Drink Deep by Chloe Neill Series: Chicagoland Vampires #5
Published by NAL on November 1, 2011
Pages: 352
Genres: Romance, Urban Fantasy
Format: eBook
Source: Library
Amazon
Goodreads
Also by this author: Some Girls Bite, Friday Night Bites, Twice Bitten
Clouds are brewing over Cadogan House, and recently turned vampire Merit can’t tell if this is the darkness before the dawn or the calm before the storm. With the city iself in turmoil over paranormals and the state threatening to pass a paranormal registration act, times haven’t been this precarious for vampires since they came out of the closet. If only they could lay low for a bit, and let the mortals calm down.
That’s when the waters of Lake Michigan suddenly turn pitch black-and things really start getting ugly.
Chicago’s mayor insists it’s nothing to worry about, but Merit knows only the darkest magic could have woven a spell powerful enough to change the very fabric of nature. She’ll have to turn to friends old and new to find out who’s behind this, and stop them before it’s too late for vampires and humans alike.
Chicagoland Vampires series
Some Girls Bite (Chicagoland Vampires, #1)
Friday Night Bites (Chicagoland Vampires, #2)
Twice Bitten (Chicagoland Vampires, #3)
Hard Bitten (Chicagoland Vampires, #4)
*Keep in mind, this spoiler is intended for those of you who have read the first four books. Any spoilers for this book will be placed in spoiler brackets; however, I’m keeping spoilers from the previous books visible. You have been warned!*
The Storyline
As if Merit doesn’t have enough to deal with emotionally after the loss of her lover, partner, and Master, strange things are happening in Chicago and the vampires are automatically blamed. Lake Michigan has turned pitch black magical vacuum and is affecting all supernaturals in the area. As the book progresses more events are occurring around the Windy City but there are zero leads as to who could possibly be responsible and who could even be magically strong enough to be able to cause these incidents.
The Characters
I appreciated how the author didn’t shuffle Merit’s feelings under the rug regarding the loss of Ethan. I think it was vitally important to the story overall to show how affected she was by his absence in order to show how much he truly meant to her (as if we had any doubts). Thankfully, she didn’t turn into a super wimp and she still maintained the bad ass-ness that we all know and love.
Mallory turned into more of a minor character in Drink Deep and didn’t play as central of a role as she has in the past. Mallory is in the middle of taking her exams to become a sorceress and is naturally a bit stressed but it’s putting major strain on her and Merit’s relationship. I always found Mallory to be a major part of this series and I quite liked her. Oddly enough, I had a hard time even liking Mallory in this book.
Jonah has become a partner to Merit and is still trying to convince her of the reasons to join the Red Guard (RG). Jonah was a pretty awesome addition to an already great cast of characters if I do say so myself. Jonah is naturally a seemingly potential love interest for Merit and honestly, I was okay with that possibility. I liked him quite a lot.
Frank Cabot is a representative of Greenwich Presidium (GP) sent to evaluate Cadogan House. Naturally, he’s a huge pain in the ass. As Maja put it quite perfectly, he’s a ringer for Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter.
He was an outsider sent to label us as nonconforming and pound us, square pegs, back into round holes.
What I Felt Was Missing
There were a few key things that I missed in this book. Naturally I missed Ethan as he was such a huge character in the previous books. Also, the whole storyline was extremely tense but nothing was really going on, it was kind of stagnant until the last ¼ of the book when the action finally started happening. I would have loved to see more action throughout the book. But what I missed the most was the humor. I think the banter between Mallory and Merit made for a witty and funny addition to the series and it was sorely missed in this installment.
What I Felt Should Have Been Left Out
So… this is one big major spoiler so you are warned!
And I’m done.
Final Thoughts
So regardless of the fact that I was ecstatic to finally be reading this, I went into this with some existing irritation after the loss of Ethan. By the time the ending rolled around I was appeased and of course still plan on continuing the series because I love me some Chloe Neill. Seriously. This is one of the most enjoyable series still running and I’m glad these stories are still as enjoyable as the first. But I’m still looking for one to top Number 3, also known as the current best in the series. 😀
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