Embrace the Night

In the beginning... Cassie was raised by a vampire and valued because she has psychic abilities--she can see the future. In the first book she's on the run and gets tangled up with the vampire council because her previous "owner" wnats her back. Thing is, his master wants Cassie, too. Yes, in that way. Oh, there's a wanting. There's also a geis that binds Cassie and that master, Mircea. Enter Pritkin the mage. Mages and vampires are at war and Pritkin is saving Cassie, but not because he likes her, just because he hates vampires. Turns out Cassie is the heir to the Pythia--the head seer who has the power to not only see through time, but travel back and forth. She has a rival, there's fighting, there's Tony the vamp wanting her back and show more Mircea the vamp just wanting her.

Here we are in book 3 and Cassie is the reluctant Pythia. She's still bound to Mircea by the geis and because she encountered him while traveling through time in earlier books the binding has been on him for centuries and it's killing him. (It's a thing. He put the binding on her, it was activated when they met in the present. When Cassie-under-geis went back through time in an earlier book and encountered unbound Mircea the geis, knowing he was the other one, jumped all over him, binding him centuries earlier than he'd bound her and resulting in him being bound twice when he placed the spell in the present time. Gods, how I love time travel.) Anyway, there's supposed to be a spell in the Codex Merlini that can remove the geis without killing her or Mircea so she and Pritkin are looking for it.

BTW, it should be known that I have an immense crush on Pritkin the gruff mage with a mysterious past and sexy tattoos. This is why when the hints about his mysterious old age started flying and when Cassie encountered a past-him I guessed who he was and went to the squee place instead of the groan place.

There's also a plotline invovling the deaths of Cassie's parents. She was always told she was adopted by Tony the vampire after her parents, who were in his employ, died in a car accident. Not so surprisingly, it wasn't an accident, Tony planned it to get control of Cassie and her powers from a young age. Cassie's mom was a runaway Pythian heir and her Dad was psychically powerful in his own right. Her dad is also now a soul in a jar kept in Tony's curio cabinet and Cassie is plenty pissed about that.

The good news is, the geis is gone by the end of the book which frees Cassie (and Mircea) up to figure out if she really loves him or if it was all the spell. Personally I'm hoping she hooks up with Pritkin, but I'm like that. show less

Cassandra è finalmente diventata Pitia a tutti gli effetti, anche se a quanto pare continua a faticare un po' nel gestire i suoi incredibili nuovi poteri, e continua ad essere nel mirino di quasi tutto il mondo soprannaturale.

Il Senato, il Cerchio, un demone che sembra volerla morta, Apollo che dopo averle promesso di aiutarla continua ad evitare di darle lezioni e il sovrano del popolo fatato, continuano ad ostacolarla in ogni modo possibile ed immaginabile.

Da parte sua, Cassandra ha come unico scopo liberare lei e l'affascinante Mircea dal "doppio geis" che sembra essersi formato legandoli in maniera definitiva e distruttiva l'uno all'altra. Cassandra sa perfettamente che, se cedesse alle lusinghe dell'incantesimo e diventasse "la show more Pitia di Mircea", non solo cadrebbe definitivamente ai piedi e alla mercè dei capricci del vampiro, ma finirebbe per fare di loro un bersaglio da annientare visto che il Cerchio non ammetterebbe mai una Pitia dalla parte dei vampiri.

Da parte loro, i Vampiri del Senato sembrano convinti che Cassandra non libererà mai Mircea e che il solo scopo della donna è di attendere la follia del vampiro e quindi la liberazione derivante dalla sua morte definitiva.

Infatti, il geis sembra aver portato Mircea alla pura e semplice follia visto che il precedente salto temporale (secondo libro) ha permesso a Cassandra di incontrare Mircea 100 anni prima innescando doppiamente il geis che, riconoscendolo, si è nuovamente attivato. Così, Mircea si è trovato a dover convivere con un doppio incantesimo che, allo stato attuale delle cose, lo sta letteralmente consumando e portando alla follia.

Anche se tutti sembrano convinti che Cass debba compiere l'ultima fase dell'incantesimo, lei sa perfettamente che né lei né Mircea sono realmente desiderosi di completarlo. Infatti, Cass sembra essere diventata fin troppo forte grazie alla sua carica di Pitia e questo renderebbe incerto il completamento dell'incantesimo. Chi diverrebbe schiavo e chi padrone? Certamente neanche Mircea è interessato a scoprirlo a sue spese.

Inizia così una corsa contro il tempo (nel vero senso della parola) che porterà Cass indietro negli anni, alla ricerca del famosissimo - e scomparso - Codex Merlini, unico testo che sembra in grado di fornirle il controincantesimo.

Affiancata - o contrastata - dal fedele (ma ne siamo davvero sicuri?) Pritkin nonché da "un Mircea del passato", Cass finirà nel 1793 con l'unico e vitale scopo di rubare il Codex e apprendere il fantomatico incantesimo prima che il suo Mircea decida di arrendersi alla morte.

I viaggi nel tempo, i combattimenti e i continui "trip mentali" della protagonista avranno lo scopo, questa volta, di rendere il romanzo il più avvincente possibile. Nei precedenti romanzi, l'autrice aveva più volte finito per rendere le interazioni di Cass, con il suo potere e con i viaggi nel tempo, troppo confuse e insensate; questa volta, invece, riesce a non perdere mai il controllo della narrazione e perfino i monologhi interiori della protagonista sono stati lievemente ridotti.

Sicuramente divertente e migliore dei precedenti, sotto tutti i punti vista. A questo punto non ci resta che attendere con ansia il prossimo romanzo per scoprire come andrà a finire fra Cass e Mircea, ora che sono liberi dal fantomatico geis. Sarà amore? Odio? Finiranno per uccidersi a vicenda o l'attrazione esercitata dal geis non era stata altro che l'amplificarsi di un sentimento già esistente? Non ci resta, purtroppo, che attendere. show less

Cassie Palmer is still dealing with her new Pythia powers and basically trying not to get killed as any number of enemies of various species are after her. She's also still trying to figure out how to break the powerful spell binding her to master vampire Mercea. As usual, she never quite knows who she can trust, and she has a few false starts along the way. She learns quite a bit about mage Pritkin and his origins during her search for the magic spellbook that could potentially cancel the geis.

One thing that is starting to annoy me about Cassie is that she never quite seems to think things through. She also is starting to use her time-travelling powers a little bit too much. How many times can you shift back in time and meet yourself show more and other people you know without having profound consequences? What happens if you really screw something up and wipe yourself out of existence? That doesn't really seem to enter Cassie's mind.

I both liked and disliked the ending of this one. I liked the way Chance teased us with a very interesting potential solution to the geis problem. However, so many things had been building up to the final scene that it seemed to end pretty quickly. It does set things up nicely for the next volume. There are many relationships that began or took new turns in this novel, so it will be interesting to see how those turn out in the rest of the series. show less

The third, and possibly last, of the Cassie Palmer books. (Happily Ms. Chance is writing another series in the same world, but I like Cassie and hope she comes back to her too.)

Cassie is after the counterspell for the geis. She discovers a series of rather startling truths about Pritkin he'd rather she didn't know. Some of them I'm not so sure about - she touches on issues that would make me rather sit up and take notice with more attention and make me wonder if it would work, but there's enough willingness to suspend disbelief I didn't howl and throw the book away. It does make for some interesting twists and turns in the story mind.

Various layers of shit hit the fan, and we find out more about Mircea's history, and Cassie's and the show more line of seers. It's a romp along story with a satisfying conclusion, but as Cassie herself says, it's not an end, it's a beginning: how do things develop with a new Pythia well established in her power and authority? Tied to the vampires by her history, rather than the magi? With a long list of people who want her dead?

There's definitely more that could be written and fun to read here. show less

Cassie Palmer, now Pythia – cheif clairvoyant, has come into her full power. Having not been trained as a candidate for Pythia when she was growing up, she’s struggling to understand here powers and work out how to use them. Working things out will have to wait however, as she needs to get hold of the Merlini Codex. The geis between her and Lord Mircea, a master vampire and member of the vampire senate, is getting stronger, and Mircea’s life is at risk. Only in the Codex can she find the counter spell to the geis and free them both, with the help of the war mage Pritkin. With a group of runaway magical children who are dropped on to her plate, and the continual attempts on her life by the Silver Circle, things are complicated. But show more then she starts to mistrust Pritkin, and when a blast from his past shows up, the truth about him is revealed, and things start to get a lot worse.

I don’t know how Karen Chance manages to do it, but this book is amazing! You may remember that I wasn’t all that keen on the first book because of the way the world building was dealt with. There is no problem now! This book was just awesome! It’s unbelievable how fast paced it is, and how everything links together even though there are so many things going on at once. I love it! Along with Cassie, you’re not sure who to trust and who to mistrust, who wants to help and who is out for themselves. You’re kept guessing the whole time!

You may also remember that I didn’t like Pritkin in the first book. I absolutely bloody love him now! He has to be my favourite character; he’s always angry and untrusting, but he’s just so cool with his spells and weapons, and how you can rely on him to get you out of a scrap. If he’s not my favourite, then possibly Billy Joe, Cassie’s ghost sidekick, or Casanova, the vampire incubus, or incubus vampire (I always get that confused) who run’s night club Dante’s.

Cassie is amazing though. She goes through a rollercoaster of emotions through this novel as the story progresses as she gets more information, meets another obstacle, or other complications arise. She keeps at it though, she picks herself up and tries again and again, and her strength is admirable. Even when things seem impossible, and she’s at her wits end, the girl doesn’t stop.

I can’t really go into too much more detail without spoiling the book. It has Chance’s usual fast pace, array of strong, but humorous character, and a plot that’ll keep you turning the pages into well into the night! If vampires, weres, fey, witches, mages, clairvoyants and demons are your thing, this is a series you definitely need to grab! show less

In order to end the geis binding her to Mircea, Cassandra Palmer must find the Codex Merlini. (As in, Merlin. I do love a touch of the King Arthur legends.) EMBRACE THE NIGHT opens with a terrific action scene and rarely stops. Cassie attracts trouble, much to the consternation of many of her companions, but to the great enjoyment of her readers. How can she help it, when everyone and their dog wants the Codex?

In this book, Cassandra matures. I've always been fonder of Cassie than most urban fantasy heroines - her reasons for not wanting power are reasonable and she understands that she can't survive alone and sometimes has to trust others. As she learns to be more confident in her abilities I like her even more.

To continue the show more character love, I also enjoy the various love interests. Karen Chance gives Mircea, the main love interest, incredible sex appeal. His scenes with Cassie will be earmarked in many a copy of EMBRACE THE NIGHT, I suspect. Yet she still manages to create viable reasons to keep him and Cassie apart. However, secondary love interest Pritkin is less reasonable (more homicidal) and just as lovable . . . er, sexy. (Okay, so I have a soft spot for a certain sort of gleefully armed men. Please don't quote me on the "gleefully armed." Crushes on imaginary characters defy my wit.) Pritkin and Cassie's scenes are no less hot than those with Mircea. (Tomas is mentioned, but not seen in the book.)

I don't want to make it seem like the book is all sex - in three novels, Chance includes a grand total of two sex scenes. She does include a great deal of sexual tension and darn-close-to-sex though. Who doesn't love them some well-done sexual tension? LKH used to be able to do it, in the early Anita Blake books. Chance writes one intricate plot which the relationships serve to deepen, not to overpower.

I found EMBRACE THE NIGHT easier to follow than TOUCH THE DARK or CLAIMED BY SHADOW. Cassie, for those who haven't read the first two novels, can travel through time. This necessarily complicates the story. Both TTD and CBS required a second reading before I fully understood just what happened in certain scenes, but I felt I had a much better grasp of the story in EMBRACE THE NIGHT. Chance isn't the best writer in the urban fantasy genre, but her books are fun and sexy. I need to be seeing her on more shelves. show less

This book strained my patience to the very limits, but my perseverance did pay off. ETN had a lot of back and forth just as book 2 did, which drove me to distraction, but unlike that one the ending has some satisfying resolutions and made me eager for the story to continue. The book does have issues, and it doesn’t hold up to the quality of book 1, but it was far better than book 2.

The story starts out as anticipated - Cassie needs to find a way to break the geis Mircea laid on her. Her will to resist is fading, and Mircea is going insane. I have to admit, the author’s resolution to the dilemma was smart if extremely simple, and had been hinted at several times to astute readers. Some readers may find it disappointing; I was just show more glad it was over. The downside is that readers have to wait to the very last chapter for that resolution. Cassie needs Merlin’s Codex which should have a counter spell in it. But the Codex has been unwriting itself through the years, and so the complete text can only be found in the past. No problem for a time traveling clairvoyant. Wrong. Everyone either wants the book for themselves because it is so powerful, or they don’t want anyone to have it because it is so powerful. Which side of this debate Pritkin falls on is critical to the story. Until that last chapter, Cassie jumps back and forth through time, with small battles sprinkled in here and there, to find it. The action is fast paced and mostly useless, as she skips around like a little girl at a party. The main intent of all these trips is for Cassie to learn just who her allies are (especially Pritkin), but this could have been done in a less muddled and exhausting way. At times I become so frustrated I literally growled at the book! Hopefully, the author will realize that the constant time shifting is distracting and annoying to a reader.

The awesome, and truly clever, revelations about Pritkin made the entire book worth reading. His character was beginning to get beyond aggravating as the author constantly had Cassie (and readers) guessing if he was on her side or not, just as in book 2. Yet, his involvement in the geis is much deeper than suspected, and he becomes a catalyst for the introduction of another powerful, and potentially plot inducing, character – Lord Rosier. Cassie also discovers some twists to her new power (even managing to duplicate Agnes’ time freezing trick, by accident of course), and sees how much responsibility it is to be Pythia.

The ending saved this book from being mediocre. My fears that the geis would consume many books to come were laid to rest but the actions surrounding the geis provided lots of cool plotlines and enough resolution to make some progress. Readers learn who the golden god who calls Cassie “Herophile” is and the origin of the Pythia’s powers; we learn more about Pritkin’s past, the motivations of the Silver Circle; and, just what Mircea and Cassie truly feel. Cassie finally accepts the responsibility as Pythia, and makes alliances to protect herself and the timeline. Now that these things are tied up, the plot should be able to focus on the coming “war.” Though book 2 was a disappointment, this makes up for it. I will read book 4, Curse the Dawn. I have even ordered “Midnight’s Daughter” to see how she handles a story with a different protagonist. show less