Cassandra Palmer is a clairvoyant. Do not call her a witch. Yes, she sometimes shares her sensorium with a lecherous ghost, but don’t call him her familiar. And yes, vampires are sexy, but she would not want to marry one. Touch the Dark by Karen Chance is an urban fantasy that reminds me of works by Jim Butcher in which the quotidian modern world is filled with all manner of paranormal beasties. It is R-worthy chick-lit, but not bad for all that. Touch the Dark has spawned a series that now has a dozen titles, not counting a handful of interstitial works. ( )

With a very happy and content sigh, I read the last page of the book (again).
I would like to say that my first thought was: 'omg I forgot pretty much everything that happened in this book.' But of course, it wasn't, it was the second thought. The first was more among the lines of 'Holy mother of... Mircea I have missed you!! And Pritkin, don't forget about him, though he was a real dick.'

Worldbuilding:
There is a lot going on, and as a first book in the series, there is always the necessary groundwork to be laid out. But really, it didn't feel like that. We learned through memories Cassie revisited about her time with Tony, how she got to meet Mircea and how she got stuck with Billy but never did it feel it was forced upon you as a reader. It followed a very natural flow and integrated perfectly in the story.

Character development:
What's not to love about the characters?
(yes yes, sometimes even the bad ones, except Tony)
Cassie gets thrown into a near-constant fight for her life right from the get-go. Her abilities acting in strange ways, assassination attempts and let's not forget a volatile battle mage thrown in the mix would make anyone question themselves what the hell is going on. I like Cassie because she doesn't wait for anyone to come and save her, nope, she does that herself, thank you very much. Well... with the help of her friend (and ghost), Billy. All she wants is to be free and left alone, but apparently, that is too much to ask for.
An impressive cast, with many delightful diverse individuals, makes me want to read the rest of the series asap. I just want to get to know them all over again. But Mircea *sigh*...

Pacing and flow:
It was over way too fast :) And I say that not in a bad way, it wasn't rushed at all, it just flowed its natural course. That course was just rife with a lot of action :)
Be advised you won't put this book down before the end, that's all I'm saying.

The book:
The book itself was well written with no (noticeable) errors. There is sex described (if that is important to you).
The book is 307 pages long, spread over 14 chapters and is told from Cassie's point of view (POV).

Final thoughts:
This book really had it all, I loved it from start to end. So yeah, it really does deserve that 5* shine and a spot in my all-time favorites list. ( )

Well, what can I say. Entertaining and diverting.
An easy read for in-between.
Well, there is this can of worms called time travel and this is a perfect example of how to ignore all the issues this causes all at once.
This is the kind of book which just doesn't work if you try to understand and reason about the rules of the world and its magic.
Its an easy read and can be a fun ride if you don't think about it too hard.
Imo a better instalment of a story in the same world is the Dorina Basarab series which technically is a sequel but you can definitively read it without knowing this series. Everything even slightly relevant is explained again in detail.
I am not sure if that is because it doesn't touch the time travel hell or if the author just had more writing experience or maybe she was more familiar with her characters and world or some combination of those.
Regardless, if you were initially interested in this book but after skimming through a few critical reviews now start to doubt if it's worth your time, read Dorina Basarab instead. ( )

This book is an excellent start to a series by Karen Chance. I like Cassandra Palmer and the different antics she gets up to as she tries to navigate the various groups that are trying to control her and her powers. I look forward to reading more of the series.

Full review: https://rebeccasreadingcorner.blog/review-karen-chance-touch-the-dark/ ( )

Cassandra Palmer puede ver el futuro y comunicarse con los espíritus Los fantasmas de los muertos no son peligrosos normalmente; sólo les gusta hablar... y mucho. Como cualquier chica sensata, Cassie trata de evitar a los vampiros. Pero cuando el mafioso chupasangre del que escapó hace tres años encuentra a Cassie de nuevo, a ella no le queda más remedio que dirigirse al Senado de los vampiros en busca de protección. Cassie se encontrará trabajando con uno de los integrantes más poderosos y atractivos del Senado, un maestro vampiro peligrosamente seductor; y el tributo que él desea puede ser más grande que lo que Cassie está dispuesta a pagar...