Cocktails and Books
Written on Apr 23, 2018
I can't wait to see what happens with the next book. If anyone can shake up the vampire Senate, it's Dory.
Karen Chance continues her terrific urban fantasy series featuring the kick-ass daughter of a vampire in this sequel to Midnight's Daughter and Death's Mistress.
Dorina Basarab is a dhampir - half-human, half-vampire. Subject to uncontrollable rages, most dhampirs live very short, very violent lives. But so far, Dory has managed to maintain her sanity by unleashing her anger on those demons and vampires who deserve killing . . .
Dory is used to fighting hard and nasty. So when she wakes up in a strange scientific lab with a strange man standing over her, her first instinct is to take his head off. Luckily, the man is actually the master vampire Louis-Cesare, so he's not an easy kill.
It turns out that Dory had been working with a Vampire Senate task force on the smuggling of magical items and weaponry out of Faerie when she was captured and brought to the lab. But when Louis-Cesare rescues her, she has no memory of what happened to her.
To find out what was done to her - and who is behind it - Dory will have to face off with fallen angels, the maddest of mad scientists, and a new breed of vampires that are far worse than undead . . .
Fury's Kiss continues Karen Chance's fantastic Dory Basarab series - and is not to be missed.
Praise for Karen Chance:
'Karen Chance doesn't disappoint, once again we have an action packed adventure with a strong female character that, while tough as nails, and a dhampir - is also very human' SFRevu
'A grab-you-by-the-throat-and-suck-you-in sort of book with a tough, smart heroine and
sexy-scary vampires. Just what I like to curl up with. I loved it' Patricia Briggs
'A really exciting book with great pace and a huge cast of vivid characters. This is one of my favourite reads of the year' Charlaine Harris
Karen Chance is the New York Times bestselling author of two urban fantasy series. Her previous novels Touch the Dark, Claimed by Shadow, Embrace the Night, Midnight's Daughter, Curse the Dawn, Death's Mistress and Hunt the Moon are all published by Penguin. Karen lives in Central Florida, the home of make-believe, which may explain a lot. Vist her on the web at www.karenchance.com.
- ISBN10 0241952654
- ISBN13 9780241952658
- Publish Date 11 October 2012 (first published 1 October 2012)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Penguin Books Ltd
- Format Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
- Pages 544
- Language English
Reviews
I can't wait to see what happens with the next book. If anyone can shake up the vampire Senate, it's Dory.
Jo
Written on Aug 14, 2013
I'm a huge, huge fan of Karen Chance; of both her Cassandra Palmer series and her Dorina Basarab series, so it was an absolute no brainer that I would buy the latest book following Dorina, Fury's Kiss. And as ever, Chance didn't disappoint!
No summary this time. I simply cannot give one without spoiling major parts of the story, because woah, Fury's Kiss is one hell of a ride! The description above will have to do you.
Compared with the previous two books in Dory's series, Fury's Kiss is more of a journey of self-discovery for her. Don't worry, this doesn't take the place of the usual action packed plots we've come to expect from Chance - if anything, Chance has seriously upped her game in this area (more on that later). But there is a lot of focus on her memories, and finding out exactly what happened before her capture. This involves a lot of digging - however, Dory is a dhampir, and as such, there's more than one side of her. So digging in her memory brings her face to face with her vampire side. A side of herself she has been scared of her whole life, because of waking up after knowing the vampire took over, surrounded by a massacre. She really has to come to terms with this other side of her nature, who she thinks of as a completely different person, monster, who shares the same body as her. This in itself is pretty awesome, but we also get to see Dory when her vampire self takes over, rather than not be aware of what happens along with her when she blacks out. This side of Dory is most definitely a vampire, and has so much hatred, but perhaps she's not the complete monster Dory imagines her to be. I will say no more.
As with all of her books, Chance has woven an intricate plot in Fury's Kiss, but I think the plot for this book is even more intricate. Perhaps I'm misremembering just how intricate they can be due to having not read any of her books for quite a while, it's possible. But if someone asked me to tell them exactly what the bad guys were doing and how, with no problem about giving spoilers, I'm not sure I could. It's so tight, and with so many players, when things were being worked out, I had to read over parts to try and keep on top of everything. It's very much involved with vampire politics, and it's so clever, but unbelievably detailed. With skills like hers, I wouldn't be surprised if Chance worked out how to break in to where ever the hell she liked. Working out strategy? Chance has got it down pat.
This, along with Chance's trademark of massive, dangerous action scene after massive, dangerous action scene, there was so much going on in this book! Chance must do some serious planning before she writes her books, because I can't see this book being written by the seat of anyone's pants. It's awesome, it's riveting, and I couldn't put the book down! The action scenes seemed to step it up a notch too, with the level of danger, violence and how-the-hell-is-Dory-going-to-get-out-of-this-one suspense! It's just beyond impressive. It's incredible.
There is one part of this book that had me literally shout out "OH MY GOD!", with a massive grin on my face and squealing with excitement! It's about half a page, if that. But it's going to have huge consequences. The repercussions are going to be so, so good! That, topped with what happened at the end of the book, has me ridiculously excited for the next installment. It's huge! It's going to ripple out and affect everything! And it will rock! Such an incredible book! I'm really excited for Tempt the Stars, the sixth book in the Cassandra Palmer series, and whatever comes next in Dory's series.
It's going to be epic.
Linda
Written on Nov 27, 2012
This book started as a 3 star, then built up towards the last third to a 5, so I think it's only fair to give it 4 stars in the end. Very slow beginning in some way, whereas in other ways it was really fast. I know, I'm not making a lot of sense, but this story didn't make a whole lot of sense at first either...
Quirky Cat
Written on Oct 16, 2012
Dory is a dhampir, and perhaps my favorite of her kind. Dhampirs are half human, and half vampire. The most famous example is probably Blade, but Dory is what usually comes to mind for me.
Dory is forced to do all sorts of different things in this novel, all in an attempt to stay a war. A fact that wouldn't normally be her problem, if not for her friends and family being at risk during the war.
This is one of my favorite series. I adore Dory and the absolute chaos she tends to bring with her. She's sassy, determined, and not afraid to do what is right – regardless of what it costs her.
Side note before we begin: I’ve actually read this whole series multiple times (it’s one of my favorites), but it wasn’t until recently that I realized that I’ve never reviewed the older books in the series. So here I am, reading them all again, and loving every minute of it.
Because I’m doing a reread with a group of people (the Karen Chance Street Team – message me if you want to know more about it) I’m also going to include the discussion prompts we’ve been using. That will be at the end of the review, so if you’re curious, check it out.
Fury's Kiss is one of my favorite novels in the Dorina series, and I'm not just saying that. I love how much happens in this novel, and trust me – a lot happens! Dory is constantly moving from one thing to another, dealing with both external and internal threats. It's as fascinating as it is fast-paced.
Honestly, so much happened in this novel, that even with this being a reread, I'm not even sure where to begin.
I love that Dory's abilities – and the reasons behind them – were explored further in this love. More than that, I love how they were explored. Karen Chance did an amazing job of having the revelation be as dramatic as possible.
I swear the secondary characters were truly shining during this novel. Or at least, at specific moments during Fury's Kiss. It cracks me up how many house guests Dory and Claire have right now. Probably more than it otherwise would, if not for Claire clearly being a bit put out with who (or rather, what) they are.
The conclusion to this novel was...epic. As were all of the fight scenes leading up to it, actually. But the conclusion was an amazing fight, fascinating politics, and personal moments all blended into one dramatic series of events. And I loved every minute of it. Reading it all again made it come to life once more. And honestly, I could have read it all again on the spot and said the same thing. It'll never get old. Not for me.
I'm lucky, in a way, that this is a binge reread for me. I don't have to wait a year (or more) before picking up Shadow's Bane. So I'm probably going to go right on and read it next. Because I've never been known for my self control when it comes to books.
Reread Comments:
Toy/Weapon: Normally I'd list a specific weapon, but in this instance I think it was all of the improvised weapons that I really enjoyed.
Favorite chapter/scene/plot point: The fight scene where Dory is trying to get inside the council headquarters. I couldn't fully explain why, but I loved that whole series of events.
Favorite quote: “Thank you, Captain Obvious.” “I’m on the Senate,” he reminded me. “It’s Lord Obvious.”
MVP (not including Dory): Louis Cesare!
“He was honest and honorable and ethical and generous, in a culture that was exactly none of those things.”
Interesting bits I noticed this time 'round: I tried to pay more attention to the politics going on behind the scenes this time around. I'm not sure if I picked up anything new, but I did enjoy it more!
What further research did this book inspire (historical, mythological, etc): I looked into the fae a bit more. Just a few of the less common creatures they mentioned here and there.
Unanswered questions: None!
For more reviews check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
Melanie
Written on Oct 1, 2011
I tried really hard to read this book. I just couldn't get into it. I never did like it as much as the Cassie story. I put it down when I noticed that I was finding new things to clean instead of reading. Part of me thought I was just in a funk. I then picked up a different book and read it in days. So, then I came back to this one and still couldn't get myself to finish it.
I'm not 100% sure what it was that turned me off. I think part was the weird going around in time and in Dory's brain. The story is extremely fast paced as all Karen Chance books seem to be. I just couldn't get myself to want to keep up. I'm sure that there are a lot of people who love this book and that is great. I really wish I was one of them.