I usually start reviews with a small, non spoilery, synopsis of the books. But, Brave the Tempest is book nine in the Cassie Palmer series; it’s a series so jam packed with action that a short synopsis is beyond my skill and wouldn’t do the series any justice. So, if you haven’t heard of this series, know this, it’s an action-packed urban fantasy series with a heroine that’s dropped into the deep end of the paranormal world and somehow has to survive. Many deadly and hair-raising shenanigans ensue.

I’ve loved this series for such a long time, I’ve eagerly anticipated reading about whatever scrape Cassie is about to be launched into. What madcap action I have to look forward to. What other unlikely set of circumstances will occur that will some how have her and her companions survive by the skin of their teeth. So, when I read a disappointing book in the very same series I adore, it becomes so much worse than if it was a relatively unknown author or series.

This is the situation I find myself in when thinking about Brave the Tempest. I went in fully prepared to love it, as I do with all these books, but the more I read it the more deflated I became. It wasn’t quite the exciting adventure that I was expecting. These books are usually a roller coaster where we whizz past disaster, catastrophe and general mayhem with no room for breath. Brave the Tempest did have the fast-paced adventure and action that I expected, however, I found it to be a much jerkier and needlessly drawn out ride.

I found the scenes to be overly long and not as punchy as I’m used to. Quite honestly, I found myself getting really bored reading this book. The scenes were too long and lost my attention long before they ended. Something that hasn’t been an issue in previous books, normally I am so caught up in the story that it always comes as a surprise when I realise the book is about to end.

Overall, this was a disappointing instalment in this series. It did have its highlights; it looks like the love triangle has been resolved and I enjoyed seeing the more domestic parts of Pythian life being explored, but I felt like the book needed to be ruthlessly streamlined. Will this stop me reading the next book in the series? Hell no, I still love the series and the characters, and most series have a dud in their somewhere, unfortunately, for me, this book was the dud.

BRAVE THE TEMPEST is another one by Karen Chance. I would say I enjoyed this novel a little bit more than the previous ones. I'm always game for a story with a strong, powerful woman MC. A MC with real life stakes. Heightened emotions. A real push through the novel. My attention was held when I was reading it. I just wish there was more MAGIC. I say that because I'm magically greedy! lol Great job!

Another fantastic Cassie Palmer novel from Ms. Chance. It is NOT a standalone and if you aren't caught up on the series you WILL be lost. Can't wait to see what is next for Cassie, Mircea, Pritkin and the rest of the gang.

You really can’t please everyone. I say this as I look at the reviews panning this book for slowing down. Because slowing down a little is exactly what I thought it needed. The last few books past and such a breakneck speed, I could barely keep up. There were times I didn’t even know what was happening. Not so here. And it was a welcome change.

There is a story arc that continues about a possible vampire army possessed by demons bringing a war in to farie. And Cassie has to continue working out her issues with her young acolytes and her job as Pythyia. But while all of that was interesting and good, I’m all about Pritkin, and Karen chance is finally giving me everything I have been waiting for on that front. There still a bit of Mircea— even Dory and the great supporting vampire characters, which was cool. But PRITKIN.

I enjoyed this one and for the first time in a while I am excited for the next book in the series.

Cassie Palmer has been chief seer of the supernatural world for a little over four months. In that time, she's battled two gods, fallen in love with two men, and confronted the two sides of her own nature, both god and human. So it's not surprising that she currently finds herself facing two adversaries, although they have a single purpose: to wipe out the supernatural community's newest fighting force, leaving it vulnerable to enemies in this world and beyond. To prevent catastrophe, the vamps, mages, and demons will have to do the one thing they've never managed before and come together as allies. Cassie has the difficult task of keeping the uneasy coalition intact, and of persuading her own two opposing forces, a powerful mage with a secret and a master vampire with a growing obsession, to fight at her side. She just hopes they can do it without tearing each other apart.
This was a decent read. However, I hadn’t realized it was a later part of a series. The author did do a decent job of trying to catch, but I still felt a bit behind. I still enjoyed the story though and liked following Cassie on her adventure.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

I'm a big fan of the Cassie Palmer series, and this novel did not disappoint.. As with most of the books in this series, a re-read of the previous novel (if not the entire series) is helpful, because Chance moves the plot along FAST, sometimes confusingly fast and it takes a second to catch up to what's happening.

We finally see Cassie coming to grips with all of the intense things that she's been through. Fans of the series will be pleased with the latest installment of the Cassie Palmer series and will be eager for more!

Brave the Tempest is the latest in the Cassandra Palmer series and one of my favorites. I was caught in reader’s trance (that state where only the story exists and all else fades away) for most of this book. There were also enough summary scenes to remind me of what went before, so that I didn’t get lost trying to remember what happened in previous books.

There are moments of relatable angst and stubbornness throughout the book. Cassie doesn’t want to do the wrong thing and cause hurt to her court as Pythia and yet also doesn’t want help with her battles because she doesn’t want to be betrayed yet again. There are exciting magical battles for supremacy and harrowing events to keep the non-magical world in it’s ignorance.

Karen Chance writes an exciting story every time she writes about Cassie. A word to the wise: this is not a standalone novel - read the others before you pick this one up.

Cassie Palmer book nine is the first book in a while to have a new focus- there is nothing immediately wrong, no existential or extraterrestrial crisis to contend with that takes an entire chapter of back story to explain. Warning, there will be some slight spoilers ahead.
The book opens most enjoyably with a deeper look into the world of the witches. We are used to the descriptions of Las Vegas and the Strip (though they have mostly been demolished at this point) and in Brave the Tempest we get descriptions of a magical and underground-in all senses of the word- shopping mall. Cassie’s reactions to it are delightful and I enjoyed the scene.
We also get to see Cassie using her powers more confidently in this book. Giant demon problem? No worries, I’ll just send them back where they belong with a snap of my fingers. Cassie is finally settling into her court and trying to become the political power that we have been told the Pythia is supposed to be. Of course there are problems, and the book mostly focuses on those and on setting up the next major conflict in the series.
My main gripe doesn’t have to do with any of that. My main problem is that we just finished a multi-book cycle chasing Pritkin through demon realms and time, and trying to destroy gods. At the end of the last book, that giant story arc had an almost-satisfying conclusion. I was looking for the rest of that conclusion in this book. Guess what? Pritkin was missing for the entire first half. I was not ok with it. He is only in a few scenes in the entire book. Those were good scenes. I especially liked the food tasting game, but there were not nearly enough of them. I felt cheated.
We end the last book with him saying “I remember everything,” and then it’s back to the usual, Cassie running around trying not to die. I felt this book could have been a bridge, tying up more loose ends from the previous book and setting out the new conflict. Instead, it came across as spastic, and not really one thing or another. We spent so long waiting for Cassie and Pritkin to get together, and now I want to see more of their relationship. Overall, not my favorite book in the series. I guess we will have to wait and see if book 10 has the components this one was missing. 3.5 stars.

Brave the Tempest was a great addition to the Cassie Palmer series. The story seemed to move a lot slower pace than the previous books, and while I would normal knock a book a star or two for that, in this case, it worked. Cassie has such a large cast of characters to interact with that it's hard to achieve the right balance in every single book. Brave the Tempest did just that and set us up for the final story arc for Cassie. My only compliant is that I needed more Pritkin.

The ninth showing for Karen Chance’s Cassandra Palmer series is one of her strongest yet. Finally completed with a three-book long arc spent (in part) in medieval Wales hunting down and rescuing her partner-in-apocalypse, John Pritkin, this book finally gives Cassie and her (finally acknowledged!) lover brief and much-needed moments of respite, despite managing to continue to ratchet up the tension and the stakes for the overall story. After everything that has happened, these two have earned (and desperately need) a rest. To my immense relief, this was dealt with very beautifully here.

Brave the Tempest also has some reveals and confrontations that we’ve waited more than four books for, with satisfying results almost across the board. Cassie herself is more powerful and self-assured than ever as her arc continues to build to (presumably) goddess-level, without ever feeling like it’s venturing into Mary Sue (a term I very much hate) territory. She had worked for and earned every ounce of power and respect and command that she has, though she still has enough work left to keep her arc from feeling stale.

We finally get a Pritkin who is likewise as self-assured as ever, as he embarks on life with a new freedom and a new relationship, but with some of the old insecurities and fears that still need to be dealt with - making him still recognizably himself, even as he’s noticeably changed so much.

The characters in this book felt more authentically themselves than they ever have, and it is truly a testament to Chance’s skills in shaping believable and rich character arcs. It’s something I think she excels at better than most writers I can think of.

I have one main quibble with this book, and it is this: as the series progresses, and as each book adds so much in the way of plot, more and more page space is being dedicated to recapping the events of the previous books. I literally found myself skimming entire chunks, even in the middle of other current narrative events, because the laborious pondering on past plot points. I’m not sure where the blame should be placed here; whether Chance’s editors are forcing these excessive recaps on her in order to avoid confusing new readers, or if it is Chance herself, but it is a mistake. No one is going to pick up the ninth book in a series and decide to start there, and if they did their confusion would be on them (and hopefully prompt them to purchase the previous installments!). And for those readers who might need refreshing on the earlier events of the books, only light mentions of them are necessary to trigger the memory. Consider other large series’, such as Harry Potter. The author trusts you to have kept up with the events, so only the barest of mentions are enough to get you through. Even to new readers, context alone is usually enough to put it together. I really can’t overstate the exhaustive extent of the recaps here in Brave the Tempest; thousands and thousands of words were spent on it. For a book that otherwise contains almost no fat that needs trimming (unlike many of the earlier books!), a stronger editing hand was really needed in this instance.

Overall: A very good book and excellent installment in the series - it just needs a slightly heavier editing hand when it comes to unnecessary exposition and recapping.

These books leave me with a serious hangover! I'm not even sure what I went through, but I have a vague recollection of it being rough.

At this point, there is no way to play catch up in these books. You start at page one, and things are already chaotic. Start from the beginning and prepare yourself! These are not fun, happy, flowers and rainbows books. These are some serious magical mayhem books, where Cassie is almost always on the verge of death, taking more damage than Harry Dresden and still coming out on top (somehow). So, what's this book about? I have no idea. As a larger story, I know we are nudging things in the right direction, but other than just haphazardly fighting off enemies and scheming "allies," I don't know that there is a single identifying theme throughout. Things we do get? Pritkin and Cassie (yay?), our favorite vampire bodyguards, some pretty satisfying deaths, and a slightly surprising new direction for the next book.

I'm not even sure how to summarize this book because... damn. So much is just happening at all times. Lots of magic is thrown around, there's lots of time jumping and timeline damage that she's got to clean up, and there's a looming war between vampires and fae (maybe?). And Cassie still doesn't have an assistant! It's mind boggling and exhausting to read these books, but I simply cannot quit them. At this point you know what you're getting into when you pick one of these up, so no surprise there. Cassie does appear to be growing and adapting, so watching her character is probably the highlight of this series. All in all, I will keep reading this series until its over, but I definitely need a break in between.

We finally get a satisfying resolution to a long standing love triangle. The action scenes are fun but long-winded and hard to follow at times.

Can’t a gal catch a break? Or, you know, get a time out for a breather? This fast-paced, original, colorful and oh-so action-packed Urban Fantasy series just keeps up a hammering plot with a heroine at the core of matters who is faking it until she makes it even as she slowly comes into her own. I’ve had a blast with each book in this series and this one was no exception.
Review

Brave the Tempest is book nine in the Cassandra Palmer series and would probably be utterly crazy reading if taken out of order.

The last few books were all about getting John Pritkin, a powerful War Mage (aka Merlin), back while defeating a god and fighting a war with faery and the Dark Circle to keep the gods from returning. Cassie, the new Pythia, feels she has been through so much and done so much and yet more keeps coming at her. She has separated herself from Mircea and the Vampires after learning the whole true about why they courted her, she’s held off the Silver Circle who want to control her and her power, she’s showed the demons what she can do, and she’s made the powerful enemies of Dark Circle Mages and fey sit up and take notice.
But, for all that, she feels she, her Pythia Court, and her love life are one hot mess. And, she wouldn’t be wrong. Cassie is confronted by several friends and allies that force her to stop long enough to consider what makes her tick, change what is necessary, and consider what she really wants and go for it.
It is make or break time for Cassie and she has to dig deep and learn some important lessons even while surviving long enough to help save the world.

As I said, the chase down Pritkin through history plot is complete and now Cassie is back to figuring out how to get all the allies working together and taking her seriously as Pythia. She has been ramshackle for so long, but wants to be organized and learn more about her power and magic. Everyone has ideas for how she should use it and how she should do her court. There is a lot more soul-searching in this one. At times, it felt like Cassie got a bit whiny as she took the pointed remarks about how she was doing stuff (or, in some cases, in denial and avoiding stuff). But, I’m pretty sure most of us would get whiny if we had her life so I’ll cut her some slack.

I loved that the love triangle was finally dealt with and Cassie is firmly with Pritkin. I loved that Cassie had some good ‘come to Jesus’ moments that will set some stuff straight including how she thought and felt about Dory/Dorina. (Now that was a fab encounter that I have been anticipating forever) Some old enemies that were still out there and trouble were front and center once again and I enjoyed how that all panned out so that plot threads that confused me or I felt needed more attention were getting them. And, for those who wanted more attention given to the romance? You got it.

It was non-stop action and I was on board since it was action with a purpose. I can feel the story drawing closer to the big confrontation finale and I’m getting excited again about that.

All in all, this was a solid entry in the series and I flew through it even if it was a longer one. Urban Fantasy fans who enjoy the usual paranormal suspects and some creature ones as well not to mention incredible magical settings and situations should give this series a go.

My thanks to Berkley via Net Galley for the opportunity to read this one in exchange for an Cassadra Palmerhonest review.

For the past four months, Pythia Cassandra Palmer has been quite busy battling gods, falling in love with two men and confronted the two sides of her own nature, both god and human. So it’s not really surprising that she is now facing two adversaries with a single purpose – to wipe out the supernatural community’s newest fighting force. Cassie also has the difficult task of keeping the uneasy alliance between the vamps, mages and demons intact and persuading her own two opposing forces, a powerful mage and a master vampire to fight at her side without tearing each other apart.

Cassie is being run ragged in this riveting and volatile new story. Fans of the Cassandra Palmer series love all the strong, dominant characters and all the explosive action and thrilling suspense and they’re definitely disappointed with one as continues in true Cassandra Palmer fashion and keeps readers’ hearts pounding and their eyes cemented to the pages. The non-stop, fast paced plot is full of suspense, excitement and emotionally gripping turmoil of personal issues, relationship issues, political issues and of course, the issues of all the two adversaries with plans to make the supernatural community vulnerable in this world and beyond. The Senate is planning an offensive but of course is plagued with mistrust and their own arrogance with the politics getting in the way, betrayals and enemies keep stirring up things up and testing Cassie’s endurance. While Cassie’s still questioning her relationship with Mircea and wondering what is happening between her and Pritkin. With all of this going on, is it any wonder that readers can’t possibly put this stunning, deliciously thrilling story down once they have begun.

Once again Karen knocks it out of the part with the latest Cassie Palmer book! Turning people into unlikely allies and walking a razor's edge are Cassie's forte in this latest, and its a fantastic ride!

Brave the Tempest by Karen Chance
Brave the Tempest (Cassandra Palmer, #9)
by Karen Chance (Goodreads Author)
5375148
Beth's review Apr 29, 2019 · edit
it was amazing
bookshelves: august-2019, penguin-group, random-house, scifi, series, paperback, penguin-random-house, netgalley, kindle, berkley-publishing, favorite
My Private Notes: (shown only to you)
Paperback sent by Alexis Nixon, Assistant Director of Publicity 212.366.2323. anixon@prh.com

Cassie Palmer is the Pythia, the supernatural world’s top seer. Even though she holds the title, none of the powers that be really have told her much about her position. It seems they like keeping her in the dark so they can hold the power at each of their own whims… Big mistake on their parts, because Cassie isn’t going to take their hand out sitting down. She finally takes the reins for her own powers and realizes the machinations each faction has been using to hold her back. Now the vampires, mages and demons will have to work together to face their newest foes and it is up Cassie to bring them all together without them destroying each other before they can save their worlds.

Chance writes a perfect addition to the Cassie Palmer series! The balance of humor, drama, action and world building flat out works! This was one of those reads that I read from start to finish and then started all over again because yes, there is that much going on.

There is no denying, I love the Karen Chance’s writing and I loved Brave the Tempest. I highly recommend this book as a must read to any urban fantasy connoisseur.

I received this ARC copy of Brave the Tempest from Penguin - Random House and Berkley Publishing Group. This is my honest and voluntary review. Brave the Tempest is set for publication July 30, 2019.

My Rating: 5 stars FAVORITE
Written by: Karen Chance
Series: Cassie Palmer (Book 9)
Mass Market Paperback: 576 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: July 30, 2019
ISBN-10: 1101990007
ISBN-13: 978-1101990001
Genre: Urban Fantasy

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Another great book in the series. Action packed with plenty of long overdue Cassie and Pritkin time!

Now that Cassie isn't chasing Pritkin through time, she's finally figuring out how to be a pythia. It's confusing since almost everyone else seems to know something about it she doesn't. Almost everyone tries to use her position for their own political gain.

It took a long time for the story to really get going, and it took even longer for Pritkin to get some page time, which was well worth the wait. Cassie was coming into her own more both professionally and personally. I loved it that she was standing up for herself more.

At times I did have a hard time following things because it was all over the place. Cassie can teleport and time travel, so settings can unexpectedly change. Even when in one place, one conversation would get interrupted by another and another. I know this series tends to be like that, but for whatever reason I found it particularly distracting this time.

Cassie and Mircea did talk. I was satisfied with the way their conversation went. It's great that Cassie can see him for the political mastermind he is instead of assuming he always has her best interests at heart.

I loved just about every scene with Pritkin. He and Cassie are very different but they complement each other well. I'm not going to say anymore than that. You'll have to read it to find out what happens with them.

OOOOOOHHHHHHH!!! Sooo good! It was so wonderful to see Cassie take control and recognize all the machinations of the various factions. It was such a long time coming!! Loved, loved. loved this installment.

544 pages of pure awesome!!

This book wasn’t exactly a long time coming but there has been a lot building up to it since the beginning and it hit the mark just perfectly! It’s the perfect book for dedicated fans of the series. For those of us who have been rooting for Cassie and dying to see her coming into her power and strength and owning her new position of authority.

And fans of Pritkin are in for a real treat 😍 😍 😍