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Midnight's Daughter
Midnight's Daughter
Midnight's Daughter
Audiobook11 hours

Midnight's Daughter

Written by Karen Chance

Narrated by Joyce Bean

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

About this audiobook

Dorina Basarab is a dhampir-half-human, half-vampire. Subject to uncontrollable rages, most dhampirs live very short, very violent lives. So far Dory has managed to maintain her sanity by unleashing her anger on those demons and vampires who deserve killing.

Now Dory's vampire father has come back into her life. Her uncle Dracula (yes, the Dracula), infamous even among vampires for his cruelty and murderous ways, has escaped his prison. And her father wants Dory to work with gorgeous master vampire Louis-Cesare to put him back there.

Vampires and dhampirs are mortal enemies, and Dory prefers to work alone. But Dracula is the only thing on earth that truly scares her, so when Dory has to go up against him, she'll take all the help she can get...
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJul 20, 2010
ISBN9781400187386
Midnight's Daughter

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Reviews for Midnight's Daughter

Rating: 3.926829268292683 out of 5 stars
4/5

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  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Dorrie is unique- as a dhamphir she has inherited some vampire strengths and human vulnerabilities making for an interesting character. She appeases her own violent nature by hunting vampires and other creatures that step over the line, but maintains a friendship with her housemate, Claire. When Claire goes missing, Dorrie relunctantly collaborates with her father to hunt down her Uncle Drac (the Dracula of legend) in order to ensure her safety. Chance cleverly uses the relationships to reveal Dorrie's family background and how it has affected her without slowing the pace of the story. Dorina, who is used to working alone, must team up with Louis-Cessare to track down Drac in the midst of political warfare between the Light and Dark Mages and coup attempts in the world of Fae. This provides lots of action as they battle their way through the various factions in their goal to bring down Dracula. Initially Louis and Dorrie are wary of each other but eventually trust and then attraction develops. This happens quite naturally given the background they share and i look forward to the partnership developing in future books.Midnights Daughter is a fun read, witty and fast paced, with a host of supernatural characters, a good start to a new series

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  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Surprisingly dull, suffering badly from apparent first-novelitis. Attempts to use Dracula to lend some gravitas... but fails utterly. Really disappointing.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Brilliant!!! Action, magic and mystery, what more could you want?!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a book set very much in the world of the Cassie Palmer books - Drac, Radu, Mircea and Louis-Cesare are central characters, although the book focuses on Mircea's dhampir daughter Dorina/Dory.Drac is on the loose... Mircea is tied up with the war against the Dark Magi, so he sets Dory and Louis-Cesare on his trail. Dory lives on the wrong side of the tracks in a number of ways - contacts with illegal magical arms dealers and the like - and tries to get the weapons to help her kill Drac. There's a familiar tension between the two lead hunters that gets resolved in the inevitable way.The story gets a little criss-cross and potentially at various points, and ties in to a short story too (in On The Prowl) but does overall a good job of standing alone and not requiring the other books and stories.There is a sort of double ending, the climactic fight is great and the wake is truly wonderful.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I just couldn't get into this book. Everything about it should be right up my street but it's taking me an age to plow through and I was just willing it to finish. So although this doesn't happen often, I'm gonna have to give up on it. I'm sure it's a great book and I didn't hate it but just not my cup of tea.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Just a few days ago I wrote a critical review of the third book in Karen Chance's Cassandra Palmer series, "Embrace The Night". The pieces were there for an amazing urban fantasy novel but true quality was lost by the author's confusing time travel themes and a habit of letting the reader know what was going on in the story far after we should've had that information. "Midnight's Daughter" is the first in a spin off series that takes place in Cassie's world and it was giant step in a positive direction! "Midnight's Daughter" features Dory, Mircea's daughter. Dory is a dhampir which is part human and part vampire. Dory's friend and roomate Claire has disappeared and Dory will do anything to find her again, even work a job for Mircea. Mircea wants Dory to partner with vampire Louis-Cesare, but the two instantly dislike each other. Dory and Louis-Cesare must work together to capture Dory's uncle, Dracula. "Midnight's Daughter" isn't perfect but it so very much better than the Cassie Palmer books are thus far. I was completely engaged in this story. I found Dory, Louis-Cesare, and Mircea to be enjoyable and believable characters. While we are saved from the confusing time travel muddle of the Palmer books, there are several flashbacks in this book. These are fortunately well written and easy to follow. The plot was still thick and complicated but the prose was clear enough to always know who was doing what, why and where. Chance still insists on writing pages of a conversation without cluing the reader into who Dory is speaking with. The book also has quirky anf fun touches (such as the uhm, beef entrée the group eats at Radu's home) that I loved. The side characters, especially Stinky, are charming and need to be featured in more of the stories. I was satisfied with this book and that means a lot. I will definitely be reading the next in the series.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Dorina Basarab is back in a whole new series. Midnight’s Daughter is the first book in this series. For those of you who have not read Karen Chance’s first trilogy, then let me tell you a little bit about Dorina. Dorina is a dhampir. What is a dhampir? Think of a dhampir like Wesley Snipes’s character “Blade”, someone who is half human and half vampire. Dory likes what she does by taking out the bad guys one by one. Dory is also a bit of a loner but that’s just the way she likes it. Out of the blue, Dory’s father walks back into her life. There’s no happy reunion for this father and daughter. No, Dory’s father has come to Dory for assistance. He needs her to track and capture the biggest vampire of them all…Dracula. Dory does not want anything to do with this plan especially when it involves her uncle, Dracula. Plus as if that wasn’t enough, Dory’s good friend and room mate, Claire has gone missing. Dory will need all the help she can get this time. Luckily for her...the sexy vampire Louis-Cesare has agreed to team up with Dory to take on Dracula. First off let me start by saying how much I liked this book. I have read many vampire books but not one where the characters were so strong, no matter if they were the leading characters or the secondary characters. I really enjoyed that because it kept me interested in reading the book as well as connecting with everyone. Dory may only be half vampire but watch out otherwise Dory will give you one hundred percent kick in the ass. Then there was Louis-Cesare, the dark brooding, handsome vampire, who is making Dory’s life miserable. But he definitely knows his way around a woman’s body. Midnight’s Daughter is the first in what I know will be a great new series by Karen Chance.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Prior to reading this book I had read the first two books in Karen Chance's Cassandra Palmer series and I just couldn't get into them. I didn't like Cassie much as a character and didn't enjoy the mafia-like vampire setting. When I heard that Chance was coming out with a series that was more urban fantasy and action focused I was excited to give it a try. So far there are two books in this series "Death's Mistress" is the second one. A third book is scheduled for 2011, but I couldn't find info on how many total books are planned for the series. Anyway, I really liked this series much more than the Cassie Palmer series.Dorina is a dhampir and her vampire father needs her help. He needs her to hunt down her uncle Dracula (yes, THE Dracula) in return he will help Dory find her friend who is missing. A rather arrogant, devastatingly handsome, and irritating vampire named Louis-Cesare is sent along to assist Dory. Along the way Dory will encounter some deadly fae, black mages, and an even more mysterious Fae power figure. Hopefully Dory can manage to fight her blackout rages that are the hallmark of a dhampir and make it through to her final goal.I enjoyed this book. The action is non-stop and Dory's world holds a number of interesting surprises for the reader. The reader is not slowly introduced to this world but thrown right in the middle of it. Mostly this is a lot of fun, but at points I wished some of the creatures were explained a bit better. The world is intriguing and complex and Chance does a great job of seamlessly (and casually) throwing major mythological figures into the mix; this makes the things Dory encounters interesting and fun.Dory herself is a tough as nails dhampir who's seen a lot. Over and over she takes a licking and keeps on ticking. Of course she is a bit of an outcast, so that adds some darkness to her character. I liked her practical outlook on things and her will to never fail. She is also a bit snarky and funny. Her and Louis-Cesare have great chemistry together; and even LC (Louis-Cesare) is pretty funny at times...although he has more of the over-protective/darkly brooding male thing going on.There are a lot of other interesting characters and they all seem to have interesting depths of power that are not fully explored in this book. I really enjoyed reading about them all.Chance's writing style is not my favorite, but it is readable and engaging. At times it is a bit lacking on description for me; but she does good fight scenes. The ending wrapped the story up nicely and set up the story for the next book. I love it when my stories are nicely wrapped up.Overall this was a book I enjoyed much more than the Cassandra Palmer books. It is definitely more of an urban fantasy than a paranormal romance; although there are a couple steamy scenes. I am happy I read it and look forward to reading the next book, Death's Mistress. Off the top of my head I can think of two series that I would recommend over this one. I liked Ilona Andrew's Kate Daniels series and Faith Hunter's Jane Yellowrock series better than this one. But this series is better than a lot of other ones I have read too. I think this series could get much more interesting in the future books.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I honestly did not think I would finish this book because at one point it was reading like a very bad fanfiction attempt. It got better towards the end, although I'm still not too fond of the main character. I would prefer a story written around the secondary characters as they are much more likable and more interesting!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The story was great but the narrator ruined it. I didn't realize until it was too late that the narrator was Joyce Bean. I have heard other books with her as the narrator and she butchered those as well. I need to go back and read this book without her voice in my head.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Dorina has issues with herself, her family and the fact that her best friend and roommate had disappeared. More than just a friend, Claire had been Dorina's link to sanity when her very existence as a dhampir, someone who is half-vampire, half-human, is a much a curse of madness as it is a rarity. Soon Dory learns that Claire isn't the only problem she needs to deal with. Apparently her Uncle Drac (yup, short for Dracula) has escaped and saddled with a handsome, French controlling, uptight vampire, who also happens to be a master swordsman, she has to try and stop Drac before the Impaler decides to go on another rampage. I've only read a couple books with dhampirs in them having only learned of them a few months ago, but I'm already struck by the differences. Part of the fun of fictional characters is the different attributes you can give them. I kind of liked Dory even though she is another one of the typical over-tough killer urban fantasy chick types. There was something about her I didn't find as abrasive as a lot of them. I also enjoyed the relationship between her and Louis-Cesare. I think because it was developed a little on the slow side and was more a mutual meeting of minds than just hormones. I also really liked Stinky LOL! What I didn't care for was the over-kill of violence, especially closer to the end. It seems like everything from vampires, to monsters, to fey had to get some sort of bloody action in. I also tended to just skim over a lot of the flashbacks, especially the multi-page ones. I didn't really see the need to read them as everything in them was basically summarized either prior to or after they occurred.As far as this particular kind of urban fantasy goes I really did enjoy it more than some I've read and would be willing to check out a sequel if there is one out or planned for the future.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Two minute review for "Midnight's Daughter" by Karen ChanceDorina is half human, half vampire. She has the uncontrollable fits of rage common to her species. Dorina is asked by her father, Mircea (if you have read Karen Chance before, name sound familiar?) to capture her Uncle Dracula. This was wonderful, full rich plot, characters and dialog. I enjoyed it more than her other books. It moves fast, not much sex. But despite that something you can really sink your fangs in.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    AWESOME READ! Another great series from Karen Chance. I love the mixture of the Cassandra Palmer characters in this new series. Dorina is a very strong character that leaves the reader craving for more. Mircea was a very interesting twist to this story. I am anxious to see what becomes of this story in the next book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Louis-Cesare is my favorite vampire from the Cassandra Palmer series and I was over joyed to find the author was doing an off shoot series with him as one of the main characters. The storyline is good one, but I'd recommend reading the short stories before diving into this so you can get an idea of what's really going on, especially with Claire.The introduction of new characters and old was nice and the pace was easy to follow and really didn't feel like the 100mph dash through the woods, (even if it was a bit quick) like it did with the Cassandra Palmer series. It was a nice change of pace (haha) from Cassandra to Dorina and her unhinged personality. She feels a lot more real to me than Cassandra which is a bit sad and strange, but it's nice to see a heroine who kicks butt, gets hurt, but keeps on going all while not freaking out.This is a series I plan on following til the end.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I love Karen Chance's writing, and this book is no exception. Everything you might like about the Cassie Palmer series you'll find here. Except for Pritkin... sigh. Still, Dory is an excellent protagonist and her world is filled with strange creatures and twisty plots. And don't worry if you're not a big Mircea fan like me -- this book is all about Dory, not her father.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Karen Chance is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. About mid-way through the Cassie Palmer series, she really hit her stride, and she continued to deliver in this first installment in the Dorina Basarab series. For readers of the Cassie Palmer series, there were hints about Dorina's identity, so I had already figured out who she was before I even started this book. Dorina Basarab is the half human, half vampire daughter of one of the main characters in the Cassie Palmer series. Obviously, given her last name, that narrows it down to three potentials, and I'm not going to spoil it for you by telling you which one. She usually spends her time trying to control her dhampir rages and killing bad guys, especially vampires. When her roommate Claire goes missing, she will leave no stone unturned to recover her. At the same time, her father commands her services to help remove a serious threat, and it's in her best interests to obey. Will she find Claire in time? Will she and her father finally develop some sort of relationship? The end of the novel sets up for the next one, which I am definitely looking forward to reading.**Spoilers below**It was easy as pie to get into this novel having read the Cassie Palmer series. In fact, it begins at the same time as Mircea is trying to bring the 6 vampire senates together in the Cassie Palmer series, so some of the events are even familiar. I have to say that I immediately liked Dory, much more so that I liked Cassie Palmer at first, although Cassie did eventually grow on me. Of course, I cannot be alone in wishing for Cassie and Dory to meet. Given Cassie's jealous streak when it comes to Mircea, I imagine the meeting will start out with a bang, but I think once Cassie understands who Dory is and the details about her life, they will find much in common and be able to build a relationship. While I generally like Mircea, I have to say I am sometimes not very happy with his methods, such as his memory manipulation on Dory. Coincidentally, having read City of Bones this weekend as well, this was the second book in two days that I read that included parents manipulating their children's memories. Must have been a literary trend at some point.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Very, very hard to review this book. I gobbled up Karen Chance's Cassie Palmer series and am anxiously awaiting book four to be released in April 2009. So I jumped on "Midnight's Daughter" which is an offshoot of that series. Technically, this is a standalone novel. But IMHO, you really should read about Cassie and that world before taking on Dorina. It provides a deeper insight into her world and events that have shaped the actions and intentions of some characters in her book.Dorina is a dhampir, half human, half vamp, and has fits of uncontrollable rages like all dhampir. She's unusual in that she has managed to stay alive for over 500 years by channeling her rages into killing non-human creatures. When Daddy dearest shows up, Dorina knows it's not good news. When Daddy dearest asks her to go after Uncle Drac (yes, that Dracula!), she's sure he's only sending her on this suicide mission to finally be rid of her once and for all. Especially seeing the vamp he intends to be her partner...Louis-Cesare. It doesn't take long for both Dorina and Louis-Cesare to butt heads and become the targets of just about every other supernatural faction out there.Very complex. Very intense. Very dark. I sucked this down like a vamp with O negative. This is really a dark urban fantasy with heavy emotional and relationship threads. Just about every character in this book could use the services of a good shrink (I'm thinking Lynda Hilburn's Vampire Shrink) and you can forget about trying to predict what will happen next! I loved it. I want another Dorina book soon so I can see where she and maybe Louis too are headed.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Dory Basarab a dhampir dealing w/uncontrollable rages, knowledge of a short & violent life along w/hatred by vamps & humans. what else can go wrong? for 1 her crazy uncle Drac has esc prison & her vamp dad wants her 2 find him & her roomie is MIA. good bk
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I enjoyed this book more than Chance's Cassie Palmer novels set in the same universe. While I think I would have twigged to some bits more quickly if I had paid more attention to the earlier trilogy, this novel does stand alone (mostly). The references you don't get aren't truly necessary to understand the characters and the plot.I did get rather annoyed at the characters who brought pain to themselves because of making too many assumptions about people around them, but I suppose poor communication skills are very common, even in fantasy worlds.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Definitely must read. I love this book. Much better than the Cassandra Palmer series. I love Dorina's kickass attitude. She likes to fight, and if you give her an excuse, she will kick your butt.Dorina's the daughter of Mircea, master vampire. Which if you know the bloodline makes her Dracula's niece. Mircea recruits Dorina to help track Drac down. Dorina agrees, but only because she wants to find her magical roommate. But Mircea doesn't send her alone. Mircea also in lists the oh so sexy, oh so issue laden, master vampire, Louise Cesar. Oh the sexual tension. But talk about issues. For fans of Sci-Fi this is a must read. I mean it, you should read this.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I like vampire lit with strong female protagonists, so I thought I’d give this one a try. I started teaching vampire lit about fifteen years ago (!), so I approach the genre with equal parts fatigue and sociological interest. Every once in awhile I will get taken in by the story, but it feels like it has been a long time since that happened.

    So: this book started off slow. I was mildly curious about the “dhamphir” character-type, though I can’t say exactly which stories they have appeared in. She is a part-vampire who functions as a vampire hunter? In truth, I listened to this book somewhat inattentively as I finished my domestic chores, but it didn’t bore me so much that I turned it off. In fact, some interesting writing peeked through some of the more banal aspects of the characters’ predictable behaviors (she’s tough! She has to save a friend! She has a complicated parentage! Her love-interest is presented as a being she would normally disdain!).

    In the end, the appearance of trolls, the fae, and other hybrids of magical folk populated the story space. I don’t know; it seemed crowded. There seemed to be a lot of focus on torture/power-stealing/bloodline-mania and the tiniest hint of erotic teasing. Since it is the first book in the series, I give the author a break for getting her bearings, but I hope she picks a stronger thread. I may read the next in the series to see where it leads, but I will wait for a bit.

    File Under: A Distant Relative of Dracula Walks into a Bar
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    POSSIBLE SPOILERSThis was a book I wanted to like and tried desperately to like the entire time I was reading it. It was well written and interesting with two major flaws that couldn't be overcome.The main character Dory rushed from one fight to the next, plowing into each conflict with little wind-up for each scene. The entire book went from action scene to action scene and it just ended up being exhausting. Aside from history, presented in the form of forced magical flashbacks, there was little downtime.The other issue I had with this book was there was no character development. Dory started out as an angry dhampir rager and ended the same way. She grew interested in another character but the relationship was only half-developed (and I didn't feel it was left in an intentional cliff-hangerish way, it was just left) and Dory herself never changed, learned or developed throughout the story.It was a book that was so close to being great--I'll give the author another chance, but I think I'll pass on the sequel.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Dracula's Niece the DhampirSet in the world of Chance's Cassie Palmer series, it should come as no surprise that if you're familiar with that series this one has some common characters. Half human, half vampire, Dorina Basarab is the Dhampir daughter of Mircea (thus making her the niece of Dracula). Dory's roommate, Claire, has been missing for a month when the story opens. Her hands are already full investigating her mysterious dissappearance when her father—whom she is not a big fan of—comes waltzing into her world asking for her help. Years ago he had the chance to kill his brother Vlad and instead imprisoned him. Naturally, Dracula escaped and has been causing lots of trouble for the supernatural world. If Dory will help him capture her uncle once more he promises to help her find Claire.If only it were ever that simple eh? Strapped with Louis-Cesare (another Cassie Palmer series familiar) as a partner in her capture attempt she is none-too-happy. Afterall, dhampir and vampires are mortal enemies. Lots of arguing and an obvious bit of sexual tension make for a potential love interest. When their attempts to find Vlad become somewhat entwined with the mystery of Claire's dissappearance the plot thickens and the fae get involved. Filled with trolls, demons, vampires and a hodge-podge assortment of supernaturals the story is far from boring.I've only read the first two Cassie Palmer books because I am so behind on my regular series reads this year. But I've very much enjoyed the world Chance set up in them. Getting a chance to visit it in another series thrilled me! For some reason I can't help but picture Natalie Portman as Dorina, strapped with all her weaponly goodies and kicking butt. She's hard as nails but still manages to be likable. That's a hard one to do with me. I like a tough heroine as much as anyone but they need to still have other facets of their character. Dory has a snarky side and while they're very carefully set-up her weaknesses are there.The one thing I really did not like about this book was Louis-Cesare. I didn't like him in the other series and I still don't like him. Sorry gals! I know some of you out there adore him. I find him annoying and find nothing attractive about his personality. I did, however, really like the fae Caedmon. His 'try everything' attitude was really amusing and he has an irreverance that makes him a fun character to read. I also liked Claire though her role was quite small, I hope she'll end up being around more in the next book. It was also great to see more of the less humanoid supernaturals, Olga was awesomely framed and I liked that Chance was brave enough to make a troll an important character to the story. So overall, a pretty enjoyable read, a little slow during the talky-parts but with lots of action and enjoyable characters!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book was interesting. At first, I'll admit I was disappointed in how immature the main character is, even at 500 years old. She seemed to whine about being a dhapmir. You almost want to say, get over it already and start seeing the strengths of your situation. However, by the end of the book she finds out pertinent information that I believe will bring her full circle once she absorbs it. I was also disappointed that Louis-Ceasar took off at the end of the book. I was looking forward to a happy romantic ending, which it was not. It tied it up nicely without giving many resolutions. I am hoping that this will continue in the next installment of the series. Good plot and fast paced. Overall, good read. Karen Chance usually has great plots and interesting characters.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    This book was in the romance section of my Books-A-Million, unlike Chance's previous three books, which are in science fiction/fantasy. That's where this book should be as well. There is so little romance that it would be fair to say there is none. Readers who enjoy books that are ninety-nine percent about violent interactions written in great, gory detail will enjoy this book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I always enjoy the different sides of an author's universe. Enjoyable
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I ordered this book because I enjoyed the author’s Cassandra Palmer series. Though at times that series strained my patience with constant time traveling, it was still a fresh urban fantasy with new twists on vampires, fey and whatnot. Midnight’s Daughter is the first in a spin-off of that series starring a new protagonist, the half vampire (dhampir) daughter of the master vampire, Mircea. Dhampirs are natural enemies of vampires, and subject to homicidal rages that they don’t remember. Cool.I was happily surprised to find I like this series much better. Dorina Basarab is a more independent heroine who is aware of her own power and limitations; unlike Cassie, she isn’t in near constant need of rescuing, and winning battles isn’t out of sheer luck. Dory has lived on her own for over 500 years. Mircea shows up to ask his estranged daughter for a favor – help recapture Uncle Dracula. She only grudgingly agrees after he offers to use his influence to help locate Dory’s best friend and room mate, Claire, who has gone missing. Dory helped capture Drac last time he escaped, and he is the only thing that truly terrifies her. A huge bonus for me was the inclusion of master vampire Louis-Cesare in the plot as a main character. He first appeared in "Touch the Dark" and I liked him immediately. I’m not even sure why - possibly because even then there seemed to be a vulnerability about him. Mircea has ordered them to work together on this. Naturally, they are attracted to each other and the sexual tension is high. But both of them are emotionally damaged, and get on each other’s last nerve. It’s a battle of wills from the start, with lots of sexy and funny confrontations. The dialog is sharp, and no holds barred. The author doesn’t do a disservice to the characters either by having them become devoted lovers at the end. They have a tentative understanding, even friendship, that could become more (and I REALLY hope it does) in later books. Readers get more history on Mircea and his family than in the other series, and the world-building is continued; the Fey figure prominently in the plot.The book is fast paced and action packed with a lot of combat. There is more blood and mayhem than the Cassie series, but it worked well for this new protagonist. There were a few things that I didn’t care for – the author frequently invokes memory flashbacks that entailed several pages of italicized text. Once or twice that’s fine, but it happened a few too many times here and wasn’t really necessary. The second problem was that the ending felt rushed. Claire was missing the entire book, with many scattered clues as to what may have happened to her, and she just shows up at the end “here I am” and proceeds to tell Dory, in the middle of a battle, where she’s been? Despite these small flaws, I enjoyed the book a lot and can’t wait to read the next one. Highly recommended – but new readers should start with the first 3 Cassie Palmer books. This can be read as a stand alone, but a lot of nuances would be missed. I didn’t read the short story in “On the Prowl,” but intend to now.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    "Dorina Basarab is a dhampir- half human, half vampire. Subject to uncontrollable rages, most dhampirs live very short, very violent lives. So far Dory has managed to maintain her sanity by unleashing her anger on those demons and vampires who deserve killing.Now Dory's vampire father has come back into her life. Her uncle Dracula (yes, the Dracula), infamous even among vampires for his cruelty and murderous ways, has escaped his prison. And her father wants Dory to work with the gorgeous master vampire Louis-Cesare to put him back there.Vampires and dhampirs are mortal ennemies, and Dory prefers to work alone. But Dracula is the only thing on earth that truly scares her, so when Dory has to go up against him, she'll take all the help she can get... " - Book CoverThe book cover provides a pretty good resume of the story so I won't go down that path, instead I'm gonna tell you what I liked and what I didn't about this book =)First of all, I've read other books about dhampir and it's the first time I've seen them with such a violent temper. I think it's a very original idea to provide this unique race a background and a good explanation for their low population, combine with the fact that vampires kills them on sight. On the other hand, I felt bad for the poor Dory, she got beat up pretty bad all the time, I don't think there was a chapter without her having an injury. Yes she is a bad ass, but sometimes I felt it was a bit to much.At some points I had a hard time to follow the story, specifically when there were descriptions of past events or story backgrounds of other races (fae, trolls etc). Maybe it's just that my English isn't good enough? I don't know. It didn't stop me from enjoying the book but it was a bend in the road if I may say.And a totally insignificant thing that bothered me is the name of one of the main characters. Louis-Cesare. I just don't like his name, and he have doesn't have a nickname in the book either. I guess the author wanted a very french-like name for the French vampire, but honestly? I'm french and I've never seen anyone with that name. A simple François or Antoine would have been just as good. But hey, that's just me =PWhile I'm talking about french, I'd like to point out that unlike many other books, the french lines of the book were correctly written, so kudos for that! Now that I am done complaining, I can say that overall I liked that book, the action was good, the tension between the main characters interesting and believable, and it was an interesting story in a book world full of vampire stories.I have Death's Mistress sitting on my TBR shelf, so stay tuned for a review of the next instalment.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Daddy (Mircea) has asked Dory's help to recapture Uncle Dracula. Dory's more concerned with finding her housemate, Claire. They strike a deal, Dory gets to hunt Drac and Mircea will find Claire with the added bonus of giving her Louis-Cesare, master vampire and duelling whiz to help out. Plenty of action and two outcasts find they are not as alone as they thought. For readers of the Cassie Palmer books, fills in the background of some of the characters. Looks like it will be a good series. I really liked it, better perhaps than Cassie Palmer.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    As you can see from the other reviews, Chance’s Dhampir series is growing up in the shadow of her more-established Cassandra Palmer series. I like Dorina’s brisk let’s-get-punching attitude; it’s a pleasant change to find a heroine who isn’t physically vulnerable and can pitch herself into the middle of the fray. I also enjoy her unhinged personality, which has just enough complexity to be likeable. There isn’t much cloy about Dorrie. The plot is fast-paced, with the minor exception of a dozen or two pages at Radu’s, where they all stand around having arch conversations and leering at each other. The plot twists are easy to follow (at least until an infodump just before the climax which left me a little confused; I wish I’d had a clear idea of who Michael was). It’s fun and very readable.(minor CASSIE PALMER SPOILER upcoming)By contrast, the Cassandra Palmer series runs on interesting worldbuilding and romantic tension (as well as other kinds of tension). That series is more compulsive, but there’s an odd side effect – I often find myself wishing that things would stop happening for a few minutes so the characters could have the conversations they’ve been putting off, and so I could find out more about the setting. This book doesn’t have anything as compelling as the Mircea/Cassie/Pritkin triangle, but there were fewer pages I wanted to skip so I could get to the ‘good bits’ with the conversations. I also like Dorina more than I like Cassie, but that may be personal taste. This is definitely a series I can see myself following – a library borrow, if not a first-day-of-release purchase.My only problem – the word ‘dhampir.’ I can’t help but think of them as moistened vampires.