Biting Cold

Chicagoland Vampires, Book 6

By: Chloe Neill

Narrated by: Sophie Eastlake

Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

Turned into a vampire against her will, 28-year-old Merit found her way into the dark circle of Chicago's vampire underground, where she learned there was more to supernaturals than met the eye - and more supernaturals than the public ever imagined. And not all the secrets she learned were for sharing - among humans or inhumans.

Now Merit is on the hunt, charging across the stark American Midwest, tailing a rogue supernatural intent on stealing an ancient artifact that could unleash catastrophic evil on the world. But Merit is also the prey. An enemy of Chicagoland is hunting her, and he'll stop at nothing to get the book for himself. No mercy allowed. No rules apply. No lives spared. The race is on.

©2012 Chloe Neill (P)2012 Tantor

Awesome

Settled some key things in the series. Really enjoyed this one in particular. Action packed.

New Narrator Overshadows Great Plot!

Let me start with the most apparent thing everyone who LOVES the Chicagoland Vampires series is going to notice - there's a new narrator. Now sometimes that's a good thing...unfortunately, here it is not.
Don't get me wrong, I'm sure Sophie Eastlake is a great narrator - but when you've had the SAME narrator (Cynthia Holloway) for the first five books of the series, bringing in a newbie just doesn't work. I was so distracted by new speech patterns and accents (especially Luc's) that I lost track of the story at times and had to keep backtracking.

With all that said. Let's move past that and look at the actual story itself...without giving away any spoilers.

In the first few books the focus was mainly just on Merit getting a handle on her new lifestyle (as a vampire). Book four was focused pretty intently on the Merit-Ethan relationship. In book five, not only did we see Merit really come into her own, but we also learned a lot about Mallory and her powers. Now, with book six, the focus is put on "relationships:" Merit and Ethan, Merit and Mallory, Mallory and Catcher, etc.

In these last two books of the Chicagoland Vampires series (Drink Deep and Biting Cold), Chloe Neill has managed to grow even closer with her characters. Now that [us] readers have gotten to know the characters, she has started to weave the plot even more intricately. For this reason alone, I would NOT recommend this book for someone who has not read the previous installments. But, I would recommend Biting Cold for anyone who is a fan of the urban fantasy or paranormal genres. It is also perfect for those looking for a good PNR or urban fantasy with a little more bite (pun intended) than a similar book in the YA genre.

Even though I was left with some disappointment, I will continue on following this series. As always, the ending left me wanting more. Luckily we don't have to wait too long; book 7 (House Rules) comes out on February 5, 2013.

New reader...not bad, but not the same

Not sure if it was the new reader that thru off the rhythm of the seriers but on first listen it seems to be a combination of both the story development and the reader. Neither were as good as the previous installments but still a decent listen.

DON'T CHANGE NARRATOR MID SERIES

DON'T CHANGE NARRATOR MID SERIES AND IF YOU DO, TRY TO AT LEAST GET SOMEONE WITH THE SAME STYLE.

Well written and well read!

I continue to be pleased and amused by this series. It, like many others, is helped by the narration. Although the change in narrators was disconcerting at first, the essence of the stories was still well portrayed.

I love the characters

The characters are fun and well developed. The storyline in the series has been strong, but I think this one is weaker than previous ones. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed it but it seemed a little formulaic in comparison to what I think have been more original plot lines.

WAITED A LONG TIME FOR THIS ONE

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would absolutely recommend this book to a friend. I came late into the Chicagoland books but I was caught up in a very short time. I love the series all of the characters The person who narrated the book was something that I had to get use to but the story just too good for that to be a real issue.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Biting Cold?

When Dominic put Merit in the sun, and it was Morgan who could mind-link with her to save her. and then in came the calvary!!!

Which scene was your favorite?

The sad scene when Merit came to visit Mallory and found Catcher there and when he went to leave, there was no tenderness or touching between them

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

ABSOLUTELY!!!

Any additional comments?

I hope there is a happy ending for Catcher and Mallory I think they are being too hard on her and I hope the next book is about the Order so Mallory can get more time as a main character.

Disappointment in the change of narration

I don't understand why an author or publishing company would change the narrator in the middle of a series! When you listen to a book, you form a picture in your mind about the characters, the story is literally built in your mind. When the voice changes, it changes the view and your connection with the story. It is difficult to want to continue reading when everything changes! ugh!!

new narrator

I listened to the first 5 books and got to feel the characters through the voices and then this book has a new narrator. not a bad one but for me the voices are the characters and it threw me off. still a good story.

Action galore

All of the superb books in this series too this point have been full of action, but this one is particularly action packed. Ethan and Merit have had a very difficult time getting a relationship going and continuing between them, in this book you find out what direction it is going to take. Merit certainly has he choice of suitors and has a connection with Jonnas, he once partnering crime. She also has a secret she’s keeping from Ethan that concerns Jonnas. Way to much happens in this book to go over everything, so enjoy discovering all this books secrets for yourself.