The 8th book in the Cassandra Palmer series was the very satisfying culmination of everything that had come before it. Whereas a lot of the previous book had felt like wheel-spinning, this one finally makes good on some promises that were made back in book 6. Tracking Cassie’s progress over the last several books has been astounding, and I can’t say that anyone does a redemption arc or covers character growth like Karen Chance does. Her fight sequences, while still frenetic, are becoming easier to follow with fewer balls in the air. One complaint: the recaps have become wearying. It’s pretty safe to assume that by this point your readers know what has happened in previous installments - trust them.

I'm just kind of over the Cassandra Palmer series at this point. I loved the first five books but since then, the plot just doesn't really exist? The books ramble on so much they've actually put me to sleep. The characters are one note. And it takes forever for the next installment to release.

Ride the Storm was the same old story over again. Something happens and Cassie has to escape some evil entity or fight one or run away. It's continuous character torture with no real ending in sight. We've had 3 books of nothing happening and I don't think it's likely that I'll bother with the rest of this series (assuming we ever get an ending). 

I really enjoyed the early books but Ride the Storm was nearly 600 pages of boredom.

I liked the story it is what I have come to expect from this series. I hope the author start to move the story forward as parts are becoming monotonous

Cassie is an amazing heroine and truly astounding in her ability to take a "lickin and keep on tickin." I also love all of the characters and the very detailed world. Reading these books feel like coming home. Well home to a frenzied place, but home all the same. There is never a chance for a dull moment despite the incredible lengths of these books, RIDE THE STORM in particular. That being said despite never having said dull moments, this book was almost too much at times. I felt like a few of the plot threads weren't entirely necessary and they could have been removed to lessen some of the frenetic feel. Granted a Cassie book wouldn't feel quite the same without frenzy, but a little less wouldn't have hurt.

Karen Chance is a master at long running plot threads, sometimes so much so. So I was REALLY glad to finally see some of those threads get resolved/answered (PRITKIN!!). There also were some pretty big revelations on the Mircea side of things, but you'll have to read the book yourself to see how everything plays out. Unlike previous books, RIDE THE STORM doesn't end in a killer cliffhanger, but just enough of a tease to make you really want to read the next book. I greatly appreciated not being left hanging this time.

All in all Cassie fans will be more than pleased with this latest installment that will leave readers with a sigh of contentment in the end.

I’ve been reading Karen Chance’s Cassandra Palmer series since I was a teeny tiny high schooler. I count it as a formative influence and one of the first (and best) urban fantasy series that I’ve ever read.

That’s why it’s been so hard for me to write this review for the latest book in the series Ride the Storm.

Picking up right after the end of November 2015’s Reap the Wind, this novel follows Cassie and incubus lord Rosier as they travel through history in an attempt to save Rosier’s son (and Cassie’s sort of love interest) John Pritkin from being wiped out of existence.

Now don’t get me wrong, Ride the Storm is a technically sound book. Chance is clearly in her element and every ounce of her skills as a writer show in the way that she bounces Cassie and Rosier between the distant past and her present in addition to dodging Pythia (and assorted trainees) throughout history. It’s a well-written, interesting book that does a great job of closing plot holes and tying together this series with her Dorina Basarab one.

I enjoyed like… sixty percent of my time reading Ride the Storm.

I loved the parts when Cassie and Rosier were bickering between one another and trying to stay one step ahead of a trainee Pythia out for blood. I loved finding out what happened in between the last Dorina book and Cassie’s book. I like that Dory and Cassie’s stories are even more closely intertwined and that we get to see Mircea interact with two of the women that he cares greatly for. The fight scenes were on point and there’s one in particular, in the casino that all the “good guys” are holed up in, that left me with honest to god chills because of how well rendered it was.

But then there’s the other forty percent.

I mean it’s not a literal chunk of the book that equals forty percent nice and neatly, but still…

First, in over a decade of reading this series, I can’t remember Cassie being threatened with or subject sexual assault. There was a bit of a dustup with Mircea trying to complete a bond between them, but as far as I can remember, nothing came from that.

Ride the Storm has Cassie subject to sexual assault and sexual harassment. It’s made all the more upsetting by the fact that this is a book in Cassie’s point of view. So when she’s molested by guards who talk about her like she’s meat, it’s beyond hard to read.

The book also places Cassie and John Pritkin (in a past body) in a “Fuck or Die” scenario near the same scene. Either they fuck, or they’re killed (after Cassie is probably raped). The first time that Cassie and John get that kind of intimate is because they’re forced to do it and it just leaves a stain on the whole thing.

I don’t think the scenes were necessary and would’ve preferred the book without them. The goal is clearly to show the readers and Cassie how awful these fae guards are, but it’s unnecessary. This is a book where we’ve seen humans stolen into captivity by the fae and where we know that the human slave trade is still alive and well. We know that things are bad and that these are the bad guys.

So why the sexual assault?

Why the “fuck or die” scenario?

I think it’s an aspect of Ride the Storm that ruins the book for me. Unexpected and explicit sexual assault is not everyone’s cup of tea and it certainly wasn’t mine. I know that sexual assault has always been a reality and with Cassie going back in time to a period and place where women were less valued (especially because she’s technically human), I knew it could happen.

But knowing and knowing are two different things.

Then…

Then there’s the Mircea thing.

Look, I didn’t expect Cassie and Mircea to have this glorious romance of equals. He’s known her since she was a child and clearly still views her as one half the time. He holds so much back from her and doesn’t remotely see her as an equal. So… as much as I genuinely like Mircea as a character, I don’t think he’s right for Cassie.

But Ride the Storm makes the relationship even worse and super creepy.

Turns out, the reason Mircea has been so dang attentive to Cassie throughout her life well into adulthood, is because he’s needed a Pythia to do something for him for centuries and so far they’ve all refused. So, realizing that Cassie could be the next Pythia, he basically manipulates (grooms) her into seeing him favorably and even falling for him so that when the time comes, she’ll be more amenable to his request.

Yes, you’ve read that right: the main love interest for Cassie turns out to be extra creepy because he basically raised her to do a specific thing for him, has been manipulating her almost her entire life, and sleeping with her the whole time.

It’s just left such a bad taste in my mouth.

As I said earlier, Ride the Storm is technically sound. It’s a “good book”. But there are elements to it that I didn’t like or that made me uncomfortable. I don’t see why Chance made the decisions that she did and I’m annoyed enough that I might not read another Cassie Palmer book for a while. Ride the Storm might be your cup of tea but, despite the series being one of my favorites over the past decade, it wasn’t mine.

I have long been a fan of the Cassie Palmer series, but reading this latest installment left me feeling exhausted. Usually when I describe a book as “action-packed,” I mean it in a good way. Here, not so much. There are some good things going on: plot advancement, relationship developments, answers to long-held questions. But they’re buried beneath a avalanche of non-stop action. There is no room for the story to breathe.

The book picks up right on the heels of where the last one left off. Cassie has been trying to rescue Pritkin for the past three years (or is it longer?) though in book time, it’s only been days or weeks. This storyline has dragged on for so long. I’ve stuck with it, because I love Pritkin and Karen Chance has been giving us little Cassie-Pritkin bread-crumbs for so long, I’ve been holding out for the payoff. The problem is, the longer she’s teased me with it, the less I care about the other stuff.

Cassie starts almost right back where she was when the last book started. She’s in her own time and she needs Rosier and a power boost to get her back to the time of Camelot and save Pritkin. Like before, the senate is wringing its collective hands like a cartoon villain, planning and plotting for its own end. Mircea is mysterious and largely absent. And Cassie has to fight battles beyond her means almost entirely alone and winning by the skin of her teeth. Then she jumps around in time, getting attacked constantly either by other Pythia, fae, Gods, ghosts, and other assorted enemies. The fighting is constant. Everything is exploding. She keeps getting beat down, physically and meta-physically.

And all I want is the damn Pritkin payoff. But it just drags on and on. No… the book doesn’t drag, it races like a bullet train… but most of the time it’s a train to nowhere. You could skip more than half of what’s on page and not miss the story advancement. Frankly, I tried to keep up, but I got lost so often, I ended up skimming. It was too much to keep up with, not just in the non-stop action, but with all the factions working against the heroine.

Then it happens. Well, two things happen. We learn the truth about what Mircea has always wanted from Cassie. And we finally see Pritkin’s soul catch up with his body. Both of these developments and the results that ensue were huge. My eyes greedily swept the page, wanting more of THIS. These nuggets were the reason I slogged through thousands of words about stuff getting in Cassie’s way. They were the things I needed from this book and they reminded me why I cared in the first place. Yet, they were so buried beneath all the other stuff, it was a travesty.

I understand that you can’t give readers everything at once, but this whole book took place over the course of a day or two. I felt like I lived every minute of Cassie’s life on the page, short of her stopping to go the bathroom. The only rest she got was when she was unconscious.

I don’t care about the fighting. I care about the characters. I need more of them. More feelings. More places for the story to breathe.

As much as I loved certain things here (and I really did) the book as a whole wasn’t a win for me. And it could’ve been.

I’ll probably read the next book to see where the few character-driven parts go from here, but there was a time I would finish one of these books and been desperate for the next one. That hasn’t happened for a while and it didn’t happen here.

RIDE THE STORM picks up right after the events of the previous book, REAP THE WIND and in typical Cassandra Palmer series tradition, we hit the ground running. The beginning of this book is non-stop action, things exploding, and Cassie remarkably not getting too maimed in the process. We also get a lot of plot exposition which, to be honest can be confusing and tiring to read along with the constant battles and running about to different points in time chasing after Pritkin's soul. In spite of my exasperation at the super-ultra speed this book runs at, I love the world building, Cassie's can-do attitude, and the plot enough to push through because I have to know how it all ends (if it ever ends)! In second half of RIDE THE STORM which give us some much needed needed lulls in the action, I was excited to see Cassie discover some answers to a few long awaited series spanning questions.

Eight books in and I am of the belief that Cassie is some sort of wonder woman. I am constantly amazed at her ability to just get up and try to fix the mess that is her life when most people would have given up long ago. Another thing I love about Cassie is her ability to continue to have a sense of humor in the midst of backstabbings, near death experiences, and danger from all angles. While I continue to love various secondary characters, I am starting to tire of the other pythias as they seem to be a distraction from the actual plot and really, they all have come off as sort of horrible people.

RIDE THE STORM starts off chaotic and frustratingly complex, but makes up for it in the second half with a few slow moments that give some time for some much needed forward plot movement. While I like this series a lot I'm curious to find out whether there is an end in sight eventually as certain plot points are starting to get a bit repetitive. I almost feel like there needs to be some sort of finale coming soon based on certain things that happen in RIDE THE STORM.

I've been waiting for this book for years. Each time a publication date would be announced I would count down the days, only to be let down each time. Finally, the date was set and I was ready for it. How do I feel now that I've read it? In a word, disappointed.

I can't really go into the book too much as I don't want to give away any spoilers. The book picks up right where it left off with Cassie and Rosier travelling through time in an effort to save Pritkin's soul. It's action packed and fast moving. Cassie is fighting for her life in a battle against the Gods.

There are a lot of things wrapped up in this book but I was still left feeling confused. I will definitely stick with the series because I really need to know the end. One thing I was extremely pleased with, NO CLIFFHANGER.
I hope the next instalment will be here soon, I don't think I can wait years for the next one.

Enjoyable but with noticeable faults in pacing and transitions. I have been a fan of the series from the start; however, it is definitely time to wrap up the current arc and move on with the plot. I love the characters but the prose felt disjointed at times which hindered the pacing and overall plot.

Ride the Storm (Cassie Palmer) a wild ride! The characters and story line are well-developed. Cassie is trying to save Pritkin, and prevent a God from re-entering our world. She has to prevent Pritkin from being erased from existence. I love the humor in this series. Cassie can never catch a break, and her plans always has a wrench thrown into it and everything goes wrong.I can't wait to see what is in store for her next. I love this series and recommend it to everyone. I give RIDE THE STORM 5/5 STARS.

I don’t even know where to begin. First, if this is where you are thinking of beginning your journey with Cassie, STOP! Go back to the beginning, because we just dive right in with the first page and don’t look back.

These books are jam-packed with non-stop-action. Usually when I say that, there are still nice quiet scenes that don’t end in mayhem and destruction but that’s really not true with this book. It goes from one urgent emergency where things go crazy to another exploding mess of a battle scene without letting you decompress at all. I was torn between never wanting to put the book down and drowning in anxiety while reading. Cassie’s life is certainly not easy. While she doesn’t sustain life threatening injury as much as your Dresden or female equivalent, her exhaustion from power exertion is certainly on par. So, ultimately if you can through the mayhem and enjoy watching Cassie stumble through her duties, you will obviously pick this book up.

So, what’s the story? Gah, so much. Cassie and Rosier are still trying to catch and put back Pritkin’s soul with a counter curse which means much insanity of the old world style. It is pretty much exactly what you’d expect when an incredibly magical person and head ruler incubus demon guy team up. Just for good measure, though, Cassie doesn’t just have that to worry about. There’s also her relationship drama with Mircea coming back to bite her (and him). Who is the woman she found? Who’s trying to attack the vampires? How are they going to get into faerie? All of this is still crawling by while Cassie time jumps to other drama-filled worlds.

Some good we get out of this? There’s a conclusion to the counter curse storyline. That’s pretty much the only conclusion we get out of this book, even though it was pretty lengthy. That doesn’t mean we didn’t progress things along. There’s still big bad gods out there, but there’s also people fighting them. There’s still a lot of sizzle between Cassie and Pritkin, but don’t expect this book to be filled with romance. There’s even more revelations about Cassie’s past and Mircea’s secrets, but I’m sure we’ll still get more in future books. So while I love living in this world, the ending left me a little stabby about the lack of wrap up. That won’t give me any ounce of hesitation about reading the next one, though.

Although for Cassie Palmer the last few books have got a time span of a couple of days…for us poor readers we have been waiting years. To try and finally, finally get some resolution to the whole Pritkin getting sent to hell thing….and then Pritkin’s soul being sent back through time thing… All the while, the ancient gods are trying to break back into the world and bring on Armageddon. The only thing stopping all this it seems? Cassie Palmer, chief seer, but who despite having such a lofty title nobody seems to be listening to.

For those of you who follow this series, it’s been at times a frustrating and tiring ride, you think you’ve got somewhere and BOOM another disaster and you are left hanging till the next book 2 years later. In Ride the Storm Cassie is still chasing down Pritkin’s soul and trying to fend off the end of days whilst half the supernatural world are chasing her. It’s exhausting. But, although in true Chance style you can expect another cliffhanger don’t despair, this book does tie up some lose ends.

As with all the books in the Cassandra Palmer series you can expect an action packed adventure packed full of near misses, startling insight and brash acts of bravery from our heroine. Cassie pushing through exhaustion, injury and resistance from every other sects in her mission to help her friends and those that depend on her. It’s an exhilarating ride, which I admit at times leaves me confused and wondering who the hell is shooting at her now. And this is because I have to be reminded all the time. This is the 8th book in the series, but Chance packs so much into each book and there’s always such a long wait between each one. So, when Cassie references something that has happened in the past, which within the story timeline may have only taken place a few days ago but for us it was 3 books and 6 years ago. I need reminding, and these constant refreshers bloats out the book but I would be lost without them. Or maybe this is just me…

However, one thing I never forget is the love triangle between Cassie, Mircea and Pritkin. I normally hate love triangles and one reason I hate them is because it always seems obvious who the heroine is going to pick. So far, I can’t decide who I think Cassie will end up with although I have my preference – Pritkin – but then again, I really like Mircea as well and don’t want to see him unhappy….I can see why Cassie is conflicted. Of course, she’s normally too busy with people trying to murder her to give it all of her attention. But, I think this book brings us one massive step closer to a conclusion on the Mircea and Pritkin dilemma.

If you are an Urban Fantasy fan, then this series is a must read, it’s packed full of so much action you’ll need a nap after reading it, but Chance has also built such a well realised and complex world with vampires, mages, witches, weres and fae; it’s fascinating. Not to mention all the individual characters that she has brought to life and from Cassie our heroine, to the cadre of vampires she’s friends with and her love interests Pritkin and Mircea. This is one of the best UF’s out there and this book is another outstanding addition to the series. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Sooo, the last few books have been action-packed and colorful, but they have not moved the plot forward as much as I would like. And yet, I have remained committed and need to know the answers to a few things. I was figuratively gnawing my nails over the release of Ride the Storm for whether I would get those answers. The agony of anticipation… did I get rewarded in this book? Read on!
Review

Ride the Storm is book eight in the Cassandra Palmer series and it must be read in series order. I’m also going to say that I found, several times, that it referenced events and people that are more detailed out in the parallel Dory Basarab series. So being up to date on both series before reading this would make it a better reading experience.

Now, this book turned out to be a conflicted reading experience for me. I loved and adored books one through five and then was gravely disappointed by the grinding forward plot action for the next two books. I privately told myself that this would probably be it for me if nothing discernibly happened.

Well, the good news is that yay, the log jam was broken through and there was forward plot action once again even some big plots getting a resolution. But…
Yeah, it took nearly half of a 612 page book before things started moving. That first half? Cass and Rossier and the gang at Dante’s in Vegas were dumped into one lethal action sequence after another- still battling the Black Circle mages, still trying to keep one step ahead of the former Pythias when Cassie is illegally traveling to their time periods, and still trying to free Pritkin of the Demon Council’s curse while anticipating a war with gods from another dimension and the fey.

And all the while, I grew more and more irritated with Cassie and the way she was written.
There comes a point where even in an action-packed Urban Fantasy that my credulity is stretched too far. Cassie was put through too much for her to have survived and kept jumping up and going again. One could literally, open the book at a random page and Cassie would be engaged in a deadly battle that knocked her out or running for her life through one death-defying experience after another.
As to her character, her whining like the Little Red Hen that she’s doing it all herself and the ungrateful wretches around her are all using her got old and was not entirely true. Yes, they all have their own agendas, but so does Cassie. She can’t see that the vampires are up to their necks in a war with the fey and the Silver Circle mages are duking it out with the Black Circle mages. Or that her need to get Pritkin back is a necessity, but also very much personal.

Speaking of her personal issues, the way the situation between her and Mircea and Pritkin is handled was a huge disappointment for me. I hated the love triangle all along and I had my suspicions about who should and would get together, but I felt this plot choice in how to resolve it was a cop out, especially after all this time.

I said earlier that it took half the book for things to really get rolling. Well, the second half was the shining part of this book. I felt like it was back to the wonder and excitement that kept me riveted through the first five books. Cassie is back to relying on what got her there- her ghost gifts. Loved getting all that background on several characters-particularly Rossier and Pritkin. The new setting for much of the story in 6th century Wales was a nice touch. But it was seeing the resolution to a few of the major plots that hit pay dirt with me.

The author is clever in how she writes those tight-spot situations and gets her characters in a corner with me flying through the pages to find out how it will work out.
I enjoy that her heroines are strong and capable though they have enough vulnerability and flaws to have depth.
The overall unique world, humor, and characters are probably my favorite part. By now in the series, several minor character backstories have been filled in and many are favorites.

And so, I got what I needed from this book, and am re-enthused to see what comes next after the way things ended in Ride the Storm. It felt like it was coming to a conclusion, but also not quite there yet. It also felt like it was setting things up for the next Dory Basarab to be a real page-turner. I will definitely be snatching that up and the next Cassie Palmer.
I know it seemed like this was a book that I would not be recommending, but I actually do when all is said and done. I think Urban Fantasy lovers should give this series a try particularly since starting now means you missed the long wait for this one. Haha!

My thanks to Penguin-Random House for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

My head is spinning and the little grey cells are hurting after all the time-hops, battles and intrigues. At times I felt it was a bit much, and then the author would bring it all back to the Cassie we know and love.

There are perhaps one too many action scenes, too many moments that are almost repetitive, which then takes the pleasure out of the story, because you know what is coming.

One of the aspects I particularly enjoyed was the way Chance brought in facts and story-lines from older books and even from the Basarab series. It is no secret that I think the Dorina Basarab series is superior to the Cassie Palmer one, so I was really excited to see her appear in this book. It was more of a secondary and explanatory role, but it was still a nice touch. I would love to see a Basarab and Palmer novel with both receiving the same amount of attention.

Mircea spent a certain amount of time clearing up certain things about Dory, and in doing so also reveals a secret that connects all of the Pythias throughout the centuries. It is also a betrayal on a certain level, as far as I am concerned, because he admits to planning ahead and wanting to use the Pythia, ergo Cassie, to achieve his greatest desire.

Now she is armed with this information will Cassie finally stand by her attraction to Pritkin and accept that perhaps she was nothing more than a means to an end for Mircea.

I find that Karen Chance manages to create more complex plot-lines and scenarios as the series goes on, as opposed to less interesting as the ideas dwindle. The trick is keeping the element alive that keeps the readers coming back for more. Chance is one of the more underrated stars of the urban fantasy genre, especially when it comes to the Basarab series, and definitely an author whose books I look forward to.

This book is insane! There’s so much happening—major magic, frenetic action scenes, gods, fae, King Arthur. But essentially, there are two plot threads that continue from previous books. First Cassie and Lord Rossier, King of the Incubi, are trying to catch her bodyguard/mentor Pritkin’s soul, which is traveling back through time. A previous Pythia, thinking Cassie is threatening the timeline, keeps stopping them and sending them back to the present. Meanwhile, in the present, the vampires and mages are gearing up for war to stop a god from returning to this world and destroying all its magic users.

They’ve caught up with Pritkin, more than once, in sixth century Wales and he and Cassie have been involved in one of those marvelous magical chase scenes that they seem to wind up in at least once in every book. (There are actually several in Ride the Storm.) Pritkin, who we learned a few books ago was once known as Merlin, is caught up in a war between Arthur’s court and the fae. I loved Chance’s version of the Arthurian legend and the way she ties it in to Pritkin and Cassie’s story.

I’ve been frustrated that the last two books in the series, while a lot of fun, haven’t made much progress in the overall plot. Cassie goes through so much and winds up in basically the same situation at the end of the book that she was in at the beginning. So I was happy that Ride the Storm finally ties up some of the threads. Cassie gets some long awaited background on both of her love interests. She also learns more about her father and the powers she inherited from him.

I feel like I’m seeing a more mature Cassie in this book. She’s finally starting to figure out what she’s doing rather than bungling her way through her missions. She’s also establishing her support system and she mentioned some interesting possibilities for the future. It looks like things are changing and it’s exciting.

Something about Cassie’s relationship with Mircea has always squicked me out. Cassie finally starts to see why, which is such a relief. I’m curious about how their relationship will change in the next book. Though I’m more excited to see the changes in her relationship with Pritkin. And most of all, I’m happy to see Cassie growing into her magic and taking charge of her life. I’m looking forward to seeing what she does next.

This book is insane! There's so much happening - major magic, frenetic action scenes, gods, fae, King Arthur. But essentially, there are two plot threads that continue from previous books. First Cassie and Lord Rossier, King of the Incubi, are trying to catch her bodyguard/mentor Pritkin's soul, which is traveling back through time. A previous Pythia, thinking Cassie is threatening the timeline, keeps stopping them and sending them back to the present. Meanwhile, in the present, the vampires and mages are gearing up for war to stop a god from returning to this world and destroying all its magic users.
They've caught up with Pritkin, more than once, in sixth century Wales and he and Cassie have been involved in one of those marvelous magical chase scenes that they seem to wind up in at least once in every book. (There are actually several in Ride the Storm.) Pritkin, who we learned a few books ago was once known as Merlin, is caught up in a war between Arthur’s court and the fae. I loved Chance’s version of the Arthurian legend and the way she ties it in to Pritkin and Cassie’s story.
I’ve been frustrated that the last two books in the series, while a lot of fun, haven’t made much progress in the overall plot. Cassie goes through so much and winds up in basically the same situation at the end of the book that she was in at the beginning. So I was happy that Ride the Storm finally ties up some of the threads. Cassie gets some long awaited background on both of her love interests. She also learns more about her father and the powers she inherited from him.
I feel like I’m seeing a more mature Cassie in this book. She’s finally starting to figure out what she's doing rather than bungling her way through her missions. She's also establishing her support system and she mentioned some interesting possibilities for the future. It looks like things are changing and it's exciting.
Something about Cassie’s relationship with Mercia has always squicked me out. Cassie finally starts to see why, which is such a relief. I'm curious about how their relationship will change in the next book. Though I’m more excited to see the changes in her relationship with Pritkin. And most of all, I’m happy to see Cassie growing into her magic and taking charge of her life. I’m looking forward to seeing what she does next.

4.5 stars

I am very conflicted about my feelings when it comes to RIDE THE STORM. Things happened SOOOOOO slowly that it was hard to stay interested in the various events that happened, but after all was said and done I did enjoy the story, just got bored more than I would like to admit.

Why does each event of the book have to take five chapters of inconsequential conversation, thoughts, and action scenes? Half of the time things jumped around so much or was dragged out so long that I could have skipped chapters and still knew everything that happened. And really, do things need to blow up or engage in fight scenes so much? There were quite a few times that the chaos got way out of hand and just made zero sense. I have never read a book that was so full of action, but felt so stagnant at the same time.

The love triangle that is Cassie, Mircea and Pritkin definitely explodes in RIDE THE STORM. I still can't decide if that is a good or bad thing. One definitely feels like it makes more sense than the other, but the other still feels really important. I just don't know anymore who I'm rooting for.

The ending really saved the book for me. Things are about to change and I just don't know where these changes will take Cassie. Hopefully the author can reign in the use of unnecessary things that have plagued the last few books.

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

So so so good!! It's a race through time for Cassie to find Pritkin before it's too late. With the other time Pythias on her trail this is a face paced story. I love the travel back to Arthurian time. I love Pritkin. And the ending...WOW!

I have to confess that I read book number 2 a few months ago. I received it from the publisher via NetGalley back in April (or possibly May) and had to wait a while before I could write a review. Ride the Storm is Karen Chance's eighth instalment in the Cassie Palmer series. Cassie is still travelling through time in an effort to catch Pritkin so that she can restore his soul. He isn't too keen to get caught and joining her this time is Pritkin's father and now frenemy Rosier. There are more crossovers this time with the Dorina Basarab series which finds the Mages and the Vampires under attack. Cassie is still being pursued through time by a few acolytes who wanted the top job as the Pythia. While that is enough to get on with, the gods want to come back and Cassie is only person that can stop them breaking through but she can't do it alone. She has a lot on her plate and a lot is at stake on the young Pythia's shoulders.

I preferred this instalment to the one before (Reap the Wind) as I thought the story flowed a bit more cohesively. It is still pretty chaotic with Cassie being in modern day Las Vegas one minute and ancient England the next. We also learn more about Cassie's parents and get to 'meet' her father which adds another dimension to her character. The ending is a bit of a surprise and I am still not entirely sure what happened. Feel free to make a comment and let me know!