Curse the Dawn (Cassandra Palmer, #4)

by Karen Chance

[Quirky Cat]

Curse the Dawn is the fourth novel in the Cassandra Palmer series. Though if you want to get technical, it’s the fifth novel in the world of Cassie Palmer (counting Dory’s first novel). Like the other novels before it, this one follows Cassie and her whirlwind journey as Pythia. There’s plenty of chaos, humor, and tension to be found in this series.
I know I’ve said it before, and I’m probably getting a bit repetitive by now. But I absolutely love this series. It’s so much fun and just has so much personality. Cassie is one of those characters with a special talent for getting herself into trouble. Meanwhile many of the secondary characters are exceptionally talented at expressing their frustration at the situations she finds herself in. It makes for a great read, to put it mildly.
In Curse the Dawn, Cassie still finds herself on the outside looking in. She’s got the power of the Pythia, but not the respect or support of it. So things are a bit…difficult for her. To make matters worse, the war is looming closer than ever, and their side can’t afford to lose any people. Unfortunately some of those people she needs to help protect also want to kill her…so there’s a bit of a conflict of interest here.
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.


Curse the Dawn is a lot of things, chaotic, hilarious, epic, and fascinating. It’s also the turning point in the series, in a lot of ways. I think that’s the reason why this novel is so important, despite its chaotic appearance.
Up until now Cassie has been struggling to gain respect from both the mage and vampire circles. She hasn’t had much success though – the few who see her side are limited in number, and have more important things to do than help turn the public opinion (like keeping her alive).
But now, thanks to the many disasters that occur within this book, that is starting to change. People are starting to see Cassie for who she really is – by seeing her actions. Yes, the mage council is still fighting her tooth and nail, but some people are starting to see the light. And right now, that’s really what she needs.
This is one of the faster paced novels in the series, which I feel like is saying something. Everywhere you look you’ll find Cassie running around, trying to solve a problem while hopefully keeping herself alive along the way.
There are a lot of intense moments in this novel, but they’re balanced out by some of the most inane humor I’ve ever seen in a serious plot. The two balance oddly well, all things considered. And I have to confess that I don’t think many other authors could pull it off the way Karen Chance did. It’s impressive.
As for the other plot in this novel (yes, there’s more than one)…yikes! I feel like that could standalone as the summary, but I won’t leave it as that. This is definitely the start of something bigger (I knew that even my first time reading through the series) than I ever expected. It all ties back to events from the first three books, but I feel like this is where the threat is truly shown.
I’m so looking forward to the next novel in my read through, actually, the next two novels. Next in continuity is a book of Dory’s, Death’s Mistress. Then we’re back to Cassie in Hunt the Moon. Can’t wait!