Karen Chance: Curse the Dawn

• ISBN-13: 9780451412706
• Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
• Publication date: 4/7/2009
• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Pages: 400

 Cassandra Palmer may be the all-powerful Pythia now, but that doesn't mean people have stopped trying to kill her. Most of the supernatural power players don't want independent-minded Cassie as chief clairvoyant - and they'll stop at nothing to see her six feet under. 
 The Vampire Senate does support Cassie in her position, but their protection comes with a price: an alliance with the sexy master vampire Mircea, who has claimed Cassie as his own.
 But even the vampires will have trouble keeping Cassie alive now that the self-styled god Apollo, the source of the Pythia's power, has it in for her in a big way. To save her life - and the world - Cassie's going to have to face down her creator once and for all...  

 This is going to sound absolutely horrible, but it took me to the end of the second chapter to be 100% certain that I hadn't read that book before. I'm going to attribute that to having flipped through at another point in time to find certain plot points so my mind could be at peace. Yes, I do that. I frequently read the end of novels just to make sure that I'm not going to be throwing it at a wall later.
 Cassie's in a pickle. Isn't she always? She really doesn't want to kill anyone from the Silver Circle, since those lives are the ones preventing Apollo from entering this world. On the other hand, those crazy bastards are out to get her, and 90% of them don't care if she's dead or alive, and would, in fact, prefer her dead. So there's a paradox for you. Also, Mircea is being hyper-protective, as usual, and that is growing increasingly frustrating for the new Pythia. To top off all of her other problems, she accidentally manages to swap bodies with her erstwhile companion Pritkin, causing strife and confusion for all.
 All's well that ends well, however, and I'm terribly interested to see where Chance will take Cassie in the next book. I won't tell you why, because that would spoil everything, but I'm pumped.
 I felt that, once again, Chance managed to jam pack her novel full of action. She's really not a fan of letting her heroines rest, but that's more of a symptom of the genre, I think. It certainly makes the novel fly by faster when you don't have time to get bored. I'm also on tenterhooks to see how she's going to deal with the tension between Mircea, Cassie, and Pritkin. I'm Team Mircea all the way, and I can't say I'll be terribly pleased if that relationship goes sour, but I'm willing to ride wherever Chance takes me. Especially with all of the juicy Mircea-Cassie emotional goodness going on. Mm, mm, good.
 The other downside to her fast paced plot is the whiplash-inducing wrap-up. Within two chapters we fight the big bad, solve the world's problems (for the time being), and return life to fairly-normal with some improvements. Because there's so much going on, when we finally confront the major problem, you kind of get a "oh, we're doing this now?" feeling. It's a little disorienting.
 Overall: A-
 I enjoyed it, as I always do, although the ending was a little too speedy for my taste.

Keri Arthur: Moon Sworn

• Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Dell (May 25, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-13: 978-0440245711

 Shape-shifting werewolf and vampire Riley Jenson is through with death - causing it, solving it, surviving it. Her soul mate, Kye Murphy, is dead - and at Riley's own hands. Not even the seductive embrace of her vampire lover, Quinn, can fully ease her mind, for she has begun questioning everything that makes her Riley - including her job at the Directorate.
 Now the ritualistically slain bodies of ex-cons have started turning up. Reluctantly, Riley takes the case, but something even worse is waiting in the wings. A vicious enemy from her past is determined to strip Riley of everything that gives her life meaning: her lover, her brother - and even her own identity. Can Riley survive this ultimate assault? All she knows is that she must fight one last time to find answers, before everything goes dark forever.

 Ah, the end of an era. For me, anyway. I picked up Keri Arthur's first novel in the Riley Jenson series way back when, when I was first getting into the paranormal novel field. I bought up several new authors at the same time (YOLO) and she was one. I greatly enjoyed her first novel. It was original and impressive and complicated. Over the years, the writing has gotten less...well, good...but that doesn't mean that her story isn't there. As the last few books wind down, we have less and less to focus on and think about as all the other plots are tied off. Now, we're down to two - the mystery of the novel, and the questions that have been ongoing through the entire series: Riley doesn't want to be a Guardian, and, oh yes, the leader of her former pack is hell bent on ruining her life even further. By the end of the series, we will have solutions to these problems, although they are not necessarily the ones we expected. And that's not a bad thing.
 In this novel, we have some pretty gory and gruesome murders, but about a third of the way, they take a backseat to Riley's major problem - she doesn't remember who she is, and someone out there (well, we know who) is messing with her mind. While she's dealing with that, she's also solving the case, which is, quite frankly, multitasking at its finest. I have never been so proud of Riley. She has truly grown into her badassery. On the other hand, while Quinn is still pretty awesome, the fire has kind of gone out of their relationship for me. It used to be so full of angst (I like that its not anymore) but there was always something interesting going on. Now, they've settled down into that old couple mentality, which is definitely not a bad thing - I just think Arthur went a little far in de-clawing Quinn.Also, after so much build up, the final fight scene was slightly anti-climactic. It just ended a little too easily for my taste.
 All that aside, the plot was developed, our characters have reached fruition and will achieve their HEA, and we have come to the end of a series.
 Overall: A
 A pretty good wrap up overall. Not as good as some in the series, better than others. Definitely nice to see an author take care of a character's life and not completely destroy her in the end, especially after all the growing up she had to do.