Reap the Wind (Cassie Palmer)

I LOVE this series, but c'mon Cassie & Pteitkin need to get together already! There's also too much time between books! I'm just impatient. You can't rush perfection & Karen Chance is a great storyteller!

The Cassie Palmer books is my favorite series. This books is written very similar to the other books in the series, lots of details and action. When I read these books, I always read it twice, once to see what happens and once pay attention to the dialog.

Pro:
Well Developed Character
Excellent World Building

Con:
Hard to follow action scene
Go, Stop, Go, Stop Pacing

The author has a 1 book a year pace, so I figure it will be about a year till the next book. Now we wait. Sigh....

As usual a Cassie Palmer story to look forward to! Some of the scenes where Cassie discuss politcs are a bit to long for my taste,but all in all a good buy. Looking forward to the next in the series!

Karen Chance always delivers an action packed adventure and this book is no exception!! She keeps us in love with Cassie Palmer and all her struggles!!! Fantastic series! I loved this latest installment of the story!!!

This is the first Cassie Palmer book where I finally see growth in the character, such a shame it its also the 2nd to the last. I'm a big Priktin fan so I'm glad you see her with him, not to happy with Mircea though. This is a shame because originally I was routing for him he was the bad guy you thought you could change but after the last 2 books its started to hit me that he doesn't really see her for what she's worth and this book I think she's noticed too. Nothing is truly solved and it is a bit of a cliffhanger but I learned a lot so I don't mind too much about the way it ended. It wasn't a filler book in the series that some authors use to get sales but needed and you may be able to skip it but some things won't make since. Marco is becoming one of my favorite vampires and most reasonable he's like an uncle to her and looks out for her no matter the consequences. Thanks to Jonas I seriously think the Pythia court should separate from the circle and be in control of themselves. Use there girls who grow up to be gaurds and take care of themselves. The simple fact that this book made me change my opinion on charcters because there true colors are beginning to show and I am able to be upset with some and smile with others lets me know that this was a great book.

All those pages, and NOTHING is revealed. Cassie is plunged from one disaster to another - each one highly disappointing because no new information results from the pages and pages of descriptions of battles and bad guys and chases, and Cassie comes out every time having failed in her mission, dirty, exhausted, injured, and coming out of a coma. She never seems to learn from her mistakes, won't accept any help, and is generally stupid. Will all be revealed in the next book? Perhaps, but I've wasted enough time on this series.

If you've never read the Cassandra Palmer series then you have no idea how fast and action packed a story can be. You jump in on page one and you don't come up for air till the end! And we are talking 500 pages. Reap the Wind picks up right where Tempt the Stars left off. Cassie is trying to follow Pritkin's soul back in time before he is lost forever. Unfortunately, that means working with Pritkin's father, and Demon Lord, Rosier.

I adore this series. The break-neck speed of the story, Cassie's snarky personality and how the hits keep coming and she keeps going. Cassie is supposed to be the one that the vampires, witches, mages, acolytes and demons come to for advice, but they have all been fighting to control her and her time traveling powers for political gain. You would think a girl could get some respect after defeating a god, but no. Now there is a world ending threat from faerie and the only way to win is for everyone to work together.

Reap the Wind introduces us to faerie and the history of its people and why they are at war. Mircea is in the story but not as much as his fans would probably like, but hell is getting ready to rain down on that part of Cassie's life because someone from Mircea's past wants him back. If you've read Masks then you know who. We get to see Pritkin before his curse, and boy was he a different back then...happy even. The more I see of Cassie's bodyguard Marco, the more I love him. He's got her back at times when no one else does.

It takes dedication to love this series because there is a two year wait for each book! I know, right?! But you understand once you consider the complexity of the story. Lucky for us the next book shouldn't take as long. Fingers crossed! You can grab a book from anywhere in the series and enjoy, but you will kick yourself for not starting at the beginning. And just a side-note: Cassie becomes the Pythia in book one, by the end of book seven, only four months have passed...like I said, packed with action.

Some of my favorite quotes (the story is told from Cassie's POV)

I came around what I guessed was a while later, since the sun was now shining in my eyes. It was intermittent, though, like it was flirting with a bunch of clouds. I finally realized that it wasn't clouds but ancient demon ass, and I wasn't flirting with it so much as rhythmically smashing into it. It seemed that Rosier had decided to act like his son for once, too, and had thrown me over his shoulder.
~~~~~~
I did see the giant pincer that plowed into the ground a second later, though, throwing up a great welt of sand. And Casanova, the usually suave and impeccably dressed casino manager, running past wearing a loincloth and an expression that went beyond panic, left fear in the dust, and was well into full-on heart attack territory. Only he was a vampire, and his heart didn't attack.
~~~~~~
Pritkin mouthed something I couldn't hear, and I suddenly realized that he didn't understand modern packaging. And I had one hand and no nails and damn child-resistant packaging; I always knew they were going to kill me someday. And it looked like that was today.
Because when I glanced up, there was nothing in front of us but wind and mist and a whole lot of air.
~~~~~~
...I might not be a great fighter, but I was a pro at running away. I could teach classes on running away.

5 "shifting" Sheep

Seventh in the Cassandra Palmer urban fantasy series and revolving around Cassie, the unwanted Pythia with a common touch.

My Take
It's a pivotal story in Cassie's life, as she finally has a moment to realize what the vampires and the Circle are doing, their lack of respect for her, their belief in her, all the controlling they're trying to do. The Silver Circle and Jonas and the Senate and Mircea won't know what hit 'em. Each wants Cassie to do their bidding, claiming it's for the good of "all". I can't really blame the Senate, as the Silver Circle expect her to do their bidding just as previous Pythias have done.

Can you believe the Silver Circle is furious with Cassie for rescuing her court? WTF? It certainly has done a lot of good for Cassie's rep among a number of other groups, so it should be fun to watch the interactions change.

It's a tricky path Cassie weaves, as she can't tell Pritkin about the future, AND she has to make sure that certain artifacts remain where they are, so they're ready to use in the future. For, well, you know, saving the world, etc.

It is rather funny with the young Pythian initiates from the London court being put up in a single hotel room, lol. It doesn't make Marco feel all that good though, since Cassie is always running off on some quest. Makes that bodyguarding very difficult and Marco has to answer to Mircea.

That Rhea! Ooh, she may feel that she's not worth much, but she steps up to protect her Pythia. Whoaaa… And she's absolutely right. That Jonas would have let them all die!! Rhea has a lot of back history about the Pythias to tell Cassie as well as information about her power. And Jonas keeps digging himself in deeper: not protecting the Pythian court, kidnapping Cassie, trying, that is.

Talk about adventures!! First there's the hilarity of Cassie time traveling with Rosier; the escape and boat chase by the fey, which turned into a party with a fey group; prison breaks; YOUNGer Pritkin's tricks — he is a hoot. He's carefree and laughs, which only makes Cassie incredibly sad that he's lost this.

There is a lot of back history on Pritkin.
"They didn't know that the curses were being fired at birds; they assumed they were being fired at them. And being war mages, they naturally didn't stop to find out why."
A few more good ones are Cassie wanting to make the girls' lives brighter. That crack Marlowe makes when Mircea and Cassie have their confrontation about who's in whose head cracked me up: "I'm starting to wish I had popcorn" and more, lol. And Rico. I like the sound of Rico. He does dishes, likes guns, hates rules. The troll dancing was fun, lol.

It's a hectic pace Chance sets for Cassie; you'll be exhausted by the time you finish reading Reap the Wind.

The Story
Those bloody Silver Circle guards were useless, and yet Jonas protests against Cassie relying upon anyone but them. But Jonas is learning that Cassie isn't so easy to push around.

Too bad the betraying Initiates can't be pushed around, as they have plans to bring back the gods.

The Characters
Cassandra "Cassie" Palmer, a Fey Friend, used to be a down-on-her-luck clairvoyant and ghost magnet, until the power chose her. Now she's Pythia who has learned she's also a demi-god, because of Mom, Elizabeth O'Donnell, a.k.a., Artemis. Roger Palmer, Cassie's father, had been a necromancer and a member of the infamous Black Circle. Billy Joe is Cassie's ghost "assistant".

Marco, a giant vampire, is her chief bodyguard. Fred is very handy to have around the house, er, hotel room and had been an accountant. The perpetually cool Rico is one of Mircea's first-level masters. Teddy works the safe; Roy is in love with Southern cooking; and, Jules is the bodyguard Cassie saved a few days ago.

John Pritkin, his demon name is Emrys, is a war mage and half-human, half-incubus; in his distant past, he'd been known as Merlin. His father, Rosier, is Lord of all Incubi. Caleb is a war mage friend of Pritkin's.

The Pythia's Court is…
…divided into two camps: Those who want Cassie and five who don't. Those who do want Cassie include Rhea who has visions of the future and Phoebe who is a very young Initiate.

The betraying five include Victoria Roupell (the redhead); the now-dead Myra was the unexpected heir (and Apollo's stooge); Elizabeth Warrender (the blonde); Amelie de Vielles (the long-haired brunette); Johanna Zirimis; and, Sara Darzi, the one Cassie threw out the window.

Agnes Wetherby, a.k.a., Lady Phemonoe, was the previous Pythia and originally from Pittsburgh. Mage Elias Royston was a guard on the London house. Various Pythias show up while Cassie is time-traveling: 1794 Lydia from Amsterdam, Cherries, and Gertie of London from the 1840s who designed the current styles for Pythian initiates. Themistoclea I was the tutor of Pythagoras, Lady Phemonoe I invented hexameter verse, Perialla VI discovered the ley line system, Xenoclea I ordered Hercules to be sold into slavery for a year, and Aristonice IX brokered the treaty between vampires and the Circle that holds today.

The Silver Circle is…
…the world's chief magical authority. Jonas Marsden is the head, the Lord Protector, and technically Cassie's colleague. If only… Saunders was the previous head who was deposed.

Dante's in Las Vegas…
…is a casino that Casanova, an incubus possessing a vampire and cheaper than Scrooge, manages. Cassie is living there these days. Rian is a succubus and Casanova's girlfriend. David is one of the front desk guys. Augustine is the designer of magical clothes. Françoise is a witch who works for Augustine. Tamika "Tami" Hodges, a.k.a., Vixen Vigilante, is an old friend and magical null who helped Cassie out in the past.

The Vampire Senate
Mircea Basarab is her vampire husband, per vampire law, and Dracula's older brother. Horatiu is Mircea's oldest servant and had been Mircea's tutor. Kit Marlowe is the chief spy. Tony was the mob boss vampire who raised Cassie, using and abusing her. Rafe had been Tony's resident artist. Lawrence is a servant at the consul's house. Louis-Cesare shows up.

The three main factions of fey include…
…the Green, the Dark, and the Blue. The Green Alorestri, the Water Lords, are the ones who usually come to earth. The Svarestri are Dark and worship the Æsir gods of battle. The Blarestri are Blue and worship Vanir, the gods of nature; the Staff of the Winds is a weapon that belongs to the Sky King. The forest-dwelling trolls look like Wookies.

Shadowland is…
…a minor demon realm that serves as a gateway to the various Hell worlds as well as neutral ground for the demon council. Adramelech "Adra" is head of the demon council, and the one who cursed Pritkin ( Tempt the Stars , 6).

The Tears of Apollo are a tincture that Pythias drink to boost up their power levels. The Circle's "education centers" are prisons for people with power whom the Circle doesn't like. The Spartoi were Apollo's hunters. Seiðer is a "snare" in which the gods would establish a link with someone and then "hang up the phone" leaving that person forever in a dream world. The Push is a method used to turn a vampire into a master within a few days.

The Cover and Title
The cover is a mélange of deep and bright reds in the massing storm clouds shooting out lightning over the city while Cassie's black-clad body overlooks the city, but her head, blonde hair flying in the breeze, is turned toward us. She seems to be asking if we can see what's happening.

I have no idea where the title comes from. My guess is that Reap the Wind refers to Cassie using the power of the Tears for her wild ride through time and troubles.

Literally just finished reading this book and had to write a review! I read the first two reviews before buying and was a little worried about the discontent of some longtime readers. I have to say that yes, there has been an ongoing will they or wont they and with who between Pritkin, Mircea , and Cassie; IT DOES NOT AFFECT HOW GOOD THIS BOOK IS! The pace and action were nonstop, I did find myself exhausted on behalf of Cassie a few times during this book. I was sold though, I didn't feel cheated. This book is a whirlwind and it is a literary example of how insane a Pythia's life would be in an actual time of immanent war. I would probably recommend a new reader of this series to go back a few books because yes, big on action not a huge amount of character development, but there are realizations to be read and relationship intricacies to be exposed. Really this is 514 pages of good reading, and if you want a story to go a certain way I guess you can write your own book, I love seeing a character who is centuries old in different times of his life, I loved the new knowledge that Cassie is getting, the new people that are now loyal only to her (hopefully) and I like seeing her grasp the reality of her new role in life and see her starting to be proactive while at the same (some times same exact time) having to react to every crazy thing that happens to her every minute and sometimes two or three times in the same minute. Karen Chance managed to meet and exceed my expectations with this book while some of my other favorite authors have been dropping the ball. PLUS Ride the Storm by Karen Chance in April 2016..perfect!

While I agree with other reviewers that this book isn't quite up to par to Karen Chance's other Cassie Palmer books, I still thought it was wonderful and far better than so many other urban fantasies.

The story that we're all anxious to see resolved isn't, which killed me a little, since the publication date for the next book has been pushed back. But I get it! This story is a HUGE plot point for the series. Where do you go after it's all figured out?

In the long run, I'm not hugely disappointed by the lack of progress in the story. I'm just psyched for the next one, and hope that Chance has ideas to keep this series going for many, many more books.

Finally, another adrenaline filled roller coaster ride with Cassie Palmer. Stubborn but resourceful Cassie is always getting into trouble and leading us down the rabbit hole.

Reap the Wind has Cassie all over the place- Earth, SHadowlands, Faerie...past and present pushing boundaries and testing her powers.

Some questions are answered but then we get a lot more...so much happens in this book. Wow.

And Cassie encounters Dory...again, but from Cassie's point of view.

Team Mircea or Pritkin...neither, both...I'm not sure fans of either combo will be satisfied as nothing has been sealed for either guy. We learn more but also get more questions. That's OK for me, keep this series going.

I love that Chance doesn't follow formula, she keeps the twists and turns coming while making us want more. I like that in a story, I don't want to see the endas soon as I start reading the beginning. Surprise me, make me flip those pages. Chance does exactly that, you never know where her stories will go...and I love that.

Fantastic book! Cassie and Pritkin the dynamic duo. Fascinating to see Pritkin before the trauma in his life and who he was. Ms Chance does a great job pointing out through Cassie's eyes how he is different and what aspects are the same and core to him as a person. I was exhausted after reading this book because it is non-stop action. Cassie is a powerhouse of action and entertainment. In this book you can really see how she has grown as an individual and she does some great introspection on who she was and who she is now. She makes some important decision about her role and life as Pythia, the court, how it interacts with the other supernatural groups, as well as her relationships. I was hoping this book would resolve the many issues with Pritkin, but not quite and not in the ways you might think. Now I'll be nail biting again waiting for the next in the series

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy

As I've come to expect from this series there is no time for breathe in REAP THE WIND. Everything that could go wrong for Cassie goes wrong that I just want the girl to get a break eventually. Cassie is continuing to learn about her powers and what she can do along with trying to stop the end of the world and saving her mentor Pritkin. All in a day's work for your typical Pythia. There is a ton going on in this book and at times it does feel a tad overwhelming considering the sheer amount of time travel happening. I guess feeling like that is a great way to get an understanding of how Cassie must feel.

I always admire Cassie's work ethic and ability to just keep going in this series. I would have quit a long time ago and just go find someplace quiet to be for a very long time. Cassie does have help from a large cast of secondary characters and this cast expands a touch in this book. Cassie goes back in time and meets up with 'past' Pritkin (he counts as a new-ish character!) and meets some new people including new acolytes and some angry past Pythias. I liked seeing the old Pythias and seeing how they use their powers and I also enjoyed learning a bit more about Pythia acolytes and how they lived and about their duties to the Pythia.

While I did enjoy REAP THE WIND and Cassie's at times hilarious time traveling hijinks I felt like the book was stalling. There always seems to be a small fraction of forward momentum in the overall plot and Cassie's learning curve always moves forward a touch but mostly it feels like treading water as the series goes on. I really do love the story and will read the next book but I just want more forward momentum and less cliffhangers.

Will Cassie Palmer, the Pythia and chief seer of the supernatural world, be able to travel through time to save the soul of John Pritkin, the half-incubus war mage?

Wrong question.

Readers of Karen Chance’s urban fantasy series were left with something of a cliffhanger in the last two books of the series, Hunt the Moon and Tempt the Stars, wondering what would happen to John Pritkin, one of the series’ main characters.

You could be forgiven, by the way, for not thinking him a main character at the start of the series, because in the first book, Touch the Dark, Pritkin appears to be simply a prop who exists only to allow Cassandra Palmer, the series’ heroine, to explain a lot of backstory to the reader and do some quick worldbuilding. Chance could be forgiven for needing a foil; her world is richly complex, full of historical characters (she has a PhD in history, and most of her vampires are famous characters from history, from Cleopatra to Dracula) and supernatural creatures (vampires, war mages, ghosts, and dozens if not hundreds of varieties of demons and Fae) and shifting political alliances (my brain hurts) and mind-bending changes to the historical timeline as a result of Cassie’s time travel (my brain hurts more) and complex rules about magic and vampirism.

But Chance doesn’t write paper characters, and in subsequent books it became clear that Pritkin was no one-dimensional prop. He had a surprisingly deep back story that Chance peeled away by layers until it became clear that he was not only central to the series but a serious contender for Cassie’s affections. Over the books and years, thousands of posts on Goodreads message boards have been devoted to debates between members of Team Pritkin and Team Mircea (Cassie’s master vampire lover) over who is the better man:

The tortured half-incubus war mage whose sexiness (because incubus!) is only enhanced by his permanent scowl and his kill-first-don’t-bother-to-ask-questions-later attitude?

Or the devastatingly handsome, charming, but secretive master vampire whose love for family overrides everything Cassie thought she knew about vampire self-interest?

So when the last book ended with the demons cursing Pritkin’s soul to travel backward in time until his life was undone, but then having a change of heart and giving Cassie the counter-curse and a grumpy incubus ally to find and save him, I wasn’t too worried.

Fortunately for Team Pritkin members, Karen Chance is not (yet, at least) a member of the George R. R. Martin School of Killing Off Major Characters.

But that doesn’t mean Chance doesn’t leave her readers guessing. In every book of this series, I have always been left shaking my head over the unexpected plot twists and saying, “Wow. I did not see that coming.”

That’s why I figured it would be too simplistic to expect Reap the Wind to be mainly about Cassie saving Pritkin. The only thing I could definitely predict about Reap the Wind was that it would take some totally new direction that I’d never expected.

So, before I started reading Reap the Wind, I came up with a long list of questions that I was hoping would be answered in this book:

(1) If Cassie does save Pritkin back in time, will he be the same Pritkin she knows and won’t admit to loving? Or will he be some past version of Pritkin? And is past-Pritkin more or less angry than present-day-Pritkin?

(2) Master vampire Mircea Basarab has been interested in Cassie since she was just a little kid. In Tempt the Stars, we discovered that he’s been working since long before Cassie’s lifetime to befriend a Pythia, the supernatural world’s chief seer and mediator. Why?

The fan message boards have been rife with speculation. My favourite theory has always been that, just as Mircea used Cassie to save his brother Radu from a century of torture that broke his mind, he’s been trying to get a Pythia in his pocket so that he could go back in time and save his wife from the long and excruciating death she suffered at the hands of his older brother, Vlad. Mircea surely feels guilty about that, not only because he loved his wife but because he indirectly triggered her torture-death by leaving her when he was made a vampire.

It might not be possible for a Pythia to fix, since the further back in time an event happened, the less likely it is that a Pythia can change it. But if it is possible, and if Cassie is a tool for saving Mircea’s wife, what happens to Cassie, whom Mircea has one-sidedly claimed as his own wife? What will Mircea’s wife think about being saved by her husband’s future wife? (Brain. Hurts.)

(3) In the last book, Cassie accidentally got into Mircea’s mind. He locked shut the mental connection and avoided her for the ENTIRE BOOK. (Team Mircea was NOT PLEASED.) So is Mircea just generally afraid of his girlfriend’s new powers? Or is there something in particular that he’s afraid she’ll find out if she spends any time in his head? The plot thickens.

(4) Readers of Chance’s other intertwined series know that (spoiler if you haven’t read that series) Mircea has a 500-year-old half-vampire daughter, Dorina Basarab, who was recently appointed to the Senate. But Cassie doesn’t know a thing about Dory, because while Mircea never lies (one of the reasons Cassie has always trusted him), he’s the master of withholding information. A couple of books ago, Cassie found a photo album devoted to Dorina and assumed it was a secret lover of his. She doesn’t know who is the sidepiece: her, or the other woman. There’s a delicious scene in the last Dory book where Cassie finds Dory at the injured Mircea’s bedside and, pissed off and jealous, Cassie uses her magic to poof Dory out of there (leaving Dory completely bewildered).

In Reap the Wind, will Cassie and Dory cross paths again? Will Cassie discover the relationship between Dory and Mircea? And if she does, will she be relieved that his supposed lover is actually his daughter, or will she be pissed off that he’s kept his hidden from her all this time? Will Dory be pissed that her dad hasn’t mentioned he’s married (sort of) to the Pythia?

Will Cassie and Dory band together to denounce the duplicity of vampires and run off to kick butt together?

(5) To say that Mircea is a master of withholding information would be an understatement. Nobody really knows what he’s got planned, or what the extent of his mental abilities are, but we have plenty of hints suggesting that his mental powers are far in excess of what the other vampires realise. And he’s been building alliances -- with the Fae, with the Pythia, with the European Senate, even with the Silver Circle and the war mages. The Consul of the North American vampire senate suspects that he’s manoeuvring to seize power. Is he? Even if he’s not, will the Consul’s paranoia lead her to do something to Mircea and his allies that will provoke him to seize power to protect those he loves?

(6) If and when Cassie saves Pritkin, will he finally man up and declare his love, which he was on the verge of doing in the last book? And does this mean the curse the demons placed on him that prevented him from ever having sex again is null and void? INCUBUS SEX!

(7) Where is Tony hiding? Will Cassie ever get revenge on him for killing her parents? If she has a chance to kill him, would she be able to?

(8) What’s the story with her father? Now that we know he wasn’t really the powerful black mage everyone says he was, why was he using the Black Circle to siphon off power? What did he need that power for?

(9) Both Cassie’s dad’s ghost and the power of her mother were trapped together in a paperweight when they died, so why has Tony been lugging that paperweight around Faerie? Why does the fate of the world hinge on that paperweight? Can her dad’s ghost be released from the paperweight?

(10) And if Cassie finds her dad, will he be Team Mircea or Team Pritkin?

(11) Will we see Caedmon again? Because he was hot.

(12) Will Marlowe confess his love for Mircea and the two of them get it on? (Shout-out to Lannister, Lady Marlowe!) We know, after all, that Mircea is open minded when it comes to matters of sex. His only rule: “If the lady can’t say it, we won’t do it.”

(13) Of course, there’s also all the stuff about Ares coming, the renegade adepts of the Pythian Court, war between Fae households, and what’s Tomas up to?

SO...

What can I tell you without giving away too many spoilers?

This is another great installation in the Cassandra Palmer series, and with every book of this and the parallel Dorina Basarab series, we see the two series’ universes getting closer and closer to colliding. The world-building is incredible. The relationships are complex and deep. The philosophical questions being raised are profound. The storytelling is gripping. The pace is as relentless as ever.

I devoured the book greedily, and Chance fans will love it. I dog-eared every page that, I thought, offered new key insight into characters or the major and minor plot arcs that we’ve been following throughout the series. By the time I was done, the whole top half of my copy of the book was half a centimetre thicker than the bottom half because it is now so dog-eared. This installation answers some questions, and it raises a lot more. Every plot thickens. But there’s enough back-story provided along the way that someone who hadn’t read any of the earlier books in the series could pick this one up and follow along.

Let’s go through the points above and see how much of them I can answer without ruining the story for you:

(1) Past-Pritkin is ... wow. Team Pritkin will be HAPPY. Let’s just say we find out a lot more new stuff about Pritkin’s magical and incubus powers, and also about his past.

(2) I don’t think I can even say whether or not these questions get answered without spoiling things, much less answer them, so I’m zipping my lips here.

(3) ditto

(4) ditto

(5) ditto

(6) this is getting repetitive.

No, really, these are all questions to debate once everyone has read the book. Some get answered, but a lot don’t. For the sake of a (mostly) spoiler-free review, I’m going to have to set most of them aside. So here’s where the real review starts:

In Reap the Wind, Cassie is running all over the place -- Earth, the Shadowlands, Faerie -- everywhere and everywhen. But one adventure just leads to another, revealing new layers of politics and factions and complicated histories that she didn’t even know about but which all have huge impact on the alliances that are forming. The god Ares is preparing to invade Earth, though no one is totally sure if he is coming alone or if he’s going to bring the other gods with him. The gods are really just ancient, powerful creatures from another world who were banished by Cassie’s mom, the goddess Artemis, but now that Artemis is dead, they want to return to Earth to prey. There’s a big battle coming and this book sets the stage, clarifying and complicating alliances and enemies, battlefield and weapons.

Cassie has new allies, but also, several surprising new opponents, including someone she thought was an ally. Maybe he’ll be an ally again in the future, but right now, he’s just being an ass, and a major obstacle. Even her so-called supporters doubt her abilities, and she’s getting sick of people thinking that she’s just a bumbling weakling who got lucky, on the one hand, or that she can singlehandedly save the world, on the other. Above all, she’s tired of people who think she’s just a gun for them to point and shoot. Her allies are keeping secrets from her, and think they can coerce her into going along with them.

One thing that hasn’t changed, though, is her loyalty to her friends and family. The vampires are her family. She has a whole new Pythian court to take care of, and no resources to do it with. Even Casanova, the whiny incubus-possessed eye candy vampire who never does Cassie any favours unless he’s strong-armed into it, is family of sorts, and Cassie is always willing to put her life on the line for family and friends. Heck, for strangers, even.

In fact, it’s Cassie’s loyalty that makes her weak, because people use her love and protectiveness toward others to manipulate her. But it’s also what makes her strong, because even as alliances are fragmenting and their leaders are manoeuvring to maximise their power, every single one of them is drawn to her selflessness, as they come to recognise that she’s not in it for her own personal gain. Cassie’s goals are to protect first, and survive second.

And in the process, she’s grappling with some of the same questions that have been themes in the past couple books, but in new contexts: What is the relationship between power and strength? Can Cassie take care of others and also take care of herself? Can she be a Pythia and love at the same time, without that lover -- whichever one she ends up choosing -- using her to his advantage? Even if she doesn’t allow herself to be used, won’t just the knowledge of her personal relationships taint how people interact with her, what kind of access they think they have to her and which faction has the most power in the supernatural world? In short, is it possible for Cassie to be an independent, neutral Pythia and still have her own life?

In terms of personal relationships, for many hours/pages I was feeling very pessimistic about our chances of seeing Mircea, since he’s only a fleeting, tantalising figure for the first half of the book. But then when he comes on scene, WHEW! Is it ever hot. And fascinating. And it all leads up to the best line in the book, which is Marlowe’s. I think it’s safe to say that there’s something for both Team Pritkin and Team Mircea.

So, to sum it up:

Team Pritkin or Team Mircea? Both.

Best minor character: I’m going with Marco, but this is hard to decide. There’s lots of good ones.

Gets his comeuppance, but could do with some more: Jonas.

Sneakier than I thought: Fred.

Least page time: Billy.

No page time: Tomas.

Most new information about: Rhea.

Most redeemed bad-guy: Rosier.

We see a whole new side of: the Consul.

My new vampire crush: Rico.

Most mysterious new character: Sky Lord. Is this who I think it is? (Please oh please say yes!)

Hitchcock movie reference: The Birds.

Time travel: Further than I ever thought Cassie could go.

Tarot card: the devil.

Chapters that end with a kiss: 3

Chapters that start or end with Cassie passing out: 5

Sex: closest we’ve gotten to a threesome! *fanning self*

Best line: “God does exist, and he loves me.”

Second best line: “You’re too soft for a peasant girl! ...I meant that in a good way!”

Running gag: “Ohshit!”

Biggest holy-hell moment: When Dory and Cassie meet -- the same scene from Fury’s Kiss, but this time, from Cassie’s perspective -- and we see what it felt like for Cassie.

Timeline: Covers a lot of the same timeframe leading up to the major battle that we saw in the last Dory book.

Will you love it: Yes.

Since I discovered urban fantasy novels back in high school, I have been a discerning fan of the genre. Not all authors can balance a modern, fast-paced world with old world magic and story lines. But Karen Chance has managed to craft such a world, populated with clever, humourous, backstabbing, manipulative, sarcastic and often whiny characters. Essentially, relatable characters doing fantastic deeds. Which is what I want.

I know that great art takes time, and while I would love to have the entire Cassie Palmer saga laid out before me in one phonebook-sized tome, I also love being slowly pulled through the resolution of our heroine's journey. She can travel through time, but she never has enough time to get everything done. I can SO relate to that!

Without giving away spoilers, I can say that we meet new characters, the Pythian court becomes much less mysterious, there's a new side to Pritkin and Cassie takes a stand for herself with her so-called allies. These are books that you may speed through to find out the new information on your first sitting, but then you'll go back through slower the next round parsing for new clues, hints and reveals.

Karen Chance has a track record of dragging out certain story-lines and leaving readers hanging on the edge. It's kind of ridiculous there's still a love triangle element by this point in the series, but she pushes it to the background for the plot's sake, although most readers like myself keep picking it apart looking for it. Cassie is a wonderful lead because she's kind of ditzy, funny a lot of the time, but there's something likable about her.

The story was good. As always, lots of action in this one, intense pacing, but it's not so manic that I felt dizzy, with the exception of the last few chapters. She dialed back some of overdone action scenes to give me breathing room, but there's so much going on in this book still. She involves all areas of magic - twists with the mage world and unsettling potentials of that, revelations about previous Pithias, involvement with the demon council in a scene or so, of course more maddening annoyance with the vampires...there's plenty that kept me entertained and hooked to this book's story.

The characters who were present well done - she brought in some new characters who offered welcome additions to the story, sketched out some like Rico who I didn't notice much before, and revisited favorites like Marco and Fred. A lot of progression on the de-progression of a certain relationship. Now, of course, the big question? Yep, a lot of waiting on the Pritkin angle. We get time with him, several times, but not the him we're used to. I had a feeling she'd drag that out for a lot of the book - what I didn't know would be it would be all the book. I still don't get some things by the end of it.

Mircea... I fall more into the category still of not trusting him for the right reasons any longer. I don't think he views her with the same love intensity she expects and needs. To him and all the vampires, it's consistently blended with possession, power and principle.

It was a long wait, and it doesn't progress in some important areas we're wanting, but it was still well done. Not quite a filler, but almost there, kind of the toe in the line between filler and non-filler. Argh.

Even though she doesn’t entirely understand her dimension-bending new power, Cassie is skipping through time on a mission to rescue her friend John Pritkin but the guardians of the time-lime are dead set on stopping her in this thrilling urban fantasy.

Pritkins near-immortal soul is lost in time and the reader can’t help but get pulled along on Cassie’s thrilling adventure through the ages as sets she hunts for Pritkin’s soul with Pritkin’s demon dad in tow. The pulse-pounding action is non-stop throughout this story as Cassie struggles to rescue Pritkin without ruffling too many feathers or causing a world ending paradox or two but her limited knowledge of her gift and all the people that would see her fail not only makes it extremely difficult but ratchets up the tension and for even more excitement, there are still the matter of her rogue acolytes that are scheming to bring a god across the barrier and Mircea and Jonas both wanting things to be done their way which means controlling Cassie.

There are lots of strong, compelling characters in this series and Cassie is a heroine that you can’t help but be captivated by as she narrowly avoids death on an everyday basis, sometimes several times a day and her romantic life isn’t without quite a bit excitement as according to vampire law she’s married to Mircea but Pritkin sure has a way of pushing her buttons as well. Lots of tension building excitement keeps the readers on their toes throughout the well written, fast paced and smooth flowing plot with enough emotional turmoil to add depth and unexpected twists to keep reader’s guessing.

Cassie’s fascinating life just keeps getting better and better, this exhilarating story is full of spectacular edge of the seat action and adventure and there was no way I could put this book down once I started reading it and of course the adventure continues and I can’t wait for it to begin.

This was the most frustrating read out of all the Cassie Palmer series. I listened to the audiobook, and at first, I thought it was the terrible narration hampering my enjoyment, but soon realized the problem is way more fundamental.

I have no idea what the author was thinking. This was a filler book in every way, and it makes the sense of feeling cheated as a reader all the more glaring. The majority of the book is a first act that doesn't know when it's time to give up, and the book finishes before even the second act does. This book has such poor story structure that I'm just appalled. I listen to it more as an exercise in understanding what not to do as a fiction writer, than to drive any real enjoyment.

And to think, if instead of trying to milk the cash cow the writer had just wrote the two books as one -the way they clearly were intended to be written- and refrained from bloating the first act way way beyond necessary, this would have been an amazing book. The first 2/3rds of the book could have easily been cut by half if not more; this way, it would have had an amazingly strong middle (where this one ended). What is going to follow with the next book in the series is clearly the rest of the second act and the third act of the same book, which would have all served to give us a very strong story arch and a gripping tale.

Splitting a finale might work for movie adaptations, but even there it never works very well because a story needs to have three acts if there's to be any satisfying payoff, which clearly there wasn't here. I'm just surprised her editors let her go along with this. Surely someone should have pointed it out to her? But I guess everyone wants in on the cash grab. Don't think I'll be picking up the next book.

This book focuses on Cassie and Rossier's quest to get Pritkin back and fills in a lot of backstory. Seeing Rossier try to help his son is interesting. There is so much that changes in this book...Read it!

I think we have seen Cassie transform into a stronger character but we unfortunately we still see her act (beyond basic expression) like a ditz. Her character's growth isnt consistent. Also, her search for Pritkin is within character however the love triangle is not. Cassie demonstrates loyalty to the death- and her story was resolved- so to be clear : Team Mircea was already writen into the story, anything else would be out of character.
There shouldnt be teams here - she is married. Why does the sanctity of the marriage to Mircea matter any less than marriage to someone else? This was already resolved! Mircea proved he wasn't a douche, their feelings werent just induced by the spell (it only intensifies what is already there), he told her he loved her, she went through time and all kinds of crazy to save him. THEY ARE MARRIED.
I think what has happened is that the writer tried to keep the series going and even.though Cassie is pretty clear that despite attraction she just doesnt feel that way about Pritkin the readers have turned this into a Twilight grudgematch, the writing started to bend to please the readers, and now.its going to drag out until the Author figures out how to clean up the mess. - and before I get blasted go back through the books.and make charcter notes, its pretty clear its gone awry.
The author can still bring this around. Cassie.succeeded in making Pritkin believe in possibilities, take risks, openes his mind- thats why he feels something for her… A good writer could use that as motivation for a new love interest, like Rhea… Everyone falls in love with Cassie, she's surprising- thats a part of her character, she doesn't have to reciprocate.
**please excuse grammar/spelling errors. Medical condition affects ability to type and autocorrect screws up adaptive tools.

I really liked this series when it started and have stuck with it. I do feel as if the author is kinda stuck on some of the plot points and it taking a long time to resolve them.

John Pitkin vs. Mircea Basarab ... at first you think Mircea is Cassie's love interest although it takes many books to get there and when they are married it's like he totally disappears and it looks as if Pitkin and Cassie are going to be a team. I mean really, there are many, many scenes in this book that points to Cassie having it hot and heavy with Pitkin, and yet she acts like a jealous wife to Mircea very late in the book. What is going on here. Does Cassie consider herself married or not?

When will Cassie ever have control over her powers? Seems like never. At least now Cassie has a court and with Rhea a potential advisor and tutor. Cassie really needs to know what powers she has and what she can do with them. She desperately needs a team to help and support her and it has only taken her 7 books and 9 years to get to this point.

I luv'ed how her bodyguard Marco had a heart to heart with her and compared her to that one gladiator he knew back in the old days it did explain alot about how Cassie operates.

Thoughts: I have been waiting, and waiting….and waiting for this book to come out. Things were getting interesting with Pritkin…and what is going on with Mircea? I was expecting some answers in this one….but I have to say, if you are like me?.....it only muddies the waters even more.

For me, this one started off really slow. I mean, so slow that I actually became tempted a time or two to call it quits. However, thinking back on how much I love this series…and the fact that I have yet to read a book by Karen Chance that I don’t like….gave me the incentive to keep reading. It took awhile for it to really kick into gear for me. But once it did? Wow, talk about enthralled with the book. The second half of the book, I literally flew through the pages. And now? Now, I am right back on pins and needles waiting for some answers! Argh! However, this one had a bunch of moments between Cassie and Pritkin. It left me wondering how that will impact the present and/or future of the story? Wow…I just can’t wait to read more!

If you haven’t read this series, it is definitely not the book to start with….but I can recommend beginning the series and catching up on the workings of Cassie Palmer.

Rate: B+
Review by: Sarah
http://www.thebookreadinggals.com

I think we have seen Cassie transform into a stronger character but we unfortunately we still see her act (beyond basic expression) like a ditz. Her character's growth isnt consistent. Also, her search for Pritkin is within character however the love triangle is not. Cassie demonstrates loyalty to the death- and her story was resolved- so to be clear : Team Mircea was already writen into the story, anything else would be out of character.
There shouldnt be teams here - she is married. Why does the sanctity of the marriage to Mircea matter any less than marriage to someone else? This was already resolved! Mircea proved he wasn't a douche, their feelings werent just induced by the spell (it only intensifies what is already there), he told her he loved her, she went through time and all kinds of crazy to save him. THEY ARE MARRIED.
I think what has happened is that the writer tried to keep the series going and even.though Cassie is pretty clear that despite attraction she just doesnt feel that way about Pritkin the readers have turned this into a Twilight grudgematch, the writing started to bend to please the readers, and now.its going to drag out until the Author figures out how to clean up the mess. - and before I get blasted go back through the books.and make charcter notes, its pretty clear its gone awry.
The author can still bring this around. Cassie.succeeded in making Pritkin believe in possibilities, take risks, openes his mind- thats why he feels something for her… A good writer could use that as motivation for a new love interest, like Rhea… Everyone falls in love with Cassie, she's surprising- thats a part of her character, she doesn't have to reciprocate.
**please excuse grammar/spelling errors. Medical condition affects ability to type and autocorrect screws up adaptive tools.

I really liked this series when it started and have stuck with it. I do feel as if the author is kinda stuck on some of the plot points and it taking a long time to resolve them.

John Pitkin vs. Mircea Basarab ... at first you think Mircea is Cassie's love interest although it takes many books to get there and when they are married it's like he totally disappears and it looks as if Pitkin and Cassie are going to be a team. I mean really, there are many, many scenes in this book that points to Cassie having it hot and heavy with Pitkin, and yet she acts like a jealous wife to Mircea very late in the book. What is going on here. Does Cassie consider herself married or not?

When will Cassie ever have control over her powers? Seems like never. At least now Cassie has a court and with Rhea a potential advisor and tutor. Cassie really needs to know what powers she has and what she can do with them. She desperately needs a team to help and support her and it has only taken her 7 books and 9 years to get to this point.

I luv'ed how her bodyguard Marco had a heart to heart with her and compared her to that one gladiator he knew back in the old days it did explain alot about how Cassie operates.

Thoughts: I have been waiting, and waiting….and waiting for this book to come out. Things were getting interesting with Pritkin…and what is going on with Mircea? I was expecting some answers in this one….but I have to say, if you are like me?.....it only muddies the waters even more.

For me, this one started off really slow. I mean, so slow that I actually became tempted a time or two to call it quits. However, thinking back on how much I love this series…and the fact that I have yet to read a book by Karen Chance that I don’t like….gave me the incentive to keep reading. It took awhile for it to really kick into gear for me. But once it did? Wow, talk about enthralled with the book. The second half of the book, I literally flew through the pages. And now? Now, I am right back on pins and needles waiting for some answers! Argh! However, this one had a bunch of moments between Cassie and Pritkin. It left me wondering how that will impact the present and/or future of the story? Wow…I just can’t wait to read more!

If you haven’t read this series, it is definitely not the book to start with….but I can recommend beginning the series and catching up on the workings of Cassie Palmer.

Rate: B+
Review by: Sarah
http://www.thebookreadinggals.com

I generally enjoy Karen chance's books, particularly the Cassie Palmer series, but this one left me disappointed. I skipped through whole sections of the book that were never ending fight/action scenes. Although they seemed to have a purpose, they were repetitive and the purpose could have been achieved with out wasting as much time. The ending of the book promised some resolution in the next book, but it felt like what this book accomplished in terms of advancing the story could have been done within a few chapters and given more time for character interaction and relationship development. I'll read the next book, but if it doesn't deliver on its promise, I might be done with this series.

What a complete waste of time, this was a HORRIBLE book. 513 pages of Cassie running around and not accomplishing anything. The only 'major' events happened in the last 20 pages. Total disappointment especially when the release date kept getting moved back. I was so mad when I got to the end because, are you f-ing kidding me!? I just spent how many hours of my life on that?! I seriously contemplated burning this book in the street.

4.5 Stars
Reviewed by Suzanne and posted at Under The Covers Book Blog

The last time we saw Cassie the Demon Council had thrown Pritkin’s soul back through time and its ultimate destruction and discovered a plot for the former Pythia’s acolytes to bring back the old gods. Neither of which is great news, destroying Apollo nearly killed Cassie, so trying to stop his bigger meaner brother Ares may prove impossible, especially with all the supernatural faction fighting against each other, and her, rather than focusing on the real problem. And Pritkin. She can’t let his soul disappear, especially when she can stop it, after all travelling through time is her speciality.

At last! I have been waiting for this book for forever, and we were kept waiting an extra year, but was the 2 year gap between books worth it? We were left with a massive cliff hanger in the previous book, Tempt the Stars, with Pritkin seeming to be all but dead and Cassie about to embark on a desperate mission to save him. A mission which has a limited chance of success and accompanied by Rosier, Pritkin’s dead beat dad, Demon Lord and all round douche bag. So, as I said, was it worth the wait? Yes, yes it was.

You need to be prepared when starting a Cassie Palmer novel because you are about to dive head first in to some unrelenting crazy action, from the first page to the last Cassie and co jump from a disaster to a catastrophe and then back to another disaster, all with barely a pause for breath. And I loved every second of it, this series is always exciting and really gets your adrenaline pumping.

But, all that action could become boring, but it doesn’t, mainly because we have Cassie. She is a great heroine, she injects humour, intelligence and a good amount of heart in this series and she is what keeps me coming back for more. Well, her and the strange love triangle between her, Mircea the smooth and sexy Master Vampire and Pritkin the grouchy and gorgeous War Mage and half Incubus. FYI I’m team Pritkin all the way.

Once again however, we are left with a cliff hanger, it seems unfair the Karen Chance can draw me in and then leave me hanging like this! I just really hope I don’t have to wait 2 years before I find out what happens next. But, despite my grumblings I highly recommend this series, it has an intriguing plot line, a fantastic heroine and plenty of action and romance to keep you entertained, so if you haven’t started this series yet, what are you waiting for?

Another fantastic book in the Cassandra Palmer series! Karen Chance does an amazing job keeping this book action-packed. Please keep in mind that she had to cut this installment into 2 books because her publisher required it. She did a great job of where she cut it, but it does leave many questions and cliffhangers. Not to worry though as the continuation is supposed to be out next year!!!! This is currently my favorite book series and I can't wait for the next one!

I agree with every word the first reviewer wrote. I love these books, love Cassie, but all I want is Cassie & Pritkin together. I like Mircea but he is part of her family, not her soul mate. The sex bothers me too, although considering what Mircea looks like it is probably understandable. It is less upsetting because they do truly love each other, but not in the right way. Cassie never knows what Mircea is doing and rarely gives him a thought. She literally couldn't face the thought of life without Pritkin.

I am really tired of waiting. It has been 3 years since C & P have been together, in the same time, as themselves. I am tired of the constant chaos, there needs to be an occasional breath taken. There needs to be a real conversation had, between Cassie and both men. Ms Chance is a wonderful writer and I will keep waiting for her books but I am worried I will drop dead before C & P get their happy ever after. Enough already.

If the next book was still coming in early 2016 I would be much less unhappy. Now it has been delayed and I am waiting and expecting it to be put back a full year just like this one was. It's too much. If I didn't care about the characters so much, this would be the last of the books I read.

Freaking awesome as always!! I love this series. This author never disappoints, which is why she's one of my top 5 favorite authors. She's excellent at writing creative adventure/action scenes that are truly unique and wonderfully entertaining. Refreshingly original and never predictable. There's so much happening--the world is rich with magical creatures and factions and different settings. I love that the author always takes the reader to different locations and it's always a wild ride. So much fun to read. In this book, we got to see a different side of the world and learned more about the covens, acolytes and faerie. We also get to see Cassie's growth and how she's learned how to use her power. She's a wonderful heroine - funny and brave. She never know exactly how she's going to do something, but she doesn't hold back from reaching her goal. It was so much fun visiting this world again and all the wonderful characters (Mircea, Casanova and especially my favorite hero.... Pritkin!!! Can't wait to read more about him!!

BRAVO Karen and thank you for another great installment.

This is not my favorite. As the Author explains on her website the over all story got too big, so she had to break it into two books. So this is all the build up with none of the resolution we usually find from Cassie's stories. She does introduce Cassie to Dory, so I am really looking forward to that because I love Dory and I want more stories from her.
Basically it was just a reading disappointment because you get to the end and find out you have to wait for the next book.

Loved the series at first, great characters interesting storylines. This one droned on and on about Pythia this and Pythia that to the exclusion of all other aspects. The changing relationship with Pritkin was all but lost in this book and her love interest Mirsea, was barely mentioned. Dissappointing overall, but I plan to read the next book in the series in the hope Ms. Chance will revive the mojo from the earlier novels.

Our Quick and Dirty Review, by LITERAL ADDICTION's Pack Alpha - Michelle:

Some of the best action scenes I have read in a really long time. The only reason I'm not giving this 5 skulls is because I didn't feel the connection to Cassie like I usually do but the story and the tempo was superb!

Author needs to move the plot, and stop teasing us just to sell more books. Do you want to go the way of Charlaine Harris to the waste side? She screwed her readers! Haven't bought one since!
Cassandra needs sex scenes with a permanent Love, either Pritkin or Mercea!!

I really enjoyed this series when it started, but the storyline is getting long and tedious at this point. I've skipped several chapters and have still not missed anything. I hope the next book is shorter, and moves along better.