AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: Chloe Neill's DARK DEBT (Chicagoland Vampires #11)

Title: DARK DEBT
Series:  Chicagoland Vampires #11 
Author:  Chloe Neill
Narrator:  Sophie Eastlake
Release Date:  3/03/15
Price:  $17.99
Publisher:  Tantor Audio
Length:  10 hrs 11 min
Format:  Tantor Direct Download
Purchase at Tantor or Amazon



My Ratings

Plot:  5/5
Setting:  4.5/5
Writing:  5/5
Originality of Plot:  4/5
Characters Development:  5/5
Ending:  5/5
Cover Art:  3/5
Narration:  5/5
Likelihood to Recommend:  5/5

Overall:  41.5/45 =  92%

Synopsis

A vampire never gets old, but neither do his enemies. When a figure from Ethan's dark past makes a splashy debut in Chicago, Merit and her Master don't know whether he's friend or foe. But they'll have to figure it out soon because trouble is brewing in the Windy City.

At an exclusive society soirée attended by the upper echelons of the human and supernatural worlds, Merit and Ethan barely stop the assassination of a guest. When the target turns out to be a shady businessman with a criminal edge, Merit suspects a human vendetta. But the assassins have fangs.

The connections to Chicago's Houses go deeper than Merit knows, and one wrong move could be her last.  

Review

Wherever Merit goes, trouble always seems to follow.  Black tie functions attended by Chicago's social elite aren't safe.  Even wearing a gown that belong on a red carpet, Merit is able to thwarts an assassination attempt on a a party attendee. Question is, who's behind this latest attack and how is it connected to Chicagoland's vampires.  

The Chicagoland Vampires' series, is an absolute favorite of mine.  Chloe Neill puts together the perfect balance of action, humor, sex, and wonderful characters.  While most series tend to get stale around book 10, Chloe keeps this series fresh with each new book.  And DARK DEBT is no different.  I also felt that this book brought the series back to it's real roots.  It's back focusing more on the vampiric houses of Chicago.

This book turned Merit and Ethan's relationship on it's head.  Though Merit is really coming into her own vampire powers, Ethan has always been the rock in their relationship.  An unforeseen person from Ethan's past, turns their world upside down.  Now it's Merit's turn to be the strong one.  Even when Ethan's greatest foe comes after Merit, she has his back.  Ethan's fully lets Merit in emotionally.  I really loved these two together.  Their chemistry is so steamy and all encompassing.  No matter what tragic things happen, these two have each other.  They have proven over and over again that their love can defeat just about anything.

While this book gave me plenty of Merit and Ethan, DARK DEBT was really about the series' secondary characters. Against my better judgment, I have always love Morgan.  He has done some terrible things in the past, but he really get the chance to turn things around.  We got to see the charming Morgan, that we haven't seen in several books.  Mallory and Catcher, really got to take a front seat in this book, as well.  Mallory has fought really hard to earn everyone's trust back.  She is given the chance to come to Cadogan's magical rescue.  I was so happy to see Mallory and Catcher's romantic relationship taken to the next level. I also really enjoyed that Merit got some resolution with her father, since they have always had such a strained relationship.

  

Sophie Eastlake's narration, as always, was real treat.  She has this perfect dark quality to her voice that lends well to the story.  She has created very divers, unique voices for each character.  She does such an amazing job telling this story, that the listener can get lost in the audiobook.  DARK DEBT is full of deep emotion, from agonizing fear to heart stealing love, and Sophie hits these emotion out of the park!     

When Chicagoland's the magical community comes together, there aren't many things that can stand in their way.  I just love these deep characters that the author has given us.  I was really happy that this book had the feeling of the earlier books in the series.  The constant drama and action kept me hooked, and I could put this audiobook down. Chloe Neill has a real knack for setting up story surprises that the reader never sees coming.  DARK DEBT has the perfect combination of  mystery, action, and characters that you can't help but love. The Chicagoland Vampire series has done it again!  I can't wait to see what the next book in this series has to offer.  Hopefully, we'll get more Jonah.

 ***Audiobook was provided by the publisher in trade for a fair review***