Dory prefers to work alone. But Dracula is the only thing on earth that truly scares her, and when Dory has to go up against him, she’ll take all the help she can get...

I really enjoyed Karen Chance’s other series in the same world feature Cassandra Palmer so I was a little worried about starting this series in case it didn’t match up. I’m glad to say it did! As a heroine Dory certainly fits into the strong independent woman who kicks ass and has a dark past mould easily but brings something different. She has a history as long as any vampire and certainly doesn’t seem to spend any time weeping and moaning about it. She’s driven and cares about her friends – her search for her friend, Claire, wasn’t anything that was forgotten about despite Dracula’s escape. And her relationship with Benny’s wife was actually quite sweet.

The writing is as dense as the Cassandra Palmer series – not difficult to read but circumstance change so quickly, there’s no speed reading this book – but you wouldn’t want too. This Dory book was more linear than the Cassie books with a beginning, middle and end rather than just a series of events as part of wider story. There are a few cameos and staring roles from the Cassie books but nothing that feels too out of place. Lots of action and a slight hint of romance of Louis-Cesare keeps the pace throughout and I can’t wait to pick up the next book - Death’s Mistress, which luckily for me is sitting on my book case at the moment...

Recommended for fans of Cassie Palmer and Kelley Armstrong’s Otherworld series. 8.5 out of 10.