Zombie's Bite

Dorina Basarab #0.1

by Karen Chance

When Dorina Basarab, half human, half vampire, assassin-for-hire, hits New Orleans, she thinks it's for a typical job: take out a mad master vamp before he can wreak havoc on the city. But when the elusive master suddenly shows up at her hotel, things get complicated, especially when Dory realizes that the murder he has in mind is his own! And that the Big Easy is about to get a whole lot harder.

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Vampires, Paranormal, Fantasy, Short Stories, Magic, Novella

116 pages, ebook

First published December 1, 2015

About the author

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 Florida near her family home. Visit her website or connect with her on Facebook here.

Reviews

[Hayat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a brilliant, unexpected gem and it's free!

Zombie's Bite is an introductory novella to the Dorina Basarab series and, speaking as a long time fan of the series, I found it highly entertaining and it also reminded me of how much I love this series. The beginning was a bit slow but before long, I was pulled into the plot and was staring open-mouthed at Dorina's mad action, laughing at her audacity and sniggering at how Dorina and Kit Marlow met... Mercea's involvement was the cheery on top!

There's a big difference between feeling sorry for someone and dying for him, and Dory wasn't a saint. She never pretended to be.

Zombie's Bite had it all: conspiracy, murder, mystery, supernatural creatures, magic, mayhem, action, laugh-out-loud humour and a fast paced plot peppered with excellent secondary characters and some of my favourite recurring characters from both Dorina Basarab series and Cassandra Palmer series. How does Ms Chance write such amazing, breath taking fast-paced action scenes? All I know is that Karen Chance is one of my favourite Urban Fantasy authors and I can't wait for Dorina Basarab book 4, it has been ages since the last book.

My favourite quote:

'...She wasn't prey. In the vamp world, she was pretty much the apex predator, the mongoose to his snake. And she was about to Rikki tikki Tavi his ass.'

[Mitticus · Rating 4 out of 5]

2024 4,5 stars
2016 4 stars
}
Dorina is hired by the latinamerican senate to kill some rogue vampire , and what start as a lucrative business soon goes deeply south. (its was a trap for Dorina to kill some Childe of Marlowe)

For Kip Marlowe starts a hunt for a killer (its has his POV too).

Meanwhile Dorina is dealing with bokors (sort of voodooo guys), a Ganja guy, and runing from a ferocius master vampire first class.

Somehow it got humor while they beat at each other.
--------------
(2016)
Kit met Dory.

A dangerous chase in New Orleans swamps.

A good time reading. I was snickering all the way. Wish all the books follow this lead.

[ᴥ Irena ᴥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zombie's Bite takes place before the events in the Dorina Basarab series and I think I enjoyed it this much because I know all the players and their relationships.

I don't know if it will be the same for those who read this before the series. Probably not since you only get hints about her and her abilities here. My enjoyment has been influenced by how much I love Dorina Basarab, both the character and the series.

In Zombie's Bite she gets a too-good-to-be-true job to hunt down a crazed vampire. It should be easy but this being Dorina it is far from it. She gets involved in vampire politics and she meets Kit for the first time.
The ending is great especially if you've read the series.

[Elena Rodríguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

+3
“In the vamp world, she was pretty much the apex predator, the mongoose to his snake. And she was about to Rikki Tikki Tavi his ass. ”

Vampiros, zombies, Nueva Orleans y vudú y problemas. ¿Dónde está mi dinero que me embarco ya mismo ?

Salvo el prólogo que no he entendido mucho con respecto al resto de la historia, ha estado bastante decente. Ha sido, al menos para mí, una buena introducción de Dorina.

A por las historias principales.

[RachelW (BamaGal) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun little story. Dory is my kind of kickass h, and with some mad skills. This was my introduction to this world, so I wasn't completely clued in to all the little nuggets that regular readers would immediately recognize. Still, I picked up pretty easily; it helped that I was at least familiar with the world and characters.

Nice read, and I may revisit it someday after I read some of the books.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cover of this novella is hideous. It had to be said. Sorry. 

Dorina is on a job. Kit Marlow is after her. They don't know each other, so this must be set very early on in the various series. Chapters alternate between those two, giving the story a nice dynamic. Very entertaining, a lot of slapstick humour. For fans of the Dorina Basarab and Cassie Palmer series.

[Marianne · Rating 2 out of 5]

A half-blood dhampir, power hungry bokors, a suicidal vampire master, and his maker who's out for revenge... Hmmmmm... The Dorina Basarab series has earned high praise from nearly all my Goodreads friends, but I'm sorry to say that Zombie's Bite left me cold. (Un)fortunately, the ending piqued my interest, which means I'll likely give this series a shot anyway.

~2016 A-Z challenge; letter Z~

[Just Josie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dory, your badass dhampir!

Kit, your stubborn master vamp!

Mircea, I LOVE you! Damn that vampire is slick! 😂👏

Action packed, well written, funny characters, epic fight scenes and guess what? It’s FREE!

Ms. Chance writes some epics books. Even her novellas rock!

Read:15/12/2018
Genre: Paranormal/vampire
Cover: 2 stars
1st rating; 5 Stars
Will I recommend : Yes!

[SheLove2Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although it started out a bit slow, and a little confusing, (I had to read the prologue twice) this turned out to be an unexpected delight. 4 stars

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chance has some great freebies on her website, if you haven't checked them out yet, you should. I hadn't done it in a while and missed the last few. This was a fun story about how Kit met Dory, not a fun experience for anyone involved, it was definitely only fun for us as readers. Chance did a great job of using New Orleans without making it too kitchy or stereotypical. It's a good story, well worth your time.

[Beate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set before the main series, Dory is on a job that goes sideways. As a result she gets involved in a race through the swamps of Louisiana to find the culprits before Kit Marlowe kills her.

Dory is her usual fun self, and I enjoyed being inside Kit's head, as well as seeing how they originally met.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ever wonder how Kit and Dory met? This freebie by Karen Chance tells the story of how these two, strangers at the time, meet while on separate missions to stop trouble rising out of New Orleans.

[Jeanny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This counts as letter Z in the 2016 Cliterary genius A to Z book challenge

[Carolyn F. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prequel to Dory's story. There's not much mention of her dad until the end. Lots of chasing and running with some fight scenes between people and reptiles. Okay.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

When i first discovered this series several years ago, i instantly fell in love with Dory's in-your-face brand of justice. There is something almost cathartic about reading her hilarious interactions with whoever crosses her path, friend or foe. This book did not disappoint on that score. Backed into a corner and faced with Kit Marlowe's rather intense and single-minded focus -- and not in the good way -- Dory once again comes out swinging. Hats off to the author for yet another fantastic read! If you enjoy this series, don't forget to check out the Cassandra Palmer series, also by this author, for an equally magical and chaos packed read. Set in the same world with another amazing cast of players (And some old friends) both series have remained firmly at the top of my 'read again' list for more than a decade now.

[Mara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I sooo miss Dorina. Pity Cassie Palmer is still alive, while she's not.

[Zoltan Makacs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, this is yet another example of why Karen Chance rocks. Even her free short stories pack more punch and are more riveting than a lot of published e-books!

This novella is an excellent addition to her Dorina Basarab series, featuring major badass action scenes, vampire politics and magical mystery, and showing fascinating glimpses into some of her best characters, like Dory, Marlowe and Mircea. While the story totally works as a standalone adventure as well, it's practically a must-read for everybody who reads the Dory books, and would certainly prove entertaining for fans of the Cassie Palmer series too!

It's not every day that we get a glimpse into the minds of secondary characters, and Karen Chance's short stories always do a very good job of expanding upon plotlines or characters without spoiling too much, but revealing just enough to intrigue us yet again with their complexity. In addition to clearing up the source of the animosity between Dory and Marlowe - and that face-off is just glorious, it truly is - we also get a rarely-seen side of our favourite grumpy spymaster and are forced to reevaluate Dory's violent concepts about herself in light of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

All in all, an exciting action-packed storyline with great characters and point-of-view choices and a ton of fun! Recommended for fans of Karen Chance and anybody with an appreciation for good, kickass urban fantasy.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these background stories Karen Chance writes. Her characters and world building are so rich and complex it's always exciting to get a glimpse into past events. We know from the Dorina Basarab main series that she and the Senate's head spy Marlowe Do Not Get Along. Now, we get to read about the source of Marlowe's animosity. Admittedly, a lot of it his fault.

Zombie's Bite drives home the prejudice Dory faces as a dhampir. Marlowe automatically assumes Dory is in the wrong and immediately starts pursuing her without giving her a chance to explain, so really everything unpleasant that happened to him is his own fault. Dory was just trying not to get killed.

The novella is full of Karen Chance's trademark zany action/humor. Since this takes place before the main series, you really only need to have read the first Dory book to appreciate it. I highly recommend it!

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this short story on Amazon only to find out it was available for free on Smashwords...-but I don't care: I loved it! It's been a while since I've visited Chance's world of vampires and mages and demons and all other beings that go bump in the night. This short reminded me of why I totally love her books; this was so much fun!

I love Cassie, but Dory's books are my favorite. Zombie's Bite is a prequel to the series and it has the typical Karen Chance ingredients: action packed, great characters and lots of humor.

A great read! Oh how I miss Dory!

[Melindeeloo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good little Dorina freebie. I liked the vampire/zombie plot.

[Sarah ♥ dog crazy ♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this short story. It was fast with lots of action and fun.

[Choco Con Churros · Rating 3 out of 5]

La historia tenía muchísima acción. Me parecía que las de Cassie tenían mucha acción, pero al lado de esto... la trama muy interesante.
El pero... el orden de lectura recomendado. Apenas sé nada de la protagonista, que entra en escena dando por supuesto que sé quién es, y nop.
De algo me enteré al final pero me tuvo muy desorientada todo el relato.
Al no saber quién era, qué pasaba con su especie y un largo etcétera, cerré tramas demasiado tarde y me perdí gran parte del placer al estar desorientada casi toda la trama. Síp. Cronológicamente sucedería todo antes de la saga, pero me hubiera venido mejor leerlo cuando supiera más de Dorina. (Autores GL Bis)

[Galateea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me get this straight.
This bundle of joy is a freebie on the author's website.
To be exact, here: http://www.karenchance.com/zombie.html
Now then. Back to business and graceful fangirling.
I made no mistake that i am a huge Karen Chance fan. And not just huge, but enough to buy all her books and have them shipped from the US of A to my dear ol' country in Europe, outrageous shipping customs and all with not an ounce of regret whatsoever (i did take it easy with the food for a month or so, but i called it extreme diet and that was it).
Regarding God's gift to book lovers in the form of a freebie, Wow. Just wow. Triple wow. It's all clear to me now. Why Marlowe hated Dory so much. Hell, after that beating? I'd probably make it my life goal to make that person's life miserable to the extreme since i couldn't kill her outright because of her dad *cough cough Mircea cough cough*
My reaction?
Well played, Dory, well played. Kit deserved a little mopping the floor (literally) for that overwhelming ego of his.
Now, what do i need to do for an encore and some Louis Cesare thrown in as a cupcake reward?
Oh, you say i have to wait for book 4?
Damn.. OK... I'll build a bungalow and hibernate there until the wait is over. Because you know...
Louis Cesare and Dory on the same page equals something like this:

P.S. I have a new respect for New Orleans right now. And gators. And swamps. We don't have those around here, just very hungry bears a few kilometers away in Transylvania.
P.P.S I will leave this review here with a newfound respect for mosquitoes, humidity, rum, swamps and Dorina's left hook.

[Liz (Quirky Cat) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zombie’s Bite is the first novella in a series by Karen Chance. It fits into the same world as Cassandra Palmer (and in fact can be considered #0.9 in that world), but it follows a completely different character. This novella is the first in which Dorina Basarab makes an appearance. Chronologically speaking, at least.
Dory is a dhampir. As in, half vampire, half human. And it isn’t as much fun as Blade makes it sound like (which is saying something, if you ask me). She’s a tough and witty character, and I mean that pretty literally. She’s good at getting herself into fights, and even better at surviving them. What she truly excels in however, is mouthing off. That might be the reason I love her character so much.
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 discussions prompts we’ve been using. That will be at the end of the review, so if you’re curious, check it out.


I had honestly forgotten how much Zombie’s Bite made me laugh. It’s a hilarious introduction to Dory’s character, while also going a long way in showing us how tough she is, and how she fits into the larger world.
Dory is by far the quirkiest character I actively read about. And I don’t just mean what she is. She’s stubborn, mouthy, and sassy. And she’s fully capable of giving just as good as taking, when it comes to fights. And of course, she’s really quite talented at getting herself into the weirdest of situations.
This novella did a great job of highlighting all of that. From the absurd start of the plot, to her unexpected sidekick, and then back around to her surprise antagonist for the novella.
The fight scenes in this novella were fast paced and really well done. They had the classic Karen Chance chaos thrown into them as well, where there are about a dozen different things happening at once. It’s a lot to keep up with, but totally worth it in the long run.
Kit Marlowe is one of those characters that doesn’t usually get a chance to shine, but I feel like he sort of got his chance here. He had emotional reasons for all of his actions – something we don’t normally get to see for him, as well as a chance to be the main perspective for once. It was refreshing.
The best part, of course, is where her plot gets fully tied into the main series – the Cassandra Palmer world. That’s where things start to get really interesting, if you ask me. The big reveal at the end of course was quite dramatic, though it was tempered by Kit’s reaction (which was priceless).
I can’t believe how long I went without rereading this one. It has some of my favorite Dory quotes in it, how could I ever have forgotten them or their origin??? I’m glad I had a reason to kick my butt into coming back to the earlier parts of this series.

Reread Commentary: (again, spoiler warning)
It was so much fun coming back to this world and seeing Dory’s introduction all over again. I also forgot how much I liked Kit in this novella. It’s so easy to think of him as little more than spymaster or security chief, when there’s actually a lot going on inside his head. This novella did a great job of showing us how much he’s capable of caring. I needed that reminder.
I had honestly forgotten how many quotable moments were in this novella. It’s so easy to forget that a novella can hold quite a lot in it, isn’t it? Though admittedly Dory is one of those characters that just produces insane and hilarious quotes, so it’s not like her series is short on them.



Toy/Weapon: There are a lot of cool weapons/toys mentioned here. I’m tempted to go with the cloaking device she used, but I think I’m going to have to go with the one that duplicated her. I know that one cost a small fortune, but as shown in the book, it can be incredibly useful when stuck in a corner.

Favorite chapter/scene/plot point: I know a few people mentioned it already, but I adore the scene where we’re seeing Dory beat up Marlowe from his perspective. You know the one where he’s cheering her on? It was such a hilarious flip, not only on expectations, but on how he had been feeling about her up until that point.

Favorite quote: I have a few favorite quotes from this one, but for different reasons.
“He couldn’t lose her. He owed a debt to one whose forgiveness he could never ask, because he hadn’t been fast enough.” – I love this one because it’s one of those rare moments where we’re reminded of just how much Marlowe cares, despite his appearances.

“Twenty feet of muscle. Twenty feet of terror. Twenty feet of prehistoric hate with a maw of what-the-fuck and claws they didn’t make anymore because even nature had looked at those things and thought, you know what? That was a bad idea.” – Loved this one for a couple of different reasons. One, it’s an accurate description. Two, it’s so incredibly well written. It’s witty, explains the danger of the situation, and while detailed it doesn’t detract from the pacing of the story. Plus it’s a bit funny.

““Son of a bitch!” he said, and wasn’t sure if it was him or his nemesis. “No, just a bitch,” the girl growled, and threw him through a doorway.” – Pure Dory perfection. Need I say more?

MVP (not including Dory): Gonna have to go with Marlowe. He’s full of anger and emotion here, but he still managed to track down a potentially dangerous character and put up a serious fight. He didn’t understand what was going on, of course, so I give him bonus points for doing what he thought was right.

Interesting bits I noticed this time ‘round: Dreads amused me even more this time around, but I’m not sure if that really counts as an observation. I did enjoy trying to suss out more of the political situation, considering what we know now.

What further research did this book inspire (historical, mythological, etc): None this time around, but that’s okay. I completely enjoyed this reread for what it was. Though I think my first time reading it I looked up a few photos for reference on scale for the ‘twenty feet of terror.’

Unanswered questions: I want to know more about the vampire behind the whole ploy. Seems minor, I know. But I’d like to know how they came up with this convoluted (yet interesting) plan.


For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[Amyiw · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great addition to the series. I really hope she gets back to Dory in more than novellas though, put out enough and I wouldn't complain. This is a prequel and it is when Kit finds out about Dory. I think he owes her big time (for the rest of his life) but of course she is a Dhampire so he won't/doesn't see it that way.

In this, Dory is hired to hunt a rogue but realizes something is wrong with the hit. Kit is then trying to hunt her down, while she is trying to hunt the people that put her on this bogus hit, all while trying to avoid Kit and his posse. Kit doesn't get it until he is hit over the head and has no ability to do anything but hope the damn Dhampire can fix what he didn't even see until too late. And when she does, he is all pissed at the way she does it, ha! I loved it and he should be kissing her boots, not calling her names.

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Dory Basarab novella is as packed full of the good stuff as a stack of books from other series.

A job gone belly up, a vengeful vamp, a treacherous plot, and Dory's trip to the Crescent City makes her wonder several times if she'll live to tell about it.

I love the wry wit, stick to it-ness, and tough skilled heroine that must be more deadly than the deadly beings that make up her world.

This is a short and quick adventure that though it's a prequel, it assumes the reader is familiar with the world and characters of the Dory Basarab series. I would recommend reading it sometime after book one to get the full benefit of the story.

[Literary Lusts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Karen Chance's Dorina Basarab series is probably one of my favorite UF series I've read so far. They aren't perfect but they are just so much fun and I love the characters so much that any minor flaws I can overlook. It's been a billion years since the last book was published so I thought I would try and get my hands on any of the short stories just to fill the void. It was pretty good but nothing compared to the full novels. I am not a big fan of short stories as I tend to read pretty fast and it was over too quickly to get much out of it. But it was still Dorina so I gave it four stars anyways.

[Kadi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my, I haven't had this much fun in ages. Complete laugh out loud novella, from Ms. Chance that tells us how Dory and the Consul's chief spymaster first meet, over a dead body, reanimated dead bodies, magical rum, magical drugs and a ton of alligators-turned-sushi.

Absolutely beautiful and I'm still wiping my eyes from laughing so hard.

[Raquel (Rocki) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this I liked seeing from Kit's point as well as Dory's. Very interesting how Kit and her meet and now I understand why he doesn't really like her regardless that she didn't do anything really wrong. Kit is one strong vampire and doesn't give up.

[Erin Burns · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://www.karenchance.com/zombie.html