Wild Things A Chicagoland Vampires Novel

And the pup is out of the bag, but the series hasn't lost its shine. YAY for me I guess

For once I do not know how to review a book in the Chicagoland Vampires series. I’ve been sitting here for half an hour and I don’t know where to start or what to say. This was very enjoyable, it was. Merit is still my second favourite kick-butt heroine of all times (after Kate Daniels of course!) and the plot was entertaining but the book feels like a filler of sorts. It seems Chloe Neill is setting things up and prepping us for the next instalment. The last time she did that (in Drink Deep) I didn’t mind much because despite the lack of action, the book was an amazingly emotional ride (view spoiler)[(what with Merit trying to deal with her grief and Ethan being brought back to life) (hide spoiler)]. Wild things isn’t such an emotional roller-coaster and although there are some cool fight scenes, we never get into full battle mode. It’s more of a supernatural crime-solving mystery. It’s enjoyable but it does lack some edge compared to other instalments in the series. That being said, I gave the book four stars, which does mean I loved it! So what did I love about it? Mostly the fact that the CV world keeps expanding, with new sups coming into the story with each new instalments, which keeps things interesting (view spoiler)[(Elves who have a contract with the NAC!! Harpies!! Okay the harpies aren’t real but that was pretty cool all the same! Another Tate-like being!) (hide spoiler)]. I also loved that we finally learned a bit more about Gabe’s prophecy and can’t wait to find out how Neill plans to take us there! One very bumpy ride ahead I’m sure! Neill’s writing has improved a lot since the beginning of the series. As a whole, this book is much better structured than the previous ones which makes for flawless reading. In past instalments you pretty much had to read half of the book before the plot started to fully unfold but it’s definitely not the case here. Wild Things picks up minutes after the final scene in Biting Bad and it’s pretty much non-stop action from the very first page to the very last one. No slow development here which is very refreshing. Neill also does a fantastic job with the cast of character. Did I mention I LOVE Merit? Okay, I guess I did ;) What else? I absolutely LOVE Merit & Ethan in Wild Things. I loved where they were in Biting Bad but here their relationship really is in full bloom. Arrghhh, I really can’t wait to hear more about Gabe’s prophecy!!! (view spoiler)[The fact that Merit actually told Ethan about it (*and* about the Lakshmi business) really goes to show how much she has changed. She no longer holds anything back from him. It’s great! (hide spoiler)] My favourite secondary characters are definitely Gabe (I love the relationship he has with his “kitten”!), Luc, Lindsey and Jeff. I was actually surprised we didn’t get to hear more about him and Fallon. (view spoiler)[I love Fallon and after reading Howling For You I was expecting to see more of them as a couple here but it just didn’t happen, too bad. (hide spoiler)]I also love Berna, Paige and Arthur (yes, he actually has a name!) the librarian and I wish we’d see more of them. (view spoiler)[Great news: Seth Tate is finally back! I did a happy dance when Merit found him! I was anxiously waiting for him to return and I’m really excited about his coming back : ) (hide spoiler)] Catcher and Mallory are more or less back in my good graces but I’m not in full forgiveness mode yet. We also get two great new characters here (yay!): Damien and Emma (the girl kicks butt!). I love them already and can’t wait to read more about them. Oh, and I almost forgot about Boo the kitten! Lovely addition to the cast;) (view spoiler)[I guess the ending of the book was a bit anti-climatic as I never expected Ethan to choose the GP over Merit. I knew he’d jump at the opportunity of challenging Darius and would figure out a way to both take over the GP and keep Merit. Much as with Gabe’s prophecy, the road there will undoubtedly be tricky but I know things will work out eventually. (hide spoiler)] All in all a pretty good instalment which makes it hard not to dive into the next book right away. Blood Games here I come!

This series gets better with each installment