mitabird
Written on Jun 19, 2018
Merit's adventures continue with a race against time to save Chicago - perfect for fans of Charlaine Harris and Kelley Armstrong
Merit has been a vampire for only a short while, but she's already seen a lifetime's worth of trouble. She and her Master, centuries-old Ethan Sullivan, have risked their lives time and again to save the city they love. But not all of Chicago is loving them back.
Anti-vampire riots are erupting all over town, striking vampires where it hurts the most. A splinter group armed with Molotov cocktails and deep-seated hate is intent on clearing the fanged from the Windy City come hell or high water.
Merit and her allies rush to figure out who's behind the attacks, who will be targeted next, and whether there's any way to stop the wanton destruction. The battle for Chicago is just beginning, and Merit is running out of time.
- ISBN10 057510788X
- ISBN13 9780575107885
- Publish Date 8 August 2013 (first published 6 August 2013)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Gollancz
- Format Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
- Pages 368
- Language English
Reviews
Chelsea
Written on May 16, 2017
A great addition to the series!
Linda
Written on Mar 6, 2015
This and all my other reviews are originally posted on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews
littleread1
Written on Apr 24, 2014
Hixxup
Written on Oct 24, 2013
MurderByDeath
Written on Aug 17, 2013
A lot was happening in the plotlines of this book: riots, political strife, family interference, McKetrick. But I never had any trouble following anything that was going on; the story flowed smoothly and once I picked it up, I didn't put it down again until I was finished (Thank goodness it was a Saturday!). As one thread of the overall story arc is resolved, another one starts to unravel, taking us into the next book. I cannot wait.
Berls
Written on Aug 14, 2013
My Initial Reaction...
Chicagoland Vampires keeps getting better and better! After a couple disappointing books, House Rules and now Biting Bad are everything I had been missing!
The Narration...
Sophie Eastlake continues to be a breath of fresh air after enduring five books with Cynthia Holloway. Holloway gradually bothered me more and more; Eastlake is entertaining me more and more. She does a fabulous job with the voices and intonation depending on circumstances. If you stuck with the series on audio you're now being rewarded. If you didn't, now's a good time to return/start.
The Characters...
For once Ethan and Merit don't seem to be in any trouble - as a couple, that is. (There wouldn't be a series if they were living happily ever after, now would there?) I was relieved that I didn't have to spend the entire book waiting for the other shoe to drop. Now, I am like the only Jonah fan out there, but Ethan is re-growing on me. I say re-growing because I loved him initially, but after all his back and forth and excuses I grew pretty sick and tired of him. And there came in Jonah: strong, smart, sexy, and sane enough to KNOW he wants Merit. So Ethan, you snooze you lose. Except he doesn't, because he's Ethan. And with Biting Bad I'm starting to be okay with that again. He seems to have actually learned how to be both Master and her boyfriend, without falling into moments of totally assholery (yes, that's a word!). And, to be fair, I think Merit has also grown a lot and is better prepared to be the live-in girlfriend of the Master.
There's lot of relationship mending going on in Biting Bad too. Merit and Mallory are working on their relationship (yay! I love Mallory) and Mallory is working on herself. She's come leaps and bounds since her imprisonment? with the Shifters - who it seems were doing more than just making her wash dishes! - and she's ready to start wearing some big girl panties again. Oh and then there's Mallory and Catcher - they are also mending. I think that Chloe Neill has done a really great job writing the interactions between Mallory and Catcher; you can really feel the hopeful tension mounting.
One of the things I love most about this series is that the secondary characters are almost as important as the principal ones and that continues with Biting Bad. Look forward to continuing developments with Jeff, Jonah, Lindsey, Chuck Merrit, etc.
The Story...
The action all begins with a reunion between Mallory and Merit at their favorite pizza place, Saul's. It's supposed to be a chance for the two of them to have a normal girl's night out like before Mallory went all psycho, but Chicago has different plans for them. Humans are rioting against vampires, starting by throwing Molotov Cocktails at the building that makes Blood4You and then rioting throughout the city. As you would expect, Merit is immediately caught up in the conflict and from the start it's clear that Biting Bad will have the action we've come to love. The detective work is a lot more satisfying that it has been in previous books and I was pleasantly surprised quite a few times as pieces of the puzzle started coming together.
There are also several really great developments for Cadogan House as it continues its new life outside of the GP. The GP somehow manages to continue being a thorn in the side and I continue to want to reach in the book and slap them around. There's some interesting developments on the GP front though and I think they'll continue to be a pain for quite some time.
One of the things I appreciated most in Biting Cold was Neill's ability to convey just how cold Chicago gets in the winter. It is a repeated thread of thought and, as anyone who has spent any time in the Windy City during the winter will confirm, that's exactly what you'd expect. You can't go through a Chicago winter without constantly thinking about how gosh darn cold it is and I loved the way Merit expressed that reality repeatedly.
Concluding Sentiments...
Biting Bad is packed with action, sweet romance, twists, turns and even a few shocking to the point of tears moments. It's one hell of a ride that leaves you hanging and ready for the next installment. Yep - it's a cliffhanger ending and I'm just thankfully that Neill doesn't plan on making us wait too long for the next book!
Get it on Amazon
Cocktails and Books
Written on Jul 12, 2013
There have been a few series that I've lost interest in once we get a fair number of books into it. With the Chicagoland Vampire Series, this series has gotten stronger as it goes on, despite have a minor blip when a couple of major characters went in a direction most wouldn't expect.
For book number eight, we have Merit investigating a series of riots that have humans turning against vampires by using Molotov cocktails, bats, brooms and whatever else they can get their hands on.
While the storyline with the riots is exciting and keeps you on the edge of your seat trying to figure out who's involved, it's the relationships between several characters that made this story for me.
* Merit and Ethan: Things have never been easy for this couple, but in BITING BAD I finally got the feeling their relationship was rock solid. They work together. They talk things out when they don't agree. And most importantly, they make sure they both know who the other feels. Merit has started embracing her life as a vampire and I think she grows into a fabulous woman because of that. And with Ethan's return, he still maintains that more human quality that the didn't really have in the first couple of books. Together, they are this ultimate super couple that leaves me with goosebumps. I loved Ethan before, but this book made me fall even harder for him.
* Merit and Mallory: It was good to see the two of them working on their relationship. Merit could have been bitter and refused to ever forgive Mallory, but she chooses to look past what Mallory did and try to salvage what they can of their friendship.
* Merit and her family: Merit had cut herself off from most of her family after she was turned, but BITING BAD finds Ethan and Merit having dinner with her family and Merit realizing that she does need to have some sort of relationship with them, despite what her father did. It'll be interesting to see just what his going to happen between Merit, Ethan and her father.
* Merit, Ethan and Jonah: I was wondering how this relationship was going to play out. It was clear Jonah had feelings for Merit and Ethan was bound and determined to prove his place as Alpha male in her life. But I was surprised at how this threesome was able to work together, when needed, and for Ethan and/or Jonah to acquiesce to the other when it meant Merit has the partner she needs.
I loved this addition in the series and I'm anxious to see what's going to happen next. If you haven't had a chance to pick up this series, start SOME GIRLS BITE and see why Ethan Sullivan is one of my top ten book boyfriends.