Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

Author: Karen Chance
Series: Dorina Basarab #5
Released: July 2020
Received: Own
Rating:

Queen’s Gambit is the fifth novel in the Dorina Basarab series by Karen Chance, and it is a book I’ve been dying to read. To be fair, I’ve felt that way about every novel in this series (and the Cassandra Palmer series, for that matter).

Dory is a dhampir, which creates no end of complications in her life. Yet the biggest challenge is about to occur, and all she can do is hope to get herself and her family safe through the ordeal. It’s strange, her having a family. It’s not something she thought she’d ever be allowed to treasure, but now that she has it, she’s never letting go.

“My name is Dory Basarab, daughter of the famous vampire senator and general Mircea Basarab, and recently a member in my own right of the North American Vampire Senate.”

It’s here! Queen’s Gambit is here! This book is easily in my top ten books I’ve been waiting for. It almost feels like a dream, to finally have it in my hands. Anyway, I should probably move on with my review now.

Queen’s Gambit was one hell of a rush, and I mean that in the best of ways. Dory has always been one of those characters that leaps from one insane event to the next. But this particular book doubled the action. And I’m not just saying that because of the book size (five hundred and twenty-three pages).

Dory’s entire series has been a chaotic whirlwind that I’ve completely fallen in love with. As such, my expectations for this novel were high. And I was not disappointed. This novel was everything I could have hoped for, and then a whole lot more. It’s the Dory novel we’ve all been waiting for. Providing action, politics, magic, family drama, and a bit of romance. In short, it’s pure perfection.

“Battlefields were no place to poke your head up.”

The latest addition to the series pushed the plot forward in such unexpected ways. I’m thrilled to see more of the world, and of Dory (alongside the amazing side characters of her series). But I’ll confess that I truly was surprised by some of the twists that occurred here.

Once again, everything ties back to what has happened within Cassie’s series, though sometimes it takes a moment to create the connection. Now I’m left sincerely curious as to what is going to happen next. Also, I’m shamelessly hoping to see both leading ladies working together for a bit at some point in the future. No idea how realistic that is.

In some ways, what happened here felt inevitable. That’s a good thing, by the way. It’s proof that Karen Chance has been building up to this for quite some time, giving fans a chance to adapt (and predict) to the fact.

The bonus cameos were a nice surprise, though they did throw me through a bit of a loop. It provided a completely different set of context to characters that I had thought I knew well. I absolutely loved that.

What really boggled my brain is the fact that this book ends in a bit of a cliffhanger. That’s right, a huge book such as this, ending like it was halfway through the tale. That means this book would have easily been twice the size, if Karen Chance hadn’t been careful. A little terrifying (and exciting!). I imagine for the sake of pacing, the next Cassie novel will be vital in filling in the gaps, thus the break here.