Review! Death's Mistress by Karen Chance

Death's Mistress (Dorina Basarab, book 2)
Karen Chance
Onyx
January 5, 2010
ISBN-10: 0451412761
ISBN-13: 978-0451412768

Dorina Basarab is a dhampir—half-human, half-vampire. Subject to uncontrollable rages, most dhampirs live very short, very violent lives. So far, Dory has managed to maintain her sanity by unleashing her anger on those demons and vampires who deserve killing.

Back home in Brooklyn after the demise of her insane uncle Dracula, Dory’s hoping her life is about to calm down. But then she gets some visitors. A friend wants Dory’s help in finding a magical Fey relic, and the gorgeous vampire, Louis-Cesare, is desperate to find his former mistress Christine.

Dory and Louis-Cesare quickly discover that the same master vampire Christine is bound to is also rumored to be in possession of the relic. But when the master vampire turns up dead, they realize that there’s more at stake than a missing mistress. Someone is killing vampire Senate members, and if Dory and Louis-Cesare can’t stop the murderer, they may be next…

Death's Mistress is the second book featuring Dorina Basarab. She's a half-human, half-vampire hybrid, or dhampir, and pretty much the pariah of the vampire world but she's also the daughter of Micea, the senator of the North American vampire council. Just as Dory is back home, settling down after having to deal with her psycho of an uncle, Claire, her best friend, shows up. Claire needs her help finding a relic that was stolen from the royal Fey family because it might just be one thing that can save her baby boy.

But to complicate things further, Louis-Cesare shows up, too! He's the super gorgeous master vampire that Dory met when she was dealing with her uncle. Apparently he also needs that relic to bargain for his mistress, Christine, who was stolen from him a century ago. But because, let's face it, Dory doesn't have the best of luck, she soon finds out that the vampire who was rumored to have the relic is dead. And next thing you know, Senate members are being killed and finding the fey item and saving Louis-Cesare's mistress is the least of Dory's problems.

Beginning to end, Death's Mistress is an absolutely engaging story and it more than exceeded my expectations. Dory's the best character ever, she's such a hard ass but she also cares a lot about her friends because honestly, she doesn't have that many since practically everyone is scared of her so when Claire shows up, there's no question that Dory's going to help her. The plot's brilliantly balanced, there's fast paced action with laugh-out-loud moments that hit me out of nowhere because Dory has that dry, dark humor that I absolutely love! And the bit of romance between Dory and Louis-Cesare made me swoon. They have such great chemistry together and it comes right off the page. Every single character brings something to the story, even Stinky! He's Dory's half-breed of a pet but honestly, more like family than anything.

Death's Mistress is a must read for anyone looking for an urban fantasy story that's explosive, fast paced with wonderful characters and a plot that will keep you guessing until the very end! Really! I did not see it coming one bit. This series has easily become one my auto-buys and I can't wait to read the next installment!