Touch the Dark (Cassandra Palmer Book 1) - Paranormal Romance Novel with Vampires & Psychics - Perfect for Fantasy Readers & Supernatural Fiction Fans

TOUCH THE DARKTouch the Dark is an amazing book, set in a fully imagined magical world that includes vampires, mages, witches, fey, werewolves—all unbeknownst to ordinary humans. This is completely absorbing escape fiction in its highest form.The heroine, Cassie Palmer, at first seems quite ordinary herself. A secretary at a travel agency, she wears thrift store clothes and walks to work because she can’t afford a car. She reads tarot cards at a dance club on weekends to make ends meet.But Cassie is a powerful clairvoyant who sees horrific visions of the future. She also sees and talks to ghosts. We soon find out that she has been on the run for years from a vampire mob boss who wants to kill her. So she’s not so ordinary after all.From the first sentence in the book, we learn that Cassie is courageous and decisive. She is not paralyzed by fear; she takes action.She is also compassionate and responsible, delaying her escape to warn her roommate not to go home for a few days and to find him a safe place to stay. That kindness almost costs her life—which then takes a totally unexpected turn.The world-building in this series opener is intricate and satisfying. But the action, ironic humor, and wonderful characters are what makes the book unforgettable and the series enticing.Cassie herself is an unusual heroine. The people around her (good, bad, and ambiguous) are complex and fascinating, too.One of the clever things about this series is that we see everything through Cassie’s eyes, yet she often tells us more than she herself understands. Karen Chance is a wonderful writer.There are so many fun surprises in the book that I don’t want to spoil for you. All I can say is pay close attention to the vampires. Some of them will be familiar figures.This book has been criticized for being too intricate, too active, too complicated. But I strongly disagree. This is not a beach read that you can skim while watching TV or carrying on a conversation over drinks. It’s a story that lets you escape into another world.You need to give this book your full attention. And maybe read it a second time. It’s worth it.Interestingly, the whole book takes place in just a few days. and the whole series (so far) covers only about three-and-a-half months in eight books. Yet this intricate series has taken several years to write.Since the Cassie Palmer series began (when this book was published), a lot of writers have jumped into the fantasy genre with simple pot boilers and “paranormal romances” designed do be consumed like popcorn, and I’ve seen several reviewers complaining that this book is not one of those. It was not meant to be.Touch the Dark introduces a wonderful, epic series that now has thousands of devoted fans and has been praised by some of America’s favorite fantasy authors. It will more than repay giving it your full attention—and maybe a second reading.The series is unforgettable. The characters seem so real that you won’t want to miss a minute of their adventures—or how your opinion of them changes as you get to know them. This book is where it all begins.Cassie herself is an example of a character who grows and develops over the course of this book and (even more so) over the course of the series. It’s a wild ride and a fun one, so jump on. You’ll be glad you did. And Touch the Dark is the place to start.