November 1st 2011, NAL Trade321 pages, Paperback
Won from A Book Obsession
Fifth in the Chicagoland Series
Adult Fiction
Other in Series:
Some Girls Bite
Friday Night Bites
Twice Bitten
Hard Bitten (no review)
Clouds are brewing over Cadogan House, and recently turned vampire Merit can't tell if this is the darkness before the dawn or the calm before the storm. With the city itself in turmoil over paranormals and the state threatening to pass a paranormal registration act, times haven't been this precarious for vampires since they came out of the closet. If only they could lay low for a bit, and let the mortals calm down.
That's when the waters of Lake Michigan suddenly turn pitch black-and things really start getting ugly.
Chicago's mayor insists it's nothing to worry about, but Merit knows only the darkest magic could have woven a spell powerful enough to change the very fabric of nature. She'll have to turn to friends old and new to find out who's behind this, and stop them before it's too late for vampires and humans alike
I’m finding it impossible to review this book without spoilers so if you haven’t read it and hate spoilers back out now.
Opinion:I’m a waffler on this series. This one was on the side of good. There ones that make me want to kill Merit for being so whiny and others where she is a kick-ass girl full of fire. I attribute 90% of this to Ethan’s character.
If the romance within these novels does not get resolved soon, I may simply stop reading this series. When Merit has Ethan she is like a lost puppy dog, when he’s gone she acts like an adult ready to face the world. This is annoys me to no end. Johan I thought would be a good match for her as a partner. He is steadfast, caring, and respects whatever boundaries she sets. They are equals and it shows.
Merit went through hell in this book and she showed her strength at every obstacle. First she had to confront the nymphs, then a siren, a fairy queen, a sadistically powerful mayor all the while being low on blood due to an egotistical GP man.
I had the plot figured out by about half way in, but I didn’t care because I was enjoying watching Merit figure it out. And the only reason she didn’t see it from page one is because she was simply blinded by love. Not romantic love, but love all the same.
The ending was a cliffhanger (which annoyed me), but sets the next one up to be one of the best within the series if Neill can deliver on that promise.
Rating: 3.5/5
Rie
I'm a wife, student, and a dog-lover who reads when I should be folding laundry (bane of my existance), I write (rarely as academic papers consume my life), and love getting wrapped up in fiction.
This was one of those UF that I couldn't even finish the first book of. I just thought it was ridiculous that the author includes vampires in her book but then eliminates all of their vampire traits. Plus the protagonist annoyed me. But this is just why I don't read UF I guess.
ReplyDeleteThe Chicagoland Vampire series is so amazing, Chloe Neill is my favorite author even though she only has a small collection of books. Both her series have amazing characters that give you everything you need from a book.
ReplyDeleteMerit(TCV), the main character is also a brilliant strong willed character that never strays from what her morals are set out to be in any of the books. Her books never repeat the same story line in either series and keep you reading until the very last page then running to check when the next book will be available.
I first read The Chicagoland Vampire series when the second book had just come out and have never even once had to put the book down because it was boring, the opposite almost, I will stay up late into the night reading and being tired the next day then repeating the process because I was so hooked(And still am).
I would recommend Chloe Neill's books to any young adult fiction reader, but I would advise that only people that can handle mature scenes between characters that people would class as over M or over ratings read TCV Series. I suggest all of her books to anyone that would want a good independent character with an intresting story line.