Friday Night Bites by Chloe Neill

Friday Night Bites (A Chicagoland Vampires Novel) by Chloe Neill
Purchased OMG by me, on my happy little iPhone

PJVs QUICKIE POV: This novel had me at times jumping around like a little girl in literate happiness and other times bored and eye rolling. And while I ended Friday Night Bites fully satisfied as if I had partaken on a very fine cut of Filet…I feel that maybe while I ordered Medium, I really got Medium Well. Have I become too judgmental in my descent into to reviewer land? Friday Night Bites would have had me squirming in happiness at the end, but now, some of the problems took the joy out of what could have been prose perfection.

REVIEW: The start of Friday Night Bites, finds Merit moving into Cardogan House. It is bitter sweet and symbolism for her leaving her human self behind. The symbolism of cutting human ties is rampant throughout Friday Night Bites and her moving into the House is Step 1. Merit blames the move on Mallory and Catcher’s romantic endeavors and her ability to perform her Sentinel duties properly. All in all still denying that she is most likely thrilled to get close to Ethan.

Within the first couple of chapters, the plot is revealed as Merit’s human past comes to haunt her.  Ethan informs her that a close family friend, and her ex-boyfriend’s little brother, Jamie is working for a tabloid intent on publishing nasty stories about vampires. With human/vampire in the happy pink, Ethan and the other vamps don’t want anything to tarnish their squeaky clean image, especially with vampires still remembering the clearings of the past. Their solution, ingratiate into the human/wealthy society of Merit’s past by attending parties and galas to ferret out info and connections.  Everything isn’t exactly as it seems though, as Ethan and Merit soon discover.  Are they the players or being played?

In the romantic section of this novel, Merit is still sticking true with Morgan, even though he basically blackmailed her into dating him. This relationship I do not get in the least, especially with her continuing patient in dealing with him. He might be hot, but a girl needs to make up her own mind. So, it explores a little bit of deeper romantic interest in that category and a bit of upset and jealousies when Merit starts getting tighter with her Master, Mr. Hot Pants himself, Ethan Sullivan. Oh and Oh…not to give any spoilers away, but there was a smokin’ hot scene *yowzers* that just involved a kiss and made me a puddle on the floor. My goodness when Neill gets around to a de-pantsing it should have her readers crawling the walls!

Where the problems lie, in Friday Night Bites. First, series books that reiterate over and over again prior occurrences in the first book drive me bonkers.  I read the book, I know this man.  And for those that didn’t read the book, why make it easy, force them to read that book if they didn’t! That being said, first chapter, total yawn fest as the first book was surmised and placed in a neat little package that I didn’t have the patience to read. Secondly, there was a lot of training and sparring and katanas and katas and what not. Great, for one or two, but it was too much and had very little to do with the plot.  Training with Catcher = cool, training with Catcher over and over again, boring. Also, some of the plot lines were a little trite, and I don’t want to give anything away, but the Bad Guy acted like high school drama queen…and having Ethan, Morgan, Merit and the side characters all trying to dissect these drama creating events was a little bizarre.

What I loved about this novel.  Merit is a cool character, and I can so relate to her. The character interaction has me believing they must be real people somewhere.  Merit’s reactions and inner dialogue are phenomenal and I can so agree with her behavior and reactions to Morgan and Ethan’s actions.  This depth of character always surprises me in Neill’s novels, it is one of the traits that makes her a great storyteller. If you liked Some Girls Bite, you have to move on to Friday Night Bites.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Read Some Girls Bite, first.  While you might hold your own just reading FNB, Some Girls Bites is a great novel and you would be doing yourself an injustice by not reading. Recommended for adult readers, but there really wasn’t anything racy that an older teen would be irrecoverably corrupted by.