Cassie Palmer just can’t ever get a break! She has come to accept her new role as Pythia, chief clairvoyant to the entire supernatural community, but is desperately in need of training for how to do the job, but no one is able to help her… no one alive or undead anyhow. However, there is no downtime for this feisty young woman to figure things out. Rival factions in the magical community are after Cassie’s power but they don’t necessarily want someone in her position to actually have a mind of her own.

With several high speed chases, numerous attempts on her life, crazy war mages, a whole passel of vampires who either love her, hate her, want to kill her or want to control her, enough is never enough. Ley lines are unstable and in danger of rupturing, causing severe damage to the supernatural society. On top of all that , the ultimate source of Cassie’s power, Apollo himself, is poising for a comeback and the destruction of the earth as we know it, leaving Cassie ready to just Curse the Dawn.

Two of my favorite secondary characters from any book I’ve ever read, vampire senator Mircea and former war mage John Pritkin are back and as determined as ever. Admittedly I am not a fan of love triangles, but this particular one between Cassie and these two men really strikes my fancy, making me believe in the possibility of a relationship with either of them for Cassie. They each have their own allure and I go back and forth between which one I like best too. So I can’t say as I blame Cassie for that dilemma.

As is to be expected of a book that stars vampires, mages, a vengeful god, and some very creepy demon monsters, Curse the Dawn is very dark in tone. The story is prevented of being overwhelming though by Cassie’s witty verbal sparring with any number of people, and a diva-licious drag queen and her friends. The three “Dee’s” are dee-lightfully good fun and you’ll find yourself chuckling over their antics and their costumes. The mystery and intrigue are done well throughout Curse the Dawn, leaving us to wonder who is behind the latest ploys to destroy Cassie and company and how exactly Apollo plans to break through to our world.  

What can I say? I love the Cassie Palmer series and Curse the Dawn, the first installment in a second “trilogy” ups the ante from preceding books. We have more danger, more adventure, more creatures, and still more enemies and friends. Curse the Dawn is a fast paced adventure ride (quite literally a ride as you’ll find out) that leaves you absolutely breathless. I’m always exhausted after reading Cassie’s adventures, and I wonder how in the world any single person can survive the adrenaline rush where Cassie always seems to be stuck in the middle. Make sure you have plenty of time before beginning this book. Trust me, you will not want to put it down until the final page is turned. Bravo Karen Chance for giving us another winner!

© Kelley A. Hartsell, April 2009. All rights reserved.

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Posted April 2009