Death's Mistress

Dorina Basarab #2

by Karen Chance

Dorina Basarab is a dhampir--half-human, half-vampire. Subject to uncontrollable rages, most dhampirs live very short, very violent lives. So far, Dory has managed to maintain her sanity by unleashing her anger on those demons and vampires who deserve killing. Back home in Brooklyn, after the demise of her insane uncle Dracula, Dory is hoping her life is about to calm down. But then she gets some visitors. A friend wants Dory's help in finding a magical Fey relic, and the gorgeous vampire, Louis-Cesare, is desperate to find his former mistress Christine. Dory and Louis-Cesare quickly discover that the same master vampire Christine is bound to is also rumored to be in possession of the relic. But when the master vampire turns up dead, they realize that there's more at stake than a missing mistress. Someone is killing vampire Senate members, and if Dory and Louis-Cesare can't stop the murderer, they may be next.

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Vampires, Paranormal, Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal Romance, Magic

422 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 1, 2009

About the author

Karen Chance is the author of two New York Times bestselling series, plus a number of novellas and short stories, all set in the Cassandra Palmer universe. A full-time writer since 2008, she was previously a university history teacher, which comes in handy when writing the time-travel aspect of Cassie’s crazy adventures. She loves Las Vegas, the main setting for her novels, but currently lives in Florida near her family home. Visit her website or connect with her on Facebook here.

Reviews

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know a book is good when you finish it and a sudden feeling of emptiness descends on you and the thought of waiting yet another year to reunite with the characters seems too much to bear. Oh, and when you’re reluctant to write a review because it’ll probably not come close to expressing how much you loved the story. Well, here’s an attempt anyway:

I. LOVED. THIS. BOOK. Death’s Mistress was great and a very worthy follow up to part one in these series, Midnight's Daughter, the book responsible for making me fall in love with the urban fantasy genre.

The Midnight’s Daughter series is about Dorina Basarab (dhampir and daughter of Mircea) and is set in the Cassie Palmer universe. And though we see some familiar faces and -due to overlapping time lines- the same major events happen in both series, the viewpoint is totally different and so is the general atmosphere of the books. Both series are typical Karen Chance: high paced, action packed and very funny, but Dorina makes a more cynical and tortured protagonist and her world seems darker.

In Death’s Mistress, Dory takes it upon her to locate a missing Fey relic for her friend Claire. In the meantime Louis-Cesare is looking for his lost mistress and the two tasks become interconnected. And so does just about everything and everyone else in this elaborate plot Karen Chance has weaved.
While in Midnight’s Daughter the story was pretty straightforward -Dory taking on the big bad villain- the plot in the current book is almost a suspense form of a whodunit. At times it reminded me of these old Hollywood action movies, the ones which were more about the thrill of the chase rather than about the special effects. The story unfolds in an entertaining and unpredictable way, with a high pace, lots of romantic tension, plenty of sarcasm and many laugh out loud moments.
Radu and Stinky provided some entertainment but Ray, the handy dandy vampire, stole the show from the very point we get to be introduced to him, bleeding out on his restroom’s tile floor.

Despite the fact that only a month has passed since the events from last book, the characters show growth and development. Slowly but gradually we see Dory coming in touch with her feelings and her relationships with Mircea and Louis-Cesare shifting. We also get to know more about these characters (avid camp-Pritkiners, beware: you’ll like Mircea more).

But my favorite is Louis-Cesare. I am in love with the guy. It took a while for him to pop up in this book, but he made up for it. Fast. I loved the scenes between him and Dory, ranging from endearing to scorching hot (sometimes with a funny edge: ‘interrogation techniques’).

I don't give a 5 out of 5 very easily but this book deserves it. It wasn’t perfect (there were a few things I would have like to see done differently) but it was very entertaining and showed off Chance's quality of creating two very distinct characters but making them so likable that you can't help but invest in them and their crazy adventure rides. Let's just hope the next one doesn't take so long.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Danger seems to follow Dorina Basarab wherever she goes. And when her father sends her to retrieve a vampire for questioning, it should have been an easy job. But soon Dorina is trying to stay ahead of the bad guys, with the head of her target, who can be very annoying with his whining about being separated from his body. Also her friend Claire has brought trouble with her as well, when she comes to Dorina’s house in order to protect her nine month old baby from those who wish to kill the future High King of Faerie. And the only thing able to protect her son is a very powerful rune, Naudiz, which has been stolen.

And when vampire Senate members turn up dead, things get very complicated and dangerous for Dorina and the few friends she has.

Dorina is such an awesome heroine! I love that she smokes weed to keep herself calm so that she doesn’t go all berserker-like and try to kill everything in her path, how kickass and tough she is, and how loyal she is to those she cares about. Her determination to jump head first into a fight despite the danger to herself is fantastic.

I love this world the author created, it’s captivating and intriguing. I love that Dorina lives in a magical house, one that has wards to keep unwelcome guests out and also to repair itself to its original state, which makes decorating a pain ;-)

This book was just as action packed as the previous one, and I loved it. Raymond the headless vampire was a wonderful addition to the story, and I really enjoyed all his antics :-D We also got to meet more of the powerful Senate members, and the head consul, who is one scary woman. Dorina also gets involved with vampire politics, which was very interesting.

I love the growing relationship between Mircea and Dorina, and learning that he cares a lot more than she realised. He’s definitely trying to be a better father to her, and I hope they can sort out their issues.

So close, the scent of her, wild and comforting at once, enveloped him. He needed to stop this; he needed to leave. If he immersed himself in that scent, grew to depend on it, need it, it would starve him when it was gone.
He was already too hungry as it was.

I love the slow building romance between Dorina and Louis-Cesare. He’s definitely changed a lot since their first encounter, and I love how protective he is over her. We also learned a lot about his history and we got some answers to questions I had in the previous book.

This is a fantastic UF series, and I can’t wait to read the next book! Highly recommended.

[Namera [The Literary Invertebrate] · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somehow, this book was sort of like crack - I knew it'd be bad for me in general, but I couldn't stop myself feeding on it.

For one, it's INSANELY confusing and convoluted. Little is explained, and even less is understood by the reader. Characters appear and disappear for no apparent reason. Plots appear mid-novel and then gracefully trail off.

What this book is, however, is pretty damn funny. The dialogue between Dorina and her new frenemy Ray actually made me laugh out loud, which is why I pushed the rating up from 3 stars even though I skim-read large chunks of the book.

[Anna Serene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read #4: 4/29-30/2021

Read #3: 2/19-21/2019

Reread: 3/28-30/2017
4.5 stars!

I freakin LOVE this book and this series. Also, I love Louis-Cesare. He's just too much sometimes! Dory is a badass, and Radu is the BEST. He's just so weird lol. I can't wait to reread the next one so I get to "To be the little spoon."
*swoon*

First Read: 7/3-4/2015
So so good!! Can't wait to start the next one! I LOVED it!

[Gemma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gods, I did so love this book. (: After the seriously annoying ending of Midnight's Daughter concerning Louis-Cesare, I was really looking forward to this one. I had a lot of questions though - what was the deal with Christine? Would Dory ever forgive Mircea? Would Dory & Louis-Cesare finally get together? Annoyance in abundance.
Happily, a lot of my questions were answered in Death's Mistress, and as a result I can't wait to read the next one (:

We learn a lot more about Mircea's relationship with Dory's mother here - a lot of the scenes were actually quite heart breaking, and I felt for Mircea at numerous points. What really pissed me off was the way Dory reacted to Mircea - she still seems to see him as this monstrous guy who doesn't have feelings of any kind, which is annoying for the reader as we can clearly see how much he loves Dory and evidently loved her mother. I found myself in despair at Dory's refusal to accept that Mircea actually loved her mother, and I really hope that she manages to have a relationship with her father in future books.

Louis-Cesare - ah, I do love him. (: In the previous book he was a bit of a dandy, and in the beginning struggled to get past Dory's dhampir status. In this book, he's a lot more 'manly', and the whole dhampir thing doesn't seem to bother him a bit. I had prepared myself for a lot of eye-rolling and frustration here, as Louis-Cesare seemed so desperate to get his former mistress Christine back from the clutches of his enemy. I'd expected Dory to be cast aside again like she was at the end of MD, and prepared myself for the whole love-triangle crap that is so common atm. So I was pleasantly surprised when it didn't really turn out like that at all. The Christine issue, when it was resolved, shocked me - I'd suspected Chance might take that route, but it was still a surprise.
The romance between Dory & Louis-Cesare was really sweet - they obviously care about each other, and although both have their failings, I really like both of them, together and as separate characters.

Random irritations: Claire got on my nerves regularly in this book. Not quite sure why, but her 'stubbornness' went from endearing to plain annoying. The plot - it was disjointed and confusing. Dory seemed to rush from scene to scene without any flow, and it felt as if the author just picked out (at times generic) random action scenes from her head in order to flesh out the plot. The numerous suspects in the theft of an important fae rune all ran together in my head by the end, none of them were particularly interesting.

The usual 'sidekick' this time was a decapitated vamp called Ray, whom Dory took to carrying around in her gym bag. Some of their scenes together, particularly the car chase scenes with Ray's headless body at the wheel, were laugh out loud hilarious.
I never really got into the Cassie Palmer series, but I have to say I love this series - as long as Chance doesn't do the whole relationship screw up thing with L-C & Dory, I have a feeling this could become one of my faves. (:

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A magical rune named Naudiz that protects its wearer, not by shielding from harm but by ensuring that all injuries are nonlethal, is the hotly contested prize that brings powerful vampires and fey into complicated and deadly conflicts as our narrator and main character Dory (for Dorina Basarab) tries to find it and restore it to its rightful owner, her roommate Claire, whose nine-month-old son must survive countless attempts on his life if he is to ascend to a fey throne.

What a story! The death-defying action never seems to stop, each perilous situation twisting into new and very different situations. Master vampires keep being killed for the rune (whether they have it or not), and you won't find out where it really is until the final chapter. As the blurb tells us, Dory is a dhampir, 500 years old in fact, who takes regular doses of fey juice to prevent her murderous blackouts so that now she only kills the really bad demons and vampires.

With all the blood, gore, and breath-taking action in this book there are also a few very touching scenes. One is a memory of Dory's human mother, whom she never knew, that her father Mircea, the high-level vampire, transfers into her mind as an act of loving kindness. And there's Dory's developing relationship with Louis-Cesare, who's unlike other vamps in that he lives by a noble if old-fashioned code and isn't simply looking out for himself.

Again as the blurb tells us, Louis-Cesare "is desperate to find his former mistress, Christine" who's bound to a master vampire, but Louis-Cesare is her sire and feels responsible for protecting her. Dory helps in this quest and finds that it ties into the quest for the rune Naudiz.

The most fun along the way comes from Ray, the vampire who's beheaded and doesn't die--Dory stuffs his talking head in her duffle bag and it's promptly stolen, so she's stuck with the headless body charging around and...well, you just have to read it. Kudos to Karen Chance for keeping Ray in scene after scene, both parts of him!

In between the many action scenes what we have is mostly vampire power politics and hostile vampire-fey relations. Two vampire senates, centered in New York and Paris, get involved, and the stage is largely limited to the most powerful senators (including Mircea and Louis-Cesare) and the "consul" (read: big boss) of each senate.

All this is viewed from Dory's perspective as a dhampir, despised by real vampires who treat her as barely there--many of them underestimate her ability to kill them, and certainly she gets no voice in political arguments despite her centuries-long association with her father Mircea.

When talk changes to action, though, this book was virtually impossible to put down. Strongly recommended (but warning: violence and gore ahead).

[Fangs for the Fantasy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dorina is doing more and more missions for her father, Mircea, senator for the North American vampire council. Of course, being a vampire, her father, and extremely ancient he keeps far too many secrets – including the true nature of her latest task and the powerful artefact at the heart of it

A task that also drags in Louis-Cesare, who has his own political machinations caught between two senates

And then there’s Dorina’s best friend Claire – bringing a whole lot of lethal fae politics and her fae child with her.



This world has so much happening in it and it all comes into play in this book. The mages, the fae and the vampires all play varying role (focusing on the vampires but there’s a huge fae involvement). We have lots of political machinations from the world that has been completely upset by a huge ongoing war. I really like that each of the supernatural beings presented has a sense of culture – and not just a sense of culture but a sense of multiple cultures and factions rather than them just being homogenous groups.

I also love the sense that there is a lot going on beyond what Dorina is aware of – that great feeling that the world continues without her and doesn’t focus on her just because she is the protagonist. A lot of worlds seem to disappear when the protagonist is not involved, but not here.

The war makes for an excellent backdrop for the series because it gives such a perfect motivation for Dorina to be involved. The consumption of resources and attention by the war – coupled with the disruption by it – gives us a perfect reason why Dorina needs to be involved in things she’d normally be kept from. It also makes for an excellent world building exposition without making Dorina ignorant – she’s clearly capable and skilled (and, excellently, has some tricks that even the ancient master vampires don’t have), but the new situation means things need to be explained to her (and us). Similarly, explaining how the war has changed things also elegantly explains to us how the status quo normally operates. It works, it works really well considering just how much there is to grasp.

My complaint with all of this is that there is just so much going on. This rune is so valuable that half of the supernatural world want it which means there are a lot of players, a lot of possibles, a lot of factions that is all kind of overwhelming. Some I can see as important foreshadowing for the future and world building like Ming-de and the Chinese delegation, but Ganimus felt like a step too far and I’m not sure if the mage involvement and their event was particularly necessary either. I’m not saying any one of these elements was badly done or boring – certainly not – but there’s just so much going on not just in this book, but in this huge, varied and multi-layered world there needs to be triage, especially for readers who haven’t read other series set in the same world. Sometimes I felt like I should have been taking notes or keeping a flowchart or something.


The first book showed me this world and this book relied on me remembering that well because we dive in this time world. I’m especially thankful I’d read the short story in On the Prowl because that helps fill in some gaps with Claire’s backstory which kept me afloat.


Read More

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love Dory & this world! It is one of those books where you become so engrossed in the world that it becomes reality and you hate for it to end. I cannot wait for the next installment.

I have to say that I am so happy I gave Karen Chance a 2nd chance. I first read the 1st Cassie book when it was first published and did not care for it. Based upon so many raves about the entire series, I decided to give it another chance. I am so glad that I did. I quickly flew through all of her books and anxiously awaited Death's Mistress.

Go Dory go! I am really enjoying seeing Dory evolve, especially her relationship with Mircea (I am in Love with him) and of course all of the characters bring something to the story. Ray, thank you! I laughed quite a bit at your antics. It is a great world and Karen Chance has created a stellar series (both Cassie & Dory). All I can say is that I wish there were 100 books in the series all already published so that I could sate myself. Cassie is great but Dory has become my favorite! Excellent Book!

[Mizuki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the first book but it is still an entertaining read. I like the heroine's badass attitude and the sexual tension between her and the vampire male lead, and the scheme within the faerie courts is nice too.

[The Flooze · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4.5, really.*

I've reached a conclusion.

Karen Chance is incapable of disappointing me.

Yeah, yeah, the first Cassie book suffered from some drag. But everything I've read since then has been pure gold, and Death's Mistress is no different.

Over 400 pages of mindblowing action, heartfelt emotion, sneaky twists, and lots and lots of snark...that's my kind of book.

There's a little bit of everything here. Vamp politics and Fey concerns take center stage. That mayhem is enhanced by murder mysteries, thefts, a few car chases and multiple rolling heads.

Oh, and in the midst of all this chaos, Chance still manages to fit in sensual, sexy fun. Louis-Cesare...roawr.

What I love most about Chance's writing though is her masterful characterization. These are not just fictional beings. Every one is so well-written that returning to this world was like catching up with old friends. Each character, whether new or familiar, has his own distinct voice, mannerisms, habits, and personality. Each one is unique, and every one is entertaining.

And it doesn't just apply to the central figures. Dory has a lot of shady contacts and they're all memorable. With lesser characters, Chance accomplishes this by inspiring either laughter or terror in just a few lines. With the main characters, Chance weaves a more delicate and layered web. In Death's Mistress, she further builds their histories and delves deeper into their emotions. She does it in such a way that she answers some of our questions, while still leaving us hungry for more. I even worry about the characters when they're off-page, proving the level of attachment she creates. Dory, Louis-Cesare, Mircea, Radu, Claire, Ray, Marlowe...sigh. I just love them all.

Hell, I even loved a baby vamp, a bookie, a bartender and two guys called Frick and Frack, and they only had a page or two each!

At the end of it all, Chance left me softly sighing--content with a wonderful story, yet desperately longing for the next. Like I said, Karen Chance doesn't disappoint.

[Karina Webster · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am really, really enjoying this series. I’ve been dying to find my next urban fantasy fix after i finished the original 5 of the Fever series, and i’ve found it!

Dorina is so unapologetically badass and i love it. As a dhampir (half human half vampire) she has to put up with a lot of crap but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t give as good as she gets. Her family is lovely, even if she can’t see that all the time, and all the side characters are just as intriguing and lovable. Even the villains. I am SO intrigued about the ongoing villain in this series, they are so complicated and interesting. I’m a sucker for a dark one. Although, i am actually rooting for the love interest in this, he is swoon-worthy, intelligent and funny. And the best duelist going. Oh and the son of one of my favourite historical monarchs. Can’t really go wrong there!

I also really enjoy the historical aspect this series brings. Some of the characters come from Romania and the country’s culture and history feature in the story. I have been eagerly googling Romanian history books so i can learn more. Especially as the first book has Dracula (Vlad the impaler) as a villain!

I highly recommend this series to anyone who loved the Fever series, Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels and Hidden Legacy series’ or just loves *good* urban fantasy.

[Brittany McCann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Other than a few slow parts, it's almost perfect! Dori is character you can easily grow to love and definitely root fo

I enjoy how crude she is at times as a direct counterpoint to her father, Mircea.

I love the way this and Cassandra Palmer interesect and Louis-Cesare. With more interactions with the fae.

Solid 4 Stars

[Kira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dory offers to help Claire search for a missing fae relic. Then Mircea asks Dory to find a vampire for him. These two separate missions become connected. They also align with something Louis-Cesare is searching for although his and her goals are sort of at odds. And of course a whole bunch of things go wrong.

I love Dory! She's brave and does a lot of dangerous thing but none of it feels reckless. Even when she does walk into dangerous situations she has a reasonably good chance of survival partly because people underestimate her because of what she is. I admire her self-confidence. People talk shit about her all the time to her face but it doesn't get her down. She simply enjoys proving those people wrong.

I really like the way Dory and Louis-Cesare's relationship has grown. Even though Louis-Cesare is high up in vampire society, he's an outcast in his own way, so they kinda relate on that score. Things are still worse for Dory on that score. He's really changed in a good way. Dory and Mircea are slowly strengthening their relationship. It appears that he genuinely does love Dory but doesn't show it the right way. The underhanded things he's done have put a damper on them building trust quickly. And Dory has some latent abilities that finally seem to be revealing themselves.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the Dory series.
Action, drama and shockingly funny.

But trigger warnings galore -- gore, but there is a ton of near miss sexual assault of Dory & assaults on women by the Senators. Really glad G died -- he totally deserved it.

[Mara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-read on 02/19/2016

I do hope a 4th book will come out. Dorina has all the niceties of Chance's writing without the pitfalls

[Bookaholics · Rating 5 out of 5]

Death's Mistress (Dorina Basarab, Book 2) by Karen Chance
Urban Fantasy- Jan 5th, 2010
5 stars

DO NOT MISS THIS BOOK! Karen Chance’s vivid imagination and compelling characters drive this story. This is the 2nd in Karen Chace’s Dorina Basarab Dark Urban Fantasy series. I have been looking forward to reading it all year and it exceeded my expectations (which were already pretty high). Karen Chance’s steamy world is filled with magical mayhem, vampires and tense action pack scenes that do not stop. Do not begin this book if you don’t have the time to finish it. The complexity and sheer adrenaline rush of the book kept me on my toes as I was mesmerized by the mystery Dory is hired to solve as well as tantalizing glimpses of Dory’s heritage.

Dorina is one of the few dhampir, half human and half vampire. She has survived against all odds. Most dhampir are unstable because their genetic make-up makes them prone to seizures, instability and violence. As a result, most have been murdered as soon as they are born. But Dory is special, she is the daughter of a highly placed vampire senator. And while her relationship with father may not be ideal, he has in his way ‘protected’ her as she harnesses her violent tendencies towards being a mercenary and assassin for hire. Now her father has hired her to bring in a vampire. But the problem is that everyone wants him including the vampire Louise-Cesare. The one vampire she thought she could form a semi partnership with. Even though she is attracted to Louise-Cesare she knows she doesn’t have the room or ability for emotions or complications. If only he would leave her alone! To add to her problems, Dory has started taking a dangerous drink with magical properties that are said to cause the drinker to become addicted and eventually become insane. But she thinks she has found a cure. She no longer has the seizures and black outs, unfortunately she starts to notice other magical side affects. Dory begins having visions of people when she touches them and finds out more about them then she wants, especially her father.

This story was surprisingly emotional. This fast paced story is mostly a dark action fantasy with a little romance. Characters from Karen Chance’s previous books make an appearance and make the story infinitely richer. (I would recommend having read her previous book first and if you can her Cassandra Palmer series since characters overlap.) Dory is refreshing and very human for all she tries to hide it. Her way of taking care of things is non-nonsense but never unemotional. Dory carries the story, she is a heroine that readers will easily connect with and sympathize with. I loved this book and can’t wait to get my hands on the next installment.

Death’s Mistress is a great Urban Fantasy that is explosive and complex and one sure to please any fantasy reader.

Reviewed by Steph from the Bookaholics Romance Book Club

[sraxe · Rating 2 out of 5]

I totally nailed that Christine was the big bad. I thought it was just so obvious with the constant talk of how innocent and meek and very unpowerful she is.

And what was with Chapter Twenty-Nine?? I was reading it and so confused because it was like...what in the hell is going on?? Does this have anything to do with the plot? It just felt like so much filler. I thought that maybe these characters or whatever would be useful later on or something...but it was just completely forgotten.

Oh, and Caedmon and Heidar being conveniently absent during like ninety-nine percent of the novel? You'd think they'd be more worried and hands-on with protection when it comes to threats and assassination attempts against the heir/their grandson/son. Well, how convenient for the bad guys that the protection of the heir is actually not up to the king, his son and their army (armies?)...instead, they're deferring to the king's son's affianced bride and her half-vamp friend...oh, and a bunch of trolls.

Just...come on.

More than that though, what I hated most about the book was anything to do with the sexual aspects.

I really hated that Dorina didn't give Louis-Cesare pure hell for his sexual manipulations. This was the second time in the series that he used sex against her in order to distract her and get his way. I like Louis-Cesare, but I would've actually liked to see some fallout against him for it. Instead, it's either forgotten soon after or, as was the case in this book, it got turned into a you-get-me-I-get-you-back type thing when she gets her own vengeance. BUT, we don't see him getting any real flack for it or really held against him in any way. When they're in the kitchen in Mircea's apartment, she's still turning into putty in his hands--letting him peel that shirt off of her...a shirt, btw, that she had to steal from another patron of a club because, after sexually manipulating her, Louis-Cesare stole her clothes and left her vulnerable. It just made Dorina come off so...easy. It really pissed me off.

And another thing when it comes to sex in this book. Dorina is sexually assaulted twice (and I get that her weakness was plot-related)--which, to be honest, is already two times, too many--and that's pretty much the number of times she's intimate with Louis-Cesare. We could've had any other types of scenes in which she's made to feel vulnerable...but it just had to be sexual assault, right? Dorina, of all the possible ways in which the effects of the fey wine could have been made obvious, it just had to go and be having this strong and independent character--woman--be sexually assaulted. Twice.

[Nichole (DirrtyH) · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Original read: 1/17/10

4.5 stars

The thing I really love about Karen Chance's writing, aside of course from the dynamic characters, bite & humor and studly, studly leading men, is the adventure. You will never know from chapter to chapter where you might end up. I dare you to try to predict one of these books. Which is why when I give in to the inevitable urge to flip ahead and see what's going to happen, I am never spoiled because it never makes any sense to me.

This book was long awaited and did not disappoint. Tons of adventure and quirky secondary characters, plenty of snarky Dory and the loveable side of Mircea. And of course, Louis-Cesare. Ahhhh, Louis-Cesare...

If you love Karen Chance, you'll love this book. As if you had any doubt.

[Laura Lulu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book. I heard whispers here and there that this series might be even better than her Cassie Palmer's and I thought pshaw, what rubbish. How could a series be better if it doesn't have Pritkin in it?

Well, I think I like this series more than the Cassie's. Each has things I love about them, but I think the tie-breaker is that I just like Dory more than I do Cassie. Sometimes Cassie has too-stupid-to-live tendencies, which I just turn my head and pretend I didn't notice, but Dory is just perfectly awesome. Love her.

[Samantha wickedshizuku Tolleson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm liking this follow up novel better than the first. It's much less confusing, and much more forward with its plot. Starting off with Dory on her way home after an assassination job for her father. This was a very humorous scene. The last book was lacking on any comedy so I wasn't expecting it.
Starting immediately after this Dory has a sh&*storm bombard her, but you'll have to read the series for yourself to find out.
Cheers and Happy Reading!

[Ithlilian · Rating 1 out of 5]

As I was reading this book I couldn't help but think blah blah blah blah blah. Nothing important going on, the main character kills things and has an attitude. Yippee. Then there is a dragon in her house but it's her friend and now we have to go to faerie world and have everything overexplained to us. I just can't do it anymore, this stuff is not good enough. Karen Chance got me started in urban fantasy, I'm sad that her books are turning into this.

[Naoms · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm really impressed by how different this book ends from most UF novels. Very quiet even as its explosive. I really liked this one.

[Suzanne the Bookaholic and Proud · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really preferred the first book, as we all do at the beginning of an awesome series, this didn't disappoint me, (I had the audiobook this time), Dory is still a fiery badass that you can't help but adore, and the hunky Louis-Cesare is still jaw dropping, can't wait to see if they actually DO it in book 3 (fingers crossed), I have to say the best part I really loved was the vampire head in her backpack, (yes just the head) having its remarks, quips and attitude shoutouts for everything, and it's body (headless of course), running around and also driving, oh and shooting too (and missing), well off to hopefully start the next book got it on audio too, so if there is a steamy session it won't for my glasses too much x
Happy Reading Peeps!! Xx

[Aldiavi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Le pongo 2.5/5 a este libro.
Ama de la muerte es el segundo libro de la saga de Dorina.
Tenía entendido que cada libro puede leerse por separado pero la verdad hay muchas referencias del primer libro por lo que considero medio necesario haberlo leído.
De todas formas yo no me acuerdo casi nada del primer libro así que no es 100% indispensable que lo lean.
Al primero le puse 1 estrella, es de los peores libros que leí en toda mi vida, a este, el segundo, le pongo 2,5. Si es cierto que es un poco, solo un poco mejor que el primero, pero en verdad no me parece para nada un buen libro.
Siento que Karen Chance no sabe escribir directamente, tiene buenas ideas, buenos personajes, muchas escenas muy divertidas, me encontré riendo en más de una ocasión, pero en general lo arruina todo al no saber relatar, narrar, al no poder terminar de construir una buena historia, al presentar todo de una manera tan plana, básica y desordenada.
No creo volver a leer un libro escrito por ella porque ya entendí que no me gusta como escritora.
De este libro puedo destacar que tiene personajes interesantes, muchos diálogos y situaciones divertidas que seguro los hace reír, y una especie de plot twist al final que me pareció bueno, nada más, éso es todo lo bueno que puedo decir del libro y sinceramente no recomiendo leer ningún libro de esta escritora, lo siento.

[Literary Ames · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished DM. I may have gotten stuck in a long scene near the beginning but once I got past it I flew through it. It was brilliant. There were moments when I was laughing so hard I was crying.

Ray, the vampire everyone wants to get their hands on to either interrogate or kill him for a fae rune that belongs to Claire's baby son Aiden (the new heir to the Blasteri throne) that's meant to make it's owner invincible. Ray spent most of the book as a decapitated head in Dory's duffle bag which provided quite a few comic talking-head moments. Dory looks for the rune on Claire's behalf and runs into Louis-Cesare who needs the rune to trade for Christine his vampire mistress who was kidnapped from him a century ago. This is when things heat up as they try to negotiate and distract each other to get what they want.

I really felt for Radu seeing his $300k baby ripped apart before his eyes. Ouch. Dory as a mother was hilarious, poor Stinky! I think Stinky and Aiden are going to become great friends. There were also some incredibly touching moments between Mircea and Dory, and Louis-Cesare and Dory. I like Mircea even more now that we see Dory's mother through his eyes. Louis-Cesare and Dory's antagonistic relationship reached new heights of teasing torture and trickery but the ending was wonderful.

I didn't see who the murderer was coming. It was a complete surprise but I enjoyed a very old high level master begging Dory, the lowly dhampir pariah, to help keep himself alive - I hope he repays her well for doing so, she could have easily walked away and let him die.

Dory overhears Cassie being mentioned as Pythia and that she's under Mircea's influence so at least Dory knows who she is now even if they haven't met yet. I am definitely liking this series more than the Cassie Palmer one. Dory is a hard ass merc who tries to keep herself hard in order to make it easier for her to kill but people are creeping into her heart - Stinky, Claire, Louis-Cesare, Radu and now possibly Mircea.

My only complaint is that this was so action-packed that Dory barely had a chance to breathe before the next problem appeared. We don't get to see much of her friendship with Claire or any substance other than sexual tension between Louis-Cesare and Dory. Her relationship with Mircea is the only one that's made unexpected and substantial progress. I hope we get to see more in the following book.

People you need to hurry up and read this book you won't regret it.

[Suzanne (Under the Covers Book blog) · Rating 5 out of 5]

It seemed like a relatively simple job for Dory, find the vampire nightclub owner and take him to Mircea for questioning about smuggling from Faerie; so how did she end up protecting a headless body with a hoarde of vampires and fey chasing? Something has been smuggled away from Faerie that every vampire senate member wants their hands on and the Fey want back and Dory is stuck in the middle.

Another thrilling action packed book from Karen Chance! The stakes have been raised in Death's Mistress as Dory unintentionally gets involved in the lethal world of vampire politics.

What I loved about this book was that it gave you a much deeper insight into Dory, Mircea and Louis Cesare's character and their connection. Things were revealed, especially about Louis-Cesare that I have been dying to know since I started the Cassie Palmer series. And not only was Dory's smoking hot relationship with Louis-Cesare progressed in this book but you can see a slow bond forming between her and her father Mircea, which I hope will continue to flourish in the next book.

As well as having soem great character development the story in this was interesting and kept me guessing to almost the end. I liked how she didn't just have a massive information dump at the end; each layer of information was revealed through out the book ratcheting the tension up right to the final page.

A fantastic book that revealed more about Dory and Louis-Cesare and was paired up with a fast moving and fascinating story line as well as a good dose of humour and great writing; I can't wait to start on Fury's Kiss!

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dorina is working on the vampire task force that is trying to end the smuggling in and out of faerie. While on a routine recovery mission, Dorina is swept up into the political world of the vampire senates. The European Consul is trying to bring Louis-Cesar back onto the European Senate while Mircea tries to negotiate his continued stay on the North American Senate.

Used to being outside of the vampire hierarchy, her usual sass and devil may care attitude cause trouble for her father and fellow task force member, Louis-Cesar. In a race against time, Dorina must try and catch a killer before Louis-Cesar is tried for the crime before the European Senate who want to see him guilty.

While the first book set up Dorina's family and their history, this book expands on the supernatural world. I think it's hinting at a shake up of this world and how Dorina fits in it.

There is a slight reference to Chance's Cassandra Palmer series, but nothing that would spoil that series. If you haven't read it, I recommend it.

[Cassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Dory! In Death’s Mistress she gets herself into trouble with the fey once again. This time by accident. She’s working for Mircea/NA Senate to shut down down a smuggling ring and steps into the middle of a much bigger problem. All in the middle of the ley line racing championship.

In this book we meet Ray, a mid level vamp that everyone wants to kill. His cranky sarcastic attitude provides a lot of hilarious one liners throughout the book. Plus Olga the mountain troll has decided to become Dory’s secretary and several of her family members regularly bunk over. And of course more Stinky and Louis-Cesare!

Dory is one of my all time favorite characters. She kicks ass, takes many beatings and never loses her snark. All while trying to keep her friends alive and stay sane. “He looked fascinated, like a scientist confronted by a strange new species: dontgiveadamnus from the phylum couldntcareless.”

[Amelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely LOVED this book. It's ridiculous!

Chance has done it again!

The plot was fast paced and hilarious! It brought us deeper into the political world of the Vamps and Fae, while showing character growth all around! Even for some of our favorite secondary characters!

It felt like dropping in on some great old friends and seeing what antics they were up to. Antics indeed!

Whether it be Dory and LC reaching new heights of antagonism, Radu huffing and puffing, Ray and his hairy cheeks, or a bunch of Fae crashing the party. There was never a dull moment.

I can't wait for the next one!

[Summer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yaaay! I've been waiting a while to finally get my hands on a copy of this book. I loved the first book and couldn't wait to see what happened in the sequel. Looooved it. The characters are fantastic, the plot was paced well and didn't feel like it was at breakneck speed (like her Cassandra Palmer series can feel), and more Louis-Cesare <3 I wanted more with the ending but that was just me not wanting it to end at all. I haven't seen or heard anything about any further books planned for this series and if so, I'm going to be sorely disappointed.