Review: Hunt the Moon by Karen Chance

Hunt the Moon (Cassie Palmer #5)

by Karen Chance

Urban Fantasy

Another day, another murder attempt, it is all getting rather old hat for Cassie Palmer the soon to be coronated Pythia. After killing Apollo she thought the crazy attempts on her life would be over but as Cassie says so succinctly in this book: Crazy is what we had for breakfast when we ran out of Corn Flakes. and this book further extends the whole mad-crazy status of her life.

Like all the others I really enjoyed this book, in fact I think it may be my favourite book so far, it had the fast paced action and completely gob smacking situations that Cassie some how finds herself in, but I thought it also had that little bit extra as well. We get a lot more insight in to Cassie's past and how that has effected her, which has given an already well drawn out and interesting character some more depth, but as well as this we get a nosey around the two men in Cassie's life pasts.

Mircea and Pritkin, I think everyone has their opnion on who they like the most (GO PRITKIN!) but how much to we really know about them? If you have read the Dory series you will probably know a bit more about Mircea, but in this book we get to have a look at the man behind the Master vampire, and WOW I almost swung to Team Mircea. Until of course Pritkin crashed in to the book and then I was firmly with him again, feeling only a little guilty over my wavering : D This book also has Pritkin revealing more of his mysterious and hellish past. This book also highlights the big differences between the two men. Mircea wants to protect and shield Cassie, frustratingly so at times, where as Pritkin pushes her to look after her self, and when I say push I mean that quite literally, in the first chapter he pushes her off a ledge of a mountain to see how she would react!

Also, did anyone realize Mircea had a foot fetish? How did I not know that!

This book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger and I now can't wait for the next installment as they just seem to be getting better and better.

Which Man do you prefer? Here are some quotes to help you decide!

Mircea

The white terry cloth had made his skin look darker than normal, a deep rich caramel, but I didn't miss it. Not with the fire painting intriguing shadows on a body that was already intriguing enough. It gilded his muscles, cast a very incongruous halo around that adrk head and licked at the smug smile hovering about his lips. He took longer undressing than strictly necessary, because he was a bastard and a tease and because he clearly had no problem with nudity. I kind of suspected that Mircea liked nudity. Of course, if I had a body like that, I probably would, too.

Pritkin

Pritkin was annoying, stubborn, secretive, impatient and rude. He had the tact od a Parris Island drill sergeant and the charm of a barbed wire fence. He regularly made me want to slap him and other people want to shoot him, and that was without even trying. I;d probably yelled at him moe than anybody else in my entire life, and I'd known him less then two months. And yet he was also loyal and honest and brave and weirdly kind.

And here's another one cos I know you are all ho's and like a bit of smut!

It was sensory overload, hearing the sounds he made deep in his throat, smelling that particular mix of sweat and gunpowder and magic that may as well have been his signature cologne, feeling the assault of that mouth, all wet, silken heat and fiery passion, nothing safe, nothing sane-
And then he gently bit down.
And oh dear God.

Come and check out our Fantasy Cast of each of the characters HERE!

Review: Curse the Dawn by Karen Chance

             

                                

Curse the Dawn (Cassie Palmer #4)

by Karen Chance

Urban Fantasy

Find it on Goodreads!

I think I need a lie down and a nice cup of tea! I have read the four Cassie Palmer books back to back and frankly I am exhausted just reading the damn things! Which, makes me extremely grateful that I am not Cassie, the world's cheif clairvoyant (if they would only listen to her!), who has to put up with a lot of crap, from over protective sort-of husbands to a vengeful god who wants to enslave mankind. It all seems a little over the top when you think about it, how can one 5'4" strawberry blonde keep getting herself out of such impossible situations with only a few scars and a massive headache to show for it, well I guess you will have to read the books and find out!

So this was a nother fast and furious week or so in Cassie Palmers life and it doesn't look that much different from the last month, attacked by war mages, check! A dozen near death experiences, check! Wreck Dantes, check! A few out of body experiences, check! Ratchet up the sexual tension between herself and Mircea and herself and Prirkin, double check! Like the other books this was pretty non-stop as Cassie tries to make her wau through the magical world and get others to ackonwledge she is Pythia whilst trying to stay from the vampire senates control.

What I liked about this book was that it told you more of the inner workings of the Silver Circle, which is the organization the mages are under, and it finally allows you to see a way that Cassie can make peace with them. As much as I do enjoy that action in this book, it is going to start bein pretty repeatative unless it gets shaken up a little. We also see more about Cassie's parents which I imagine will have a further role in future books.

Pritkin is an onion, he has many layers and each one makes your eyes water, in this we a little more of the man behind the crazy war mage, and WHAT A MAN! The bits between Cassie and Pritkin were some of my favourite in the book. Not that Mircea is a slouch, but although I like him he doesn't come off the page like Pritkin does.

So I am still trying to catch my breath after the last 4 books! But can't wait to dive in to Cassie's next adventure when I finally get my hands on the book!

Something really hilarious happens in this book, so to give you a clue, here is my favourite quote!

"What's the problem?"

"There's no toilet."

"This is an old house," Pritkin said, like that explained anything.

"And they didn't need to pee in the past?" I demanded.

He groaned and threw an arm over his face. "There's a WC down the hall."

"A what?" I asked, a little desparately.

"A water closet. It's in a separate room."

"Why? Why not put it in the-"

"Because a bathroom is where one goes to bathe, hence the name."

"That's bizzare."

"No, Miss Palmer," Pritkin said savagely. "It isn't. What is bizzare is that I currently have a vagina."

Reading on the Dark Side: Cassandra Palmer

CASSANDRA PALMER SERIES
by Karen Chance

Do you like your Urban Fantasy fast paced, adrenalin fueled and chock full of time paradoxes? Like your vampires on the seductively dark and dangerous side? Your mages to be violent and gun happy maniacs with a hint of drop dead gorgeous? Your Fey conniving and beautifully savage? Then step right up, I have found the right series for you. This is the world of Cassie Palmer, clairvoyant and ghost magnet extraordinaire, she has the knack for going from disaster to catastrophe with barely a breath in between.

Our Fantasy Cast

 

She may look like a ditzy blue eyed blonde, but Cassie along with her ghostly sidekick (not that he would call himself that) Billy Joe manages to scrape through all kinds of tight spots with just her wits, truck load of magic and a little vampiric asistance.

 

Cool, calm and urbane he may appear, but underneath that gorgeously polished package beats the heart, or not beats as the case may be, of a dangerous master vampire who will do anything to protect what is his and hunt what he desires.

Now for the hard choice, who will you pick the handsome Mircea or the dangerous and mysterious war mage Pritkin. Constantly armed with everything from guns, knives to grenades and to magical potions that can burn the flesh from your bones, his ruggedly handsome face and fiery temperament could very well capture your heart.


Our Reviews

• Touch the Dark # 1


• Claimed by Shadow #2


• Embrace The Night # 3


• Curse The Dawn # 4


• Hunt The Moon # 5

Free Short Story

• The Day of the Dead

Book Trailers

Touch the Dark

Claimed by Shadow

Embrace The Night

Curse The Dawn

Hunt The Moon

Review: Embrace the Night by Karen Chance

Embrace the Night (Cassie Palmer #3)

by Karen Chance

Urban Fantasy

Find it on Goodreads!

Cassie is still in a bind. The geis is driving Mircea mad, and if she doesn't find a way to get it removed soon he will die. Fortunately there is a spell that will remove the geis unfortunately it is in a ancient text that has long been lost, possibly destroyed and also contains a spell that could potentially destroy the world. But that isn't the only catastrophe that is on Cassie's rather long to-do list; she now is not only the enemy of the fae, the vampires and the mages, but also a demon lord desparate for a piece of her. And what exactly is it that the mysterious Pritkin hiding?

These books just keep getting better, if only I could award more stars, this book definately deserves it. So if you haven't started reading this series already, there here are three reasons to start:

1. The world, it is dangerous, unpredicatable, intricate, mages and vampires, faeries and demons they all fight it out making it a fascinating setting for the Cassie's adventures.

2. Cassie herself! She is one of my favourite heroines, tough and smart yet very sympathetic. Most the time she is dashing around frantically to solve problems, save the world and keep all her allies from killing eachother, and sometimes her!

3. THE HOT MEN! Now this series doesn't have that much sex in it in typical UF fashion. However, there is plenty of potential, intially you have Tomas the angsty master vampire, then you move on to bigger and better things in the form of Mircea the beautiful and dangerous member of the vampire senate, and my personal favourite Pritkin the deranged and aggressive war mage, who is waaay more then he seems!

No I haven't actually said that much in this review about this book itself, but what can I say that I haven't in the other reviews? The action is, as usual, fast paced and exciting as the plot lines in the previous books climax (hehe pun intended) and evolve and grow into more complex issues. The sexual tension between Cassie and Pritkin and Cassie and Mircea ups a notch and you learn some new and unexpected revalations about each character.

In conclusion I really enjoyed this book and the series in general and can not wait to get on to the next book!

Review: Claimed by Shadow by Karen Chance

Claimed by Shadow (Cassie Palmer #2)

By Karen Chance

Urban Fantasy

Find it on Goodreads!

Cassie Palmer just can't get a break. A week after the events in Touch the Dark and Cassie is on the run from both the vampire Senate and the mages Silver Circle, both either wanting to use her or kill her. But that isn't when where her problems end they just keep on piling up; Myra the crazy sybil and Pythia-wannabe is still trying to kill Cassie and has found a new way to do it, removing Mircea's protection by killing him; she can't trust her unlikely ally the tenacious and slightly crazy war mage Pritkin and then there is the geis, the part protection spell and part love/devotion/loyalty spell that seems to have seriously backfired.

Now that I have gotten used to this world and everything in it I have found that I enjoyed this book more then the first one. Like the first one Cassie bounces from life threatening situation to near death experience making this once again a fast paced and exciting read; you are never likely to get bored reading these books as so much is happening! In this book we enter Faery, travel to the 1880's three times, wreck a brothel and a casino, bust out of jail and fly away in a tatto parlour, just to mention a few of the interesting things that happen in this book!

I love reading from Cassie's POV, I know first person isn't most peoples favourite POV but I find I like seeing the action and discovering new things from Cassie's eyes. Once again she was a great character tough and practical but not that over-the-top-i-have-a-hidden-penis kind that some UF heroines can sometimes get, she also is compassionate and vulnrable in a world where she is almost always the weakest person in the room.

Then there is Pritkin and Mircea, I know she is going to pair up with one of these characters, but I can't decide which one I prefer, I think I sway slightly to the mysterious war mage Pritkin, but then Mircea shows his gorgeous face and all bets are off. I guess I will have to read on!

Here are a few words of wisdom about the laments of being a ghost from my favourite spook Billy Joe:

There was once a ghost named Billy
Who got in a jam rather silly,
He found a beautiful lass,
And quick made a pass,
Forgetting he only had mist for a willy.





Review: Touch the Dark by Karen Chance

Touch the Dark (Cassie Palmer #1)
by Karen Chance
Urban Fantasy
Find it on Goodreads!

WARNING! This book may leave you out of breath and dizzy due to non stop action and far too sexy vampires

Cassie Palmer has a problem. In fact Cassie has quite a few, a psycho mobster vampire who also happens to be her former guardian has found her after 3 years of being on the run; her clarvoiyant abilities seems to be getting more vivid and disturbing; her Billy Joe, her ghostly sidekick keeps disappearing at most inconvenient times and her former roommate isn't quite what he seems. But this is just the start for Cassie things have started to shift in the supernatural ability and it seems that several factions want a piece of her and she is never quite sure who to trust.

What I love about this series is that it grabs you as soon as you start reading and drags you straight into the action. There is almost no let up; hence the warning at the top of the review. Cassie is flung from one dire situation to another. This book also gives you alot of information all at once and on top of everything else going on it can make it an intense read.

The world the Karen Chance has created though is really interesting, full of vampires, weres and mages all kind of living in harmony. And once you have gotten past the intial information overload you can appriciate the complex world the Ms Chance has wrought. Another great thing about this book is the characters. It is told from first person POV and I know this can put some readers off, but I find that I quite like this in UF, especially if I like the person whose head I am inside, like I do with Cassie. Cassie was a great character, she wasn't your usual tough chick who makes pithy sarcastic comments as she kicks the crap out of people, instead she makes pithy sarcastic comments as she runs away or as she is being almost beaten by the enemy.

As for the sexy-dangerous vampires, there are a few to pick from, there is Mircea, brother to Dracula, the seemingly urbane and calm master vampire, so long as you don't piss him off; Louis Cesar (my personal fave) with the long auburn hair and the lethal fencing skills and Tomas hot, sexy and likes to ripe people hearts out with his bare hands. Choices, choices!

This is definitely a series I would recommend to those who love Urban Fantasy, it was funny, interesting and action packed and I can't wait to get to the next one.

Waiting on Wednesdays

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.  The pre-publication release we are eagerly anticipating this week is:

Hunt The Moon by Karen Chance
(Cassandra Palmer # 5)

Release Date: June 7, 2011

Cassandra Palmer recently defeated a god, which you'd think would buy a girl a little time off. But it doesn't work that way when your job description is Pythia-the world's chief clairvoyant. Cassie is busier than ever, trying to learn about her power, preparing for her upcoming coronation, and figuring out her relationship with the enigmatic sexy master vampire, Mircea.

But someone doesn't want Cassie to become Pythia, and is willing to go to any lengths to make sure the coronation ceremony never happens- including attacking her mother before Cassie is even born.

Click here to read two sample chapters from Hunt The Moon!

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