67) Hard Bitten by Chloe Neill

The Blurb :

Times are hard for newly minted vampire Merit. Ever since shapeshifters announced their presence to the world, humans have been rallying against supernaturals--and they're camping outside of Cadogan House with protest signs that could turn to pitchforks at any moment. Inside its doors, things between Merit and her Master, green-eyed heartbreaker Ethan Sullivan are ... tense. But then the mayor of Chicago calls Merit and Ethan to a clandestine meeting and tells them about a violent vamp attack that has left three women missing. His message is simple: get your House in order. Or else.

Merit needs to get to the bottom of this crime, but it doesn't help that she can't tell who's on her side. So she secretly calls in a favor from someone who's tall, dark, and part of underground vamp group that may have some deep intel on the attack. Merit soon finds herself in the heady, dark heart of Chicago's supernatural society--a world full of vampires who seem too ready to fulfill the protesting human's worst fears, and a place where she'll learn that you can't be a vampire without getting a little blood on your hands...

My Thoughts :

The fourth book in the Chicagoland Vampires series was a must buy and read for me. I have been following this series since the beginning and I have really grown to love Merit and the world Chloe Neill has created. So when all the vampire politics started I do confess there was a little yawn. I also wanted action, fast and furious and not Merit and Ethan doing this romance dance again.

However things picked up here and there. I was interested in what was going on and slowly found myself wanting to keep reading and finding out where the plot was going. Was Celina really back or was Merit being obsessive? What would Darius do to them all? And other little questions kept me reading to the end. Subtle little bits of the plot had me gripped.

Then the end. Oh my god! Is the author allowed to do that? Did she really do that? Ok I may not have cried but I was shocked. Hard Bitten has a really gutsy ending and I can't wait to see where the author takes things now. I do however now understand why we only have to wait till November for the fifth book. You couldn't make us all wait any longer to see how this gets repaired. Can it be repaired? Is the series now broken?

All in all another great addition to the series. A little slow at times but the plot and surprises make up for it. Urban Fantasy at its best and still a must read. If you haven't tried this series yet then you should start soon. It seems that it has some tricks up it sleeves and I for one don't want to miss them.