Sunday, April 18, 2010

Book Review: Touch the Dark by Karen Chance

Review: Touch the Dark
Series: Cassandra Palmer – Book 1
Author: Karen Chance
No. Of Pages: 307
Release Date: 6th June 2006

Cassandra Palmer can see the future and communicate with spirits – talent that make her attractive to the dead and the undead. The ghosts of the dead aren’t usually dangerous: they just like to talk...a lot.

The undead are another matter.

Like any sensible girl, Cassie tries to avoid vampires. But when the bloodsucking Mafioso she escaped three years ago finds Cassie again with a vengeance on his mind, she’s forced to turn to the vampire senate for protection.

The undead senators won’t help her for nothing, and Cassie finds herself working with one of their most powerful members – a dangerously seductive master vampire – and the price he demands may be more than Cassie is willing to pay.

My Thoughts:

I’m still unsure about this book.

Touch the Dark was interesting; it had some intriguing twists and turns. But it’s not a pull-you-in-and-not-let-go-until-you-finish type of book. If I had something better to do, I would do it.

Cassie is a good character, just good. She can communicate with ghosts and see people’s pasts. Which would usually make me squirm in anticipation and possibly drool, but Cassie as a person is a little boring, a whinger and slightly stupid. Not in a learn your lesson the first time type stupid. Cassie as a character without her powers over-shadows the entire book.

The storyline is a pretty good one, one in which I would like to see unfold. It follows Cassie's journey from her secretive life in hiding from Tony, the mob boss master vampire who has been after her ever since she ran away from his house.

In running she gets caught up with Thomas, her supposedly homeless roommate, who also turns out to be a master vampire. He takes her to the senate of the paranormal world.

One thing that I absolutely love about Touch the Dark is the fact that it’s not just vampires in this, we get weres of every kind, mages, witches, fairies, ghosts and more. Although Touch the Dark is centred around vampires, there is obvious potential to explore the other species as we continue on in the series.

The scenes in which Cassie was pulled back in time were interesting, but a little repetitive; I liked how Chance used the figures from history to help portray her characters. Jean-Paul was an over-bearing but interesting character; he was supposedly the infamous man in the silk mask. Then there was also Dracula’s brother Mircea who must’ve survived his fate brought to him in the Dracula books.

Mircea started out as an interesting and likeable character, but then he also became over-bearing and quite annoying with his constant demands.

Touch the Dark has a very interesting concept, and I will continue the series, but it’s not anything special. Hopefully, now that we have laid the ground work for the world the series will pick up.

Also in this series:
Claimed by Shadow
Embrace the Night
Curse the Dawn

Available at:
Amazon
Book Depository




3 comments:

Laura @ A Jane of All Reads said...

I was very unimpressed with this book. It's all scrabbled. She just kept throwing in random characters and adding to it and adding to it. Eventually I just skimmed the rest. Very blah. You're a brave girl for going ahead with the rest of the series. :)

Tasha said...

I've got this on my shelf after picking it up at a second hand store so it was good to read a good honest review. Thanks for sharing!
Trillian

RomFan Reviews said...

See, I disagree. I've read the whole series several times, and while I do agree that the first book does slightly drag, it only gets better. The characters become more well-rounded, and you get a better idea of who Cassie is and just what she can do. Granted, the time-traveling does become a bit confusing if you don't stay on your toes, but I've found myself addicted to the series, and especially Pritkin.

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