Friday Night Bites, the second in Chloe Neill’s Chicagoland Vampires series, picks right up where Some Girls Bite left off. Newly made vampire Merit is sentinel of Cadogen House and dating the master of Navarre House, Morgan Greer, while secretly crushing on her own master, Ethan Sullivan.
The novel begins with Merit finally moving out of her friend Mallory’s house and into Cadogen House. Not even twenty-four hours later, she is roped into returning to her family’s high society ways that she tried so hard to escape before when an anonymous source leaves information about a damaging story being written by an old friend from her childhood. The vampires’ celebrity is already precarious due to Celine’s efforts in the previous novel. The story could spell disaster for the peace the vampires have with Chicago’s humans. To make matters worse, Celine has been released and Mallory is being sent to another city to learn more about her abilities.
The Chicagoland Vampires series has become one of my favorite vampire series. The Chicagoland universe is intriguing with its vampire politics and hierarchy. Merit’s snarky comments are hilarious and the tension between her and Ethan is delicious. Merit’s struggle to adjust to her new life inspires sympathy, making her a thoroughly likeable character.
Friday Night Bites ends on a note that suggests the next installment will take off with a running start. Chloe Neill’s website has Twice Bitten, the third in the series, up for publication in July 2010. Neill also has a young adult novel, Firespell: A Novel of the Dark Elite, coming out January 5th.
Reader Musings 