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krahey's review
3.0
**Warning: this text may contain spoilers** I waited for this for 2 years. I picked it up the day before it was released with so much excitement. I wanted it to pick up where it left off. I wanted more of a pritkin and Cassie store line. I wanted downtime. I want them to explore their relationship. This book was none of that. We got him for what 85 pages? I'm not understanding why this is getting dragged out. I want to move more down the timeline. I see another book is expected to come out in December. I hope it doesn't let me down.
alice2000's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars
My expectations were sky high for this after conclusion of last one. I was very satisfied with a couple of minor exceptions. Still the series I love and I cannot wait for the next one!
My expectations were sky high for this after conclusion of last one. I was very satisfied with a couple of minor exceptions. Still the series I love and I cannot wait for the next one!
amalinka's review
3.0
**THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MINOR SPOILERS**
Let’s start off by saying that I really am a fan of Karen Chance.
I am using that as my starting point because I tried to keep that in mind after reading the last hot mess of a book with Dory (who is absolutely one of my ALL TIME FAVOURITE CHARACTERS) and diving into this one. Not going to lie, I dived into this with trepidation for a couple of reasons: First off, the last book was a mess, way too many plot streams and things going on that were not cohesively tied together in a way that made sense no matter how you looked at it (see my review for more if you are interested) and 2nd: Cassie’s schtick of “I am still hopeless at being Pythia and trying to learn whine whine cry cry” gets old very fast for me. I like the Cassie Palmer books; I don’t like the character of Cassie Palmer all that much. The fact that I continue to read the series is a testament to Ms. Chance’s writing.
This book is all about the impending war and the many side battles that the Pythia is having to fight along with Cassie’s continued/developing relationship with Pitkin. It seems that the Pythia is having to fight as many battles on political fronts as she is on basic warfare fronts and it is starting to wear on her (as it would on anyone). She has a court that is tiny staffed with vampires that Mircea keeps recalling and a Senate holding war meetings without inviting her; she has covens that are only sort of helping her and acolytes trying to kill her. It is enough to keep anyone busy.
Herein lies the problem, too little is devoted in terms of fleshing out some of these issues and too much for others.
Far too much ink and pages are wasted on Jo. Just kill her already. That whole thing should have been over two books ago. Seriously. What a waste of time and space in a novel. Instead of wasting all of that time, ink and writing space on her, that could have been filled with Cassie slowly but surely learning her place and powers amongst the Pythia line up (as she has been traipsing through time and trying not to mess with everything), rescuing Pitkin, helping thwart the attack etc. Jo being alive was only necessary for a very tiny part of that and certainly not necessary to the extent that she was made out to be so important and all powerful. In the end she was brought down by….. another acolyte helping the Pythia. She was frankly a waste of the reader’s time in my opinion.
The other side of that spectrum is that far too little time is spent fleshing out the Vampire Senate’s dismissal of the Pythia and Pythian power even after she essentially saves their collective hides with Ares. Meetings are happening, war plans are being made, troops are massing, and the Pythia is being treated not only as a minor inconvenience but as a human pet instead of the massive power player she is. This is, of course, all her fault because Cassie Palmer at heart can be a whiny baby and hasn’t quite asserted herself though when she finally chooses to do so, it is with a bang not a whimper. The problem is that this scene needs to be fleshed out more. The vampires involved are only just meeting the Pythia and don’t understand the level of power she actually possesses. They aren’t going to fall in line as quickly as they do even with the Consul breathing down their necks.
The fact that there is this HUGE impending war happening and the mess in Hong Kong had everything to do with it and could potentially seriously destabilize everything was slotted in with less pages than you guessed it…… killing that twit Jo. It was utterly ridiculous.
There is a confrontation with the witches that is never resolved to satisfaction but it was literally blink and you will miss it so I am going to just leave that out because I can only write so many times that scenes needed to be fleshed out better.
I will still be reading the next in the series though.
This book is getting a 3 out of 5 because it did do a great job of making the last Dory book make a lot more sense and it introduced a few things that tied in a lot of concepts that were left hanging in prior books. It only gets a 3 because of the Jo thing and the scenes that needed fleshing out that just didn’t get the attention they deserved.
Let’s start off by saying that I really am a fan of Karen Chance.
I am using that as my starting point because I tried to keep that in mind after reading the last hot mess of a book with Dory (who is absolutely one of my ALL TIME FAVOURITE CHARACTERS) and diving into this one. Not going to lie, I dived into this with trepidation for a couple of reasons: First off, the last book was a mess, way too many plot streams and things going on that were not cohesively tied together in a way that made sense no matter how you looked at it (see my review for more if you are interested) and 2nd: Cassie’s schtick of “I am still hopeless at being Pythia and trying to learn whine whine cry cry” gets old very fast for me. I like the Cassie Palmer books; I don’t like the character of Cassie Palmer all that much. The fact that I continue to read the series is a testament to Ms. Chance’s writing.
This book is all about the impending war and the many side battles that the Pythia is having to fight along with Cassie’s continued/developing relationship with Pitkin. It seems that the Pythia is having to fight as many battles on political fronts as she is on basic warfare fronts and it is starting to wear on her (as it would on anyone). She has a court that is tiny staffed with vampires that Mircea keeps recalling and a Senate holding war meetings without inviting her; she has covens that are only sort of helping her and acolytes trying to kill her. It is enough to keep anyone busy.
Herein lies the problem, too little is devoted in terms of fleshing out some of these issues and too much for others.
Far too much ink and pages are wasted on Jo. Just kill her already. That whole thing should have been over two books ago. Seriously. What a waste of time and space in a novel. Instead of wasting all of that time, ink and writing space on her, that could have been filled with Cassie slowly but surely learning her place and powers amongst the Pythia line up (as she has been traipsing through time and trying not to mess with everything), rescuing Pitkin, helping thwart the attack etc. Jo being alive was only necessary for a very tiny part of that and certainly not necessary to the extent that she was made out to be so important and all powerful. In the end she was brought down by….. another acolyte helping the Pythia. She was frankly a waste of the reader’s time in my opinion.
The other side of that spectrum is that far too little time is spent fleshing out the Vampire Senate’s dismissal of the Pythia and Pythian power even after she essentially saves their collective hides with Ares. Meetings are happening, war plans are being made, troops are massing, and the Pythia is being treated not only as a minor inconvenience but as a human pet instead of the massive power player she is. This is, of course, all her fault because Cassie Palmer at heart can be a whiny baby and hasn’t quite asserted herself though when she finally chooses to do so, it is with a bang not a whimper. The problem is that this scene needs to be fleshed out more. The vampires involved are only just meeting the Pythia and don’t understand the level of power she actually possesses. They aren’t going to fall in line as quickly as they do even with the Consul breathing down their necks.
The fact that there is this HUGE impending war happening and the mess in Hong Kong had everything to do with it and could potentially seriously destabilize everything was slotted in with less pages than you guessed it…… killing that twit Jo. It was utterly ridiculous.
There is a confrontation with the witches that is never resolved to satisfaction but it was literally blink and you will miss it so I am going to just leave that out because I can only write so many times that scenes needed to be fleshed out better.
I will still be reading the next in the series though.
This book is getting a 3 out of 5 because it did do a great job of making the last Dory book make a lot more sense and it introduced a few things that tied in a lot of concepts that were left hanging in prior books. It only gets a 3 because of the Jo thing and the scenes that needed fleshing out that just didn’t get the attention they deserved.
bookloverr's review against another edition
4.0
Gah this book was so good. I’m sad that Cassie and Mircea are no more, but I’m happy about the stuff with pritkin (though I am low key curious about Caedemon). The only criticism I’d have is that this book felt like it ended so quickly and I felt like I barely had time for a breath because it was non-stop action. Also the Cassie-Dory scene was great and I’m glad Cassie sort of came into her power and into herself a bit more in this book, though she still has a lot to sort out. I’m annoyed that she didn’t seem to click that the perfume she put on smelt like power (lightning) later described. These books just need to learn to build and have crescendos rather than full-on action constantly. Also, Penguin are mad for dropping this great series.
redhairedashreads's review
3.0
This books is slower, in my opinion, than the rest of the series. This focuses heavily on the Pythia court and Cassie learning more about her power. Cassie has really grown since the first book and her interactions with her court really show this.
Cassie and Mircea still have unfinished business but it's done between them. FINALLY!!! Pritkin and Cassie are finally together but they still have a lot of stuff to work through. I am so glad they are finally together!
While I enjoyed this slower pace I did have some issues with this one. There was some confusing scenes in this book, mainly the scene with Pritkin, Cassie, and the demon council. It keep flashing from the demon council to later when Cassie was back home. This quickly became confusing for me, especially since I was listening to the audiobook and couldn't easily go back. I don’t understand why she wrote the scene like that when she could have just had two separate scenes and not confused people.
Overall, I enjoyed this book for it being the slower and more politics paced. This needed to happen for Cassie to have a successful court. I can't wait to see what will happen next for Cassie.
Cassie and Mircea still have unfinished business but it's done between them. FINALLY!!! Pritkin and Cassie are finally together but they still have a lot of stuff to work through. I am so glad they are finally together!
While I enjoyed this slower pace I did have some issues with this one. There was some confusing scenes in this book, mainly the scene with Pritkin, Cassie, and the demon council. It keep flashing from the demon council to later when Cassie was back home. This quickly became confusing for me, especially since I was listening to the audiobook and couldn't easily go back. I don’t understand why she wrote the scene like that when she could have just had two separate scenes and not confused people.
Overall, I enjoyed this book for it being the slower and more politics paced. This needed to happen for Cassie to have a successful court. I can't wait to see what will happen next for Cassie.
kjllueh's review against another edition
4.0
Love this series! Not as fast paced as previous books but good info to set up for next book!
alassea's review
3.0
As usual the entire 500 pages take place over only a few days, and for Cassie, these are honestly rather slow days. Which also makes for the feel of this title as more of an interim book. As usual I enjoyed learning more about the court and friends and love life and politics that are now part of Cassie's life, and to be honest it is good to see her start to come into her position more, I'm intrigued with how her court will look when she's like 2-3+ years into the position. Also, there's some decidedly good scenes with Pritkin that's been in the making for like ever, and yeah...
By the way, there's a LOT of recap about places, people, anything important from older books, which I both appreciate because my memory lapses, and dislike because it takes so much of the book. It's like... I haven't read [b:Siren's Song|41643418|Siren's Song|Karen Chance|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1535982982l/41643418._SY75_.jpg|64982273] yet, and now, I don't really have to (except of course I will).
I had a good time, and more importantly I don't feel like I've run a marathon at the end of it, which means I'm happy to go find another story in this universe.
By the way, there's a LOT of recap about places, people, anything important from older books, which I both appreciate because my memory lapses, and dislike because it takes so much of the book. It's like... I haven't read [b:Siren's Song|41643418|Siren's Song|Karen Chance|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1535982982l/41643418._SY75_.jpg|64982273] yet, and now, I don't really have to (except of course I will).
I had a good time, and more importantly I don't feel like I've run a marathon at the end of it, which means I'm happy to go find another story in this universe.
quirkycatsfatstacks's review
5.0
I received a copy of Brave the Tempest in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Brave the Tempest is the latest installment in the Cassie Palmer series, and man could I not be happier to have a copy of this book in my hands! I know some fans have only been reading one series or the other (Cassie or Dory), but there is some backstory that is very relevant in Dory’s series (and short stories) that you probably don’t want to miss out on! Plus they’re a blast, so there’s that.
This novel continues the battle that Cassie and her allies (not quite the accurate term, all things considered, but we’re going with it) have been prepping for and dealing with for years. And yes, it lived up to all of my hopes and expectations.
Cassie has had to put up with a lot over the past few months (though it’s hard to believe what has been years for us has only been months for her), and Brave the Tempest didn’t give her any breaks. She’s still learning how to be a Pythia, on top of dealing with multiple senates and courts, plus prepping for a battle to end all battles. One that they’ll hopefully win. And somehow Cassie has to get all of these different factions to work together in order to have any chance of having everybody survive it all.
The Cassie Palmer series (and the Dory series by extension) has been one of my favorite series for a long time now. And while we may be more than a dozen books in now, I still can’t get enough! So I may be just a tiny bit biased in this review. But only as biased as any fan would be.
Brave the Tempest had a lot of expectations riding on it, and yet it managed to meet all of them. I enjoyed every minute of this read, all of the lows and all of the highs. And everything in between.
This novel is a whopping 544 pages, but honestly? It blew by in no time. This series has always been an eventful one – with Cassie having to deal with problems left and right. And Brave the Tempest is no exception to that rule.
There was just SO much that happened here, I’m not even sure where to begin. Cassie was fantastic, as always. I adore her drive and determination. And honestly, I love that nothing Cassie does is ever easy – you’re always fully aware of the cost and ramifications of her actions.
The last few novels in this series have really upped the ante on the emotional level. Cassie has always had to deal with a lot – but suddenly the whole mess felt a lot more personal. And I’m happy to say that Brave the Tempest continued this trend. Though naturally the how and why has altered, thanks to the conclusion of Ride the Storm.
And boy, was this novel an emotional roller coaster. In a good way, I promise. Every battle and conflict that Cassie and her allies have been prepping for are looming on the horizon. And yet more and more keeps creeping up to complicate the matter. I don’t envy anyone in this situation.
The secondary characters in this novel are numerous. As they would have to be, given how many people Cassie has to work with. Yet, I feel like many of them had moments in this novel. Some more than others, naturally. But all of the important players were there. More than that though, it seemed like they’ve all had character growth along the way.
The personal moments in this novel were deeply moving. And I don’t just mean the romantic sort of personal moments. There were several heart to heart moments here, and I feel like they have been a long time coming. I’m happy that Karen Chance made time for them here. I think it was time.
I’ve said it before, but I’m saying it again here. I adore the political shenanigans in this series. The world is just so incredibly complex, with factions and senates all working towards their own goals and frequently getting in each other’s way. It’s so rich and intense. And it may sound odd to say this (being that I’m talking about fantasy creatures here) but it makes it all more believable. Because I don’t believe for a minute that all of these consuls and covens would work flawlessly together for fun.
Some of the politics in this novel quite literally had me squealing. There’s nothing I love more than a good political throwdown. Especially in the supernatural world. And I got exactly what I wanted here. And then some! I’ll skip the details, because they’re so much better first hand. But I will say that Brave the Tempest officially has one of my favorite scenes.
As for the resolution in Brave the Tempest? It’s something I think we’ve been needing for a while now. I know it’s something Cassie has needed. And yes, my statement there is a layered one, because I’m referring to several things that happened. But in my defense, a lot happened at once.
I’m a bit sad that the book is over – but on the bright side, I won’t have to wait long for the next novel! Shatter the Earth (Cassandra Palmer #10) is scheduled for a December release. And yes, I do mean of this year! I’m so excited!
Brave the Tempest is the latest installment in the Cassie Palmer series, and man could I not be happier to have a copy of this book in my hands! I know some fans have only been reading one series or the other (Cassie or Dory), but there is some backstory that is very relevant in Dory’s series (and short stories) that you probably don’t want to miss out on! Plus they’re a blast, so there’s that.
This novel continues the battle that Cassie and her allies (not quite the accurate term, all things considered, but we’re going with it) have been prepping for and dealing with for years. And yes, it lived up to all of my hopes and expectations.
Cassie has had to put up with a lot over the past few months (though it’s hard to believe what has been years for us has only been months for her), and Brave the Tempest didn’t give her any breaks. She’s still learning how to be a Pythia, on top of dealing with multiple senates and courts, plus prepping for a battle to end all battles. One that they’ll hopefully win. And somehow Cassie has to get all of these different factions to work together in order to have any chance of having everybody survive it all.
The Cassie Palmer series (and the Dory series by extension) has been one of my favorite series for a long time now. And while we may be more than a dozen books in now, I still can’t get enough! So I may be just a tiny bit biased in this review. But only as biased as any fan would be.
Brave the Tempest had a lot of expectations riding on it, and yet it managed to meet all of them. I enjoyed every minute of this read, all of the lows and all of the highs. And everything in between.
This novel is a whopping 544 pages, but honestly? It blew by in no time. This series has always been an eventful one – with Cassie having to deal with problems left and right. And Brave the Tempest is no exception to that rule.
There was just SO much that happened here, I’m not even sure where to begin. Cassie was fantastic, as always. I adore her drive and determination. And honestly, I love that nothing Cassie does is ever easy – you’re always fully aware of the cost and ramifications of her actions.
The last few novels in this series have really upped the ante on the emotional level. Cassie has always had to deal with a lot – but suddenly the whole mess felt a lot more personal. And I’m happy to say that Brave the Tempest continued this trend. Though naturally the how and why has altered, thanks to the conclusion of Ride the Storm.
And boy, was this novel an emotional roller coaster. In a good way, I promise. Every battle and conflict that Cassie and her allies have been prepping for are looming on the horizon. And yet more and more keeps creeping up to complicate the matter. I don’t envy anyone in this situation.
The secondary characters in this novel are numerous. As they would have to be, given how many people Cassie has to work with. Yet, I feel like many of them had moments in this novel. Some more than others, naturally. But all of the important players were there. More than that though, it seemed like they’ve all had character growth along the way.
The personal moments in this novel were deeply moving. And I don’t just mean the romantic sort of personal moments. There were several heart to heart moments here, and I feel like they have been a long time coming. I’m happy that Karen Chance made time for them here. I think it was time.
I’ve said it before, but I’m saying it again here. I adore the political shenanigans in this series. The world is just so incredibly complex, with factions and senates all working towards their own goals and frequently getting in each other’s way. It’s so rich and intense. And it may sound odd to say this (being that I’m talking about fantasy creatures here) but it makes it all more believable. Because I don’t believe for a minute that all of these consuls and covens would work flawlessly together for fun.
Some of the politics in this novel quite literally had me squealing. There’s nothing I love more than a good political throwdown. Especially in the supernatural world. And I got exactly what I wanted here. And then some! I’ll skip the details, because they’re so much better first hand. But I will say that Brave the Tempest officially has one of my favorite scenes.
As for the resolution in Brave the Tempest? It’s something I think we’ve been needing for a while now. I know it’s something Cassie has needed. And yes, my statement there is a layered one, because I’m referring to several things that happened. But in my defense, a lot happened at once.
I’m a bit sad that the book is over – but on the bright side, I won’t have to wait long for the next novel! Shatter the Earth (Cassandra Palmer #10) is scheduled for a December release. And yes, I do mean of this year! I’m so excited!