Tag: Shifters

Some Girls Bite

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Some Girls Bite by Chloe Neill
Series Name: Chicagoland Vampires
Volume Number: 1
Genres: Fae, Magic, Romance, Shifters, Supernatural, Urban, Vampires, Witches
Intended Age Group: Adult
Publisher: New American Library/ Penguin Group (USA)
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-451-22625-9
Rating: 3/5
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Description from the Book

Sure, the life of a graduate student wasn’t exactly glamorous, but it was mine. I was doing fine until Chicago’s vampires announced their existence to the world—and then a rogue vampire attacked me. But he only got only a sip before he was scared away by another bloodsucker…and this one decided the best way to save my life was to make me the walking undead.

Turns out my savior was the master vampire of Cadodan House. Now I’ve traded sweating over my dissertation for learning to fit in at Kenwood mansion full of vamps loyal to Ethan “Lord o’ the Manor” Sullivan. Of Course, as a tall, green-eyed, four-hundred-year-old vampire, he has centuries’ worth of charm, but unfortunately he expects my gratitude—and servitude. Right…

But my burgeoning powers (all of a sudden, I’m surprisingly handy with some serious weaponry), an inconvenient sunlight allergy, and Ethan’s attitude are the least of my concerns. Someone’s still out to get me. Is it the rogue vampire who bit me? A vamp from a rival house? An angry mob bearing torches?

My initiation into Chicago’s nightlife may be the first skirmish in a war…and there will be blood.

Personal & Info

If you like House of Night, you might like this series. House of Night is YA, but this one is more adultish, with kind of similar vibes. Or if you like Chicagoland Vampires and want to try a YA alternative, you might like House of Night. If you’d like more information about House of Night, I have a review for the first volume, Marked, and will be reviewing more volumes at some point.

Characters

Merit is the main character. She’s a twenty-seven-year-old grad student from a wealthy family, but she has no interest in her family’s money or influence. Apparently, she has terrible fashion sense, but I find her clothing choices relatable.

Mallory is Merit’s roommate and best friend. She inherited the house in which she and Merit live. Mallory is a successful advertising executive at McGettrick-Combs. More importantly, she’s a vampire buff.

Mark Perkins is Mallory’s aimless boyfriend. He goes on a lot of adventurous trips, but has no idea what he wants to do with his life.

Joshua Merit is Merit’s dad. He owns the Merit Properties real estate company, and he is part of the Chicago Growth Council, which advises the mayor. Joshua cares only about money and political influence.

Meredith Merit is Merits mom.

Charlotte Merit is Merit’s older sister. She is married, so she does not live with the Merit family.

Robert Merit is Merit’s older brother. He is in line to inherit the family real estate company.

Seth Tate is the mayor of Chicago.

Ombudsman’s Office

Chuck Merit is Merit’s grandfather, and the Ombudsman. He is a liaison between humans and supernaturals to help handle disputes.

Marjorie is Chuck’s secretary. She’s about fifty-years-old.

Jeff Christopher is a twenty-one-year-old computer prodigy and shape-shifter. He’s also a bit girl crazy.

Catcher Bell is a twenty-nine-year-old sorcerer. As Chuck puts it, he is pretty, but gruff.

Below is a list of the Chicago vampire Houses and any known members. Some vampires are named with no additional information. Not every vampire is likely to be important, so these are just running lists to keep track of members of each House.

Cadogan House

Ethan Sullivan is the Lord of Cadogan House. He is 394 years old, and he’s attractive in the most stereotypical ways. He is fit and has long blond hair, like Thor. However, his personality leaves much to be desired.

Helen is the Cadogan representative who handles transitions for newly changed vampires.

Malik is Ethan’s second in command. If anything happens to Ethan, Malik would inherit the House.

Amber is Ethan’s courtesan. She covers the role of the snobby pretty girl.

Sean & Colin are bartenders at Temple Bar.

Gabrielle is Amber’s snobby friend.

Security

Luc, or Lucas, is captain of the Cadogan House guards. He has cowboy vibes.

Lindsey is a Cadogan House guard. She is apparently the resident psychic, and fast friends with Merit.

Peter is a Cadogan House guard. He has contacts beneficial to the House.

Juliet is a Cadogan House guard. She is “slippery” and gathers data.

Kelley is a Cadogan House guard. She is the resident mechanical and software genius.

Initiates

Warner

Joseph

Adrian

Michael

Thomas

Connor obviously comes from a rich family, but he is optimistic and kind.

Penny

Jennifer

Dakota

Melanie

Christine is the daughter of a famous notorious criminal defense attorney. She is an acquaintance of Merit’s from pre-vampire life.

Grey House

Scott Grey is the Lord of Grey House. He is a sports fan.

Navarre House

Celina Desaulniers is the Lady of Navarre House. She orchestrated the coming out of vampires in Chicago.

Morgan is Celina’s second in command. If anything happens to Celina, he would inherit the House. He’s charming and funny.

Alexander

Rogue

The rogues are not and do not have a House. Instead, they have a representative, and work together when they have to.

Noah Beck is the representative for the Rogue vampires.

Story & Thoughts

As the first volume of a series, this book does a good job at many things. It introduces a large number of characters, not all of them significant, yet. The ones that matter seem well defined and realistic enough to believe they could actually exist. Their interactions have personality, so they don’t feel flat.

The most important thing about the characters, I think, is Merit is a strong female lead. She doesn’t always know what the best thing to do is, but she stays true to herself. She doesn’t let anyone boss her around or convince her to accept any sexist or outdated terms. Her own moral compass always comes first. I don’t come across many female leads like her, and I’d like to see more of them.

As expected, there are a lot of world building and lore dumping, but they’re all interesting. Despite what the description implies, vampires are not undead in this world. The lore is a little different than normal. The transition to become a vampire is more of a genetic alteration than an undeath. They only need blood about once every other day. They can still eat and drink normal food and beverages. Sunlight is still a weakness, or in this case, considered a deathly allergy. There’s actually a whole culture involved, and I think that’s pretty cool.

I like the book enough to read more of the series if I get the chance, but I won’t go out of my way to find more. I’m satisfied with the story and the ending. There isn’t a cliffhanger, so there’s no pressing need to get another volume.

The epilogue tries to do one of those stereotypical, end of an episode, ominous, “danger is coming, but I’ll be ready,” type things. I see what it’s going for, but I can’t help laughing at it. It’s not really a spoiler, but Merit finishes by saying she’s very, very good at her job. That’s just laughable to me. She’s been a vampire for, like, two weeks, and has hardly any training. I just can’t take that seriously, because she is not good at her job, not yet, anyway.

Calluna (Spell Library #4)

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Calluna by Jewels Arthur
Series Name: Spell Library
Genres: Angels, Contemporary, Elves, Fantasy, Magic, Paranormal Romance, Reverse Harem, Romance, Shifters
Intended Age Group: Adult
Publisher: Independent
Edition: Kindle
ASIN: B086GFHRZJ
Rating: 3/5
Amazon

Description

Calluna doesn’t buy into all the love junk she sees all over town. She’d rather spend her time working at her pet store Beastie Besties, where she’s recently been curing a slew of cursed animals. She’s determined to find the culprit and put a stop to the curses. Her goals do not change when she suddenly finds herself with multiple fated mates, and dark secrets come to light.

Personal & Info

I’m going to be honest. I don’t remember some of the serious story parts. However, I do remember most of the romance, which I think is the most important part of each book in this series. It’s been about a year since I read this, and this was the last one I read. So if I read more and review them, it’ll be from here on out.

Characters

Calluna is the main character. She’s something called a changeling. I’m not completely clear on all the lore for that, but I think in this case it means she was swapped with another baby.

Lars is Calluna’s friend, whom works with her at her pet store, where they treat cursed animals.

Landyn, I think he’s a griffin, and he works at a night club or bar, if I remember correctly.

Rhett and Damian, they are themselves a couple. Rhett is a fennec fox shifter, and Damian is a meerkat shifter.

Elias, I believe he is an angel.

Story & Thoughts

As usual for this series, I like the characters. They are always well defined and full of personality.

There are more lore dumps in this volume for how the world works. Rules about magic, some species laws, stuff like that. It makes the series feel more fleshed out. I love that stuff.

The writing style is a little different than previous volumes. This one rotates through all of Calluna’s mates at least once to help flesh things out. It gives a better idea of how the mate bond feels to each of them, and what their lives are like behind the scenes. It works well with the lore dumps to make them feel more natural.

At this point, four books into the series, I think it’s safe to say you never really know what you’re getting into. Violet and Lupine seem tame, and Juniper and Calluna are very sexual. Be ready for either possibility when digging into this series.

This one is a step up from Lupine, but not as good as Violet or Juniper.

I’m a little confused why Vampires are out and about during the day with nothing to say they were using any sort of covering like Bert does, which is specifically mentioned in the first book. There are two instances in here where different vampires are visiting somewhere outside their home in what appeared to be daylight hours, but nothing is specified about window coverings or what they are wearing to protect them from the sun. It seems odd.

I’m sad they never the epilogue never says what the men get for their tattoos, only Calluna.

Lupine (Spell Library #3)

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Lupine by Hanleigh Bradley
Series Name: Spell Library
Genres: Angels, Contemporary, Fantasy, Magic, Paranormal Romance, Reverse Harem, Romance, Shifters, Wolves
Intended Age Group: Adult
Publisher: Independent
Edition: Kindle
ASIN:  B086BKF1ZN
Rating: 2.5/5
Amazon

Description

Lupine, a wolf shifter, and an orphan herself, runs the Silver Springs Orphanage. She’s never felt like she truly belonged. Always overworked and stressed, she’s always busy taking care of the twenty unique children of the orphanage. None of them are human.

When the mafia comes to town and moves in across the street, will Lupine find a home and connection with the wolves?

Personal & Info

First of all, there is a disclaimer at the start of the book saying the author usually writes in British English, but is writing in US English for this particular series, and it asks readers to be patient with the occasional British slip. That’s all fine and good. I don’t mind that. However, with this knowledge, I became aware of how many slips there were. There were a lot. I think this book needed someone with US English as their first language to proof it. It would have been fine on its own, but as part of a series, it felt jarring.

I don’t have good notes for this one, so I’m not sure I’ll have much to say. I’ll do my best anyway.

Characters

Lupine, the main character, is a wolf shifter in charge of running the Silver Springs orphanage. I think she has one employee/helper, but I can’t remember their name. I don’t think they are important for the purposes of the review.

Wren, Rehan, Camden, and Kalen are all the love interests. They are wolf shifter mafia dudes who move in across the street.

Story & Thoughts

I like the story and the characters.

I don’t think this is good as Juniper or Violet. It doesn’t seem like there is much actually going on. The problems in the other books come across as more dire. This one is more slice of life with minor inconvenience.

The confrontation toward the end is resolved quickly. It’s obvious there is more to Lupine’s story, because the main issue isn’t even addressed in this book. It doesn’t occur here, which makes the story feel lacking. To try explaining it better, I feel like finishing this one only feels like reading half a book. I believe there’s another Lupine book in this series later on that deals with the part that isn’t addressed in this one.

I’m actually surprised about the love interests. When I hear mafia, I don’t think of guys like these. They seem more like yakuza than mafia. Is there a difference? I think there’s a difference.

I find it amusing all five of them piled into Lupine’s bed. I’m not sure how comfortable that would be, but I bet it’s cramped. It just goes to show how close wolves like to be to their mates.

Juniper (Spell Library #2)

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Juniper by Eva Delaney
Series Name: Spell Library
Genres: Comedy, Contemporary, Fantasy, Ghosts, Magic, Paranormal Romance, Pirates, Reverse Harem, Romance, Shifters, Vampires
Intended Age Group: Adult
Publisher: Independent
Edition: Kindle
ASIN: B086HG2WRC
Rating: 3.5/5
Amazon

Description

Juniper is in hiding from some allies turned enemies for taking some things that weren’t hers. When she decides to use some dark magic for a night of fun with her three favorite toys, things go awry. The toys become dildo shifters! The three being: a shy vampire, an 18th century pirate, and Shakespeare himself.

The spell only lasts until morning, so Juniper promises to show them a good time. But can she really stand to let them go? If she wants a real chance at a future with them, she must come out of hiding and confront her problems.

Personal & Info

Violet is good, so I am continuing the series. If you also read Violet, I do not recommend using that as an expectation for this book. Violet is cute and funny, and generally appropriate. This book goes in a completely different, erotic, direction.

Some of these have paperback copies available, but not all of them. I can only find Amazon links for them, so that’s all I’m listing.

I don’t have good notes for this one, so I’m not sure I’ll have much to say. I’ll do my best anyway.

Characters

Juniper, the main character, is a dark witch. She’s hiding from people in plain sight by not using dark magic, because apparently people can track that. She’s a thriving business woman in the sex toy industry. Her products are magically enhanced for all kinds of shenanigans.

Oscar, I believe he is the bookish vampire. He is my favorite in this volume. I resonate with him and want him for myself.

Sam is the pirate. I think he hogs most of Juniper’s attention.

Shakes is literally Shakespeare. I think they function under the logic he doesn’t LOOK like Shakespeare because he looks younger than the commonly seen pictures or something like that.

Alyssa, I think she is Juniper’s best friend, if I am remembering right.

Story & Thoughts

I actually think the first third of the book is difficult to read, because it seems like it’s trying too hard. By this I mean, throwing in as many sexual jokes and phrases as possible, to the point where they don’t make sense, or sound strange. Some of the humor is lost because of this. After the first third, the story finds its pace and gets better.

This book has more action in it than Violet. There are magic duels, for example. I think an entire street gets messed up because of one.

I can’t remember the finer details about the story events toward the end with the island and the other witches and warlocks or whatever you want to call them. What I do remember is the book is very erotic, like, maybe eighty percent erotic, and twenty percent actual deep story. I’m making up these numbers.

There are elaborate sex scenes scattered about. Three ways, guy on guy, almost anything you can think for them to do, they do. It’s not shy either, you might as well be reading a full blown erotica.

It’s incredibly obvious Juniper’s favorite guy is the pirate. They have the best chemistry of the three, and their personalities seem to compliment each other in a gravitational way.

Violet (Spell Library #1)

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Violet by Mia Harlan
Series Name: Spell Library
Genres: Comedy, Contemporary, Fantasy, Magic, Paranormal Romance, Reverse Harem, Romance, Shifters, Vampires
Intended Age Group: Adult
Publisher: Independent
Edition: Kindle
ASIN: B086HXCNHT
Rating: 4.5/5
Amazon

Description

Violet is a young chameleon shifter on the run. She’s spent the past year posing as her 80-year-old best friend in Silver Springs. No one can ever find out who she is or what she looks like or she might end up dead. Not even her three fated mates: a bear shifter, a vampire mage, and a troll cop. But that might be out of her control.

Personal & Info

I see a lot of ebook ads on social media. That’s where I found this one. The description was so out there and funny on its own that I added it to my wish list. I scroll through my wish list regularly for sales, and this one was free one day, so I grabbed it. I’m glad I did, too, because this book is glorious!

I am unable to find any hardcopies or listings on other major sites, so I’ve only listed the link to the Amazon kindle version.

It’s been a while since I read this, but I like to read this series every so often as a pallet cleanser when I need a break. At this point, I’ve read four of them (in the past two years), so I’d like to get reviews up for them so I won’t be missing any when I get around to reading more of them.

All of these books CAN be read as stand alone novels, but they do connect a little. The characters appear in other books, and the main connector is a novel that gets passed to each main character.

Characters

Violet, the main character, is a chameleon shifter. She impersonates her best friend to work at the library. Violet is in a bit of trouble, so nobody can know who she really is.

Violet, Violet’s best friend (yes there are two Violets), is a skunk shifter. Other Violet impersonates this Violet at work.

Liam is troll police officer. I don’t mean the jokester kind, he is a literal troll. He’s related to one of the old ladies that frequents the library.

Bert is Liam’s partner. He’s a vampire who chooses to work the day shift.

Cash is a wealthy vampire. His name is rather fitting when you think about it. I think he invented this world’s version of social media, if I remember right.

Nole is a bear shifter. He works at the library with Violet. I believe he has two brothers, but I probably won’t be mentioning them.

Story & Thoughts

This book has me laughing and giggling most of the way. The first half is hilarious

The story occurs within the span of only a few days. Day one, Violet is practically bombarded by men. I won’t say how, because that would spoil the comedy.

My favorite is Cash. I like his sense of humor the most, and he seems like the sweetest, in my opinion. No details on how or why, because I don’t want to spoil anything.

The story is not purely comedy, though. It gets serious in the second half, but the events practically fly by, so it doesn’t feel like the book itself is serious.

Both Violets get a happy ending, which is great. It’s not really a surprise though, because as a romance, a happily ever after is standard. I am a little surprised at the ending old lady Violet gets, though. That part caught me off guard, but good for her.

The general setting of the story intrigues me, but I have to wonder what humans see if they can’t see all the paranormal stuff.

I’m tempted to give Violet a perfect score, because, as a comedy, the rating system is a little different. I laughed a lot, which is good, but I feel like there is something missing from the serious section. I love this book. It’s a great break from the more serious fantasy I often read.