jenwritesnstuff's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
millie_rose_reads's review against another edition
4.0
As per usual, Cassie in Brave the Tempest is essentially that visual gag of an overworked person answering several phones at once. Just replace phones with portals, rogue acolytes, and Lovecraftian terrors. The difference this time around is Cassie's gameness: she has unequivocally accepted being Pythia, taking every responsibility and getting more knowledgeable about the rights afforded to that position. Whatever critique I might have for the pacing of the saving Pritkin arc, the resulting maturation and proactive Cass it gave us is fantastic. Having Cass forge alliances and contribute to the invasion in Faerie is a far cry from the reactive protagonist of previous books. It's a welcome development.
I was curious how Chance would handle Cassie's love life. Ultimately, Chance still leaves the love triangle firmly open—while oddly backing down on Mircea's threat at the end of the last book. It's funny that I only seem to enjoy Mircea and Cassie's dynamic when they aren't together. For instance, I loved their interactions here, culminating in a pretty badass moment for Cassie and probably my favourite moment of the whole book: Cassie killing Lizzie with the Pythian power in front of Mircea as a demonstration of her commitment to her duty as protector of the timeline. I can't wait to read more of this Cassie.
It was great to have the actual Pritkin back partnering up with Cass. Their romance adds a new dimension to an already great dynamic, and the atypical rhythms of their relationship makes the romantic beats all the more engaging.
I was curious how Chance would handle Cassie's love life. Ultimately, Chance still leaves the love triangle firmly open—while oddly backing down on Mircea's threat at the end of the last book. It's funny that I only seem to enjoy Mircea and Cassie's dynamic when they aren't together. For instance, I loved their interactions here, culminating in a pretty badass moment for Cassie and probably my favourite moment of the whole book: Cassie killing Lizzie with the Pythian power in front of Mircea as a demonstration of her commitment to her duty as protector of the timeline. I can't wait to read more of this Cassie.
It was great to have the actual Pritkin back partnering up with Cass. Their romance adds a new dimension to an already great dynamic, and the atypical rhythms of their relationship makes the romantic beats all the more engaging.
connie_flower's review against another edition
4.0
And we still don't have the war! You can feel it building in every book but when it will actually kick off I have no idea. In this installment, Cassie foils a plot by the rogue acolyte Jo and Black Circle mage Jonathan. Although you don't realise that's what's happening until the final few chapters, leaving most of the book feeling like Cassie is wasting valuable war-prep time pissing about with other things.
I love how much plot Chance manages to pack into her books, however it usually means that by the time the next one comes out I have a hard time remembering even half of what went on. I even forgot who Jonathan was. Jonathan! So I'm going to leave myself a spoilery review to refresh my memory..
Basically, Jonathan found a book of the names of Ancient Horrors (demon-god hybrids) in Faerie and wanted to summon them into giant fey-made golems in Faerie to sabotage the planned vampire-demon invasion. Only, the book was possessed by an Ancient Horror so he couldn't actually read it himself without, you know, dying. So he manages to pass it on to Cassie who unwittingly frees the demon, allowing him to make evil scary golem guards. Meanwhile, psycho Jo keeps trying to kill Cassie. Cassie 'kills' Lizzie (another evil acolyte), but it turns out she'd used a spell known as Chimera which split her into two forms. So she only kills one of the forms, returning her into one form. Which happens to be sharing body space with the ghost of Jo. Confusing? Yep. But now the good guys know the bad guy's plan (but the bad guy's don't know they know) and can avoid the evil golems and still invade.
Oh, and Cassie is definitely split from Mircea, taking some of his vamps in the divorce to guard her court. So she can be extra coupley with Pritkin. Everyone is showing signs of PTSD from some traumatic event or another and the pressure of the impending doom is getting to everyone.
Did I miss anything? Oh yeah. She stupidly agrees to try and help Mircea with his long dead wife. What the fuck.
I love how much plot Chance manages to pack into her books, however it usually means that by the time the next one comes out I have a hard time remembering even half of what went on. I even forgot who Jonathan was. Jonathan! So I'm going to leave myself a spoilery review to refresh my memory..
Basically, Jonathan found a book of the names of Ancient Horrors (demon-god hybrids) in Faerie and wanted to summon them into giant fey-made golems in Faerie to sabotage the planned vampire-demon invasion. Only, the book was possessed by an Ancient Horror so he couldn't actually read it himself without, you know, dying. So he manages to pass it on to Cassie who unwittingly frees the demon, allowing him to make evil scary golem guards. Meanwhile, psycho Jo keeps trying to kill Cassie. Cassie 'kills' Lizzie (another evil acolyte), but it turns out she'd used a spell known as Chimera which split her into two forms. So she only kills one of the forms, returning her into one form. Which happens to be sharing body space with the ghost of Jo. Confusing? Yep. But now the good guys know the bad guy's plan (but the bad guy's don't know they know) and can avoid the evil golems and still invade.
Oh, and Cassie is definitely split from Mircea, taking some of his vamps in the divorce to guard her court. So she can be extra coupley with Pritkin. Everyone is showing signs of PTSD from some traumatic event or another and the pressure of the impending doom is getting to everyone.
Did I miss anything? Oh yeah. She stupidly agrees to try and help Mircea with his long dead wife. What the fuck.
mdlaclair's review against another edition
4.0
This was a better book then I. Had thought it would be. Still have Cassie trying to be everything to everyone and stumbling though life. However I did feel like some growth was seen and that the book was better written then most.
msmathy's review against another edition
4.0
The Cassie Palmer books drive me insane. They jump from world to world, place to place, intrigue to Intrigue and sometimes I can't keep up. I read the first few books in ebook form and as I discovered them in audiobook form, switched to that method. There was one somewhere in there that was narrated by somebody who clearly should not have been narrating the Cassie Palmer series but now that Jorjeana Marie has taken over, she reads slow enough that I can keep up with what's happening. I appreciate that. Because it allows me to follow along more closely.
I appreciated that there were fewer times when Cassie was made to look like an idiot because she couldn't follow along with whatever intrigue was happening with the vampire court. Honestly, that drove me completely insane. And it wasn't just the vampire court. When she had to interact with the demon court and didn't know what was happening, that was just as frustrating. In this book, she was allowed to actually be smart and figure some stuff out.
I liked this book more than I did the last one. Primarily, I was excited to see more Pritkin in this book. In reality, his relationship with Cassie is all I really care about anymore. This book really sets up another one and, frankly, I hope that is the last one. I feel like the story is almost played out and its entirety.
I appreciated that there were fewer times when Cassie was made to look like an idiot because she couldn't follow along with whatever intrigue was happening with the vampire court. Honestly, that drove me completely insane. And it wasn't just the vampire court. When she had to interact with the demon court and didn't know what was happening, that was just as frustrating. In this book, she was allowed to actually be smart and figure some stuff out.
I liked this book more than I did the last one. Primarily, I was excited to see more Pritkin in this book. In reality, his relationship with Cassie is all I really care about anymore. This book really sets up another one and, frankly, I hope that is the last one. I feel like the story is almost played out and its entirety.
rclz's review against another edition
4.0
This was good but it felt like a bridge to somewhere else. I'm still not a fan of Cassie and Pritkin which doesn't help because they're in a thing.
I like that Cassie seems to finally be pulling up her big girl pants.
I like that Cassie seems to finally be pulling up her big girl pants.
aphelia88's review against another edition
5.0
Shortly before this book was released, Karen Chance announced that she had been dropped by her publisher (!!!), and I was terribly afraid that she might have set up a sort of finale, just when her two series (Cassandra Palmer and Dorina Basarab) are finally starting to come together.
Thankfully, this is another entertaining, rollercoaster read that demands future adventures! Chance keeps getting better with each book, and continues to raise impossibly high stakes. She's one of my favourite authors, and she is the type of author that, as a reader, you have to let go of second-guessing and trust, and just go along for the ride. She writes action scenes so vividly that the books feel cinematic!
It's hard to believe that only four months have passed since Cassie became Pythia, with all the time-jumping and her ever-increasingly-complicated life. But Cassie is finally starting to act instead of react, and is seriously considering her priorities for the first time. She has figured out what she wants: her Court in good order, the War Council (demons, vampires and mages) working together to win the War, and Pritkin (YAY!!!). At long last she is clear about her feelings for Mircea (this is one of the most frustrating love triangles I've ever read) and ready to move forward and become the best Pythia she can be.
Unfortunately, the Universe has other ideas and the world - and the coming War - keeps getting in the way. Although Cassie's wacky and wonderful sense of humour remains intact, this is a much darker book as the events of the previous novel with the fight between Apollo and Ares weigh heavily on her and her many new responsibilities multiply.
Everyone - including her own Court - is under the mistaken impression that Cassie's demigod heritage makes her invincible and all powerful, and she is confronted by her power limitations at every turn. But she cannot set people straight lest she give the impression that she - and thus the Pythian office and Court - is weak, which would make them all a target.
And having actually gone to Hell and back to save Pritkin and his soul, Cassie finally has him back safe and sound. Only to have him rushing off on secret missions and not acting at all like himself - they saved the world together but they still can't catch a break!
Cassie also talks with Dorina for the first time and it's so exciting that the two storylines are FINALLY starting to converge! I can't wait for the next book
Thankfully, this is another entertaining, rollercoaster read that demands future adventures! Chance keeps getting better with each book, and continues to raise impossibly high stakes. She's one of my favourite authors, and she is the type of author that, as a reader, you have to let go of second-guessing and trust, and just go along for the ride. She writes action scenes so vividly that the books feel cinematic!
It's hard to believe that only four months have passed since Cassie became Pythia, with all the time-jumping and her ever-increasingly-complicated life. But Cassie is finally starting to act instead of react, and is seriously considering her priorities for the first time. She has figured out what she wants: her Court in good order, the War Council (demons, vampires and mages) working together to win the War, and Pritkin (YAY!!!). At long last she is clear about her feelings for Mircea (this is one of the most frustrating love triangles I've ever read) and ready to move forward and become the best Pythia she can be.
Unfortunately, the Universe has other ideas and the world - and the coming War - keeps getting in the way. Although Cassie's wacky and wonderful sense of humour remains intact, this is a much darker book as the events of the previous novel with the fight between Apollo and Ares weigh heavily on her and her many new responsibilities multiply.
Everyone - including her own Court - is under the mistaken impression that Cassie's demigod heritage makes her invincible and all powerful, and she is confronted by her power limitations at every turn. But she cannot set people straight lest she give the impression that she - and thus the Pythian office and Court - is weak, which would make them all a target.
And having actually gone to Hell and back to save Pritkin and his soul, Cassie finally has him back safe and sound. Only to have him rushing off on secret missions and not acting at all like himself - they saved the world together but they still can't catch a break!
Cassie also talks with Dorina for the first time and it's so exciting that the two storylines are FINALLY starting to converge! I can't wait for the next book
kstep1805's review against another edition
3.0
This book was just too long but I’ve invested a decade into this series so I didn’t want to put it down. There were some really good parts, that were exciting and interesting but there were just so many words that seemed to get in the way of story telling. I’m invested, so I’m going to keep reading but I miss the early books.
krahey's review
3.0
**Warning: this text may contain spoilers** I waited for this for 2 years. I picked it up the day before it was released with so much excitement. I wanted it to pick up where it left off. I wanted more of a pritkin and Cassie store line. I wanted downtime. I want them to explore their relationship. This book was none of that. We got him for what 85 pages? I'm not understanding why this is getting dragged out. I want to move more down the timeline. I see another book is expected to come out in December. I hope it doesn't let me down.