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Chicagoland Vampires Series (1-3) by Chloe Neill – Book Review(s)

April 4, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Some Girls Bite - Chloe Neill (bk1)

Some Girls Bite – Chloe Neill (bk1) – don’t get me started on the covers…

Friday Night Bites - Chloe Neill (bk 2)

Friday Night Bites – Chloe Neill (bk 2) – Hair needs to be longer.

Seriously, who would take these out? With these kinds of corny titles?

I did. I borrowed this and the following two books and devoured them in days. Ie. I finished books 2 and 3 on the road.

I started this series after I read Firespell, a YA novel by Chloe Neill. This was my moment of truth – I was reading too many YA books and searched for an equivalent to Kate Daniels and Mercy Thompson. Merit kept coming up in my searches. I looked it up, rolled my eyes at the vampires, sucked it up, and borrowed them from the library.

twicebitten_chloeneill_3

Twice Bitten – Chloe Neill (bk 3) – Look! The cover improves!

Some Girls Bite; Friday Night Bites; and Twice Bitten are books 1- 3 by Chloe Neill. They’re part of what she’s calling the Chicagoland Vampires series. It centers on one reluctantly-made vampire named Merit. She goes by her last name, which made me roll my eyes and laugh. Ok, Merit. You got it. After you get past that part, the fun begins.

This is not quite your typical vampire series. As you know, I’m tired of vamps and their boring I-need-to-eat-you-to-feel-you stories. This one… Merit is made a vampire in order to save  her life. She is attacked in the prologue – throat ripped out, blood everywhere – a victim of an attack. The only way to save her life really is to convert her.

Ethan Sullivan plays the love interest, sort of. He’s the Master of the house she belongs in (and he’s the one who made her). Mallory is Merit’s best friend (human) and their dialogue made me laugh a lot – there are references to pop culture – Harry Potter, Buffy, Spike, et al. Neill knows how to win me over. Mallory is also not a pushover. Nor is Merit. Thank you, baby Jesus!

In addition to the big honcho and best friend, there are many supporting characters who are well-formed as we go along in the series. Jeff, Catcher, Luc, Lindsey, Celina, Morgan… the list goes on. I really enjoyed Merit’s interactions with each of these characters.

Note: notice the ‘normal’ names these characters have? I love it. They’re not named: Ashlee (and other variations), Faythe (god, why?), Merry (no one is ever that merry), Damian or Damien (please, playa), Raphael (puke – what are you, a Ninja Turtle?), Sebastian (overplayed), Raven (seriously?), Cain (for real?), Cayne (spelling it different doesn’t make it cool), Tristan (kill me now)…

We might as well have it out. I’m also not fond of any other Ninja Turtle name: Donatello, Michaelangelo, Leonardo. So bonus points for Neill for choosing regular names for her characters.

Back to the stories. I’ve noticed there is a formula in Neill’s books. An introduction to the present-day, new characters (one of which is probably the bad guy), some smexiness if these characters would just get it on, a puzzle to figure out, and a battle or solving the case. I’m OK with this if it’s well done. Here, it’s good-done, but not well done. I think it’s too easy to guess who the baddies are, at least in these first three books.

Outside of this bubble and some really bad editing (spelling errors, etc), I still enjoyed these first three books. I had a lot of fun reading about Merit’s struggles as a new vamp as well as their newest soldier. She’s also not dumb – you read through her logic and agree most of the time.

Broadly stroking (if that is a phrase… no pun intended, pervs): Book 1 is about her transformation and adjustment. There’s also a Big Bad. Book 2 is her being Sentinel for the House, and Mallory has her own adventure. Book 3 is about a bit about the shifters and their background.

Spoilers (ranty): Ethan and Merit don’t get it on until the third book so hold tight. Morgan was someone I was hoping she’d date – her description of him was fantastic. You know I’m not keen on men with long or longish hair. Get a haircut, hippie Ethan! Everyone seems to have green eyes. That’s ridiculous. Are we in Big Trouble in Little China? Then, write characters with brown eyes, Neill. I really really really love Luc and Lindsey and I hope it plays out HEA in one of these books, goddamnit. Mallory and Catcher getting together in 2 days (?) was a bit much. I mean, come on. Even in urban fantasy time, no one falls in love that fast. Celina coming back was good – I’m looking forward to seeing what she does next as the Big Bad. Gabriel and the shifters coming out was surprising at the end of book 3. My hope is that Merit ends up being a Master in a few years (or however long it’s supposed to take) and Ethan quits being so arrogant. I’m over arrogant love interests. It’s boring and it’s too easy to make excuses for – Oh I had a broken heart, blah blah, now I have to shutter that down even though I know I’m in love with you, etc etc. Lord. You’re immortal. You will get over it.

Outside of all that spoiler stuff, I still really liked these first three books. So much so I’m going to give it two thumbs up.

Grade: A for all three

Buy or borrow: Buy. I think these are worth it. (Don’t disappoint me, Neill, with the next 3 books…)

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Book Review: Hounded by Kevin Hearne – Solid.

June 13, 2012 by

Solid. That’s the only word I wrote on my Goodreads book review. WTF. I don’t know why I left it at that. Well, it’s true. It’s a solid book. Sidenote: If you look at the model of the cover, he looks great. Close up, not so much. What’s with the chin pubes?

Hounded by Kevin Hearne (Iron Druid Chronicles #1)

I borrowed the audiobook version of Hounded by Kevin Hearne (The Iron Druid Chronicles #1) from the library and listened to it on my commutes. It was fantastic! It took a little while to get all the names but I’m so glad I started with the audiobook and a narrator who pronounced all the names. (The names sound so different when you read book #2.)

Atticus O’Sullivan is the last living druid.. living in Arizona with his giant Irish wolfhound Oberon. [What's a druid?] Atticus owns a bookstore, not unlike The Magic Box a la Buffy. He’s in Arizona to stay away/hide from Aenghus Og (see? how would you pronounce that? listen to the audiobook!) who is trailing him, claiming Atticus stole his sword called Fragarach.

There’s a lot of set-up and action in this first book of the series. [It was not like a Book 1 of some of the books I've read recently. You know, when the author is forced to write a lot of set-up and filler so they can sell Book 2.] Atticus is a great character – smart ass, sarcastic, fun, Buffy-like. I want to be his friend! Most of all, I want a dog like Oberon. Cracks me up. Oberon is right up there with GiGi (from Green-Eyed Demon) as best sidekick ever. The supporting characters are all useful and not there for dressing. Each has a role in Atticus’ life, whether he likes them or not.

The books are told in the first person. I didn’t expect to like the book so much, but I did. I didn’t expect to like or even relate to Atticus, but I did! There are very few YA books that I’ve read that have male protagonists as likeable as Atticus. At this point, he’s one of my favorite main characters in books. (You know how hard that is for me to admit… a DUDE on my favorites list.) The story is detailed and well captured in Hearne’s writing. I can imagine how long it takes for Atticus to bike over to his Irish neighbor’s home to mow the lawn. I can imagine what the layout of the bookstore looks like. I can imagine what his minor characters look like.

I liked the book so much, I bought the other books on my Kindle. Yep. That’s how you do a series, writers! Kill it with an awesome audiobook.

Grade: A

Buy or Borrow: Buy! I think this isn’t just for YA readers.

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Book Review: Bloodhound (Beka Cooper #2) by Tamora Pierce – dude.

April 17, 2012 by

Bloodhound (Beka Cooper #2) by Tamora Pierce

Brilliant. I borrowed Bloodhound (Beka Cooper #2) by Tamora Pierce from my trusty LA Public Library.

It’s been about a year since the first book (Terrier) and Beka is no longer a recruit but a Junior Dog. Sergeant Ahuda keeps pairing her up with new partners as all working Dogs are pairs. Fast forward to some fake coin trouble – Tunstall is laid up, and Goodwin and Beka are sent off to Port Caynn, another town in the world of Tortall.

This second installment has been so much fun, watching Beka grow up a little more and see her and Goodwin in action in a different environment. The Port Caynn world introduces us to a few more characters, including a gay police officer (w00t), drag queen performer (double w00t), a female Rogue, and Beka’s new four-legged partner. It is also sex-positive. It did drag a little near the end; I was getting anxious to see how everything unfolded.

Spoilers: Pounce is pretty much out of this book, which sucks. I think Beka did rely on Pounce a lot but who wouldn’t rely on a god-cat? I’m a little sad for Beka to not have a bf in Dale but she’s got to go back to Corus, and he’s a player. This begs the question of when or if Rosto will step up. Goodwin taking up the desk sergeant job wasn’t too surprising but I’m sad to see her ‘go.’ However I’m interested to see how Tunstall and Beka will pair up in the third book.

One of the reasons why I really like this series because Dogwork is gender-neutral. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a woman or man in Dog’s life. You belong to the pound and you do your job. Beka can take down any thug as well as the next guy. [This is also why I loved Ron Moore's "new" version of BSG. Same thing. Makes stories so much better when the woman are of equal status.]

This is the type of series where every girl should read. Beka is a great role model – she’s smart, strong, and independent. She’s not a robot and she needs love, but Pierce doesn’t make Beka into a sopping mess of a girl when “a boy looks her way.” Beka knows what’s up. (At least for the most part. She is still a teenager, even in this Tortallan world.)

Grade: A

Buy or borrow: BUY the entire series. I will be looking for them in paperback so I can lend them out.

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Book Review: A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

March 20, 2012 by

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Seeing that this was the first book I finished in 2012, my memory is getting all fadey. I borrowed A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness, and I do remember that I  liked it a lot. An old friend on Goodreads highly recommended it and said she loved it, so I took a leap. I’m glad I did.

It takes a while to set everything up, but it’s worth it. Diana is a scholar researching and getting ready to teach at Oxford when a book comes to her and then disappears. She gets made as a witch by another colleague, Matthew Clairmont. Then you find out that the universe is full of demons and other supes; they’re all clamoring to find that book that Diana has lost. You’d think this book was light reading but it’s epic. The further along I was in, the more I felt it was like a Lord of the Rings-type of book.

There is a lot of history that is thrown in the book as well as actual character development, which I appreciated. Harkness did her homework and it’s not a chore to read all about Oxford, science, and European history. It IS a chore near the last third of the book. It turns into a ‘WTF’? It gets a little murky. I struggled with the last third.

Spoilers: Matthew is a vampire and I’m over vampires unless they’re really going to kill something or are awesomely fun to like. He’s French and protective and old-fashioned – which of course is what women want… *bleh* He was a great character to like, up until they go to France. Then he gets all Edward/Twilight. Diana was also great until somewhere in the third half of the book. She was independent, smart, athletic.. did I mention smart? It turns into a romance, which I knew was going to happen, but it felt forced to speed it up. Of course, this is all from my memory and it’s been a very long time since I finished the book, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt. Call it vampire fatigue.

Despite the spoilery thoughts, I did like the book as a whole. I didn’t know this was a trilogy. I ended the book with a “Do I or don’t I?” I went in thinking it was a standalone, and voila – cliff-freaking-hanger. I’m kind of over cliffhangers to entice you to read the next book.

Grade: B+

Buy or Borrow: Borrow. Buy if it’s on sale.

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