Spin off series from the Cassie Palmer Series ( )

Dory is Chaos in a bottle, unleashed she is a force to be reckoned with. Heaven help any man or vamp that gets in her way. It’s hard not to love Dory’s quick wit and never ending sarcasm. Death’s Mistress is a guaranteed good read. ( )

Another stunning read. The second installment in the Dorina Basarab series doesn’t disappoint. I adore the complex and combustible relationship between Dory and Louis-Cesare as well as the increasing part that the Fey are playing. Dory is definitely topping my list as all-time favourite heroine. ( )

An absolutely fantastic read. I love Ray in it, he is a brilliantly funny character. With each book I read in this series I love Dory more and more. It’s wonderful how Karen has created a simultaneous storyline alongside the Cassie Series (which is no easy feat, however she has done so with such perfection, it is stunning). I love how she has taken characters from the Cassie series and given them even more depth and layers. An epic read, with humor, adventure, intrigue, diverse characters, stunning ideas/inventions and so much more. Bring on the next in the series. ( )

Death's Mistress starts off with Dorina doing mercinary work with the Senate. She now hunts down the vampires that are breaking Senate rules, cuts off their head, and drops the head onto Mircea's desk while collecting her money. Immortals have to pay their bills and this is steady work.

Claire has been gone from Earth for about a month to seemingly be happily wed in Faerie. In Midnight's Daughter she was being hunted by Aesubrand for becoming pregnant with the future heir. It shouldn't be a surprise that her time in Faerie hasn't been all that pleasant. The time streams of the two worlds do not match up and Claire has been gone long enough to have had a 9 month old son, Aiden, that mysterious Fey are trying to murder. The resolution to this problem should have been the rune all the heirs to the throne wear after their first birthday. The rune makes the wearer impossible to kill. The threat to Aiden's life is unending and the ceremony to put the rune on him is moved up, but not fast enough. Aiden's babysitter is killed and Claire grabs her kid and books it out of Faerie to hide with Dory.

The oh so important rune is stolen from the royal Fey, taken to Earth to be sold fast, and instead becomes the motive in a large number of murders. Every head honcho in the supernatural community wants this rune. Mircea and Ming-de are two of the very select interested parties at the auction. It was being passed from the Fey that originally stole it onto the runner of the auction when murder happens, and the rune goes missing. Again. It could be anywhere with anyone and Aiden is still vulnerable. Dory becomes the official envoy of the Blarestri princess and kicks down doors looking to get it back.

Death's Mistress is golden. A unique aspect of the Dorina series is the inclusion of the Fey in the story. Typically supernatural species stay in their own stories. A dhamphir knows vampires better than demons so why stray from those characters? Chance builds up two complex worlds and tangles them together masterfully. Plenty of characters from the first novel appear in the second. Olga sells weapons in a beauty shop. Stinky is losing his baby teeth and being a strange fluffy child. Mircea and Marlowe make some appearances individually and together. Ray, the auction holder, is a highlight of the book. We get to meet Christine, L-C's former mistress and eternal damsel. I'm sad that we don't get to see her again. She was such a fun ditzy character turned psycho.) Aesubrand remains a perfectly terrifying villian.

All around a wonderful addition to a fun series. ( )