The Chicagoland Vampires

Titles: "Some Girls Bite", "Friday Night Bites", "Twice Bitten", "Hard Bitten"
Series Title: Chicagoland Vampires 
Author: Chloe Neill
Type: Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy
Genre: Fantasy, Supernatural, Romance
Pages: 341 pages
Main Characters:
Merit
Ethan Sullivan
Stars (out of 5): 4.2 stars
Publisher: NAL trade

Synopsis: Sure, the life of a graduate student wasn’t exactly glamorous, but it was mine. I was doing fine until Chicago’s vampires announced theirexistence to the world-and then a rogue vampire attacked me. But he only got a sip before he was scared away by another bloodsucker… and this one decided the best way to save my life was to make me the walking undead.

Turns out my savior 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 expects my 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 still 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 will be blood… ("Some Girls Bite")

Review: *Note, this review includes "Some Girls Bite", "Friday Night Bites", "Twice Bitten" and "Hard Bitten". If you like vampires and paranormalcy, then you'll LOVE the chicagoland vampires. The plot is funny, realistic, seductive and at times, a bit sad. The series starts off with Merit (the protagonist), a simple grad student at the U of C (University of Chicago) getting attacked by a rogue vampire while going back home. Luckily that vampire didn't have enough time to kill her before 2 other vampires intervened. Ethan Sullivan, master of the Cadogan House and Malik, his second. The rogue vampire ran away and Ethan changed Merit before she  could die. That's how it all began, but what really surprised me was that the vampires had made themselves known to humans just a couple months before the book began. i was also intrigued by the organization of the vamps: vampires are apparently sorted into houses. There are 12 vampire houses in North American, each with their own master (who's in charge), and a second (who assists the master), some guards and and a head of guard. 

*Note* Points that separate this vampire story from others so far. 1. Humans know about vampires. 2. Vampires are organized like the government. And above all the houses is Greenwhich Presidium: a group of powerful vampires that has control over all the vampires, even the masters. It's like this: vampires in general are like the states of America, the house masters are the governors and the Presidium is the president. 

The first book , "Some Girls Bite", was sort of like an introduction to the series, Merit tries to fit in to her new life, characters are introduced, problems arise and so on. At first, I thought the story was a bit of a drag because there was only talk and not much action but that feeling quickly disappeared when Ethan and Merit noticed their feelings towards each other. Then the feeling quickly returned when they both rejected one another. I wanted to kick them both, Ethan: for being so inconsiderate and Merit: for being so stubborn. But even through all that, I loved the plot. People were getting killed (not that I love people getting killed) and Ethan and Merit had to figure out who was behind them under the pressure of the government and the media. Not a really unique story line, but still fairly interesting. The secondary characters: Mallory (Merit's best friend & roommate, who turns out to be a powerful sorcerer), Catcher (Merit's new-found sorcerer friend), and Merit's family (the esteemed Merits, new-money in Chicago and friends with the mayor) complicated matters and added more depth to the story line. *Note* Merit is Merit's last name.  "Some Girls Bite" ended on a small cliffhanger that wasn't enough to make me hunger for the next book but it made me curious enough to want to learn what happens next. 

The next 2 books in the series: "Friday Night Bites", and "Twice Bitten" was basically a continued version of the first book. We learn more about Merit, her history, her family and there are some new characters. One thing I don't like about the plot in these 2 books were that the problems were never really solved. Once 1 problem is halfway solved, another situation pops up so I think that these books can go on forever. My favorite part in the 3rd book "Twice Bitten" was when Merit's first name finally appears. I had hoped that Ms.Neill would reveal why she didn't use it but she never did, she only hinted in "Hard Bitten". "Hard Bitten was by far my favorite book in the series so far. The stakes are much higher and Ethan and Merit's relationship is also at it's breaking point. I also loved the twist in the story's end when when one of our beloved characters dies. It gave me a shock that I never felt before when reading a book. But I know for a fact that that character is going to come back. An author doesn't spend 4 books time describing a character for him to die in the middle of the series.

 Overall, the Chicagoland vampires was a pleasure to read, and i had an awesome time reading about Merit's adventures. Merit's one of those strong type of girls who can kick butt when she wants to and i can't wait until the next book in the series "Drink Deep" comes out. Unlike most people, I don't regret reading this series. I just needed some time to get over the shock and surprise of the last part of "Hard Bitten". But for those people who wants a lot of romance in their books, you might want to skip this series because it doesn't have that much romance, but it has enough to make me satisfied