I love the Dory books from Ms. Chance and really hope we see more of Dory soon. Love the dynamic with Dory and Louis-Cesare!

Returning to this series after a several years hiatus reminds me of how much I adore and missed out on Dory 's life. As the dhampir and threat to all vampires alive, Dory lives through a very rough life. Full disclosure, I read the first two books and I skipped the third book. It is recommended to read this series in order. After reading this book I immediately went out and got the 3rd book and read it. It was glorious.

In Shadow's Bane, it takes place not long after book 3, Fury's Kiss ends. Dory is now in a position of relative power which flummoxes her. Being treated as the unwanted and dirty secret all her life, to suddenly be front and center is a hard adjustment. It isn't that Dory lacks class or social graces. It is that she's never been given a chance to learn them properly and use them. As we learn how she's been brought up and the whys of it, her entire history is suddenly re-written. Whilst she's trying to reconcile her memories and her "other", enemies of her best friend and the Senate push forward.

I loved the action in this story and how it combines with a bit of mystery. Dory is the ultimate troubleshooter. When she is the one to go to for help, we know that things are pretty bad. Because Dory is not going to use finesse and words to negotiate. She is ruthlessly physical with her body language and I revel in her expressive nonverbal communication. This does not mean Dory is all brawn and no brains. She's the best of both worlds, when she allows herself to be whole. She figures out why fey are missing and better yet, she does something about it. This is why she is a character I love. She lives by a code of conduct and when she sees injustice, she does everything in her power to make it right. She fights the for the underdog. She fights for the ones no one wants to see or cares about. She cares about the ones who are left behind or ignored.

This urban fantasy is recommended to readers who enjoy the darker side of justice.

Amazing author and this book was wonderful! She is a must read on my list of go to authors. Loved! 5 stars all the way.

I’m exhausted. After reading the action packed Shadow’s Bane I need a long hot shower, a truck of food and a week to recover. You barely get a second to breath in this book before you are plunged straight into the next chaotic and fast moving battle. Which, is pretty standard for a Karen Chance book, what most authors will do in a few books Chance crams into a hundred pages.

It’s been a 6 years since a full length novel has come out in the Dorina Basarab series and so when I picked this book up I admittedly was a little fuzzy on previous events. In fact, I still can’t remember many details, but as I got further into the book the big ticket plot points started coming back to me. Unfortunately this did mean that I spent the first portion of the book slightly confused. This wasn’t helped by the chaos of catastrophes that Chance likes to throw into her books.

But the aforementioned chaos is part of the reason I like Chance’s book and this series. It is a fast paced, action packed series of fights and skulduggery that doesn’t give you much time to do anything but hang on and enjoy the ride. However, this is as much a curse as it is a blessing. There were points in the book where, and maybe I am just being dim, I was confused about what exactly was happening and why. I eventually caught on but some parts of the book may have benefited from slowing down and being more concise.

However, I did have a lot of fun reading this. One of the highlights were the flashbacks to Mircea’s POV during his time in Venice when he was a baby vamp and struggling to take care of a young Dory. Mircea is a fascinating character who is also prominent in the Cassie Palmer series so I always enjoy learning more about him. The Cassie Palmer series runs parallel to this series and features a lot of the same character, so you should definitely pick up if you haven’t already.

What I also enjoyed about this book was the continuing exploration of the dynamic between Dory and Dorina. They both share the same body and now the mental wall is down between them. Dory is faced with the fear that Dorina will take over. Dorina is afraid she will be walled off again, doomed to watch life but never able to live it. Then there is also a dash of romance as we see the relationship progress between Louis-Cesare and Dory.

I really enjoyed this book and hopefully won’t have to wait another 6 years for the next book in the series. If you like your urban fantasy fast paced with some humour and a bit of romance thrown in, then you need to pick up Karen Chance.

Karen Chance is a good writer who creates a compelling story that you'll want to read. She's a lot of fun.

Dorina Basarab is an anomaly that should never have existed. A dhampir (half-human, half-vampire) she has fought her entire life to survive vampire politics and a human world. After a violent coup within the Vampire Senate thrust Dorina into the heart of politics with a seat in the governing body you’d think it’d lead to a safer, more protected existence. Alas, a seat on the Vampire Senate seems to have made Dorina more of a target rather than less. Shadow’s Bane, the fourth novel in the Dorina Basarab series sees Dorina tracking fey slavers while fighting vampires as a conspiracy against the Senate slowly comes to light.

What I love about this series is that Dorina is still coming to terms with her own budding powers and her sense of self as both human and vampire. She’s also had such changing circumstances and personal growth in her relationships with her family and boyfriend Louis-Cesar that it makes for a complex story arc surrounded by intense action. A series done well is a blessing and four books later I am enjoying Dorina more than ever! I think anyone who’s looking for an empowered kick-ass heroine should look no further.

Elsewhere I have written about the challenges of picking up a book in the middle of a series, and it’s worth repeating here:

“Series” can mean a number of things, from stand-alone complete-in-themselves novels set in the same universe to one long story that extends over several volumes. Recently I listened to an interview with Peter Jackson in which he discussed the decision to not put a recap at the beginning of The Two Towers, the second part of The Lord of the Rings. He felt that one year between film was a short enough time for viewers (those few not intimately familiar with the books) to remember and anyone who went to see it without having seen or read The Fellowship of the Ring, oh well… I admit to not being as careful as I might about checking to see if a book is a sequel, so I rely on the skill of the author to furnish necessary backstory without inundating me with it, and to draw me into the story so that even if I have to work a little harder to figure out what has gone before, I’m already hooked.

I began Shadow’s Bane without realizing it was “yet another adventure” in a series. To the ultimate credit of the author, for most of the book, I honestly could not tell if there was separate backstory (previous volumes) or if this was a brilliantly executed, complex novel that wove in aforementioned backstory, world-building, and characters, all while sweeping me up in a dramatic, action-driven plot.

The world is fascinating, multi-layered, and rich in its own history. Vampires exist, as do dhampirs (vampire-human hybrids, heartily loathed by both parent races), ogres, fae, mermaids, were-creatures, and magicians. Relations between the various races are uneasy at best and impossible to summarize here. Our heroine, Dory/Dorina, in addition to being dhampir, suffers from split personality that’s the result of her (vampire) father attempting to save her from her worser (waaaay worser) nature. So there’s a nice internal conflict, as well as rather spicy romance with a master vampire, a sweet friendship with a human woman who has (a) given birth to the heir to a fairy kingdom; (b) turns out to be a were-dragon, so don’t get her pissed, and various other friendships and enemyships.

My one complaint about this fast-paced, intricately plotted novel is that Dory is constantly flying off the handle, reacting instead of thinking things through or, better yet, asking questions and then listening to the answers. She’s supposed to be hundreds of years old and has apparently never learned the value of information, perspective, or taking a deep breath and counting to ten. As a result of this and her almost pathological lack of self-esteem, quite avoidable misunderstandings abound. That would be okay if it were just one character, but this world seems to be populated with folks who do the same thing. It’s a wonder they haven’t blown themselves up by acting hastily instead of with deliberation. To be fair, I liked that there were very few all-good or all-evil characters, and at the same time, people changed their minds, learned, and grew.

That quibble aside, this is a fun story that moved right along, doesn’t require any previous knowledge of the series, and comes together very nicely in the end.

The usual disclaimer: I received a review copy of this book, but no one bribed me to say anything about it.

It was ok, just couldn't get into the story, think the problem was at the time I was reading it I wasn't feeling well ,with that said I want to thank Netgalley for grime a chance at read it and review it in change for my honest opinion

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Erica – ☆☆☆☆
I've been reading Karen Chance for over a decade, starting with the Cassie Palmer series. I adored the series, but fell out of love with Urban Fantasy for a long while but have since recently discovered my love again. When I saw this novel offered for review, I jumped at the chance, mind immediately remembering the world-building and Dory mentioned via her father, Mircea, to Cassie.

Last week I picked up Midnight's Daughter and didn't feel the same sense of entertainment as I did with the Cassie Palmer series. By the time I was partway through the second in the series, I realized my due date was looming, so I took a chance and skipped to book four – Shadow's Bane. Believe it or not, I wasn't too lost, since once you get the foundation of the world-building in your head, you just roll with it.

I recommend against picking up Shadow's Bane if you are not familiar with Cassie Palmer or Dorian Basarab, which share the same world-building and a set of characters.

Dory is a dhampir, struggling to keep the block in her mind from completely dissolving between her human half and her vampire half. Dory vs Dorina. The almost multiple personality angle of the storyline truly drew me in and gripped me, causing me to want to go back and read again from where I'd originally left off. This is one of the most original takes on the dhampir culture I've read thus far.

Dory's vampire half (Dorina) was newly elected to the vampire senate, and in this installment, Dory, along with her boyfriend, Louis-Cesare, and her fae friends, they try to investigate the slave-trade. The book starts off with a bang, when the gang goes to a fae fighting ring, and continues in this adventuring, action-packed novel that is the epitome of Urban Fantasy.

The world-building is front and center, the romance riding low beneath the surface. Dory tries to help her friends, deals with relationship issues, and tries to come to terms with her two halves.

Action abound. It was hard to get a footing as the scenes rolled forward from one intense scene to the next, with little to no transition in between to get your bearings. The pacing slows slightly from the middle toward the ending, for which I was thankful, so I could get a deep breath in and mull over the plot.

This is a dual-narration, featuring the daughter in the present and the father in the past. Mircea's voice flows well into what's happening in the present with Dory, and I enjoyed getting a glimpse inside his head for short periods of time back in the 1400s.

This is classic Urban Fantasy, where there's a mystery to be solved, monsters and baddies to adventure through, and paranormal world-building.

Shadow's Bane fed into my need to go back to the very beginning, starting with a reread of the Cassie Palmer series, then working my way through the Dorina Basarab series. I highly recommend to Karen Chance fans and Urban Fantasy fanatics, and look forward to visiting the author's backlist and future novels.

Wow was SHADOW'S BANE a long, but fully packed read. I'm impressed at the sheer length of this book and the fact that I was never once bored. It's been quite a long time since the last Dory novel released, but I had no problem jumping right into Dory's story again. I really appreciated the recapping in the beginning of the book. This of course contributed to this book's massive size, but it was well worth it to bring the reader right back into Dory's headspace.

The plotline of SHADOW'S BANE at first glance felt very arbitrary with many threads seeming to go in many different directions. This especially seemed to be the case when you added in the multiple perspectives with Dorina and Mircea in the past taking the helm at times. But as the book went on things started to intertwine more and more. I really appreciated how the author brought all these seemingly different threads together into one cohesive story. It definitely made for an interesting and engrossing read.

Even better than the plotlines in this book was the great amount of time spent on character growth. Dory makes major headway into accepting herself once and for all. And let me just say, after 500 years, it's about time! I also really enjoyed just how rich and in depth the other characters were. Every single one no matter how small of a role, were fully fleshed out. And let me just say, I need a Louise-Cesare for myself...

Simply put, SHADOW'S BANE was well worth every moment of the wait in between releases. Karen Chance has crafted yet another magical story that kept me turning the pages until the wee hours of the morning. Bravo!

When I first received an email about the opportunity to read Shadow's Bane, I felt a moment of panic. Have I missed keeping up with this series? Did something happen that I forgot about? I decided to ignore my crazy thoughts and just into the book. It didn't take too long to figure out that I wasn't a book behind, the author was just on sabbatical. I was relieved and a little concerned that I would have a hard time recalling the previous books. My worry was short lived. The author did an incredible job providing back history to refresh my memory, without weighing the story down. A remarkable feat, as it seems rare to find that balance.

Dory had a lot going on in Shadow's Bane. I mean. A LOT. I felt like I was trying to watch someone juggle fire and at times, that made it hard to remain in the story. Honestly, I keep trying to list how many conflicts and pieces of the story there were and wow, I am not going to even attempt to list them all. The levels of conflict seemed a little disconnected at times. Leaving the story feeling slightly forced, as if the author was attempting to wrap everything up with a neat bow, and adding romance in at the same time. I know it might be an unpopular opinion, but Urban Fantasy doesn't have to have romance. A Happily Ever After shouldn't be the focus and although I felt like part of the conflict between Dory and Jean-Claude was clearly essential to the story, the ending of that conflict felt premature.

That being said, the story was completely entertaining. The internal conflicts Dory goes through within herself (or selfs) is quite brilliant and amazing. This aspect of the Shadow's Bane is by far, my favorite thing about this book. Dory takes a completely unique approach to her personal conflict and surpasses any kind of imaginable outcome. The progress of this conflict, is really what I enjoyed most about Shadow's Bane. Additionally, the relationships between Dory and secondary characters really demonstrated the author's ability to grow multiple characters within the same story. The level of character growth within this series is a whole is really what ultimately wins out and pushes the Midnight Daughter into "READ ME" territory. I hope there is more to come!

Exciting and super fun. A fast paced page turner that keeps you guessing! I enjoyed immensely and I look forward to what this author shares next.

It’s been six years since the last book in this series was released. Six. Years. And yet, when I jumped back into the world of Dorina Basarab, I remembered right away why I always enjoyed it so much. That’s not to say I remembered everything that was going on. To say that would be a lie, so if you’re wondering if you should do a re-read of the series, I would not advise against it. And why not? Those books were awesome. And so is Dory herself.

As the story begins, Dory’s life is in a place she never expected it to be. She has been tapped to join the vampire Senate. She is in love with Louis Cesar. She has vampires she is responsible for, as well as trolls, her roommate’s baby and her own sort of adopted child, albeit one that is pretty far from human. The bottom line, she has family. People who love her and depend on her. She is not everyone’s enemy.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t folks who are looking to kill her. There are. It’s just one of several action threads that keep her jumping through hoops at breakneck speed. The manic pacing is a hallmark of these books and it is a mixed blessing. The action keeps you on the edge of your seat, but as with every other installment, I often found myself lost in the melee. And it’s not the only time I struggled to follow along. This book has alternating points of view between Dory, Dorina, and Mircea. The author does a really good job of making sure I knew whose head I was in. The Mircea portions were clearly labeled and in the third person. The Dorina points of view were in italics. And Dory was our main narrator. But where I struggled the most was in the fact that Dorina could take over the bodies of others. In her POV‘s, especially, I couldn’t always follow her thought process or what she was seeing. Especially since it so often jumped right out of an action sequence of Dory’s.

Also, as much as I like Mircea in this series over his character in the Cassie Palmer books, the scenes from his life in flashback were not nearly as riveting as what was happening in the present day. Yes, I know the flashbacks were there for a reason, but there were too many of them and they were too long… and if I’m being honest, I just did not care about them.

I cared plenty about Dory trying to ferret out and shut down slave traders. I cared about how she was coming to terms with her other half and how she and Dorina each viewed the other. I found myself sympathizing so much with Dorina as Dory really began to understand her. I cared about best friend, Claire, and her struggle to coexist with her dragon and to protect her baby. And the whole mystery of who the bad seed was among the fae. I just wish all of this great stuff had not been quite so bogged down with the flashbacks and that maybe the action scenes were a little more abridged.

And what review of this book would be complete without at least a mention of the romance? By no means is it the biggest thread of the story. Goodness knows, there are a million threads going on and plots to keep up with. But I love Louis Cesare as a hero. It is clear that he loves Dory so much and it pulled on my heartstrings to see how she struggled with whether to show her love by staying with him or setting him free. Really good stuff there.

If you have never read from this series, you do not want to start here. Go back to the beginning. It is a great series. This particular installment was a little unbalanced, but I was very glad to have a chance to revisit these characters and continue with them on their journey. In many ways, this felt like an end to the series, but also a beginning. Dory could go anywhere from here.

Dori/Dorina has come so far. It was great to see her come full circle. She's had tremendous character growth throughout the series and we really see her grow in Shadows Bane. Tasked with a job by the Vampire senate, Dori goes into the Fae underworld to unearth a slavery ring. Theres murder, mystery, and a lot of action to keep you on your toes.

I loved seeing Dori and Louis Cesar's relationship grow. I wished we saw even more of him throughout the books but where the two settled at the end made my heart happy. Learning more about how Dorina (Dori's batty vamp side) has had to cope and live was eye opening and gut wrenching at the same time.

This one really took you on a roller coaster of all the feels. My only complaint was that I got a lot more Mircea then I think I needed. It made me understand him more in relationship to the Cassie books and why he always asked for Dori's mother, but there were a lot of flashbacks and they pulled me out of the emotional moments in the story.

All in all a terrific novel. If you're a fan of the series, Shadow's Bane won't disappoint!

Dory’s father Mircea had built a wall between her vampire half and human half to save her life. Dory had promised to help a friend and got an old Army truck to use. Dory went to Olga’s headquarters which was a combination beauty salon and what looked like the back room of Soldier of Fortune. The local community of Dark Fey seemed to like buying their ammo and and getting their nails done at the same place.Olga was a troll and Dory went to get Olga to get a couple of the trolls already in the truck out before the tires blew from too much weight but Olga said the slaves would make their way home once they were freed. But Dory told Olga she had to bring the slavers back in ordered to be questioned by the Vampire Senate and then she would also get paid. Dory told Olga if they didn’t get the slavers they would never stop selling her people. If they don’t know who is behind this. Olga just said Vampire. behind it. A vampire named Gemenus was the one who build an network to get slaves but he was now dead. Dory knew that just her and a few trolls couldn’t do much but one of the recent trolls that had been taken for a slave was Olga’s nephew. Thanks to Gemenus death and a crackdown by the Vampire Senate on smuggling the active portals were dwindling and the price of slaves had gone up. Olga knew no one cared about the Dark Fey which is why they looked out for themselves. Then Dory literally ran into Louis- Cesare who her other half was dating and he said he would come along as he loved a good fight. Normally finding her perp in Dory’s line of work is easy since she mostly goes after things that go bump in the night among a lot of humans. But here at these fights there were a lot of things that went bump in the night. But here at the fights there were a lot of things that went bump in the night. Louis-Cesare wasn’t just a vampire he was a senator from the Vampire Senate and therefore the ruling elite of the vampire world. Anthony was of the European Vampire Senate and he realized having a champion with Louis-Cesare fighting ability meant that no one in their right mind was likely to challenge Anthony ever again, giving Anthony all but absolute power. But Louis- Cesare had gotten tired of of playing bodyguard and defected to the North American counterpart where his new role was yet to be determined. The usually somewhat -turgid and uber traditional vampire society had gotten a recent shake-up the long running war in Faerie ran over into Earth The threat caused an alliance of the six Vampire Senates which had never happened before. The newest member of the illustrious North American Vampire Senate was Dorina- Dory’s other half who had the more vampire half- The wars had taken half of the old senates lives and new ones had been needed and ones preferably could fight. Dhampirs and vampires were natural enemies, most vampires hissed at Dory. While at the fights a friend of Dorys yelled to her and proceeded to tell her that they were betting on how long it would be before she was killed as her seat on the senate was wanted by others. Then the fights began for the trolls and a female vampire was trying to kill her but Louis- Cesare was helping as much as he could. She woke up really sore at Louis-Cesare. She realized she was losing the control over Dorina.
I enjoyed this book a lot. I liked that Dory and Dorina finally faced each other after a very long time. I loved the twists and turns in this book. I like the plot and fast pace a lot. I loved that we find out about a lot of the reasons Dorina is as she is. This book had trolls, vampires other paranormal beings, portals. assassination attempts, Vampire Senate, Dhampirs, slaves, vampire politics, and so much more. I didn’t really care for going back and forth between the past and the present. I loved Louis-Cesare’s character. I also loved Louis-Cesare and Dorina/Dory together and how they interacted with each other. I loved the characters and the twists and turns and I recommend.

I have a few favorite urban fantasy series (Jane Yellowrock, Mercy Thompson, Ilona Andrews' Magic series) all featuring kick-ass heroines with hearts of gold and strong moral centers. Dorina (Dory) Basarab ranks among the favorites, but there has been a six-year wait for this fourth in the series. Dory Basarab is the half-human, half-vampire daughter of Mircea Basarab, a leading figure in Chance's Cassandra Palmer series. Mircea is an influential and charming member of the Vampire Senate with often opaque motivations and limited likability. As a dhampir, Dory is hated and feared by vampires in general, since she has the strength, speed, and ability to kill them, and doesn't mind doing so if they are causing trouble with the Senate or with the non-supernatural "norms." That makes her useful to the Senate and even catapults her into a Senate seat in preparation for a looming supernatural war. In previous books, we learned that Mircea used his mental powers to "wall off" the more violent side of Dory when she was a child. His motivations for that become more clear in the progress of Shadow's Bane. Now those walls are breaking down, and Dory is afraid that the other side, "Dorina," will take over and create a bloodbath. She has gotten out before in her roughly 500-year life, with hideous results.

One of the hallmarks of Karen Chance's two series is non-stop action and Shadow's Bane is no exception. It hits the ground running as Dory is part of a special operation on smuggling from Fairie that morphs into an anti-slavery activity. Someone is enslaving Dark Fey, forcing them into fights to the death and even worse. A relative of Dory's Troll friend, Olga, has been taken, so Dory sets out to find him...if he is even alive. High-speed car and truck chases, extremely violent, bloody, and frequently hilarious battles ensue. Complicating everything is Dory's maturing relationship with the gorgeous vampire, Louis-Cesare. Dory can't believe anything can come of it except heartbreak and further isolation, for both of them. Shadow's Bane brings to an end this part of the story arc, with more to come. Hopefully, it will not take another six years for number five! I do not recommend reading Shadow's Bane as a stand-alone.

Thanks to Berkeley Books and NetGalley for an advance digital copy. The opinions are my own.

As one of the series that started me along the Urban Fantasy path, I definitely have a soft spot for the Dorina Basarab (or Midnight's Daughter) as the series is sometimes called. The action, twists, and tougher than anything heroine in the fabulous world the author created once again pulled me in and had me utterly riveted so many times.

Shadow's Bane is the fourth book in a companion series to the author's Cassie Palmer series. Each of these books must be read in order. They can be read without picking up the other series, but they also work even better when read alongside the other series. Definitely not standalones.

And, now, I must confess that this one took a while to wholly grab me. Part of the reason is that I didn't do a re-read of the series leading into this one even though its been a few years since the last books release causing me to be hazy on where we last left things. I remembered enough not to be terribly lost, but yes, I should have done a refresher.

Secondly, the book seemed to be wandering at first and this was a huginormous chunk of a story. It felt loose for a long while as I wondered how all the colorful scenes with Dory and the gang around her was going to fit together. And, besides the shifting present day scenes and prodigious amount of characters, scenes from the past were slipped between the present storyline along with a secondary storyline told by another lead character.

So, it took me a while to get things sorted and figure out what was going one, but then it really got rolling and I was left gasping with amazement and excitement as the plot tightened up and delivered an amazing story. The grand finale had so many twists that I'm still reeling from them.

The heroine has always been a tough gal and something of an island to herself even with the romance with Louis-Cesare, but this book finally plumbed the depths of her and provided delicate introspective moments, explained her history completely, and left her somewhat raw and exposed as she went about her usual try to save the world while nearly getting killed or outclassed in power and strength. Dory's vulnerability was palpable and it made her no less strong than before. I loved how she was written in this one.

Louis-Cesare was as swoon-worthy sexy and incredibly perfect for Dory as ever. He weathered a lot from her and with her in this one. Meanwhile, best bud Claire has her own storm to ride out and she and Dory have each other's backs as always.

The big fun surprise came not from the vamps or the fey- though they were always a fun addition- but from the trolls. I am now officially on team troll. Quirky personalities and just the group you want when you need to go up against a powerful enemy.

And, yes, the villain is amazingly powerful and a more than worthy opponent that is a true and worthy enemy for Dory and the others.

So, while the beginning took me a bit to get into and took a bit to get rolling, the rest more than made up for it in a flash of stunning Urban Fantasy storytelling. I can heartily recommend this series to all who love action packed, twisting plots, colorful characters, and a vivid landscape.

My thanks to Berkley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Shadow's Bane is the fourth installment in author Karen Chance's Dorina Basarab series. This is a story that kicks into high gear almost immediately with a flashback to 1458 Venice with Mircea and a much younger Dorina. Readers who have gotten this far in the series know that Mircea is not the best father in the world. In fact, he's kind of an ass, truth be told. I think he actually loves Dorina, but he kinda played God, and now the two parts of Dorina are at war with each other. Also, please do not just skip over these parts of the story as they are definitely part of the larger picture.

As we get to alternative New York City, where the story mainly takes place, Dory is part of a group that deals with slave traders, and ends up deep into one conflict after another. Dory, who's vampire side has found a seat on the Vampire Senate, has found a home with her best friend Claire, who also has a unique blend of some interesting bloodlines. I especially love how strong she's gotten, and one not to be taken lightly by any means. Dory is also experiencing painful memories via Dorina, her alter-ego, and the strongest of the two of them.

Dorina is close to the surface and able to do some interesting things. Dory believes that it's only a matter of time before she loses her self to Dorina's will power and is gone forever. Dory's allies include Olga, a troll who wants to find the traders who caused her so much pain and suffering. Then there is the romance between Dory and Louis-Cesare, a master vampire and member of the Vampire Senate who has dealt with Dory's craziness for sometime now. There is a lot of ups and downs emotionally between the couple, but hopefully they will be able to move forward after everything that happens.

I am going off script a bit due to the fact that 1) it has been 6 years since the previous Dorina book (Fury's Kiss) was published, and 2) it seems that somehow I bought the third book, but never got around to actually reading it, and 3) there is a novella that was also released between books 3 & 4 that I also haven't read #EpicFail, and 4) you should really read Shadow's Bane and Cassie Palmer's Ride the Storm back to back since they are tied together.

*Per the publisher & author, the Cassie Palmer series and Dorina Basarab novels are interconnected, with characters from both making appearances in each series, and this story picks up after Ride the Storm left off, making it a must read for fans of Karen’s Cassie Palmer series. The author has a chart that readers can follow to know what books to read and when. More times than not, the books pick up where Cassie's left off, or vice versa.

This story is filled with humor, romance, alternating timelines, plenty of action, suspense, and mysteries. I do hope it doesn't take the author another 4-6 years to come out with the next Dorina book. Hey, I'm getting up there in age, I don't know if I can keep going at this pace of reading 200-300 books a year. I do have one or two minor negatives, mostly dealing with how much time Dory spends hurt, or passed out. I don't mind the fight scenes. They are the best part of the story. I never learned who the Blonde and Purple villains were that were supposed to assassinate Dory. Did anyone else? At 600+ pages, this book is a monster. I think the author could have edited out a few hundred pages and still had an enjoyable story.

avorite Quote:
“Love is sending someone away because you would rather hurt than hurt them. Love is fighting beside them, bleeding along with them and putting their well-being above your own. Love is trembling at their touch so much that you do not notice that they are trembling at yours.”

“I’m not trembling.”

“I am,” he whispered and kissed me.

Reviewed by Tori

Dory is once again tossed into the fray with little more than a prayer and some help from her friends. Currently living with her bestie Cassie who has her own issues, Dory is experiencing more activity from her twin, Dorina, the dhampir side of her personality. The increasing flashbacks and blackouts have Dory scared that Dorina will eventually take over her body. She is also helping Olga and the other trolls find the slavers and rescue Olga’s nephew while trying to stay alive since being “elected” to the North American Vampire Senate and keep her lover, Louis-Cesare, a master vampire and fellow senator, safe from her craziness.

“Why are you here?” I asked wearily, looking up at him.
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Because, when you hitched your wagon to the crazy, it wasn’t this crazy?”

For those not familiar with this series, it is a spin-off of Karen Chance’s Cassie Palmer series. This series revolves around Dorina (Dory) Bashabas who is a dhampir and the daughter of Mircea; a significant player in the Palmer series. I have been a long time fan of this series and have waited six years for this novel. Having not read the novella in between books 3 & 4, I left off after Fury’s Kiss and wow what a ride THAT was. As always, Chance jam packs her novel with action, suspense, intrigue, and violence while softening the never-ending blows with plenty of humor, wit, and some very nice romance scenes. It starts out with a bang and you are forced to hold on for dear life. Some may find the pacing slightly chaotic as we not only see Dory’s POV as expected but we also experience scenes from Dorina’s POV and are gifted with scenes from the past that highlight Dorina’s father’s actions- a nice addition because it goes far in explaining what happened to lead Dorina and Dory to this point. Dory is fighting on multiple fronts and she is tired and scared. Scared of losing her friends, family, lover…and now herself.

“Someday she would take over…then what would happen to me?”

I love Dorina. She is the definition of Urban Fantasy. Strong, snarky, vulnerable, and over 500 years old, she is the bogeyman that vampires fear. Born to a master manipulator who was cursed into being a vampire by a witch, she was ignored by her father for safety purposes and used by the Vampire Senate for centuries. Stronger and more secure in her life, Dory is slowing coming into her own and has enough powerful friends that any attempts to harm her will bring about serious consequences.

“What did you do to my car?” Blondie demanded, from the driver’s seat.
“Is there a problem?”
“You know damned well there’s a problem! It won’t go!”
Purple Hair didn’t say anything, just stood there, all daytime dominatrix in black leather jeans and jacket, and a low-cut silk shirt the same shade as her hair. She checked me out, in my ratty sweats, and her eyes narrowed in judgment.
Or, you know, because I hadn’t bothered to arm myself, and she was wondering why.
“That’s a shame,” I said, glancing at Claire, who had come out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a flour-dusted apron. “I wonder what’s wrong with it.”
Claire just smiled. It wasn’t a particularly nice expression. But Blondie didn’t seem to notice. “Damn it! This is brand-new,” he told us furiously. “If you’ve fucked it up—”
A scaly arm reached through the window and jerked him out because Claire was suddenly beside the car. I blinked. I hadn’t even seen her move.
I guess the vamps hadn’t, either. Because Purple Hair’s hand twitched, in the general direction of her jacket. I tensed, prepared to jump her, but she paused the action, probably realizing that she was about to make things worse.
She had no idea.
So both of us just stood there, watching Blondie kick his heels several inches off the ground because Claire is a tall drink of water. One who suddenly had a wealth of iridescent purple scales covering one arm. And three-inch talons, shading from black to maroon to milky white, on the newly armored hand.
[…]
“My car now.”
After a moment, Purple Hair looked at me. “The car we wrecked. It was hers?”
I nodded.
“Ah.” She looked at Claire. “Your car now.”

Vampire politics and fairy tales make for strange bedfellows and this book pounds that point home. The past features heavily in here; from the decisions Mircea made to try and save Dory’s life when she was a child to the ongoing war between the species and a long forgotten fae legend. All of it running together, flirting with one another until they collide with a bang, leaving Dory with an impossible decision to make.

Lots of new faces and old ones keep the story from becoming too bogged down. I found myself laughing at most of their antics. Ray, one of my favorite characters and Dory’s sidekick of sorts features heavily in here. He sees Dory as his new master and nothing will deter him from his new position.

“What?” he demanded.
“You’re as much as a trainwreck as I am. And soon as the war’s over, someone else will have my seat anyway. You think they’re going to keep a dhampir on the Senate one second longer then they have to?”
“Well, not with that attitude.”

Cassie remains an integral part of Dory’s life. As her bestie and a magical null who helps to keep Dory’s psychotic nature in check calm, she remains a constant but her own dual nature is beginning to show itself in some interesting ways. I can’t wait to see where this plot line goes. Olga and her boys are a hoot and definitely the muscle Dory needs. Meeting Dorina was a highlight of the book. Always there but never heard or seen, tucked away like a bad secret, it was enlightening to see things from her perspective. I found her scenes bittersweet as she tries to find her own footing as she tries to make Dory understand what is really happening while doing what she can, in her own homicidal way, to keep Dory safe.

… there’s a truth about pain that most people never learn unless they’re really unlucky. Or really long-lived, long enough to have felt almost every kind there is. Pain has a signature to it, a type, a song. The first time you experience a new one, it’s a bright, white-hot, cutting edge; or a searing, brain-twisting burn; or a shattering, soul-crushing thud; or any of the thousand other forms it takes to torment you.

But the second time? Or the third? Or the fiftieth? No. It’s still terrible, still rage inducing, still debilitating, but it’s not the same shock as at first. You know this song, all its terrible highs, and dismal lows; you can hum it with your eyes closed because it’s just that familiar. Not like a friend—never that—but like an old enemy you’ve grown to know as well as to hate, his weapons and his limits.

You know what he can do to you.

But you also know what he can’t.

As for Mircea…it’s a love/hate relationship. You’ve no doubt he loves Dory; he sacrificed much to obtain the means to save her life. But as always, there is a price to pay whenever he helps and unfortunately, Dory always seem to be the one who pays it. He’s a meddlesome dad who happens to be immortal. OY VEY. The real treat though, as always, was the time spent with Louis-Cesere. A Disney-esque prince (Dory’s own words) who is strong, intelligent, battle fierce and deeply in love with her and she can’t seem to accept it or understand why. But she is beginning to. There are some gauntlets they have to run and some issues that must be dealt with eventually but in the end, love triumphs and alls well that ends well.

“…when you’re part of someone else, you don’t get to make that call,” I told him quietly.
And then felt like cursing, because the damned man still didn’t get it.
I could see it in those shimmering blue eyes: confusion, awkwardness, more than a little fear. He, who wasn’t afraid of anything, was afraid of this. Of me. Of being sent away.
And there was one really good way to solve that problem, wasn’t there?
I felt my fangs pop. “I’m proprietorial about my things,” I snarled and bit him.

Grade: B

This wasn't a story that grabbed me right away and I couldn't put down. I never read any of the other books, but I wasn't lost. I just wasn't invested from the start. It was okay book, but not so good that I want to go back an read the previous installments but I may continue with the series.