Biting Cold is the latest book in her Chicagoland Vampires series. It finds our heroine Merit continuing her battles from the previous book Drink Deep. This time she’s on the road, taking her duties out across the midwest tracking them down before they can do further harm.  Back in Chicago though things between humans and supernatural beings aren’t getting any better and they’re about to get worse. This review, like all our reviews are spoiler free.

Since I discovered the Chicagoland Vampires series I’ve been hooked.  I have loved each and every book and this site contains reviews of them all that will go into depth about just how much I enjoy them.  I look forward to each new book with much anticipation.  If you haven’t been reading from the beginning then I highly recommend going back to Some Girls Bite and starting the adventure from the beginning.  Also if you haven’t been following the series, Biting Cold is probably the absolute worst place to start.  It picks up shortly after the ending of Drink Deep and continues the drama from the end of that book.  And drama is here in spades.

The beginning of Biting Cold, as I mentioned above takes us out of Chicago for the first time.  It’s on the road that Merit has a couple of intense encounters.  I also liked that this beginning felt very stark and a little rougher compared to the rest of the series.  We meet a new character here who will be of assistance for the rest of the book and get a couple of great action scenes that are quite vividly.  Neill writes her action scenes with such detail that you can picture them crystal clear in your head but also they’re still simple to follow.  Things in Biting Cold do get brutal, on several levels. And that’s another great thing going on.  There’s been a darkness coming for a few books and it’s finally here.  We also finally get the reveal to a secret that’s been being teased for a few books now.

If I had compare Biting Cold to anything, it’d be a season finale of a TV show.  It’s sort of the end of a story arc but it doesn’t end up wrapped in a nice little bow.  There’s some dangling strings, but nowhere near what there has been in a few of the previous Chicagoland Vampires books. There’s still a lot of character stuff to be resolved and there’s also a sort of unknown, but a lot is wrapped up here.  You’ll feel satisfied when you put it down, and of course that won’t be until you’re finished with it. Also if TV producers are paying attention, this book series would make a great TV series.  It’s about a strong protagonist with tons of attitude and a sense of humor, who’s also smart and attractive and has many attractive vampire suitors as well as a bunch of great enemies and creatures and supporting characters that are equally as interesting.  I know I’d watch.

Overall I highly recommend Biting Cold. It comes out next week, August 7th, but you can pre-order now so you’ll have it in your hands.  It’s a rollercoaster ride that answers questions and entertains and features some good role models.  Buy it.