Naturally, because she's MERIT, she still comes out swinging (and looks good while doing it!). Merit is unusually vulnerable this time around, thanks to a psychic attack that leaves her terrified and off-kilter. Neill seems determined to redeem after his previous jackassery, so hopefully he will finally follow through on growing up and start being part of the solution instead of a problem. Still, the peek inside the dysfunction junction that is Navarre House and the introduction of the ominous crime ring The Circle made enduring his presence worth it.

Honestly, I was handling Morgan's absence from the series just fine (I'll never, ever forgive that 'slutty leather' comment in Twice Bitten) and the revelation of the nature of his relationship with his late master, Celina, makes him a hypocrite in my eyes, after the way he hassled Merit about her relationship with Ethan in previous books. This book sees the return of Morgan, Master of Navarre House and Merit's sorta ex. And from beyond the ashes, Celina Desaulniers, the series' first and best villain, keeps making trouble, bringing a hitherto-unknown crime syndicate into the mix that threatens to destroy Navarre House as well as decimate so much of the progress American vampires have made. If you read the synopsis at the top of the page, you know the gist of Dark Debt's plot - Master of Cadogan House Ethan Sullivan's own presumed-dead master, Balthasar, hits Chicago, determined to bring Ethan down and take all he has for his own. And in this, the 11th of 13 planned installments, Chloe Neill is bringing the series back to its roots. If I'm reading a series called Chicagoland VAMPIRES, then I want to read about vampires. In fact, with the series' more recent books I've sometimes found myself slogging through that aspect a bit to get to what I *really* want - all the things that are woven around the mysteries, such as Merit's personal growth and continuing rise to utter awesomeness, the snark and humor, the friendships, the fun and/or intriguing supporting characters, and of course, METHAN.īut this time out, I found the central mysteries quite a bit more engaging, not so much because they were harder to figure out than in previous installments, but because they felt more personal and connected to Ethan, Merit and all Chicago's vampire houses, as opposed to Dominic Tate's previously unknown daughter, the random shifters, etc in earlier books. I admit it: I don't read the Chicagoland Vampires novels for the mysteries.

Dark debt chloe neill