Sunday, January 8, 2012

Review: Hard Bitten (Chicagoland Vampires #4)

Merit soon finds herself int he dark, heady heart of Chicago's supernatural society--a world of vampires who seem ready to fulfill the protesting humans' worst fears, and a place where she'll learn that you can't be a vampire without getting a little blood on your hands...

Hard Bitten, by Chloe Neill, is the fourth novel in the Chicagoland Vampires series. The shapeshifters recently announced their existence to the world in the city of Chicago. The novelty of the supernatural is wearing off as more people are no longer thrilled with the idea of vampires and other supernatural as neighbors. Cadogan House is under a lot of pressure when anti-supernatural groups camp out and protest outside their yard. Meanwhile, the relationship between Merit, Sentinel of Cadogan House, and Ethan Sullivan, Master of Cadogan House, remains tense at best.

To make matters worse, news of violent vampire raves and three missing women immediately alert the attention of Cadogan House. Merit calls a friend from the Red Guard, a secret vampire intelligence organization, to help her with the case. As she investigates further, she discovers these raves are not just a blood party -- but someone or something is drugging the vampires to turn aggressive and lose control. With both the Chicago mayor and the Greenwich Presidum (top vampire council) breathing down Ethan's neck to fix the problem, everything around Cadogan House and Chicago becomes tougher to endure.

Warning: This section contains major spoilers.

Oh my goodness. I am at a loss of words. I had high expectations for this novel, but the ending just shocked me. I re-read the last two chapters, but still couldn't believe my eyes. Ethan is dead and gone? How is that possible? The couple were one of the main reasons why I continued to read the series because their chemistry was almost perfect. They worked so well together as partners and lovers. Although I am glad Celina is dead, I am not sure where the author is heading with the story. Nevertheless, this was definitely the climactic moment in the series.

Again, I was at a loss of words, but then I realized it is not over yet. What is next for Merit? How will she live on without Ethan? Can this book series succeed without him? Neill must be a very talented writer if she can pull off this story device and have success with the next novel. Stay tuned for the next novel in the Chicagoland Vampire series, Drink Deep.

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