Drink Deep & Biting Cold - by Chloe Neil -

Drink Deep by Chloe Neill
Jen rating: 5 of 5 stars

I had to re-read this book since I just got biting Cold. I read this back in November so I needed to refresh what had happened.

WARNING - 
This is book 5 and 6 to the Chicagoland Vampires series - If you haven't read the first 4 books, there are some spoilers in these reviews .  

Clouds are brewing over Cadogan House, and Merit the vampire can't tell if this is the darkness before the dawn, or the calm before the storm. With the city itself in turmoil over paranormals and the state threatening to pass a paranormal registration act, times have never been more precarious for the vampires. If only they could lay low for a bit...

Then magic rears its ugly head when Lake Michigan turns black. The mayor insists it's nothing to worry about, but Merit knows a panic is coming. She'll have to turn to friends old and new to find out who's behind this, and stop them before it's too late for both the vampires and humans.  

WOW What an ending! I even spoiled it for myself and read a few spoilers, but I still wasn't sure how to expect it - and it was .. wow! Blew my mind! lol



Biting Cold by Chloe Neill
Jen's rating: 5 of 5 stars

Turned into a vampire against her will, twenty-eight-year-old Merit found her way into the dark circle of Chicago’s vampire underground, where she learned there was more to supernaturals than met the eye—and more supernaturals than the public ever imagined.And not all the secrets she learned were for sharing—among humans or inhumans. Now Merit is on the hunt, charging across the stark American Midwest, tailing a rogue supernatural intent on stealing an ancient artifact that could unleash catastrophic evil on the world. But Merit is also the prey. An enemy of Chicagoland is hunting her, and he’ll stop at nothing to get the book for himself. No mercy allowed.            No rules apply. No lives spared. The race is on.

 

Jen's review for Drink Deep:

This book was awesome!
I cried - I did - I missed Ethan -

So this book starts off with Jonah teaching Merit about Vampires jumping off of buildings - AWESOME Rush :) But Merit is still thinking as a Human - 9 stories up is a long jump :)

When Merit gets back to the Cardigan house, Frank - the GP receiver is still making things difficult for everyone. Including cutting back on the blood that is delivered to the house?!

When Merit went to bed for the day, she had another dream of Ethan.. Her dreams were starting to get more and more frequent, and more and more scary - she doesn't know what to make of these dreams - she calls Malory. Malory is busy with her own thing - she is taking her exams for the Sorcerer finals - she is so close, but the stress is weighing on her. She snaps at everything and everyone . Catcher included - and no one is taking it very well .

But still Merit does her friendly duty and checks in with Malory, until she snaps at her, demanding that Merit gives her room and doesn't call her again until after exams are over :(

Strange things start to happen to the City of Chicago, The Lake turns black, water doesn't ripple when something is thrown in, and it's draining magic into the lake. The Nymphs are freaked out!

The sky turns red and strange storms start to brew.. No one can figure out what is going on, so of course they blame the Vampires.

With Frank still evaluating the House, everyone turns to the House's Sentinel to try to figure out the problem before the new Mayor decides to put into action everyone's fears.

So Merit calls Jonah and together they try to figure out what's going on.

Loved this book - I thought after Ethan's death in Hard Bitten it would be hard to read another one of the Chicagoland vampires novels, but I was wrong - Jonah and Merit work great together, and he seems to really care for her. It's only been a couple of months, so of course she's not finished grieving over Ethan and ready to jump into a relationship, and Jonah excepted that. I liked how they did that in this book - she wasn't hard core grieving anymore. Sure she thought of him, a lot, and dreamed about him, but she knew there were a lot of problems going on that needed her full attention. And of course she couldn't help but think "what would Ethan do in this mess" a few times.

The story had me grieving with her, and the mystery wasn't anything that I would have thought of. We learn a little more about the Supernatural word and the Supernatural creatures that live in it.

 

Jen's Review Biting Cold:

Aside from the 20 foot pissed off Gnome - this book had everything I had expected. And more.  

The book starts off where the last one left off. In Nebraska - Ethan and Merit were on their way. Mallory was ahead of them and determined to get the book. 

It wasn't as easy as Ethan and Merit had thought it would be to just drive. When they came across Tate along the way, things started to go downhill (pun intended :) 

When Ethan and Merit got to Paige's farm house, She gave them the tour and showed them where the book was hidden. It seemed safe enough. 

Ethan and Merit slept the day, and awoke that night knowing Mallory was close. 

When Ethan came back from Ashes at Mallory's hands, he had a connection to her that he didn't like. 

Ethan and Merit were walking around the property looking around when Mallory made her presence know. 

That's when the Gnomes made their presence known. They were on Paige's side. Looking out for her farm and trying to keep the peace. There were so many Gnomes ready to help out, too - 

Merit and Ethan did what they could to stop Mallory, but she disapeared. 

Then Merit smelled the sugar and lemon - the same smell as Tate. They knew the book was in trouble. 

Going as fast as they could, the found Paige missing, when they got down to the room that was holding the book, they saw Tate and Malory, working together?!? 

And THAT'S where things start to go really wrong ...

Ethan and Merit will always be one of those couples that I"ll always remember reading about. I love their chemistry when they're together. They work well as a team in both a relationship as well as fighting and keeping things calm. 

I love how Merit dealt with Ethan's Death, and then his resurrection. And even when he starts to push her way .. yes again, she seems to take it in stride knowing that things are going to work out for them in the end... 

She is a strong character, with many friends, of all different species. Even those that aren't friendly with Vampires. She just has a way of getting through to people. and of course, her since of humor is always cracking me up :) 

They finished off the main battle in book 6 - but from what I hear, it's a 10 book series.. YIKES!! The last chapter set it up for a pretty big problem that will be lurking in the next book, but not a very serious cliffhanger. 

Looking forward to that one - hopefully not another year :) 

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