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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
5 ššššš read - An introspective look at the fall out of political discord and tragedy and how those existing in itās universe struggle to cope and move on. Excellent writing and story-telling at its very best.
[b:Drink Deep|9815702|Drink Deep (Chicagoland Vampires, #5)|Chloe Neill|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1296789716s/9815702.jpg|14706158] is book five in [a:Chloe Neill|1857564|Chloe Neill|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1430792097p2/1857564.jpg]ās Chicagoland Vampires series. It picks up directly after the events of its predecessor [b:Hard Bitten|9581001|Hard Bitten (Chicagoland Vampires, #4)|Chloe Neill|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1372850762s/9581001.jpg|12773071]. This series is not a standalone read and if you read them out of sequence you will be highly disappointed, be unsure of some of the characterās backstory and unaware of what is going on with the main series arc. The series focuses on the events surrounding the supernatural community in Chicago, told from the perspective of newly minted vampire Merit, who is also sentinel (A guardlike political position) to the Vampire House Cadogen.
ā ļø WARNING FROM THIS POINT FORWARD THE REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR PREVIOUS BOOKS IN THE SERIES - YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!ā ļø
The Vampire house Cadogen is in deep mourning, two months have passed since Ethan Sullivan, Master of the house and sometime lover of Merit (Cadogen House Sentinel) died, having made the ultimate sacrifice of his life to save Merit from a stake thrown by Celina. Celina is also dead, after Merit kills her with the very same stake. The house is under GP administration, with the officious and odious little dictator of a character Frank Cabot appointed As āreceiverā to review all of the practices and runnngs of the house. Frank is determined to set the house up to fail to aid in his own political aspirations and heās definitely got his sights on brining down Merit.
Lost in her personal maelstrom of grief Merit is plagued with apocalyptic dreams of Ethan, dreams that are starting to emulate real life. Meritās relationship with Mallory is at an all time low, with Mallory deep into her magical studies and testing, leaving little room for friendship and relationships with potentially life altering and deadly consequences. Meanwhile Merit is coming to terms with who she is as a vampire, as a sentinel without Ethan at her side. Once again approached by Jonah (Vampire Grey House Head Guard) to join the Red Guard, an organisation that sits outside of the house structure to monitor and intervene (where necessary) to protect vampires from the House Masters and Greenwich Presidium (GP).
Outside Cadogen House things are no better, if not worse. The anti-vampire sentiment is at an all time high, with more and more protestors outside the house gates each night. Former Mayor Tate has been imprisoned and replaced with the deputy mayor who has her own agenda, which doesnāt include befriending the supernatural community. In fact, sheās taking away the Supernatural Ombudsman Officeās funding, being supported by McKettrick (A paramilitary type with vampire genocide on his mind) and looking to instigate the supernatural registration law that would severely limit the rights of the known supernaturals - mainly vampires.
Adding fuel to the fire old dark magic is at work and its affecting the natural order of the world, the river and lake are dying, becoming magic vacuums, they sky is a blood red storm and massive earthquakes are happening throughout the city. Charged with finding out what is going on, Merit must navigate this new calamity without the partner she came to rely on, though Jonah - Grey House Head Guard and member of the secret Red Guard society is willing to aid her, but has amorous intentions of his own that Merit is just not ready to deal with and lets face it, he just isnāt Ethan.
Meritās grief and her struggling to carry on it exceptionally well written, but so is the grief of the other vampires and sups that loved Ethan. There are some wonderful interactions between Merit and other vampires as they struggle to express their grief and sorrow, their sympathy for Merit and their hope that she will rally and move on. An interaction between Merit and Luc is a great example of this:
āThere are nights when he seems more absent than others.ā The grief in his voice brought immediate tears to my eyes. I looked away to keep them from falling, but didnāt disagree with the heart-clenching sentiment. āThere are nights when the world is completely askew because heās gone,ā I agreed.ā
I felt so strongly for Merit as a woman and a vampire of significance in Cadogen House and the wider Chicagoland universe. Her need to carry on, to move on and accept her new reality juxtaposed against her need to cling to whatever she had left of Ethan, even though their relationship was so short and fraught with tension, which was never really resolved. Then the betrayal of her father and her inability to talk anything out with Ethan, the man she realises sheād come to depended on far more than she realised.
āHe was an imperialistic, self-righteous pain in the ass. But he was my pain in the ass, you know? And tonight, I wonāt be with him. That definitely feels strange.ā
In terms of the plot, I saw the ending coming right from the beginning and I had strong suspicions of who the antagonist was going to be, though I had hoped it wouldnāt be who I thought it would be. The book ends on a semi-upbeat cliffhanger. Things are definitely not setttled or right in Meritās world, but a key part of her future is back in play, even if things are perhaps going to run a bit differently from here on out.
[b:Drink Deep|9815702|Drink Deep (Chicagoland Vampires, #5)|Chloe Neill|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1296789716s/9815702.jpg|14706158] is book five in [a:Chloe Neill|1857564|Chloe Neill|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1430792097p2/1857564.jpg]ās Chicagoland Vampires series. It picks up directly after the events of its predecessor [b:Hard Bitten|9581001|Hard Bitten (Chicagoland Vampires, #4)|Chloe Neill|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1372850762s/9581001.jpg|12773071]. This series is not a standalone read and if you read them out of sequence you will be highly disappointed, be unsure of some of the characterās backstory and unaware of what is going on with the main series arc. The series focuses on the events surrounding the supernatural community in Chicago, told from the perspective of newly minted vampire Merit, who is also sentinel (A guardlike political position) to the Vampire House Cadogen.
ā ļø WARNING FROM THIS POINT FORWARD THE REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR PREVIOUS BOOKS IN THE SERIES - YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!ā ļø
The Vampire house Cadogen is in deep mourning, two months have passed since Ethan Sullivan, Master of the house and sometime lover of Merit (Cadogen House Sentinel) died, having made the ultimate sacrifice of his life to save Merit from a stake thrown by Celina. Celina is also dead, after Merit kills her with the very same stake. The house is under GP administration, with the officious and odious little dictator of a character Frank Cabot appointed As āreceiverā to review all of the practices and runnngs of the house. Frank is determined to set the house up to fail to aid in his own political aspirations and heās definitely got his sights on brining down Merit.
Spoiler
Adding to Meritās emotional grief is the knowledge that her father tried to bribe Ethan into turning her vampire against her will and he refused, that because of this it brought Celinaās ire and had her chose to kill Merit and that Ethan had been watching over her, meaning he had truly saved her life twice.Outside Cadogen House things are no better, if not worse. The anti-vampire sentiment is at an all time high, with more and more protestors outside the house gates each night. Former Mayor Tate has been imprisoned and replaced with the deputy mayor who has her own agenda, which doesnāt include befriending the supernatural community. In fact, sheās taking away the Supernatural Ombudsman Officeās funding, being supported by McKettrick (A paramilitary type with vampire genocide on his mind) and looking to instigate the supernatural registration law that would severely limit the rights of the known supernaturals - mainly vampires.
Adding fuel to the fire old dark magic is at work and its affecting the natural order of the world, the river and lake are dying, becoming magic vacuums, they sky is a blood red storm and massive earthquakes are happening throughout the city. Charged with finding out what is going on, Merit must navigate this new calamity without the partner she came to rely on, though Jonah - Grey House Head Guard and member of the secret Red Guard society is willing to aid her, but has amorous intentions of his own that Merit is just not ready to deal with and lets face it, he just isnāt Ethan.
Meritās grief and her struggling to carry on it exceptionally well written, but so is the grief of the other vampires and sups that loved Ethan. There are some wonderful interactions between Merit and other vampires as they struggle to express their grief and sorrow, their sympathy for Merit and their hope that she will rally and move on. An interaction between Merit and Luc is a great example of this:
āThere are nights when he seems more absent than others.ā The grief in his voice brought immediate tears to my eyes. I looked away to keep them from falling, but didnāt disagree with the heart-clenching sentiment. āThere are nights when the world is completely askew because heās gone,ā I agreed.ā
I felt so strongly for Merit as a woman and a vampire of significance in Cadogen House and the wider Chicagoland universe. Her need to carry on, to move on and accept her new reality juxtaposed against her need to cling to whatever she had left of Ethan, even though their relationship was so short and fraught with tension, which was never really resolved. Then the betrayal of her father and her inability to talk anything out with Ethan, the man she realises sheād come to depended on far more than she realised.
āHe was an imperialistic, self-righteous pain in the ass. But he was my pain in the ass, you know? And tonight, I wonāt be with him. That definitely feels strange.ā
In terms of the plot, I saw the ending coming right from the beginning and I had strong suspicions of who the antagonist was going to be, though I had hoped it wouldnāt be who I thought it would be. The book ends on a semi-upbeat cliffhanger. Things are definitely not setttled or right in Meritās world, but a key part of her future is back in play, even if things are perhaps going to run a bit differently from here on out.
This book was frustrating for me as I didnāt think the plot really worked, the GP was clearly corrupt and yet they were still following their orders and entertaining frank even when he put their lives in danger. They shouldāve just kicked him out and said to hell with it, not like the GP could do anything more than they already were
Coming into Drink Deep I knew that there was going to be a lot of explaining to do. I mean at the end of the last book one of our main characters was dead and considering this character is in the rest of the books some pretty major stuff was going to go down. So I went in knowing some strange things (well stranger than usual) were afoot and I was just along for the ride. What I really didnāt expect was the reveal of the villain. HOLY SMOKES!
A main focus in Drink Deep is magic. In previous installments weāve delved deeper into vampire politics and the shifter society. Now we are getting to see more of the Sorcerers, the Order, and all the magic they wield. Chicago is having some pretty crazy shit going down so of course everyone blames the vamps right off the bat. However, the real culprit is some pretty dark magic.
Thatās totally a reference that Mallory would love btw!
There is definitely going to be more magic and all of its political intrigue to come in the future and Iām not sure how itās going to play out. But I am sure itās going to be one crazy, bumpy, wild road to go down.
Jonah takes on a much larger role in Drink Deep. Iāve got to say, heās a pretty awesome guy. Likeā¦ I totally would want to date him if he was real. Heās sexy, funny, and kind. Heās the trifecta! But for Merit, heās just not Ethan and so there wonāt be anything romantic going down there. Hereās the great thing about Jonah: while he does want more from Merit he doesnāt treat her friendship as a consolation prize. He respects her as a person and values her friendship enough that heās not going to actively try to break up her relationship or insert himself as a romantic option. LOVE HIM SO MUCH! Heās such a great example of what a man should be like in real life.
I was right that we hadnāt heard the last from Tate. Heās kind of like the Joker to Meritās Batman. Tate sees Merit as a worthy adversary and Iām intrigued by the possibilities of how this relationship will develop. Heās not necessarily evil. Heās more amoral. Considering heās likely some kind of ancient magical being (Iām betting on a god of some kind) it would make sense for him to see the world around him in a completely different way beyond the constructs of good and evil. P.S. Is it just me or does anyone else picture Tate as Justin Trudeau but smelling like Savannah Smiles?
As for the future, a lot of things are uncertain. Personally, I want Cadogan House to give the GP the proverbial middle finger and declare their independence. Grey House would probably even back them. Navarre House are a bunch of twats so who cares about them. Also, Iāve had about enough of McKetrick. What a piece of work, am I right? Anywayā¦ Iām excited to see whatās next for Merit and her friends on their continuing adventures.
A main focus in Drink Deep is magic. In previous installments weāve delved deeper into vampire politics and the shifter society. Now we are getting to see more of the Sorcerers, the Order, and all the magic they wield. Chicago is having some pretty crazy shit going down so of course everyone blames the vamps right off the bat. However, the real culprit is some pretty dark magic.
Thatās totally a reference that Mallory would love btw!
Spoiler
So in the reveal of the big bad in Drink Deep we find out that Mallory has gone full blown Dark Willow from season 6 of Buffy. Like full on addicted to black magic going to destroy the city and make Ethan her magic zombie slave. Never ever would have expected this from her so as far as the narrative is concerned I think this is such an interesting road to go down. I wonder if it will end the same way as in Buffy where her best friend, Merit, will be able to pull her back from the brink. It hasnāt happened so far but Iām excited to find out how it shakes out.Jonah takes on a much larger role in Drink Deep. Iāve got to say, heās a pretty awesome guy. Likeā¦ I totally would want to date him if he was real. Heās sexy, funny, and kind. Heās the trifecta! But for Merit, heās just not Ethan and so there wonāt be anything romantic going down there. Hereās the great thing about Jonah: while he does want more from Merit he doesnāt treat her friendship as a consolation prize. He respects her as a person and values her friendship enough that heās not going to actively try to break up her relationship or insert himself as a romantic option. LOVE HIM SO MUCH! Heās such a great example of what a man should be like in real life.
Spoiler
Iām so incredibly excited that they are partners in the Red Guard. They work amazing together and Iām not so secretly in love with Jonah so Iām over the moon that he will be a main character from here on out.I was right that we hadnāt heard the last from Tate. Heās kind of like the Joker to Meritās Batman. Tate sees Merit as a worthy adversary and Iām intrigued by the possibilities of how this relationship will develop. Heās not necessarily evil. Heās more amoral. Considering heās likely some kind of ancient magical being (Iām betting on a god of some kind) it would make sense for him to see the world around him in a completely different way beyond the constructs of good and evil.
Spoiler
Merit smelled that lemon sugar Tate smell right after Ethan was resurrected. I wonder if Tate had a hand in it? As for the future, a lot of things are uncertain.
Spoiler
Ethan got brought back from the dead and there may be some unknown repercussions just waiting to drop. Also, Mallory is on the loose and trying to be an evil sorceress supreme.
"Ein Biss zu viel" ist der 5. Band der "Chicagoland Vampires" Reihe von Autorin Chloe Neill. FĆ¼r mich war das ein Reread in Hƶrbuchform. An dieser Stelle muss ich unbedingt einmal loswerden, wie blƶd ich die deutschen Titel finde. Der Sinn dieser Namen erschlieĆt sich mir einfach nicht.
Ich wĆ¼rde echt gerne auf den Inhalt eingehen, will aber keinen spoilern. Deswegen versuche ich das alles ein wenig zu umschreiben. Wer die BĆ¼cher gelesen hat, wird sicher wissen, was ich meine.
Am Ende vom 4. Band gab es ja einen groĆen Knall, der einige Leser*innen an den Rand des Wahnsinns getrieben hat. Dennoch gefƤllt mir Teil 5 unheimlich gut. Merit ist als Protagonistin gewachsen, sie ist unabhƤngig und stark. Diese Merit gefƤllt mir noch viel besser, auch wenn sie im Prinzip immer eine richtige Heldin war.
Ich bin auĆerdem ein sehr groĆer Jonah Fan. Seinen Charakter mag ich richtig gerne. Auch wenn ich mit dem Ende durchaus zufrieden bin, hƤtte das in meinen Augen nicht unbedingt sein mĆ¼ssen. Ich hƤtte die Reihe auf jeden Fall weiterverfolgt. Bitte nicht falsch verstehen, ich freue mich Ć¼ber die Entwicklung des Buches. Dennoch glaube ich, dass es auch anders funktioniert hƤtte. Es muss in meinen Augen nicht immer alles Friede, Freude, Eierkuchen sein!
Wer am Schluss der Geschichte "der Bƶsewicht" ist, hat mich beim ersten Mal lesen tatsƤchlich ziemlich schockiert. Irgendwie habe ich es geahnt, wollte es aber nicht wahrhaben. Die Ćberraschung ist trotz Vorahnung gelungen. Autorin Chloe Neill hat das wirklich gut umgesetzt!
Ich freue mich schon auf die nƤchsten Teile. Die āChicagoland Vampiresā Reihe kann ich wirklich allen Vampirfans ans Herz legen. Von mir bekommt das Buch auf jeden Fall 5 Sterne!
Hier folgen noch einige Infos zum Hƶrbuch:
11 Stunden und 47 Minuten / UngekĆ¼rzte Ausgabe
Sprecherin: Elena Wilms
Ich wĆ¼rde der Sprecherin 4,5 - 5 Sterne geben.
Verlag: Audible Studios
Ich wĆ¼rde echt gerne auf den Inhalt eingehen, will aber keinen spoilern. Deswegen versuche ich das alles ein wenig zu umschreiben. Wer die BĆ¼cher gelesen hat, wird sicher wissen, was ich meine.
Am Ende vom 4. Band gab es ja einen groĆen Knall, der einige Leser*innen an den Rand des Wahnsinns getrieben hat. Dennoch gefƤllt mir Teil 5 unheimlich gut. Merit ist als Protagonistin gewachsen, sie ist unabhƤngig und stark. Diese Merit gefƤllt mir noch viel besser, auch wenn sie im Prinzip immer eine richtige Heldin war.
Ich bin auĆerdem ein sehr groĆer Jonah Fan. Seinen Charakter mag ich richtig gerne. Auch wenn ich mit dem Ende durchaus zufrieden bin, hƤtte das in meinen Augen nicht unbedingt sein mĆ¼ssen. Ich hƤtte die Reihe auf jeden Fall weiterverfolgt. Bitte nicht falsch verstehen, ich freue mich Ć¼ber die Entwicklung des Buches. Dennoch glaube ich, dass es auch anders funktioniert hƤtte. Es muss in meinen Augen nicht immer alles Friede, Freude, Eierkuchen sein!
Wer am Schluss der Geschichte "der Bƶsewicht" ist, hat mich beim ersten Mal lesen tatsƤchlich ziemlich schockiert. Irgendwie habe ich es geahnt, wollte es aber nicht wahrhaben. Die Ćberraschung ist trotz Vorahnung gelungen. Autorin Chloe Neill hat das wirklich gut umgesetzt!
Ich freue mich schon auf die nƤchsten Teile. Die āChicagoland Vampiresā Reihe kann ich wirklich allen Vampirfans ans Herz legen. Von mir bekommt das Buch auf jeden Fall 5 Sterne!
Hier folgen noch einige Infos zum Hƶrbuch:
11 Stunden und 47 Minuten / UngekĆ¼rzte Ausgabe
Sprecherin: Elena Wilms
Ich wĆ¼rde der Sprecherin 4,5 - 5 Sterne geben.
Verlag: Audible Studios
It's been about two months since the confrontation in the mayor's office and Merit is finally coming into her own without Ethan in her life to guide and conflict her. She's working to get to the bottom of the source of strange phenomena beginning with the blackening of the lake and river. She's partnered again with Jonah, which creates some interesting dynamics. Meanwhile, her relationship with Mallory becomes strained as the sorceress-in-training is stressed out trying to prepare for her exams. Finally to add insult, the GP sends a representative to evaluate Cadogen House and he's an idiot who further complicates the situation.
I enjoyed the story with its myriad of vampire and human political issues. Merit is proving her mettle as she navigates this mess with skill, even when she creates some bumps of her own. Her relationship with Jonah was...complicated, as it should be. There were a few more sups introduced who were incredibly interesting and entertaining. The river nymphs make another dramatic appearance, providing some needed comic relief.
I have mixed feelings about the ending. While I was pleased with one outcome, I'm not certain I am with how it came to fruition. And, the splinter of one important relationship was a disappointment, not the story but for what it means to Merit. I believe it will add much needed complexity going forward. Overall, I liked the story and am anxious to learn the outcome of yet another cliffhanger.
I enjoyed the story with its myriad of vampire and human political issues. Merit is proving her mettle as she navigates this mess with skill, even when she creates some bumps of her own. Her relationship with Jonah was...complicated, as it should be. There were a few more sups introduced who were incredibly interesting and entertaining. The river nymphs make another dramatic appearance, providing some needed comic relief.
I have mixed feelings about the ending. While I was pleased with one outcome, I'm not certain I am with how it came to fruition. And, the splinter of one important relationship was a disappointment, not the story but for what it means to Merit. I believe it will add much needed complexity going forward. Overall, I liked the story and am anxious to learn the outcome of yet another cliffhanger.
OMG Chloe writes these books so good that I am addicted to it like chocolate!! I have loved every minute of it and didn't see some of it coming. :-) I love authors who can do that!!!
Redundant elements within the story as well as a predictable story overall. Still, there were some fun parts and the world is still interesting.
The Merit-Malory storyline hit way too close to home for me. Not sure if I'm okay with resurrection suddenly being possible, either. This book marks a turning point in the series, I think. Happy that Merit's made a final decision regarding the Red Guard, though.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes