Touch the Dark (Cassandra Palmer, Book 1)
by Karen Chance
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Book Reviews of Touch the Dark (Cassandra Palmer, Book 1)
Book Review: Not worth it
Summary: 2 Stars
The only good thing I can say about this book is that I finished it. Like many series in this genre there are all kind of magic creatures (vampires, weres, fae, witches, mages, etc.). Unlike other series, this one lumps them all in the first book instead of introducing them one at a time.
In the same manner, all of Cassie's powers are dumped on the reader at once. Not only can she talk to ghosts, but she sees the future, has a magic necklace that is haunted, she can feed the ghost her energy, he can possess her, she can possess other people AND she can travel through time. It's a bit much to absorb.
The action in the story starts right away. Vampire gangsters are out to kill her. Instead of following the events, the author constantly interrupts to explain Cassie's convoluted past, her abilities, vampire politics, etc. These explanations are sometimes pages long and make you forget what exactly is going on by the time she gets back around to the story. This also happens during the "romance" scenes.
As for the romance in this book, it's pretty much non-existant. Cassie finds every man in the book attractive (except for the bad guys because of course they're ugly), but like Cassie you don't get enough character development to care about any of them. They are all flat and pretty uninteresting. And they all have some ulterior motive for getting close to Cassie. That doesn't stop her from flirting with one and eventually having sex. Compared to everything else, the sex scenes were pretty descriptive. That time would have been better spent improving the dialog and having Cassie do something a little more in line with her character. If she has spent her whole life on the run, avoiding intimacy and trying to stay away from those who would control her life why would she throw that all away just because there's a naked vampire in the room?
Besides having a flighty and foolish main character, this series would be better off being split into more books. For example:
Book 1: Cassie's life with Tony, her talking to ghosts and having visions, her learning about her parents, her escaping Tony
Book 2: How Cassie works with the feds to bring Tony down
Book 3: Why she leaves Witness Protection, starting a new life, meeting Tomas and developing a friendship with him, buying the necklace
Book 4: This is where the plot from this book would go.
Book Review: A stunning fantasy from a debut author
Summary: 5 Stars
Courtesy of CK2S Kwips and Kritiques
Touch the Dark by Karen Chance is a stunning adventure that speeds along to the thrilling conclusion... which is really just another new beginning.
Cassandra "Cassie" Palmer has a gift. She is a Seer, capable of seeing future actions and able to see and communicate with ghosts. Unfortunately for her, these gifts are coveted by many, especially vampires. For years she had been a prized captive of the vampire mafia, until she managed to escape.
For three years she's been on the run but even Cassie knew this "freedom" would likely be short lived. When the vampire don tracks her down, her only hope is to turn to the vampire Senate, who have their own plans for her, for assistance. This seems like the lesser of two evils... or is it?
Then there is the pesky problem of a surprising legacy Cassie doesn't want. With beings from every direction wanting to kill her it seems her only hope is one alluringly sexy vampire. But his price may be too high, costing Cassie her very soul.
Cassie has been on the run for so long that this is all she knows now. Her life was never really her own and as she discovers new levels to her abilities, her desperation to be in control of her own life grows. Determination to make it in a cut-throat world has made her into a strong willed individual with a more than healthy survival instinct. She's not afraid to do whatever it takes to protect herself.
One thing I love about Touch the Dark is the wide variety of supernatural beings found in the story from both the light and dark sides of magic... and the "dark" side is not always the more dangerous. We find vampires, ghosts, were-creatures of all kinds, elves, witches, mages, even satyrs and faeries. Don't forget the talking "shrunken heads." Every individual has its place in magical society and how they all interact makes for some fascinating reading.
Adventure is not at all lacking in this story as readers follow Cassie and company in its wake. Touch the Dark doesn't end, but stops after this leg of the journey. It is apparent Karen Chance still has a lot in store for Cassie and this reader is sure to keep going, looking forward to the next installment of this exciting world.
© Kelley A. Hartsell, May 2006. All rights reserved.
Book Review: Frustrating
Summary: 2 Stars
Unfortunately, I was unable to enjoy this book even though I tried to due to the good reviews. I felt that the storyline was not smooth enough to make it an easy and enjoyable read. It felt like I was reading two incomplete books that were forced together. The plot needed to be flushed out. I found myself mostly skimming the book. The details grew to be annoying and felt like nonsequitors after a while.
How did Cassie Palmer go from seeing spirits and having visions to become almost omnipotent? Yes, I know from the ending of the book what caused this but it happened without any transition.
I felt that there was entirely too much dialogue and not enough action. They stayed in one room and talked to death. Also, when there was action it was done over and over again such as the possession of another character's body and the shifting of time. These are important details but they should not be the whole plot. There was not much momentum after the action of Cassie running out of the office and running into the bar to fight the vamps.
I found it hard to relate to Cassie and therefore making it a more tedious read due to the fact that she seemed so non-human. Yes, she is a supernatural being to a certain extent but she did have feelings. I wish that she expressed her feelings more other than just her parents dying that I could relate to. She did not seem too fearful of her situation when she was captured by the Senate. Why not? Growing up surrounded by vamps could be terrifying. I did like the sexual tension between characters which did add a human touch as well as a realistic one since they are supposed to be very handsome vampires.
I wish that I did not waste my time reading this book. I felt that there should have been some progression between seer and Cassie's new found powers. This could have been a better book had it been done in two books with complete plots. I feel that I walked into the middle of the book and was suddenly thrown into a room of characters that I did not know.
I am glad that I was able to take this book out of the library rather than pay for it. There are many more books with similar themes that are more enjoyable. This book for some reason reminds me of the Anita Blake series written by Laurell K. Hamilton.
Book Review: No sun, but a lot of fun!
Summary: 5 Stars
At first, this book seems to be like all the other romance starring vampires. Anyway, I wanted to read because Cassandra Palmer is a clairvoyant and that it could be horrible or really good. Thankfully, because Karen Chance is talented, it's really good.
"Cassandra Palmer can see the future and communicate with spirits--talents that make her attractive to the dead and the undead. The ghosts of the dead aren't usually dangerous; they just like to talk...a lot.
The undead are another matter.
Like any sensible girl, Cassie tries to avoid vampires. But when the bloodsucking Mafioso she escaped three years ago finds Cassie again with vengeance on his mind, she's forced to turn to the vampire Senate for protection.
The undead senators won't help her for nothing, and Cassie finds herself working with one of their most powerful members, a dangerously seductive master vampire--and the price he demands may be more than Cassie is willing to pay..."
No, this isn't a conventional story about a frightened girl and an all-powerful master vampire. Cassie has a mind of her own--even if sometimes I questioned her choices--and a great power. There is also a story behind the usual sexually charged atmosphere, and a good one: some senators have been injured, or worse. But they are first-level master vampire and shouldn't be killed . . . unless Rasputin, the bad guy, could travel the time. Oh! Surprise! The Pythia heir has disappeared six months ago. And Cassie discovers that she also is, against her will, an heir. Or, to be more accurate, she's the only heir with enough ethics and power around.
And that's exactly why the Senate tries to imprison her.
Cassie is guarded by a deadly war mage, three first-class master vampires--including sexy Mircea-- and an army of ghosts, and she will need every one of them to keep her alive, even more because she keeps going back in time against her will.
I really loved this series, Cassie isn't perfect and focuses on little details of her life, like the death of her parents, while she should run for her life. If Mircea is your usual sexy vamp, some of the characters aren't common in romance--Hello Pritkin!
No more spoiling: go read it!
All my reviews are available on the Mythologica French website.
Book Review: Doesn't live up to the raves
Summary: 2 Stars
I really wanted to like this...I wish I could give 2-1/2 stars because I sort of liked it, but meh, not enough to stand up and say, "I like it." The worldbuilding was quite intriguing--a modern day sybil trying to stay out of the clutches of the vampires, fey, werewolves, and war mages engaged in an otherworldly power struggle. I swore I'd never read another vampire book, but this premise drew me in. Ms. Chance's story "Buying Trouble" in the On the Prowl anthology was also charming, convincing me that she knew how to tell an entertaining action story. Ms. Chance does know how to write, but there are big problems here that kept throwing me out of the story, making me feel like I was wading through soup.
Her characters, even her heroine, read rather generic to me, despite the clever premise. And she has an annoying (really really really annoying) tendency to stop in the middle of action and sex scenes, and dialogue exchanges, to go off on explaining and description tangents. Sometimes these information dumps last a couple of paragraphs, sometimes a couple of pages or more. There were times that somebody would ask a question and Ms. Chance would take off into the scenery or worldbuilding for so long that when the question was answered I had to page back to see what the question had been. This wasn't something that just happened occasionally, but recurred throughout the book. I was skim reading these passages by the end.
Then there's that ending...no spoilers, but let's just say that although she did arrive at a kind of resolution to the present story, there was so much left unresolved that it felt more like a chapter ending than a book ending. This kind of "leave 'em hanging" ending always makes me feel cheated. I know it's supposed to make me run right out and buy the next book, but I'm not sure I'll be doing that in this case. I'm right on the fence about it at the moment. It's a first novel, so I feel I should cut her some slack, but the hanging ending and the annoying writing technique have not left me a happy reader. If I do read the next one, I will do a considerable amount in-bookstore reading before buying just to see if she's improved her bad habits at all.