Friday Reads: ARC Review of Dark Debt by Chloe Neill!!

Hey there again!

To continue with this week's Friday Reads, I have a review for an ARC that I was extremely happy to be approved for, because I was so NOT expecting to be approved! So thanks a LOT Penguin & NetGalley!

As as eARC it counts toward my 105 Challenge in the Books for Review category!

Dark Debt by Chloe Neill

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I don't follow very many urban fantasy series any more but the Chicagoland Vampires is one of my must haves and this latest addition to the series reminded me exactly why!

We have vampires and weres and other supernaturals in this world, but the focus is usually on the vampires and their politics and the way they interact with the rest of the supernatural world and the regular humans of Chicago.

Merit and Ethan and their couple dynamics and interactions are always high points in the books, and this one is no exception. Even with Ethan's past being a real threat to Merit in this one there's no blame game between them, only support and trying to find a solution they both can agree with.

There's the first time that the mob makes an appearance in these books, and it's fantastic the way everything is twisted in between vampire politics, personal ghosts from the past and family dynamics! I'm glad that for once the Chicago goverment is not egging the mob against the vampires, and that any humans that are a threat to the vamps are ones you don't feel sorry to see go because they're anything but innocent.

I suspected one of the connections but I wasn't sure about it till the very end, and the other connection I had not expected to be as it was at all! But I'm glad Ethan finally got closure to that very painful chapter of his past and can finally reconcile himself with it.

Merit is once again the target of a madman and one that manages to violate her privacy in a most deplorable way, and despite it putting a bit of damper on her relationship with Ethan, there's no added drama because of it. There support, there's understanding and there's reassurance and I love how Ethan though feeling ready to fight for her no matter what, he also trust her and her abilities to fight for herself!

Another reason for loving this series is the amazing secondary characters that are as layered and beloved as the main ones! Here we have Catcher and Mallory once again having more protagonism and thankfully is not due to any bad drama. I love how their relationship weathered Mallory's going to the dark side (so to speak) and how that brought them together in a stronger way. And their relationship made me tear up a bit by the end of the book!

This series has become a solid favourite and one I always look forward to read every installment. I always want MORE Merit and Ethan and their amazing chemistry and banter! I'm really looking forward to the next books because I feel like the mob angle is gonna provide some very interesting plot twists for the future!

Very solid 4 stars for this one! Chloe Neill knows how to write amazing urban fantasy!



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Mark This Book Monday: Blood Games by Chloe Neill!!

Hello there guys!

Monday is back here to start another week, but this one I'm starting it with a day off, or mostly off since I've been working all night!

I'm starting this week's Mark This Book Monday with a review for yet another book in one of my favourite Urban Fantasy series, Chicagoland Vampires! I actually started reading this one on my flight from NYC to Chicago, to feel myself immersed into the Chicago vibe and finished it the next day before my first proper exploring around!



Blood Games by Chloe Neill

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


We're on book number ten right now in this beloved series of mine, and I'm more than happy to say that despite a small hiccup on the series a while back, it's been back on the right track and I'm still loving the books!

Ethan and Merit have this fantastic relationship, full of banter and chemistry and I just don't get tired of reading about them, even in between the crazy vampires politics, the murders around the city and Ethan the master vampire being even more stubborn than usual!

Not only we have Ethan and Merit and the rest of the Cadogan vampires, and of course Jonah, Red Guard extraordinaire, but Mallory and Catcher are also back into the spotlight a bit more, with Mallory and Merit working on getting back on their bff friendship status.

I have fallen in love with these cast of characters and simply love spending time with them, with their snark, their humour, their chemistry and the complex tapestry of their relationships.

There were two main separated plot points, one a serial killer that is murdering humans but seem to be leaving evidence that could be incriminating to supernaturals, and two the GP vampire politics. I found the serial killer quite entertaining and even more when the clues involved tarot cards.

I'm usually not a big fan of vampire politics because they tend to get too comvulated and I grow bored... but in this case, things were quite unexpected time and again, and despite Ethan acting like an idiot for most of the book, it was for once my favourite part of the plot.

I think I might have mentioned more than once that Ethan was being particularly difficult and being even more stubborn than usual, and it was a behaviour that annoyed me to no end, BUT my girl Merit was simply awesome and mature and kept the relationship going strong and showing herself as the rock that Ethan can lean on, even when he doesn't know how to.

We are left with a rather intriguing cliffhanger, if not a maddening one. I very much cannot wait for the next book to come out! Very much deserved 4 stars for this one!



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Saturday Pages: Wild Things by Chloe Neill!!

Hello everyone! This week's Saturday Pages start with a review for the ninth book on a series that I'm still absolutely loving!  This one is once again a "me" read, not part of any of the challenges I'm taking part of this year.



Wild Things: A Chicagoland Vampires Novel by Chloe Neill

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The Chicagoland Vampires is one of the few series that are still ongoing that I'm still happily reading, following and enjoying, and hopefully will continue to do so for a while!

Ethan is now wanted by the police and justice of Chicago, wrongly accused of being guilty of everything that is going on in the city by the new (and even crazier than before) human mayor. So they ask the help of the Pack, and they end up in the guest house of the Breckenridge's. Gabe, the leader of the pack has them under his protection there, and invites them along with Mallory and Catcher to be guests at the Lupercalia festival.

That's when things start to get dicey, when very strange creatures that no longer exist attack everyone there for the celebration. Merit & Ethan along with Mallory and Catcher not only do their bit on the fight but are the ones to finally vanquish the attack, but they are also considered suspect of having brought the attack to the Lupercalia, so half requested and half volunteered, Merit will start her investigation to see who or what is behind that attack.

This book has all the things I love in this series, and now finally has Mallory and Merit working together as friends and as a team, and I love seeing this new awesome Mallory, finally learning about magic not as a tool of power but as something that's part of her and that can be something wonderful and helpful.

The humour is always fantastic and the dynamics between Merit and Ethan are both swoon worthy and hilarious! I love how they both have equal power in their relationship, as Master and Sentinel, and as fighters and lovers.

The plot is once again not limited to one line only, we have vampire politics with a very unexpected offer for Ethan, the mayor continuining to turn the people of Chicago against the vampires, an unknown threat and an old race of people pissed demanding reparations. And if all of that wasn't enough, Merit goes on to looking a lemon-cookie-smelling old "friend".

The book doesn't end with a cliffhanger but it does leave you wanting to read more about what's to come and the new and growing challenges for Ethan as Master Vampire and Merit as his Sentinel! Very well deserved 4 stars for this one!



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Friday Reads: Mini Review: Howling For You by Chloe Neill!

Hello everyone!

This week I've been in a bit of a reading slump and I've been recovering by watching loads of Arrow! I read an anthology of fantastic short stories and this novella that is gonna be a Mini Review for Friday Reads!


Howling For You by Chloe Neill

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I love the Chicagoland Vampire series, and it's one of my three adult series & Urban Fantasy at that, that I'm still following devoutly and cannot wait for the next installment!

Howling For You is a novella that takes place between the events of Biting Bad and the upcoming Wild Things, and instead of following Merit, Ethan and their vampires, it's all about Fallon, Jeff and the Pack!

I was very happy to read more about the Keenes and about Jeff & Fallon story that had been alluded at in previous books. Jeff is one of my fave characters, and I've always wanted to know a bit more about Gabriel, his family and the NAC Pack.

I guess because of the cover I was expecting this novella to be from Jeff's POV but instead it is from Fallon's. Fallon is quite a great character, and I really like that in the Pack she had been groomed as next in line for leadership following the birth order, gender not being an issue.

This novella is all about Fallon and Jeff and how they cannot be together due to Pack tradition and responsability and Fallon feeling like she must put Pack before herself. Jeff is ready to ignore everything and give them a chance.

There's romantic tension, betrayal, Pack politics and plenty of adorable interactions between Fallon and Jeff! 4 stars for this one!

And to make it even better we also got the first two chapters of the next book, Wild Things! Cannot wait till Feb 4th!



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Mark This Book Monday: Biting Bad by Chloe Neill!

And for the final Mark This Book Monday of the week, the next instalment on a series I'm still happily enjoying!

Biting Bad by Chloe Neill

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Sometimes a favourite series seems to be losing steam as the books keep on coming and I end up losing interest, but I'm very happy to say that so far it isn't happening with the Chicagoland Vampires series. Biting Bad is the 8th book in the series and I've thoroughly enjoyed it.

Because it is the 8th book it's gonna be quite impossible for me to not post spoilers, and probably unwittingly big ones for the previous books, but I will try my best to not have any for Biting Bad itself.

Merit is trying to patch up her friendship with Mallory and they decide to go have some time for themselves and have some amazing pizza, but their plans go totally awry when a riot breaks out in Chicago against vampires, targeting the biggest supplier of blood for vampires in the city, Blood4You. They try to avoid the violence but end up having to do some fighting to get away from the riots and not just Merit is the one fighting, Mallory ends up using some her magic, which ends up with them discussing her progress on controlling her abilities and what will she be doing with her magic from now on.

That riot is just the start and Merit and the Cadogan vampires along with Jonah her RG partner have to try and figure out who's behind the riots and what's their real intent before Chicago turns against vampires as a whole again. Stakes get even higher when the GP decides to put an even bigger strain on the Cadogan vampires and the rioters end up targeting Merit's family.

This book has the right mix of action, mystery, politics and romance to keep me entertained, ponder on who the bad guy it is, laugh at Merit and Ethan's puns and swoon on occasion due to Ethan's Ethan-ness!

Then ending was quite a "oh no, you don't!" kind of an ending that has me now quite excited about the next book!

This series continues to be one of my solid favourites and Biting Bad is a solid 4 stars.



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