Monday, January 11, 2010

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!

17 comments:

The Queen B said...

Love the review. I almost want to read this one, but I know I won't. I just live vicariously through your reviews, lol ;)

Wendy said...

Hey! WHY don't you want to read it? Oh, you'd like Louis-Cesare! ;)

The Queen B said...

I've read her Cassie Palmer series so I've see Louis-Cesare before, I think. I often don't like spin off series if I like the original series, ya know? I'm stickin to the convoluted ride that is the other series, even though it gives me a headache sometimes, lol

Wendy said...

Honestly, B, the other series is really confusing and I think Louis-Cesare is portrayed SO much better in this one!

Plus Dory is totally more kickass than Cassie! lol

The Queen B said...

Yeah, it's just one of my OCD things. Like, I've never read the Alpha and Omega spin off b/c I read Mercy Thompson series. Very rarely do I do a spinoff while the original series is still going.
I agree the other one is confusing as hell. I stay mainly for Pritkin. Man, I hope those two bump uglies at some point....

Wendy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Wendy said...

(I made a typo and it bugged me SO much that I had to delete my comment, eek!)

Oh.. GOOD GOD. You've never read Alpha & Omega?! For the love of my sanity, Brooke, READ THOSE BOOKS! Okay so Cry Wolf, first book, is good but Hunting Ground, the second one? SO. AWESOME.

Seriously, I won't stop bugging you until you read these books! And you KNOW I get annoying after a while! (like two seconds, heheh)

The Queen B said...

OMG, are you gonna ride my ass about this, too?! LOL. *sigh* You know, I always give in and read the stupid thing you want me to read. BUT I'M NOT READING ANYTHING UNTIL YOU READ SLAVE TO SENSATION. SO THERE!

Wendy said...

Damn, you caved easily! HA!

You will LOVE Charles and hey, there's WAY more info on Bran (cue swooning) in these books!

Oh, fine! I'll read it this week! Hopefully.

The Queen B said...

Alright, well you let me know when you finish Slave to Sensation and then I'll crack open the Alpha and Omega one. Sheesh, what I do to keep you happy.....

Wendy said...

Oh, puh-lease! Like it's a hardship to read good books I recommend because you KNOW I have awesome taste! lol.

Yaaay! I'll start Slave tomorrow! :)

The Queen B said...

Well, I know you taste good.... LOL.
Yay! You'll have to let me know what you think. I can't wait to do the "I told ya so" dance. ::prepares to shake booty vigorously::

Wendy said...

Don't be SO sure I'll like it. [cue suspenseful music]

Kathy Martin said...

I downloaded Death's Mistress to my Kindle the day it was released. I haven't had a chance to read it yet. Your review made me want to drop the book I'm reading and grab my Kindle. But I'm reading Firespell by Chloe Neill and it is good too. BTW both Slave to Sensation and Alpha and Omega are really, really good books.

The Queen B said...

See, another resounding vote for Slave to Sensation.
I had to leave a comment, though, just because the verification word was boxesses. How freakin awesome! It's so...gollum or some shit, lol

Wendy said...

H, Kathy! I hope you get to read this one soon, I have Firespell in my TBR pile and I've heard good things about it! :)

B, you are SO weird, lol. See?! She also said the A&O is good! And I can't believe you just called my blog a gollum! That is MEAN.

SusiSunshine said...

I want this one! Will buy it know!
I'm so behind on book buying...
Okay I remember the reason now- Mr. Giant TBR.
*sigh*
I hate these dilemmas!

He can Chapter-32 me anytime!

Bones is Mine