Tempt the Stars by Karen Chance

A Spoiler Free Review

So, Tempt the Stars was interesting and actually more satisfying than previous entries into the Cassandra Palmer series. There was more of a single plot line this time around (which I appreciate) and Cassie actually learns some stuff she's been needing to know for a while.

The main plot line follows Cassie attempting to rescue Pritkin from his banishment back to Hell. Or one of the Hells... apparently. Does it really surprise anyone to know that Earth is one of the Hells? I was not surprised. Anyway, after a pit-stop with past Pritkin to visit her parents (will get to that later), Cassie drags Caleb, Cassanova, and Rian (Cassanova's Incubus/Succubus rider or whatever) into Rosier's portion of Hell in order to rescue Pritkin. Of course, things are never so simple and chaos starts to ensue, but more of a followable chaos than usual. It was kind of fun. I kind of like that Rosier's portion of Hell is all Arabian Nights themed. Makes for a nice change from the usual Vegas setting. I was initially happy to have Rian back as I really liked her in a previous short story... and then stuff happens that I won't spoil, but suffice to say, Rian's stay in the story is short lived.

I also quite liked the jaunt into The Shadowland. Once Cassie and the others figured out how to use The Shadowland's particular aspects to their advantage, the bar fight got more interesting and more fun. I'm always here for creative usage of setting. The Demon Council was probably the most predictable part of the plot. Of course the Council Chambers were going to be all mind-bendingly chamber-like and of course the demons weren't going to want to listen to Artemis. Why would they? Oh, and Cassie apparently can't just straight up tell Pritkin she loves him because... platonic love isn't a thing in a world where you're vampire married to a dude who barely talks to you (and not at all in this book) and have had sex with your bestie to save his life and are therefore always sexually attracted to him now. Please allow a long moment of intense eye-rolling.

Off of plot beats, I actually liked Cassie throwing her Pythian weight around. Yes, it turns out it's rude to just show up at someone's home without an invite, no matter who you are. That being said, I very much agree that Cassie should have been informed about the witches and the coven stuff and, ya know, everything having to do with her office. Jonas really dropped the ball with that and the vampires were just stupid about it. Keeping Cassie as isolated as she is definitely seems to be helping no one, even if she has managed to save the world a few times. It's incredibly frustrating. Glad she at least has a tiny semblance of a court now... maybe. I hope so. She needs more than Marco and Fred and the occasional visit from Mircea and Jonas.

So, Cassie and her parents. First, it was somewhat fun to "watch" Cassie running around her childhood home trying to get info on them while at the same time avoiding vampires with Jonas. Second, I quite like this take on homonculi. There's definitely a far cry from traditional versions and those seen in Fullmetal Alchemist. Richard Palmer amused me some, too. I liked that he and Pritkin butted heads and he definitely seemed to be having some fun with it. I am also glad he gave Cassie information instead of being all cagey about absolutely everything. Made a nice change from, well, pretty much everyone else around her. Thirdly, I'm very glad Artemis at least attempted to help her daughter, even if that help didn't exactly go to plan.

Finally, we have the ending of the book. Apparently Ares is indeed our next Big Bad, so that's fun. Does make me want to go on another rant about how mixing the mythologies is just not right... but we'll leave that one alone for now as it works in the narrative and is a little fun. But don't get it into your head that the gods across the mythologies are all the same. Anywho, I actually enjoyed the last chapter or two. Having Cassie fight alongside some badass women for a change is nice. I hope they come back in later books. Cassie apparently needs training on more than just a physical front... le sigh. Can't wait to find out as we probably won't see them in the next one because of... epilogue stuff.

I definitely enjoyed Tempt the Stars. It was a solid entry into the Cassandra Palmer series/mythos. Not exactly my favorite, but definitely more satisfying on an information level than previous entries.