Karen Chance: ‘Embrace The Night’

In the vein of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Cassie Palmer fights off ghosts, gods, demons, evil organizations and conspiracies with the help of an equally complex assortment of special friends and super powers. It’s difficult to jump into a trilogy at the third book, but the first forty pages are filled with enough back-story (and a gun/magic fight) to fill in the gaps.

Cassie, a former orphaned street kid, started with the power of clairvoyance, knowledge of the vampire courts, a ghostly sidekick who can sometimes influence the physical world, and the ability to talk to spirits that no one else can see. In two weeks (each book spans a week), she has since picked up the patronage of Greek god Apollo, the ability to manipulate herself and others through time and space, become partners with a half-demon war mage, also known as Merlin from King Arthur’s court, allied with Dark Fey, and magically tied herself to the sexiest and second-most-powerful vampire of North America. So, what could ever stop her?

In spite of the Dragon Ball Z-like accumulation of powers, talents, allies and outfits - and despite Cassie’s annoying insistence that she’s “just an average girl, nothing special” (yeah, right) - after the first forty pages the ride picks up. Cassie has to find a counter-spell that started unwriting itself in 1793 before the magical tie between herself and the sexy vampire makes her into the vampire’s slave. The only problem is, no one knows exactly where or when that counter-spell is, and everyone wants it for their own nefarious purposes.

There are unexpected twists, funny moments, and good lines of dialogue, such as when the ghostly male sidekick possesses Cassie’s body and complains about having to wear a corset dress and high heels. There’s also a decent amount of sex in case the action starts to pall. It’s not a great book, but it is compelling and will momentarily quench your eternal hunger for urban vampire / wizard / everything-and-the-enchanted-kitchen-sink fantasy novels.

Published on 3rd April 2008 by Penguin.

Written by W. L. Clark.