Midnight Marked by Chloe Neill Publisher: NAL on March 1, 2016
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Adult
Pages: 368
Format: ARC
Source: Blog Tour
Purchase: Amazon/Barnes & Noble
Add to: Goodreads
Rating:
Heat:
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…
At A Glance
Slow beginning, awesome ending!
The Good
Once Midnight Marked got going, it really got going. I always find it crazy how much Chloe manages to fit in one book. The action was intense and there was a lot of it, and we got to see all our favorite characters make an appearance. We have Reed still giving Merit and the gang a hard time and his threats become even more dangerous as the story progresses.
The twists were extra good in this one. Lots of things I didn’t see coming. So much drama, not just between Reed and Merit and Ethan, but between Ethan and Gabriel and the shifters. Alliances are definitely tested in this one.
I love that we are finally seeing the old Merit and Mallory again. Their friendship is starting to feel like old times. The humor between these two is the best!
Poor Merit goes through a lot of crap in Midnight Marked. Past ghosts and all. Testing her limits is putting it mildly.
With the series winding down, I can’t wait to see how this all ends. I see our favorite characters settling down a bit, but I feel like there are still so many enemies out there. So much to do, so little time.
The Bad
The beginning was super slow. I kept putting the book down. Luckily, it got better.
The corny parts kind of got to me. I was rolling my eyes quite often by the gooey things Merit said.
The Snuggly
This series has never been heat heavy. We do get a sex scene but it’s short and sweet.
Final Thoughts
I have kept up with this series from the beginning. It has never failed me. Another great book to add to the collection. I am just so sad that it’s ending soon. One more book! I know Chloe will make it the best one. Highly recommended.
Author Interview
Q1. What is your favorite scene from the Chicagoland Vampires series?
Chloe: You haven’t read it yet. 😉 That said, I love the first fight scene in SOME GIRLS BITE. That was a very meaningful
moment for me and for Merit.
Q2. When writing sex scenes do you giggle the whole way through or are you more serious and technical about it?
Chloe: Neither, really. I just write them. The stories are in first person, and Merit isn’t really a giggler or serious, but somewhere
in between. As I write, I’m writing through her. So the goal is to make the scene as reflective as possible as what she’s
thinking and feeling.
Q3. What is your biggest goal for 2016?
Chloe: Since I’ve opted to keep my day job, to work on finding balance in my professional lives. And knit my first garment. 🙂
Q4. Do you have any regrets with any of your characters in the Chicagoland Vampires series?
Chloe: I wish Celina hadn’t died so soon. It needed to happen for that particular story, but she was a really interesting (if
completely psychotic) character. It would have been interesting to see how she developed as a character.
Giveaway
Enter to win:
Cadogan House mini-pennant
Cadogan House tote bag
Swag, including bookmarks, a pen, and a Cadogan House keychain
Open Internationally. Ends March 9th.
Tour Wide 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
Midnight Marked Blog Tour Schedule
Week One
Monday, February 22 – Booklovers for Life | Snoopy Doo’s Book Reviews
Tuesday, February 23 – Fallen for Books | The Book Whisperers
Wednesday, February 24 – Bad Bird Reads | Wild Wordy Women
Thursday, February 25 – StarCrossed Book Blog | Rantings of a Reading Addict
Friday, February 26 – BiblioJunkies | Love Laughter Foreverafter
Week Two
Monday, February 29 – Rabid Reads | The World of Francesca
Tuesday, March 1 (Release Day) – Goldilox and the Three Weres | Saucy Wenches | Literary Escapism | Vampire Book Club | YA Reads
Wednesday, March 2 – Consummate Reader
Thursday, March 3 – Urban Fantasy Investigations | Fangirls Read It First
Friday, March 4 – Paranormal Haven | My Paranormal Kink
Mai T.
A very interesting review! Question to the author: What was the worst movie adaptation of a book?
sherry fundin
What’s next on your writing agenda?
miki
i really appreciated teh interview but even more your review, i’m glad the sex scene will be sweet as i think it fit teh rest of the series
i had completely missed it was nearly teh end of teh series so i’m a little sad as it was very enjoyable so far
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
I hate that it’s ending but I enjoyed the run.
Lekeisha
God, I feel like the only person on the planet who hasn’t read this series. It’s good that my library has them all, so when I get the time, I will read them. Glad this series has been great for you!
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
Oh, you so need to get to them. They are addictive.
Braine
Oh Chloe, when are we going to meet?!
Abigail
I liked them both!
interesting!
Kimberly Curington
Love the interview! I always enjoy hearing things from the author’s view.
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
Me too. Every author is so different.
elaing8
Enjoyed reading the interview and review. I’m looking forward to reading this book.
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
🙂 Happy you enjoyed it.
Northwoman
I LOVE this series. Thanks for the review and interview. I’m looking forward to meeting the author at NOLA Storycon. Maybe I can help her with knitting?
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
I hope you have a great time at NOLA Storycon.
Nathan
I liked your interview and I love Chloe’s books. I can’t wait to read them on the one hand and don’t want the series to end on the other.
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
I hate when series end.
kindlemom1
So glad this series is still going so strong and I loved the interview, thanks so much for sharing it!
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
Thanks for stopping by.
Kristen
Great interview! And thanks so much for the awesome giveaway! 😀
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
Good luck!
Leslie
Omg I can’t wait so sad it’s the penultimate of the series
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
I know!!! So sad.
bn100
interesting interview
Christy LoveOfBooks
The series is coming to an end? Cool. I read the first book years ago but never continued. I planning on restarting with audio soon.
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
OOoh, awesome. Have fun with it.
arubafanatic
Excited about the new release. I hope we find out about the baby .
melliane
I have the three first books in French, I really need to start the series. so behind!
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
Yes you do! lol
Brandi Breathes Books
The extra good twists sounds great in this one
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
It was so good.
Michelle
NOOOOO!! Why did you have to remind me it’s ending soon!!! 🙁
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
I know, I know!!
Melissa (My World...in words and pages)
It’s the beginning of a new series, so I can see the slow beginning. Sounds like a great sounding series. 🙂 Thank you!
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
It really is a great series.
April
So excited. Thanks for the fun peek!
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
😀 Welcome.
Nancy L.
I love author interviews!
I am so excited to read this book and so sad that the series is almost over. I can’t believe we only have one more book after this one, OMG.
I can’t wait to see what this book brings to the series.
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
I love getting to know more about an author.
Olivia Roach
It’s exhilarating and slightly scary to be at the end of a series you love! It sounds like although this one took a little while to start off, it got really good until you couldn’t stop reading!
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
I ma sad but excited to see how things end.
Sharyonda
Another new heroine and series added to my TBR list on goodreads….can’t wait to read it……YAY!
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
Yay!
Gauri
I’ve been waiting so long for this book! Thank you for an awesome review, will definitely power through the beginning.
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
Awesome, hope you love it.
Jaclyn Canada
I love that you are still engaged in this series even after all these books! What’s great too is that she says the best is yet to come, if her favorite scene hasn’t even come out yet! I still have this one on my TBR but haven’t started the series.
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
I know! When she said that I got super excited!
Michelle Willms
I enjoyed the interview. I have a question (or two). Was your decision to write first person character-based, story-based, a personal preference, or something else entirely? My other question: Do you tend to have more than one project going at a time? Thank you for taking the time to talk with us and answer our questions.
Naomi Hop
I really enjoyed this installment in the series … That ending made me so excited for Ethan and Merit!!
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
I know! I am so excited!!!