Review: Friday Night Bites by Chloe Neill

Friday Night Bites by Chloe Neill

Series: Chicagoland Vampires, Book #2

Published: September 2nd, 2009

Publisher: NAL Trade

357 pages (paperback)

Genre: Adult paranormal/urban fantasy

Acquired this book: From the library

Warning: May contain spoilers

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 {Read my review of Some Girls Bite}

You’d think headlines like that would have provoked the fine citizens of the Windy City to take up arms against us bloodsucking fiends. Instead, ten months later, we’re enjoying a celebrity status reserved for the Hollywood elite—fending off paparazzi only slightly less dangerous than cross and stake-wielding slayers. Don’t get me wrong, Joe Public isn’t exactly thrilled to be living side-by-side with the undead, but at least they haven’t stormed the castle yet.

But all that will change once they learn about the Raves—mass feeding parties where vampires round up humans like cattle and drink themselves silly. Most civilized vampires frown on this behavior, putting mere mortals at ease with their policy of asking a person’s consent before taking a big gulp of the red stuff. However, that doesn’t make good copy for a first time reporter looking to impress his high society family.

So now my “master,” the centuries old, yet gorgeously well-preserved Ethan Sullivan, wants me to reconnect with my own upper class family and act as liaison between humans and vampires—and keep the more unsavory aspects of our existence out of the media. But someone doesn’t want people and vamps to play nicey-nice—someone with an ancient grudge.

I loved Some Girls Bite, the first book in the Chicagoland Vampires series. I thought it was original, funny, and action-packed, and I was eager to see where the series went. I never thought this would be a series that would suffer from second book syndrome, but it was. Friday Night Bites was…meh. It was slow (it took me almost two weeks to read) and lacked so many of the things that made Some Girls Bite so fantastic. I wanted to love this book so badly, but it really fell short.

There wasn’t a whole lot of development in Friday Night Bites. There were some issues with Merit and Mallory’s friendship, and Merit learned a little bit about her vampire side, but it all felt kind of superficial. It could have been fleshed out more and added to the plot, but it felt like it was thrown in halfheartedly, and as a result I was bored and found it hard to get invested in the characters. The romances were also really disappointing. Merit got nowhere with Ethan (who I felt we could have learned a bit more about), and I was beginning to like where things were going with Morgan until he turned into a possessive, jealous, untrusting jerk...mind you, I guess Merit was leading him on, but still. The way he started treating her just didn't sit right with me. At this point I don’t know who Merit should end up with, nor do I particularly care because nothing made me care in this book. 

I found Merit hard to like at times, when I absolutely adored her in Some Girls Bite and thought she was this strong, kickass heroine who was easy to admire and respect. Where did that girl go? I only saw very small glimpses of her in Friday Night Bites.

The plot - what there was of it - was fairly interesting, although similar to the first book. I’m curious to learn more about the Breckinridges, and see how Merit fits back into her family now that she’s a vampire.

Overall, I found Friday Night Bites to be a big disappointment. It lacked in action, romance, and character development, and left me unable to connect with the characters or the story. However, I’m not quite ready to say goodbye to Merit and the gang just yet. Because I loved Some Girls Bite so much, I’m hopeful that Friday Night Bites was just a bump in the road and that the series will pick up. I feel like this series has a lot of potential, and I’m looking forward to reading the third book and hopefully falling back in love with the Chicagoland Vampires.

2.5 stars

Have you read Friday Night Bites or any of the other Chicagoland Vampires series? What did you think?

 

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Top Ten Tuesday: Series I Haven't Finished

 Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Top Ten Series I Haven't Finished

I’m horrible at finishing series. I’ll read the first book in a series and even if I love it, it’s rare that I carry on with the next book right away. There are a few exceptions - Harry Potter, Twilight, The Hunger Games, the Passport to Peril series, Stephanie Plum, any series by Nora Roberts - but overall I just suck at carrying on with series. There are so many books to read, and there are so many series that I could easily just read series, but I love standalones. Plus I hate it when you love a book and then have to wait ages for the next one, so I tend to wait until there are a bunch of books out in the series, or until it’s completed so I know if I don’t want to wait, I don’t have to.

Anyway, on with the list!

Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
I read Anne of Green Gables, as well as Anne of Avonlea when I was in my early teens, and I reread AoGG this summer, but I haven’t read the rest of the books, even though I own them. AoGG is one of my favourite books ever, so I really have no excuse for not finishing this series.

Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants by Ann Brashares
I read the first three books several years ago, and for the last two summers I’ve been intending to reread them and then read the fourth book. I also bought the fifth book this spring, so I really wanted to read the whole series, but I didn’t have time. I still want to, though - I love this series! Maybe this winter since I didn't do it this summer?

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
I read Vampire Academy last year and really enjoyed it. This one just falls under the ‘I suck at carrying on with series’ category.

The Iron Fey by Julie Kagawa
I read and loved The Iron King last year. I sort of put off reading the rest of the series because I figured I’d like to read them back-to-back but didn’t want to have to wait for more books in the series. Now I don’t have that excuse! My next excuse is that I'd really love to own the series, but I can't really afford to buy them right now.

Fever by Karen Marie Moning
I didn’t carry on with this series after Darkfever because Mac annoyed me so much. One of my friends read it after reading my review and agreed with my dislike of Mac, but he kept reading the series and said she gets less annoying, plus so many people love this series that I do intend to carry on with it eventually.

Sookie Stackhouse by Charlaine Harris
I’ve actually read the first five books in this series, which is pretty good considering my track record. I don’t love them, but after watching True Blood, I saw the books in a bit of a different light. It seems like I’ve read about one a year, which means I’m due for another one soon lol

Chicagoland Vampires by Chloe Neill
I loved Some Girls Bite when I read it last year, and I’m looking forward to continuing with the series…again, eventually.

Queen Betsy/Undead by MaryJanice Davidson
I read quite a few of these books, and although I loved them at first, I got tired of them pretty quickly. They went from hilarious and kooky to ridiculous - and not in a good way. I don’t think I’ll finish this series, however I did love MJ’s Alaskan Royal Family trilogy.

Immortal by Gillian Shields
I read Immortal, the first book in this series, last year and loved it. My reason for not carrying on? See #3 on this list.

Women of the Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong
I read Bitten a couple years ago but haven’t carried on with the series. I really need to, because I love Kelley’s books.

**Notice that most of these series are adult series? That could be part of why I haven’t continued with them, since I read mostly YA these days!**

What are some series you haven't finished, and why? Let me know in the comments, or link me to your post so I can check it out!

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Book Review: Some Girls Bite by Chloe Neill

Some Girls Bite by Chloe Neill

Series: Chicagoland Vampires #1

Published: April 7th, 2009

Publisher: NAL Trade

341 pages (paperback)

Genre: Paranormal romance/urban fantasy

Acquired this book: From the library

Challenge: 2011 Spooktacular Paranormal Reading Challenge

Warning: may include spoilers

{GoodReads || Amazon}

Synopsis: Sure, the life of a graduate student wasn't exactly glamorous, but it was Merit's. She was doing fine until a rogue vampire attacked her. But he only got a sip before he was scared away by another bloodsucker-and this one decided the best way to save her life was to make her the walking undead.

Turns out her savior was the master vampire of Cadogan House. Now she's traded sweating over her thesis for learning to fit in at a Hyde Park mansion full of vamps loyal to Ethan "Lord o' the Manor" Sullivan. Of course, as a tall, green-eyed, four-hundred- year-old vampire, he has centuries' worth of charm, but unfortunately he expects her gratitude- and servitude. But an inconvenient sunlight allergy and Ethan's attitude are the least of her concerns. Someone's still out to get her. Her initiation into Chicago's nightlife may be the first skirmish in a war-and there will be blood.

My thoughts on Some Girls Bite:

After reading mostly YA books for the last several months, this book was a nice change. As much as I love YA (and I really do, it’s an addiction), sometimes it’s nice to read about people my own age (literally – Merit was 27, about to turn 28, and so am I).

I’m always happy to find a book where there’s a twist on vampires. The vampire House concept was really neat, and I liked how there was a bit of traditional vampire lore (like aversion to sunlight) mixed in with some new ideas.

The characters in this book are fantastic. I love Merit, Mallory, Catcher, Jeff, Ethan, Morgan, Merit's grandfather - all of them. Merit is full of strength and sass, fearless but with a vulnerable side, and she’s just an overall terrific character. I liked her from the beginning, and just continued to like her more and more as the story went on. We get to watch her grow, change, struggle, and discover her abilities, and because of those things, despite the fact that she's a vampire, she's very relatable.

I loved the friendship between Merit and Mallory. They’re loyal to each other and their personalities compliment each other nicely. They’re definitely two girls I’d like to have as friends! I also loved watching Mallory and Catcher develop a relationship – it was almost instant, despite the fact that Mallory went into it kind of begrudgingly, especially when she learns of her powers.

Ethan and Morgan are both sexy, smooth vampires. Because they’re from rival houses, and Merit is clearly attracted to both of them, I think they’re going to present an interesting (and tense) love triangle as the series continues. I know that just from this first book, I couldn't pick between them!

Overall, Some Girls Bite is a fantastic book. It jumps right in, and has something for everyone – action, romance, suspense, sexual tension, humour, friendship. I can’t wait to read the next book, Friday Night Bites!

Waiting on Wednesday (9) & WWW Wednesday (19)

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine and is meant to showcase upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting. This week I'm waiting on...

The Demon Lover by Juliet Dark

Expected publication: December 27th, 2011

{GoodReads || Amazon}

Synopsis: Since accepting a teaching position at remote Fairwick College in upstate New York, Callie McFay has experienced the same disturbingly erotic dream every night: A mist enters her bedroom, then takes the shape of a virile, seductive stranger who proceeds to ravish her in the most toe-curling, wholly satisfying ways possible. Perhaps these dreams are the result of writing her bestselling book, The Sex Lives of Demon Lovers. After all, Callie’s lifelong passion is the intersection of lurid fairy tales and Gothic literature—which is why she finds herself at Fairwick’s renowned folklore department, living in a once-stately Victorian house that, at first sight, seemed to call her name.
But Callie soon realizes that her dreams are alarmingly real. She has a demon lover—an incubus—and he will seduce her, pleasure her, and eventually suck the very life from her. Then Callie makes another startling discovery: He’s not the only mythical creature in Fairwick. As the tenured witches of the college and the resident fairies in the surrounding woods prepare to cast out the incubus, Callie must accomplish something infinitely more difficult—banishing this demon lover from her heart.

This sounds so freaking good! Sexy and mysterious and just wow. I'll admit, one thing I miss when reading YA is steamy sex scenes lol...don't judge! A girl's gotta live vicariously sometimes haha. This book seems like it'll weave a bit of everything together. Can't wait! I might have to pre-order it as a Christmas present: to me, from me. ;-)

 

What are you waiting on this week?

*****

WWW Wednesdays is a weekly meme hosted by Should Be Reading.  All you have to do is answer these 3 questions:

1. What are you currently reading?
2. What did you recently finish reading?
3. What do you think you'll read next?
Simple right?  I love to read and love to know what other people are reading!

What are you currently reading? Right now, I'm reading a hard copy book and an ebook. The hard copy is Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson. I'm not loving it, but I'm going to stick with it. The ebook is Flame of Surrender by Rhiannon Paille. I just started it today, I'm on page 61, and it's quite interesting. 

What did you recently finish reading? Over the weekend, I participated in the Wonderfully Wicked Read-a-Thon and finished reading Farsighted by Emlyn Chand, and Some Girls Bite by Chloe Neill (review to come later today or tomorrow).

What do you think you'll read next? Next up is 13 on Halloween by Laura A. H. Elliot (review book), and one of the gazillion ebooks I've received for review. I need to make a list of the order they arrived/when the reviews are due, and see what's supposed to be next.

What have you been reading?

 

Wonderfully Wicked Read-a-Thon!

My very first read-a-thon!! I'm really excited. I've been busting my butt to get all my work done this week so that I can read all weekend, participate in the challenges, and visit other participants.

The technical stuff: Wonderfully Wicked Read-a-Thon is being hosted by My Shelf Confessions and Kindle Fever from today (October 21st) to the the 23rd. You can make blog posts with your updates, join the Twitter fun with the hashtag #WWReadathon, enter the daily challenges (more info on the hosts' blogs), and just have a lot of fun reading and hanging out with fellow book lovers! Also, if anyone who's participating in my Spooktacular October Paranormal Reading Challenge sees this, and you haven't signed up, this would be a great way to read more paranormal books, because don't forgot, the more you read and the more reviews you post, the more entries you have in the giveaway!

The books I'm hoping to read this weekend:
*Some Girls Bite by Chloe Neill - right now, I'm on page 100, so I want to finish it this weekend
*Farsighted by Emlyn Chand - right now, I'm on page 68, and I want to finish it, too
*I'm the slowest reader in the world, but if by some miracle, I manage to finish those 2 books, I think I'll read Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson

Let me know if you're participating so I can visit you and follow your progress! :-) If you want to find me on Twitter, where I'll try to post regular updates, I'm @SweetMarie83 ;-)

UPDATES

1pm-ish Friday: I sat on the floor with my laptop reading Farsighted, while my mum used my computer to do some proofreading of my novel (yes, she's one of my proofreaders, and an amazing one at that). Got 21 pages read, now breaking for lunch! My bum is kinda numb, but doing good other than that! lol
11pm-ish Friday: Got 83 pages of Farsighted read, and 36 pages of Some Girls Bite read. Had a ton of fun on Twitter - extra special thanks to one of the hosts of the read-a-thon, April (@shelfconfession), and Vicky from Books, Biscuits and Tea (@alouetteuette) for the laughs and fun today! Tomorrow, I plan to finish Farsighted, and hope to finish Some Girls Bite. I'm heading to the library in the morning and to run a couple of errands, but the rest of the day will be dedicated to reading! Good night!

Saturday wrap-up: 
*Finished Farsighted by Emlyn Chand - review will be up Monday as part of her blog tour. 
*Read 85 pages of Some Girls Bite by Chloe Neill
*Participated in A Book and a Latte's 'Let's Talk Horror' challenge
*Had tons of fun on Twitter again! :-D

5:30 pm Sunday: I've read 152 pages of Some Girls Bite by Chloe Neill. Just 48 pages left to go! I've done some rearranging of furniture and brought the rocking chair from the living into my bedroom (which I've been meaning to do for months), so I now have a comfy spot to read in my room, rather than killing my back sitting on the floor or my bed. Yay!
*Participated in My Shelf Confession's Zombie Apocalypse Challenge

The Book Monsters Read in Pictures Challenge:

The challenge is to post pictures that describe what the book you're reading is about. 

Some Girls Bite by Chloe Neill:

This book is about vampires (and other supernatural creatures)

It's set in Chicago

Vampires are divided into Houses, and can choose to live in the house of their House (great explanation, I know lol)

WRAP-UP
I had so much fun!! I can't wait until the next read-a-thon. I ended up finishing Some Girls Bite by Chloe Neill - squeaked it in just before midnight last night lol. I would have had time to finish it and start another one if it hadn't been for my Sunday night TV shows. 
I wasn't able to participate in all the challenges, but I had fun with the ones I did. It was also a blast meeting new people on Twitter, and getting to talk books - my favorite subject! :-D Thanks again to April and Bex for hosting this - you girls rock! <3

Waiting on Wednesday (8) & WWW Wednesday (18)

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine and is meant to showcase upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting. This week I'm waiting on...

 

Flirting in Italian by Lauren Henderson

Expected publication: June 12th, 2012

{GoodReads || Amazon}

 

Synopsis: Four girls. One magical, and possibly dangerous Italian summer. Family mysteries, ancient castles, long hot nights of dancing under the stars . . . and, of course, plenty of gorgeous Italian boys!

The synopsis doesn't give us much to go on, but it sounds cute and I love the cover. I can't believe I have to wait 8 months to read this! In the meantime, I guess I'll have to pick up some of Lauren Henderson's other books.

What are you waiting on this week?

 

*****

WWW Wednesdays is a weekly meme hosted by Should Be Reading.  All you have to do is answer these 3 questions:

1. What are you currently reading?
2. What did you recently finish reading?
3. What do you think you'll read next?
Simple right?  I love to read and love to know what other people are reading!

What are you currently reading? Right now, I'm reading a paperback and an ebook. The paperback is Some Girls Bite by Chloe Neill, and the ebook is Farsighted by Emlyn Chand. I'm not very far into the first book, but I'm about 1/4 of the way through Farsighted, and enjoying it.

 

What did you recently finish reading? Last week, I read Being Human by Patricia Lynne (I have a giveaway going on for a signed copy - the link is at the top of the blog), Hearts at Stake by Alyxandra Harvey, and Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce. I'll have the review up for Sisters Red either later today or tomorrow.

 

What do you think you'll read next? Well, since I'm still doing the Spooktacular Paranormal Reading Challenge, it'll be something paranormal, and god knows my list is long enough that it won't be hard to choose. I'm thinking maybe Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson. 

 

What have you been reading? 

In My Mailbox Week 10

In My Mailbox is weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren.  The idea is to share books you've acquired during the week, whether you've won them, bought them, picked them up at the library, received them for review, whatever.  It's a great way to bring attention to books and authors and share the love!

 

No mail this week! Not a single thing! I could have cried...but I'm enjoying doing these videos so much that I went ahead and did one anyway to show off the book I bought and the book I got from the library. 

 

Books mentioned:

Bought:

The Luxe by Anne Godbersen

Library:

Some Girls Bite by Chloe Neill

What did you get in your mailbox?