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Cassandra Palmer #1-5
Cassie Palmer Novels 1-5
Clairvoyant Cassandra Palmer's magical powers are a mixed blessing-she may be able to contact spirits but sometimes this can be a whole lot more trouble than it's worth. Battling with vampires, feys and mages who all seek supremacy, Cassie must use her powers wisely in order to save herself - and the world.
The Cassie Palmer Novels includes Touch the Dark, Claimed by Shadow, Embrace the Night, Curse the Dawn and Hunt the Moon.
The Cassie Palmer Novels includes Touch the Dark, Claimed by Shadow, Embrace the Night, Curse the Dawn and Hunt the Moon.
Kindle Edition
First published June 7, 2011
29 people are currently reading
178 people want to read
About the author
Karen Chance
61 books5,252 followersKaren Chance is the author of two New York Times bestselling series, plus a number of novellas and short stories, all set in the Cassandra Palmer universe. A full-time writer since 2008, she was previously a university history teacher, which comes in handy when writing the time-travel aspect of Cassie’s crazy adventures. She loves Las Vegas, the main setting for her novels, but currently lives in Florida near her family home. Visit her website or connect with her on Facebook here.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
December 29, 2023
Actual Rating 3.5 stars
Entertaining.
I read the 4 first books of the series in a row. Then, I reread them in a row again so I had them fresh to read the 5th one. That means that I have them all scrambled in my mind right now which is why I can’t review each of them separately. This is more a general opinion of the combination of the 5.
This series has many elements that make it an entertaining and interesting read. It has compelling plots, action, miseries to solve, enemies, romantic tension, magic, friendship, humor, a strong female lead, deaths, attractive men, fantastic creatures, time travel, vampires, and much much more.
Nevertheless, I had a few problems with the books, which prevented me from giving them a higher rating:
To me these books have way too much action and the scenes are way too long. The books are a succession of action after action without rest, no pause to collect our thoughts. Due to this huge amount of action the information is dropped in the middle of it, which elongates the scenes. As a result, this can be a bit tiresome at times. With all that activity and turmoil, there is obviously no time for musings, there barely are any reflections; we only know what the characters are thinking because of what they do in each moment while affronting the situation in the middle of the action. I truly believe there is a serious need for more dialogue and thoughts communication here, it needs deepness.
The romance needs to be explored further. There is just enough of it as well as enough sexual tension to keep you interested, but not enough to trap you. And after 5 books, it has become annoying to always be left wanting.
Mircea is your typical sexy vampire type. In fact, he is so stereotypical that there are exact copies of him on many other Urban Fantasy books. But I can’t fault the writer much for this since it seems to work every time for most female readers.
Despite my issues with the series, all and all, these books are ok, stimulating and intriguing . And, if I recall correctly, I liked the third one a bit more than the others.
I will continue reading this series.
Entertaining.
I read the 4 first books of the series in a row. Then, I reread them in a row again so I had them fresh to read the 5th one. That means that I have them all scrambled in my mind right now which is why I can’t review each of them separately. This is more a general opinion of the combination of the 5.
This series has many elements that make it an entertaining and interesting read. It has compelling plots, action, miseries to solve, enemies, romantic tension, magic, friendship, humor, a strong female lead, deaths, attractive men, fantastic creatures, time travel, vampires, and much much more.
Nevertheless, I had a few problems with the books, which prevented me from giving them a higher rating:
To me these books have way too much action and the scenes are way too long. The books are a succession of action after action without rest, no pause to collect our thoughts. Due to this huge amount of action the information is dropped in the middle of it, which elongates the scenes. As a result, this can be a bit tiresome at times. With all that activity and turmoil, there is obviously no time for musings, there barely are any reflections; we only know what the characters are thinking because of what they do in each moment while affronting the situation in the middle of the action. I truly believe there is a serious need for more dialogue and thoughts communication here, it needs deepness.
The romance needs to be explored further. There is just enough of it as well as enough sexual tension to keep you interested, but not enough to trap you. And after 5 books, it has become annoying to always be left wanting.
Mircea is your typical sexy vampire type. In fact, he is so stereotypical that there are exact copies of him on many other Urban Fantasy books. But I can’t fault the writer much for this since it seems to work every time for most female readers.
Despite my issues with the series, all and all, these books are ok, stimulating and intriguing . And, if I recall correctly, I liked the third one a bit more than the others.
I will continue reading this series.
January 7, 2022
First of all, I want to say that I recommend this book series to everyone who likes the genre of Urban fantasy. I found this book series a few years ago when I was searching the paranormal romance genre books. When I read the first book (Touch the Dark), it completely subverted my expectations and made me excited for what was to come in the next books. The series has a special place in my heart and I find myself thinking a lot about its plot, characters and it's amazing world-building. That being said, I have to say that I count the first five books and especially the first three among the best and my personal favourite in the series (something I can’ say for later books). There are a lot of ideas and Concepts in this series that I think were amazing, but there are also not-so-very-good qualities that the books I have that I think they would have been better without. Bellow, I’ll give a list of pros and cons that I found in the books.
Pros:
World-building: Cassie Palmer’s world is very similar to our own. However, it is also populated by vampires, werewolves, mages, witches, seers, fey, etc. Chance also uses historical figures in her stories. So, it is an interesting mix of myths, history and present-day storyline.
Interesting characters: the world of Cassie Palmer is full of intriguing characters, each with their backstory, motivations and goals. Sometimes, I find them far more interesting than the protagonist!
Relatable heroine: the series started with a rather normal protagonist. She didn't have much power, wasn't very competent and had to do with what she’s got. This concept was initially good at first, because it was a break from the competent, nearly invincible heroines that many UF and PNR books incorporate.
Action and political atmosphere: this was the first book series that I've read that had extended and detailed action sequences. I have to say that I am not a fan of long action scenes. Although I think that Chance managed to write enjoyable action scenes in the first five books and successfully integrated them into the plot. Another thing that was a good surprise in this book was that it put the protagonist in a political position. Cassie is the Pythia, the chief seer in the supernatural world. Unfortunately, this concept is not explored much in the series, but I liked it nonetheless. It is rare to see a protagonist in UF to be in a significant political position, so it was something new and fresh.
Cons:
Pacing: the pacing of the story in this series is slow. By the time of book 10, only six months have passed, while the books themselves have been published in almost 16 years. Because of this, sometimes you feel as if not much has happened during this time, and sometimes when you read the books you feel as if a lot has happened. I think this kind of pacing is good for a book series that their publication dates have very short intervals and are best read back-to-back
Lack of character development: This for me is the most frustrating aspect of this series. Cassie is first introduced not as a capable, confident and strong protagonist, but as an almost normal woman who like many young women her age had self-doubt, self-confidence issues, was naive and inexperienced. At first, I thought that this was a great concept as many UF heroines don't start that way and are usually strong and confident. However, as the series progresses I saw very little and almost no real character development. I think characters like this have a lot of potential. Their journey to become strong and become a better version of themselves, confronting and overcoming their inner fears and struggles can be very interesting. But I didn't see that with Cassie. A lot happens in every book, but when you see Cassie in the next one, you can almost see no change or growth in the character. It may be because of the pacing of the story. After all, the story by now has taken place over 6 months, but then again, it is another issue that I have with the pacing. For the reader, years may have passed since he/she is introduced to Cassie, but in the books, it's been months. So, even though there is an initial connection with the character at the beginning when time passes for the reader, it is frustrating to see the main character hasn't evolved much.
Too much action: I said in the Pros section that this series has enjoyable action scenes and that is true. But sometimes they can be extended and hard to keep track of. I'm not a fan of long and detailed action sequences in books, but the first five books in the Cassie Palmer series managed to balance the action with the progression of the plot and scenes in which characters actually sat down and talked to each other. Overall, they were still easy to follow. In contrast, later books have long and in my opinion, necessary action sequences that greatly dimmed my enjoyment of the books.
Love triangle: I really hate love triangles, but what really irked me about it in this series and especially from book 6 onwards was that it seemed to take up the whole of the story. The story becomes more or less romance driven and everything else seemed to be like a side quest. Fortunately, the first five books don't suffer from this problem.
That's it for my list of pros and cons. Even though the cons in later books are more prominent (and are the main reasons for why I stopped reading after book 8), I still will give the first five books five stars. I think that the world that Chance created is amazing and unique and characters have their backstory and agendas. It makes them distinct and fun to read. Although I’ve mostly lost faith in the series, I still think it is one of the best novels in the UF genre and would recommend it to anyone who likes to read UF.
Pros:
World-building: Cassie Palmer’s world is very similar to our own. However, it is also populated by vampires, werewolves, mages, witches, seers, fey, etc. Chance also uses historical figures in her stories. So, it is an interesting mix of myths, history and present-day storyline.
Interesting characters: the world of Cassie Palmer is full of intriguing characters, each with their backstory, motivations and goals. Sometimes, I find them far more interesting than the protagonist!
Relatable heroine: the series started with a rather normal protagonist. She didn't have much power, wasn't very competent and had to do with what she’s got. This concept was initially good at first, because it was a break from the competent, nearly invincible heroines that many UF and PNR books incorporate.
Action and political atmosphere: this was the first book series that I've read that had extended and detailed action sequences. I have to say that I am not a fan of long action scenes. Although I think that Chance managed to write enjoyable action scenes in the first five books and successfully integrated them into the plot. Another thing that was a good surprise in this book was that it put the protagonist in a political position. Cassie is the Pythia, the chief seer in the supernatural world. Unfortunately, this concept is not explored much in the series, but I liked it nonetheless. It is rare to see a protagonist in UF to be in a significant political position, so it was something new and fresh.
Cons:
Pacing: the pacing of the story in this series is slow. By the time of book 10, only six months have passed, while the books themselves have been published in almost 16 years. Because of this, sometimes you feel as if not much has happened during this time, and sometimes when you read the books you feel as if a lot has happened. I think this kind of pacing is good for a book series that their publication dates have very short intervals and are best read back-to-back
Lack of character development: This for me is the most frustrating aspect of this series. Cassie is first introduced not as a capable, confident and strong protagonist, but as an almost normal woman who like many young women her age had self-doubt, self-confidence issues, was naive and inexperienced. At first, I thought that this was a great concept as many UF heroines don't start that way and are usually strong and confident. However, as the series progresses I saw very little and almost no real character development. I think characters like this have a lot of potential. Their journey to become strong and become a better version of themselves, confronting and overcoming their inner fears and struggles can be very interesting. But I didn't see that with Cassie. A lot happens in every book, but when you see Cassie in the next one, you can almost see no change or growth in the character. It may be because of the pacing of the story. After all, the story by now has taken place over 6 months, but then again, it is another issue that I have with the pacing. For the reader, years may have passed since he/she is introduced to Cassie, but in the books, it's been months. So, even though there is an initial connection with the character at the beginning when time passes for the reader, it is frustrating to see the main character hasn't evolved much.
Too much action: I said in the Pros section that this series has enjoyable action scenes and that is true. But sometimes they can be extended and hard to keep track of. I'm not a fan of long and detailed action sequences in books, but the first five books in the Cassie Palmer series managed to balance the action with the progression of the plot and scenes in which characters actually sat down and talked to each other. Overall, they were still easy to follow. In contrast, later books have long and in my opinion, necessary action sequences that greatly dimmed my enjoyment of the books.
Love triangle: I really hate love triangles, but what really irked me about it in this series and especially from book 6 onwards was that it seemed to take up the whole of the story. The story becomes more or less romance driven and everything else seemed to be like a side quest. Fortunately, the first five books don't suffer from this problem.
That's it for my list of pros and cons. Even though the cons in later books are more prominent (and are the main reasons for why I stopped reading after book 8), I still will give the first five books five stars. I think that the world that Chance created is amazing and unique and characters have their backstory and agendas. It makes them distinct and fun to read. Although I’ve mostly lost faith in the series, I still think it is one of the best novels in the UF genre and would recommend it to anyone who likes to read UF.
January 16, 2026
(FYI I tend to only review one book per series, unless I want to change my scoring by 0.50 or more of a star. -- I tend not to read reviews until after I read a book, so I go in with an open mind.)
3.25*
First time read the author's work?: No
Will you be reading more?: Yes
Would you recommend?: Yes
------------
How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)
All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked
Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)
3.25*
First time read the author's work?: No
Will you be reading more?: Yes
Would you recommend?: Yes
------------
How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)
All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked
Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)
January 27, 2019
No hay mejor protagonista masculino que Mircea 💖💖💖
June 3, 2019
A fantastic series with a lot more to go, and it only gets better. Also check out Dorina Basarab!
December 29, 2020
Such a great series! Grabs you and then you find it hard to put the book down! So much happens in these books that makes you want to keep reading!
February 1, 2024
I love this series, but I also grew up reading it, so some of that is nostalga. Cool world, writing is very, busy fighting scene heavy - skimmable.
January 20, 2025
My favourite author. Fantastic series and hasn't written a bad book yet! I love her world, her rich array of characters, kick ass heroines, and the delightful chaos that drives it all forward.
December 7, 2014
A little while ago, I reviewed the first book of this series (touch the Dark, or something like that). I totally flamed it after one too many smutty sex scenes regardless of the great potential I saw in the world and characters. It really was a hot mess, and I had no desire to give another one a chance. Then a friend of mine browbeat me into reading another, and then another, and now I have read all but one. They are fantastic. So well done, so enjoyable if not for the occasional sex scene. Why do authors have to do this? Ms. Chance, you are a great writer, but you cheapen your work with trash.
June 16, 2016
Binge read, vacation worthy.
I liked the development of a lot of the characters, and how the author has resolved most things within a book but you still have an idea of where the next book in the series is headed. Started with the Dorina Basarab series and am so pleased with how the character crossover is- it tickles my brain to see the similarities and differences between the two. There are more books in the series that I am looking forward to, and I especially hope show Cassie developing even more "alpha" like characteristics. I've finished these 5 books on vacation break and still catch myself thinking about the ending of the 5th a week later!
I liked the development of a lot of the characters, and how the author has resolved most things within a book but you still have an idea of where the next book in the series is headed. Started with the Dorina Basarab series and am so pleased with how the character crossover is- it tickles my brain to see the similarities and differences between the two. There are more books in the series that I am looking forward to, and I especially hope show Cassie developing even more "alpha" like characteristics. I've finished these 5 books on vacation break and still catch myself thinking about the ending of the 5th a week later!
October 21, 2012
This book came my way through a charity event, and I took the plunge to jump in the middle of a series. The writing is strong, and there's nonstop action.
I enjoyed the book, but sometimes I had to flip back and try to figure out who was who, hence the 4-star rating.
There's just about every kind of paranormal entity in this book, so there's something for everyone.
I enjoyed the book, but sometimes I had to flip back and try to figure out who was who, hence the 4-star rating.
There's just about every kind of paranormal entity in this book, so there's something for everyone.
July 21, 2019
Love this series
Gahhh I love this series so much and the characters just wow. The story building WOW! I need more. This was intense and I can’t explain how many emotions I went through. Loved it.
Gahhh I love this series so much and the characters just wow. The story building WOW! I need more. This was intense and I can’t explain how many emotions I went through. Loved it.
July 4, 2012
Currently on Hunt the Moon...
Love the series!
Love the series!
June 2, 2012
One of the best UF series out there!!
December 21, 2012
A Fantastic Series...Love, Devil, Ghost and Angel....All brought out to create a Wonderful Fantasy that I can imagine myself in. Thanks for a Great Time!!!
September 10, 2013
one of my favorits books , i cant stop to reed them, so funny and ingenious
October 21, 2015
do yourself a favor and read these books--supernatural nonstop action, stark and saving the world.
January 22, 2017
Nice character development good progression through series
April 11, 2022
So great
September 21, 2013
This was a great series!! Highly recommended!
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews