Hard Bitten

This is another book where coming up with a coherent review is pretty difficult. I'll try my best. While there where things that I enjoyed in

Hard Bitten, there were also things I did not.

WARNING: I'll do my best to keep this spoiler-free by using tags, but those spoiler tags are there for a reason. They contain major spoilers, as well as my thoughts on them. It's up to you if you read below this point.

In the beginning, we see Merit with Mallory offering some much needed "motivational magic", but then no more Mallory, only brief calls throughout and finally there at the end to support Merit. I was really hoping for more interaction between the two of them.

Especially after we learn right off the bat that Mal's freaked by the type(s) of magic she's having to learn.

Really hoping to learn more about that in the next book.

I liked seeing more of Jonah.

But, now I wonder, more so after Ethan's death, if Merit will decide to join the Red Guard or not. Chloe implied on several occasions throughout the book that not only was his respect for Merit growing, but his ... feelings ... were too. Hmmm, not sure how I feel about that, but I like him, so we'll see where she takes it.

I felt the who-done-it was too obvious. That surprised me. Past installments have had more suspense, more action that I felt this one lacked.

I liked the V-drug storyline only in that the drug and its effects were interesting. But, I'm over Celine. Thank goodness Merit finally staked that bitch in the heart. Good riddance.

Since so many people had referred to the ending of this book with loads of OMG! and WTH!, it was obvious before I started it that there would be some major occurrence or revelation towards the end. Knowing that going into the book, I found myself trying to guess what the big shocker(s) might be. That may or may not have taken away from the story a bit, no way to know for sure. But, I do know that my search lead me to guess, what I'm assuming was, one of the shocking revelations made.

There were hints throughout the book that lead me to guess that Merit's

sperm donor dad was somehow involved in her attack. While I find it hard to believe a parent could ever do that for business reasons, based on what Chloe's told us about him so far, it made sense. BTW - What a dick! I was happy to learn, and hope it's true, that Ethan really did refuse his offer.

I'm looking forward to [b:Drink Deep|9815702|Drink Deep (Chicagoland Vampires, #5)|Chloe Neill|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1296789716s/9815702.jpg|14706158]. I've read the first and part of the second chapters that Chloe posted on her site

HERE.

This spoiler contains my thoughts on those preview pages. If you don't want to read the sneak peek, don't open this spoiler!

--->

The book opens with Jonah teaching Merit the excitement to be had by free falling. Oh how I'd love to be able to do that and not kill myself. And, as I suspected, there is more to Jonah's feelings for Merit, other than respect alone. Will they or won't they??

Jonah had been more than happy to act as Ethan’s replacement—professionally and otherwise. The messages we’d exchanged over the last few weeks—and the hope in his eyes tonight—said he was interested in something more than just supernatural problem-solving.

There was no denying Jonah was handsome. Or charming. Or brilliant in a weirdly quirky way. Honestly, he could have starred in his own romantic comedy. But I wasn’t ready to even think about dating again, I didn’t think I would be any time soon. My heart was otherwise engaged, and since Ethan’s death, mostly broken.

I'm looking forward to learning more about Malik, now Master of the house. He has the unfortunate job of dealing with Frank, the GP's receiver sent in to audit the house. Sounds like that is going to be as much fun as having Dolores Umbridge as head mistress at Hogwarts. He's shares her love of rules and has already started covering the walls with them.

"...a stickler for rules I hadn’t even known existed to the exclusion of everything else. Of course, I was becoming pretty well acquainted with them; Frank had papered one wall of the House’s first floor with the new House rules and the punishments that went along with breaking them."

I'm also glad that Luc and Lindsey are making a go of it. She cracked me up in the preview.

“Deliberative, isn’t he?” I whispered to Lindsey.

She smiled too knowingly for comfort. “You have no idea how deliberative he can be. How . . . thorough.” She leaned toward me, nibbling on a bit of bacon from her burger. “Have I ever waxed poetic about the glory that is the fuzzy-chested vampire wearing nothing but cowboy boots?”

Midbite, I squeezed my eyes closed, but it was too late to block the image of Luc wearing nothing but his birthday suit and sassy, red boots. “That’s my former boss you’re talking about,” I whispered. “And I’m trying to eat.”

“You’re thinking about him naked, aren’t you?”

“Unfortunately.”

She patted my arm. “And to think—I was actually hesitant about dating him. Oh, and speaking of which. Chaps. Enough said.”

“Enough most definitely said.” Lindsey was becoming my new, in-House Mallory, complete with conquest details. Sigh.

“In that case, I’ll leave you to your imagination. But I strongly recommend the therapeutic application of fuzzy-chested vampire to grief. It works miracles.”

“I am sincerely glad to hear that. But if you keep talking, I will poke your eyes out with a toothpick.” I shoved a handful of napkins in her general direction. “Shut up and eat your burger.”

Ch2's bitty bit is another one of Merit's dreams about her and Ethan. Like the dream she had at the end of HB, I'm really wondering where exactly Chloe plans on taking that storyline. Is their connection alive after death? Is he really trying to tell her something or is she just missing him so much that she thinks he is? She stopped him mid-sentence when he started to tell her that he loved her. Maybe, but probably not, he's just finishing that sentence and she's ??? what, I don't know, not ready to hear it even after his death? I have no idea, but I'm hoping it's something that is explained fully in the next book and not something that lingers over several.

And ... that's where it ends. And now, we wait! :