Customer Reviews

Friday Night Bites: A Chicagoland Vampires Novel

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Chloe Neill's sophomore effort makes it very clear that the greatness of her first book, "Some Girls Bite", was not accidental.

The book opens a month after the events of the first book. There is a great deal of recapping in the first few chapters (the only thing that I could do without, but I understand that it might be necessary for those who missed the first book). Merit is still struggling with her transition to a vampire, but things are even worse now because almost every single relationship in her life is undergoing major changes. Her best friend is caught up in her own problems (learning to be a sorceress), and Merit is trying to juggle adjusting to her new life, solving a new mystery involving her House, and hiding a dark secret - the fact that she feels separate from her inner vampire and has to spend a lot of energy trying to control it.

I won't go into the details of the plot: the readers should be left unspoiled, all the better to enjoy the satisfying conclusion and the final cliffhanger, which is more of a lead-in to the third book. The trademark fine qualities that distinguish Chloe Neill's first book are present here: wonderful characterization and character development, interesting plot, emotional honesty and nuanced, intelligent writing. One of Chloe Neill's greatest strength as a writer, especially a writer of paranormal fiction, is her ability to make her characters' emotions and actions ring true, thereby making them and the rest of her universe seem very real (a quality she shares with another excellent writer, Patricia Briggs). She has a very light touch and her way of portraying Merit's pain and struggle is both sensitive and sympathetic, without resorting to heavy-handed melodrama or artificial toughness that is the trademark approach of too many paranormal books. Merit's relationship with Ethan has grown even more complex, and during the course of the book I found myself alternately wishing she would just realize how destructive their attraction was, and hoping that perhaps things would work out. I must say that I didn't like Ethan very much in this book, most of the time, but then there were moments that almost made it all worth it - which is exactly how Merit feels throughout the books. And, while it's difficult not to feel for Merit (another testament to Chloe Neill's excellent writing), and not to feel offended on her behalf for the way Ethan treats her most of the time, it's also impossible not to keep reading, not to keep wondering what will happen with their relationship, because honestly, anything can happen, which is another great things about these books.

"Friday Night Bites" is intelligently written and contains little actual "ass kicking" but much plotting and intrigue. There are many mysteries left to unravel. With every step the reader learns more of the complexities of the Chicagoland universe, and at the end of the book, is left longing for more. I for one can hardly wait for the third installment which comes out next year (too long a wait, if you ask me!). For those of you who haven't read the first book, I say please go out and buy it immediately. While Chloe Neill recaps the first book here, readers shouldn't skip reading it, especially for the sake of appreciating and relating to Merit's development and her emotional struggles. Please read both; I cannot recommend them highly enough.

I rarely write reviews, but I have no idea how this book got an overall 4.5 star rating from so many! This is a political soap opera set in a dorm/frat/sorority house that just happens to have vampires/shifters/witches as the main charachters instead of people. The few references to fangs coming out, silvering eyes, and magic are the only aspects of this book that are even remotely paranormal. If you are looking for action, romance, sensuality, and a plot that you want to get lost in, don't pick up this book; look up night huntress or anita blake instead. For me to love a book, it needs to have a plot that draws me in; one that I don't want to go to sleep so I can keep reading it. It needs to have some sort of tangled romance with at least a little sensuality. Last of all, it's gotta have some action!! It seems like the would be strongest points of this novel are not explored. Merit is Sentenial (defender) of her house and master, yet there are only 2-3 pages of the entire book dedicated to her fighting people? The fight scenes weren't even detailed!! The sexual tension between her and Ethan is clearly brought to our attention throughout the entire book, but nothing is ever acted upon. All they do is sarcastically banter with each other until the point where you want to punch them both! The plot and charachter development is pretty sub par as well - I really didn't find myself caring to find out who was causing the trouble or what happned to any of the charachters from beginning to the end. I just kept hoping for some vampire butt kicking or a hot makeout session until the end, but was sadly disappointed. This political drama with fangs set im a dorm hall did not impress me! I am returning it and the next installment to the library pronto.

Friday Night Bites is the second novel in the Chicagoland Vampires Series, and I cannot praise the author's imagination enough for creating this wonderful story for our enjoyment. It has all the elements that I love in a good urban fantasy: amazing heroine; excellent supporting cast; multidimensional antagonists; and a fascinating story line. In my opinion, the second book didn't just equal the excellence of the first, which is what very few new authors are able to achieve, but surpassed it. Here's why.

The plot of Friday Night Bites builds on the previous book, but there is enough back-story to fill in the holes for those who haven't read it. The hectic nature of Merit's job as a Sentinel of the Cadogan House and her roommate Malory's active love life with her boyfriend and Merit's instructor Catcher Bell both force her to a dreadful conclusion - she must move into the Cadogan House. As if her life was not difficult enough with the inability to finish her graduate work, having to reconcile to her new supernatural status, and learning how to defend herself and her house against older and stronger foes - she now has to deal with living in a house full of vampires whom either hate her or in the best case just distrust her. She is also pseudo-dating the newly elevated Master of the Navarre House, whose alliance is very tenuous based on previous history, and her unresolved feelings for her own Master Ethan make her life a pure hell. To add to this already explosive stew, a new danger is emerging for Chicago Vampires, threatening to expose the dark underbelly of vampiric society - raves. If the world, which has temporarily been soothed by the glamorous image the vampires presented, learns about the horrors of these hidden blood parties, a war will most certainly follow. Therefore, since the threat appears to come from one of Merit's childhood acquaintances, Ethan and Merit are forced to infiltrate the world of the Chicago's elite and further associate with Merit's estranged family. Oh and did I mention that Celina Desaulniers has been released by the Greenwich Presidium and Merit, having almost killed her, probably heads up her most wanted and hated list? What's a girl to do!

Not only was the story line action packed and beautifully executed, but the character development was truly spectacular in this book as well. Merit's character continues to grow and evolve as she learns more about herself and her new powers. She is finally beginning to realize and accept that her old life is forever lost to her. Furthermore, it was interesting to see how much her upbringing was ingrained in her and how quickly she was able to blend in with the rich and the famous. Ethan was also better explored in this book and we were able to learn more about his nature through numerous tidbits about his past. Merit and he spent the majority of the book together investigating the threat and their interactions and developing bond were both compelling and hilarious. Who knew that the boy had a sense of humor! We also got to finally meeting the Mayor Tate, who is he is bound to play a larger role in the future books, and got a quick glance at Gabriel, the shifter's Alpha. The conclusion was very satisfying and heartfelt (you'll know what I'm talking about when you read it), and I can't wait until the next installment in this phenomenal story.

There are many things I love about this author:
1. The way the characters talk to each other, in a very natural modern way
2. the lack of graphic sex (I get sick of that in most other books)
3. the basic set up of the vampire and magical world (it's very creative, and also considering the subject matter, it comes off as very realistic.)
4. the way she always describes what someone is wearing (it's a chick thing, I guess, but I really dig that.)
5. the clarity with which she describes someone's feelings
6. the fact that the vampires are rich and have a great library and nice cars
7. Merit's grandfather is so lovable, I want to hug him.

However, there are several things that are so annoying that I've decided to stop at book 2 and forget the rest of the series.
1. No one communcates properly with each other. It's all look, innuendos, thoughts that go unsaid, and it's all just so annoying. No one ever just comes out and says what they mean. It makes me want to slap everybody.
2. Every time someone responds with a chuckle or whatever, they "snort." How many times do you really "snort" when you respond to someone? I mean really. I'll bet if we checked, there would be over 200 times someone "snorted" in this book.
3. Every time someone gives a look, it's described as "sardonic." Seriously, get this woman a thesaurus and let's get some new words in there. They don't need to be complicated words, just something ELSE.
4. It's very heavy on political maneuvering and very light on actual doing of anything. That got super boring for me, super fast. I am not particularly fond of politics, and Ethans maneuvering and using Merit as a tool instead of being a real person turned me off in a big way. Constant discussions about alliances with this person or group, who knows who, and blah blah blah. BOR-ING!!!
5. Generally speaking, the whole vampire community seems very oppressive in nature. They very much become servants, almost slaves, with no say in their own lives whatsoever. It becomes a bit depressing after a while when the girl can't even get through a date, hell, a CONVERSATION without being called away on some dreary duty. There is literally ZERO pleasure in this world, that I can see. Merit, and everyone else it seems, just gets drafted into working every waking hour and if that's what being a vampire is about, it seems to really suck. No pun intended.
6. Conversations are NEVER finished. Just when someone is about to divulge something interesting, they decide to keep it to themselves and change the subject or walk away. They ALWAYS decide it can wait for another time, or someone walks in or knocks on the door. Come on, writers! You have got to stop teasing and actually DELIVER.
7. Merit has no sense of connection to anyone now that she and Mallory are having problems. If I were Merit, I would be too depressed and crying in my room to go running every time Ethan called... especially since he is such a jerk. There would certainly be a lot more rebellion, or at least needing to go to someone and talk it over, than just blind obedience. SOMEONE in the house would have to be my friend, for more than just watching an episode of South Park together and teasing about "boys."
8. She always refers to the guys/men as "boys." It's cute occasionally, but it's ALWAYS. What's up with that? Are we in sixth grade?
9. Some of the most interesting aspects of this world are never explored. Shapeshifters, the magic of Mallory

All in all, the book got my hopes up that something interesting would happen, some significant relationship changes would happen, or some exhiliration would be had... but it never delivered and it just left me feeling resentful and ripped off.

Don't get me wrong, I like the characters, but where's the development in Book 2? Merit hasn't really evolved and Sullivan is limp wristed...where's the action? I think Book 1 of the Chicagoland Vampires had promise which why I picked up this book, but I was sorely disappointed and still boggled by the high overall reviewer rating!!

I was really pulled into this series with the first book and was really dissapointed in this one. And I'm really suprised that no one else is picking up on the main character pining for a guy who pretty much emotionally abuses her the entire book. I felt bad for her in the begining. The guy pretty much pimps her out, makes her go to places she doesn't want to go, she whines about how evil he is, but after one "sultery look" she pining for him again. Ugh grow a backbone.

I was intrigued by the good reviews of the first book, with some people stating that it was stronger and better crafted than they expected - I read it and agreed. I'm not a teenage reader but I enjoy urban fantasy for fun reading. Some Girls Suck had plenty of good plot and subplot action and developed the situation without a lot of "tell the reader rather than show the reader" writing that you can sometimes encounter in early books by young authors.

The second book was weak. It was definitely written for a teen audience that would be concerned with clothing details details details. All the guys were flawless hunk-hotties as we heard repeatedly. The very important Merit-Mallory relationship, established in the first book as foundational, was soured for the typical petulant reasons that teenage girls fall out with each other. The author appeared to be striving for "not just another teenage vamp novel" through non-standard plot twists...the nice guy loses permanently, the nice/bad/nice guy sexual tension thing is not resolved and evidently won't be for many many books, the heroine goes through yet another confusing and non-integrating transition, the banished bad female gets unbanished. In short, lots of recycling, little emotional development or general 'maturation' of the characters.

If there's a third book I'll browse it in the store before buying.

The good news: Chloe Neill's Chicagoland Vampires series is staying on my auto-buy list. FRIDAY NIGHT BITES kept me turning pages late into the night, and there were laugh out loud moments galore. When Merit opens the door for sexy vampire master Ethan Sullivan with a cocky, "Age before beauty," I was looking for someone to high-five. Oh, and I was really glad to see Merit the former doctoral candidate finally get jiggy with the library.

The bad news: There are a lot of spinning wheels in FRIDAY NIGHT BITES. It gets off to a slow start. The plot finally thickens when Cadogan house is given an anonymous tip that a reporter is planning a damaging article about vampires, and Merit must draw on her high-society family ties to squelch the story. I enjoyed the twists and turns, and I enjoyed all the sexual tension between Merit and Ethan as they attend fancy parties together. On the other hand, even though a lot happens between those two, no real progress is made in their relationship - dreamy as he is, by the end of the book I was tired of Ethan and his mixed signals. Unfortunately, the same goes for several other major plot points - if anything, it was one step forward and two steps back.

Plus, there are a lot of people who get irrationally angry at Merit in this book. Now, real people do get irrationally angry and make irrational accusations, but when major plot points are pushed forward several times in a novel after normally thoughtful people blow a fuse, make an accusation, and then exit stage right I start to get irritated. There's tension in the friendship as Merit assimilates to vampire life and Mallory grows as a sorceress; that's to be expected. But, really, if they were friends when Merit was an idealistic grad student and Mallory was a corporate shill, they're used to working through some pretty major differences. I expect more from their relationship, which is one of the best parts about the series, than I saw here.

On the whole, FRIDAY NIGHT BITES seemed like a wobbly second installment to a series that is still going great places. I was really excited by the hints we get about the third book, which seems like it will revolve around shifters. And all nitpicking aside, it was a really FUN read, hard to put down and thoroughly enjoyable.

This is for young girls who are in love with green eyes and pretty clothes despite their Punky Brewster sensibilities. Anita Blake this aint, and these days Anita Blake aint Anita Blake (she's busy being possessed by the spirit of wanting to Skrew-good lawd....**sigh**). But back to this. I have rolled my eyes so many times and i had to reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeallly fight to finish it. There is no action , unless you count someone's eyes turning to silver and practicing using their katana and keeping back the unruly Vampire girlly in them. DOUBLE SIGH. Some of the sarcasme works, but by page 200 and something NOTHING HAS HAPPENED. NOT A DAMN THING. This is really good for....hmmmm, someone, but not me. Glad FOR YOUR SUCCESS Chloe, but i wont be adding to it any longer (and i already bought the third book seeing that i enjoyed the first one...guess i won't be buying two in a row again, because if the next one doesn't do.....SOMETHING, ANYTHING other than talk about green eyes and silvering eyes...then i'm going to juggle kittens. There! I said it)!

I read so many glowing reviews of Chloe Neill's Chicagoland Vampires series that I couldn't wait to pick up the first 3 books. I want to start by saying I enjoyed the first book, and thought the series was off to a promising start. One thing in particular I found refreshing was Merit's relationships with other people such as her grandfather and her lovely best friend Mallory. So many paranormal novels feature what I call the lone ranger heroine--one who is solitary, with no real friends or interests besides The Mission (whether that's hunting down then destroying the bad guys or saving the world). I also liked the fact that Merit had a tumultuous relationship with a family she didn't feel like she fit in with; I felt it was relatable, considering that lots of people have their own family issues.

So when I picked up the second installment in the series, I was really hoping I would see the characters grow and the plot develop. Instead, I was very disappointed, and I'll tell you why. Please note this contains several spoilers.

The way Chloe Neill has set up the vampire world is that there are several Houses, which are groups of vampires with one master. Ethan Sullivan is the head vampire of Cadogan House, who turned Merit in Book 1. One of my biggest problems with the series is Ethan Sullivan. I think, as readers of this genre, that most of us have an understanding of how things work in the paranormal world. It's dog eat dog; only the strong (or the very clever) survive, and the weak are destroyed. Unfortunately, Ethan should fall into the category of the weak. First of all, Merit challenges Ethan, not just once but time and time again. Not only does she challenge him in private, but she challenges him in public, in front of other vampires! Yet instead of being punished for her behavior, she is rewarded or let off lightly. First, she's made a Sentinel of Cadogan House (its guardian, if you will). (*SPOILER ALERT) Then, after she tries to kill Ethan in front of numerous witnesses, she is made...social events planner. Yes, you read that right. She isn't stripped of her position, physically harmed, or kicked out of her House. She just has to plan a party. That was really when I threw my hands up in the air. If you expect me to believe that a vampire who's hundreds of years old and is vicious and strong enough to be master over all these other vampires will not punish someone who publicly defies his authority, well...that's just crazy. Further, not only does Merit fight Ethan, she almost WINS! She's a baby vampire and he's hundreds of years old, yet she nearly beats him. So much for big bad Ethan!

In addition to Ethan Sullivan being a weak and ineffective leader, I have a few other problems with Friday Night Bites. I've read so many books with brooding vampire love interests, and in this case I feel the romance--which is more of a non-romance--between Ethan and Merit is too forced. We know that Ethan and Merit really want to hit the mattress together, but they don't even seem to truly like one another. I'm sorry, but I really need more than just lust between two characters in order to want them to be together.

Another problem I had with Friday Night Bites was the plot. I read it on a Kindle, and the Kindle doesn't have normal page numbers so my estimate will be a bit off, but I still noticed that I was through a considerable amount of the book before anything had even happened, plot wise. The beginning of the book was merely a regurgitation of the plot from the first book, and very little happened action-wise. The entire plot rested on there being yet another traitor in Cadogan House, but the mystery surrounding it was weak and neglected. So we had a mystery, but zero suspense. (*SPOILER ALERT) Also, mind control and fanaticism are too heavily relied upon as plot devices, providing convenient excuses for the vampires to betray one another. In addition, Merit's return to society and the family who never approved of her could have been something really cool, but instead it was a non-event. In fact Ethan and Merit had little interaction with anyone at the social events besides her father. Another concern for me was that Merit and Mallory's relationship, something that contributed to the series, was basically flushed down the toilet. Mallory and Merit are both changing, but a pair of mature adults should be able to weather changes together instead of calling it quits on a lifelong friendship.

I really want to like Chloe Neill's Chicagoland Vampire series. I love the outlines of many of the supporting characters. I find Jeff endearing, Mallory likable, Catcher Bell ridiculously hot, Merit's grandfather warm and lovable, and Merit filled with potential. But the plot is seriously lacking, and I can't ignore that anymore. And Ethan Sullivan, handsome as he is, just leaves me cold. So the bottom line is that so far, in my book Neill's vampires have no bite. But I still have hope that could change.