House Rules by Chloe Neill
Publisher: NAL Penguin
Publication Date: February
5th
Source: Publisher – Thank
you!
Rating: I LOVED IT
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.
Welcome to my stop on the
HOUSE RULES blog tour! This is the tour that I am most excited about
participating in, because The
Chicagoland Vampire series is my favorite series.
A few weeks ago, I
received my copy of HOUSE RULES and immediately cancelled all plans and skipped
class to spend some alone time with Ethan – I mean Merit and her super friends.
After the events in HARD BITTEN, I have been nervous to read each new CV novel.
The trauma that I experienced as a result of reading that amazing book has permanently
scarred me, and noting the August release of BITING BAD, I prepared myself for
the worst. Chloe has taken us on such a
journey with these characters that I feel strongly invested in their happiness.
Do you remember when we first met Merit? Do you remember how she fought her
attraction to Ethan and how Ethan asked her to be his special lady friend? Oh,
we have come a long way, novitiates.
In HOUSE RULES, Merit is a
forceful wind, leaving her mark on every person and event. She is strong,
intelligent, and endearingly vulnerable. Ethan is still ridiculously hot, and I
needed to take walks around the block in 40-degree weather after a few scenes.
That man is a gift straight from Mount Olympus. We see Merit and Ethan together (finally!),
but their relationship was not all pints of O-neg and sharp fangs. Their relationship is battered by stress,
jealously, and distrust. They are the Matthew and Mary Crawley of the
vampire world, and it was such a relief to finally see them together. Luc,
Lindsey, Jeff, Catcher, and Mallory all make welcome appearances, and I am
excited to see more of them. Luc and Lindsey are particularly adorable, and I
am excited about the LL short story that Chloe is currently outlining.
HOUSE RULES is the best book in The Chicagoland
Vampire series. The pacing is so
fast that you do not have a moment to relax. You will feel the stress of the
decisions, fear the outcomes, and desperately hope for a resolution. Surprises
are well-hidden and are shocking when revealed. When I finished HOUSE RULES,
the only word that came to mind was “Wow.” Chloe
is a fantastic writer, and she has the ability to seamlessly weave wit,
suspense, betrayal, and love together to create a series that is memorable and
addictive. In short, I hope this series never ends! With each new
installment, Chloe invites readers into a world that is richly built and
intricately described. This is wonderful storytelling, my friends. Every
sentence and every scene are perfect.
If you are interested in complex
characters, unique storylines, and a romance so sizzling that it will make you
blush, you need to read The Chicagoland Vampire series.
Giveaway!
Chloe sent some fantastic
CV swag, and I want to spread the love as much as possible, so to enter, please
leave a comment on this post with a way for me to contact you (blog, twitter,
etc.). I have bookmarks, too, so international readers are welcome to enter,
too!
The fun doesn’t stop here!
Want more chances to
win? You can also enter Chloe’s House Rules Grand Prize Giveaways, which
will run January 30th through February 7th on Chloe’s
web site.
What are the Grand Prize
Giveaway prizes?
Prize One: The Paper
Prize
- A complete set of autographed Chicagoland
Vampires novels
- A $50 gift card from Amazon or Barnes &
Noble (winner’s choice)
- A set of personalized
bookplates, courtesy of Felix Doolittle
- A Chicagoland Vampires tote bag
Prize Two: The Tech
Prize
Check out the other stops on the tour!