Goldilox and the Three Weres: Midnight Marked Blog Tour: Review and Giveaway

The Chicagoland Vampires series holds a special place in my heart for many reasons. It was one of my first auto-buy series when I started reading urban fantasy. I used to go to Barnes and Noble as soon as it opened on release day to get my copy and spend the entire day with Merit and the gang. My ritual has changed a little over the years but I still devour the books in one sitting. The characters feel like old friends and the city of Chicago actually is an old friend. (I used to live there.)

So I'm sad that Midnight Marked is the second-to-last book in the series, but I'm excited to be part of the blog tour to celebrate its release. Check out my review and don't miss the TWO great giveaways afterward.

Midnight Marked
(Chicagoland Vampires #12)
Chloe Neill
Release: March 1, 2016
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As the Chicagoland Vampires series continues, Merit and Ethan find themselves in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse, where winning may require the ultimate sacrifice...

A vampire’s grudges don’t stay dead long...

Merit is one of Chicago's most skilled vampire warriors; these days, she doesn't scare easily. But she and Master vampire Ethan have made a new and powerful enemy, and he won't give up until he owns the Windy City.

With his last plan thwarted, he's more determined than ever to watch Cadogan burn. Ethan has put the House's vampires on high alert, but their enemy will stop at nothing, including pitting vampire against vampire...

In this deadly game of cat-and-mouse, the stakes are life or death—and winning might mean sacrificing everything...

Review:
Midnight Marked has everything I love about the Chicagoland Vampires series. There's a visit to a Chicago landmark - this time it's Wrigley Field, which I loved just as much as Merit. There's girl talk with Mallory, the queen of TMI. There's an event that requires Merit to wear a fabulous couture gown. There are vampire sexy times - one of them even in the amazing Cadogan library. And there's plenty of Merit kicking ass.

But there's also a brand new plot to take over Chicago which brought back a character from the first book in the series. I hadn't even realized that particular loose end was out there, but I liked the idea of tying it up. Some of Merit's other unresolved issues with her family and her exes also seem to be getting resolved as she moves toward what is hopefully her HEA in the next book.

I also liked the introduction of a new type of magic which gave Paige, the magical archivist introduced in Biting Cold, something to do. She's been around this whole time but hasn't seen much time on the page. Neill also introduced a new magic user, a necromancer who defies all the stereotypes. I'm curious about how she might play into a future plot. And I got to see Berna, who runs Little Red and is one of my favorite characters. (I'm hoping there's a Chicagoland Shifters series in the works where I get to see her more often.)

The only thing that bothered me about Midnight Marked isn't actually specific to this book. Merit's just celebrated her one year anniversary as a vampire, a fact she mentions several times. I just can't wrap my head around so much happening in a year. Not only in terms of how many battles she's fought, though one Big Bad a month certainly seems excessive, but in how much her relationships have developed in that time. And once I start thinking about it, I start looking for continuity problems. Merit references a movie and I had to go look up whether she could have seen it if it's still 2010. It turns out she could, in that particular case, but those things take me out of the moment.

Still, this series is one of my Happy Places and I loved to be back in it. I'm curious about what's left for Merit and the gang to accomplish. It's not obvious from the ending, though are still unresolved issues with more than one group of supernaturals. As much as I want them all to find their Happy Places, I'm going to be sad to see the series end.

Recommended for fans of: Methan and sword-wielding heroines

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley

1/2

4 1/2 stars

Our reviews of other books in this series:
Drink Deep
Biting Cold
House Rules
Biting Bad
Blood Games

We have a copy of The Veil along with a Devil's Isle bookmark and screen wipe, plus some great Chicagoland Vampires swag including a Cadogan House mini-pennant, Cadogan House tote bag, bookmarks, a pen, and a Cadogan House keychain.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The fun doesn’t stop here. Want more chances to win? You can also enter the Midnight Marked Grand Prize Giveaway, which runs February 11 through March 4 on Chloe’s web site.

What is the Grand Prize Giveaway prize?

Engraved Cadogan House medal pendant

Lou Malnati’s Tastes of Chicago package, featuring hot dogs, pizza, and cheesecake

$25 Amazon gift card

Tote bag containing Chicagoland Vampires and Devil’s Isle Swag