68 points, 3 ½ stars

Quote:
“Sorry I’m late,” I said, shoving the chair toward the table. It was an ornate thing of gilded wood that made a loud screech, scratch, squaaaawk on the pretty new mosaic. But I finally got it wedged into a too small spot between a guy in a burnoose and a woman in a business suit. “I don’t have a secretary yet,” I said, climbing over burnoose guy. “And my bodyguards are terrible about reminding me of appointments. What were we talking about?”

Review:
Brave the Tempest follows the pattern of the previous book of the Cassie Palmer series. That is to say that the story of the series progresses infinitesimally overall and it is a series of crazy things that happen one after the other with no rest. I'm not annoyed or disappointed. I knew exactly what I was getting in for when starting this book. I just always have this secret hope that this time, something will actually advance the series along in great strides.

Brave the Tempest starts up about a week after we left Cassie in Ride the Storm. Which left us when Cassie was about to do something really big that apparently got put off for a week. Everyone is still planning on war with the fae, and we're getting hints that it is coming soon. So naturally, instead of being about the war front, Brave the Tempest adds in an entirely new thing for Cassie to take care of: the abominations. So Cassie deals with this new problem while also dealing with the old problems, all on a time crunch with no regard for how time works. We've seen this before.

The bright spot in Brave the Tempest were in the relationships between Cassie and Pritkin and Cassie and Mircea. I personally feel like everything is finally on track and exactly where it should be going. It was perfect and I'm genuinely ecstatic about this turn of events. The will-they-won't-they of Pritkin and the lying of Mircea have both settled down into acceptable levels. The only complaint I had was that I had to wait a third of the book for anyone but Cassie to show up. I was so worried up until that point that I would get nothing all book!

Brave the Tempest also shows the biggest amount of character growth for Cassie of any of the books. Even more than a lot of them put together, too. It is amazing to realize, but it has only been about four months since the start of the series for Cassie. Cassie has had to go through a lot of hell in these four months. Yet, she has become a much stronger person for it, and it shines throughout this book. Sure, she has been run ragged, she is out of energy, she is fighting to become respected for the Power she is. But she has become stronger, and she is becoming respected. Cassie is becoming a great character. She is still out of energy, though.

This was pretty much as I expected it to be, and I was glad for this. Fans of the series aren't likely to be disappointed. If you liked the previous books, you'll love this one. New readers will be completely and totally lost. Overall, it was a good installment to the series.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Karen Chance, Berkley Publishing Group, and Netgalley for providing the opportunity to review this copy!

Finally the Cassie Palmer book for which Karen Chance fans have been pining. Brave the Tempest is book 9 in Cassie's series and now we're getting somewhere. As usual, there is no way to pluck a single thread of plot--this book is a mass of them both old and new, a recognizable trait of Chance's writing. Though still run ragged (and the book is paced so that readers will be breathess as well), Cassie is finally settling in--and putting down her foot when necessary. Readers will see Cassie come into herself as all of the strands of her terribly complicated life wind together and longtime issues are addressed.

Another great entry into the Cassie Palmer books. Fun and exciting, this book has Cassie trying to to hold the alliance between vampires, mages and demons together to prevent the end of the world. Hard to put down and great fun!

Cassie Palmer seems to be the hardest working Pythia ever as well as the most powerful one. In four short months she has endured many major battles in both her position and love life. Two powerful men want Cassie and problematically, she loves them both. Mercea is to head the united army of vamps, demons, and mages; groups who do not trust each other and can barely work together without infighting. They all face a common enemy who would destroy the world in his madness. Cassie also has an old nemesis gunning for her so she faces constant dangers all the while still trying to learn how to use her enormous power and perform capably the job as Pythia. And then there is her very young court who all need raising and constant care.

Readers will enjoy a meeting between Cassie and Mercea’s Dhampir daughter, Dorina, from the Midnight’s Daughter series where they have an actual conversation instead of a trying to take each other out. Mercea knows he messed up with Cassie big time not only with his obsession with his centuries dead wife, Elena, but keeping way too many secrets from Cassie so trust is a major issue for her now. Cassie knows Mercea is not a quitter or above using some blackmail to get what he wants. Cassie’s current new relationship with Pritkin is complicated especially since they have little time to spend together because some big crisis is always happening. After rescuing him in the previous book, they both have to learn to deal with their new paradigm as a couple knowing the rest of the magical world will not be best pleased. Pythias are supposed to remain neutral, but being involved with Mircea and Pritkin makes that aspect of Cassie’s job very challenging.

Fans of this series know what to expect as far as epic battles as well as wild and crazy magical rides interspersed with Cassie’s very complicated love life. This story, like the previous ones, is a tilt-a-whirl, jam-packed breath taking adventure juxtaposed with emotions of a half goddess young woman trying to have a life and the two powerful ancient men who want her for their own. While some issues are resolved in this story, the coming war with in Fairy looms large in the near future.

I have always been a fan of Karen Chance and have waited forever for this book. She didn't disappoint! Excellent story line with all the action and romance thrown in. Cassie really comes into her own!

Brave the Tempest, by author Karen Chance, is the 9th installment in the authors Cassie Palmer series. As a brief summary, Cassie is the Chief Seer of the supernatural world. Even though this series has been going on since 2006, only a short 4 months have gone by in this world since she was chosen by the Pythia powers. However, she still doesn't have a job description. Nobody has told her what her job is really supposed to entail. Everybody, vampires, demons, and mages have pretty much just accepted the quirkiness that is Cassie and learned that she can not be controlled or handled.

After all, Cassie did the impossible. She chased down Pritkin's soul in the past and reunited him. But, with the supernatural war on the brink of a full invasion of Faerie, Cassie has some moral dilemma's. How is she supposed to protect the acolyte's she rescued from England? How can she ensure her acolyte's, especially Rhea, are trained to one day step up when they are called upon? How can she get the witches to trust her enough to allow them to send their daughters to become part of the Pythian Court?

How can she help keep the fragile alliance that she helped create between vampires, mages, and demons. What's worse, how can she manage her heart when it comes to choosing between Mircea and Pritkin? I liked that Cassie found her backbone in this book. She isn't afraid of anyone except failing her kids. She is the Pythia. She has the ability to travel back in time. She has done things that people have scoffed at because she has shown a bit of weakness in understanding her role.

But, she doesn't need the vampires or the mages, or the demons to tell her what to do. She doesn't need Mircea to steal away her vampire bodyguards who have kept her and her acolyte's safe from numerous attacks. The author does a whole lot of information dumping in the first 1/2 of this book. That's fine, but reading the books in order, and understanding how Cassie has come to this point in her life is rather important. I have to say that I am happy that it appears that Cassie and Mircea's daughter Dorina have put their hate aside.

Dorina is a changed character since Shadow's Bane as well as her relationship with Louis-Cesare, a master vampire and member of the Vampire Senate, like Dory, who has dealt with Dory's craziness for sometime now. It is fair to say that events of Dory's book are skimmed over and that's for the best. We, as readers, can easily pick up Shadow's Bane and find out what happened for ourselves. It's also fair to say that these series are interconnected which means that each of the main characters appear in each of these series.

If you are one of those who were demanding more of Cassie & Pritkin, you will not be disappointed. In fact, I dare say you will smile......A lot. One thing that the author does really good, is the action sequences. You will get plenty of those as well. But, the rumination of past exploits, and the fact that Cassie really needs to go back in time and allow one of the Pythia's to train her properly, kind of weighs down the story. We are now at 9 books in this series. Cassie has shown some moments that she is just as badass as the rest of her so call allies. Now, she has to decide what her future looks like.

This was a thrill ride to a speedy almost too quick ending. While not nearing the size of her last two books in the series it lacks none of the excitement or action. Cassie's haphazard save the world techniques have nothing on her approach to romance. I have to admit though I was greedy for more when it ended.

Once you start a Cassie Palmer book, walking away from the story is not an easy thing to do. Every novel in the series proceeds at a breakneck pace, and this one is no exception. Be aware that Brave the Tempest is book nine. All relevant information is summarized when necessary, but it will enhance the adventure if you know these characters. This series is an excellent binge read. Before reading my early copy of Brave the Tempest by Karen Chance, I wish I had time to revisit preceding books.

What I like: Karen Chance combines fantastic wit with pulse-pounding action. These supernaturals stand out. The characters have a unique voice and creative backgrounds that transform typical stereotypes. I relish the twists placed on the urban fantasy genre norms. Cassie Palmer's world is one of the best on the market.

What I don't like: As an avid series enthusiast, I find that repeated summarization interrupts my flow. That fact is not unique to this book, or even this series, and it is often my biggest complaint in a sequential read by any author. I understand the necessity of it, so I take it in stride. Brave the Tempest was no more bothersome than any of the others I have read. For some, maybe most, I think it will be a great addition.

Random Spoilery Thoughts.

Cassie has made her opinion well known about how vampires inherently lie and manipulate. Her horrible experience in Tony's Court doesn't give her many reasons to feel differently, but that also makes her biased on the subject. I want to trust Mircea. Doing so is easier for me when reading a Dorina book as opposed to a Cassie book. I don't believe Mircea always does the right thing, especially when it comes to the Pythias, and he is currently making some pretty bold choices. But Cassie declares some critical judgments concerning Mircea, ones I don't regularly accept as truth. Hopefully, I end up more right about Mircea than Cassie before the series is over. I am, however, pleased with where their partnership is by the end of Brave the Tempest. I really want them to find a solid non-romantic bond.

Pritkin continues to struggle with his dual-nature. I understand where he is coming from, but if Pritkin and Cassie learn to harness their power, they will be a formidable force. Pritkin will need convincing. Or most likely, down the line, the necessity will be thrust upon them. Pritkin will have no choice but to trust in himself. I am eager to see how that union transforms them. And I have to give a little yay! Pritkin and Cassie together are oh so satisfying! I eagerly await the next installment in the Cassie Palmer series.

I wanted to love Brave the Tempest but it wasn't as great as I was expecting it to be. It was good, just not great.
We left off in the last book finally getting Pritkin back and him finally waking up. Then we enter Brave the Tempest and it takes over 1/3 of the book before he ever walks onto the page. The frustration was real! The entire time I was reading all that was going through my head was "Where the heck is Pritkin!"

Aside from that, the books was 50% present and 50% flashbacks. It was just too much. It made it difficult to stay connected. Also I didn't love that Cassie couldn't let go of her attraction to Mircea, it made her come off as unfaithful to Pritkin.

I found myself skimming because there was too much description and not enough action. It was just all in all not what I'd been hoping for. Still a good book but like I said, not great. I have really high expectations for this series since previous installments have been epic but this one didn't hit the same level. That said, I will still be continuing on with the series and would still recommend the series as whole to urban fantasy fans.

Wow, another amazing book! I love these adventures were you never know what's going to happen and are just wild and out of control crazy! They're wild rides that I love getting on and only get off to let my head get used to them!

After 2 books of desperately trying to get the counter spell applied to Pritkin to keep him from permanently dying, it was like a sigh of relief. But there's still a war going on, and of course Cassie's life is just crazy, but that's just things going back to normal without that added pressure!

Of course, we learn more about the Pythian power. And in the worst possible ways, at the worst times, like when they're fighting for their lives. While that could be helpful, well, since she doesn't know what's going on, and how to use it, it's not. But it makes for entertaining reading! We also learn more about Pythian courts, since Cassie is slowly building her own, figuring out what she wants for it.

One thing that you should know, is that the events of the last 3 short stories-Lovers Knot, Dragon's Claw and Siren's Song, with the last two happening around the same time, they're mentioned in this book. So it'd be a good idea to have read them ahead of time. They're not major plot points, and things make sense without reading them, but they are great reads! Well, I'd think Siren's Song will be, but it isn't quite out yet, but I know it's going to be good!

This book is something of a turning point in the war. They're coming up on a time when Earth time is going faster than Faerie, which won't happen for another 10 years. Cassie finds she has to make some hard choices as she faces off with Jo and learns more about Jonathan's plans. We're reaching the end here, though we still haven't caught up with the Lia stories or Tomas's story! Though we're finally, finally, leaving summer and entering fall!

Yeah, this book was so absolutely fantastic and while I'm sad that while this series won't be traditionally published from now on, I'm so glad that we're getting the next book, Shatter the Earth, in December!

This is my favorite series. I have waited for each and everyone to be released. I hope this series does not end soon. I have fell in love with the 2 main characters. When the next comes out I stop everything I'm doing just to read this series. I have reread most of the series and will again later. I don't normally read books with time traveling in it but this one is just so good. I will not go into deals and give away spoiler but I may have to reread this one because it is just that good. I can not wait to read the next one. I know the publishing company will not publish anymore after this one. I just hope the author will finish the series.

Brave the Tempest by Karen Chance, a long awaited book. Cassie Palmer is back in this latest installment in the series. Ares and Apollo are gone, Pritkin is back safe and sound, and all is well with the supernatural world right?