Embrace the Night
 RRP £6.99 Lowest New Price £3.66 
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Penguin Number of pages: 384 Language: English (Unknown) Language: English (Original Language) Language: English (Published) |
RRP: £6.99
amazing
Review date: 2008-10-20 Rating: 10 out of 10
This series had had me hooked from the 1st book they keep getting better this is a great book and i cant wait for the next one when it come out. I have even gone and got some other book this author has done she is a great writer that take you with the book as you read it. they are amazing
Reviews
Another excellent story about Miss Palmer
Review date: 2008-10-13 Rating: 10 out of 10
EMBRACE THE NIGHT starts a few weeks after the events of Claimed by Shadow, with Cassie and Pritkin searching for Merlin's Codex, which Cassie needs to life the geas that binds her to Mircea and to placate the Fairy King.
This is my favorite book in the series; Cassie comes into her own a lot more, and for once you feel like she might be helping to direct (if not actually running) the show, instead of being the puppet I felt she was in the first book. Not only is she more powerful and more realistic about her role as Pythia and all the people who might want to use her because of it, she also has Pritkin on her side (which counts for a lot, him being a slightly mad Warmage and all that - not to mention rather hot!), she even 'wins' in one scene against the council.
I can't give too much detail because otherwise it will spoil the book! Needless to say, if you liked the first two, then you will definitely enjoy this. The style of writing is the same, and even though it jumps around a bit and I feel like we are constantly being left out of the loop, particularly where the vampires are concerned and where they stand in everything, it is still an immensely enjoyable series!
There is a lot of sexual tension between Cassie and Mircea, as per usual, but in this book it is really cranked up a gear, which is down to the fact that her geas has doubled itself, binding her and Mircea together twice over. It leads to some pretty....intense scenes.
My least favorite part of the book is when Cassie rescues some children, which I felt didn't actually have a lot of relevence to plot, but added some nice scenes anyway. My favorite parts of the book are her frequent power tussles with Pritkin; he takes it on himself to try and train her up a bit (so if her powers ever fail her she isn't completely defenseless) and so challenges her to a sword fight. Pretend, of course.
I think I also liked this book because, like another reader has said before me, I have always felt like Mircea is calling the shots, and so no matter how dark and sexy he is, they have a rather uneaqual relationship; needless to say, with her increase in powers there are a few times where she surprises Mircea, and the vampires, and I think it's about time too!
A lot of questions are answered in this novel, and in fact it made me appreciate the careful planning that must have gone into this series, becasue Chance is constantly referring back to the previous books, and it all becomes a lot clearer. If you, like me, really enjoyed the first two books but felt a bit lost and confused with all the jumping around and all the holes in Cassie's knowledge, consequently holes in the readers knowledge, have no fear because all is explained in EMBRACE.
I was so enthralled with the book when I finished, that I went straight back to the first two and read them all over again, just to see how everything fitted into place!
Karen Chance has just released Midnight's Daughter, a story that contains a few characters from the Cassie Palmer series and is set in the same world. Her next book will be the fourth in the Cassie palmer series, and I for one can't wait! I did feel that after 3 books the series could pretty much stand alone, but I can't wait to read more about Mircea and Pritkin :)
A must read for vamp lovers!
Review date: 2008-09-01 Rating: 10 out of 10
I loved the first two books in this series, so had to get my mucky paws on this one when it came out. The main character, Cassandra Palmer is a witch with a very unusual family... she was brought up by vampires. And now one of them, a rather powerful one, has put a spell on her which means that if it is allowed to progress to full power, they will be bound to one another forever. And Cassie really doesn't want that.
Just to make things more difficult, Cassie has also been named the world's chief clairvoyant. which means every man and his dog, or witch, or mage, or vampire (you get the idea) is after her. They either want to kill her, or recruit her services. But all Cassie wants to do is get rid of the spell which binds her and master vampire Mircea to one another. To do that, she needs to locate the Codex Merlini, an ancient text which contains an incantation to break the bond.
Trouble is, the Codex is missing. It's not been seen for a very, very long time. So Cassie must seek it out in the only place it can be found... the past. On discovering this, she also finds out that there's a very good reason the grimoire has been lost. It contains spells which are incredibly powerful, and also incredibly dangerous... so much so that they could bring about the destruction of the world.
Cassie not sure who's on her side, and who isn't. All she knows is she needs to break the spell between herself and the divine Mircea. And she's determined to succeed - at all costs.
I love Karen Chance. The first two books in the Cassandra Palmer series are fab, and this is too! It's constant action and tension from start to finish, twists and turns and gasp-worthy moments, everything you want from a good book. I highly recommend you read the first two books before picking this one up though, it doesn't really work as a standalone book. You'll probably get the gist, but you'll struggle to know who people are and what's happened in their past which affects the story. But it's no hardship - all three books are top-notch, and I'd recommend them to anyone in this genre.
Vampires and mages and gods and demons and weres and fey and witches and ghosts and monsters and zombies oh *******************!
Review date: 2008-04-20 Rating: 10 out of 10
This latest instalment continues with a similar format to the pervious books; set within a few days span and about a week and a half after the last book. You can therefore expect like the others to be taken straight into the action and to have the pace maintained throughout the book. The opening chapters are particularly good; thrilling and interesting.
It begins with Cassie searching for a counter spell to the evermore troublesome geis - the spell that Mircea placed upon Cassie when she was very young that binds her too him. To finally have control over her life she must be rid of it and the only way to do that is to find a very complicated spell, in a very dangerous spell book, written by Merlin himself - the codex Merlini. Enlisted to help her is the unpredictable John Pritkin.
Cassie has more allies in this book, one of its roles seems to be setting up the sides for the impending interspecies war and through it we learn that she has even more enemies...gods, demons, mages, the fey, Rasputin and her old master Tony, throw in an uneasy alliance with the vampires, fun, fun, fun. Chance really isn't picky about the paranormal and mythical creatures she writes about, these books have pretty much everything magical, mythical and paranormal in, but I in no way see this as a bad thing, it puts me in mind of the convoluted, combustible Roman and Greek myths she draws heavily from; with the love triangles, betrayals and her huge panthenon of characters. In fact much of her research is very true to the original myths she palys with; Apollo leading the war and her touch of using Merlin's original name, nice.
There are some good surprises and developments with the characters as well as there being quite a few references to the first book, that didn't much sense at the time as Cassie jumps all over the place through time, making all sorts of new problems (as is her way) but righting some others as well. Prikin's story is very good, the scenes which are about him or have him in become the more interesting and unexpected ones. His scenes with Cassie are therefore a nice contrast to hers with Mircea as they have become monotonous; you always know how they're going to end. I've never been a fan of Mircea, he just seems vaguely slimey, he's got a lot going against him. But this is I think deliberate; what I love about these books is the characterisation given to the non-humans, particularly the vampire's, its very clear that they are a different race with different motivations, it's handled very well.
This isn't a love story, in fact I'm starting to feel a bit sorry for Cassie as she only seems to get intimate with anyone when it's necessary or because of some spell or other. But there is a love triangle of sorts, though the three characters emotions, motivations, decisions and reactions are incredibly complex and nothing is really concluded, this gives it a sense of realism, but at the same time there are some really touching and tense scenes between Cassie and Pritkin that are scrumptiously good. But I've got to say I do like Cassie's narrative when she's alone, this is often when she's at her most fresh and funniest. Especially in her scenes with Mircea I find her reactions are rather repetitive and because of this I much prefer Pritkin, theirs is the partnership I like to see.
Cassie is a more enjoyable character in this book, she's less of an airhead, more strong, capable and focused, although there were still points when I didn't understand her thinking but what I've always liked about her character is how she picks her moments, she doesn't fight everything and everyone but is interesting in her actions. One of the books key roles is bringing to a conclusion her journey in accepting her powers as Pythia and the ending really has this sense of starting something new.
Embrace the night is thrilling with a few good quirks and often rather funny. I recommend all three books, and am looking forward to the next one entitled Curse the Dawn (April 2009), which it has been mentioned by the author will form another trilogy, focusing on the war and Cassie as the accepted and reigning Pythia. Also look out for Midnights Daughter, Dory's book (who is Mircea's daughter) which starts a new series set in the same world.
Great book
Review date: 2008-04-18 Rating: 10 out of 10
I loved this book and how it refers back to the past 2 books, however, I was left wanting more at the end, the 3 main characters are Cassie, Pritkin and Mircea but I really missed thomas and Louis Cesar not being in this book. The book is brilliant and shows how far Cassie will go to remove the geis, not just for her own personal reasons but to save Mircea. Alot happens in this book yet alot of the loose endings from the last book were left unanswered, Cassie's vampire friends seem to have been replaced by magical kids, a pixie and Francoise which I hope will link back to Louis Cesar in the next installment! It is fantastic but leaves you wanting more and I'm not sure I can wait a year for the next installment! I finally understand how Harry Potter fans feel every year!
Product Details/Specifications
Authors:
Karen Chance
Recording label: Penguin
Manufacturer: Penguin
EAN: 9780141037752
Binding: Paperback
ISBN: 014103775X
Number of pages: 384
Publication date: 2008-04-03
Language: English (Unknown)
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: English (Published)
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