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Brave the Tempest
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Brave the Tempest (Cassandra Palmer #9)
Finished! Boy what a ride. :) No spoilers but I really liked the way all the points got sorted out here. Although, I haven't been able to read Pritikin's point of view story in Hong Kong, so I feel that might be helpful to getting inside his head at points during this book. There were a couple of erm, unclear to me what's going on in there in his head moments...
Mod
OMG! I needed this book! I just beginning to read it! :D
Nancy wrote: "I just finished. Gonna read it again to be sure, but I find Cassie still making mistaken assumptions about other people. All right......I'll admit that I'm a tad disappointed about the way this is ..."I think I know what you were disappointed from, Nancy (also, do we have a spoiler thread somewhere because I'm dying to discuss everything), and if I'm right, then yes, I was also disappointed from that.
But on the other hand, this book made me HAPPY. Now that the chasing-Pritkin-through-hell-and-time sideplot is done, the book finally gave me the same feelings that books like EtN and CtD and HtM did.
It helped that, at least in my opinion, KC has toned down the movie-worthy action scenes and added some more quiet times in between, which is probably the reason why there was so much development in Cassie herself. Honestly, the style of it reminded me of Shadow's Bane, even though Cassie wasn't directly investigating the "evil thing that's happening this week."
Alright, I'll shut up and wait for a spoiler thread.
Mod
I don't think there is a spoiler thread yet, but I think Sarah will start one soon. She is very conscientious about not spoiling anyone's first time through the book.
Until my re-read and the spoiler thread, I'm keeping my thoughts to myself. *sigh*
Yes, I wish we could spoiler, but I won't! mmmm its sooo hard not to! :) I think I know which part Nancy's referring to. I found it a bit pat at times - as if we flash fowarded and managed to skip ahead. However, I found it refreshing we weren't stuck in the hunting Pritkin down mode, again. Finally, the story advanced - my only question now is - will we actually be getting Book 10 by December, or not? Because, now I reeeally want to rip through that one!!
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Supernatural Hong Kong, the coven-faery underground, and relationship growth among non-main characters are intriguing beyond belief. I hope old and new fans flock to the books coming out now, because KC seems to be flourishing now that the turmoil with Penguin is over.
Just as you said, I hope we do get another Cassie in December AND Siren's Song, as well. We had a whole book with Mircea's own thoughts, which I LOVED.
It will be so great to have Pritkin's innermost thoughts and goals. I think the Irin's prediction that he (Pritkin) is going to have to deal with his demon half soon is going to make for a very interesting book in December AND a wonderful novella whenever Siren's Song is published. Good times!!!
message 9:
by
Sarah ♥ dog crazy ♥ , Mircea's Moderatrix
(last edited Aug 01, 2019 09:49PM)
(new)
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rated it 5 stars
Mod
I'll add a warning to the title.
For a spoiler-free discussion we can use the "speculations thread".
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Is that okay?
Mod
I have just finished Brave the Tempest despite trying to draw it out for as long as possible! :'(What a fantastic addition to the series! I really enjoyed the plot and there seemed to be these great quiet moments between the action - the action itself I followed very easily, rather than in Tempt the Stars and Reap the Wind I think it was, where I was a bit lost.
Some thoughts:
- I love the development of Cassie's character and the support group coming together around her. Even her addiction to the Tears was interesting to me.
- I was shocked when Cassie referred to Mircea as her ex at the very start of the book. I just presumed nothing would be so defined as that because Cassie is always ignoring this kind of thing and maybe because when they had their argument, I missed that it basically meant that it was over!! Of course I have always loved Pritkin and know that he and Cassie fit together better and I prefer it this way. Having said that I am sad about Mircea, it seems very bittersweet. Anytime he is on the page, Mircea is interesting and it's a shame (though probably about time!) that he is no longer a love interest.
- Loved the whole Ancient Horror addition
- I was surprised how far the plot progressed, it seems like the invasion Faerie/war is imminent
Mod
Did I understand Cassie correctly? She IS going to take Mircea to Elena BEFORE the invasion?
What could go wrong there, or more accurately, what could go right with that scenario? Does anyone think Dory/Dorina will go along?
My long-held theory and non-threatening-the-timeline solution to the Elena problem would be to take Mircea and Dory to save Elena, allow Dory to get to know her mother, and simply relocate Elena to somewhere safe in the area to live the rest of her mortal lifespan.
Of course, after Dragon's Claw, there has been a lot of speculation that Dory may be part Irin from her mother's side. Wouldn't that be a crazy turn for the series to take?!?
Mod
As Dragon's Claw and Shadow's Bane indicated, now Brave the Tempest proves that Cassie is the least interesting and admirable main character in KC's universe.
As for impact, the Cassie series seems to have blown it away by killing the threat from the gods back in Wales in the sixth century.
I know there is another god (Odin or Zeus, I think) but there has been no inkling of his activity. As king of the gods, you'd think that he could have controlled Apollo and Ares if he didn't approve of their intent to invade the hells (Earth and the demon realms) and the lowest heaven (Faery), OR if he did want to invade, why let subordinates take over prime feeding territory?
Now, it seems that Cassie is nurturing a hope that some of the gods may not have supported the invasion.
Absurdly, the solution *sarcasm here* to the problem I posted somewhere on Goodreads was to make love, not war. If the godly part of Cassie's nature enabled her to participate in demon sex, the sharing and multiplying kind, why couldn't the gods do that even more successfully? Maybe they could mate with all demonkind, not just the incubi royal line. There would be food on a gigantic scale.
There you have it - - - - Cassie is going to grope and gripe her way to a triumphant conclusion to the problem. MAKE LOVE NOT WAR, people!!!
I, too, have wondered where Sebastian and the werewolf clans and Claire's family of dragon shifters were during the planning. I can see omitting the werewolves if they quickly tire out in Faery, but the dragon shifters are native to Faery. They could be tremendous allies, and Claire is the daughter of a dragon noble. In Shadow's Bane, the dragons flew into the Consul's gathering, and Olga and the trolls were there, too. Where are they?
I'm going to close this to check out a point that has been niggling me, but more on this later.
I thought the shifters were present at the meeting, as well as the dragons, but since Cassie doesn't know them, they were not named. I think LC talking about Jonathan was a spur-of-the-moment thing, because I don't think Mircea or Cleo expected LC to come out and talk about him. But I think that yes, LC would tell them about it because (I think) LC isn't like other vamps, he doesn't really think in the same way as them, he doesn't manipulate and he can afford not to care if people see him as weak because even if someone challenges him, the odds are in his favour because his master power is not just invisibility - it's phasing out of existence.
I agree that Cassie and Dory have started mirroring each other's stories. Brave the Tempest definitely felt like a Dory book.
I am not sure if I prefer Cassie's books or Dory's, because I started with Cassie and then got to Dory, but during the "save Pritkin" era, I vastly enjoyed Dory's books more - I mean, Shadows Bane, which is the only one that came out during this period. BtT was a lot more satisfying than the two Cassie books that came before, and it gave me hope that Cassie's books will be like that from now on, now that the "save Pritkin" thing is done.
I mean, I love Pritkin, but he could have been saved in one book.
That said, several things made me happy in this book. First was the fact that (as far as I've noticed), this was the first time that Cassie actually named Cleopatra. I loved that the first time we see Pritkin in this book, he's playing around with Cassie's girls. It gave me fuel for my theory that "Cassie and Pritkin will have a kid and Cassie will take her back in time to keep her safe."
I disliked Cassie disliking Dory just because Dory was in a happy vamp marriage whereas Cassie's marriage failed, but I loved that they talked - and even Dorina seemed to have been present, and she also seems to not want to kill Cassie anymore (hence the kiss on the cheek). That said, why didn't Cassie see Dorina if she flitted out of Dory to place said kiss?
I loved Augustine, and I loved how he, after spending two weeks living with Cassie, called her out on basically ignoring the girls of her court. Yet I also disliked how Cassie barely made a step forward in changing her own behaviour, despite acknowledging that Augustine was right.
I loved this new way that Cassie and Cleo seem to interact with each other. I feel like there's more to the Cleo than just worry that Mircea will challenge her. I think Cleo is actively making everyone, including Marlowe, think that way, but that her real goal is something else. I started thinking that what Cleo actually wants is suicide-by-Mircea, but I'm not really sure about that.
I had a bug-eyed moment with Cassie and Caedmon - how quick will he be in claiming Cassie as family? Considering that she technically is family, if Zeus was his daddy, and if the gods had the same relationships as conventionally known.
I loved Billy in this one, and Gertie too. I have a pet theory that Gertie is living out her second life in Hilde.
Rhea is another matter. My biggest problem with Rhea is how the fuck is she only 19-20 or so? Did Agnes have her in her 60s? Later? Agnes was supposed to have been old and frail when she died, but Rhea is 19? How? I mean, sure, magical humans have different lives, but still. I still find it hard to believe that Agnes had Rhea at a time when, by all means, Agnes should not have biologically been able to have kids.
I loved Pritkin and Cassie together, well, Pritkin more. I didn't even get mad at Pritkin's insistence that Cassie stay in her court, especially because Cassie literally had the same reaction to Pritkin going away with Adra. It made me feel like both of them are suffering through some pretty hard PTSD after the whole Wales ordeal, and I liked how they came together in this book, so much so that Pritkin didn't even blink at casting Lover's Knot to help Cassie. I also loved how Cassie, even though she freaked out when she thought that Mircea had cast the spell on her, she didn't think twice about casting that spell with Pritkin. If Pritkin does not actually shift soon, I'm going to lose my mind, because by all the damn rules of the world, he should be able to!
I think the it's ridiculous that Johnathan was supposedly able to alter his appearance so much that he'd be able to attend such a meeting. Also, how did he even know that Cassie would be there, since she wasn't even invited? Also, how did Jo even get in touch with Johnathan? I was under the impression that the acolytes were working for Ares independently of the Black Circle, Aeslin and Johnathan, but apparently all the bad guys conveniently work together.
I also couldn't fathom why KC decided to tell a seemingly important scene in a flashback. I hate flashbacks of any kind, but ending a chapter mid-scene and then telling us how the drama ended via a flashback seemed unnecessary. It worked in Tempt the Stars - sort of, but this time around, it felt unnecessary.
If the next two books become "save Elena and defeat Zeus as a byproduct," I think I will be out.
And now to what I disliked. I expected everything else but Cassie readily agreeing to save Elena just to prevent Mircea from losing his mind. She spent the whole book reiterating that every Pythia before her said no, and now she says yes?
Now that she has, though, I hope it'll be an in-and-out hop in time with terrible consequences for the present, because I don't think I can handle another arc where Cassie is saving another character through time. The only reason why I held on through the previous one was because Cassie was saving Pritkin. I don't care about Elena that much.
And while I loved the "downtime" scenes in Cassie's suite, I felt like some of these were drawn on too much, and of these scenes were somehow important to the plot, I did not see it. Even the scenes at the Consul's where Cassie discovers the paintings and the statues seemed too long and too drawn out. On the other hand, some things were cut short, like the witches and the mages that came to Cassie before she and Pritkin left for Faerie. I mean, Cassie wanted the Covens to send her more girls, and when they finally do, she leaves the details to Rhea and goes off with Pritkin without even a five minute conversation with them to hash out the details?
And how convenient is it that Fred turns out to be a spy just as Cassie says she needs one?
As for Cassie's addiction to the Tears... I just couldn't understand it. I mean, yes, we were told in previous books that the Tears were addictive, and yeah, Cassie explains how she couldn't handle the withdrawal symptoms, but it seemed to me that even the simplest shift made Cassie spend a lot of energy. And it seemed that she shifted even when it wasn't necessary, from the foyer to her bathroom - why do that, when you're so bottomed out?
And while this inexplicable spending of energy seemed to be explained by Gertie - using brute force instead of technique, it still seemed that literally everyone else in the book did magnificent things with the Pythian power without needing any Tears. Everyone, except for Cassie. I mean, Agnes split herself in three without blinking an eye, and Cassie is supposed to be a demigoddess. She should be able to do a lot more, but instead, one big time spell and she's done and she needs more Tears. When she and Pritkin went to Faerie, why did she even need the Tears? She was rested, and all she did before that were some spatial shifts to the mountain top. It feels like Cassie was actually able to channel more of the Pythian power in earlier books than now.
I really liked the book, but I do really question the consistency of Cassie's power. She's both the most powerful Pythia ever and yet still outclassed by a bunch of acolytes? I know KC said it was down to technique, but the acolytes are supposed to have only a fraction of the Pythia's power anyway.The Augustine character development gave me a little bit of whiplash, but I like his protectiveness towards the kids.
Can Pritkin and Billy Joe communicate now since the Lover's Knot saved the day? It's not shifting but it would definitely be a power transfer.The Fred reveal came completely out of left field for me and I loved it. I'm glad Cassie's developing a vampire/Pythian court. Not sure where that one war mage, Reggie, is going to fit in to the court/story but KC did specifically mention him several times.
Mod
To be honest, I didn't think about all the details that you guys have mentioned, I was too busy being entertained.
I agree with the excessive descriptions of everything - especially food - and I didn't understand the Fred thing, at all.
But I love all the human moments - the addiction, the breakdowns, the flirty moments with Pritkin etc.
I have some issues with the court - on the one hand I'm really glad we don't get a lot of info on the girls, 'cause we have way too many characters already, but on the other hand we don't get enough info on how they are suppossed to support and give Cassie a powerboost.
I really liked her confusion about Pritkin, that she has no idea where they stand, and it wasn't the typical HEA of "we-have-proclaimed-our-love-for-each-other-we-will-now-be-joined-at-the-hip-for-eternity" you often see in YA. *barf*
And on that note, I'm really pleased Cassie just unceremoniously dumped Mircea - and we didn't get a whole scene about it. Thanks KC!
In the end I couldn't understand how fast 500+ pages just went by so fast! I was sitting with the feeling of only having scene the first half hour of an epic 3 hour movie. Needless to say I can't wait for the next installment!
Oh and Caedmon - WTF?!
Mod
I think, however, that we may get Siren's Song by December, and that will be a year beyond the first publication date KC gave us. By that timing, I really do think we will have Shatter the Earth by next December.
I love KC's books! I honestly do, but the six-year gap between the Dory books almost destroyed me!
When I have been distressed by an author, it was easy to quit a series and pick a new author or book series to buy. In the case of KC's series, quitting is not an option. Her characters and complex relationships and interactions just delight me, so I will always buy her books and support her in reviews. (I reserve the right to quibble a liitle about publish dates, and also to moan when KC allows Cassie to mistreat and misjudge my beloved Mircea!)
I liked the book. I’m still not over her ending up with Pritkin over my beloved Mircea but, that being said I adjusted more readily to it in the end of this book than the end of the last where I was just felt like a character I love “Cassie”. Betrayed her Husband. Also I didn’t like the sudden idea that Mircea is loosing his mind and pining for his late wife. That just seems so out of character. Especially his reason of wanting Elena back for Dory. I would think he would realize that Dory is now married and that while she may wish him to fill in stories about Elena to help her understand their love. I don’t think she needs Mommy back in her life when she is finally happy with LC. I loved the scene with Dory but could have done without Cassie’s negative emotions toward Dory and LC marriage at least she chastised herself for it. I think that as they continue to meet they will learn they both have insecurities that are being worked on.
I feel like Mircea is a being set up as father of all which kind of grates on me but that being said I believe the last book of the different series will give them all a happy ending in some way and know KC it will be fantastic.
There is a lot going on in this book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I look forward to seeing where KC takes all this.
Nancy wrote: "I admit that I don't expect Shatter the Earth in December of this year, because KC has been, shall we say, somewhat overoptimistic concerning publication dates in the past."
Agreed. I love KC but I'll believe her publishing a book on the announced date when I see it, especially with her self publishing now.
I loved Pritkin's 'Of course I love you, dummy' moment and I wonder if Siren's Song will explain what's so funny about Rhea being Jonas's daughter.
Mod
Pritkin himself told Cassie at one point that she couldn't make a clear-headed decision because she was being influenced by his incubus nature.
What if she has been affected all along by his inner incubus? Her very first reaction on meeting him was disgust, because Pritkin was a total jerk and tried very hard to kill her. Then her attitude toward Pritkin changed as she came under the incubus influence.
The Irin predicted in Devil's Claw that Pritkin would have to deal with his incubus nature soon. Artemis also said that he would have to come to grips with his incubus half, and it might be easier to deal with if he were with demons in the demon realms.
All the rants about Mircea could come to apply to Pritkin as well.
Nancy I couldn’t agree more.
Mod
I slighty disgree on how early his incubus effect affected her, but it was definitely obvious in BTT! In all the previous books it's mainly been the men who have put the moves on Cassie, but in this one she practically climbs into Pritkins pants whenever he's near her - I don't think Cassie realizes it though. I wonder if Pritkin has thought about it, or he's just going along with it because he's hot for her too. It would totally make sense that it's his nature that's affecting Cassie, especially now after his powerfluctuations.
But then again, I do believe that Cassie is genuinly in love with him, and now that she's realized it she's kinda loveydovey about him.
I'm really looking forward to diving deeper into Pritkins power in the next books (fingers crossed) - even Cassie knows he's got a power oomph, which is kinda hilarious since she never notices much.
But I fear a bit that the demons are right, that (depending on how KC spins it) Cassie and Pritking together will get too powerful, for them to be interesting anymore. No one likes the all-powerful superman/woman - that's just downright boring. And in that same chain of thought, I hope they're not able to have kids - and Cassie will just see her court as her kids. She just doesn't need that maternal tigermom hormoninduced lunacy in her head - she's got that enough already with her court, Pritkin, Marco and the other vamps and Tami and her kids.
Regarding Mircea - I do think the geis had a lot to do with their relationship, but I can't blame it for all of it. I do think Mircea really cares about her, but I don't believe for a second, that all he's cared about since she walked, is to get her back. I'm not buying it - with Elena, not really giving himself to the relationship in the first place, Dory, the fact that he almost always only sexualized Cassie - not really caring enough to talk to her properly, daddy complex since he's known her since she was a small child etc. - He cares maybe even loves, sure, but the war and the internal powerstruggles with the Senate and Cleo are taking preceedens for sure. I've no idea how KC will play this out, but I really hope Cassie doesn't go back to him romantically.
Mod
I just think Elena was horrible and stupid. She gave hers and Mircea's daughter away to a Gypsy caravan in order to save her own life. She had the money to leave the village after she gave their child away. She could have left WITH Dory in her arms.
Did she think her life in the village would be better? Did she think no one would remember that she had a dhampire daughter?
Also, I don't know how she would react to seeing Mircea and grown-up Dorina. If I were Elena, I couldn't face either one of them. However, the mother who could give away a child to save herself might react in some aberrant way to Mircea-the-vampire and their dhampire child.
I just don't see that Mircea could love her, knowing that she sacrificed Dory to save herself. Mircea, to whom family is all-important?
I don't see how Ms Chance can work oùt a reasonable solution to this scenario in a way that comports well with the characteristics she has shown for Mircea, such as high intelligence, loyalty to family, deviousness, and fanatic love for Dory.
Also, Dory mused to herself that Mircea never took any action without several back-up plans plotted in his mind.
In addition,Dory may not wish to see Elena or to deal with her ambivalent emotions concerning her parents' choices. That alone could cause the save-Elena plan to fail.
It seems that resolving the Elena situation would be bittersweet at best, or tragic at the worst......
Cameo wrote: "But I fear a bit that the demons are right, that (depending on how KC spins it) Cassie and Pritking together will get too powerful, for them to be interesting anymore. No one likes the all-powerful superman/woman - that's just downright boring. "Cameo, I agree with you, it would be really boring if Pritkin and Cassie were to become all-powerful (I guess, unless it's the last book in the series, because I do not mind the heroes being at their peak when it's time to fight the final boss).
But, on the other hand, the Pythia's power is already overpowering, and Cassie would have been overpowered from the start had KC gone down the path of many other authors whose heroes discover their abilities and are super good at them. Cassie always lacked technique and finesse, the only thing that was easy for Cassie was shifting herself and maybe one more person with her. While Cassie has the ultimate power - almost ultimate - at her fingertips, she still needs stamina and technique to actually be overpowered and formidable. What Cassie and Pritkin generated on the field with Ares only worked because Cassie had the presence of mind to use it to open the gate to the Badlands, rather than attack Ares directly, which would have drawn his attention to Cassie and Pritkin, but probably not helped much because he was hungry and they generated the power of a god.
I think the only reason why Adra is not shitting his pants is because he is aware that Cassie lacks technique and stamina, while Pritkin has refused for centuries to delve deeper into his incubus nature and see what he could do with it.
As for children, I actually do want Cassie and Pritkin to have a kid, eventually, because I do not want them to have the relationship of Agnes and Jonas. Cassie has always wanted a family, even when she was in deep denial about it, and yes, her vampire-witch-misfit-mage court is a family, but I feel like Cassie may do everything differently from other Pythias, and openly have a family with Pritkin.
Nancy wrote: "I just think Elena was horrible and stupid. She gave hers and Mircea's daughter away to a Gypsy caravan in order to save her o..."
Nancy, while I agree with a lot of the points you make here about Elena, I also feel like we should not be so quick to judge a woman who lived in the fifteenth century, had a secret marriage to a prince, and then became the mother of an illegitimate child first, a dhampir second. I say illegitimate because even Dory was not aware that Mircea had married Elena, which means it was probably not public knowledge. So, Elena was faced with villagers who scorned her for having an illegitimate child who was a dhampir on top of everything. I don't remember - or maybe it just wasn't mentioned - whether Drac took power before or after Elena gave Dory away, but I guess, at this point, it doesn't even matter. Elena was "advised" to kill Dory by the other villagers. If Elena did not give Dory away, the villagers may have tried to kill Dory. And I don't think Elena could just go away with Dory. In any event, Elena regretted her decision and asked Drac for help, which led to her own (supposed) death.
Imagine living in a time when women had such a low standing in the world - and for all the faults of our modern world, we have to admit that women have a dash more freedom now than they did back then - and hell, I come from the Balkans and have a Romanian friend, and we were just recently talking about what our cultures expect from girls and women, and it was not really a positive conversation. I am 27, live in 2019, and my worth is still measured by three things: whether I have a boyfriend, whether I plan on getting married, and whether I plan on having kids. Now, imagine living in a time when you were forced to walk one step behind your own husband in public, were not allowed to speak to strange men or women, and your value, more or less, depended on the amount of your dowry for marriage and your virginity. And then imagine marrying someone in secret, then that someone abandons you with a dhampir child. The child is in danger, you're both in danger, but you have little to no means of protecting her - both in your village and on the road.
The problem here is that we do not have enough information. We have bits and pieces about the story from Mircea, and mostly from Mircea, about what transpired. We don't know if Elena tried to go with Dory and the gypsies, but wasn't allowed. The gypsies may have accepted a dhampir kid because they were the garlic to the vampires, but they may not have been so willing to take Elena with them as well, seeing as she would be just another mouth to feed, but not really of direct use to protect them.
And I agree, Elena may just withdraw and have a great shock if she were to see Mircea and Dory - 500 years after she abandoned her kid.
But, Dragon's Claw convinced me that there is more to Elena than what we know. There is probably a connection with the Irin, who come from a realm beyond Faerie, and if Cassie traversed the Hells, why not the Heavens too, since Caedmon already called Artemis the Queen of Heaven?
However, I really, really hope that the conflict with saving Elena will stem from the consequences of said rescue. I really don't want to watch Cassie chase Elena through time or the heavens for several books like we did with Pritkin.
Mod
I have made the case against Elena as a love interest for Mircea without any ameliorating aspects, but that is the way Ms Chance has presented them to us. Of course, there is always the potential redemption arc possibility to consider, because KC does love to rehabilitate characters.
As it stands, though, Elena possessed a fortune by the standards of the peasants. Mircea thought it would be enough to keep her comfortably for the rest of her life.
This is a point that has bothered me all along: it just seems so ill-thought-out on Mircea's part. Preventing Elena's agonizing death is one thing, but what next? Send her somewhere else to live out her mortal life regretting her actions? Take her to the future to live as a human in a world she can't comprehend?
Jamie's comment in message 13 is so appropriate. It does seem that characters are behaving in manners that are inconsistent with what we have been shown in the previous books.
In Reap the Wind, I began to notice these changes, in that the Consul could override Mircea's sleep command to Dory, Horatiu was suddenly no longer a doddering old embarrassment, and Dorina could flout Mircea's STOP command.
I hope the next books improve Cassie's image of a bumbler whose actions somehow work out. I hope the triangle will finally be put to rest, and I hope Pritkin will be more than Cassie's protector. I loved him in Dragon's Claw, and I am really looking forward to Siren's Song.
It is still true that
Mod
Mod
I have always wondered why the masters Mircea sent to guard Cassie were always described as 'golden-eyed'. Cassie explained that Mircea's masters had the family's golden eyes when their power was up.
Also, Cassie gave a possible reason for Mircea's never Changing women. Since the Change created an intense devotion to the vampire who Changed them, Mircea wouldn't subject women to that compulsion. Of course, Cassie said he wouldn't Change a woman because he still loves Elena. Oh, Cassie. Your assumptions!!!
On to another change to canon about Cassie's dark magic bracelet. In the past, it was difficult to remove and returned triumphantly to her wrist. In BtT, the monkey on Claude's jungle dress easily removed and stole Cassie's bracelet.
Mod
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The only reservation about the magic is that there could hardly a greater source of magical power than Apollo gave to the Pythias.
I believe that someone told Cassie that the bracelet left Jonathon because the bracelet always attached to the strongest magic.
Also, someone (Dory, maybe?) said that Cassie was glowing with the strongest magic of anyone in the room.
On another point entirely, Cassie remembered the only time she saw Mircea in an angry fury without his constant glamorie(sp.?) he wore to appear older than 19 years old. She said he was terrifyingly beautiful, and his alabaster skin glowed.
In Fury's Kiss, Dorina was confused by the glow of the Irin man and child. She said "Only I glowed."
When the Irin told her that she had a family, "more than you know", we all assumed that maybe she was part-Irin from Elena's side of the family.
Now, it appears that Mircea may have the Irin heritage.......
Mod
message 33:
by
Sarah ♥ dog crazy ♥ , Mircea's Moderatrix
(last edited Aug 29, 2019 03:27AM)
(new)
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rated it 5 stars
Mod
http://www.karenchance.com/books_igni...
Mod
I think Cassie will end up with Caedmon. He is a first-generation demi-god, just as Cassie is. Also, his first wife was Nimue, a first-generation demi-goddess herself. Caedmon shuddered and said she was a "terrible woman". No children from that marriage, so he had a son, Heidar, with a highly fertile human woman. Heidar couldn't inherit the throne, though, because he was only half fey.
Now then, here comes Cassie, who is half goddess and half mage-human. Maybe he could get lucky again, because Artemis could get pregnant by Roger/Ragnar. Maybe Cassie could give him children......
Besides, when she isn't being affected by an incubus, she is still attracted to Mircea, and she certainly notices Caedmon's glorious blond looks, and trots right off with him to find Mircea at the Consul's estate.
What does everyone think?
I know that a lot of people have been speculating if Pritkin manipulated Cassie because he is an incubus, but the thing is, incubus powers do not create attraction where there is none, their powers just enhance it. Basically, what happened was:
- The geis was pushing Cassie towards Mircea (and Thomas)
- The Pythian ritual was trying to complete itself (Claimed by Shadow), so it reacted to Casanova first, and then to Pritkin. The rebound reaction from the geis was a lot stronger for Pritkin because Cassie was attracted to Pritkin, but wasn't attracted to Casanova.
In Tempt the Stars, when Cassie shifts back to Pritkin, she is the one that triggers Pritkin's incubus powers because she is attracted to him.
What I don't really understand, and this is from Ride the Storm, is Rosier's insistence that Cassie was the one to initiate the incubus power exchange in Hunt the Moon, when I remember clearly Rosier saying, "Let Daddy help" before the power exchange in the flying car began.
I would find it really odd - and I know that I ship Cassie and Pritkin, so this opinion is all sorts of biased - if Cassie ended up with Caedmon just so Caedmon could have an heir. Caedmon already does have an heir in Aidan, who is enough fey to inherit the throne despite not being full fey.
After 9 books of Cassie falling for Pritkin, Cassie falling for a Caedmon the demigod would be really disappointing for me as a reader. I was fine with the Mircea-Cassie-Pritkin love triangle because it made sense, but if Cassie ended up falling for Caedmon now would be... really disappointing.
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I just know how often KC drops little clues that completely change story arcs, and the war is changing everything.
Rosier could die, for example, and Pritkin might feel duty-bound to become the Lord of the Incubi.
It is just fun to see if KC is getting ready to change things we are expecting.
I don't really care who gets Cassie in the end.
I think Caedmon, like Mircea, is primarily self-serving. They both can be kind, gentle, loving, attentive, funny, etcetc - until someone or something makes them angry or they don't get their way. Then they lose it and show who they really are when they explode. When they're good, they're really, really good. When they're not, they're totally in it for themselves and their interests. (Example: Mircea's treatment of Cassie as a child.) Regardless of who Pritkin is, I don't think he cares and doesn't have anything invested in being a leader or in power of anything. I think his feelings for Cassie are genuine, whereas the other two only want to use her. I think she and Pritkin could have something real. Or Marco. I love Marco !!
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That was even before we learned how much he cared for the little girls, and I already adored him.
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It seems to me that if Cassie, who is usually pretty oblivious to other people's expressions or she utterly misinterprets any she catches- - - - the hyper-aware vamps and other supernaturals present would certainly have noticed Mircea's tension and interpreted it as fear. That is just the way vamps always interact.
I just don't think that the confrontation would have gone down that way......
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In addition, Cleo is dissatisfied with him as a spymaster, and that HURTS when you fail in your maker's eyes.
I hope that KC will give him some lovin' soon. Maybe Radu could fill that Basarab spot in his heart, since KC has coldly withheld Mircea and Dory from his empty arms.
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LOL I completely forgot LC kicked his ass! Poor Marlowe!
Someday soon I think I'm gonna read all the books in chronological order - to get the entire picture of the Cassieverse. Anyone with me? :D
Thank you Berkley and the Goodreads team for providing me with an advanced copy of Brave the Tempest. Karen Chance is on of my all time favorite authors! I savor every word read and always take my time because I never want the book to end!
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Go, Karen! We love your books, novellas, shorts, websites----- anything you write!
****Okay----I'll calm down now****
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Anybody up for a buddy read?
Nancy wrote: "I'm going to read this again in a day or so just to have it fresh in mind when Shatter the Earth comes out in December. It will! IT WILL!!!!! Go, Karen! We love your books, novellas, shorts, webs..."
Nancy, you made me go check KC's Facebook page for news! I thought there had been a new announcement or something!
I am also going to re-read BtT, it became one of my favorite Cassie novels quickly (ahem, looking at you Reap the Wind, although it does get better when you have Storm to continue with). But I want to speculate for the future books because:
1) I think we're entering the final stages of the series (I always felt like Touch the Dark through Curse the Dawn was Part 1, Hunt the Moon through Ride the Storm Part 2, and I think BtT to the last Cassie book will be the last part).
Touch the Dark (maybe together with Claimed by Shadow) and Hunt the Moon (again, with Tempt the Stars) "feel" to me like establishing books - where KC establishes bits and pieces that get a payoff (Curse the Dawn, Ride the Storm, respectively), with some of the intertwining storylines wrapping up, which brings me to reason number 2-
2) I want to speculate and create crazy crackpot theories for future books (not that many of them panned out, except for the Elena reveal, which we(the fans) could probably only reason out ahead of time because we had so MUCH TIME to speculate between Tempt the Stars and Reap the Wind).
And while I did re-read some of the books before Brave was released, I didn't manage to do an in-depth reading, and I think it would be fun to see which tidbits and storylines from the previous books still haven't gotten a payoff (Roger and Artemis, for example, especially Artemis).
I don't know if you're on Facebook, Nancy, but there is a fan group over there too (Karen's Court), and I think some of the members here are also members there, and we have had fun discussions with crackpot theories there too (more so than here, lately, as far as I can see).
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It would be interesting to me to have a buddy who really dislikes Mircea, because I do like him as a character. I would like to have that person's reaction to the events in the book.
I thought the ever-pragmatic Mircea would accept that Cassie was a lost cause. In one of the early books he toĺd Cassie that they couldn't be together if she were to become Pythia. Now, he seems to be hoping to have a love affair with her. That is, if a "married" couple can have an affair.......
Never mind the time traveling, Karen can confuse me with the relationships between her characters.
Anyway, count me in on the buddy read, but clue me in on how to go about it.
I don't know how that works, but I guess we can just re-read and post our reactions here in this thread?Let me know when you start, and I'll try to match it (although, I do read really fast, so I'll probably finish in a day). When the book came out, I read it in nearly one sitting with one or two hours of sleep (I remember that I stopped when Jo showed up as Cassie and Pritkin were having that dinner in Gertie's London). I'm lucky with my job that I can do it this way.
I do like Mircea as a character, but I don't like him as Cassie's love interest. I never had, actually, and I was a bit confused at how it all panned out in the first three books, and then I thought, okay, maybe he's not so bad, and then Hunt the Moon happened, and I was Team Pritkin for good.
But Mircea isn't that bad, in my opinion. He's flawed, and is probably one of the most interesting characters in the series. Even Pritkin isn't as mysterious as Mircea, and even though now we kind of know his motivations relating to Cassie, I still have no idea what's his motivations are with Cleo and the rest of the Senate. It seems like he would do anything to protect his family, but this did not really come through in Brave. In Brave, I think we finally saw him without the cool diplomatic facade, which again, merits an incredible amount of thinking and analyzing.
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I'm not on Facebook, so that group is out for me, unfortunately. Facebook just isn't very secure, I'm afraid. (I did wonder where all the cock-eyed speculators had gone.)
I just love wild eyed specs, the wilder the better.
To prevent catastrophe, the vamps, mages, and demons will have to do the one thing they've never managed before and come together as allies. Cassie has the difficult task of keeping the uneasy coalition intact, and of persuading her own two opposing forces, a powerful mage with a secret and a master vampire with a growing obsession, to fight at her side. She just hopes they can do it without tearing each other apart.