cover image Embrace the Night

Embrace the Night

Karen Chance, . . Roc, $7.99 (392pp) ISBN 978-0-451-46199-5

Returning from Touch the Dark and Claimed by Shadow , Cassie Palmer has finally become Pythia, the supernatural community’s all-knowing oracle. She’s struggling with her new powers (such as shifting back and forth through time) and is stuck between good and evil factions of the paranormal community. Her main concern, though, is to figure out how to reverse a pesky spell that threatens her independence: the geis, once placed on her for protection, is now trying to bind her to the handsome master vampire, Mircea, with results detrimental to them both. The only solution is to find the fabled book that has the counterspell—find it in space and in time. Cassie—in her struggles between her passionate need for independence, her burgeoning feelings for Mircea and her conflicts with her new role as Pythia—is a well-rounded character, and the intensity and complexity of the plot puts her through her paces physically, emotionally and psychically. (Apr.)