High velocity ride you won't want to get off! Chance, once again, brings the world of Dorina Basarab alive. Balancing humor, action, romance and suspense, while pushing the reader through the gambit... on a roller coaster of emotions.

I received this ARC copy of Shadow's Bane from Berkley Publishing Group. This is my honest and voluntary review. Shadow's Bane is set for publication July 31, 2018.

My Rating: 4.5 stars
Written by: Karen Chance
Series: Dorina Basarab
Sequence in Series: Book 4
Mass Market Paperback: 624 pages
Publisher: Berkley July 31, 2018
Publication Date: July 31, 2018
ISBN-10: 0451419065
ISBN-13: 978-0451419064
Genre: Paranormal Romance | Urban Fantasy

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Shadows-Dorina...
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shad...
Itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ee/book/shad...

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Shadow's Bane by Karen Chance is the fourth in the Midnight Daughter series. Dhampir Dory is the main protagonist. She is sassy, hilarious and I appreciated seeing this world through her eyes. Dory is on the trail to stop fae slavers while dodging assassins looking to steal her newly appointed Vampire Senate seat. There is exciting action, relationships with a depth of emotion, and Dory's quest to find mental stability. I was hooked immediately.

Urban fantasies that comprise multiple casts of supernaturals tend to be more enjoyable for me. Avoiding species cliches is more likely when all the focus is not on one breed. Shadow's Bane has a variety, all unique and compelling. I haven't seen a dhampir quite like Dory. Halfway through the book, everything started to come together for me. The relationships were clear, and the depth of the threat was fully surfacing. By this point, I had a vested interest in the characters.

Different backstories interject throughout the narrative, serving to help one understand the connecting plot-lines of the characters introduced in prior installments. I appreciate the context, but it became a bit tiresome for me. There was a lot to absorb, stopping midway in a scene to connect all the dots interrupted the flow. I can fill in the blanks and would rather backtrack in a series if I feel it necessary.

Speaking of backtracking, I will now be doing precisely that with the Midnight's Daughter books. Shadow's Bane is what I look for in an urban fantasy series. I received an ARC copy of Shadow's Bane from Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for my honest opinion. I encourage all readers to come to their own conclusions.

This story has a lot going for it...lots of action, plot twists and turns, a romance with super handsome and lovable vampire. Unfortunately, since this was my first book in the I read, it was just slightly confusing to follow along the story that alluded to lot that has happened in previous 3 books. Also, there are certain parts that can be little slow. Still, it didn't deter me from reading it through the end which does have fairly happy ending.
Voluntary and honest review after receiving ARC (advanced reader copy).

Dory is back and life is one big rollercoaster ride. Dory and Louis-Cesare jump from one fire to another with hardly a break between. After waiting what seemed like forever for this book it sped by too fast but it is a heck of a ride.

So here we are at the fourth book in the Dorina (Dory) series by Karen Chance. I feel like it should be more than number four. Then I look back and discover that book three, Fury's Kiss, was released six (!) years ago. I cannot believe that so much time has passed.

I'm so excited / happy to be back in Dory's head and Shadow's Bane pretty much solidifies the fact that I like this series more than its companion series (Cassie Palmer). Don't get me wrong, I like Cassie, but Dory is just where it's at for me.

Shadow's Bane could probably have been a solid five star read for me. The ending itself ensures a five star rating. It's just that the book takes readers through so much to get to that ending. It brought the star rating down just a little.

As mentioned it's been six years since we've last checked in with Dory (and no I'm not counting any novellas, just main full-length novels). I know for me personally I had to remember what had been going on since we last left our favorite dhampire. Karen Chance does a pretty good job of bringing everyone up to speed, but it's in pieces and at different times throughout the book which I felt took away from the main storyline in Shadow's Bane. As much as I don't like an info dump, I wonder if things could have gone smoother with a "Last time with Dory...." opening segment or something.

Anyway, Shadow's Bane begins mere weeks after Fury's Kiss. Dory has been made a senator on the vampire council. As the council prepares for the inevitable war with Faerie, they need every powerful vampire at their disposal, and this includes Dory. At least, it does since she discovered that her father, Mircea, split Dory's personalities in two (Dory and Dorina) in order to keep her from going insane like other dhampires due to the warring selves of vampire and human they have to contend with.

So, we find Dory still dealing with Dorina as well has helping a friend find a family member who was taken by slavers. As Dory investigates, she learns that the slavers who have been taking Fae have a certain agenda that runs deeper than anyone knows at this point. Once Dory's on the case she won't stop until she discovers the plot all the way to its source.

Oh yeah, and there's the ever delectible Louis-Caesar to deal with.

So.... a lot is going on, and the various twists and turns coupled with Karen Chance's ever present jumble of crazy action scenes makes for, at times, a complicated read. Where the story really excels is when Chance slows things down a bit.

Chance does wonderful things with Dory and Louis-Caesar's romance plot. We've seen these two dance around each other since the beginning, and I loved that this series has pretty much been focued on these two eventually being together. Of course they have things to work through, but work through it they do. The whole relationship is new to Dory and it makes her vulnerable, but I loved seeing this side of her. She's always had to be tough and on her game. She can't let down her walls because that's when someone will attack because dhampires are so looked down upon, but she can let those walls down with Louis-Caesar and it kinda scares her. Their scenes together made this book for me hands down. Loved it.

Chance does another interesting thing in Shadow's Bane in that at various times we switch perspectives to Mircea in the 1400's. We see him fighting to find something to help with Dorina's "fits" and the moment he realizes what must happen in order for her to live. I've enjoyed Mircea's time in Dory's books more than I have in Cassie's and it's here, again, where we see the vulnerable, newly turned and pretty powerless Mircea of old as opposed to the all-powerful senator looking to use anyone and everyone as a pawn to further his cause. I don't know that I like his motivations or his reasoning behind some of his actions, but I like the dynamic he has with Dory and I wonder if it's ever a relationship we'll see healed. As I know he cares for her, but he has a terrible time showing it.

As far as the conflict goes, once everything settles down and all the connections are made from all the various goings on throughout a big chunk of the book, I liked it. Some of the hints we were given early on - which only make sense towards the end when Dory's breaking it all down for us - seemed a little too coincidental.

The ending was pretty solid. The main conflict of the story is solved, but the overarching storyline involving the war is still lingering out there. Needless to say, I'm not left hanging in the balance wondering what's to become of any characters if that sets anyone's mind at ease. But hopefully we're not waiting another six years for Dory to return either.

Overall, I think fans will enjoy Dory's return to the page.

Let me start by saying that I always felt like I was behind the 8th ball because it has been so long since the Dory books! I have lost memory of a lot of the back stories and I felt like I needed to go back and re-read the books, but who has the time.

However despite that, I absolutely love Shadow’s Bane! Dory and Louis-Cesare, love them! The fight scenes in the book are awesome! The conflict between Dory and Dorina (her alter ego) kept me on the edge waiting for a satisfactory solution. I really hope we get to see more of Dory/Dorina because she became even more awesome!

Dorina Basarab is a dhampir--half-human, half-vampire. As one of the Vampire Senate's newest members, Dory already has a lot on her plate. But then a relative of one of Dory's fey friends goes missing. They fear he's been sold to a slaver who arranges fights--sometimes to the death--between different types of fey.

As Dory investigates, she and her friends learn the slavers are into something much bigger than a fight club. With the Vampire Senate gearing up for war with Faerie, it'll take everything she has to defeat the slavers--and deal with the entirely too attractive master vampire Louis-Cesare.

____________________

Shadow's Bane is the fourth in the Dorina Basarab series, loosely connected to Chance's Cassanda Palmer books. Dory's life remains complicated to say the least. She continues to battle literal and figurative monsters while balancing her dual nature and her love life. As a reader, I like Dory but not perhaps as much as Cassie Palmer in the other novels.

Dory's father Mircea remains intriguing as readers get a whole lot more to the story of how and why he chose to block Dory and Dorina off from each other in order to save them. The narrative explores this well and brings up a whole slew of new questions and problems to be examined in the next book. Once criticism for me was pacing and transitions. I felt like these could have been smoother at times to help the narrative; however, part of Dory and Dorina feeling so fragmented might allow for the same to be said of the reading experience.

Final rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Miss Chance delivers yet again with another amazing urban fantasy addition to her growing series. After a long wait, the much anticipated fourth installment to the Dorina Basarab series is here and it is everything a reader could want. Lead by an kickass heroine who just can’t catch a break, the story is intense and action packed. The author also recaps the events of the previous books nicely so the new and returning readers don’t feel lost.

It should also be noted that the book is very long, rounding out at approx 600 pages. To some, that would be way too long for a single novel. However, Chance does a good job at breaking up the POVs as well as building the characters and plot. While the premise of two being inhabiting the same body is nothing new, it the story Chance weaves together that makes it interesting. Surrounded by an equally diverse cast, Dorina/Dory and her story will grab the read and keep them interested until the end.

Time and again, Chance has proven herself to be a talented urban fantasy/paranormal writer. Despite having a 6 year waiting period, Shadow’s Bane solidifies her as of one of the greats alongside the likes of Patricia Briggs and Kim Harrison.

Shadow's Bane by Karen Chance, the series continues with Dorina Basarab, a solid next book that leaves you wanting just that much more. Did not go in the direction I was expecting but it worked well.

Dory is a dhampir, half human and half vampire. She was given a spot on the Vampire Senate because there is an upcoming war between vampires and Faerie, and they want a position of strength. In addition to the inevitable politicking and threats to her life, she is looking for a friend's missing nephew, which leads to the discovery of an illegal fight club ring. There's a bigger conspiracy at work, and Dory's vampire half is aware of more of it than she is.

Having not read the earlier Dorina Basarab books, I'm at a disadvantage. There's a full cast of characters and at least three books of backstory, but I was able to dive right in and catch up. We don't get the full story involved, of course, but there are enough hints to give me the relationships and keep going with the plot. It's convoluted in parts, partly because Dory just stumbles into the conspiracy regarding the fight club when she wasn't looking for it. Some of the context is missing, but that could also be because I've missed the earlier books in the series. The divide between the mortal half (Dory) and the vampire half (Dorina) as well as their separate abilities are clearly outlined, at least. This lends to some of the difficulties in figuring out the larger conspiracy amidst the war and the Vampire Senate. The flashbacks of memories from Dory's vampire father ultimately gives more background into the motives, as does the information that Dory gets in dribs and drabs from members of the faerie court.

The characters are actually really fun to read about and see how they interact. Even without the histories from the prior books, we really see the friendships at work and learn about how the different parts of faerie work in this universe, as well as the vampire power structure. The plot itself is very fast paced and gripping, and I was caught up in the story and cared about what would happen next. It's definitely an interesting series to follow, so I'll have to go back and find the earlier books in the series.

It has been a little bit since I have read a book in this series, I found this one to be annoying.
I tend to sometimes struggle with uf series, it was good that the author wrote it how you can jump in series with out reading the other series, without getting to lost in this spin off. but as usually I think it is best to read them in order you will at time be confuse or lost. Be warned it is a really LONG book and very SLOW moving!

I was interested enough in the blurb for this book to give it a shot. While I don't like a ton of urban fantasy/romance, once in a while it's a pleasant palate cleanser.

Maybe if I had started with the first book in the series I would have enjoyed it, but this book is not a good place to start with this author. In the first couple of chapters, Dorina piles into a car with some trolls (who are apparently very HEAVY, but I felt like I should have known more about them). Off she goes to some sort of troll/fae carnival/fight club, where she is surprised by a red haired Fabio- I mean Louis-Cesare, her vampire-dueling champion-vampire senator- boyfriend with long curly auburn locks held back with a tortoiseshell clip. And then things just took off. I mean I could not figure out what was happening between quips, madcap action, and a magic system that I had no clue about. I did not have it in me to persevere and I called it a day. If you're familiar with the series YMMV.

I loved this entry in the series because of Dorina. It was great to be inside her "head" and understand how she felt about Dory and their father. For as much as everyone feared Dorina, she proved she really is as loyal as her other half...especially to those that she loves. Can't wait for more.

This is the fourth book in the Dorina Basarab series. It’s been six years (yes *six* years) since the last book in this series. I love this series so much more than Chance’s Cassie Palmer series (which I stopped reading after the third book). I was a bit nervous to pick this book up because of the huge time lag between books, but it used to be one of my favorite UF series so I decided to take a risk. It ended up being good...not great...but good. It was also very, very long and it felt long.

Chance does a pretty good job of re-introducing characters and providing background for those who don’t have the time or inclination to re-read the first three books in the series. I was still a bit lost in the politics and I think some nuances of the story were lost on me because I just couldn’t remember the full background and all the characters after six years. I mean really, if you are going to take six years to write the next book in a series you would think you could take some time to recap the “story thus far” at the beginning of the book or something.

My biggest issue with this book was the number and length of the fight scenes. I know, I know...I love fight scenes in my book and these were decently written ones. They were just soooo long and sooo frequent that they really interrupted the flow of the story. Chance could have gotten the same impact with shorter fight scenes that didn’t completely disrupt the story flow. I also got really sick of Dory getting knocked out and waking up somewhere else...that happened probably six or seven times in this book and got really old.

I kept forgetting the main storyline because of the fight scenes. This led to the story having a very disjointed flow. It was almost like the story, fight scenes, and relationship scenes between Dory and Louis-Cesare were separate… they really didn’t flow well and felt very choppy. Additionally, vast portions of the book follow Mircea and his past. I could have done without these long chapters told from Mircea’s POV; they didn’t add a ton to the story and the elements they did bring to the story could have been handled in a much more concise way.

Despite all the complaining above I did end up enjoying the book. I love these characters and the intriguing world they live in. I really enjoyed some of the developments in here. I love the scenes between Dory and Louis-Cesare and wish we had gotten more of that to balance all the random fighting. Chance’s writing style is easy to read and (for the most part) engaging.

Overall this was a good addition to the Dorina Basarab series. I really enjoyed re-entering this world and some of the developments around the characters here. The book should have been edited better and was kind of a mess. The story didn’t flow well and the lengthy/numerous fight scenes kept derailing things completely. The parts of the book from Mircea’s POV should have been left out completely; they didn’t really add much.

So, should you read this? If you are a huge Basarab fan like I am...yes! there is some really good stuff in here. However, be prepared for a lengthy slog...this book was seriously long and poorly paced.

3.5 stars

Dory is back, and her life is as hectic and dangerous as ever. The main story arc is interwoven with that of the Cassie Palmer books. The vampires and fey are gearing up for war while there is associated infighting and backstabbing within each group. As a dhampir, Dory has never been part of any of the supernatural worlds, but because she is useful, the vampire consul has made her a senator. Of course that comes with the task of finding out who has been trafficking dark fey and what’s been happening to them, who has been conspiring to assassinate the consul, all while assorted vampires are out to kill her for her senate seat and the barrier between Dory the sort-of human and Dorina her vampire half is dissolving.

If that sounds confusing and exhausting, it’s because it is. It’s been six years since the last Dory book came out, but Chance does an admirable job of revisiting the main backstory and characters so you don’t need to reread the previous books to get caught up. Unfortunately, there were other frustrating aspects to the story.

The book has numerous action scenes, all of which move at a frenetic pace. It was difficult for me in most of them to keep track of what was happening, with whom, and who was on what side. While this may have mirrored Dory’s mental state, some of the events made little sense even in retrospect. In addition, nearly every fight ended in the middle with Dory unconscious, later waking up and having to be told what had happened in the interim. It would have been nice for at least some, if not most, of those fights for Dory to have been awake through the whole thing. While some of the confusing aspects of the battles (and who was involved) were clarified at the end, it didn’t mitigate the frustration of reading through it first.

That said, there were aspects of the book that were very satisfying. Dory is changing from an angry loner into someone with a lot of important relationships. We got Dory with Louis-Cesare, with her roommate Claire and the rest of their crazy household, with the trolls and light fey and, most importantly, with her “twin” Dorina. These, as well as finally getting to see Dory again, make this a must-read for fans of the series. I really hope we won’t have to wait another six years for the next one.

Wow, this book was spectacular! With all the difficult with Reap the Wind and then Ride the Storm, it's been about 6 years since we last had a Dory full length novel. It was well worth the wait, this book, so much happens, some hilarious like the game pieces, some not so much, like slavery. Oh, an the action scenes! Awesome!

After Fury's Kiss, I really wanted to know more about Dorina. And I got that in spades in this book, from scenes that she narrated (now that we know what that was, unlike previously!) and the memories from their dad around the time that he built the wall, events which were informative to the plot of what was going on now, so those did double duty, yeah!

One thing that this book deals with is her relationship with Louis-Cesare. I thought that they'd resolved of the issues that would keep them together, inside and out, but apparently not. Well, I guess with Dorina, they flared up again. To have a side of you that could hurt the person you love? Not fun!

You know that in complex, big series like this one, where they mention what happened in the previous book, the big overarching plot, but it's all simple and you're like, oh, yeah, that's what happened, that's what the characters were trying to do? This book had that combined with how long its been been since I read Fury's Kiss and my memory's that bad. So yeah, that was great!

I have a few questions at the end, some bigger than others. Like some could be answered with a quick sentence. Others, I think will play a pretty significant part in the books to come (because there has to be books to come!) For example, her mom and the gift Dorina displays in this book. Otherwise, this book ended really well, and I'm anticipating more from these amazing two series!

This book was so awesome, and I enjoyed reading it so much! It's a fantastic book!

To sum this up in a word: frustrating. Dory had a lot going on. There were issues with the fey, Mircea, Dorina, and Louis-Cesare. It took a while to get to the satisfying ending. It took a little while for me to get into it. The first quarter of the book was one action scene after another. It took all of that time for those seemingly random scenes to evolve into a cohesive plot.

Some chapters were from Mircea's POV in the 1400's. Those scenes in the past were relevant to what was going on in the present. They also gave insight into Mircea's motivation for what he did to Dory all those years ago. I want to like Mircea, but it's hard. In this and the Cassie Palmer series, he starts off as likable and charming. The more I learn about him, the more he angers me. He means well but tends to be selfish.

Things with Dory and Louis-Cesare were tense. They had issues to deal with. I love them together though. On top of that, Dory was began to sort out her issues with Dorina. They're both learning how to share. This was just the beginning for them; they have a long way to go before they figure out how to function in a way that suits both of them.

"Half-human, half-vampire Dorina Basarab is back--and facing her biggest challenge yet in the next urban fantasy in the New York Times bestselling series.

Dorina Basarab is a dhampir--half-human, half-vampire. As one of the Vampire Senate's newest members, Dory already has a lot on her plate. But then a relative of one of Dory's fey friends goes missing. They fear he's been sold to a slaver who arranges fights--sometimes to the death--between different types of fey.

As Dory investigates, she and her friends learn the slavers are into something much bigger than a fight club. With the Vampire Senate gearing up for war with Faerie, it'll take everything she has to defeat the slavers--and deal with the entirely too attractive master vampire Louis-Cesare...."

I've been in need of a good urban fantasy series...

Dorina/Dory Basarab has lived 500+ years fighting her dual nature. Her father, vampire master Mircea, has spent an almost equal amount of time fighting desperately to keep her alive starting when she was a young child. As a dhampir, Dory has ever been an outcast living in the shadows, both feared and reviled by humans, fey, and vampires. Now, Dory has friends and a vampire boyfriend, Louis-Cesare, who loves her despite the issues of having a lethal other half who just might take over permanently consigning Dory to the abyss, trapped in her own personal hell. Someone has kidnapped one of her troll housemate Olga’s nephew. Trolls do not take kindly the use and abuse they have endured for years as low class Dark Fey. Dory also has the challenge of her new Senate positon which shows how bad things have gotten in the war between the Fey and Vampires when they let a pariah such as her on the council. With the help of her friends, Dory is trying to track down slavers as well as someone who has powerful magic weapons that will make an advantageous difference in the coming Faerie/Vampire war.

This story is told concurrently in distant past from Mircea’s POV in the form of dreams Dory is having about the time period when he was trying to find a way to save her life from dual nature which seemed to be tearing her apart. Dorina seems to be more active now, but the question remains: is she trying to help or takeover permanently? As Dory finds out more about what Mircea did to save her life, she also learns about her darker twin in surprising ways.

As usual in the world and writing of Karen Chance there is much action, adventure, a little romance, and new developments in the storyline sending readers on a wild thrill ride. Epic battles, harrowing escapades, and Dory’s fey princess/dragon roommate, Claire’s, determination to protect her son, plus a house full of more fey, trolls, and vampires keeps the action brisk, entertaining, and spectacular.

This one will keep you absorbed with thrilling revelations and developments through out this extensive world that spans 2 series by Karen Chance.  While this is a spin off series it has become just as great if not better then the original, I am loving that we are slowly getting to a chance to know more about Dorina and her history.  She must face not only external threats, but also her own inner demons, lending an extra depth and drama to the stories