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Fury’s Kiss

Karen Chance

Published 2012          536 pages

Reviewed by Georgia

Summary (from the book jacket)

Dorina Basarab is a dhampir – half human, half vampire. Subject to uncontrollable rages, most dhampirs live very short, very violent lives. But so far, Dory has managed to maintain her sanity by unleashing her anger on those demons and vampires who deserve killing.

Dory is used to fighting hard and nasty. So when she wakes up in a strange lab with a strange man standing over her, her first instinct is to take his head off. Luckily, the man is actually master vampire Louis-Cesare, se he’s not an easy kill.

It turns out that Dory had been working with the Vampire Senate task force on the smuggling of magical items and weaponry out of Faerie when she was captured and brought to the lab. But when Louis-Cesare rescues Dory, she has no memory of what happened to her.

To find out what was done to her – and who was behind it – Dory will have to face off fallen angels, the maddest of mad scientists, and a new breed of vampires that are far worse than undead…

The Review

Dear reader, this is a 536-pages long action packed galore and emotional turmoil. It is guaranteed that once you start reading you will not want to put the book down, causing certain trouble in your everyday to-dos. You have been warned!

I have to admit that Midnight’s Daughter Novels (aka The Dorina Basarav Series) is one of the best vampire related action series out there, due to the fact that it succeeds in effortlessly combining never-ending action with romance and humour. And it is the good kind of action: fights, chasing, explosions, guns and swords and magical weapons, bloody, messy, dirty and sometimes really scary. (If by now you are wondering, if you have picked up the right book, let me remind you, dear reader, that this is the third in a series where action is the spine of the plot).

What makes this one extra special, you ask? Well, the pure adrenaline trip that it sets you on. You just can’t put it down. You read and read and read, because you have to know what happens next, you have to find out why things are going one direction or the other. You get sucked in the story so much so that sometimes you think that you are part of it. Such level of integration doesn’t happen often and it is a very good thing indeed.

What more? Well there are these characters that have so many layers and so many qualities hidden in the depths of their personalities that is simply fascinating. Even the most evil of them have a way of charming you. Then there is the protagonist and with this book Dory is finally given the spotlight that she deserves. This book is about her. It is about finding out who she is, understanding what it is that makes her so special, of being appreciated and admired for just being herself and for finally starting to take that path that will lead her to make peace with her inner demons. You cannot help but be moved by her. She is a heroine through and through, captivating and intriguing, resourceful and funny, doing the right thing, even if may cost her life or sanity. Honestly, I cannot think that after this book Dory won’t manage to take an even bigger space in your heart.

Oh, if by now you are still having doubts, dear reader, rest assured: it is a well-knitted plot, fast-paced, rich in description and high on emotion, but never dull or incoherent or confusing. There are reminders of important events interspersed throughout the book that keep you in the loop, there is comic relief underlined with the author’s cheeky sarcasm and romance, not the cheesy one, but the deep spirited one. Finally, there are some scenes about friendship and family that will take your breath away.

It is by far the best book in the series. The author took out all the stoppers, spoiled us and now we are impatiently waiting to see how things will turn out to be.

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