Review and Giveaway: Tempt the Stars

Tempt the Stars (Cassie Palmer - Book 6) by Karen Chance

Publication Date: 10/01/2013
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Signet Select
Genre: Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance
Pages: 432
ISBN-10: 0451419057
ISBN-13: 978-0451419057

(Received for an honest review from Signet Select)

Purchase: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, IndieBound

Karen Chance on the WEB: Website, Blog, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads

Books in the series:

Touch the Dark (2006), Claimed by Shadow (2007), Embrace the Night (2008), Curse the Dawn (2009), Hunt the Moon (2011), Tempt the Stars (2013)

Coverart: Click the image for a larger, clearer view of the covers in this series.

Excerpt from Tempt the Stars, courtesy of the author's website.

Synopsis:

Being a goddess is a lot less fun than you might think. Especially when you’re only a half goddess, and you only found out about it recently, and you still don’t know what you’re doing half the time. And when you’ve just used your not-so-reliable powers to burglarize the booby-trapped office of a vampire mob boss.
 
Yeah, that part sucks.
 
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg for Cassandra Palmer, aka the Pythia, the freshly minted chief seer of the supernatural world. After all, Cassie still has to save a friend from a fate worse than death, deal with an increasingly possessive master vampire, and prevent a party of her own acolytes from unleashing a storm of fury upon the world. Totally just your average day at the office, right?

Thoughts:

It's been two years since Karen Chance left readers with a major cliffhanger in her book, Hunt the Moon. Now the sixth book in the Cassie Palmer series is out! Tempt the Stars is roller-coaster adventure through time and into the depths of Hell. Chance takes readers on a harrowing journey that doesn't slow down for a second. With fantastic world building, a little bit of humor and a lot of paranormal denizens, this one is a complicated, intelligent, adult read. Chance once again thrills readers with this installment!

Karen Chance is a master at writing a good cliffhanger. Fans of the series have been waiting with bated breath to see what happens to Pritkin. The love triangle between Cassie, Pritkin and Mircea heated up with a mind blowing kiss before Pritkin is dragged in the demon realm by his father. In books past Cassie might have been too frightened or unsure of herself to tackle this rescue, but as a character she has really come into her own in the series and feels confident she will come out on top. Chance does a fantastic job of navigating Cassie's once bratty demeanor and making her into a woman who will stop at nothing to save her friend.

The world building reaches new heights in this installment. The demon realm has only been hinted at in previous books, but it takes center stage in Tempt the Stars and readers get to find out a lot more about this part of the story, as well as, some really interesting information about Cassie's family. Cassie has just had her coronation. She is now, Pythia, chief seer. She has some nifty powers that come along with the job, but she is still half mortal and has a lot to learn. I don't always enjoy the fact that she feels like she is stumbling along in the dark and Chance takes time in this novel to explain why so many people are keeping things from Cassie and how that will affect her in the future. I think Chance tied up a lot of lingering questions in this one, but also added some interesting new developments that will keep readers longing for more.

The absence of Mircea in this one was a bit of disappointment for me. The love triangle is part of the allure for this series and Cassie not having her vampire lover around was a little disconcerting. Of course this book is really delving into the relationship between her and Pritkin, it's hard not to miss the snarky presence of Mircea. I did like the idea that she takes on Casanova and Caleb in this one though. These two characters provide some witty banter and make you wonder where they will show up next.

This is a great addition to a series that just gets better as it continues. That's not usually the case, but Karen Chance really makes it work with this series. There is of course another cliffhanger that will have readers moaning since it might be awhile before we know more. But that won't stop them from waiting for the next one and grabbing it as soon as it comes out. This is series that is best read from the beginning because you miss so much about what is going on in this one if you don't. Take a chance on it... you'll love it.

Tempt the Stars is available NOW from your favorite bookseller.

I'm giving this one 5 out of 5 apples from my book bag!

About the Author: 

Karen Chance has lived in France, the United Kingdom, and Hong Kong, but always comes back to America. She currently lives in central Florida, the home of make-believe, which may explain a lot.

Giveaway Details:

The publisher is sponsoring a giveaway for one copy of Tempt the Stars by Karen Chance.

~ You must be an email subscriber to participate.
~ US Addresses only.
~ The deadline to enter this giveaway is Midnight EST, November 15th.

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