Some Girls Bite (Chicagoland Vampires, Book 1) Review
The Plot:
In the first Chicagoland Vampires book, we meet Merit, a doctoral student at the University of Chicago and the daughter of an influential Chicago real estate magnate. Despite Merit's priveleged upbringing, she has lived her life an outcast of her family and Chicago's elite social sphere. When she is attacked on campus by a vampire and unwittingly saved from certain death and turned by the leader of one of Chicago's ruling vampire Houses, Merit is sucked into Chicago's supernatural underworld -- of magic, vampires, shifters and nymphs -- to find her way through a whole new kind of political society.
In addition to having to come to terms with her new genetic identity and drinking blood, Merit must also adjust to her new magical friends, the advances of one oh-so-dreamy Second in a rival vampire house, and her inexplicable and ill-advised attraction to her egotistical and calculating maker.
Zelda's Take:
Merit could be my best friend. She is strong, resilient, open-minded, and much more comfortable with a book in hand than at a social gathering.
I love that Merit is thrown into vampire life without a choice. I love that, unlike other books that draw out the actual point of being turned ad infinitum, this book is about vampires from the perspective of a vampire. Forget the allegorical sexual tension of an unchanged, virginal female. Chloe Neill pops that cherry right away. And with aplomb.
I love the strained relationship that Merit has with her maker, Ethan. She hates him for turning her without her consent. Yet she can't deny the reaction her vampire has to him. He looks down on her as a naive new vampire and nothing special. Yet he is inexplicably attracted to her.
But Merit is special. She is stronger than most vampires, both physically and psychically. She can resist the glamour of centuries-old vampires and hold her own when battling said ancient vampires. She is confident, despite the foreign supernatural world into which she's thrown, and is not going to just sit around and let anyone -- vampire leader or otherwise -- rule her life.
Ethan quickly realizes he has his hands full with Merit and desperately tries to control her and keep her under his thumb -- even going so far as trying to make her his consort! -- all the while denying and fighting the attraction he feels for her. Who needs the sexual tension of an unchanged vampire when you've got this kind of romantic interplay!
But Merit fights back with "bite." Forced into vampirehood, Merit recognizes that she must leave her old life behind and embrace her new strength and position in the Cadogan House. And be damned if will she embrace her new life and strength as the leader's whore. Despite her distaste for Ethan, she is fiercely loyal to the oath she takes to serve and protect her "Liege" and House, and jumps headfirst into her role as protector and guardian.
Also great in this book is Merit's best friend, Mallory. After Merit is turned and becomes part of the supernatural world, it becomes quickly evident that Mallory is more than human herself. And who better to introduce Mallory to her magical skills than Merit's hot new trainer, Catcher, a former sorcerer. Mallory and Catcher's relationship can be likened to that of magical bunnies on speed. They fall for each other fast and hard -- adjectives that could also accurately describe their exuberant love life.
While I loved this book and the characters dearly and would pick it up again in a heartbeat -- hence the rating -- I found I had to suspend disbelief over one great big, looming inconsistency. Merit is turned and initiated into Cadogan House, the "House that drinks." Meaning, they drink real blood... from the source. Cadogan House is frowned upon by some of the other Houses -- especially Navarre -- for its heathen-ish ways and willingness to subject humans to this cruel practice. If there was such an organization in Merit's world, Cadogan would be the supreme target of VETH, Vampires for the Ethical Treatment of Humans. But, in the whole book, not once do we see Cadogan vampires drinking from humans!!! We see them drink bagged blood and boxed blood... but, really, where is the requisite vein piercing?!?
Also, while I wholly appreciate the Chicago locale, as a Chicago resident myself, I couldn't help but feel that most of the Chicago references were pretty generic and straight out of the "TimeOut Guide to Chicago" -- Lincoln Park, Wicker Park, Hyde Park, Oak Park, the Cubs and Bears, deep-dish pizza, etc. etc. Kind of a bummer for a long-time Chicago resident who prefers thin-crust pizza, avoids Wrigley Field and Michigan Avenue like the plague (along with other similar tourist traps). Fortunately, after setting the scene, a lot of these references fall off, but I would love to see some more "real" Chicago references!
All in all, this book completely stole my heart and I am so excited to have found another series to devour!
Some Girls Bite (Chicagoland Vampires, Book 1) Feature
- ISBN13: 9780451226259
- Condition: New
- Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
Some Girls Bite (Chicagoland Vampires, Book 1) Overview
First in a brand new series about a Chicago graduate student’s introduction into a society of vampires.
Sure, the life of a graduate student wasn’t exactly glamorous, but it was Merit’s. She was doing fine until a rogue vampire attacked her. But he only got a sip before he was scared away by another bloodsucker—and this one decided the best way to save her life was to make her the walking undead.
Turns out her savior was the master vampire of Cadogan House. Now she’s traded sweating over her thesis for learning to fit in at a Hyde Park mansion full of vamps loyal to Ethan “Lord o’ the Manor” Sullivan. Of course, as a tall, green-eyed, four-hundred- year-old vampire, he has centuries’ worth of charm, but unfortunately he expects her gratitude— and servitude. But an inconvenient sunlight allergy and Ethan’s attitude are the least of her concerns. Someone’s still out to get her. Her initiation into Chicago’s nightlife may be the first skirmish in a war—and there will be blood.
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