Fury's Kiss: A Midnight's Daughter Novel (DORY) (edition 2012)

Full review can be found on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews

This book started as a 3 star, then built up towards the last third to a 5, so I think it's only fair to give it 4 stars in the end. Very slow beginning in some way, whereas in other ways it was really fast. I know, I'm not making a lot of sense, but this story didn't make a whole lot of sense at first either...

( )

Not a badly written book by Chance, but it does have flaws which hindered my enjoyment of the book. I was waffling between 2& 3 stars, but the ending does give it that final push which upped the ante.

I should note that I read this series because I enjoy the extensive worldbuilding by Chance and the characters that we see on the periphery within the Cassie Palmer books. These books are somewhat more grim with less humor infused into them. (That's not to say it's not there, because it is, it's just more muted and less lighthearted than the CP books)

Part of what I find problematic with Chance's writing (within both series) is that it's go, go, go. The frenetic pacing of the scenes from one crisis to another just wears on me. Even within scenes that are meant to slow the action down, there's drama to be had.. (with her roommate Claire or Louis-Cesare) and it just gets tiresome. So tiresome at times, I had a hard time finishing the chapters. I was just annoyed and wanted it to be over. And it never is.

I did appreciate the glimpses into Mircea's background. I never think he gets enough page time during CP books and I loved learning more about him. Kit Marlowe as well.. although his actions within the book had me reevaluating my love for the vampire senate.

Dory is not my favorite heroine. At all. Pain does not necessarily equal complex. And frankly, I don't think she's a complex character, even with the revelations at the end of the book about her nature. I would have expected more growth from her character and it's just not showing. While I am becoming more disenchanted with Cassie Palmer, there's more to root for there, at least, for me.

I wasn't a big fan of the flashbacks of memory, but to be REALLY honest, I have a harder time reading in italicized fonts.. and that's how the book presents the flashbacks. So maybe that's me being cranky.. lol.

I'm not enamored with Louis-Cesare.. but I think that's due to how Chance presents him. Dory refers to his build and looks several times within the book and I'm like enough already. I KNOW what he looks like..focus more on other things about him if you please.

Not sure if I'll be picking up the next book.. although I was pleasantly surprised at the ending of the book.. the middle was pretty damn hard to get past. ( )

Fury’s Kiss is the third full-length novel in the Dorina Basarab series, a spin-off of Karen Chance’s Cassie Palmer series. Dory is a half-human, half-vampire known as a dhampir. By nature dhampirs are enemy to vampires, entering a killing rage and exterminating all vampires in the vicinity when given the chance. For that reason vampires generally kill dhamphirs on sight. It’s unusual for one as old as Dory to still exist; even more unusual is that she is working with the vampires to help solve the mystery of who is bringing faerie weapons that are lethal to vampires into their realm.

The story begins with Dory waking up captive in a lab, with no memory of how she got there. Her vampire boyfriend Louis-Cesar shows up to save the day. Unfortunately Dory also doesn’t remember who he is and, as a vampire, she figures it’s her job to kill him. Eventually they make it out alive, but the holes in Dory’s memory likely hold the key to figuring out the source of, and reason for, the faerie weapons.

Dory is a complicated character. She doesn’t remember what happens during her dhampir rages, and feels she’s two parts of a whole that have never connected. She’s being pushed to let her father, Mircea, go into her mind to help her recovery the memories of her attack, but there could be irreparable consequences to her psyche if that is done. Throw in her confusion about Louis-Cesar and why he could possibly want to be with a dhampir, and you have one messed up chick. That is, of course, why we love her.

The novel gives us the return of several characters from past stories, most notably her best friend Claire and Ray, a vampire with lesser strength than many in the Cassie/Dory world. Ray was introduced in the short story In Vino Veritas, part of the Chicks Kick Butt anthology and also available free on Karen Chance’s website; he is a needed fun character in a book filled with lots of violence, vampire politics and emotional angst. Karen Chance fans will likely enjoy this book as much as the other ones in both the Dory and Cassie series. ( )

This is the third book in the Dorina Basarab series. I have really enjoyed the previous books in this series. I also read the first three books in the Cassie Palmer series, but stopped because I didn’t enjoy them as much. This was an excellent and action packed book, but at times I got a bit lost in the politics...let’s face it it’s been a really long time since the second book in this series released.

Dory is working with the Vampire Senate on uncovering a smuggling ring that’s smuggling goods into our world from Fairy. At the beginning of the book she wakes up in a cage in a lab in full rage mode; luckily Louis-Cesare is there to fight her until she realizes she’s been rescued. Dory has to unravel the mystery of what is going on, despite her huge gaps in memory.

This book saw a lot of character growth for a lot of characters. Dory learns a ton about her past. Her and Louis-Cesare definitely heat things up a bit. I have to admit I loved this...I’ve been rooting for Dory and Louis-Cesare right from the beginning and am so excited to see them making some headway in their relationship.

Additionally Mircea is in this book a ton as well. A lot is uncovered about Mircea and Dory and their father/daughter history. Both make huge leaps in character growth in this book as well. It was wonderful to see Mircea and Dory start to have a true family relationship; some truly needed balance was brought into Dory’s life for once.

Dory is one of my favorite urban fantasy heroines. She can be hilariously funny and there were a number of scenes in this book that had me laughing out loud. She is known for her dhampir rages that turn her into a killing machine that all vampires fear. We get to experience some of those rages in this book. Dory is also incredibly loyal and always very concerned about hurting those she loves. Oh, I should mention that she can totally kick-butt too.

The action scenes in this book are plentiful and incredibly well done. That’s part of what I love so much about this series. Lots of guns, and lots of kick-butt fighting scenes.

We get a good glimpse into Dory’s home life as well which has become increasingly complicated. We also find out that Radu is claiming that Dory is his master; he is hilarious as well and added a lot to the story.

The book is engaging, fast-paced and very well written. My only complaint is that I got a bit lost in all the vamp politics at times. It has just been so long since the second book was released, I was having trouble remembering who everyone was and what their angle was.

Overall an excellent addition to this series. We learn a ton about Dory’s past and see a lot of character growth between Dory and her father Mircea, we also see a lot of growth between Dory and Louis-Cesare. This book is action packed, at times hilarious, and full of excellent mystery. This whole series is highly recommended to those who love urban fantasy. I am eager to see what happens next and am hoping we don’t have to wait years in between books this time! ( )

The reason I couldn't give this book five stars was because of the action scenes. They were too long and somewhat confusing at times. I've complained about that in the past with Chance's books. But the action scenes seemed especially long in this book.

Otherwise loved it! Loved the relationship progression between Dory and her father. The past memory scene was awesome and sweet. And loved the relationship progression with Louis-Cesare - Finally! I was nicely shocked by the ending and look forward to seeing how Dory's new "position" and her self changes affect her and those around her.

I think I may actually now prefer this series over Cassie's. ( )

Our Review, by LITERAL ADDICTION's Pack Alpha - Michelle L. Olson:

I knew I had missed the world of MIDNIGHT'S DAUGHTER, but I didn't realize exactly how much until I dove into Fury's Kiss and was reunited with Dorina Basarab.

The enchanting world of sexy and dangerous (and often times utterly entertaining) Master Vampires, Fey Warriors, Mages of both the Light and Dark persuasion, and more, all wrapped up in an action-packed, suspenseful plotline with heat, heart and intrigue.

I've thoroughly enjoyed the previous installments of both series of this world, but there was something special about this book. I think because we got to see the OTHER side of Dorina, the more vulnerable side - the more human side if you will.

I also loved it because it brought back, in stunning display, pretty much all of my other favorite characters as they each played their role.

Unexpected heroes, thrilling allies, dirty secrets and more abound in this installment and if I wasn't on a review schedule I think I'd read it again.

I can't go into detail of what happened during the book because just about everything I would say would be spoiler, so I'll just say this... LITERAL ADDICTION gives Fury's Kiss 5 Skulls and highly recommends it. I do, however, recommend that you read the previous installments before this one as there is a lot of history that is used to set up the premise of this book. It may even be a good idea to read the CASANDRA PALMER series as well before starting the DORINA BASARAB books as you get insight into several of the key players in those books (and they're fabulous). ( )