First, I apologize for the delay for this review. I had it planned for earlier this week, but we had a busy week and much more interesting stuff than this review to post :D
As for this book... You know, sometimes, you buy a book that looks good: beautiful cover, great back blurb, and you just want to like it. You really want to like it... and so when you don't, it's really disappointing. Well this is what happened with Claimed by Shadows...
Claimed by Shadows by Karen Chance: DNF
published by ROC in March 2007
Genre: fantasy, psychics, magic, vampires, the fey
Series: Cassie Palmer series, book 2
Review: So this was really a roller-coaster ride. It's hard to explain, but my problem is that there was too much action (can't believe I'm saying this) and that made it hard for me to follow. One of Cassie's new power is the ability to travel in time - but she doesn't have much control over it. This just complicates the story. While reading, I didn't know when an event was starting and ending. I think I read half-way the book before giving... it was just too much.
The Characters - Cassie is an interesting character, that I won't deny. My problem though is that we always see her when something is happening, in action. I don't have a sense of who she is as a person. This makes it hard for me to connect with her... or even root for her. I mean, is Cassie a good or bad guy? So yeah, I don't know who she is as a person. I know she is a clairvoyant, a medium, the next Pythia, a person that everyone seems to desire and covet... but do these things define her personality? No, at least not entirely. So I guess what I'm complaining about is the depth of the characterization... which wasn't deep enough to make me care about Cassie.
Some characters from Touch the Darkness reappears, but the same problem occurs. They're all busy fighting, running and etc. for me to have a sense of who they are. I have to admit that I was happy to see Pritchkin as he's quite an intriguing character.
The Story & Writing - I was really confused while reading this book... way too much happened, but I've already complained about it, so I will stop. Something else that made me stop reading this book is the requirement for a person to become a Pythia. One minute, they all believe that the heiress (Cassie) must be a virgin, another minute, no-no, she has to lose her virginity, etc. I'm tired of this kind of plot where virginity plays such a big role... it's been done and we all know the result of it: sooner or later, she will have sex. Which brings me to my other complain, and this is strictly the romance reader side of me speaking: couldn't she at least sleep with someone she loved? I guess not...
The Cover - The cover is really nice, better than the first one I think... which is what push me into buying the book and finally, start reading the first one.
Sigh. I'll probably try to read this book again, maybe it's easier when you've alread tried once... However, I'll wait and see before buying the third one. All in all, I was really disappointed because I really wanted to like this book :(
As for this book... You know, sometimes, you buy a book that looks good: beautiful cover, great back blurb, and you just want to like it. You really want to like it... and so when you don't, it's really disappointing. Well this is what happened with Claimed by Shadows...
Claimed by Shadows by Karen Chance: DNFpublished by ROC in March 2007
Cassie Palmer is a clairvoyant as well as a medium who was raised by vampires. She's also the heiress to the title of Pythia, the world's chief of clairvoyants in the magic community. Along the title comes new powers that Cassie does not want to be burdened with, but she doesn't have a say since it is THE power that does the choosing. After the events of Touch the Darkness, Cassie is on the run... from everyone: the vampires, the fey, the mages, the witches, etc. She also looking for Antonio, the vampire that has killed her parents, for revenge.
While interrogating one of Antonia's second-in-command, Cassie learns that a geis has been put on her by one powerful master vampire. A geis is a magical claim that warns off any would-be suitors, and might also explain the rather ... intense attraction between them. However, before she can ask for more details, two forces burst in: one that would see Cassie die and one that is there to protect her... and everything that can go wrong, goes wrong...
Genre: fantasy, psychics, magic, vampires, the fey
Series: Cassie Palmer series, book 2
Review: So this was really a roller-coaster ride. It's hard to explain, but my problem is that there was too much action (can't believe I'm saying this) and that made it hard for me to follow. One of Cassie's new power is the ability to travel in time - but she doesn't have much control over it. This just complicates the story. While reading, I didn't know when an event was starting and ending. I think I read half-way the book before giving... it was just too much.
The Characters - Cassie is an interesting character, that I won't deny. My problem though is that we always see her when something is happening, in action. I don't have a sense of who she is as a person. This makes it hard for me to connect with her... or even root for her. I mean, is Cassie a good or bad guy? So yeah, I don't know who she is as a person. I know she is a clairvoyant, a medium, the next Pythia, a person that everyone seems to desire and covet... but do these things define her personality? No, at least not entirely. So I guess what I'm complaining about is the depth of the characterization... which wasn't deep enough to make me care about Cassie.
Some characters from Touch the Darkness reappears, but the same problem occurs. They're all busy fighting, running and etc. for me to have a sense of who they are. I have to admit that I was happy to see Pritchkin as he's quite an intriguing character.
The Story & Writing - I was really confused while reading this book... way too much happened, but I've already complained about it, so I will stop. Something else that made me stop reading this book is the requirement for a person to become a Pythia. One minute, they all believe that the heiress (Cassie) must be a virgin, another minute, no-no, she has to lose her virginity, etc. I'm tired of this kind of plot where virginity plays such a big role... it's been done and we all know the result of it: sooner or later, she will have sex. Which brings me to my other complain, and this is strictly the romance reader side of me speaking: couldn't she at least sleep with someone she loved? I guess not...
The Cover - The cover is really nice, better than the first one I think... which is what push me into buying the book and finally, start reading the first one.
Sigh. I'll probably try to read this book again, maybe it's easier when you've alread tried once... However, I'll wait and see before buying the third one. All in all, I was really disappointed because I really wanted to like this book :(
5 comments:
Sorry to hear that it didn't work for you - I liked it myself :-)
I admit when it came to the Pythia/virgin/geis part, I was thinking "Oh no, shades of Anita Blake". But it didn't turn out exactly the way I expected - she did take control in a sense, and while part of me was thinking it should have been *him* (heh, trying not to give spoilers here), I did think she also had a thing for err... the other him.
I really like the time-travel aspect of it, but you're probably right in saying it can be confusing if you're not following the plot that closely. I don't know when you stopped reading, but I also liked the final scenes, and there was an interesting twist in the final chapter!
Hey Li :D
well I did read the end... and I'm actually hoping that something develops between Cassie and Pritchkin :P I quite like the ending, but it was just the middle... and it seemed to me the plot wasn't advancing... ah well... I'm going to wait for your review for book 3 when it comes out :D
I was checking this out, but I may give this a pass. I've od'ed on beautiful young women pursued romantically and not by all sorts of creatures.
Hey Devon,it's kind of funny... because I'm a bit tired of the woman pursued by so many love interests, but at the same time, the whole mating and love at first sight... it's getting old as well.
I enjoyed this book. I think the hard part is for people who haven't read the first book. You meet Cassandra and get to look into what makes her a great character. You get to look at her formative years and her emotional ties. Without that information, I wouldn't have liked this book.
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