Embrace the Night (Cassandra Palmer)

Embrace the Night has always felt like the kick off to the crazy plot and action within the rest of this series. There are some great reveals in this book, character and plot wise. I love it, I've always loved it, I will always love it. My favorite scene is when Cass steals some boots.

The first book in this series (Touch the Dark) was good but had problems with pacing - action interrupted by too much explanation - and lacked a little in terms of character development. But am I glad I kept with the series! #2 was terrific and Embraced by Night even better. Tons of action, terrific characters and an interesting and complicated plot. I especially like that Chance makes connections with historical and mythological figures. Even if she twists history, it's refreshing to have a book with vampires where someone exploits the fact that they've lived a long time and weaves their histories into the story. If you haven't read this series, definitely give it a try.

Courtesy of CK2S Kwips and Kritiques Cassie Palmer has only had a few weeks to get used to her new position as Pythia, chief clairvoyant of the world and as such, the "official" head of the supernatural society, a position she inherited against all her wishes. Cassie's latest is to track down the legendary Codex Merlini, a book of spells written by Merlin himself. She needs this book to find the only spell that can break the geis magically binding her to Mircea, (see Claimed by Shadow) one of the most ancient and powerful vampires around, brother to Vlad himself. If the geis isn't broken soon, Mircea will be driven insane and his second death will soon follow. Cassie must jump through time and space to find the Codex, break the geis and save Mircea's life. Her only ally is a former enemy, War Mage John Pritkin, who has many secrets of his own. As she continues her search for the Codex, she begins to discover there is a very good reason why it has been missing for so long. If the wrong beings get their hands on it, it could bring about the destruction of all mankind, human and supernatural. And what is the huge secret Pritkin will do just about anything to protect? I adore the Cassie Palmer series and I eagerly look forward to each new installment. Embrace the Night delivers more of the pulse pounding excitement that Karen Chance is becoming famous for. Keep in mind though, this is a series best read in order. Each book expands on the universe Chance has created, making many references to preceding books. While the stories do stand somewhat on their own, many of the delicate nuances to the story would be lost without knowledge of the earlier books. Action begins immediately on the first page and the drive to the conclusion is so fast paced you'll be out of breath just from reading about it. The beginning to end of the story's timeline is quite short, covering about a week or so of time but with Cassie's shifting through time and space makes it seem like more time passes. We also have the pleasure of seeing Cassie grow in strength and pride, coming into her own magically. She also continues to explore her abilities, uncovering new talents at the exact times she needs them most. Unfortunately, her control of same abilities is lagging far behind, which makes for some lively scenes. Fast paced adventures, physical attraction between characters that is positively electrifying, engaging characters, a whole passel of supernatural creatures from demons to fairies and everything in between, these are trademarks of Karen Chance's books. Embrace the Night more than meets the expectations of readers like me who have become fascinated with Cassie's story. I loved my most recent visit with Cassie, Pritkin, Mircea, and even Radella they warrior fairy. We have a very satisfying conclusion to the book though I sure hope we don't have to wait too long to visit again! © Kelley A. Hartsell, March 2008. All rights reserved.

Cassie is the Pythia who is in charge of the time line. She has had a geis placed on her that she has to break while contending with: the Vampire Council, the silver circle of mages, and the black mages. Lots of complex goings on with good action and characters. Some humor along the way, I particularly liked the fashion show for witches with the leopard bag slinking along beside the model. The erotic scenes are well motivated and much better written than recent LKH. The authors view of time fits well with The End of Time: The Next Revolution in Physics a theroretical physics book which requires only basic trig for math but which is conceptually difficult. Frankly this series needs to be read in order otherwise you wind up as confused as some reviewers. Start with Touch the Dark (Cassandra Palmer Series, Book 1) and then Claimed By Shadow (Cassandra Palmer Series, Book 2). They are particularly good reads.

Better than any other author in this genre, punchier, and with a lot of humour. Chance writes so well - sexy enough to steam, but the action is always there to stop it from turning into a schlock-fest. I hope this series goes another few volumes yet, because she's done a great job of character development for Cassie, Mircea and especially Pritkin - my favourite character. You do need to read all three volumes of this series, and in order, to understand the whole plot, but anyone can enjoy the sexier side of the story lines. If the author is reading this - get your pen out now please, and give me more Pritkin!!!! :)

The third entry in the Cassandra Palmer Series, Embrace the Night (Cassandra Palmer Series, Book 3), kept me enthralled until the last word. What an incredible adventure this book was - I was breathless throughout! First, let me say that the Cassandra Palmer series has been one of my favorite series since I read the first book. The author, Karen Chance, wrapped up a bunch of open storylines in this book, but left some big ones open as well for future books in the series. The book has wonderful character development and continuity from the first two books. The jumping back and forth in time didn't confuse me, but I suppose it could confuse some people. I love books with time travel in them, but sometimes I get irritated when authors ignore paradoxes. This book (and series) tackles time travel paradoxes head on and it was very believably handled. I didn't find any flaws with how the author handled the time travel and its consequent effects. There was a lot of character development for Cassie, Mircea, and Pritkin in this book. There is a lot of history explained for each individual which continued to help to flesh them out. I loved this book and can't wait for the next one in the series! In particular, I can't wait for more Pritkin - I adore his character! :)