Midnight's Daughter (Dorina Basarab, #1)

Midnight's Daughter (Dorina Basarab #1)

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3.97 of 5 stars 3.97  ·  rating details  ·  8,810 ratings  ·  411 reviews
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.

Now Dory's vampire father has come back into her life. Her Uncle Dracula (yes, the Dracula), infamous even among vamp...more
Paperback, 373 pages
Published October 7th 2008 by Onyx
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Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)
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Mel
I love love love this book!
This is a great story for people who love urban fantasy. It's action packed, fast paced and the plot is well thought out. Plus it has a lot of wit and sarcasm, which makes it a typical Karen Chance book. She has the wonderful ability of getting you soaked up in a fantasy world with a variety of creatures and serious problems, but still she keeps a funny edge, never taking herself too seriously. The inclusion of characters like Olga (hilarious), Radu (you can't help bu...more
Julie (jjmachshev)
Very, very hard to review this book. I gobbled up Karen Chance's Cassie Palmer series and am anxiously awaiting book four to be released in April 2009. So I jumped on "Midnight's Daughter" which is an offshoot of that series. Technically, this is a standalone novel. But IMHO, you really should read about Cassie and that world before taking on Dorina. It provides a deeper insight into her world and events that have shaped the actions and intentions of some characters in her book.

Dorina is a dhamp...more
LooLoo
More like a 3.5 star rating. I'm giving this 4 stars only because we can't give half a star ratings and 3 is too low. There is something about this and the Cassie Palmer series that just wears me out. I think it's too fast paced and too busy for me. Maybe if I were a slower reader and gave it more time to sink in but instead it just kind of wears on me.
VampireNovelFan
My socks have been rocked!

""I ran out of stock around midnight and dropped by a place, got some Chinese." I hoped he meant takeout...."Mu-shu pork" he told me indignantly."

I held off from immediately jumping into the Dorina Basarb series, a spin-off of the Cassie Palmer novels by Karen Chance, for a couple of reasons:

1)I have some quirks with the Cassie Palmer books that I feared could spill over into this series

and

2)I wasn't sure if I wanted to invest in a series with such a long wait betw...more
Maja
This book has led me to a very important decision: I’m going to learn to speak Romanian. It may take me a while, but I’m incredibly stubborn, and if I start now I can be fluent in a couple of years. (view spoiler)[My conscience informs me that I have to finish my research AND write my thesis first. Damn! (hide spoiler)]
Anyway, I want to learn Romanian just to be able to whisper to Mircea in his native language when he visits me in my dreams add it to my CV. It’s a beautiful language and I was al...more
Lynsey (The Demon Librarian)
You know what's weird? Considering how many reviews I've written—especially this year after I set it as my New Year's Resolution to review every single book I read—what's weird is that most of my all-time favourite books don't even have a review at all because I read them waaaay before I discovered the joys of reviewing or having a virtual Goodreads bookshelf to keep a record of my books and ratings. So my favourites, like this one, just got slapped with an automatic 5-star rating based on hazy...more
Steph
Midnight's Daughter introduces us to Dorina Basarab. Think the name sounds familiar? That's because, if you have read Karen's Cassandra Palmer series, you've already met Dory's Daddy - Mircea Basarab. Dory's a dhampir - ½human, ½vamp - who experience uncontrollable rages and typically have a short live span. Dory, on the other hand, has lived for 500 yrs.

When Dory's best friend and roomie goes missing she goes on the hunt to find out what's happened. Mircea approaches her with an offer she cann...more
Cheryl
Dorina Basarab is back in a whole new series. Midnight’s Daughter is the first book in this series. For those of you who have not read Karen Chance’s first trilogy, then let me tell you a little bit about Dorina.

Dorina is a dhampir. What is a dhampir? Think of a dhampir like Wesley Snipes’s character “Blade”, someone who is half human and half vampire. Dory likes what she does by taking out the bad guys one by one. Dory is also a bit of a loner but that’s just the way she likes it. Out of the b...more
Anita
Oct 13, 2008 Anita rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: PRN/urban fantasy fans
Another great novel by Karen Chance. Ms. Chance has written at least 3 different story lines from 1st person perspectives that all happen within the same 'verse. The first novels three were from Cassandra's perspective, then there's a short story from Claire's perspective, and here is a novel from Dorina's perspective. All three have overlapping characters, which gives the reader a chance to get to know supporting characters better because you see them through different people's eyes.

This book w...more
chucklesthescot
Dorina,half-vampire half-human and prone to dark rages,is on a mission.Her psycho Uncle Dracula has escaped from prison and her father wants Dorina to go and capture him with the help of fellow vampire Louis-Cesare.She likes to work alone but with Dracula to deal with,she is forced into the partnership.
First,Louis-Cesare just bugged me,like a poor imitation of Jean-Claude from the Anita Blake series.The fighting with him and Dorina got boring very quickly as I hate this type of thing in my book...more
Nichole (Dirty H)
First read: 6/2009

Karen Chance is one of my new favorite authors. She's made her way up to auto-buy. I loved this book, mainly because of the characters. They are all fantastic. I was worried that Dory would feel a little too much like Cassie, but this did not happen. Dory was definitely her own character, and I liked her a lot.

Great book, and I can't wait for the next one! (Ugh, January....)

Edit: Second read: 10/2012

I probably wouldn't give this 5 stars the second time around, but I still liked...more
Starfish
Atrocious. Really. Author cuts all sorts of corners, using black-outs and convenient memory dumps to garner sympathy for her main characters, while telling constantly. She also puts the entire novel in at high gear, but when all of Dorina's allies end up dead, she's got no weapons, is horribly injured and weak and has no options -- for the third time in short succession in the book -- well. You're less concerned, more, right then. Get on with it.

There were two things I liked about the book -- m...more
Tricia
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Bron
Midnight's daughter is the story of Dory (hehe that rhymes), she is a dhamphir, born to a new vampire and a human. In Dory's world, dhamphirs are usually very quickly killed, they are strong and hunt vampires, and have a mad side, somehow, Dory has survived 500 years mainly by relying on herself (or so she thinks). Her vampire father, whom she does not appear to like or respect, asks her to kill her very mad vampire uncle, and promises in return to find her lost friend. Dory sets out to find her...more
Gabrielle
Louis-Caesar!!! Louis-Caesar!! Louis-Caesar! (Do you hear that echo? It's my love reverberating across all of goodreads.) Oh, Louis-Caesar, how I love thee.

Ok, simmer down, Self. So, I was wondering where he went when I was reading the Cassandra Palmer series. Seriously, it was infuriating me. He is one of my favorite characters from the series . . . and he was nowhere to be seen since book one. Well. Now I know why. And I'm extremely grateful. I mean, really. He is not secondary-character statu...more
Ivie Hill
This is my second attempt to tackle down Chance's writing. I tried her Cassie Palmer series and got bored. Dorina Barsab followed closely in it's footsteps.

Chance invests great thought in her story, and it's evident. But i just couldn't keep my mind on the book. The more i read the more i found my mind wandering and focusing on things like; stuff i had to do around the house. Not many books out there get me to do my ironing, i'll tell you that.

So now, my ironing done and the book finished i am...more
Ashley
Originally posted at:
Geekery and Book Reviews
"Louis-Cesare's anger suddenly filled the small room like water, and in a heartbeat his eyes went from silver tinged to as solid as two antique coins.
I sat frozen, awash in a sea of power. I was beginning to understand why Mircea had wanted him along, only Daddy had failed to mention anything about the hair-trigger temper. I guess he assumed the red hair would clue me in."
-Midnight's Daughter

Occasionally I like to venture into the Urban Fantasy/Vampi...more
May Mostly Romance
Midnight's Daughter ของคาเรน เชนส์

หนังสือเล่มนี้เป็นเล่มแรกในหนังสือชุดแนว Urban Fantasy ที่เล่าเรื่องราวของดอริน่า บาสารับ ซึ่งลูกครึ่งแวมไพร์ กับมนุษย์ หรือที่เรียกกันว่า Dhampir แต่หนังสือชุดนี้ก็ยังมีความเกี่ยวข้องกับหนังสืออีกชุดนึงของนักเขียนคนเดียวกัน นั่นก็คือชุดแคสซี่ พาลเมอร์ โดยดอรี่เป็นลูกสาวของคนที่คาดว่าจะเป็นพระเอกในชุดแคสซี่ (ที่ต้องใช้คำว่าคาด เพราะมันไม่มีความแน่นอนในหนังสือแนว UF หรอกค่ะ)

หากจะบอกว่าดอริน่าเกิดมาพร้อมกับยีนส์ที่ผิดปกติก็อาจจะว่าได้ เพราะลูกครึ่งแวมไพร์กับมนุษย์...more
Anoolka
I like this better than the first Cassie Palmer book but not as much as the short stories. Dorina is an ok main character. Her relationships with various supernaturals were interesting and certainly brought a lot to the book - unlike a heroine that just enters the supernatural world Dorina has lots of contacts and past connections. The family situation was intersting, the main plot wasn't bad either. But. It was a little much - too many elements and factions that some just weren't developed enou...more
Alisa
This was a decent book - it helps to have read the short story "Buying Trouble" first, which is found in the anthology On the Prowl, although you really don't have to have read it to understand what's going on. I also think it helps to have read Touch the Dark first, which is the first Cassandra Palmer story. This one seems to be set between books one and two of that series, and having read the others first helped me understand the backstory a little bit better. Having said all that, I have to s...more
Ithlilian
Karen Chance was the author that got me into urban fantasy. I saw Touch the Dark, picked it up, loved it, and have been hooked on the genre since. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy Curse the Dawn, and I did not enjoy Midnight's Daughter. Dory is a kick butt Dhampir with family issues. She is not complex, not emotionally deep, and not particularly interesting. To some extent I expect that out of the genre now, but that doesn't mean I like it. I've read deep, realistic, exciting main characters, so I...more
Karissa
Prior to reading this book I had read the first two books in Karen Chance's Cassandra Palmer series and I just couldn't get into them. I didn't like Cassie much as a character and didn't enjoy the mafia-like vampire setting. When I heard that Chance was coming out with a series that was more urban fantasy and action focused I was excited to give it a try. So far there are two books in this series "Death's Mistress" is the second one. A third book is scheduled for 2011, but I couldn't find info o...more
Mel
I really enjoyed Karen Chance’s other series in the same world feature Cassandra Palmer so I was a little worried about starting this series in case it didn’t match up. I’m glad to say it did! As a heroine Dory certainly fits into the strong independent woman who kicks ass and has a dark past mould easily but brings something different. She has a history as long as any vampire and certainly doesn’t seem to spend any time weeping and moaning about it. She’s driven and cares about her friends – he...more
Joanne
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Zenta
Lai arī darba kodols ir savādāks nekā Casanndra Palmer sērijām, vairākas nianses darbiem ir kopīgas: tēlu vārdi, daži otrā plāna notikumi, pasaules kopējā hierarhija. Visas šīs līdzības atviegloja lasīšanu, jo nebija jā iedziļinās izdomātajā realitāte. Bet šo sēriju personīgu padara galvenā varone- Dorija. Viņa ir stipra, pašpārliecināta, bezbailīga un pašaizliedzīga sieviete, kas neguļ uz svešiem lauriem, bet pati cenšas izlauzties uz priekšu. Visu vēl vairāk apgrūtina tas, ka viņas tēvs ir aug...more
Starry
Dorina(nickname:Dory)-main character, a dhampir
kyle-a vamp dude
Claire-rommate and bff
Michael-he has claire
Louis-Cesare-vampire,
Mircea-dorina's daddy
Marlowe-dory knows him,vamp,
Radu-mircea's brother
Dracula-mirceas brother,crazy vamp.,mircea sent dory and louis-cesare to track him down
Kristie-was told by senate that if she help dory complete the mission,she is free of all charges(all charges for her shall be dropped)-got killed
Jos-was told by senate that if he help dory complete the mission,he is...more
Martina the Book Fairy
Just finished Midnight's Daughter (Dorina Basarab, Dhampir, Book 1) by Karen Chance which I give 4 stars. If you read the Cassandra Palmer series, you'll be happy to note that this is a spin-off of that series. While the main character is different and you probably can read this series without reading the Cassie series, I'm inclined to think that understanding this book is a lot easier if you read the Cassie series first. Because I'm feeling lazy, here's the blurb from the back of the book:

"Dor...more
Nina
Dorina Basarab series takes place a little around the Touch the Dark timeline. It's better than Cassandra Palmer, though, because at least Dory is a better character than Cassie Palmer.

She is a dhampir, half-human, half-vampire. The first-level vamp, Mircea Basarab, the brother of Vlad the Dracula, is her father. I was surprised because in Cassie Palmer's books, Mircea doesn't have that huge explaining about his life. And now, Mircea needs her help. Mircea appoints the Frenchman Louis-Cesare to...more
Elia
This book would have been a lot more interesting had the language been better. It's not a good sign of writing skills when the reader has to reread whole paragraghs to understand their meaning. There was indeed a lot of action but it would have been so much more exciting had it been narrated better.

The kick-ass heroine, unrelenting action and hot guys will draw the reader's attention immediately. Whether they will manage to preserve it, though, is another matter. The information overload and the...more
Emanuela ~plastic duck~
4.5 stars.

This is a very good book. I will immediately explain why it's not a full 5-star rating. I think the author didn't explain Dorina, the heroine. I was a little bit annoyed by all this rage fits and the fact that Dorina blacks out during these crises. I was even more annoyed that later in the book the author explained beautifully how the dark nature of Dorina was taking over. I think that making her aware of this wilder part of her nature during her fits could have made her more interesti...more
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Midnight's Daughter (Dorina Basarab, #1)
Midnight's Daughter (Dorina Basarab, #1)
Midnight's Daughter (Dorina Basarab Series #1)
Midnight's Daughter (Dorina Basarab, #1)
Midnight's Daughter (Dorina Basarab,  #1)

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Karen Chance is the author of two New York Times bestselling series, plus a number of novellas and short stories, all set in the Cassandra Palmer universe. A full-time writer since 2008, she was previously a university history teacher, which comes in handy when writing the time-travel aspect of Cassie’s crazy adventures. She loves Las Vegas, the main setting for her novels, but currently lives in...more
More about Karen Chance...
Touch the Dark (Cassandra Palmer, #1) Embrace the Night (Cassandra Palmer, #3) Curse the Dawn (Cassandra Palmer, #4) Claimed By Shadow (Cassandra Palmer, #2) Death's Mistress (Dorina Basarab, #2)

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“My lord...I can explain-," Louis-Cesare began, looking less than certain that he could do anything of the kind.
Radu held up a hand. "I am sure there is a perfectly good reason why my niece is naked and tied to her bed. I am also equally certain that I do not wish to hear it".”
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“I glanced at Radu. "What, exactly is Louis-Cesare's problem?'. [..]
Suddenly a speculative gleam lit his eyes. It made me nervous. 'He tends to be very protective of women,"he said thoughtfully. "You're a woman Dory."
"Thank you for pointing that out. But I didn't think dhampirs qualified."
Radu smirked. "It appears you've been upgraded.”
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