Title: Tempt the Stars
Series: Cassie Palmer Series, Book #6
Author: Karen Chance
Genre: Romance, Sci-Fi, Fantasy
Blurb: Being a goddess is a lot less fun than you might think. Especially when you’re only a half goddess, and you only found out about it recently, and you still don’t know what you’re doing half the time. And when you’ve just used your not-so-reliable powers to burglarize the booby-trapped office of a vampire mob boss. Yeah, that part sucks. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg for Cassandra Palmer, aka the Pythia, the freshly minted chief seer of the supernatural world. After all, Cassie still has to save a friend from a fate worse than death, deal with an increasingly possessive master vampire, and prevent a party of her own acolytes from unleashing a storm of fury upon the world. Totally just your average day at the office, right?
Thoughts: Cassandra Palmer can see the future and communicate with spirits—talents that make her attractive to the dead and the undead. The ghosts of the dead aren’t usually dangerous; they just like to talk…a lot. The undead are another matter. For those of you who are not familiar with Karen Chance and her Cassie palmer series, you have been missing out on a great series. The storyline is original and fresh – in fact, there are very few titles out there quite like it. The characters are quirky, entertaining, and engaging, and you can never predict exactly where Chance is going with the story. It seems there are always new twists and turns developing in Cassie’s life that keep you on your toes. If you’re looking for something new, action-packed, and different, this just might be what you are looking for. I definitely recommend starting the series at the beginning though, since so much happens in each and every book!
For those of us familiar with this series, Cassie is attempting to rescue her friend/mentor Pritkin from Hell (yes, as in the fiery brimstone of), who has given himself up in order to save Cassie. As always with Chance’s books, I was intrigued with where the journey was going to take us this time. Overall, I was very pleased with this one, but there were a few issues as well. First and foremost, this book was almost non-stop action which was enough to leave the reader feeling like they’ve been spinning around in circles for hours. Poor Cassie and her crew almost never seem to catch a breather. It was a bit much, and seemed to all almost blend together at times. While I also like Cassie’s character, (a bit quirky, a bit clumsy, yet refreshingly normal for someone with such a burden on their shoulders) I was hoping to see a bit more power from her in this book – perhaps see her gain some more control, become a bit more adept. A little less lost and overwhelmed by her Pythia responsibilities. Another little tidbit – if you are a fan of Mircea, he is mostly MIA in this book.
The end, however, was by far the best part. Without giving to much away, I will say that some of Cassie’s relationships are changing. I don’t think she’s really aware of exactly how much things have shifted – she is instead choosing to ignore reality and bury her head in the sand – but things have definitely shifted. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series – I just hope it focuses more on the relationships in the story, and a little less of the chaotic journeys. I love the action, but I also want to see more of the Cassie/Pritkin/Mircea situation. Can’t wait to see what develops after some of the revelations that are revealed – and even more so the ones that are only hinted at! You don’t want to miss this one!
Rate: B+
