Blood Games (Chicagoland Vampires, #10)

by Chloe Neill

“IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A VAMPIRIC ROLE MODEL, YOU COULDN’T DO ANY BETTER THAN MERIT....CHICAGO IS LUCKY TO HAVE HER.”—#1 New York Times Bestselling Author Charlaine Harris

While Merit didn’t choose to become a vampire or Sentinel of Cadogan House, she vowed to fight for her House and its Master, and she’s managed to forge strong alliances with powerful supernaturals across Chicago. But even though Merit has had wild adventures, this may be her deadliest yet....
 
A killer is stalking Chicago, preying on humans and leaving his victims with magical souvenirs. The CPD hasn’t been able to track the assailant, and as the body count rises, the city is running out of options. Vampires and humans aren’t on great terms, but murder makes for strange bedfellows. Can Merit find the killer before she becomes a target?

• ISBN10: 0451415205
• ISBN13: 9780451415202
• Publish Date: 5 August 2014
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Berkley Publishing Corporation,U.S.
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 368
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780451415202

Reviews

[Linda]

Blood Games was another tight, fast-paced, action-filled and hot and romantic installment in the Chicagoland Vampires series!
I didn't realize before now how much I've missed Merit and Ethan, Mallory and Catcher, the Ombuddies and everyone else!

[Chelsea]

It never takes me very long to finish these books. There's always tons of plot and action to drive it forward so that you have to finish it in one sitting becuase there's no place to put it down. Merit and Ethan's relationship is always intersting and trouble always finds them in the most intersting ways. I was happy we got more of the main plot in this book (the plot that follows us through all the books), while the plot in this book only was the side plot this time. I'm really looking forward to seeing where this series goes next because each book never ends how I'd expecct it to!

[wyvernfriend]

Interesting character and politics, like how she deals with his past.

[Hixxup]

what a great way to start close out one chapter of the series and start another. in this book Ethan continues on with his challenge against Darius for the head of the GF. while this is going on, more continues to happen that pushes Merit and Ethan to the limits, pushing their relationship, to the brink once agin, while also dealing with a serial killer.

[littleread1]

I really like these books a lot :-) Like a LOT. As in almost love. You know, "I really like you" - that kind of like.

[Berls]

This review appeared first on Fantasy is More Fun

My Initial Reaction...

I love the books in this series that involve lots of GP BS, because it makes me so angry. Blood Games was no exception to that rule. So, of course, I loved it!

Note: some series spoilers to follow.

The Narration...

I enjoyed Sophie Eastlake narration for Blood Games as usual. She's Merit for me now and I think that if I were to read these books I'd hear her voice for Merit. For Blood Games, though, I noticed for the first time a lot of bleed over between Ethan and Jonah's voices, to the point where I got confused sometimes who was talking. I think it was Ethan's voice bleeding into Jonah's, which was unfortunate, because I felt like some of his personality was lost as result too at moments. But still a solid performance and I'll definitely continue listening to this series.

The Characters...

I think the characters are what captivate me about this series. I just love them all in Blood Games- from Merit and Ethan, to the Omsbudies and Merit's grandfather, to Jonah and Mallory and the Cadogan vampires. There's so many personalities and they're all so well-developed and unique.

Ethan and Merit are having troubles again and when I saw that coming my stomach about dropped. Thankfully, though, this was more of the kind of trouble you expect for any long-term couple, especially when one of the partners has hundreds of years of life history. So yeah, Ethan's past is rearing it's ugly head and neither one knows quite how to navigate those waters. Ethan is falling back on his go-to protect and exclude, while Merit is worrying and going on the defensive. I enjoyed watching them figure out how to navigate this aspect of their relationship, while still loving and being there for each other.

I'm a really big Jonah fan, so I was personally really happy with the time he got in Blood Games. His interaction with Merit was fun and increasingly more comfortable, we got to learn some fun new details about him, and I'm curious about what may be on the horizon for him.

The Omsbudies are doing so much better now that they have the support of the mayor again. I was really happy to see Merit's grandfather on the mend. I would always like a bit more Jeff, but I'm partial to him ;) Things between Mallory and Catcher are also so much better, I'm loving seeing their new relationship. I love the new Mallory, too. She's been healing slowly over the last few books and I feel like we've finally reached a point where trust is returned. She's learned from her experiences and is doing something about it for others, too, which I thought was great to see. I don't think her and Merit's relationship has (or ever will) returned to what it was, but it something new and equally great.

An unexpected treat for me was Lindsey, one of the Cadogan Vampire guards and Merit's friend. I've always liked her, but in Blood Games during the testing specifically we get to see a piece of her and her ability that I really enjoyed. It made me appreciate what life must be like for her a bit more and I felt it was a really nice touch.

The Story...

There's two big story lines to Blood Games as usual. One involves people turning up dead and the method of murders looks like it might be members of the supernatural community, or singling them out at least. For me, this very procedural element of the books is always just okay, but I'm just not that into procedurals. I didn't see the result coming, though, and there were some neat clues and elements that I really enjoyed.

For me, the real treat is the politics. I know for a lot of people it's the reverse, but I just love the drama with the GP. And seeing as Ethan challenged Darius for his position as head of the GP at the end of the last book we have GP drama in spades. I think Chloe Neill excels in this and I loved every twist. I did think that one element with Darius was fairly anticlimactic and a bit too easily solved, but besides that, nothing was easy. Which means it was great to read!

Concluding Sentiments...

I thoroughly enjoyed Blood Games and cannot wait for the next one. Especially because things ended with a bit of twist! Thankfully it's not a cliffhanger in the sense that things feel unresolved, but I'm definitely counting down to the next book!

[Cocktails and Books]

4.5

My first thoughts when I finished BLOOD GAMES was "my how Merit has grown". And that's a thought that has stayed with me after I've fully digested the tenth book in the Chicagoland Vampire series. As with the other books in the series, Merit and Ethan always have someone coming after them for one reason or another. But in the past, Merit has had a hair trigger when it came to her emotions. She was quick to jump to conclusions, fight or push Ethan away. But in BLOOD GAMES, Merit shows just how much she's grown in her relationship with Ethan. She may get pissed at him, but she never doubts their love and is steadfast in standing by her man.

As Merit tries to solve the murder of CPD officers son, Cadogan House prepares for Ethan's challenge as President of the GP. It's a tough challenge for Ethan, because it's stirs up things from his past. It's tough for those close to Ethan too because of the emotional upheaval this causes. But it also shows just how loyal those close to Ethan are to him, Merit and everything they believe in.

This is a series that I absolutely love and I greedily devour. Chloe Neill continues to weave a story that entrances and characters that are an absolute pleasure to follow.