Hunt the Moon (Cassandra Palmer, #5)

by Karen Chance

[Quirky Cat]

Hunt the Moon is the fifth Cassie Palmer novel, and man, that girl just can’t catch a break, can she? Cassie isn’t given much time to recover after defeating a god – now she has to deal with all the death threats coming at her. And naturally, as Pythia, those threats aren’t just coming at her from the present.
I absolutely adore the Cassie Palmer series, and this novel is probably one of my favorites. Not that I’ve ever been very good at picking my favorites or anything like that. This whole series has been a thrilling whirlwind, and I honestly can’t wait for the next novel to release.
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.


Hunt the Moon is one of those standout novels in a series. Even loving the entire series, I have to admit that this novel goes above and beyond. It was fast paced and managed to snag my full emotional investment, all while dragging us on one crazy journey.
Normally when I’m reading a book I can easily point out what my favorite part is. And usually I’ll have reread that part a million times. But not in this case. Once I start reading any section of it, I end up reading the whole book. It just works so perfectly as a whole unit.
And trust me, there is a lot happening in this novel. More people (erm, gods) are popping out of the woodworks to try and kill Cassie, she’s still dealing with her Pythia powers and trying to take control of her station, she’s got the vampires to deal with as well, plus the fae, and so much more. And let’s not forget the emotional side of things either; Pritkin and Mircea. Any one of those tasks would be borderline too much for one person, yet here Cassie is being forced to deal with it all. All things considered, I think she did a pretty decent job of it.
This novel did a brilliant job of showing how far Cassie has come. Sure, she’s still got a ways to go, but don’t we all? Cassie is so strong and determined, even when all of the odds are stacked against her. It’s inspiring, truthfully.
The main plot was intense and kept things moving forward at an insane pace. But it was exciting to read – to put it mildly. I really enjoyed everything about it, from the way it was introduced, all the way to the heartbreaking conclusion. Now I remember exactly how anxious I was for the release of Tempt the Stars (can you blame me?).
Also, I feel like a lot of the secondary characters were really given a chance to shine here. Marco has really grown on me, and I adore Fred already, even though he was just introduced. Slowly the bubble of people around Cassie is building.
And of course there’s the romantic subplot. Or is it subplots? Your call. I really enjoyed the way Karen Chance handled everything that was going on – and I’m sure that was difficult to balance too. So credit where credit is due. At this point in the series I’m sure everyone has a preferred team they’re rooting for, and I’m no exception (though it wouldn’t be hard to guess who I’m rooting for).
All things said and done, I’m thrilled that I had a good excuse to read Hunt the Moon all over again. And I was so into it that I read it from cover to cover in one sitting. And I have no regrets about that decision! Now on to Tempt the Stars, because there’s no way I’m waiting on that one.




Tarot Card: The Moon
“The Moon Reversed indicates a pattern or a cycle that is about to repeat itself.”
“I don’t see the good stuff” I explained briefly. “Anyway, the cards can be read a number of different ways. But normally the Moon reversed points to a dark time, like the dark side of the moon, you know?”

Favorite chapter/scene/plot point: I’m sincerely not sure I could pick a moment in this novel that was my favorite. It worked so well as a whole unit, you know? If I had to pick, probably either the fight scene at the end, or that sweet scene on the balcony early on.

Favorite quote: “Nothing about the future is decided until it happens. We create it every day by the choices we make, good or bad.”

Favorite political quote: “That’s easy to say, but I think you may have more of a struggle establishing your independence from the Senate than you seem to think. But, in any case, we’re talking about appearances, not esoteric facets of vampire law. And the fact is that you…belonging…to a vampire, however you define it, is not going to sit well with the supernatural community as a whole.”

MVP (not including Cassie): Pritkin. Not only for all of the fighting and sacrificing he made, but for the emotional side of things as well. That moment where he went out to check on Cassie on the balcony – after the first of many attempts on her life – was sweet. And it showed how much he cared for her. And frankly, it showed how empathetic he could be, despite how he behaves.

Interesting bits I noticed this time ‘round: I think I picked up more on the interpersonal connections this time around. The sweet moments between Cassie and Pritkin, the cuter moments between Cassie and all of her bodyguards (but especially Marco). That’s not really an observation, I know. But that’s just where my head was at, I guess.

What further research did this book inspire (historical, mythological, etc): None this time, believe it or not.

Unanswered questions:

Bonus! T-Shirt quotes: “I keep hitting escape, but I’m still here.”
“There’s too much blood in my caffeine system”


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