Monday, March 10, 2014

Review: Wild Things (Chicagoland Vampires #8)

But who—or what—could possibly be powerful enough to out-magic a shifter? Merit is about to go toe to toe, and cold steel to cold heart, to find out.

Wild Things, by Chloe Neill, is the eighth novel in the Chicagoland Vampires series. Merit and Ethan Sullivan have sought refuge with the North American Central Park to escape law enforcement that have accused Ethan of a crime that he did not commit. During their hideaway place, a strange and twisted magic ripped through the shapeshifters' ceremony, sending mythological creatures on a murdering rampage. It has left the pack mourning the deaths of their comrades and wanting blood. Gabriel Keene, the pack Apex, looks to Merit and Ethan for help. Their investigation leads down a dark magical path that not even Merit could have imagined--someone is capturing and imprisoning supernaturals. When the clues lead to an old case, Merit seeks the help of a friend to stop the madness before it consumes all of Chicago.

This was a fun novel to read, especially how Neill referred back to an old (and much anticipated) case in Biting Cold. The plot was different (for once, both Ethan and Merit were vulnerable to an enemy they could not understand its moves or motive) and, as a result, the story exceeded my expectations. The book also shifts into a new arc regarding the future of Ethan's role with Cadogan House. Will he stay or will he challenge the current leader of the Greenwich Presidium? Although Merit doesn't want Ethan to leave, this is a golden opportunity for him to expand his power base. I didn't think Neill would revisit the angel arc, but I look forward to reading it in future novels. Things keep getting weirder for Merit, but no one knows the Windy Center better than she does.

Stay tuned for the ninth novel in the Chicagoland Vampire series, Blood Games.

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