angie_stl's review
5.0
4 3/4 Stars
As with every other Chicagoland book, I loved this! Maybe even more so because there were fewer of the secondary characters that we know and love, so I could just keep my mind on Ethan and Merit. In this book, Ethan and Merit decide to go on a vacation, but like always, trouble finds them. Almost as soon as they arrive at the guest house they are staying at in Colorado, their hostess shows up at the door, crying with blood on her hands. She had arrived home from the grocery store to find her husband dead on the living room floor. She explains that the shifters in the area are not happy about her mixed species marriage, she is a vampire and her husband was a shifter. Unlike in Chicago, these two groups of supernaturals are at war in this valley. It has been going on for well over a century. As they are discussing everything that has gone on, a group of shifters, led by the husband's cousin, show up to try to get revenge on the wife, because they are convinced she murdered her husband. Merit soon shows them that she doesn't back down so easily, and draws first blood, and the only blood. From there, of course their vacation goes down the drain very quickly, as they try to figure out who killed their host's husband. As usual, the book was action packed throughout. I did feel that Ms Neill was more descriptive about unimportant things, such as exactly how the guest house looked, how the house that the local vampires lived in looked, and many other inconsequential things. Of course that didn't distract me for long, because seriously, it's Ethan and Merit!!
I feel that you could read this as a stand alone, but you would be missing so many details that it probably wouldn't be worth it in the end. Take my advice and start at the beginning. It's definitely worth the time and money you'll spend on the whole series.
As with every other Chicagoland book, I loved this! Maybe even more so because there were fewer of the secondary characters that we know and love, so I could just keep my mind on Ethan and Merit. In this book, Ethan and Merit decide to go on a vacation, but like always, trouble finds them. Almost as soon as they arrive at the guest house they are staying at in Colorado, their hostess shows up at the door, crying with blood on her hands. She had arrived home from the grocery store to find her husband dead on the living room floor. She explains that the shifters in the area are not happy about her mixed species marriage, she is a vampire and her husband was a shifter. Unlike in Chicago, these two groups of supernaturals are at war in this valley. It has been going on for well over a century. As they are discussing everything that has gone on, a group of shifters, led by the husband's cousin, show up to try to get revenge on the wife, because they are convinced she murdered her husband. Merit soon shows them that she doesn't back down so easily, and draws first blood, and the only blood. From there, of course their vacation goes down the drain very quickly, as they try to figure out who killed their host's husband. As usual, the book was action packed throughout. I did feel that Ms Neill was more descriptive about unimportant things, such as exactly how the guest house looked, how the house that the local vampires lived in looked, and many other inconsequential things. Of course that didn't distract me for long, because seriously, it's Ethan and Merit!!
I feel that you could read this as a stand alone, but you would be missing so many details that it probably wouldn't be worth it in the end. Take my advice and start at the beginning. It's definitely worth the time and money you'll spend on the whole series.
wilda85's review
4.0
This was a nice little read. A little something extra for the CV fans. However, it didn't really contribute anything to the series. Ethan and Merit decide to take a vacation and end up in the midst of a hundred year war between a pack of shifters and vampires. With the help of Gabriel, Ethan and mainly Merit help solve a murder and a mystery that started the war to begin with.
It was nice and had a couple of funny moments, but I wished there had been more Methan.
It was nice and had a couple of funny moments, but I wished there had been more Methan.
mdlaclair's review
3.0
This was a nice quick read. The best way to descried the story is the vampire and werewolf version of the Hatfield and McCoy. Merit and Ethan are stuck in the middle of this fight some how. overall it was a solid short read.
rclz's review
5.0
This is a good short. It was nice to have Ethan and Merit do something out of Chicago. Nice to have them somewhat on their own.
cmaree88's review
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
amyiw's review
5.0
I liked this short with Ethan and Merit trying to take a vacation. It starts away from Cadogan house and they are just getting to their cabin in the woods. Unluckily there is a Hattfield vs McCoy like feud going on between a pack of shifters and a coven of vampires. Immediately upon arriving, the vampire friend that offered the cabin arrives completely distraught saying that she found her husband, a local shifter, dead. So Ethan and Merit's vacation becomes an investigation with attacks and suspicions from both sides.
I really liked how this played out and the ending just made it more heartbreaking yet sweet. A good dip into the Ethan and Merit world. I wouldn't read it as a first taste, as there are a lot of nuances between Ethan and Merit that would be lost to a newbie, yet I don't think they would be totally lost either, since there are so few of the other characters to deal with.
I really liked how this played out and the ending just made it more heartbreaking yet sweet. A good dip into the Ethan and Merit world. I wouldn't read it as a first taste, as there are a lot of nuances between Ethan and Merit that would be lost to a newbie, yet I don't think they would be totally lost either, since there are so few of the other characters to deal with.
tanyad74's review against another edition
3.0
Jeeze, they just can't get a break can they? Merit and Ethan have their moments, but they really need some good time alone. They are constantly in danger and fighting for their lives and the house. It would be good to see how they function in times without so much crazy adrenaline.
But, I just can't imagine a Merit book without some danger and action. I love it and look forward to it. I kind of missed the rest of the gang, but we did get to see the wolves again which is always a lot of fun. They really get Merit's appetite for food, which is the butt of a lot of Merit jokes.
This little novella was fun, with a mix of a the romance and action we normally see with this series. I found the quarrel between the two town rivals a little annoying. Stubborn wolves and vamps. But in the end, the story pulls at your heart strings.
This is definitely a standalone so you are good to read it without spoilers and it's not really referred to in the next book. So go ahead and pick it up!
This review was originally posted on Rantings of a Reading Addict
But, I just can't imagine a Merit book without some danger and action. I love it and look forward to it. I kind of missed the rest of the gang, but we did get to see the wolves again which is always a lot of fun. They really get Merit's appetite for food, which is the butt of a lot of Merit jokes.
This little novella was fun, with a mix of a the romance and action we normally see with this series. I found the quarrel between the two town rivals a little annoying. Stubborn wolves and vamps. But in the end, the story pulls at your heart strings.
This is definitely a standalone so you are good to read it without spoilers and it's not really referred to in the next book. So go ahead and pick it up!
“Should I be insulted that you’re so eager to enjoy another man’s pork?” I leaned out of the bathroom, toothbrush mid-swipe, and grinned. “Ethan Sullivan, did you just make a joke?” He hadn’t, at least from the look on his face. But I wasn’t threatened by the possessiveness in his eyes. Because bacon.”
This review was originally posted on Rantings of a Reading Addict