Some Girls Bite: A Chicagoland Vampires Novel (Chicagoland Vampires, #1)

by Chloe Neill

Sure, the life of a graduate student wasn't exactly glamorous, but it was mine. I was doing fine until Chicago's vampires announced their existence to the world - and then a rogue vampire attacked me. But he only got a sip before he was scared away by another bloodsucker ... one who decided the best way to save my life was to take it.

Turns out my saviour was the master vampire of Cadogan House. Now I've traded sweating over my 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 also seems to expect my eternal gratitude - and servitude. Right ...

But my burgeoning powers (all of a sudden, I'm surprisingly handy with some serious weaponry), an inconvenient sunlight allergy, and Ethan's attitude are the least of my concerns. Someone's out to get me. Is it the rogue vampire who bit me? A vamp from a rival House? An angry mob bearing torches?

My initiation into Chicago's nightlife may be the first skirmish in a war - and there's going to be blood ...

• ISBN10: 0575094044
• ISBN13: 9780575094048
• Publish Date: 11 March 2010 (first published 1 April 2009)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Gollancz
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 368
• Language: English

Reviews

[Cocktails and Books]

So I’ve been reading reviews for the past year or so about this great vampire series set in Chicago. I’d looked at them, even read the first chapter, but always pushed the series back in my TBR pile for something else. What the hell was a I thinking??

We meet Merit right after she’s been turned into a vampire. She was attack while walking across the U of C campus and involuntarily turned in order to save her life. She’s dropped off, in haute couture, at the house she shares with her best friend, given the vampire reference guide, and left to her own devices.

The start of this ride is FANTASTIC.

Merit is the girl I wish I was, the girl I sometimes am and the girl I want to be. She’s sarcastic as hell, especially when she’s feeling threatened (the girl I am). She stands up for herself, in situations most would have back down from (the girl I wish I was) and she has sparked the interest of two very hot vampires...Master Ethan Sullivan, who is over Cardogan House (the house she’s part of) and second in command, Morgan of Navarre (the girl I want to be).

Chloe Neill sets up the storyline for the series beautifully in this first book. We meet the Ombudsman and his staff (a reluctant vampire we’ve yet to meet, an outcast sorcerer and a shapeshifter) who just happens to be Merit’s grandfather. We get to see the other vampire Houses in Chicago and how that leadership will play in the future. We also meet Merit’s father, Joshua Merit, who I have a feeling is going to play a major role down the road.

If you love vampire books, this is a great one. There isn’t a lot of romance, but the sexual tension is so thick, it seems to jump off the page. Onward to Friday Night Bites, the second in the series.

[Hixxup]

very good book, now i'm wanting to read the next book lol.

[Jo]

I loved this book! It was so good! It’s very much the first book in a series, but it has everything; humour, action, love interests, danger, and a whole lot of wow!

As I said, it’s a first book in a series, and so it’s setting up the story that will continue in future books, but this doesn’t make it a bad book, there’s still enough going on in this novel to keep you interested. We learn along with Merit as she finds out about her new life, and the other supernaturals – or sups. We learn about the vampire mythology, polictics, and the structure of the lives these people live. We also find out about some of the other sups; shifters, sorcerers, nymphs. All this info is relevant to this particular story, but is the set up for the series as a whole, and it’s all so fascinating! I love this world!

I love the characters in this book! You have some seriously awesome strong women to look forward to reading about. Merit, herself, who has to deal with this new life that she didn’t ask for, but also won’t take any crap. Mallory (I love that name, by the way), Merit’s best friend, has a wicked sense of humour, but is also one of the best cheerleaders I’ve read; she’s so supportive, encouraging and pushy in all the right ways, and has an awesome little subplot of her own. Then there’s Lindsey, a vampire Merit becomes friends with, also a great sense of humour, who you can just imagine having an awesome time with!

Then there are the guys. Not all of these people are love interests for Merit, but I think they’re all worth mentioning. Ethan, master of Cadogan House, is not my favourite person. He may be gorgeous, but he’s got a serious attitude problem. He may be the big boss man, but I think he takes it too for. He’s very much “I am the big I am, and you will do what I tell you to,” which is all well and good when it comes to doing a job, but you kind of get the feeling that if you disagree with him, there will be consequences. I’m taking that to extremes, but I’m not his biggest fan. He does have some good moments, but generally, I don’t like him much – but I want to read about him and Merit more! I may like him better when we get to know him more. Catcher is a sorcerer, and he is just awesome. He’s strict when he needs to be, but he’s very funny and absolutely gorgeous. Jeff, the shifter, is adorable! I can’t decide if I’d rather adopt him or have his attention, haha! Then there’s Morgan, gorgeous, charming, powerful – pretty damn lovely really. I do have an iffy feeling about him though, I’m wondering if he’s perhaps too good to be true. Will just have to wait and see.

There are a lot of laughs in this book, but there are also a lot of emotional moments. Merit didn’t want to be a vampire, it wasn’t her choice, and at first, she hate that this life has been forced upon her, and you can’t help but feel for her. There are also a few moments when she feels let down or left out, and I reacted, emotionally, as I would if someone had treated one of my best mates the way she was treated. I wanted to go and slap some faces. You can’t help but love Merit, and want things to go well for her.

There isn’t a huge amount of action in this book when it comes to actual physical fighting, but there is the threat of fighting, and it’s awesome! When words are the weapons, I find it more exciting somehow, as you don’t know what’s going to be said by the others. There are a lot of hold-on-to-your-breath moments when you don’t know how certain situations are going to pan out. It’s just so cleverly written, Chloe Neill is brilliant!

I was not expecting the end that came whatsoever, but it was just so... good! This particular story is resolved, but the resolution is what sparks off the story for the next books, and oooh, what a cliff hanger! It’s one of those cliff hangers where you don’t know what’s going to happen, it’ll happen over time, but it will happen, and it’s just a little exciting! I can’t wait to read Friday Night Bites to find out what comes next!

I was reminded of quite a few other books while reading this. I don’t normally do this, but think of it as a “If you like these books, you’ll like this”. None of the actual storylines are similar in any of these books, but I was reminded of Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress series, as both Merit and Cat have to deal with discoveries about who they are. I was also reminded of The Spellcrackers.com series by Suzanne McLeod, as vampires have come out into the open, and humans now know of their existence. Finally, I found the tone of Some Girls Bite at times to be similar to that of Lisa Shearin’s Raine Benares series. I am a huge fan of all these series, so the tiny similarities are a plus for Some Girls Bite in my opinion. I believe I may have found myself another favourite book!