The vampires of Chicago are faced with a new challenge. Human hatred and a threat from Chicago’s mayor to get the vampire population under control “or else!” Merit is torn between the desire to protect her house and the limitations placed upon her by the authority of the Presidium. She knows what is linking the problems together, but she has a tough time trying to prove it. She will have to work outside the system to get the answers she needs.

Fortunately, Merit has friends who can help her complete her mission. Keeping her house master, Ethan Sullivan, in the dark is not her style, but in this case, the less he knows the better. And the less time Merit spends with the sexy master of her house, the less chance that her walls will cave and she will end up back in his arms. Will Merit be able to protect Ethan and the members of her house? Or will the side of darkness win?

Hard Bitten is a well-written, excellent book. It is a good segue into the next chapter of Merit’s life. I have been intrigued as she has matured into the life of a vampire and the important role of vampire sentinel. I rarely get to the point where I want to throw books across the room, but this was one of those books. Since the beginning I have been enthralled with this series. I have been a proponent of Merit and Ethan from the beginning and I kept hoping that they would get together — the sexy, suave house master and the new vampire sentinel. Merit has had other men interested in her, but none as sexy as Ethan. Throughout the series, I have kept anxiously awaiting for that moment where she accepts Ethan as her lover.

All I can say is that the book left me hanging in more ways than one. And the next book is not due out until November. NOVEMBER! The torture! I do understand authors have to make hard decisions, but sometimes those decisions make you want to rip your hair out. And this is one of those times. However, despite those moments of hair ripping, this was an excellent book and I look forward to finding out what happens next in Merit’s life.

Back cover copy:

Times are hard for newly minted vampire Merit. Ever since shapeshifters announced their presence to the world, humans have been rallying against supernaturals-and they’re camping outside of Cadogan House with protest signs that could turn to pitchforks at any moment. Inside its doors, things between Merit and her Master, green-eyed heartbreaker Ethan Sullivan are…tense. But then the mayor of Chicago calls Merit and Ethan to a clandestine meeting and tells them about a violent vamp attack that has left three women missing. His message is simple: get your House in order. Or else.

Merit needs to get to the bottom of this crime, but it doesn’t help that she can’t tell who’s on her side. So she secretly calls in a favor from someone who’s tall, dark, and part of underground vamp group that may have some deep intel on the attack. Merit soon finds herself in the heady, dark heart of Chicago’s supernatural society-a world full of vampires who seem ready to fulfill the protesting human’s worst fears, and a place where she’ll learn that you can’t be a vampire without getting a little blood on your hands…

Book Stats:

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: New American Library; 1 edition (May 3, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451233328
• ISBN-13: 978-0451233325

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Books in the Chicagoland Vampires series in the order they should be read:
Some Girls Bite
Friday Night Bites
Twice Bitten
Hard Bitten
Drink Deep