Scan barcode
theduchess93's review
5.0
Ah yes, attractive young woman who discovers she's going to inherit world-dominating power and her best friend is a ghost who lives in a necklace and also there's attractive vampires everywhere. Also Cleopatra and Jack the Ripper are there? Love it.
cplumma3's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
theemptybox's review
3.0
3.5 rounded down
First of all, VAMPIRE MAFIA. Combining two of my favorite tropes? Already a good start.
Second of all, the world building is wild and I loved every new detail. Though some of it felt like it dragged on for a little too long.
I found most of the characters a little flat for characterization, it didn't feel like any of them changed between when they were introduced to the end, with the exception of Thomas.
I really wished they would have expanded on the vampire mafia a lot more.
And I really could not relate to how she was upset with the body swapping into the male body. I, for one, would not be upset. But regardless, it felt like the book went off the rails once the time travel and body snatching got involved.
This was an accidental find but I might look into the rest of the series.
First of all, VAMPIRE MAFIA. Combining two of my favorite tropes? Already a good start.
Second of all, the world building is wild and I loved every new detail. Though some of it felt like it dragged on for a little too long.
I found most of the characters a little flat for characterization, it didn't feel like any of them changed between when they were introduced to the end, with the exception of Thomas.
I really wished they would have expanded on the vampire mafia a lot more.
And I really could not relate to how she was upset with the body swapping into the male body. I, for one, would not be upset. But regardless, it felt like the book went off the rails once the time travel and body snatching got involved.
This was an accidental find but I might look into the rest of the series.
dreizehn's review
3.0
Quite frankly, I find this book hard to review. I liked the premise and the characters, but I find myself left with mixed feelings about the novel. It is difficult for me to put a finger on what exactly about this book made me like it less than I should have.
I liked the protagonist, Cassie. As a clairvoyant essentially raised by a vampire mafia, she is an interesting character with an intriguing background and an fascinating set of abilities. So, it's not the main character that bothered me. The rest of the cast of characters includes a plethora of vampires, several of them representing famous faces in history such as Cleopatra, Jack the Ripper, Rasputin, and more. There are also ghosts (with whom Cassie communicates), and mages. They are pretty well-developed for the time spent with their characters and the lens through which Cassie sees them, so it's not that either.
There is action. Oh, there is action. I am nearly certain that this is my problem with the novel. Karen Chance doesn't give you the feeling that you are reading the first book in what will be a somewhat long series (I believe there are 5 books out now). When you start reading the novel, you hit the ground running, and never stop. Cassie is thrown through events and characters and situations at such a breakneck speed, neither she nor the reader really ever gets a chance to rest. As a result, it is sometimes hard to keep track of what is going on, which characters are currently involved, and how Cassie feels about it. There was just so much happening in this book. In a way, it felt like the last novel of a series. Not because events were resolved (because they largely were not), but because it felt like the author and the characters were in a hurry to get all of the events packed in before the end.
Despite the general feeling that you are reading a novel in the middle or end of the series, the ending seems very abrupt. I contribute this to the fact the the novel runs full-steam from page 1, thus any ending seems like a train running off a cliff. Since I liked the characters, the world, and the plot, and I want to see what happens next to Cassie, I will at least give the next book in the series a chance. Hopefully, Chance has provided a novel which feels more complete.
Keep a look out for my review of Claimed by Shadow to see my recommendations regarding this series!
I liked the protagonist, Cassie. As a clairvoyant essentially raised by a vampire mafia, she is an interesting character with an intriguing background and an fascinating set of abilities. So, it's not the main character that bothered me. The rest of the cast of characters includes a plethora of vampires, several of them representing famous faces in history such as Cleopatra, Jack the Ripper, Rasputin, and more. There are also ghosts (with whom Cassie communicates), and mages. They are pretty well-developed for the time spent with their characters and the lens through which Cassie sees them, so it's not that either.
There is action. Oh, there is action. I am nearly certain that this is my problem with the novel. Karen Chance doesn't give you the feeling that you are reading the first book in what will be a somewhat long series (I believe there are 5 books out now). When you start reading the novel, you hit the ground running, and never stop. Cassie is thrown through events and characters and situations at such a breakneck speed, neither she nor the reader really ever gets a chance to rest. As a result, it is sometimes hard to keep track of what is going on, which characters are currently involved, and how Cassie feels about it. There was just so much happening in this book. In a way, it felt like the last novel of a series. Not because events were resolved (because they largely were not), but because it felt like the author and the characters were in a hurry to get all of the events packed in before the end.
Despite the general feeling that you are reading a novel in the middle or end of the series, the ending seems very abrupt. I contribute this to the fact the the novel runs full-steam from page 1, thus any ending seems like a train running off a cliff. Since I liked the characters, the world, and the plot, and I want to see what happens next to Cassie, I will at least give the next book in the series a chance. Hopefully, Chance has provided a novel which feels more complete.
Keep a look out for my review of Claimed by Shadow to see my recommendations regarding this series!
cjgwilliams's review
2.0
Eh. This book was eh for me. I forced myself to keep reaching and actually skimmed a lot. I felt like I'd been dumped int he middle of a series. I actually checked to make sure this WAS the first book! I was not at all impressed with the famous historical figures turned into vampires. Also, it seemed as though every supernatural creature in mythology was thrown in together but with no rhyme or reason.
I didn't like Cassie. I felt nothing really for her and it seemed there was an "oh my life sucks" comment every other sentence. (I'm exaggerating but you get my drift.) Plus, there was hardly ANY explanation of what in the name of Methuselah was going on in the universe.
It got interesting in the last 50 pagers or so (and by that, I mean we got to the smut) and the actual interesting part of Cassie's powers but I don't think that's enough to get me to read the next book.
I didn't like Cassie. I felt nothing really for her and it seemed there was an "oh my life sucks" comment every other sentence. (I'm exaggerating but you get my drift.) Plus, there was hardly ANY explanation of what in the name of Methuselah was going on in the universe.
It got interesting in the last 50 pagers or so (and by that, I mean we got to the smut) and the actual interesting part of Cassie's powers but I don't think that's enough to get me to read the next book.
bonbonsandreveries's review
3.0
The Cassandra Palmer series is really interesting. Karen Chance does a wonderful job of combining paranormal with mystery and romance. Touch the Dark starts with the protagonist, Cassandra Palmer, nicknamed Cassie, living in hiding. She has been on the run for three years from her vampire “master,” Tony. He killed her parents and took her in as a clairvoyant when she was a little girl. Now, in her 20s, Cassie works as a tarot card reader at the same club as her roommate, Tomas. One night Tony’s men come to find her, and kill her. She manages to escape, thanks to a mysterious tattoo and Tomas. Cassie is now in the hands of the vampire Senate and Lord Mircea. All Cassie wants to do is be free-she doesn’t want to belong to Mircea, Tony, or the Senate. Simply running away isn’t going to help. Those who don’t want to control her, want her dead because she has inherited the powerful pythia’s power.
Touch the Dark is filled with time traveling, sexy men and vampires, and a lot of action scenes. Cassandra Palmer has one goal in mind-to get her father’s ghost from Tony and be free. Everything she does is to get that done. She doesn’t want power. She doesn’t want to be under the protection of Mircea and the vampires. By inheriting the pythia’s power, Cassie finds herself thrown back in time. This is mostly because Myra, the girl who was supposed to become the next pythia, has decided to mess with the timeline.
Lord Mircea, a very sexy vampire, has appointed himself as Cassandra’s protector. He knew where she was when she “ran away.” I’d love to believe that he loves Cassandra, but I’m not sure. His actions show that he does. But at the same time he’s a first class manipulator so I’m not sure. Same thing with Tomas, I think he has feelings for Cassandra, but at the same time, not too sure.
Karen Chance made sure the reader is never bored. There is so much going on that you feel like you ran a marathon by the end of the book. The only problem I had was that I felt thrown into the middle of everything. There were so many action scenes, I would have loved it if the story slowed down for bit. The time traveling scenes were a bit confusing, but still quite interesting to read. The series is quite interesting-mixing mages/magic, vampires, fey, and even historical figures into a series of books. I will definitely keep reading the series.
Warning: 18 yrs. and older.
Touch the Dark is filled with time traveling, sexy men and vampires, and a lot of action scenes. Cassandra Palmer has one goal in mind-to get her father’s ghost from Tony and be free. Everything she does is to get that done. She doesn’t want power. She doesn’t want to be under the protection of Mircea and the vampires. By inheriting the pythia’s power, Cassie finds herself thrown back in time. This is mostly because Myra, the girl who was supposed to become the next pythia, has decided to mess with the timeline.
Lord Mircea, a very sexy vampire, has appointed himself as Cassandra’s protector. He knew where she was when she “ran away.” I’d love to believe that he loves Cassandra, but I’m not sure. His actions show that he does. But at the same time he’s a first class manipulator so I’m not sure. Same thing with Tomas, I think he has feelings for Cassandra, but at the same time, not too sure.
Karen Chance made sure the reader is never bored. There is so much going on that you feel like you ran a marathon by the end of the book. The only problem I had was that I felt thrown into the middle of everything. There were so many action scenes, I would have loved it if the story slowed down for bit. The time traveling scenes were a bit confusing, but still quite interesting to read. The series is quite interesting-mixing mages/magic, vampires, fey, and even historical figures into a series of books. I will definitely keep reading the series.
Warning: 18 yrs. and older.
mamap's review
2.0
amazon keeps telling me i would like this series, but i don't like to buy a book without being sure there is no sex ... so i got it from the library .. .and yep - sex .. blech. very raw - and not everything has to be about nakedness.
treparker73's review
1.0
I tried so hard to get into this book, series. I did finish the book, but it was enough for me
mlcreads's review
3.0
This is the first book in the series so there is lots of setting up of storylines. There are lots of characters to keep track of and because they are vampires there are "family" lines to keep in order. Cassie is a strong female lead and she really stands up for herself even when maybe she should keep quiet. Lots of action. A great read.