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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
I loved this book! So much better than Cassie's books. Dory is a badass and I love her. Of course I love Louis Cesare. I think that's why this is better than Cassie's books... Im not a fan of Mircea and I like the love interest in this book.
The action was pretty much non stop. I didn't want to stop listening to it. I cannot wait to start the next one tomorrow!
The action was pretty much non stop. I didn't want to stop listening to it. I cannot wait to start the next one tomorrow!
This book was lots of fun! But I recommend reading some if not all of the Cassie Palmer books before this!
I wasn't ready to be done with the Cassie Palmer series when I finished Hunt the Moon. Unfortunately, for right now, that's the last book in that series. So I decided to finally start the Dorina series so I'll be caught up for [b:Fury's Kiss|12114440|Fury's Kiss (Dorina Basarab, #3)|Karen Chance|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1335403194s/12114440.jpg|17083622] in October.
Dorina is the 500 year old dhampire daughter of Mircea. They have quite a strained relationship to say the leat considering dhampires are considered a disgrace in the vampire world and are usually killed before they get too old. They are also prone to berserk rages in times of high stress.
Mircea calls upon Dorina to help capture uncle Dracula who escaped from his prison and tends to have one thing on his mind, killing his family. Dorina is not happy about this assignment, but Mircea has agreed to use the Senate to help her look for her missing roomate / friend Claire. With no other option Dorina agrees, however, instead of capture Dracula again she intends to kill him. Aiding her in her task is Louis-Cesare. We saw Louis-Cesare in the first Cassie book, but he will be a permanent fixtured in this series I believe.
There's a part of me that liked Dorina's book better than Cassie's. First of all, I find that Cassie's books always start off running and there's very little down time. From the first page readers are thrown right in the middle of an ongoing conflict and then we have to back up a little to fgure out what's going on. Here Karen Chance starts off with a little background information before throwing us into the search for Dracula. Sometimes in the Cassie books the time-traveling can cause confusion (although this lessens the more you read into the books, when you get used to it). With Dorina, Karen Chance cleverly gives us stories from the past with a different kind of time travel, not physically, but in dreams. I think that makes it a little easier to comprehend right off the bat.
Karen Chance also does a great job with the building tension between Dorina and Louis-Cesare. There was a slow build from the beginning and while things between them certainly heat up, I think it'll be a couple of books before they are completely together.
I also really liked Mircea. In the Cassie Palmer books I don't mind him. I prefer Pritkin (but that's for other reviews). In Cassie's world he just seems so controlling and a little closed off to her at times because he's trying so hard to protect her. Here, we see him in a different light and while I don't know if it will change my perception of him in the other series, I certainly like his character here. He's a father. We don't look at him as a lover, here he's very paternal. They have a strained relationship, but subtly his actions speak that maybe their relationship has been distorted. That maybe it's not really how Dorina perceives it at all. I hope they can build upon their relationship in books to come and we can see him be more caring towards her and she to him.
Over all, is nothing else the Dorina series just expands upon the world created in the Cassie Palmer series. But it really can stand on its own. I look forward to reading [b:Death's Mistress|6203049|Death's Mistress (Dorina Basarab, #2)|Karen Chance|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1233794517s/6203049.jpg|6383596]. Until Then!
Dorina is the 500 year old dhampire daughter of Mircea. They have quite a strained relationship to say the leat considering dhampires are considered a disgrace in the vampire world and are usually killed before they get too old. They are also prone to berserk rages in times of high stress.
Mircea calls upon Dorina to help capture uncle Dracula who escaped from his prison and tends to have one thing on his mind, killing his family. Dorina is not happy about this assignment, but Mircea has agreed to use the Senate to help her look for her missing roomate / friend Claire. With no other option Dorina agrees, however, instead of capture Dracula again she intends to kill him. Aiding her in her task is Louis-Cesare. We saw Louis-Cesare in the first Cassie book, but he will be a permanent fixtured in this series I believe.
There's a part of me that liked Dorina's book better than Cassie's. First of all, I find that Cassie's books always start off running and there's very little down time. From the first page readers are thrown right in the middle of an ongoing conflict and then we have to back up a little to fgure out what's going on. Here Karen Chance starts off with a little background information before throwing us into the search for Dracula. Sometimes in the Cassie books the time-traveling can cause confusion (although this lessens the more you read into the books, when you get used to it). With Dorina, Karen Chance cleverly gives us stories from the past with a different kind of time travel, not physically, but in dreams. I think that makes it a little easier to comprehend right off the bat.
Karen Chance also does a great job with the building tension between Dorina and Louis-Cesare. There was a slow build from the beginning and while things between them certainly heat up, I think it'll be a couple of books before they are completely together.
I also really liked Mircea. In the Cassie Palmer books I don't mind him. I prefer Pritkin (but that's for other reviews). In Cassie's world he just seems so controlling and a little closed off to her at times because he's trying so hard to protect her. Here, we see him in a different light and while I don't know if it will change my perception of him in the other series, I certainly like his character here. He's a father. We don't look at him as a lover, here he's very paternal. They have a strained relationship, but subtly his actions speak that maybe their relationship has been distorted. That maybe it's not really how Dorina perceives it at all. I hope they can build upon their relationship in books to come and we can see him be more caring towards her and she to him.
Over all, is nothing else the Dorina series just expands upon the world created in the Cassie Palmer series. But it really can stand on its own. I look forward to reading [b:Death's Mistress|6203049|Death's Mistress (Dorina Basarab, #2)|Karen Chance|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1233794517s/6203049.jpg|6383596]. Until Then!
Lost interest about 1/4 of the way through. Sorry Karen Chance, you're just not my cup of tea, apparently.
It took me awhile to remember the universe (same as Karen Chance's other series about Pythia), but once I did, I remembered that I really liked it.
actual rating 4.5 stars
I absolutely LOVE this series - at the moment, this and Downside Ghosts are the only Urban Fantasy series that haven't disappointed me
Karen Chance introduces us to the peculiar life of Dorina Basarab, a Dhampir - daughter of the vampire Senator Mircea Basarab (of the Cassie Palmer series, which I haven't really read and, quite frankly, don't think they're my cup of tea).
Dorina's best friend and roommate, Claire, has a gift: her presence dampens others' magical abilities. Seeing as Dorina, as a dhampir, is prone to blackouts during which she experiences uncontrollable rages and awakes surrounded by carnage (reason as to why most dhampirs lead very short lives), Claire is a very handy friend to have, even if it weren't for the genuine friendship between her and Dory.
...That is, until Claire goes missing and word on the street is that she was taken by a vampire - evidence leads to Dory's uncle Dracula.
Dorina's father, Mircea, wants Dorina to recapture Dracula, and for that mission she has to team up with the Master Vampire Louis-Cesare, the only vampire Dorina's eccentric uncle Radu Basarab "made".
But the mission doesn't turn out to be as straightforward as they thought...
What has me absolutely obsessed with this series is Dorina's relationship with her father, Mircea.
Dorina's memories are fractured. She longs for her father's love and approval, and he, in turn, seems to yearn to bestow upon her all the tenderness of a loving father... but, as with most well written relationships, things are extremely complicated between them.
If you're looking for a well researched series, featuring POC in positions of power, LGBT characters with vital roles in the plot, fast paced action, a complete lack of sappiness, a hot dash of romance, and hilarious situations, then this is the series for you!
Very exciting book, fights, betrayals, fey, vampires you know, all the ingredients you need for a good urban fantasy book :)
I have book 4 for review and decided to go ahead and pick this up. I enjoyaaed it. It's urban fantasy with all of the magic and related creatures - vampires. dark and light fae, dhampirs, weres and experiments gone wrong. Dory is a dhampir that doesn't really fit in, doesn't really have any magical abilities. She has heightened senses and strength, but really her power seems to be to face death in various ways and survive the encounter. This story makes her look weak. She's immortal and ballsy. She has the magical/insane ability to survive that which should have killed her. This was fun, violent and had some steamy scenes. It kept me interested and I am curious about her next adventure. I wonder if it will be as chaotic as fighting Dracula.