House Rules (Chicagoland Vampires) Mass Market Paperback – January 5, 2016

***ARC received by Penguin NAL for review purposes***This review is spoiler free for the series! (except for one paragraph which is marked)Do you ever have certain books or series that you love so much and every time you read it you think `WHY don't more people read this series!' The Chicagoland Vampires series by Chloe Neill is one of those series for me. I know what you must be thinking: `Another vampire book!' Or: `There are too many books in the series to get caught up!' But think about it this way, now you won't have to suffer through those excruciating wait times between books. And trust me; this is not just another vampire book! While the main characters are vampires, it has so much more than that. There are witches, shifters, fairies, nymphs, and even a few gnomes. What you get is a world so fascinating and magical that will completely suck you in!Ethan and Merit. Merit and Ethan. Out of all my favorite fictional couples (and I have way too many) these two easily top my top 10 list. I'm pretty sure they are in my top 5 list too. They've had to overcome so many obstacles (and that right there is a severe understatement) and they are not perfect. They are both stubborn and passionate people, Ethan a vampire and master of Cadogan House and Merit, the innocent human who was at the wrong place at the wrong time and was forced to become a vampire against her will (in order to save her life). Their pride and their pasts get in the way of their relationship but at the same time they are perfect for each other. These two complement each other in their best and worst qualities. They have their funny moments, their sweet moments, their romantic moments and moments when they butt heads. To me this just makes them seem more realistic and I love them more because of it. They just work, and they are finally getting the hang of it. But the problems within their supernatural world threaten to ruin what they've fought so hard for.Here's a cute scene from House Rules that I want to share:-Ethan sidled next to me, a hand propped on the shelf. "Come here often?" he said."Excuse me?""I see you're in this" - he gestured at the shelves - "library all alone. You must be a student here?" He traced a fingertip down the hollow of my throat, lifting goose bumps on my arms.Since my mind hardly worked when he did things like that, it took a moment for his words to register. Was he initiating a bout of role-playing...about a library?"Ethan Sullivan," I marveled. "You have a library fantasy."He smiled slightly. "I have a doctoral-student-turned-vampire fantasy."Before I could respond, he whipped a hand around my waist and yanked my body toward him like a pirate on a romance novel cover. I nearly laughed at the move, until I met his gaze. His eyes smoldered, deep green warring with silver.Ethan leaned down, his lips at my ear. "You aren't laughing now.""No," I hoarsely said. "I definitely am not."LOVE them!***SPOILERS FOR BOOKS 1-6 AHEAD. SKIP TO NEXT PARAGRAPH IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THEM!***Cadogan House is facing excommunications from the GP and they will now become a rogue house. With this comes more dangers. The GP is targeting them, trying to take them down. The other houses don't want to help them even though Cadogan House has helped them many times before, and the Rogue vampires don't know how they feel about them. As if that weren't enough, someone is murdering rogue vampires and Merit, Ethan and the gang must find the killer before someone from their house is next. Just when ethan and Merit are at a good place, the stress is starting to get to them. Making matters worse, Lacey Sherridan, Ethan's ex is staying at Cadogan House to `help' although what she really wants is to help herself to Ethan. Like always, Chloe Neill does an amazing job with the story. There was plenty of action, tension and the usual banter between Ethan, Merit and the rest of the gang, this series seriously has some of the best secondary characters.***SPOILERS OVER***At first, I was a little disappointed that the book doesn't finish with a cliffhanger ending (like the other books do). After a second, I felt relieved because after the last killer endings I don't think I could handle it any more. I am very happy with the ending and I am so looking forward to the next book in this series! If you have been wanting to read this book, please just read it! Although the first 100 pages of book one are a little slow, it is non-stop perfection after that! House Rules was another great addition to this amazing series! Did not disappoint.5 out of 5 stars!Some of my favorite non-spoiler quotes from House Rules:-"So you traded up?" I asked, walking toward the car and opening the door. "Do you treat your relationships the same way?""Yes," Ethan gravely said. "And I spent four hundred years shopping before I met you."It was comments like that that kept me around, even when Ethan was being otherwise insufferable. He popped them into conversation just often enough to make my heart melt.-"Is there anything you won't do for food?"I struck a pose with a hand with a hand on one cocked hip, and grinned at him with lowered lids. "It depends on the food."His gaze was appreciative. "I'm not sure if we're discussing food or innuendo. Either way, this may be the best conversation we've ever had."-"The curse of being immortal, Merit, is watching the passage of those you love - even those who aren't supposed to leave."-Without warning, and before I could correct him, he reached out, gripped the edges of my jacket, and kissed me fiercely. "You are mine and mine alone, and it appears you need reminding. I suggest you return to our apartment; otherwise you'll be ravished here and now where you stand, and the door is open."*** of my reviews at:Nereyda @Mostly YA Book Obsessed Read more

One. Really like the series. I like the writing. I like the story and I even like Chicago in the winter. As an aside, the food discussions are terrific. Almost make me want to take a trip back to Chicago, just for the food. Well done.My only issue is some practical stuff that keeps picking away in my head as I read the series. **spoiler alert**1). How could such an old vampire, with an interest in the city and strategic/political games not have any friends outside the house?When the Mayor Tate issued a warrant or threatened to issue a warrant, how did Ethan stand alone? Not a single politcal ally? He has tons of money, you can buy powerful friends.When Tate was gone, how did he not already have in play some process to pick or nudge a candidate with more pro-vampire leanings?2) Where are the lawyers? Jesus. When they issued an order to register, how on earth did everyone just agree? That just drove me crazy. One simple lawsuit in federal court and it is tied up for years. Not like the Houses don't have the money. Why would they care how long it takes?3) If they are getting bad press why not hire a PR firm? Maybe they could consult with a ad exec about better branding? Get some good PR. For goodness sakes, Mallory did that for a living. I can't understand why such saavy people would do the obvious. They finally meet with Nick, but it just seemed to little to late.According to the book, they have lots of rich, beautiful people in their house, the press would love that.4) They have a video of McKetrick setting a fire. They surely have video of the front of the house, the death of Monmonth is on it. Why on earth would they hide, run from a stupid warrant? They should have had the best criminal lawyer in Chicago on it from the time of Monmonth's death. Just does make sense that Ethan would leave it open like that. Also, as a tool for the author, the legal stuff just does not work. A triple homicide would be investigated. The GP just waltzes off to Europe as if that puts them beyond the pale? Someone is responsible for those deaths.Minor stuff, but it tosses me out of the book.For a long lived, political master, Ethan seems to not have any pull in that arena. Its weird. He should be smoozing, have a few senators on speed dial, an AG or two... he should have contacts with other powerful people. A master stagegist should have long term plans and people to call.Money talks.Other than that, I love the books. Love the cast. Can't wait to see what happens.

The writer is doing an awesome job of dragging you into the story and throw some curves into the story

I am really enjoying the development of characters in this series of books. Even those each book brings a problem the continued story line is fun to read.

Dieser Band hat mich wieder einmal komplett überzeugt und meine Liebe zu Merit, Ethan und vielen anderen liebgewonnenen Charakteren weiter verstärkt. Ich weiß nicht, wie sie es schafft, aber Chloe bringt die zwischen"menschlichen" oder sagt man besser zwischenvampirischen? Gefühle und Katastrophen so hautnah rüber, dass einem das Herz weh tut. Ich knirsche mit den Zähnen, wenn ich an Lacey denke. Sie ist ein wirklich böses, böses Mädchen, das mit allen Mitteln (auch den fiesesten) versucht, Ethan für sich zu gewinnen. Und natürlich durchleidet Merit wieder einmal Fürchterliches. Eifersucht, Angst, Liebe, Verlustängste ... alles ist so vollkommen real. Unglaublich. Dieser Band knüpft an einige alte Querelen an (die werden wirklich nie langweilig). Mein Gott, Ethan. Manchmal möchte man ihn wirklich nur schütteln. Und dann gibt es wieder so wahnsinnig schöne Augenblicke. Zum Dahinschmelzen und als Entlohnung für die nervenaufreibende Spannung, die man auszuhalten hat. Der Plott selbst ist gut durchdacht. Bis zum Schluß tappt man im Dunklen, wer die Vampire nun geköpft hat. Ich bin froh, dass sich Merit langsam mit Mallory aussöhnt.Und noch etwas Entscheidendes. Das Englisch, was Chloe zu Papier bringt, ist so einfach und toll verständlich, dass es sich wirklich lohnt, hier zu den Originalen zu greifen und sich heranzuwagen an die Übersetzungsarbeit. Eine JR Ward liest sich im Vergleich wesentlich schwerer. Zu viel Slang und Insiderabkürzungen ...Ich freue mich auf den Sommer, wenn es wieder weitergeht mit den Chicagoland Vampires.Tolles Buch. Hat viel Spaß gemacht. Und Ethan ist einfach nur hmmmmmmm lecker ....

La maison Cadogan vit ses dernières heures au sein du Présidium de Greenwich, Merit et Ethan sont heureux pour le moment malheureusement 2 rogues ont été tués et Noah demande l'aide de Merit et Ethan. Entre temps, les membres du PG incluant Darius West arrivent à Chicago pour la cérémonie officelle d'exclusion de la maison de Cadogan. Lacey Sheridan est aussi de retour et sèmera le trouble entre Merit et Ethan.Beaucoup d'action et de rebondissements dans ce tome, la relation entre Merit et Ethan prend de l'ampleur. On découvre non seulement que Merit peux compter sur le soutien de sa maison, son grand-père, Jeff, son père à sa manière et Jonah. On voit un peu plus Jeff dans ce tome et c'est une très bonne chose.A priori, Chloé Neill & prévu 10 tomes, il nous en reste encore 3 dont le tome 8 prévu en aout et le tome 9 en février 2014. j'ai vraiment hâte de retrouver Ethan et Merit et de voir comment ils vont vivre cette nouvelle vie en dehors du PG.N'hésitez pas à lire ce livre même si la VO n'est pas votre truc, c'est très facile à lire.

BEST BOOK IN THE SERIES (so far)........The house itself is at stake. Mad Elves......secret artifact (stolen and missing)........questions about the Grenwich Group the Red Guard....dead vamps. WOW!!!!!! Solid 5 of 5