Wild Hunger (Heirs of Chicagoland, #1)

by Chloe Neill

In the first thrilling installment of Chloe Neill's spinoff to the New York Times bestselling Chicagoland Vampires series, a new vampire will find out just how deep blood ties run.

As the only vampire child ever born, some believed Elisa Sullivan had all the luck. But the magic that helped bring her into the world left her with a dark secret. Shifter Connor Keene, the only son of North American Central Pack Apex Gabriel Keene, is the only one she trusts with it. But she's a vampire and the daughter of a Master and a Sentinel, and he's prince of the Pack and its future king.

When the assassination of a diplomat brings old feuds to the fore again, Elisa and Connor must choose between love and family, between honor and obligation, before Chicago disappears forever.

• ISBN10: 0399587098
• ISBN13: 9780399587092
• Publish Date: 14 August 2018
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Berkley Publishing Corporation,U.S.
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 352
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780399587092

Reviews

[Berls]

3.5 stars
I have mixed feelings about this spin off series so far. On one hand, I'm excited to see the old characters I loved, but on the other hand their presence has me less excited about their kids taking the center stage. And maybe, because of how close it is, it just didn't feel little like I was just watching Merit all over again - it didn't necessarily feel fresh. I'm hoping that with some time, the new characters will grow on me.

Elisa Sullivan is Merit and Ethan Sullivan's daughter - and the only vampire ever born. We got that story back in Chicagoland Vampires and while it's helpful that I know it and the characters, you could easily step in with this book and never read the original series; everything relevant from the previous is really well explained. It's not surprising that Elisa reminds me a lot of Merit - that is her mother after all. She has some differences of course, especially the reason she was able to be born, which is a power with longer lasting effects than anyone realizes -- I think this is likely to be the series plot point.

We also see Mallory and Catchers daughter Lulu, who has rejected her magic. A disappointing point for me, as they were actually some of my favorite characters and their magic made it super interesting. Equally disappointing, Mallory and Catcher have moved away. But I see the same sort of friendship-gang forming in this book - Lulu, Elisa, and Connor (Shifter, son of the Apex Gabriel). And the Omsbuds office has it's altered but even more prominent role.

The plot itself feels very much as expected, like Chicagoland Vampires it's very much a detective procedural type story, housed in Urban Fantasy. I enjoy the way the mystery unfolds and am fine seeing that format repeated.

This was narrated by Suzanne Elise Freeman, a new narrator for me (I think). I enjoyed her narration. I think she was similar enough to the Chicagoland Vampires final narrator that she was able to mimic the voices for old characters, while breathing new life into the kids who are taking center stage. I look forward to continuing the series.

[Quirky Cat]

Wild Hunger is the first in a new series by Chloe Neill. But don't worry, it is still connected to her famous Chicagoland Vampire series. There is no doubt that this is a spinoff series – so fans will be thrilled. That being said, it isn't a bad starting point for new fans either. Which makes it the best of both worlds.
Elisa Sullivan is one of the most unique vampires in the world. She was born instead of made. But she's gotten quite tired of being recognized for that fact alone. That's why she left Chicago in the first place.
But Chicago has once again called her home. She's here to help a peace meeting amongst European vampires – though things are looking shaky right from the start. A brutal assassination quickly alters the rest of the plans.

“I was the daughter of vampires, born because magic and fate twisted together.”

Wild Hunger was one thrill of a read. It was fast-paced, with lots of ups and downs and character development. And let's not forget the tension between the characters. In short, this was a delightful read. One that is sure to please fans of Chloe Neill, while also probably drawing in a new crowd at the same time.
Thanks to the established world, it took no time for Chloe Neill to throw us right into the plot. All we needed to do was get to know the new leading lady; Elisa Sullivan. Elisa is an interesting character, for fairly obvious reasons. Her creation made her stand out, while all she really wants is the freedom to be herself. I feel like that's something we can all sympathize with.
I'll confess something to you guys here; I haven't actually read the Chicagoland Vampire series. I know! It is on the list, I promise. But I figured I might as well give this new series a try, especially with the next book coming out shortly. And you know what? I have no regrets. I had zero problems following along and instead found myself enthralled by Neill's writing style.
Naturally, I'm sure I missed some subtext from the previous series. But on the whole, I feel like Wild Hunger was very welcoming to new readers. So if you're in the same boat as me; looking at this book and debating. Just give it a go. It's worth it.
I love how all of the different supernaturals in this series interact with one another. We have vampires (obviously), werewolves, witches, and fae. And of course, there are different houses within the vampires. It's all very complex, and I'm just dying to see more of that world.
The plot was both fun and intense, making for an easy read. I found myself incapable of putting this book down (that seems to happen to me a lot, huh?), and thus read it all in one day. It did make focusing on my work between reading a bit difficult...but that's no surprise here.
Wicked Hour is expected to release in a little over a month (at the time of my writing this), and I'm already finding myself looking forward to seeing more of Elisa and Conner. And really, can you blame me there?

For more reviews check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[Chelsea]

This was a solid start to a spin-off series. I don’t think you’d need to read the first series to get into this one but it would obviously help. I’m worried that it’ll just be a repeat of the first series because there’s a lot of similarities between all the main characters but I’ll just have to wait and see.

[Leigha]

I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Elisa Sullivan finds herself in the middle of a murder mystery when she returns home in this spin-off to the popular Chicagoland Vampires series.

Wild Hunger is mediocre spin-off with too many details and little character development. The first third of the novel is an information dump on the previous series and general world-building. Elisa is a well-defined character, but she is not all that interesting. I can already tell this series will be about her learning to accept herself while understanding her place in the world. She has a romantic connection with Connor, but it’s really not explored in this novel. While I didn’t feel the chemistry between the two, others might pick up on it. I perhaps would have liked the two together if any time had been spent developing their relationship.

My biggest issue with the book truly comes down to the genre. I love fantasy, especially fantasy mixed with romance, but none of the urban fantasies I’ve read have ever really captured my attention. Sadly, Wild Hunger fails too. I think the genre lacks focus. It’s not quite a romance and it’s not quite a fantasy meaning both elements lack depth and substance. Those who love the genre, though, should still give this book a chance.

tl;dr A spin-off bogged down with too much backstory and too little character development for me. Urban fantasy fans, particular those of the Chicagoland Vampires series, should still give it a try.

[MurderByDeath]

As a matter of personal taste, this title offends my sensibilities; it sounds like it should be on a bodice ripper (this is not a judgement of bodice rippers, merely a comment on the title's conflict with my personal tastes).     Moving on to more pertinent thoughts, this is a spin-off of the now-completed Chicagoland series, a series I loved dearly.  I don't normally like spin-offs, because there just always seems to be that certain something missing.  This wasn't an exception, although it is better than most.  The original series had a spark of humor; a perfect narrative timing to the dialog, that Wild Hunger (Ugh) lacks.  It's early days yet though.   The setting of this new series is approximately 25 years in the future, or, 25 years after the last book of the Chicagoland series.  There are heavy references to the events in that last book, though I think everything is sufficiently explained that new readers won't be lost.  A lot of the original characters are here too - Merit, Ethan and Gabriel are consistently present and cameos are made by several other characters, but the main focus is on Elisa, the first vampire child ever born, and Connor, the heir apparent of the local shifter pack.     It was a good story, consistently paced, fast moving and with just a touch of romantic tension.  There are shades of the old witty banter that will hopefully blossom in future books as the author gets to know her new characters.  I generally have a hard time reading when I'm on vacation, but this book kept me reading whenever I wasn't off doing something else.  I'm not a morning reader at all, yet I found myself picking this up when I first woke up, to enjoy for an hour or so before starting my day.   I'll definitely be looking forward to the second book.

[littleread1]

LOVE.

We got lots of Ethan and Merit, which was great. Elise is wonderful. I was a little sad we got no "Be still" from Ethan to either his wife or daughter, I think there were plenty of times it was called for. ;-)

[kimbacaffeinate]

The story begins when we meet Elisa Sullivan, in Paris. She has finished her schooling and is serving a year in service to the House that sponsored her. Elisa is the daughter of Merit and Ethan and the first-born vampire. While it helped that I had read the first two books of Chicagoland Vampires and knew about the Cadogan House, Neill did an excellent job of sharing history, particularly those of Conner, the heir-apparent to the Chicago Park and Lulu, Elisa's best friend.

Chicago is the epicenter for peace between supernaturals and humans. The vampires are hosting peace talks for European vampires, who are experiencing political unrest. Elisa is working for the French House.  It is the first time she has been home in four years. We learn about Elisa and her uniqueness. She is the first-born vampire, but she is also more. Something that scares her and that she keeps hidden.  She has been working to control it, but upon returning to Chicago it reawakens. And I am all in! 

The plot was a suspenseful one with a side thread of romantic energy and growth for Elisa. The peace talks are sidetracked when a vampire is murdered and one of the pack is arrested. Things don't add up and Elisa begins to investigating. The Chicago peace treaty with the humans prevent the Cadogan House from investigating, but Elisa uses a technicality to investigate on her own.

This was such a well plotted and paced story. I quickly slipped into the world and found Elisa to be an engaging and complex character. I loved the snarky banter between her and Conner. Lulu was a pure joy and secondary characters added interest, strengthened the world and aided Elisa. For fans of the Chicagoland Vampires, we see plenty of key characters to satisfy while giving way to the young. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer

[Cocktails and Books]

I was excited about this spin-off series, but also a little nervous wondering if Elisa and Connor could live up to what I loved about Ethan and Merit's series. I have to say, the author did a fantastic job of giving you just enough to understand the dynamics from the Chicagoland Vampire series but make this one stand on it's own. But more importantly, we got a grown-up Elise Sullivan (who is the perfect combination of her parents), Lulu Bell and Conner Keene who completely owned this book.

I loved Elise. She was the perfect mixture of her parents and there were many times where I sat there thinking "yep, that's totally something your mother/father would do." But I was awed by her struggle to find her place and how both she and Lulu kinda rebeled against who their parents are. That endeared her to me more. Yes, she jumped into things (very much her mother's daughter) but it was with a sense of righting a wrong and twisting the rules so she could (very much her father's daughter).

The developing relationship with Connor has me intrigued. It left me wondering if Gabriel had seen his son with Elise way back when he had his vision of Ethan and Merit's daughter. And I'm now left puzzling what obstacles these two are going to have to fight in order to get their HEA.

If you enjoyed the Chicagoland Vampire series, Heirs is a must read. There are a few players that cross-over from the previous series, but it stands on it's own with the same fast-paced action, humor and angstiness that readers are used to.