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Cassandra Palmer #8
Ride the Storm
The New York Times bestselling author of Reap the Wind returns to the “fascinating world”* of Cassie Palmer.
Ever since getting appointed the chief seer of the supernatural world, Cassie Palmer has been playing catch up. Catch up on the training she missed being raised by a psychotic vampire instead of at the pythian court. Catch up on the dangerous world of supernatural politics. Catch up on the powerful, and sometimes seductive, forces trying to mold her to their will. It’s been a trial by fire that has left her burned.
But now she realizes all that was just the warm up.
Ancient forces that once terrorized the world want to return, and Cassie is the only one who can stop them.
Ever since getting appointed the chief seer of the supernatural world, Cassie Palmer has been playing catch up. Catch up on the training she missed being raised by a psychotic vampire instead of at the pythian court. Catch up on the dangerous world of supernatural politics. Catch up on the powerful, and sometimes seductive, forces trying to mold her to their will. It’s been a trial by fire that has left her burned.
But now she realizes all that was just the warm up.
Ancient forces that once terrorized the world want to return, and Cassie is the only one who can stop them.
608 pages, ebook
First published August 1, 2017
240 people are currently reading
4055 people want to read
About the author
Karen Chance
62 books5,244 followersKaren Chance is the author of two New York Times bestselling series, plus a number of novellas and short stories, all set in the Cassandra Palmer universe. A full-time writer since 2008, she was previously a university history teacher, which comes in handy when writing the time-travel aspect of Cassie’s crazy adventures. She loves Las Vegas, the main setting for her novels, but currently lives in Florida near her family home. Visit her website or connect with her on Facebook here.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 411 reviews
July 11, 2018
There comes a time when readers tire of the torturous repetition of cliche cliffhangers. After seven damn books it's time to find a new shtick to keep us around. At this point I assume Chance will continue to dangle Pritkin just out of reach while rolling around in our money, cackling maniacally.
ACTUAL REVIEW:
Okay so I've finally read the book now, the page count is absolutely obscene, way too many "action" scenes. Chance is now firmly the Michael Bay of authors. So many other reviews have said it already but I feel obligated to say it again: TONE IT DOWN! Chance needs to take a Story Crafting 101 class because she apparently missed how to slowly build the tension until it reaches the climax in the third act then drops down to the plateau ending. This book was especially bad for being a climax yoyo, there were so many unnecessary actions sequences that could have just been tension builders. Perfect example:
Meddlesome Pythias: SERIOUSLY, WHAT THE F**K WAS THE POINT!? They drove me nuts with their constant overly aggressive interuptions, especially because one would think that a Pythia would take a few seconds to question the "invading" Pythia to see if she was actually going to cause any issues instead of just assuming so & attacking. I said it last book, but I'm gonna say it again: lazy writing. The worst of it being that the meddling Pythias really truly #EpicWritingFail
Now that I've read both Reap the Wind & Ride the Storm, I honestly don't understand why they shouldn't have been one book. A proper editing to cut out all the useless action scenes in both books would have resulted in one spectacular novel. Instead we got two subpar filler books that are resulting in frustrated readers and negative reviews. Yes we still very much want there to be more books, we just want them to further the story & evolve the characters instead of grinding to a halt. Not really too much to ask.
Okay, so now I feel I should point out the good parts of this book, because despite all the frustration & stagnation there are a few truly great things that FINALLY happen!
- Mircea's true dickish manipulative self shines through & it slaps Cassie right in the face. Yes, I know that really doesn't sound like it's a good thing but it REALLY REALLY is! It's no secret that a very large chunk of readers despise Mircea but damn he really wins the "Epitome of Douchebag" title now.
- The Dangling of Pritkin has FINALLY come to an end! He doesn't get as much page time as I would've liked but the Cassie/Pritkin ship finally pays off & in a very big way.
In the final pages I really was expecting Chance to screw us over when the was probably one of the best moments in the entire series! It does end with an itty bitty bit of cliffhanger but a proper amount to inspire excitement for the next book instead of the usual "God Damn It Chance!" we've come to expect. We're left with a strong indication that Mircea is going to be more of antagonist in the immediate future. I am definitely excited to see that, especially if he did what I think he did at the end
So overall, weak on plot & writing BUT strong on long awaited moments as well as a possible much needed shake up to reinvigorate the series.
ACTUAL REVIEW:
Okay so I've finally read the book now, the page count is absolutely obscene, way too many "action" scenes. Chance is now firmly the Michael Bay of authors. So many other reviews have said it already but I feel obligated to say it again: TONE IT DOWN! Chance needs to take a Story Crafting 101 class because she apparently missed how to slowly build the tension until it reaches the climax in the third act then drops down to the plateau ending. This book was especially bad for being a climax yoyo, there were so many unnecessary actions sequences that could have just been tension builders. Perfect example:
Meddlesome Pythias: SERIOUSLY, WHAT THE F**K WAS THE POINT!? They drove me nuts with their constant overly aggressive interuptions, especially because one would think that a Pythia would take a few seconds to question the "invading" Pythia to see if she was actually going to cause any issues instead of just assuming so & attacking. I said it last book, but I'm gonna say it again: lazy writing. The worst of it being that the meddling Pythias really truly #EpicWritingFail
Now that I've read both Reap the Wind & Ride the Storm, I honestly don't understand why they shouldn't have been one book. A proper editing to cut out all the useless action scenes in both books would have resulted in one spectacular novel. Instead we got two subpar filler books that are resulting in frustrated readers and negative reviews. Yes we still very much want there to be more books, we just want them to further the story & evolve the characters instead of grinding to a halt. Not really too much to ask.
Okay, so now I feel I should point out the good parts of this book, because despite all the frustration & stagnation there are a few truly great things that FINALLY happen!
- Mircea's true dickish manipulative self shines through & it slaps Cassie right in the face. Yes, I know that really doesn't sound like it's a good thing but it REALLY REALLY is! It's no secret that a very large chunk of readers despise Mircea but damn he really wins the "Epitome of Douchebag" title now.
- The Dangling of Pritkin has FINALLY come to an end! He doesn't get as much page time as I would've liked but the Cassie/Pritkin ship finally pays off & in a very big way.
In the final pages I really was expecting Chance to screw us over when the was probably one of the best moments in the entire series! It does end with an itty bitty bit of cliffhanger but a proper amount to inspire excitement for the next book instead of the usual "God Damn It Chance!" we've come to expect. We're left with a strong indication that Mircea is going to be more of antagonist in the immediate future. I am definitely excited to see that, especially if he did what I think he did at the end
So overall, weak on plot & writing BUT strong on long awaited moments as well as a possible much needed shake up to reinvigorate the series.
November 15, 2024
The Cassie Palmer series has addicted me for years. I'm not a time travel fan - in fact, I avoid a lot of books with that in the description - but I make allowances when it comes to Cassie and her paranormal gang. The world building is unique, involving different races of being, an all-powerful Pythia office amidst political struggles, legends and myths of old 'gods and legends. With Ride the Storm it was easy to fall back into the storyline again and see familiar characters I've grown fond of, but I started getting frustrated around 30% in. I started worrying a big nuisance of a plotline that I wanted to be resolved LAST book still wasn't resolved. I was waffling between 3 and 3.5 stars in general until the last quarter half, which brought it back up to the 4 rating.
Pros and all the good stuff first
• It’s a weighty book of the Cassie Palmer series – big checkmark
• We get to see a LOT of backstory information on major characters, and one of them is Mircea. Cassie learns not only about a change in his position, but also at least two major secrets/past details he didn’t share before. You mainly see him in the second half of the book, although there are some connections earlier on in different ways.
• We get more information on Pritkin’s past with his mother, father and the Arthurian legend, again tidbits readers didn’t know that add more oomph to the existing storyline. Roser is in the book more than any other character (besides Cassie of course), and you see different sides of the incubus. Fans of the time period will be happy to see Arthurian legend come to life with Camelot.
• We get more information on Cassie’s parents and the truth about what happened – there are surprises and more layers than previously imagined.
• Lots of ghost and necromancer stuff – I was delighted to see the author finally spend more time with Cassie’s underrated and sometimes ignored ability of connecting with ghosts. She learns more about her powers and potential of power in this book, big time, and there’s so much more about ghosts, necromancy, her father’s abilities, other ghosts – intriguing stuff that opens the door to future possibilities. Finally we get good doses of Billy too.
• There is a wrap-up of a major story arc/potential villain.
• A few seriously steamy scenes – the pages almost started smoking.
• Cassie basically chooses – yes, chooses!
• A final battle was epic in its intensity and action. Well-done.
• With so many things revealed and answered, we can move on with some dangling plotlines and relationships.
• THAT ENDING – Last few chapters, adored them.
Cons and negatives
• Those stupid annoying OTHER Pythias. I got irritated in the previous books when they kept popping up and going after Cassie without listening to her or believing her. They keep doing it here and interfering in major ways. I wanted to growl in frustration – or, maybe I did actually growl a few times out loud. So frustrating. Wanted to smash all their faces in. Surprised at how much they annoy me…
• Way too long to resolve a storyline that I wanted resolved LAST book. We get almost two full books of that particular storyline and it frustrated me silly.
• Cassie indulges in frustrating dialogue too much with the characters interrupting each other and ending in exclamation marks.
• So much action it was overwhelming. There was tons of fighting, catastrophes, running and hiding, near death experiences, and all-out action battles for the majority of the book. Very little breathing room. If the action stays too high, the suspense lowers and it becomes numbing. Also, I got confused at several points.
Overall, it’s definitely worth a read for fans of the series. In some ways this book is the long-awaited one with a few plot-lines, but we also need to grin and bear it waiting for the next book and hopefully more modern-day fun details popping up. We shall see, but I hope it’s soon. The last wait for this one was killer. Cassie comes into her own more in this book as she’s still finding out her powers, potentials and all she’s capable of.
Reviewed from an ARC received from Netgalley
Pros and all the good stuff first
• It’s a weighty book of the Cassie Palmer series – big checkmark
• We get to see a LOT of backstory information on major characters, and one of them is Mircea. Cassie learns not only about a change in his position, but also at least two major secrets/past details he didn’t share before. You mainly see him in the second half of the book, although there are some connections earlier on in different ways.
• We get more information on Pritkin’s past with his mother, father and the Arthurian legend, again tidbits readers didn’t know that add more oomph to the existing storyline. Roser is in the book more than any other character (besides Cassie of course), and you see different sides of the incubus. Fans of the time period will be happy to see Arthurian legend come to life with Camelot.
• We get more information on Cassie’s parents and the truth about what happened – there are surprises and more layers than previously imagined.
• Lots of ghost and necromancer stuff – I was delighted to see the author finally spend more time with Cassie’s underrated and sometimes ignored ability of connecting with ghosts. She learns more about her powers and potential of power in this book, big time, and there’s so much more about ghosts, necromancy, her father’s abilities, other ghosts – intriguing stuff that opens the door to future possibilities. Finally we get good doses of Billy too.
• There is a wrap-up of a major story arc/potential villain.
• A few seriously steamy scenes – the pages almost started smoking.
• Cassie basically chooses – yes, chooses!
• A final battle was epic in its intensity and action. Well-done.
• With so many things revealed and answered, we can move on with some dangling plotlines and relationships.
• THAT ENDING – Last few chapters, adored them.
Cons and negatives
• Those stupid annoying OTHER Pythias. I got irritated in the previous books when they kept popping up and going after Cassie without listening to her or believing her. They keep doing it here and interfering in major ways. I wanted to growl in frustration – or, maybe I did actually growl a few times out loud. So frustrating. Wanted to smash all their faces in. Surprised at how much they annoy me…
• Way too long to resolve a storyline that I wanted resolved LAST book. We get almost two full books of that particular storyline and it frustrated me silly.
• Cassie indulges in frustrating dialogue too much with the characters interrupting each other and ending in exclamation marks.
• So much action it was overwhelming. There was tons of fighting, catastrophes, running and hiding, near death experiences, and all-out action battles for the majority of the book. Very little breathing room. If the action stays too high, the suspense lowers and it becomes numbing. Also, I got confused at several points.
Overall, it’s definitely worth a read for fans of the series. In some ways this book is the long-awaited one with a few plot-lines, but we also need to grin and bear it waiting for the next book and hopefully more modern-day fun details popping up. We shall see, but I hope it’s soon. The last wait for this one was killer. Cassie comes into her own more in this book as she’s still finding out her powers, potentials and all she’s capable of.
Reviewed from an ARC received from Netgalley
Want to read
May 21, 2017It's going to be hard to get excited about this one.
I am tired of the cliffhanger endings and the books with no discernible plot arc or character development.
I am tired of the cliffhanger endings and the books with no discernible plot arc or character development.
August 2, 2017
When I first got into urban fantasy, a select few fantastic series kept me hooked. I am now ashamed to say that Cassandra Palmer series was one. Actually not Cassandra Palmer, per se, but Karen Chance herself. I was particularly hooked onto her Dorina Basarab novels which have been put on hold for 4 years and counting.
So why am I commenting on the Cassandra Palmer series, about my woes regarding Dorina Basarab? Here is why. These novels were rich in plot, fantasy, action and well placed romantic elements. The readers were dragged between wanting the hero/heroine to kiss and get together, to cheering on the protagonist to fight, dodge and magically escape dire situation.
That was lovely and fine for the first couple of novels. The Cassandra Palmer series, however, has been stuck in this stagnant part of the plot. That is to say, there does not seem to be any plot at all. The love triangle hasn't been resolved, the protagonist seems to continuously fighting, dodging or magically escaping. It feels like the author just puts the characters through a wringer, with no clue where they will end up, just for the purpose of dragging out this series. In my opinion, the last proper Cassandra Palmer book was book number 5: Hunt the Moon. At the end of it, Pritkin disappears. He still hasn't reappeared in normal time. Their love triangle hasn't gotten anywhere. I don't think it every will. Mircea, pretty much never appears in the last few books. I have forgotten what his role is in this series.
I can remember quite clearly some of the fun and action moments in books 1-5. I however, can't remember anything from books 6-7, probably because nothing happened. I am not joking. NOTHING HAPPENED. If anyone is new to the series. Just read books 1-5. And skip books 6-7 because NOTHING HAPPENS. At this point, I am wondering what attracted me to this author in the first place. Her plot lines are utterly lacking in substance. Continuous action does not make for a good plot. There is nothing driving the plot. If there is something driving it, it is so hidden, it's like trying to find a needle in a haystack. She doesn't seem to have any idea with where she is going with this book. And frankly, if I were her publisher, I would a) tell her to get a move on, b) finish the series because she has dragged it on long enough and c) not to mess up the Dorina Basarab series, if she ever gets onto writing it.
Anyway, rant over. I am thinking about creating a new shelf called: "Series which had a lot of promise but turned out to be disappointing". No that's too long. How about, "WTH happened?".
So why am I commenting on the Cassandra Palmer series, about my woes regarding Dorina Basarab? Here is why. These novels were rich in plot, fantasy, action and well placed romantic elements. The readers were dragged between wanting the hero/heroine to kiss and get together, to cheering on the protagonist to fight, dodge and magically escape dire situation.
That was lovely and fine for the first couple of novels. The Cassandra Palmer series, however, has been stuck in this stagnant part of the plot. That is to say, there does not seem to be any plot at all. The love triangle hasn't been resolved, the protagonist seems to continuously fighting, dodging or magically escaping. It feels like the author just puts the characters through a wringer, with no clue where they will end up, just for the purpose of dragging out this series. In my opinion, the last proper Cassandra Palmer book was book number 5: Hunt the Moon. At the end of it, Pritkin disappears. He still hasn't reappeared in normal time. Their love triangle hasn't gotten anywhere. I don't think it every will. Mircea, pretty much never appears in the last few books. I have forgotten what his role is in this series.
I can remember quite clearly some of the fun and action moments in books 1-5. I however, can't remember anything from books 6-7, probably because nothing happened. I am not joking. NOTHING HAPPENED. If anyone is new to the series. Just read books 1-5. And skip books 6-7 because NOTHING HAPPENS. At this point, I am wondering what attracted me to this author in the first place. Her plot lines are utterly lacking in substance. Continuous action does not make for a good plot. There is nothing driving the plot. If there is something driving it, it is so hidden, it's like trying to find a needle in a haystack. She doesn't seem to have any idea with where she is going with this book. And frankly, if I were her publisher, I would a) tell her to get a move on, b) finish the series because she has dragged it on long enough and c) not to mess up the Dorina Basarab series, if she ever gets onto writing it.
Anyway, rant over. I am thinking about creating a new shelf called: "Series which had a lot of promise but turned out to be disappointing". No that's too long. How about, "WTH happened?".
May 9, 2017
Copy obtained from Netgalley
I love this series and yes I'm constantly in awe of the authors imagination but I do understand why so many readers feel frustrated with certain things. It seems to me that a particular storyline has been dangling tantalisingly just out of reach for three books now as Cassie jumps here there and everywhere! Hey I don't mind the total mind reeling antics or time jumps and indeed it's been an incredible journey as now we are seeing Cassie stand up and take charge of not just her court but her own desires. For far too long she's been manipulated and placed in situations that better suit others ( yes looking at you Mircea ) yet in this book which takes the reader to Camelot Cassie is going all out to save Pritkin. She might get sidetracked with Mages and Gods trying to take over but this gal is getting much more wily .
Trying very hard here not to ruin this book for others so I will say there's quite a lot less of Mircea here but what there is opens up a whole new can of worms. There's way more Pritkin and boy is he a sneaky one ! I can't say too much but his Fae heritage really makes an appearance here. Fans of Rosier will see him in a whole new light and he's still not all warm and fuzzy but not quite as heartless as he's previously appeared. I loved seeing Cassie embrace and understand her affinity with ghosts and with even more information about her parents the author is really shedding light. Plus it's funny! Yes this book had me laughing at times which is always a good sign. Ok I'm disliking the interfering Pythias and do not understand why their powers seem more controllable than Cassies. The power is infinite and yet she's constantly being burned out so come on all you Mages give her a heads up!
So the big question is does Cassie finally choose and I'm saying yes, YES! Hey it's never going to be easy but oh my are things going to be on fire in the next book.
Action that left my head reeling, darned annoying interfering types who kept causing problems , a huge dilemma and a take that to a certain God! So hopefully the next book will feature more in the present and that means the Fae are going to be in trouble as there's fallout heading their way!
This voluntary review is of an advance copy and these thoughts are my own honest and fair opinion
I love this series and yes I'm constantly in awe of the authors imagination but I do understand why so many readers feel frustrated with certain things. It seems to me that a particular storyline has been dangling tantalisingly just out of reach for three books now as Cassie jumps here there and everywhere! Hey I don't mind the total mind reeling antics or time jumps and indeed it's been an incredible journey as now we are seeing Cassie stand up and take charge of not just her court but her own desires. For far too long she's been manipulated and placed in situations that better suit others ( yes looking at you Mircea ) yet in this book which takes the reader to Camelot Cassie is going all out to save Pritkin. She might get sidetracked with Mages and Gods trying to take over but this gal is getting much more wily .
Trying very hard here not to ruin this book for others so I will say there's quite a lot less of Mircea here but what there is opens up a whole new can of worms. There's way more Pritkin and boy is he a sneaky one ! I can't say too much but his Fae heritage really makes an appearance here. Fans of Rosier will see him in a whole new light and he's still not all warm and fuzzy but not quite as heartless as he's previously appeared. I loved seeing Cassie embrace and understand her affinity with ghosts and with even more information about her parents the author is really shedding light. Plus it's funny! Yes this book had me laughing at times which is always a good sign. Ok I'm disliking the interfering Pythias and do not understand why their powers seem more controllable than Cassies. The power is infinite and yet she's constantly being burned out so come on all you Mages give her a heads up!
So the big question is does Cassie finally choose and I'm saying yes, YES! Hey it's never going to be easy but oh my are things going to be on fire in the next book.
Action that left my head reeling, darned annoying interfering types who kept causing problems , a huge dilemma and a take that to a certain God! So hopefully the next book will feature more in the present and that means the Fae are going to be in trouble as there's fallout heading their way!
This voluntary review is of an advance copy and these thoughts are my own honest and fair opinion
Want to read
November 6, 2015ok first this book better b coming out april 2016 like Karen has at the end of book 7. cause I dont wanna wait another 2 years for the next book. but I also hope we move forward time wise a little bc in the books its been like a week since pritkins been gone in the story and yet 3 books later (and 6 years for us) she still hasn't managed to get him back permanently.
August 3, 2017
Most of this book was a solid 3, with the final two chapters a thrilling 5.
The problem with these last two books is that they've felt like nothing more than filler. Yes, there's been some filling in of personal details and expansion of the world building, but mainly it's been Cassie rushing round trying to put out fires and ending up unconscious. I don't think I've ever read another book where the main character has so many 'wake up' scenes. This book opens with one and I genuinely thought it was a nod to the reader from the author, a 'yes I know I used too many of these in the last book, I'm just putting this out here as a funny starter' kind of thing. Cassie even says 'I've woken up in stranger places'. But no. It was the first of many. It seems strange to be pleading for less action, but these people need to slow down and have a damn conversation. All the fighting and explosions are getting like the sex scenes in Laurel K Hamilton's work: gratuitous. They're not moving the plot anywhere, they're helping it stand still.
We do have a few moments of genuine exploration in this one: Rosier in particular, gets some real depth and development. I'm not sure anybody else does. Cassie's too busy being tired and unconscious.
The ending, however, was brilliant. It screams potential change. Forward momentum. Possible interesting things. Character stuff. Challenges. You know, the bits we really want.
Honestly, if it weren't for Pritkin I'd be out by now. But. You know....Pritkin. Maybe in the next book....
The problem with these last two books is that they've felt like nothing more than filler. Yes, there's been some filling in of personal details and expansion of the world building, but mainly it's been Cassie rushing round trying to put out fires and ending up unconscious. I don't think I've ever read another book where the main character has so many 'wake up' scenes. This book opens with one and I genuinely thought it was a nod to the reader from the author, a 'yes I know I used too many of these in the last book, I'm just putting this out here as a funny starter' kind of thing. Cassie even says 'I've woken up in stranger places'. But no. It was the first of many. It seems strange to be pleading for less action, but these people need to slow down and have a damn conversation. All the fighting and explosions are getting like the sex scenes in Laurel K Hamilton's work: gratuitous. They're not moving the plot anywhere, they're helping it stand still.
We do have a few moments of genuine exploration in this one: Rosier in particular, gets some real depth and development. I'm not sure anybody else does. Cassie's too busy being tired and unconscious.
The ending, however, was brilliant. It screams potential change. Forward momentum. Possible interesting things. Character stuff. Challenges. You know, the bits we really want.
Honestly, if it weren't for Pritkin I'd be out by now. But. You know....Pritkin. Maybe in the next book....
June 18, 2017
(This review contains spoilers from previous books in the Cassie Palmer and Dorina Basarab series.)
This is it. This is the book that every Karen Chance fan has been waiting for. This is where you find out… everything.
I’m not saying that the previous books didn’t have huge reveals that advanced the plot at the same time that they complicated it. Like finding out that John Pritkin was a half-incubus formerly known as Merlin. Or finding out that Cassie is the daughter of Artemis: literally, a demigoddess.
But all those reveals were unexpected surprises. Nobody was blowing up the fan boards with the question, “Where did Cassie get her extraordinary power?”
But for literally years (okay, just 2, but still, that’s plural), the biggest question that all Karen Chance’s readers have been asking is: Why has Mircea been courting Pythias for generations?
There’s been speculation on the fan boards, but there hasn’t been a single compelling theory that seems obvious to everyone, mainly because Karen Chance’s books have a habit of taking turns that were never obvious. There’s nothing predictable about her mind.
So we’ve been waiting and hoping that we’d find out, because as the world stands on the precipice of war with another god, and as Cassie stands on the precipice of, well, not so much a decision between two men who she loves, but more a decision about what kind of relationship she’ll have with the two men she loves, so much hinges on this question: What does Mircea want from Cassie? How does his ulterior motive intersect with the relationship he’s built with her, and her relationship with John Pritkin?
The previous book ended with so many unanswered questions. In addition to those about why Mircea has been courting Pythias, there were lots of others (minor spoilers ahead):
1) Why was Mircea trying to lock down the Seidr spell that allowed Cassie to get into his mind?
2) Will Cassie again encounter Dory, Mircea’s half-vampire daughter who up until now Cassie mistakenly believes is a secret lover? And will she find out who Dory actually is?
3) For that matter, why has Mircea been keeping Dory secret from Cassie?
4) We’ve been getting hints that Mircea’s mental powers are far in excess of what everyone believes. Why has he been hiding those powers, and what’s at stake if they’re revealed?
5) We know that Cassie’s father was pretending to be a black mage and work with the Black Circle to siphon off power, but why?
6) Will we see Caedmon again?
7) And, to quote my review of Reap the Wind, “if Cassie finds her dad, will he be Team Mircea or Team Pritkin?”
Okay, maybe those last two questions weren’t the ones burning in everyone’s mind.
Hey, I’ve been a sucker for Caedmon ever since Dory bit him hard enough to draw blood and he told her to do it some more. The guy is powerful, sexy, mysterious, a good dad, and he’s also shifty as.
(Come to think of it, the same descriptors could apply to Mircea.)
Anyway, I’m here to tell you that every one of those questions got answered in Ride the Storm. Yes. Each and every one. It was, like, orgasmically satisfying for a long-time reader of this series.
Of course, Ride the Storm also raised a bunch of new questions. Like: Will Cassie give Mircea what he wants when she finds out what it is?
And what will happen to Mircea if he gets what he wants? This is a man so utterly driven, whose life, you will discover, has been one long dance toward a single obsession. What happens when his driving goal has been achieved?
Let me step back and set this up a little better for those who haven’t read a Karen Chance book before. These books are amazing. And I say that as someone who reads fantasy and science fiction voraciously, and who is nevertheless incredibly picky. I don’t give out unqualified praise easily. I read at least 150 books a year, and I can count on the fingers of two hands the number of authors I have ever read whom I rank as highly.
I still remember when I first discovered Karen Chance. I was looking for a new book on the urban fantasy shelf in the local bookstore (back when there were still real, physical bookstores). There was this book called Touch the Dark. I thought the cover was a little dorky but not as bad as some other books. (At least the big tattoo on the main character’s back was on her upper back, not a tramp stamp.) And there were some pretty glowing reviews on the cover. Charlaine Harris loves these books! So I decided to give it a try. I took it home.
The next day, I was back to buy every other book in the series.
And then I started reading the books in the Dorina Basarab series, set in the same world but only partially intersecting with Cassie’s.
And then I spent the next 10 years marking the date on my calendar when each new book would come out, and re-reading the previous books in the lead up to each release.
Like I said, I’m a picky reader. I’m a university professor who finds most academic writing boring as hell. So I turn to fiction for action and face-paced stories and for plot, but then it drives me nuts when I read books that maybe are good stories but the writing is shit.
Or I find novels that are really well written, so beautifully written that every page I want to re-read a phrase several times because it’s so exquisitely turned. But then after I read that phrase and marvel, I set down the book and go paint my toenails, because great writing with a mediocre storyline isn’t compelling enough to keep my interest.
Then there are a whole bunch of books that are perfectly nice. They’re well written and edited. There’s plenty of tension to keep me reading. They have compelling plots, and even if I could find each one of them on the TV Tropes Wiki, well, they’re still enjoyable reading because there’s a reason why certain plotlines are common tropes. And then the minute I finish, I move on to the next book. A month later, I ask myself, “What was that one about, again?” Because they’re all basically interchangeable.
And then there are the books that I read and re-read over and over again, because not only are they both well-written and have compelling storylines, they’re utterly unique, genre-defying, world-building, and unforgettable. Karen Chance novels are basically the Bohemian Rhapsody of urban fantasy. So many flavours of genius all woven together that you could never predict that it would work, but it does.
Ride the Storm is the 8th book in the Cassie Palmer series. You could pick it up without having read the previous books and not be completely lost. The author spends enough time recapping for first-timers or for readers returning to this series.
But if you are new to the series, I’d recommend that you try Touch the Dark or Midnight’s Daughter first. Because there’s a depth to these books that builds and layers over time and makes the experience of reading them so much richer.
And if you’re a returning reader, just to reiterate: this book will make you happy.
To recap:
Characters from the Dory books who make appearances in Ride the Storm (not including Mircea, Marlowe, and the Consul, who regularly feature in both series): At least 3!
Allusions to musical theatre: Let’s just say that “for one brief, shining moment” I knew that Karen Chance and I have the same taste in musicals.
Share “a way of turning up whenever there’s trouble”: Dory and Cassie.
Delivers truths with so much honesty it hurts: Mircea.
We find out the most new information about: Caedmon. (Oh my god!)
We find out the sweetest bit of new information about: Marco.
So much action I could barely wrap my puny little brain around what was happening: The first third of the book.
Holy character development, Batman!: Rosier
They get to do something together that they’ve never done before: Cassie and Pritkin.
Delivers the best speech: It’s a toss up between Cassie and Rian.
With the geis and then the Seidr spell broken, will Cassie finally be free of weird spells that link her to another person in intimate ways? No! Fortunately, this new spell is delicious!
Half Renaissance bad boy, half Captain Jack Sparrow: Marlowe
Has all the best gossip, second only to Marlowe: Jules.
Gets just a little bit of comeuppance right at the end, and about time: the Consul.
Needs some more comeuppance: Jonas. Or, as Hildegarde puts it to Cassie, “You’re going to have to rein him in.”
Finds a new way to travel through time: Who do you think?
Tarot card: the Chariot. “At its heart, it’s a simple contrast: victory or defeat. Or, as it was now, a battle undecided, hovering on a knife’s edge, able to tip either way.”
Surprise (re)appearance from: not one, not two, but three gods.
Capable of sex that can kill: Pritkin.
You can tell where you are in the timeline based on: whether Pritkin thinks Cassie’s name is “Ohshit” or not.
Possibly immortal? Surprise!
.
.
.
.
I still can’t believe we got to find out whether Cassie’s dad is Team Mircea or Team Pritkin.
(ARC received from publisher for an honest review)
“When desperate gambles work, they call them brilliance. Do it enough, and people start believing that you always can, that you always will. They follow people like that. They write legends about people like that.”
This is it. This is the book that every Karen Chance fan has been waiting for. This is where you find out… everything.
I’m not saying that the previous books didn’t have huge reveals that advanced the plot at the same time that they complicated it. Like finding out that John Pritkin was a half-incubus formerly known as Merlin. Or finding out that Cassie is the daughter of Artemis: literally, a demigoddess.
But all those reveals were unexpected surprises. Nobody was blowing up the fan boards with the question, “Where did Cassie get her extraordinary power?”
But for literally years (okay, just 2, but still, that’s plural), the biggest question that all Karen Chance’s readers have been asking is: Why has Mircea been courting Pythias for generations?
There’s been speculation on the fan boards, but there hasn’t been a single compelling theory that seems obvious to everyone, mainly because Karen Chance’s books have a habit of taking turns that were never obvious. There’s nothing predictable about her mind.
So we’ve been waiting and hoping that we’d find out, because as the world stands on the precipice of war with another god, and as Cassie stands on the precipice of, well, not so much a decision between two men who she loves, but more a decision about what kind of relationship she’ll have with the two men she loves, so much hinges on this question: What does Mircea want from Cassie? How does his ulterior motive intersect with the relationship he’s built with her, and her relationship with John Pritkin?
The previous book ended with so many unanswered questions. In addition to those about why Mircea has been courting Pythias, there were lots of others (minor spoilers ahead):
1) Why was Mircea trying to lock down the Seidr spell that allowed Cassie to get into his mind?
2) Will Cassie again encounter Dory, Mircea’s half-vampire daughter who up until now Cassie mistakenly believes is a secret lover? And will she find out who Dory actually is?
3) For that matter, why has Mircea been keeping Dory secret from Cassie?
4) We’ve been getting hints that Mircea’s mental powers are far in excess of what everyone believes. Why has he been hiding those powers, and what’s at stake if they’re revealed?
5) We know that Cassie’s father was pretending to be a black mage and work with the Black Circle to siphon off power, but why?
6) Will we see Caedmon again?
7) And, to quote my review of Reap the Wind, “if Cassie finds her dad, will he be Team Mircea or Team Pritkin?”
Okay, maybe those last two questions weren’t the ones burning in everyone’s mind.
Hey, I’ve been a sucker for Caedmon ever since Dory bit him hard enough to draw blood and he told her to do it some more. The guy is powerful, sexy, mysterious, a good dad, and he’s also shifty as.
(Come to think of it, the same descriptors could apply to Mircea.)
Anyway, I’m here to tell you that every one of those questions got answered in Ride the Storm. Yes. Each and every one. It was, like, orgasmically satisfying for a long-time reader of this series.
Of course, Ride the Storm also raised a bunch of new questions. Like: Will Cassie give Mircea what he wants when she finds out what it is?
And what will happen to Mircea if he gets what he wants? This is a man so utterly driven, whose life, you will discover, has been one long dance toward a single obsession. What happens when his driving goal has been achieved?
Let me step back and set this up a little better for those who haven’t read a Karen Chance book before. These books are amazing. And I say that as someone who reads fantasy and science fiction voraciously, and who is nevertheless incredibly picky. I don’t give out unqualified praise easily. I read at least 150 books a year, and I can count on the fingers of two hands the number of authors I have ever read whom I rank as highly.
I still remember when I first discovered Karen Chance. I was looking for a new book on the urban fantasy shelf in the local bookstore (back when there were still real, physical bookstores). There was this book called Touch the Dark. I thought the cover was a little dorky but not as bad as some other books. (At least the big tattoo on the main character’s back was on her upper back, not a tramp stamp.) And there were some pretty glowing reviews on the cover. Charlaine Harris loves these books! So I decided to give it a try. I took it home.
The next day, I was back to buy every other book in the series.
And then I started reading the books in the Dorina Basarab series, set in the same world but only partially intersecting with Cassie’s.
And then I spent the next 10 years marking the date on my calendar when each new book would come out, and re-reading the previous books in the lead up to each release.
Like I said, I’m a picky reader. I’m a university professor who finds most academic writing boring as hell. So I turn to fiction for action and face-paced stories and for plot, but then it drives me nuts when I read books that maybe are good stories but the writing is shit.
Or I find novels that are really well written, so beautifully written that every page I want to re-read a phrase several times because it’s so exquisitely turned. But then after I read that phrase and marvel, I set down the book and go paint my toenails, because great writing with a mediocre storyline isn’t compelling enough to keep my interest.
Then there are a whole bunch of books that are perfectly nice. They’re well written and edited. There’s plenty of tension to keep me reading. They have compelling plots, and even if I could find each one of them on the TV Tropes Wiki, well, they’re still enjoyable reading because there’s a reason why certain plotlines are common tropes. And then the minute I finish, I move on to the next book. A month later, I ask myself, “What was that one about, again?” Because they’re all basically interchangeable.
And then there are the books that I read and re-read over and over again, because not only are they both well-written and have compelling storylines, they’re utterly unique, genre-defying, world-building, and unforgettable. Karen Chance novels are basically the Bohemian Rhapsody of urban fantasy. So many flavours of genius all woven together that you could never predict that it would work, but it does.
Ride the Storm is the 8th book in the Cassie Palmer series. You could pick it up without having read the previous books and not be completely lost. The author spends enough time recapping for first-timers or for readers returning to this series.
But if you are new to the series, I’d recommend that you try Touch the Dark or Midnight’s Daughter first. Because there’s a depth to these books that builds and layers over time and makes the experience of reading them so much richer.
And if you’re a returning reader, just to reiterate: this book will make you happy.
To recap:
Characters from the Dory books who make appearances in Ride the Storm (not including Mircea, Marlowe, and the Consul, who regularly feature in both series): At least 3!
Allusions to musical theatre: Let’s just say that “for one brief, shining moment” I knew that Karen Chance and I have the same taste in musicals.
Share “a way of turning up whenever there’s trouble”: Dory and Cassie.
Delivers truths with so much honesty it hurts: Mircea.
We find out the most new information about: Caedmon. (Oh my god!)
We find out the sweetest bit of new information about: Marco.
So much action I could barely wrap my puny little brain around what was happening: The first third of the book.
Holy character development, Batman!: Rosier
They get to do something together that they’ve never done before: Cassie and Pritkin.
Delivers the best speech: It’s a toss up between Cassie and Rian.
With the geis and then the Seidr spell broken, will Cassie finally be free of weird spells that link her to another person in intimate ways? No! Fortunately, this new spell is delicious!
Half Renaissance bad boy, half Captain Jack Sparrow: Marlowe
Has all the best gossip, second only to Marlowe: Jules.
Gets just a little bit of comeuppance right at the end, and about time: the Consul.
Needs some more comeuppance: Jonas. Or, as Hildegarde puts it to Cassie, “You’re going to have to rein him in.”
Finds a new way to travel through time: Who do you think?
Tarot card: the Chariot. “At its heart, it’s a simple contrast: victory or defeat. Or, as it was now, a battle undecided, hovering on a knife’s edge, able to tip either way.”
Surprise (re)appearance from: not one, not two, but three gods.
Capable of sex that can kill: Pritkin.
You can tell where you are in the timeline based on: whether Pritkin thinks Cassie’s name is “Ohshit” or not.
Possibly immortal? Surprise!
.
.
.
.
I still can’t believe we got to find out whether Cassie’s dad is Team Mircea or Team Pritkin.
(ARC received from publisher for an honest review)
August 21, 2017
After eight books Cassie should have become somewhat less clueless, incompetent and clumsy, but the silly cow seems incapable of learning. It feels as if she hasn't had any character development, she was still floundering from one disaster to the next, there was minimal page time on her training or growing as a pythia or setting up her pythian court or becoming the important player she was meant to be. Nope, 99% of the time she was lurching from one catastrophe to another. Cassie couldn't achieve anything whatsoever without several obstacles being thrown her way, from the fey to her own ineptitude, to the annoying pythias and the circle. It was beyond frustrating to read.
I was hoping the action scenes would be toned down in this instalment, but the story mostly consisted of nothing but messy action scenes that were impossible to visualise.
The best scenes where the ones where Cassie got to sit the fuck down and just talk to other characters, they were so much more entertaining than the flailing around she did in the rest of the story. The conversations she had with Mircea and her dad were like high brow literature compared to the rubbish non-stop action.
How have only four months passed since book 1? It makes all the craziness and relationships/emotions that much more harder to believe.
I swear half the dialogue was made up of unfinished sentences, no character could speak without getting interrupted time and time again.
What was with all the rape, near rapes and rape threats? Why the sudden obsession with female characters facing sexual threats?
Why did Cassie have to pass out in nearly every other chapter? It seemed like a lazy way of ending scenes by having Cassie conveniently faint or be knocked out.
On the plus side the last few chapters had some forward movement in the plot with Pritkin finally being saved after who knows how many books, as well as the whole Ares plot being done with (hopefully anyway)... Also, Mircea finally showing his true colours to Cassie (but knowing daft Cassie she'll still let him manipulate and use her).
The other thing I enjoyed were some of the side characters, like Rosier, Cassie's dad, and Dorina.
All I want from the next book is for every character to be sitting down and chatting calmly, none of this fighting and running around.
I was hoping the action scenes would be toned down in this instalment, but the story mostly consisted of nothing but messy action scenes that were impossible to visualise.
The best scenes where the ones where Cassie got to sit the fuck down and just talk to other characters, they were so much more entertaining than the flailing around she did in the rest of the story. The conversations she had with Mircea and her dad were like high brow literature compared to the rubbish non-stop action.
How have only four months passed since book 1? It makes all the craziness and relationships/emotions that much more harder to believe.
I swear half the dialogue was made up of unfinished sentences, no character could speak without getting interrupted time and time again.
What was with all the rape, near rapes and rape threats? Why the sudden obsession with female characters facing sexual threats?
Why did Cassie have to pass out in nearly every other chapter? It seemed like a lazy way of ending scenes by having Cassie conveniently faint or be knocked out.
On the plus side the last few chapters had some forward movement in the plot with Pritkin finally being saved after who knows how many books, as well as the whole Ares plot being done with (hopefully anyway)... Also, Mircea finally showing his true colours to Cassie (but knowing daft Cassie she'll still let him manipulate and use her).
The other thing I enjoyed were some of the side characters, like Rosier, Cassie's dad, and Dorina.
All I want from the next book is for every character to be sitting down and chatting calmly, none of this fighting and running around.
July 16, 2017
4.5 stars
Three things happened that I have been desperately hoping would happen since book 4, and it was about damn time. I would love to discuss those things in detail, but it would give away some major plot points. I was beginning to lose my faith and thought that some of these issues would be dragged out forever, but good things come to those who wait!
I’ve got to be honest the first half was aggravating and too chaotic without any real progress being made. Cassie was time jumping from one place to the next and dealing with many issues. All of those issues were the same ones from the last book. I really didn’t think it was necessary for two books to be devoted to Pritkin’s sojourn in the past.
The other pythias were irritating. They didn’t add much to the story and were a constant distraction causing the resolution to Pritkin’s situation to take too long. Cassie never had formal training with her pythia powers, but shouldn’t she be more powerful than the average pythia? One parent was a goddess and the other was a necromancer. She should be a badass from that alone. Throwing pythia powers into the mix should make her extremely powerful. Despite her ability to do things others can’t, it always seems like other pythias can overtake her too easily.
Finally the time came for Cassie and Mircea to have a talk. Cassie found out something about him, and he was forced to explain the situation. It turned out much better than I thought it would have. He revealed much more than I would have expected. Well it turns out what I always thought about him was true.
The end was great! The final showdown with Ares happened. The way that got settled was completely unexpected and fantastic! The best part was that Cassie finally made a choice, and it was the one I wanted her to make. No more love triangle drama, hopefully anyway. The other guy isn’t going let Cassie go easily. There was a cliffhanger at the end, but it was one I can deal with.
Thanks so much to Netgalley for giving me this in exchange for an honest review!
Three things happened that I have been desperately hoping would happen since book 4, and it was about damn time. I would love to discuss those things in detail, but it would give away some major plot points. I was beginning to lose my faith and thought that some of these issues would be dragged out forever, but good things come to those who wait!
I’ve got to be honest the first half was aggravating and too chaotic without any real progress being made. Cassie was time jumping from one place to the next and dealing with many issues. All of those issues were the same ones from the last book. I really didn’t think it was necessary for two books to be devoted to Pritkin’s sojourn in the past.
The other pythias were irritating. They didn’t add much to the story and were a constant distraction causing the resolution to Pritkin’s situation to take too long. Cassie never had formal training with her pythia powers, but shouldn’t she be more powerful than the average pythia? One parent was a goddess and the other was a necromancer. She should be a badass from that alone. Throwing pythia powers into the mix should make her extremely powerful. Despite her ability to do things others can’t, it always seems like other pythias can overtake her too easily.
Finally the time came for Cassie and Mircea to have a talk. Cassie found out something about him, and he was forced to explain the situation. It turned out much better than I thought it would have. He revealed much more than I would have expected. Well it turns out what I always thought about him was true.
The end was great! The final showdown with Ares happened. The way that got settled was completely unexpected and fantastic! The best part was that Cassie finally made a choice, and it was the one I wanted her to make. No more love triangle drama, hopefully anyway. The other guy isn’t going let Cassie go easily. There was a cliffhanger at the end, but it was one I can deal with.
Thanks so much to Netgalley for giving me this in exchange for an honest review!
November 6, 2025
Ride the Storm is a thrill ride you don’t want to get off.
Cassie is coming into her own. Dealing with her new position and the pythian court, so for her and some against her. Machintions abound, each group striving for supremacy even when an ancient evil is hanging over their heads.
There are a few plot lines that need to be tied up, how long can the cliffhanger continue.
Chance’s imagination boggles my mind; her world building is amazing; and her ability to write characters with heart makes the utterly fictional world completely suck you in. I’m hanging by a thread, waiting for the next Palmer adventure.
I received this ARC copy of Ride the Storm from Berkley Publishing Group - Berkley. This is my voluntary and honest review. Ride the Storm is set for publication August 1, 2017.
Cassie is coming into her own. Dealing with her new position and the pythian court, so for her and some against her. Machintions abound, each group striving for supremacy even when an ancient evil is hanging over their heads.
There are a few plot lines that need to be tied up, how long can the cliffhanger continue.
Chance’s imagination boggles my mind; her world building is amazing; and her ability to write characters with heart makes the utterly fictional world completely suck you in. I’m hanging by a thread, waiting for the next Palmer adventure.
I received this ARC copy of Ride the Storm from Berkley Publishing Group - Berkley. This is my voluntary and honest review. Ride the Storm is set for publication August 1, 2017.
Want to read
May 18, 2016Just my thoughts on the waiting-game...
Is the waiting-for-the-next-book painful? Sure. But I don't care how long it takes for these books to be published. I don't care if there are 30 books in this series with cliffys at the end of every one of them. I don't care if this story stretches out for years to come... I personally hope it does. I LOVE this series. Every book in it has been beyond exceptional and I personally think they are worth the wait, time, energy and creativity this amazing author puts into each book. And lets not forget all the fantastic freebies we get to tide us over.
Waiting sux. But so do bad stories. And I personally would rather have a great story, (like all the books in this series have been) then to have a rushed book or a too-soon ending just to satisfy impatience. ;)
Is the waiting-for-the-next-book painful? Sure. But I don't care how long it takes for these books to be published. I don't care if there are 30 books in this series with cliffys at the end of every one of them. I don't care if this story stretches out for years to come... I personally hope it does. I LOVE this series. Every book in it has been beyond exceptional and I personally think they are worth the wait, time, energy and creativity this amazing author puts into each book. And lets not forget all the fantastic freebies we get to tide us over.
Waiting sux. But so do bad stories. And I personally would rather have a great story, (like all the books in this series have been) then to have a rushed book or a too-soon ending just to satisfy impatience. ;)
April 7, 2017
***ARC COPY***
Ride the Storm is aptly named. There was more than one storm in this book, both figurative and literal. I felt like I was caught up in a whirlwind many times while reading, and in this way, it was like reading one of the early books again, as Cassie did not take any breaks and the reader doesn’t get much time to catch their breath either. Reading it in one sitting was like going skydiving; adrenaline was pretty much constantly pumping through my veins and I loved it (that adrenaline rush is one of the reasons I started reading this series). There’s also a scene early on in the book that is a proper neat little throwback to the first Cassie book, Touch the Dark, but I’m not going to spoil it for you (and it’s so good you wouldn’t want me to, trust me). I will say this though: Cassie is AWESOME. I’ve always loved her but the level of COOL she reaches in just the first part of this book is astronomical. Imagine the most outrageous things you’ve seen Cassie do over the years and you won’t even come close to guessing what you’re about to see in this book. It is action PACKED and so much fun to read that I didn’t put it down until I literally couldn’t stay awake anymore.
Many things catch up with Cassie in this book, and I mean LOADS; think of everything you’ve wondered if you would ever see happen in this series, everything you’ve wanted to know for years or made theories about – chances are you’ll see at least three or TEN of those things in this exciting installation of Cassie’s story. I can’t count how many times I was surprised by an issue popping up in this book that I hadn’t thought about in ages, and it really made me appreciate how Ms Chance has been slowly weaving together these threads throughout the books for years. I feel like I’ve finally seen a glimpse of the finished tapestry and I know it’s going to look incredible when it’s done.
Another thing that surprised me in this book was how much more I enjoyed Mircea as a character; I’ve always liked him more in the Dory books as he’s more interesting there, but I was rarely entertained by the way he was written in the Cassie series. This time around I even found him funny for the first time ever. Thinking of the line “I have a headache” still cracks me up!
And of course you’ll get the large cast of returning characters, who were fantastic as usual and I loved every second of their page-time – Pritkin (STUNNING….I HAVE NO WORDS), Marco (precious vamp teddy bear!), Caleb (DATE ME), Billy Joe (THE REAL MVP), Rosier (holy character development, Batman!), Tamika (like a BOSS).
You’ll also get a couple of interesting new small characters – I will be curious to see if any of them turn up in the next book, perhaps even in slightly bigger roles.
You will be relieved to hear that there is no cliff-hanger this time – the ending is very satisfying (again, much like the earlier books) but there is a simply delicious set-up for the next book (as well as other things throughout the book that are going to have interesting repercussions in the future) that I am very looking forward to reading. In the meantime, I see many more re-reads of this book in my future, as I intend to fully appreciate every new piece of information this book has to offer.
Ride the Storm is aptly named. There was more than one storm in this book, both figurative and literal. I felt like I was caught up in a whirlwind many times while reading, and in this way, it was like reading one of the early books again, as Cassie did not take any breaks and the reader doesn’t get much time to catch their breath either. Reading it in one sitting was like going skydiving; adrenaline was pretty much constantly pumping through my veins and I loved it (that adrenaline rush is one of the reasons I started reading this series). There’s also a scene early on in the book that is a proper neat little throwback to the first Cassie book, Touch the Dark, but I’m not going to spoil it for you (and it’s so good you wouldn’t want me to, trust me). I will say this though: Cassie is AWESOME. I’ve always loved her but the level of COOL she reaches in just the first part of this book is astronomical. Imagine the most outrageous things you’ve seen Cassie do over the years and you won’t even come close to guessing what you’re about to see in this book. It is action PACKED and so much fun to read that I didn’t put it down until I literally couldn’t stay awake anymore.
Many things catch up with Cassie in this book, and I mean LOADS; think of everything you’ve wondered if you would ever see happen in this series, everything you’ve wanted to know for years or made theories about – chances are you’ll see at least three or TEN of those things in this exciting installation of Cassie’s story. I can’t count how many times I was surprised by an issue popping up in this book that I hadn’t thought about in ages, and it really made me appreciate how Ms Chance has been slowly weaving together these threads throughout the books for years. I feel like I’ve finally seen a glimpse of the finished tapestry and I know it’s going to look incredible when it’s done.
Another thing that surprised me in this book was how much more I enjoyed Mircea as a character; I’ve always liked him more in the Dory books as he’s more interesting there, but I was rarely entertained by the way he was written in the Cassie series. This time around I even found him funny for the first time ever. Thinking of the line “I have a headache” still cracks me up!
And of course you’ll get the large cast of returning characters, who were fantastic as usual and I loved every second of their page-time – Pritkin (STUNNING….I HAVE NO WORDS), Marco (precious vamp teddy bear!), Caleb (DATE ME), Billy Joe (THE REAL MVP), Rosier (holy character development, Batman!), Tamika (like a BOSS).
You’ll also get a couple of interesting new small characters – I will be curious to see if any of them turn up in the next book, perhaps even in slightly bigger roles.
You will be relieved to hear that there is no cliff-hanger this time – the ending is very satisfying (again, much like the earlier books) but there is a simply delicious set-up for the next book (as well as other things throughout the book that are going to have interesting repercussions in the future) that I am very looking forward to reading. In the meantime, I see many more re-reads of this book in my future, as I intend to fully appreciate every new piece of information this book has to offer.
July 31, 2017
Although for Cassie Palmer the last few books have got a time span of a couple of days...for us poor readers we have been waiting years. To try and finally, finally get some resolution to the whole Pritkin getting sent to hell thing....and then Pritkin's soul being sent back through time thing... All the while, the ancient gods are trying to break back into the world and bring on Armageddon. The only thing stopping all this it seems? Cassie Palmer, chief seer, but who despite having such a lofty title nobody seems to be listening to.For those of you who follow this series, it's been at times a frustrating and tiring ride, you think you've got somewhere and BOOM another disaster and you are left hanging till the next book 2 years later. In Ride the Storm Cassie is still chasing down Pritkin's soul and trying to fend off the end of days whilst half the supernatural world are chasing her. It's exhausting. But, although in true Chance style you can expect another cliffhanger don't despair, this book does tie up some lose ends.
As with all the books in the Cassandra Palmer series you can expect an action packed adventure packed full of near misses, startling insight and brash acts of bravery from our heroine. Cassie pushing through exhaustion, injury and resistance from every other sects in her mission to help her friends and those that depend on her. It's an exhilarating ride, which I admit at times leaves me confused and wondering who the hell is shooting at her now. And this is because I have to be reminded all the time. This is the 8th book in the series, but Chance packs so much into each book and there's always such a long wait between each one. So, when Cassie references something that has happened in the past, which within the story timeline may have only taken place a few days ago but for us it was 3 books and 6 years ago. I need reminding, and these constant refreshers bloats out the book but I would be lost without them. Or maybe this is just me...
However, one thing I never forget is the love triangle between Cassie, Mircea and Pritkin. I normally hate love triangles and one reason I hate them is because it always seems obvious who the heroine is going to pick. So far, I can't decide who I think Cassie will end up with although I have my preference - Pritkin - but then again, I really like Mircea as well and don't want to see him unhappy....I can see why Cassie is conflicted. Of course, she's normally too busy with people trying to murder her to give it all of her attention. But, I think this book brings us one massive step closer to a conclusion on the Mircea and Pritkin dilemma.
If you are an Urban Fantasy fan, then this series is a must read, it's packed full of so much action you'll need a nap after reading it, but Chance has also built such a well realised and complex world with vampires, mages, witches, weres and fae; it's fascinating. Not to mention all the individual characters that she has brought to life and from Cassie our heroine, to the cadre of vampires she's friends with and her love interests Pritkin and Mircea. This is one of the best UF's out there and this book is another outstanding addition to the series. I can't wait to see what happens next.
*ARC provided by publisher
Reviewed by Suzanne❤ ♡ Don't want to miss any of our posts? Subscribe to our blog by email! ♡ ❤
March 29, 2017
I've had the pleasure of winning an ARC from a competition Karen posted a week ago, the only condition was to write an honest, non spoiler review!
This book is everything worth waiting for. Its action packed, heart wrenching, funny and well written. I have to admit, there were tears and I couldn't help but get frustrated for Cassie Palmer and somehow gain a soft spot for Rosier. You will see both Mircea and John! There's also characters from Dorina's world which gave a nice detailed touch. Without spoiling the book, the ending gives closure but the story is by far not finished! If you haven't read any of her books before.
GET INTO IT. YOU'RE MISSING OUT. IF YOU LIKE ADVENTURE AND A WORLD YOU CAN LOSE YOURSELF IN. YOU WILL LOVE THESE BOOKS!!
(Side note: Even though I've read the book and have an early copy, I will purchase it to support one of the most underrated authors out there! Lets blame Penguin for how long the books take to be published and not the author!)
This book is everything worth waiting for. Its action packed, heart wrenching, funny and well written. I have to admit, there were tears and I couldn't help but get frustrated for Cassie Palmer and somehow gain a soft spot for Rosier. You will see both Mircea and John! There's also characters from Dorina's world which gave a nice detailed touch. Without spoiling the book, the ending gives closure but the story is by far not finished! If you haven't read any of her books before.
GET INTO IT. YOU'RE MISSING OUT. IF YOU LIKE ADVENTURE AND A WORLD YOU CAN LOSE YOURSELF IN. YOU WILL LOVE THESE BOOKS!!
(Side note: Even though I've read the book and have an early copy, I will purchase it to support one of the most underrated authors out there! Lets blame Penguin for how long the books take to be published and not the author!)
October 28, 2017
This series has lost its magic for me, I think. I also wish there was more plot and less action shenanigans. Reading this series has been like being shoved through an ever-revolving door and then falling into a coma for 3 years. It's jarring and I can't tell if there's much substance to the story anymore. Random specific opinion: . I'm sorry, it still holds a place in my heart though. And I miss Dorina!
August 10, 2017
*Source* Author
*Genre* Urban Fantasy
*Rating* 4.0
*My Thoughts*
*Full Review Found @ Gizmos Reviews*
Ride the Storm is the Eight installment in author Karen Chance's Cassandra Palmer series. The novel picks up right after the last one, Reap the Wind, left off. Readers have been eagerly waiting for several years to find out what happens to Cassie, her lover, the Master Vampire Mircea, and her friend (and possibly more), mage John Pritkin. The author has been teasing and tantalizing readers with bits and pieces of information while we yearn to find out if Cassie will ever learn about the full extent of her powers while chasing Pritkin's soul back to sixth century Wales.
http://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/201...
*Genre* Urban Fantasy
*Rating* 4.0
*My Thoughts*
*Full Review Found @ Gizmos Reviews*
Ride the Storm is the Eight installment in author Karen Chance's Cassandra Palmer series. The novel picks up right after the last one, Reap the Wind, left off. Readers have been eagerly waiting for several years to find out what happens to Cassie, her lover, the Master Vampire Mircea, and her friend (and possibly more), mage John Pritkin. The author has been teasing and tantalizing readers with bits and pieces of information while we yearn to find out if Cassie will ever learn about the full extent of her powers while chasing Pritkin's soul back to sixth century Wales.
http://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/201...
Read
August 1, 2016 I didn't read the last book and I wont read this one either. Karen Chance is now on my shit list of Authors. These authors does the same thing over and over, and then makes their fans wait for years. Just for another cliff hanger. A cliffhanger can be good but after 3 books, with no real plot and no character build at all. I am just done.
May 6, 2019
Wow!! I said finally so many times reading this book!!!
Amazing, it was everything I wanted and so much more and of course now I'm dying for the next one.
My only complaint is that the action scenes sometimes slow down the story and I ended up skimming them a bit after a while. Chance writes great action scenes but I've noticed with the last 2/3 books they're getting more frequent and it kinda stalls the story. Cassie does often make important discoveries during them but there's more than one way to do that.
I got this as an ARC from NetGalley.
Edit 24/7/17
Received my signed paperback today!! I'll be doing a reread soon.
Want to read
September 1, 2017THINGS WE ALL NEED FROM THIS BOOK:
1. Pritkin out of any and all hells.
2. Pritkin safe and sound even though he's an almost suicidal maniac b/c come on!!!! He's John and he used to be able to get out of any situation and no one understands why Ms. Chance won't just give him back to us, I mean to Cassie.
3. Mircea to man up and actually start loving Cassie or just go away. B/c no one likes to be used by tools, no matter how charming those tools may be.
4. Rosier!!!!!
5. Casanova!!!!!
6. Sexy times!!!!! Remember when this series used to have steamy scenes? Fun times.
7. Any plot, literally a-n-y plot that doesn't involve hell and those pesky demons. THIS USED TO BE A VAMP/PYTHIA/MAGICAL series. Now, it's just 'oh, let's save his soul through time while we escape demons, yippee!
8. BE PUBLISHED ALREADY :( pretty please?
1. Pritkin out of any and all hells.
2. Pritkin safe and sound even though he's an almost suicidal maniac b/c come on!!!! He's John and he used to be able to get out of any situation and no one understands why Ms. Chance won't just give him back to us, I mean to Cassie.
3. Mircea to man up and actually start loving Cassie or just go away. B/c no one likes to be used by tools, no matter how charming those tools may be.
4. Rosier!!!!!
5. Casanova!!!!!
6. Sexy times!!!!! Remember when this series used to have steamy scenes? Fun times.
7. Any plot, literally a-n-y plot that doesn't involve hell and those pesky demons. THIS USED TO BE A VAMP/PYTHIA/MAGICAL series. Now, it's just 'oh, let's save his soul through time while we escape demons, yippee!
8. BE PUBLISHED ALREADY :( pretty please?
August 9, 2017
You will see a lot of exclamation marks in this review. It happens when I talk Pritkin. I can't help it, I get excited. ;)
THERE WILL BE SPOILERS!!! CONSIDER YOURSELVES WARNED! :D
HALLELUJAH!!!!!
And there is not even a book entry yet for the next one! I don't even dare imagine how long it will be. :(
THERE WILL BE SPOILERS!!! CONSIDER YOURSELVES WARNED! :D
HALLELUJAH!!!!!
And there is not even a book entry yet for the next one! I don't even dare imagine how long it will be. :(
August 4, 2017
I'm not sure why KC feels the need to run Cassie ragged throughout every book. Wouldn't it be nice for her to SLOW DOWN and have an actual conversation and maybe 2 or 3 consecutive days when she isn't unconscious? Of course this is fantasy, but my suspension of disbelief can only take so much!!! Besides, it's the quiet parts, the dialogue, that drives the plot forward and develops the characters. Action is necessary yes, but a little balance would be good. I love Cassie, Pritkin, Mircea and all the ancillary characters but sometimes these books are just too much of a roller coaster ride! This book did move things forward but because of the constant turmoil I felt that the contacts were mostly superficial and when the main characters did interact they weren't aware of who the other was, or they were miles apart and 'speaking' clairvoyantly. Ultimately, I read 500+ pages, and although I've had my KC fix, I remain unsatisfied.
August 2, 2017
God, when will we finally reach the end of this series? How many books is she contracted for anyway? I'm so over these cliffhangers!
August 28, 2017
4.5 Stars
Although for Cassie Palmer the last few books have got a time span of a couple of days…for us poor readers we have been waiting years. To try and finally, finally get some resolution to the whole Pritkin getting sent to hell thing….and then Pritkin’s soul being sent back through time thing… All the while, the ancient gods are trying to break back into the world and bring on Armageddon. The only thing stopping all this it seems? Cassie Palmer, chief seer, but who despite having such a lofty title nobody seems to be listening to.
For those of you who follow this series, it’s been at times a frustrating and tiring ride, you think you’ve got somewhere and BOOM another disaster and you are left hanging till the next book 2 years later. In Ride the Storm Cassie is still chasing down Pritkin’s soul and trying to fend off the end of days whilst half the supernatural world are chasing her. It’s exhausting. But, although in true Chance style you can expect another cliffhanger don’t despair, this book does tie up some lose ends.
As with all the books in the Cassandra Palmer series you can expect an action packed adventure packed full of near misses, startling insight and brash acts of bravery from our heroine. Cassie pushing through exhaustion, injury and resistance from every other sects in her mission to help her friends and those that depend on her. It’s an exhilarating ride, which I admit at times leaves me confused and wondering who the hell is shooting at her now. And this is because I have to be reminded all the time. This is the 8th book in the series, but Chance packs so much into each book and there’s always such a long wait between each one. So, when Cassie references something that has happened in the past, which within the story timeline may have only taken place a few days ago but for us it was 3 books and 6 years ago. I need reminding, and these constant refreshers bloats out the book but I would be lost without them. Or maybe this is just me…
However, one thing I never forget is the love triangle between Cassie, Mircea and Pritkin. I normally hate love triangles and one reason I hate them is because it always seems obvious who the heroine is going to pick. So far, I can’t decide who I think Cassie will end up with although I have my preference – Pritkin – but then again, I really like Mircea as well and don’t want to see him unhappy….I can see why Cassie is conflicted. Of course, she’s normally too busy with people trying to murder her to give it all of her attention. But, I think this book brings us one massive step closer to a conclusion on the Mircea and Pritkin dilemma.
If you are an Urban Fantasy fan, then this series is a must read, it’s packed full of so much action you’ll need a nap after reading it, but Chance has also built such a well realised and complex world with vampires, mages, witches, weres and fae; it’s fascinating. Not to mention all the individual characters that she has brought to life and from Cassie our heroine, to the cadre of vampires she’s friends with and her love interests Pritkin and Mircea. This is one of the best UF’s out there and this book is another outstanding addition to the series. I can’t wait to see what happens next.
August 7, 2017
Para mi la historia de Cassie, siempre ha sido una de mis favoritas, y la primera vez que me arriesgue a leer el primer libro fue allá por el 2010 y me enamore de todos los personajes. Han pasado casi 7 años y me siento igual de enamorada y de feliz al poder leer la historia y el desarrollo de los personajes.
El primer libro siempre será mi favorito porque me abrió las puertas a este mundo pero RtS♥
por fin corto algunos cabos sueltos y le dio sentido a muchas cosas que venían sucediendo en los libros anteriores, quiero saber que pasa a continuación por que la historia esta lejos de terminar y el mundo que creo Karen Chance es uno de mis favoritos
El primer libro siempre será mi favorito porque me abrió las puertas a este mundo pero RtS♥
por fin corto algunos cabos sueltos y le dio sentido a muchas cosas que venían sucediendo en los libros anteriores, quiero saber que pasa a continuación por que la historia esta lejos de terminar y el mundo que creo Karen Chance es uno de mis favoritos
February 7, 2018
I have long been a fan of the Cassie Palmer series, but reading this latest installment left me feeling exhausted. Usually when I describe a book as “action-packed,” I mean it in a good way. Here, not so much. There are some good things going on: plot advancement, relationship developments, answers to long-held questions. But they’re buried beneath a avalanche of non-stop action. There is no room for the story to breathe.
The book picks up right on the heels of where the last one left off. Cassie has been trying to rescue Pritkin for the past three years (or is it longer?) though in book time, it’s only been days or weeks. This storyline has dragged on for so long. I’ve stuck with it, because I love Pritkin and Karen Chance has been giving us little Cassie-Pritkin bread-crumbs for so long, I’ve been holding out for the payoff. The problem is, the longer she’s teased me with it, the less I care about the other stuff.
Cassie starts almost right back where she was when the last book started. She’s in her own time and she needs Rosier and a power boost to get her back to the time of Camelot and save Pritkin. Like before, the senate is wringing its collective hands like a cartoon villain, planning and plotting for its own end. Mircea is mysterious and largely absent. And Cassie has to fight battles beyond her means almost entirely alone and winning by the skin of her teeth. Then she jumps around in time, getting attacked constantly either by other Pythia, fae, Gods, ghosts, and other assorted enemies. The fighting is constant. Everything is exploding. She keeps getting beat down, physically and meta-physically.
And all I want is the damn Pritkin payoff. But it just drags on and on. No… the book doesn’t drag, it races like a bullet train… but most of the time it’s a train to nowhere. You could skip more than half of what’s on page and not miss the story advancement. Frankly, I tried to keep up, but I got lost so often, I ended up skimming. It was too much to keep up with, not just in the non-stop action, but with all the factions working against the heroine.
Then it happens. Well, two things happen. We learn the truth about what Mircea has always wanted from Cassie. And we finally see Pritkin’s soul catch up with his body. Both of these developments and the results that ensue were huge. My eyes greedily swept the page, wanting more of THIS. These nuggets were the reason I slogged through thousands of words about stuff getting in Cassie’s way. They were the things I needed from this book and they reminded me why I cared in the first place. Yet, they were so buried beneath all the other stuff, it was a travesty.
I understand that you can’t give readers everything at once, but this whole book took place over the course of a day or two. I felt like I lived every minute of Cassie’s life on the page, short of her stopping to go the bathroom. The only rest she got was when she was unconscious.
I don’t care about the fighting. I care about the characters. I need more of them. More feelings. More places for the story to breathe.
As much as I loved certain things here (and I really did) the book as a whole wasn’t a win for me. And it could’ve been.
I’ll probably read the next book to see where the few character-driven parts go from here, but there was a time I would finish one of these books and been desperate for the next one. That hasn’t happened for a while and it didn’t happen here.
*ARC provided by publisher
The book picks up right on the heels of where the last one left off. Cassie has been trying to rescue Pritkin for the past three years (or is it longer?) though in book time, it’s only been days or weeks. This storyline has dragged on for so long. I’ve stuck with it, because I love Pritkin and Karen Chance has been giving us little Cassie-Pritkin bread-crumbs for so long, I’ve been holding out for the payoff. The problem is, the longer she’s teased me with it, the less I care about the other stuff.
Cassie starts almost right back where she was when the last book started. She’s in her own time and she needs Rosier and a power boost to get her back to the time of Camelot and save Pritkin. Like before, the senate is wringing its collective hands like a cartoon villain, planning and plotting for its own end. Mircea is mysterious and largely absent. And Cassie has to fight battles beyond her means almost entirely alone and winning by the skin of her teeth. Then she jumps around in time, getting attacked constantly either by other Pythia, fae, Gods, ghosts, and other assorted enemies. The fighting is constant. Everything is exploding. She keeps getting beat down, physically and meta-physically.
And all I want is the damn Pritkin payoff. But it just drags on and on. No… the book doesn’t drag, it races like a bullet train… but most of the time it’s a train to nowhere. You could skip more than half of what’s on page and not miss the story advancement. Frankly, I tried to keep up, but I got lost so often, I ended up skimming. It was too much to keep up with, not just in the non-stop action, but with all the factions working against the heroine.
Then it happens. Well, two things happen. We learn the truth about what Mircea has always wanted from Cassie. And we finally see Pritkin’s soul catch up with his body. Both of these developments and the results that ensue were huge. My eyes greedily swept the page, wanting more of THIS. These nuggets were the reason I slogged through thousands of words about stuff getting in Cassie’s way. They were the things I needed from this book and they reminded me why I cared in the first place. Yet, they were so buried beneath all the other stuff, it was a travesty.
I understand that you can’t give readers everything at once, but this whole book took place over the course of a day or two. I felt like I lived every minute of Cassie’s life on the page, short of her stopping to go the bathroom. The only rest she got was when she was unconscious.
I don’t care about the fighting. I care about the characters. I need more of them. More feelings. More places for the story to breathe.
As much as I loved certain things here (and I really did) the book as a whole wasn’t a win for me. And it could’ve been.
I’ll probably read the next book to see where the few character-driven parts go from here, but there was a time I would finish one of these books and been desperate for the next one. That hasn’t happened for a while and it didn’t happen here.
*ARC provided by publisher
December 8, 2017
Sometimes it is hard to say goodbye, and that rings true for Cassie Palmer, Pythia and chief seer of her realm. Now, that first sentence might be confusing for those who haven’t read this series yet, but by the end of the book you will understand it’s meaning. Because I received such an early copy of Ride the Storm, I do not want to full elaborate on my feelings for fear of spoilers. That being said, Ride the Storm was a bit of a means to an end book for me. Since the last book, we’ve been following Cassie on her ride to save Pritkin and keep a handle on her new position in life. It’s been trying for her, to say the least, but she has prevailed to a certain point. Ride the Storm is unique in the fact that hidden truths and suspicious are finally revealed and her search for answers comes to somewhat of a conclusion. But, in true Karen Chance fashion, we are left with new questions to be answered in the next book. For some, you’ll be elated with the development in Cassie’s romantic life, but some of you will be left disappointed. For me, things were always so-so with one of the men in her life, and for once, my gut feelings were proven correct. Sometimes the most obvious answers are staring you right in the face and the deception on their lips will be your demise in the end.
September 2, 2023
O excesso de coisas acontecendo ao mesmo tempo nos livros de Karen Chance é uma constante, no entanto, eu não consegui aproveitar tanto esse livro, pois achei que a autora exagerou ainda mais do que geralmente ela já exagera.
O livro inteiro foi uma completa correria, Cassie indo pra lá e pra cá, sem resolver praticamente nada, mantendo aquela frustração que ficou aberta desde o livro anterior sobre Pritkin. Todos os acontecimentos a Cassie quase morria, toda hora ela estava drenada, sem poder, mas sempre dava um jeitinho de sair viva. Chegou ao ponto que eu só revirava os olhos.
No entanto, o livro teve alguns pontos positivos. Adorei o aprofundamento que a autora deu a história de Pritkin, seu passado, seus familiares. Rosier vem sendo um personagem bem interessante ultimamente e esse livro foi o ápice do personagem. E Mircea! Se no livro anterior eu já tinha pego um ranço gigantesco dele, nesse livro eu senti asco do personagem, mas ao menos a Cassie finalmente abriu os olhos sobre ele... Eu já queria que a autora deixasse de lado essa coisa de defender o personagem justificando seus atos e o transformasse logo no que eu já acho que ele é há um tempo, um vilão.
Apesar de eu não ter terminado ainda o livro solo dele, duvido muito que ele se redimirá o suficiente aos meus olhos tão cedo.
O final me deixou super ansiosa para o próximo livro de Cassie.
O livro inteiro foi uma completa correria, Cassie indo pra lá e pra cá, sem resolver praticamente nada, mantendo aquela frustração que ficou aberta desde o livro anterior sobre Pritkin. Todos os acontecimentos a Cassie quase morria, toda hora ela estava drenada, sem poder, mas sempre dava um jeitinho de sair viva. Chegou ao ponto que eu só revirava os olhos.
No entanto, o livro teve alguns pontos positivos. Adorei o aprofundamento que a autora deu a história de Pritkin, seu passado, seus familiares. Rosier vem sendo um personagem bem interessante ultimamente e esse livro foi o ápice do personagem. E Mircea! Se no livro anterior eu já tinha pego um ranço gigantesco dele, nesse livro eu senti asco do personagem, mas ao menos a Cassie finalmente abriu os olhos sobre ele... Eu já queria que a autora deixasse de lado essa coisa de defender o personagem justificando seus atos e o transformasse logo no que eu já acho que ele é há um tempo, um vilão.
Apesar de eu não ter terminado ainda o livro solo dele, duvido muito que ele se redimirá o suficiente aos meus olhos tão cedo.
O final me deixou super ansiosa para o próximo livro de Cassie.
October 10, 2024
I'm conflicted about the rating so mayyybe 3,5 stars?
Okay, the younger carefree Pritkin grew on me like fungus, nonetheless I still think we spent too much time on his rescue. At least that part is now officially over, thank God. Now, can we keep this version of him and get rid of the asshole? Surely his attitude took some adjustments with the time changing and everything, right? Although now that we learned his backstory, both from him and from Rosier, a lot about him now makes sense. Rosier was a shitty father and he never knew his mother, and she was a badass. And his great-grandma? Wowza! Talk about artistic freedom in the interpretation of the Camelot mythology. I enjoyed that part.
What I didn't enjoy was that, once again, Cassie got her ass whooped multiple times by not only other Pythias but by another rogue acolyte. Learning on the job is one thing but this feels excessive. Give a girl a week to catch up with the studies and whatnot, because at this point everyone knows more about her powers than she does and it's getting ridiculous. She's a demigod and part necromancer with untapped potential but she's running around like a headless chiken and only solves problems by conveniently stumbling onto solutions she had no idea were even there.
The thing with Mircea had me caught between heartbreak and "Oh no, you didn't!". That was incredibly cruel, I love that man. I will never not love that man. But, yeah, we need a resolution. Ooh, that's a good song. Aaliyah. Look it up.
Rosier got a good arc and a come to Jesus moment, although the ending was a total copout.
All in all, there was a lot to like about this installment and I liked it more than the previous one, but some things just bugged me. So I vented. There, now I can rest.
Over and out
Okay, the younger carefree Pritkin grew on me like fungus, nonetheless I still think we spent too much time on his rescue. At least that part is now officially over, thank God. Now, can we keep this version of him and get rid of the asshole? Surely his attitude took some adjustments with the time changing and everything, right? Although now that we learned his backstory, both from him and from Rosier, a lot about him now makes sense. Rosier was a shitty father and he never knew his mother, and she was a badass. And his great-grandma? Wowza! Talk about artistic freedom in the interpretation of the Camelot mythology. I enjoyed that part.
What I didn't enjoy was that, once again, Cassie got her ass whooped multiple times by not only other Pythias but by another rogue acolyte. Learning on the job is one thing but this feels excessive. Give a girl a week to catch up with the studies and whatnot, because at this point everyone knows more about her powers than she does and it's getting ridiculous. She's a demigod and part necromancer with untapped potential but she's running around like a headless chiken and only solves problems by conveniently stumbling onto solutions she had no idea were even there.
The thing with Mircea had me caught between heartbreak and "Oh no, you didn't!". That was incredibly cruel, I love that man. I will never not love that man. But, yeah, we need a resolution. Ooh, that's a good song. Aaliyah. Look it up.
Rosier got a good arc and a come to Jesus moment, although the ending was a total copout.
All in all, there was a lot to like about this installment and I liked it more than the previous one, but some things just bugged me. So I vented. There, now I can rest.
Over and out
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