Claimed by Shadow by Karen Chance

This is the second book in the Cassie Palmer series, I reviewed the first book a couple of months ago. I like this book more than I did the first. Part of the reason I like this book more than the first one is because a significant amount of the world building had been done in the first book. Sometimes, world building can be fun and exciting to read, but for the me, the first book felt at often times confusing for me to really sink my teeth into. Because of that I spent a lot of time being confused by what was going on within the first book. But in this second book, I had enough of a foundation to really get into the book. Not to mention the characters in this book had already been established and I already had a vested interest in them.

One of the things about this series of books is that they take place over a very short period of time. Because of this there is seldom a time where there isn't any action in the book. This is a good thing because it keep the reader really involved in the writing. However if you are going to be reading this book in more than one sitting, I might suggest reading a few of the pages you have already read before delving into new material, the action happens so quickly you may need a bit of a refresher.

One thing I would have liked to have seen more of in this book is Mircea, he is by far one of my favorite characters within this series. Although I understand that this book is primarily about the journey Cassie takes, I still wish there had been more of Mircea in the book itself.

As I just mentioned this book is really about Cassie coming into her power. In the previous book Cassie had received the power of the Pythia, but she did not complete the rituals (she needed to no longer be a virgin). I am not going to say who she slept with but I will say by the end of the book Cassie becomes a full blown Pythia.

In a lot of ways this book feels a lot more like a set up for the future of this series. It give Cassie the power of the office of Pythia, with no more chance that it goes to someone else. It also sets up several other scenerios/problems that are going to need to be resolved, and sooner rather than later. Dracula makes an appearance, and it is clear that the vampire community does not want him alive. Dracula is clearly going to play a role in the books to come. Cassie has still not been accepted by the Circle, so there is that to be resolved, or at least hope they stop trying to kill her with every chance they get. A deal was made with the a King that Cassie needs to complete. And of course the geis that caused Cassie so much trouble throughout this book needs to be removed, not just for Cassie's sake but also for the sake of Mircea, if not dealt with it is completely possible that both Cassie and Mircea will be driven crazy.

Overall this book was a much more enjoyable book to read than the first. On top of that it left me wanting to read the third book in order to continue on with Cassie's journey. That is a huge skill for an author, the ability to get the reader to want more. I would most definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes Urban Fantasy. I would recommend reading the first before though, the background information contained in the first is invaluable. I hope all of you enjoy this series as much I as did.

Touch the Dark by Karen Chance (Cassie Palmer #1)

 

Okay to begin I have been a huge slacker on getting these reviews done. I have been so busy with school I just haven't had the time. It should get easier around mid August and I will have more time to write these and enjoy the books themselves.

I have read this book before, but I am rereading my books as a way of inventory for myself. I picked this book because she has a new book out that I have no read from this series so I figured I would catch up on the series before I bought and read the new one.

So I thought I would start with the things I did not like about the novel. One of my biggest problems with this novel is she flows so often from one thing to the next that it is disjointing for the reader. While action is a great thing in a book, especially one from this genre, it only works if the reader is able to keep up with it. I found myself having to reread a page or two a couple of time to figure out what I had missed. I understand the need for jumping from one scene to another when Cassie is having a vision because it's disjointing for her to experience, but this occurrence was not limited to when Cassie was having a vision.

I also believe that the first book in a series is one of the hardest to write because you have to build the world, and that world has to be enough to sustain a series as well as keep the reader interested. With some books it often feels like you are thrown into a world and then have to spend most of the book just figuring out what is going on in addition to getting to know the characters. Being able to introduce a world in a manner that doesn't feel like work for the reader is a gift. I think Chance did an okay job at world building but there were a lot of times I wished I knew more about something and having to wait until 3/4 of the way through the book to get the answer that would have not hurt the progression of the book if I had known it earlier.

So those are my two main issues with the book, and now for the things I liked. I like Cassie. She's confused, ballsy, and doesn't understand her own potential. I think one of the most relatable things about Cassie is that she is nervous and unwilling to suddenly except her position of huge responsibility. She knows that this position gives her power but it is also going to make her vulnerable to people always wanting her under their control, something she is not willing to go back to because of her past. That being said Cassie always stands up for people she feels are innocent and tries to help whenever she can.

Tomas is one of the most annoying characters in the book, but after the way it ends it is understandable why he is so clingy. I HATE when men in a book feel like they own a woman. It drove me bonkers with Bill and Sookie Charlaine Harris books, and even though I loved her books I often wanted to strangle Sookie and hit Bill over the head with a frying pan and tell him to stop calling her "his". I was really worried it was going to be another situation similar to that, except with Tomas it came off as creepy and weird, and the more he acted "protectively" the more he was creepy. I can't say this enough, thank god Cassie did not go for him.

I like the characters as a whole, they have a lot of fleshing out to do over the next couple of books, but I like them, and I love Mircea. He gets so wonderfully more complicated as the series goes on as well as within the spin off. Rafe is sweet and fatherly. Louis Cesar is appropriately full of himself. Pritkin amuses me with his insanity and naive "i know everything" attitude and questions. Tony is a fitting bad guy, mostly because you don't see a lot of him, you just hear about him which makes him more menacing I think. Same is true for Rasputin. Myra was an interesting twist. And can I just say I love Agnes' personality and wise but amusing declarations.

The series does enough to make me want to read more, and its negative points don't make me not like the book, in fact the good outweighs the bad enough for me to really like this series once it really takes off in the subsequent books. I do like this book and Chance as an author a lot.

Buy Touch the Dark on Amazon!
***Up next is going to be Tempest Rising by Nicole Peeler***

Thanks for sticking with me :)