Review: Drink Deep

DRINK DEEP (Chicagoland Vampires #5)
Chloe Neill
Urban Fantasy
321 pages
NAL/Penguin
Available November 1st
Received from publisher for review

Warning: Review/synopsis contains massive spoilers from book 4, Hard Bitten, but no spoilers from Drink Deep.

THE STORY
Things for the vampires of Cadogan House are getting darker by the minute. Master vampire Ethan's death has left them all bereft and uncertain of their future, and the continued scrutiny of the vampire ruling council as well as the increasing fear from Chicago's human residents is only making a difficult situation worse.

Merit is perhaps feeling Ethan's absence on deeper level than her fellow initiates despite her relatively new status as a Cadogan Vampire, with disturbingly visceral dreams of her friend, her Master, and her lover haunting her with more frequency. While she struggles mentally and emotionally however, her beloved city falls under a new supernatural attack.

The lake turns black briefly before returning to normal. The sky turns bright red and back again. The new mayor and all her followers are eager to pin the occurrences on the vampires, but the truth is none of Chicago's preternatural creatures seem to know the cause of the strange happenings. All anyone seems to know is that soon natural and supernatural are going to come to a head, and Merit is going to be smack in the middle of it without the man that has always served as her anchor.

MY THOUGHTS
Drink Deep is one of those books that has us staring at the cover sightlessly before reading, lost in our thoughts and caught up in the tumultuous emotional state the previous book left us in, itching to break the spine but also dreading doing so as we wonder if our hearts can endure another shredding and still continue beating. Before the first page is even turned we find ourselves plagued with questions, curious as to whether Ms. Neil will remedy some of the events of Hard Bitten or if each page we read will serve as a single stitch pulling those painful wounds closed, thereby forcing us to move forward with Merit into a life after Ethan. So it is with both a little hesitancy and a great deal of anticipation that we begin this newest installment, hoping for the best but prepared for the worst as we settle into a series that has been shockingly unpredictable and gloriously memorable.

Merit has always been a young woman of strength and substance, free of the entitlement that accompanies her family's name and truly independent by nature. That independence has allowed her to go toe to toe with a Master vampire and not be cowed by the force of his immense personality while also maintaining an admirable caution when it comes to matters of the heart after said Master found himself repeatedly trying to balance his feelings for her with the duty to his house. Post-tragedy Merit is still beautifully recognizable to us despite her obvious pain, dealing with her grief with far more grace than most might be capable of, and returning to her role as Sentinel damaged but certainly not broken. The strength of her emotional loss is tangible without being overwhelming, reminding us of what is missing yet never drowning us in a flood of despondency that prevents us from engaging in the latest of Chicago’s many supernatural problems. She’s strong but still vulnerable, hurting but not closed off or untouchable, and a true leader while remaining humble and so very human.

Drink Deep is a bit slower than its predecessor, and though such a pace is a necessary reprieve from the grueling intensity previously experienced, it does take just a touch longer to get into as a result. Ethan’s absence is glaring, the trademark romantic tension and witty banter between him and Merit something we miss more than we can express in words, but it just proves to us again and again how much of ourselves we’ve invested in this world that the loss of one character could devastate us so utterly. Despite our mourning for Ethan and everything he brought to the Chicagoland Vampire table, Ms. Neill still manages to create some truly fascinating developments for the residents of Cadogan House and the preternatural population as a whole, and she leaves us in a much healthier place at the conclusion of this tale than we were at the same time one book prior. Though our hearts are not quite healed, we find ourselves on the mend by the time we reach the last page, looking forward to the next book with a copious amounts of hope instead of pain.

Rating: 4/5

CHLOE NEILL ON TOUR!

To celebrate the upcoming release of Drink Deep, Chloe will be stopping by a couple different bookstores with fellow fabulous author Rachel Caine where they'll be hosting a "Bite Night Bash" for their readers. Readers who purchase books at the store will be eligible to win free raffle bags filled with notebooks, pencils, vampire swag, books and other cool Penguin gear goodies!

What wouldn't I give to live in Nebraska or Minnesota right now so I could attend! Details about the events are below for all you lucky people who will be in the area:

Thursday, November 3rd

BARNES & NOBLE
Oakview Mall
3333 Oakview Drive
Omaha, NE 68144
402-691-4557 (phone)
7 PM

Meet Rachel Caine & Chloe Neill!


Sunday, November 6th

BARNES & NOBLE
2100 North Snelling Ave
Roseville, MN 55113
(651)-639-9256 (phone)
2 PM
Meet Rachel Caine, Chloe Neill, and Andrea Cremer (author of the Nightshade series)!

Come to the bookstore, meet the authors, have your books signed, and participate in a raffle drawing to receive cool prizes!