Hard Bitten

Hard Bitten (Chicagoland Vampires, #4)by Chloe Neill

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... (goodreads.com)

Although The Book Depository has attempted to thwart  my UK edition purchasing of this series, I fooled them by having Jenny have it shipped to me. Like heck I'm about to switch to the NA editions when I am 4 books in. Take that, Book Depository and your discriminating ways! (Ok, so I still love BD even if I am highly miffed at the blocked UK titles.)I went through three phases reading this book. I started out "meh" and although I enjoy the series I wasn't feeling the way I thought it was going. Then I switched to "yay" because the book got a lot more fun and interesting. The final phase was OMFG WTF?!!?!? with that ending. OMG THAT ENDING! I was completely blown away and did NOT see any of that coming at all. Way to mix it up, Neill. Way to keep this series fresh and original. Way to shock the heck out of me!Of course I shan't be telling you lot anything about the ending because I do not want to spoil it. =PMerit is such a great character! She's smart, independent, tough, sweet and sarcastic. She does not spend her newly immortal life pining over Ethan (although there are moments, but it's not done in a way that makes my teeth gnash together in rage), she doesn't make stupid choices and only get out of tough situations by luck. She's the type of heroine you want to read about. One who can take control of a situation but still have life-like reactions to what's going on. She's not invincible by any means and she does make mistakes, but everything about her seems natural. If I had to pick another female protagonist who I find smilar, I'd pick Mercy Thompson from Patricia Briggs series. Tough, smart, but normal and realistic.Part of Merit's charm is her friendship with Mallory. I adore Mallory and though she didn't play as grand a role in Hard Bitten as I would have liked, it still made me smile to find her on the page. I am hoping that more about her sorceress studies will crop up in future books (two more at least! Woot!)It's odd that I love this series so much since it's about vampires and I don't like vampires. Something about the Chicagoland vamps is different than most other urban fantasy vampires. The series is just that slightly different that makes it stand out among the crowd. The writing is fantastic, the humour divine and the characters relatable. Yet, Chloe Neill's YA series (Dark Elite) isn't cutting it for me and it has witches in it! I have been 3 chapters in to Hexbound for two months and I just can't bring myself to care about the characters or story. I liked the first book well enough to have bought the second, but I'm not feeling it.I think I'll stick to the adult novels for now. I cannot wait until November to read about what happens after this ending, because hooooo boy!Chicagoland Vampire series

1. Some Girls Bite
2. Friday Night Bites
3. Twice Bitten
4. Hard Bitten
5. Drink Deep
6. Biting Cold
7. House Rules
8. Biting Bad  - August 2013
9. Wild Things - 2014