Thursday, January 31, 2013

Review: House Rules

HOUSE RULES
Chicagoland Vampires #7
Chloe Neill
Adult Urban Fantasy
352 pages
NAL/Penguin
Available February 5th
Received from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
At the tender age of 27, Merit became a sword-wielding vampire. Since then, she’s become the protector of her House, watched Chicago nearly burn to the ground, and seen her Master fall and rise. Now she’ll see her mettle—and her metal —tested like never before.

It started with two . . . Two rogues vanishing without a trace. Someone is targeting Chicago’s vampires, and anyone could be next. With their house in peril, Merit and her Master, the centuries old Ethan Sullivan, must race to stop the disappearances. But as they untangle a web of secret alliances and ancient evils, they realize their foe is more familiar, and more powerful, than they could have ever imagined.


MY THOUGHTS 
The Chicagoland Vampires series is one that has gained in popularity due in large part to Ms. Neill’s trademark sense of humor and her proficiency in writing witty banter, with a smoldering sexual tension between Merit and deliciously frustrating Master vampire Ethan Sullivan only feeding an already ravenous hunger for the books as a whole. The past couple books have been a bit darker in tone, the playful camaraderie between Merit and both Ethan and Mallory replaced by a somber tone as death and darkness stunned Merit’s world and turned it on its head, but House Rules sees a return of the rapier wit we’ve come to appreciate from Merit, and it’s nothing short of delightful to watch her wield it as she challenges Ethan the way she did in earlier books. Though there is a certain amount of levity threaded through this seventh installment, the seriousness of Cadogan House’s impending defection from the ruling council of vampires is present and accounted for; drama, romance, and mystery all combining to remind us of why we love Merit and company so very much.

Ethan and Merit’s relationship has always been an entertaining battle of wills, Merit’s distaste for authority clashing repeatedly with Ethan’s expectations of obeisance and obedience, and their struggle to patently deny the chemistry between them has been a highlight of each book. The continuation of their stop-and-start relationship in the previous two installments has notched their antics down a touch from amusing to mildly frustrating, but luckily Ms. Neill gives us an Ethan and Merit in House Rules who have learned from their past mistakes and are admirably fighting their knee-jerk reactions to perceived slights in order to set a new standard for their relationship – one of strength and unity rather than fear and doubt.

Though there is no shortage of romantic drama for our leading couple in this story, the way they deal with it shows a great deal of growth, with Ethan in particular making some significant progress in the relationship maturity department. When a few revelations shake the fragile foundation they’ve begun to rebuild, House Rules has them bracing for impact rather than running and ducking for cover as they have before, with Ethan attempting to express his feelings vocally rather than shuttering them away behind his Liege and Master mask. Though he has a long way to go before anyone might describe him as communicative or demonstrative, what we see in this book gives us hope they are on their way to becoming the powerful couple we've always known they could be.

In addition to a strong comedic and romantic performance from both Ethan and Merit, we’re also given a solid mystery in this installment, a serial killer targeting vampires with seemingly little motive keeping us on our toes throughout even as we grit our teeth in frustration at the actions of the Greenwich Presidium against Cadogan House. Ms. Neill successfully juggles several different plotlines, giving each of them due attention while blending them together to form a single cohesive story, and we walk away from this story blissfully satisfied in a way we haven’t quite been for the last couple books.

Rating: 4.5/5

34 comments:

  1. I just skimmed your review because I have only read the first book, but I'm glad the series is getting better than it was in the last couple books. I remember hearing lots of grumblings about it.

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    1. Yeah, Merit and Ethan just lost some of their banter in the last couple books - which made sense given the seriousness of the situation, but it was hard not to miss it. It's back in this book though!

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  2. Maybe.. with this book I am finally back in the series. Don#t get me wrong, I read them all, but ever since she killed Ethan in book (4?) I was a little mad with this series.
    And as much as I love Ethan, his constant pushing Merit away went big on my nerves. But deep down I still love this series!!! So I am more than excited to hear that you loved this one so much and that Ethan seems to emotionally grow :)

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    1. I know, the middle books were a touch frustrating - I still enjoyed them but I wanted Merit and Ethan to finally get to a better place. It feels like they're on their way in this book:)

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  3. Crap. CRAP. Jenny, JENNY. I hesitate to admit that I still haven't read the book before this. What is wrong with me? (Wait. Don't answer that.) I need to READ IT. Because it's Ethan. And Merit. And more Ethan. Sooooon.

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    1. I LOVED this one Amanda! Back to the Merit and Ethan of books 1-3 with the tension and the banter. BUT Ethan has grown so much since those first few books and I really like where he is in this one:)

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  4. I gave up after book 3. Merit just annoyed me so much and do not get me started on Ethan. And it had started out so good

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  5. Ah, I still have only read book one after I told you that spoiler I read on Amazon. I didn't think I could take it. But I do love their witty banter and the sexual tension especially with that guy in my mind, Aubrie....
    Yeah, might have to pick this series up again! Communicative and demonstrative- that is exactly what I think of when I think of Ethan LOL!!

    Heather

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    1. Hahaha yeah, I don't think those two words will ever describe Ethan, but we can hope right? I hope you give the series another try, obviously Ethan is back:)

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  6. Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii! Oh, I'm sorry, was I supposed to be mature? Yeah, no luck! I love Ethan and Merit so much, and now that I know we're back on track, I can confess that I wasn't all too happy with the last two books. They just wasn't what I was used to from this series and I believe Neill lost a fan or two, but I also believe she'll get them back with this one. I know I'll be picking it up as soon as it comes out.
    See? I was mature. I only screamed once.

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    1. Hahaha no, maturity is left at the door with my blog:) And I still liked the last 2 books, but there was something missing, and I feel like we've gotten it back with this one. There's still some Ethan/Merit push and pull, but Ethan is trying to change that first gut instinct to push her away:)

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  7. I got the whole series (minus this one) for Christmas! I will give the series a whirl---though I have been warned (I have read book 1) that the romance will not be to my liking.

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    1. Their romance can definitely be frustrating at times! But I really like where they are as a couple after this book, so I'm excited to see where it goes:)

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  8. Their love story has been so frustrating (in a good way)! I love the push and pull between them and, most especially, their back and forth banter. This is one of my favorite relationships out there -- it's so well written and both characters ROCK. Can't wait to read this one!

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    1. ME TOO! Their banter is back in full force with this one Mary, I think you'll be happy:)

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  9. I enjoyed the first few books for exactly the reasons you mentioned - the witty, intelligent humour and smouldering sexual tension. I'm glad to hear House Rules has that banter back! Brilliant review, Jenny. You've reminded me that I still need to continue with this series! I can't wait though. :)

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    1. Love that sexual tension Sam, there's lots of it in this one since Ethan's ex is back in the mix:)

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  10. On the rare occasion when I foray into urban fantasy, I never know where to go because there are so many and I get frustrated with how many more misses there are than hits (for me). So glad that you're highly recommending this one. I'll make sure next time I'm jonesing for a more ... mature vampy tale I'll snag this one!

    I love that you highlighted the blend of comedy and romance. I'm a girl that loves her romance, but I also loved a well timed quip. ;) Very awesome review, Jenny!

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  11. I was very disappointed with "Drink Deep" and lost my spark to pick up "Biting Cold", but with your rating of 4.5 stars with this one I'm willing to give it another shot.

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  12. With me finally feeling up to picking up more paranormal books, the Chicagoland Vampires is a series I think I need to jump onto straight away! Jenny you nailed what I love in my paranormal reads in your first few lines.. sexual tension and witty banter! Brilliant review Jenny, I'm glad this series is still going strong for you! :)

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  13. I can't believe I haven't heard of this series before. Oh it sounds so good. I see this is the 7th book in series. uh I don't have time for that now, but hopefully I'll get to read it. i miss paranormal!! :) Great review :)

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  14. Yikes! This is already on the seventh book. I have got to pick this series back up. I loved Ethan and Merit and I have a bit of a crush on Jeff, but I don't see him mentioned in your review...I hope he is still in the series. A high rating from you tells me that this series continues to excel and hey I like a good serial killer mystery.

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  15. HOW have I not read this series yet? *Hangs head in shame* This sounds like it would be the perfect series for me—I love relationships that smolder with sexual tension over several books. I NEED to devote a weekend to this series. On the plus side, I guess I won't have any agonizing waits between books! :-) Fantastic review—I'm so excited to meet Merit and Ethan!

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  16. 7th??? 7th!?? Yes, I can repeat that all day. I haven't even gotten to book 1! Of course I have book 5 in my tbr pile. LOL Yes, I'm waiting on reading #1.

    Oh no... I've turned invisible again, haven't I? ;)

    *yells* Yes! I'm waiting for book 1! However, I'm stoked that you are so blissfully satisfied with this book. That means I'll get there. Yes I will! ;D

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  17. I've been shying away from vampire books lately, but this is one series that I might really need to read. It sounds SO GOOD and I love that it's still such a phenomenal book even by the seventh novel in the series! Amazing review, Jenny - thanks for putting this onto my radar! :D

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  18. Hey Jenny!
    I've long wanted to read the Chicagoland Vampires series, and this cover looks awesome--the story sounds so cool! I will definitely have to add this series to my TBR pile, and I'm soo behind LOL

    I'm glad to hear you enjoyed this book in the series, and thanks for the reco to help with adding to my TBR pile :-)

    DarkEva

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  19. Nice review! I know I say this before but I so need to read this book. I love the way you make it sounds.

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  20. I still haven't continued with the series since the read-along for the 1st book. Not that I don't want to. I'm glad to see they are still good, though!

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  21. What? Book nr 7? Wow :D I actually know nothing about this series, but then again adult paranormal series is not my favorite genre. I'm so happy you liked it though. The thing with long series is that the author may get tired from it and the series might not be as good anymore, but with seven books and the seventh (still) being progressive and appealing enough to get your approval is pretty awesome!

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  22. Oh gosh, is this another UF I NEED to add to my reading pile, Jenny? I don't want to read through this review because I see your 4.5 stars, and I don't want to spoil too much if I need to get this one too.

    I'm wondering how you rank this compared with the Fever series. Or Kate Daniels.

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  23. Great review! I will admit I was worried about Merit and Ethan's relationship after reading about the reappearance of someone from a prior book. UGH

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  24. Thank god their relationship was getting pretty irritating

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  25. krazzyme-I am glad I'm not the only one who thought M&E were getting irritating. I want them to be a united front at this point. Guess I'm a bit demanding. :)

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